CQ

Recently I discovered the beatitudes in Eugene Petterson’s The Message. This section of scripture begins to describe the nature of God’s Kingdom. I often get drawn into a kingdom that promotes the opposite of these values.

Matthew 5: 3-10
 ”You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
 ”You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
 ”You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
 ”You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
 ”You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
 ”You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
 ”You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
 ”You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

I had the privilege of coaching basketball at Westside for six years and loved every minute. It was so rewarding to use the medium of sports to communicate truths about God’s kingdom. Some of the most powerful opportunities to experience these truths were through a loss or team adversity of some kind. When involved in athletics we can very easily get drawn into believing that winning is supreme. I believe that winning is not the definition of success for a citizen of Christ’s kingdom. That is not to say that it is wrong to win, but I don’t believe that it is our ultimate aim.

John Wooden is considered one of the most successful collegiate coaches of all time. He certainly won some games. In fact his UCLA teams won ten NCAA Division I national titles over the last twelve years of his coaching career. After retiring he was asked if he missed winning championships. His response was that what he missed was the practices. He was more about developing a discipline for the process than focusing on the uncertainty of the result. He described seasons that were precious to him where they did not win a championship because of a series of uncontrollable events. Based on my knowledge of Wooden and his faith, I believe that he operated from a different value system than many coaches. He once said, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” Wooden was not concerned with winning basketball games as much as he was developing quality people.

Last week our girls basketball team played in the OSAA State Championship Basketball tournament for the first time in our school’s history. I could not be prouder of what they accomplished this season. We did not win a championship, but I do believe that our team, coach, and bookkeeper demonstrated the values of God’s kingdom. On Thursday afternoon we played Nyssa in the first round of the tournament. It was one of the strangest games I have ever seen. Our girls were in control of the game and at one point dominated the entire third quarter only allowing one basket by Nyssa. From the beginning we were in foul trouble which limited the playing time of three of our five starters. It looked like we were going to win the game until we fouled out two of our key players midway through the fourth quarter. Slowly Nyssa began to chip away at the lead. Our girls battled back and things looked hopeful coming into the final few minutes of the game. Then a crucial play stopped the game for over ten minutes. The scoreboard displayed the score as tied with a little over two minutes to go, but two of the three books did not agree with the board. The two books had documented that WCHS should be up by one point with two minutes to go in the game. This is critically important to the strategy at this point in the game. It is moments like this that we get to prove which kingdom we will serve.

After ten minutes the referee made his decision and the score would stand. Officials later confirmed that a mistake had been made by the referee. Our team, coach, and bookkeeper graciously accepted the decision and played their best, yet they came up short in the end. Nyssa went on to win the state championship, and our girls went on to finish 6th.

Our team could not have done better at the tournament. We do not measure success by trophies, championships, or reputation, but by our ability to reflect the values and economy of God’s kingdom. Well done team!

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May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
And turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen and amen and amen!

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 - A presentation for Advent at Newberg Friends Church -

As I look at the first candle we will be lighting for this Advent season I have mixed emotions. At first glance it is not particularly warm and inviting. There are no red or green bows or beautiful accessories attached to this candle, but instead barbed wire.

This year we will be lighting a “Peace and Justice” candle as the Advent candle for the month. Some may ask, “How exactly does this candle help us anticipate the Christmas Season?”

Well, the spirit of Advent is one of expectation, anticipation, and longing for Christ to rescue us from the shackles of sin and evil in this world. Our yearning for deliverance from the evil and injustice of this world was first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. This cry for hope and deliverance continues today. God hears the cry of the poor and the oppressed and has a plan to bring rescue and relief.

There are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today and 53% of the world population struggles to live on less than $2.00 per day.

Those are some sobering statistics. But they should also inspire us to respond. It takes very little on our part to make a significant impact.  We are part of the six percent of the population that owns 53% of the world’s wealth.

Rich Stearns, the President of World Vision wrote in a recent article that it would take between 40 and 70 billion dollars a year to end extreme poverty by the year 2025.

