CQ

I have really come to appreciate blogging. It has provided a way for me to express myself in writing at a time when I am doing a whole lot of processing. It has provided a healthy outlet for my thoughts and is documenting the work God is doing in me.

Marta and I find ourselves nearly every night sitting at our kitchen table with laptops glowing and keyboards clicking. Our conversations are frequently about our latest idea for a post. This is providing a springboard for deep and meaningful interaction. We have not watched a television show in over a month; it would take away from our blogging time.

I find the rest of my day is more meaningful as well. As I move about I am looking for inspiration. I seek meaning and substance in nearly every pondering, prayer, interaction, and word I read. Before these things would just flow over me with little reflection, but now everything is a potential journal entry. 

Writing is a powerful tool. My memory stinks; I know that if I can just get my thoughts in writing I can refer back. I also find that writing helps me remember. Right now there is a lot I want to remember. I want to remember to seek humility. I want to remember how God feels about the oppressed and hurting. I want to remember that we are God’s plan to demonstrate his goodness to the world. I want to remember that my responsibility is to offer him the gifts I have, and he will do the rest.

If you’re not blogging, you may want to consider it.  

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I have never received a thumbs up from my daughter before, but it happened tonight at Safari Sam’s. This is a pizza place with all kinds of play equipment, noise and craziness for kids and kid-like adults.This may seem like a strange topic for a post, but give me the benefit of the doubt and read on.

After a long, emotional, and tiring day Marta called me on my cell to say we were meeting some friends and their children at Safari Sam’s for dinner and play. This sounded like a great way to end our week.

As you walk into the place they stamp you and your children with matching serial numbers. As you leave they make sure each child is matched with the right adult. They always check Marta for this, dads don’t seem to be as credible when it comes to keeping track of their children, I guess. This process gives parents a sense of security and children some independence.

So, my daughter and her friend were running around the place like free spirits, having a merry time. They were checking in periodically, but were enjoying their freedom. After we finished dinner and they had been playing for awhile my daughter came up to me and did something she has never done before.

She asked me for money.

I guess this is something Marta and I need to get use to, but this was a first for me. I asked what it was for, and she acted like I should just trust her.  She said she wanted to buy some ice cream for her friend and herself, so I gave her the two dollars and was intrigued along with the other adults to see what would happen next.

They walked up to the counter. Many times I have tried to encourage her to have the courage to purchase things on her own. It is in moments like this in the past that I have seen her freeze and just stare at the person on the other side with a sad weepy face. This time was different. She handed the man the two dollars and requested a sherbet ice cream and two spoons. It was at this moment that my world spun for a split second.

My daughter turned and looked at me with a proud smile and gave me a thumbs up. It was as though she was saying to me, “I can do this Dad, I’m okay.” It was very cute, but at the same time made my heart skip. At that moment a scene from the future played in my mind of us walking down the aisle at her wedding. I turn to my seat looking back and my daughter turns toward me with a proud and loving smile, flashing the thumbs up. “I can do this Dad, I’m okay.”

It is a great thing to experience growth. It can be hard and scary, yet exhilarating. It brings me joy to see my daughter developing. I look forward to flashing my heavenly Father the thumbs up as I begin to understand more the workings of his kingdom. 

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A few weeks back I was in invited to a two-day training in Seattle sponsored by International Justice Mission. It was a test of my courage to respond to this opportunity because I knew I was going to be out of my league. As a result of the training I have committed to becoming a “Justice Advocate” representing IJM in our community.  (If you would like to learn more I would love to talk to you about IJM – They are freeing slaves around the world!)

At the training I was given all kinds of materials including the book Good News About Injustice. In the opening page of this book Gary Haugen states that if he were only able to give his children one gift it would be that they become men and women of courage.

He then goes on to quote C.S. Lewis saying:

Courage seems like an attribute we must have in order to effectively move out and express our faith in action. If I were to add courage to compassion the result would be an active expression of Christ’s love.

Like Gary, I have prayed for my children since they were born that they would have a heart of compassion. I am not so concerned about intelligence, athletic ability or good looks. Instead I have prayed that they would have a tenderness for other people. I think I will add to that prayer, courage. 

Undeveloped Thoughts: 

Compassion + Courage = Active expressions of Christ’s love

Westside Outside – I am wondering if this label could describe a movement within our school to respond outside of the world we are comfortable in. I am also challenged to move outside of a purely self-focused expression of faith. This is not a judgment of our current state as much as a challenge to examine where we are and where we feel called to be. I want to continue to explore this.