That seems like a huge number until you realize that Americans spend $450 billion dollars on Christmas. The average family spends between $300 and $1100 per year. Marta and I were challenged by a group of churches in Portland who have a vision to change the way they spend this money. They are challenging their congregations to give gifts this season in a way that will change lives. They have identified some local and global initiatives they would like to support, like linking with a local public school to support the poorest families in Portland with housing, food, and clothing. Globally, they will be partnering with other organization to provide clean water to communities through digging wells, and provide micro loans to support entrepreneurs in the developing world. (Listen to the sermon at Imago Dei about this challenge)

If two-thirds of the people in these five churches participate minimally, then they believe they would generate close to a million dollars to support these initiatives.

In our Church body if every family were to make that same kind of commitment we could generate $130,000.

As I reflect on Christmases of the past I don’t remember many life changing gifts that I received or gave. The most meaningful gifts have been personal and relational, and normally did not cost much money, but were given from the heart.

I challenge you to consider this incarnational approach to giving this Christmas. If you are interested in pursing this further there will be a resource page on the NFC website with links to organizations with gift ideas you can give or request from family members.

I can’t think of a more powerful image of the message of Christmas than to mirror the redemptive gift that has been given to us. God the father rescued us with the gift of His Son Christ Jesus. And through our gift giving we could be used by God to rescue others this Christmas.
 
Yes, there is barbed wire in this world, just like on this candle. Injustice, violence and poverty are a reality for the majority of people in this world, but our God is the Prince of Peace.  Our God is the light, the hope, and the solution, and He is inviting us to join Him in bringing peace and justice to the world he so desperately loves.
 

IDEAS:

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I placed my hand into the water in front of me to check the temperature. “It feels warm, are you ready?” I looked up to see the grimace of pain as Russell removes his socks. “I have an unusual sized foot, so my shoes rarely fit me.” As I looked at his feet I saw a number of large blisters and asked, “Are you sure you want me to do this?” Russell replied with an honest smile, “You will do a great job.” He placed his feet into the soapy water with pain written all over his face. I noticed that every time I dipped the cloth into the water and gently washed his feet I was causing him pain. I apologized, “I am so sorry this is hurting you.” Russell would reply in a very kind voice, “Andy, you are doing a fine job, thank you for washing my feet.”

Two weeks later I found myself serving again with Bridgetown Ministries (invited by WCHS students). We were under the Burnside Bridge again and I saw Russell from a distance. He was sitting alone eating dinner. I took Marta to meet him and the three of us ate soup and talked together. He told us the story of how he came to live on the streets of Portland.

It all began nearly twenty years ago on his wedding night. Some of his friends brought some heroin to his wedding reception and Russell shot up for the first time. He told us this was the worst decision of his life. Since that time he has cleaned himself up nine times, but always relapsed and ended up alone and homeless on the street. He has three children, the oldest in high school. We listened to Russell discuss encounters with God and a desire to be a part of a church.  But it was one of the last statements he made that revealed to me the condition of his soul, and I have been processing how I should respond since.  He said, “After you’ve gotten up and fallen down again so many times, you just decide to stay down.”  This was one hurting and hopeless man. After our talk Marta washed his feet and we gave him a fresh pair of socks.

In some ways I felt hopeless for Russell. Honestly, I wanted to just walk away and shut his story out of my mind. Part of me wishes I had just kept my distance and never heard his story, because by hearing it, I felt the Holy Spirit asking me to have compassion. On the other hand, there was a connection made over those two brief encounters and Marta and I felt honored to be invited into Russell’s painful story. We feel compelled to seek Russell out in the future when we go downtown with Bridgetown Ministries.

I believe that at the core of significant connecting is a compassionate response to others. I heard Brennan Manning say, “How can we say we love someone, if we don’t know what hurts them.” In our school vision document we have stated that “our teachers love their students.” This week I asked our juniors and seniors to write down the name of the teacher who has had the greatest impact on them and why. As I read the responses, it confirmed my suspicions. In most cases they chose teachers who knew their hurts and demonstrated compassion. When we are willing to jump in and join in the chaos of another’s pain and hurt then we are trusted and invited to teach beyond the curriculum.

Our seniors illustrated the power of compassion and empathy to draw people together at senior retreat this year. On Saturday night of senior retreat we typically spend time listening to each other’s stories and praying for each other’s hurts. At the beginning of the evening there was an elephant in the room. Most of the students realized that a clear divide existed in the class between two groupings of students. At one point a student was bold enough to point out the elephant. The discussion was diverted from listening to the hurts and stories of students to a more pragmatic conversation of how to solve the problem.  The discussion seemed to miss the mark and the outcome was somewhat disappointing.

Then a transition took place and students began to share their stories again. One after another students shared their hurts and found support from their peers. Several times hurting students were invited to stand in the middle of the room while their classmates gathered around them, ministering with surgically precise prayers and encouragement. The things that had been barriers between the two groups were now gone.

I believe that in order for us to be an extraordinary community of purpose we must be centered in Christ and connected with each other. Jesus tells us to love God and love our neighbor.   

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it.
Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down.
Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.
Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. 
(Selected passages from the Message - Romans 12: 9-19)

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According to Wikipedia an iceberg is a large piece of ice that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. Since the density of pure water ice is ca. 920 kg/m3, and that of sea water ca. 1025 kg/m3, typically, around 90% of the volume of an iceberg is under water, and that portion’s shape can be difficult to surmise from looking at what is visible above the surface.

From what you see on the surface, you’d assume that the part below water is about the same size.  But when you look below the surface you realize that ninety percent of the iceberg is under water and is serving as a ballast - providing stability, depth, and substance to the visible portion.

It is the same way with our lives.  It is the substance of our center, or core, that provides stability and strength to what is visible. For this reason we are committed to nurturing our community and focusing on that which draws us to Christ as our source and center.

What is the ballast in my life that provides meaning, stability and depth to everything I feel, think, and do? Is it a set of rules? Is it me and my own thinking?  Is it other people and their ideas?

Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your back on the world’s “sure thing,”
ignore what the world worships.

Doing something for You, bringing something to You –
that’s not what You’re after.
Being religious, acting pious –
that’s not what You’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears so I can listen.

So, I answered, “I’m coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
you’re throwing for me..”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
 became part of my very being. (Psalm 40:4, 6-8 MSG)

Colossians three states, “Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.” 

One way we are working at increasing our ballast both personally and corporately is through prayer.  A deep inner life requires an ongoing conversation with the Savior. Our staff is beginning each day in focused prayer for each other, our students, and the school community. Once a week a group of parents meets in the morning to pray for the future of the school. Moms in Touch has been covering our school in prayer for years. 

PTF is sponsoring prayer evenings where parents can walk the halls and pray for their students, teachers, and the school as a whole. Our student-led core groups will focus attention on prayer. Once a month we will spend time during chapel in corporate prayer. In the spring we are exploring the idea of a staff and parent prayer retreat.  The purpose of the retreat is to pray for the school and develop a deeper partnership between teachers and parents. 

Another way we’re seeking to build ballast is by seeking to discern God’s vision for the future of our school. This month we had a community wide meeting on the 11th to gather input on the vision that has been developed so far. We are excited about how God is moving within our school to improve relationships, teaching and learning, and our ability to equip and encourage young adults to live Christ-centered lives of purpose.  Through the clarification of a shared vision we are confirming that we are a community whose center is Christ.

If we are seeking to be an extraordinary community of purpose then we must be clear about what fuels our community.  The Tuesday before students came back, our faculty and staff spent the day discussing what we see as the center of our community. After some great discussion we agreed that a purposeful community is developed from the inside out, and that above all, we desire that Jesus Christ be the source and center of our learning community.

What would a truly Christ-centered community of depth and purpose look like? 

I imagine that the people involved would be whole-heartedly committed to spending time with Jesus. I imagine they would take in scripture regularly, allowing it to penetrate their hearts and change them. I imagine they would be where the action is, following Jesus to dark and dirty places. Like icebergs, I imagine these folks would have a depth of humility, passion, and courage that is far greater than anything visible from the surface. 