Gary Haugen is speaking at Sunset Presbyterian this Sunday at 9am, 11am and 5pm.

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Last night I was very encouraged by a meeting at Westside for parents of students who are interested in the Thailand trip this summer. The more I talk to people the more passionate I get about what God is doing in me and our school. We are being challenged to move outside of our building and ourselves toward meeting the needs of others. There is no doubt something special is happening and people are catching the vision. I can’t wait to see what will happen when we actually go.

Before the meeting Don and I were talking about names for this movement in our school. A few weeks ago in another conversation Rob (our development director) called the movement “Westside Outside.” I will just leave it at that for now. This could mean a lot of things especially if we realize that we can compliment outside with “Westside Inside.” I believe the combination of these two phrases could be used very powerfully to communicate what God is doing in our school on multiple levels. Before I give you my thoughts I would love to know what Westsiders and others think?

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Over the past eight weeks I have felt convicted to be more intentional about prayer. God has recently captured my heart and given me a deeper love and burden for people, which compels me to drop to my knees. In his book Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says, “The inner sense (that comes from Christ) of compassion is one of the clearest indications from the Lord that this is a prayer project for you (p. 40, 1998).”  There seems to be a link between compassion for others and an aspiration to pray.

After my recent experience in Thailand I’ve become passionate about praying for the oppressed and those who minister to them. I am also determined to pray that our students are being equipped to become a generation of servant leaders. This means they are not only prepared well educationally and biblically, but also with a deep calling to live their life sacrificially for Christ. I believe they could be the hands and feet that change the world for Christ. That is worth praying for!

John 12: 24-26

24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

I feel so blessed to work in a learning community that encourages and even requires us to continuously learn more about disciplines like prayer, service, and dying to self. The disciples of Christ expressed their desire to learn about prayer when they said to Jesus, “Lord teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1).  I still have a lot to learn.

Foster says, “I determine to learn to pray so that my experience conforms to the words of Jesus rather than try to make his words conform to my impoverished experience.” (Celebration of Discipline, p37, 1998).  Jesus says in John 15:7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” I think this scripture implies that we will know the right things to ask for because we know and are known by Christ intimately. Since I have started praying more consistently, some amazing things have been happening. God has been answering my prayers.

Last Saturday evening was the culmination of banquet week at Westside.  It was a celebration of our school community, highlighting the students that were selected by their peers to be on the banquet court. The most encouraging point for me on Saturday evening was the announcement of the court. As each court member entered the room, thoughts they had put on paper were read aloud for all of us to hear.  Every student on the court expressed to their peers and teachers their unique and authentic desire to serve Christ with their lives.  God is answering prayer!

Recently Marta and I have been praying about her level of participation in the Thailand trip this summer. We are both passionate about the trip and all that it represents, and she would be there in a heartbeat if we didn’t have two young children. Last week we stayed up late one night weighing the pros and cons. On one hand it would be hard for our kids to be away from both of their parents for such a long time, but on the other, they (especially our five year old) could learn a heart level lesson by sharing their parents for twelve days with children who don’t have parents. Marta was leaning toward not going but felt she needed to keep praying because she hadn’t heard clearly from the Lord yet. We brought up the subject with our daughter, telling her that we were in the process of praying about it, and not to our surprise, she told us she didn’t want Marta to go.

Two days later our daughter asked Marta, “Have you decided to go to Thailand?”  Marta replied, “No, Daddy and I are still asking God if He wants me to go?”
“I don’t want you to pray.”
“Why not?”
“I know what Jesus would say.”
“Oh really?”
“He would want you to go.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I don’t know, I just know that’s what He would want.”

Two hours later our daughter asked in a very soft voice, “Are you going?”
Marta asked, “To Thailand?  We’re still praying about it.”  With a sad look on her face our daughter said what sounded like, “I think you should go.”  Marta was not sure she’d heard her correctly so she asked, “Did you say you think I should go?”  Our daughter nodded affirmatively.  Putting together the sad face and the response, Marta said, “You think I should go even though you know you’ll miss me and that will make you feel sad?”  She nodded again.

Another prayer answered!  We were amazed that our little five year old was willing to show this type of sacrificial love.  Thank you, Lord, for speaking to us through a child. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. Needless to say, we are leaning the other way now.

PSALM 8: 1-2

“1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”

Keep praying!

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I realize that many of the folks who are frequenting this location are not familiar with blogging. So, I have comprised a short history of blogging for your interest.

From the Blogger site
Wikipedia
Google

So, please participate in the discussion as you feel comfortable. I would love to know your thoughts as you read through the articles. If you have ideas of things that could be added to further our Compassion Quest please pass them on. I am thrilled to share in the journey with you.

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This weekend Steve and I trekked up to Seattle to take part in an International Justice Mission Justice Advocate training program. Through a series of God orchestrated connections I was able to communicate to their Education Program Manager what Westside is planning on doing in Thailand, and she invited the two of us to be a part of the program.

I have been praying for humility for the past six weeks. God is so faithful to bring about that quality in me as I spent a weekend with passionate, humble, yet very gifted lawyers, Ivy League graduates, employees of think tanks, etc. It is inspiring to be around people with a tremendous passion coupled with a humble spirit.

One of the most confirming elements of the weekend was the presentation of scriptural support challenging Christians to act on behalf of the oppressed. Over the past year my eyes have been opened to see the importance of compassion, justice, humility, loving people, seeking truth and working to model my actions after Christ. This weekend my new revelation was primarily the issue of justice. (I will write more about this later)

It is like that experience when you have bought a new car and begin to see how many are on the road. It is not that the car didn’t exist before you purchased it, but you just never noticed. Now I see these issues in my Christian walk around every bend in the road. The following samples of scripture convict and compel me to seek justice, demonstrate compassion, and act on behalf of the orphans, widows, and the oppressed.

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Nineteen years ago and almost to the month I became aware of an opportunity to go on a missions experience to Haiti. This was an interesting time in the history of Haiti, which made this trip more of an adventure than it should have been. Our trip fell between the resignation and fleeing of Jean Claude Duvalier in February of 1986 and the failed election of 1987 which resulted in the loss of thousands of lives. I remember leaving early from our trip in the summer of 1987 on the last flight out of the country before the airport shutdown. After landing in the Florida keys we spent a couple of weeks debriefing our experience.

It was during this time of processing that I made a commitment to live my life to the fullest. Since that experience I have forgotten about that commitment off and on, but kept coming back to that monument in times of doubt, transition, major decisions, and struggles. I saw very clearly the evidence of Christ on that trip, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is real and faithful to complete his work.

What does it mean to live life to the fullest? Just this week I had the privilege of listening to Sandy Olson in Chapel. Sandy has been battling cancer for eight years. She appears to be a person that is living life to the fullest. After looking at our students she said, “I see a lot of incredible possibilities, the spiritual potential in this room is incredible – you could change the world!” When she said that to our school community I believed it. I want to be a part of it. I want the fullness of knowing I am walking with God and joining with him in changing the world.

Before we can change the world we must be willing to replace pride with love and allow God to change us. In recent months I have met some people who are great examples of humility. As a result I have been challenged to dig into the Word and spend more time with Christ, because I know that kind of humility cannot come from me.

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Thailand Vision Trip 2006

Fact Sheet

Purpose:

The purpose of this trip is to catch the vision for this kind of experience, and develop a team of people that can help cast that vision for the future. This is a pilot trip and will not have the same focus as experiences that will be planned in the future. Those going will need to understand that we are charting new territory. Upon returning, students, staff and strategic partners will become ambassadors back in our community.

Team Profile: 

The team will be a mix of Westside Christian High School staff, students, and adults interested in partnering to expand the vision and passion as ambassadors. 

Vision Trip Dates: 

June 20th – July 4th  

If one of these date ranges is a problem for you please let us know ASAP.

Cost: 

$2450

Includes:

• All Food
• Lodging
• Ground Transportation
• Airfare
• Cultural Events
• Funds to Provide for Ministry

Timeline:

• Application deadline – turn in to school office by March 21, 4:00PM
• Team selection communicated – March 24
• TBA – Five team meetings to be scheduled between April 15th and June 19th (most likely evening meetings)
The purpose of this trip is to catch a vision for this kind of experience, and develop a team of people that can help cast that vision for the future. This is a pilot trip and will not have the same focus as experiences that will be planned in the future. Those going will need to understand that we are charting new territory. Upon returning students, staff and strategic partners will become ambassadors back to our community.