May we be such people.  May we be such a community. 

(Iceberg analogy is from Seeds for the Future, Dale, 2005.)

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Tuesday night our Thailand team invited all of our supporters in prayer, finances, and encouragement to attend a dessert in their honor. The night was inspired. It was a true community effort that communicated the spirit of the trip, and the vision of what God is doing through this journey. We had over a hundred people show up and you could tell they understood the beauty of this trip. They were moved to tears. One lady came up to me and said, “This was not a presentation, but a worship service.” Praise God!

Then on Thursday night Marta and I met with three couples from our church. We told stories and shared video and it was such a blessing to me. They wanted to hear! At the end of our evening they prayed for us. I think this was a timely prayer.  It was very encouraging to me, but also I could sense the Holy Spirit working. God is on the move. It is such a thrilling adventure to follow Christ (not always easy).

We still have stories to tell! If you have ears to hear?

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In March of 2005 we began a conversation about transforming the hearts of our WCHS 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

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In a number of different places in my life I am finding things are more complex than I care for them to be. Today I spent the day going through files, binders, and piles in my office that have accumulated over the past year. I am not a neat freak at all, but not knowing where something is, that I should be able to find, drives me crazy. I also get distracted by piles of papers. I wonder if there is something in that pile I have forgotten about. I fear that something will come back to bite me. I think about this until I go through the pile which distracts me from what I am currently doing, and what I am currently doing is much more important than anything that could be in the pile. That is why every once in a while I must stop and focus on reorganizing. This time I am determined to not just reorganize, but find a way to simplify. To function with less complexity and a more intentional focus on the essential priorities.

We are doing the same thing in our home. Every time our kids are in their play room they are forced to wade through the McDonald’s happy meal toys to get to the real stuff. When it comes time to pick up the mess we swim through the room for twenty minutes in order to put things back in their “proper place.” The other day I just about screamed and said to myself, “We must simplify and refocus on the essential items”… or something like that. The same goes for our garage. It is filled with plastic riding toys. Most of these were gifts that have now accumulated into a plastic mass in the middle of our garage. Forget parking real cars in the garage we only have room for the twenty plastic ones. It makes me spin when I attempt to navigate from one side of the garage to the other, getting tangled and thrown to the ground by scooters, plastic fire engines and a blow up dinosaur swimming pool.  Before I blow my top we must change things!

When we were in Thailand we put all of our essential items into a backpack that could fit into the overhead bin of an airplane. We survived for 14 days with only four outfits and a few personal items. We visited homes in Thailand that had no furniture except a straw mat in the middle of the floor. We took cold showers and ate food that had been collected fresh that morning from the market. I realize there are amazing benefits that come with being born in a fully developed country, but I must admit that I am wondering if my life is over developed. I need to learn some lessons from my Thai friends. I have made choices that add stress, confusion, anxiety, and distraction to my life.

It does not end with stuff. I wish it were that simple. In the same way that all the stuff can complicate and distract us from the core things that matter, I believe that I have complicated my inner life. I observed a deep, yet simple faith in Thailand that was very attractive. Its primary focus was on seeking to obtain a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. Does my leisure, pleasure, comfort and ease distract me (like the McDonald’s toys) from the things that are truly core. 

Am I captivated by Him? 

Am I willing to sacrifice for Him?

Am I numb from the privilege in my life, not willing to respond with a Christ-like response to the hurts in this world.

Am I self absorbed?

Am I average?

If Jesus is who he said he was, and I believe He is, then who should I be?

If Jesus did what the Bible says He did, and I believe He did, then what should I be doing?

If Jesus is so captivated by, and willing to sacrifice for, you and me, and I believe He is, then…  

Lord, help me to peal away that which is not essential.