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WESTSIDE OUTSIDE  THAILAND – A Project of Westside Christian High School Students and Staff 

In March of 2005 we began a conversation about transforming the hearts of our students. Our hope was that we would all begin to have hearts that break for the things that break Christ’s heart.

The result was a trip that turned into a journey… it is ongoing.

We have returned from the trip, but our hearts still ache for our new family in Thailand.

You see, we have fallen in love with the children and staff of Grace Ministries. These are children of extreme poverty, some are orphans, and all were at risk of exploitation. These children are inspiring. They are passionate to become leaders within their country and to change the future for other children.

What happened is they changed us. We came with a lifestyle distracted by entertainment and over indulgence (we still struggle here), now we see Christ much clearer and desire to be captivated by Him. We don’t want to be ordinary, we want to be extraordinary.

While on the trip a vision emerged. We could see very clearly that out of our admiration and love for one another we could develop a partnership that would be mutually beneficial. We would love them like brothers and sisters and tell their story to anyone who would listen. The result of our story telling has been that people feel compelled to respond. Children are getting sponsored and new buildings are being built. More children are being saved.

Grace Ministries is becoming a hub for this kind of work. They will train others to start similar types of work and more children will be saved and groomed into leadership. We will keep telling the story and churches and organizations will be compelled to support these new works.

We also benefit from this relationship. We get to go back and live with them each summer. We get to love them and be loved. We get to learn to put ourselves last.

Join the conversation – Let us tell you our stories – Fall in love

We are developing a learning experience for Westside students. In addition to providing a missions experience for our students we will also be making a multi-faceted commitment to Remember Nhu and Grace Ministries, Thailand. We want to own the responsibility and blessing of raising funds to support facility development and ongoing expenses of expanding their ministry.

Commitments:
-We are committed to raising funds for the development of the Grace Ministries site so they can provide housing and support to at risk children.
-We are committed to taking on the responsibility of supporting a large portion of the operating costs of the growing ministry.
-We are committed to sending our people to support the educational, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the children and those who work with them all year.

Prayer
Please join us in praying that God will use this opportunity to impact the lives of children. We believe that our God is big. We believe that He could use children in Thailand and Oregon to change our world.

Partners:
Remember Nhu- This Christian non-profit organization will provide support to the school as a liaison between us and Grace Ministries. They will also serve as a consultant, helping with trip planning, and handle administrative functions. All support that is generated for Grace Ministries will be directed through Remember Nhu.

Grace Ministries- Grace Ministries aims to give boys and girls from impoverished backgrounds and broken families an alternative to sexual and labour exploitation. This is hoped to be achieved by providing an opportunity to pursue a primary/secondary education in a safe, protective and nurturing residential environment, and in turn for them to free their families, from the debt culture. .

Current Financial Needs:
Following are the current financial needs. Meeting these needs will allow us to provide a loving environment for children at risk of slavery.

Child Sponsorship (operating costs):
Time Frame: We are currently accepting donations to support the operating cost for children.
Cost: $50 dollars per month will provide for nearly all of the needs for one child – food, medical care, education, clothing, etc.
Please send us an email if you are interested  EMAIL
GET A CHILD SPONSORSHIP PLEDGE FORM HERE

COMPLETED PROJECT
Construction of Grace Ministries Home for Boys (Hebron House):
Time Frame to Raise Funds: 4/06 -10/06
Description: Aprox. 6000 sq. ft- Home with house parent quarters, sleeping area, and meeting area.
Funds Raised: ALL FUNDS RAISED 
Construction Completion Date: 3/07
Structure Life: Long-term

NEXT CAPITOL PROJECT 
Construction of Grace Ministries Missionary Housing (Home for Charles and Yok Fong):
Time Frame to Raise Funds: 03/07-10/07
Description: NA (coming soon) 
Construction Completion Date: NA
Structure Life: Long-term 
Now excepting donation for this project – Email if you are interested in being a part of this project.
GET A PLEDGE FORM HERE

Plan for Raising Funds:
Each time we send a team of people to Thailand we will request that in addition to raising support for themselves, they also raise additional funds toward meeting the needs of capital expenditures for Grace Ministries. We will also challenge each person that goes to seek sponsorship for at least one child.

We are committed to speaking about our experiences in Thailand to anyone interested in hearing. I believe that God will direct us to people who will feel compelled to get involved. Contact us through email if you would like to learn more.

EMAIL CONTACT

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