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Our first day in the hill tribes of Thailand took us a few hours from Chiang Mai to an obscure tribal village. We were on our way to a dinner that was being provided by the pastor and a few from his congregation. The meal would cost them the equivalent of a month’s wages. Before we arrived at the dinner feast we stopped for what later would appear to be a divine appointment. Sarah our interpreter was aware of a desperate situation and she thought we might be able to help. We were traveling with Charles Harvey who runs a home for children at risk of exploitation (Grace Ministries), typically children coming from extreme poverty who are abandoned or orphaned.

We stopped our vans at Sarah’s request to meet a woman dying of AIDS. Her husband gave her the disease. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to contract AIDS from my spouse. In this situation it was likely that he got the disease from drug use or visiting brothels. The situation was sad enough, but what put it over the top was that this woman had a little girl. She was also caring for three other children (a girl and two boys) whose parents had already died of AIDS. Sarah brought us here so that Charles could meet the children and determine if he could take them in. The children were in school and Charles asked Sarah if she would be willing to bring them to the house. She left for the children while we waited with the woman. Our students walked around this very simple stilted bamboo home. Chickens walked around picking blades of grass from the ground. A humble garden was in the front of the house and a very basic kitchen with a cement floor and few amenities was separate from the two-room home. The woman was sitting on the raised bamboo porch making simple crafts to sell. Our team bought everything she had made and some partially made items as well.

It was at this point that one of the students from our team collapsed on the street near one of our vans. As she fell she vomited and hit her head so hard that it made a sound I could hear from fifty feet away. We rushed to her side and began caring for her. This created a little commotion within our team and the village. We put her in one of the vans and had to make a decision. At first the plan was to pack all of us in the vans and go back. Then we remembered the dinner that had already been prepared and the children we had not interviewed. We sent one van back. Miraculously the student had no head trauma - hardly even a bump. Within a day she was back with the team.

When the woman’s children came, our team gathered around and listened to the interchange between Charles and these precious children. Charles asked one of the girls, who was about nine years old, what she wanted to do when she grew up. The girl replied, “I want to do what you are doing, I want to take care of orphans.” This brought us to tears. After Charles was done speaking to the children a few of the adults spoke to the mother. Marta walked over to the woman and asked Charles to translate. I am sure she was empathizing with her situation. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to know you will never get to see your children grow up.  The mother said that she was at peace knowing she would be going to heaven, but she was worried about her children.  Marta spoke to the woman and said, “In the Bible it says that we should rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15), and I want you to know that I rejoice with you because you know you are going to heaven and I mourn with you because you have to leave your children.” Marta stepped forward with tears and gave the woman, also teary, a hug. Our students are observing ALL of this. All I can say is - LIFE CHANGING!

Charles said that he would probably take these children into his home next spring. One of the boys jumped in the van with us and escorted us to the village dinner. Before dinner and on the way back, Marta and I got a chance to talk with him. His English was basic yet he was courageous in trying it out on us. He also had a brightness in his eyes that I interpreted as hope and resilience.  Now that he is connected with Grace Ministries there may be hope for this little man and the other three children. I pray that when we go back to Grace Ministries we will see these four children. Grace Ministries is a place of hope and a place where God touches lives and makes them whole again, we saw proof of this.

I am thankful we had people praying for us and that we did not leave before God’s work was done. When I got home I learned that our “send team” of prayer partners met close to the time of the these events. They prayed specifically against spiritual warfare. I am convinced of God’s faithfulness. We experienced a moment when four children were saved from an uncertain future and now have the opportunity to become Christian leaders who can change the history of Thailand. Watch and see. 

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-WESTSIDE WAY ARTICLE-

At four o’clock in the morning on June 20th, Marta and I got up, showered, grabbed our carefully packed bags, kissed our sleeping kids good bye, and jumped into my father’s car to head to the airport. As we pulled away I looked into Marta’s eyes and saw tears streaming down her cheeks. It was hard to leave our precious children for fourteen days, but what we found in Thailand was a new expansion of our family.

Our first major destination was a small rural village in Northeastern Thailand. The village is Krasang and it is the home of Grace Ministries. The passionate focus of Grace Ministries is to take children who have little hope, because they are poor or orphaned, and develop them into Christian leaders. I can testify to the fact that it is working. These children understand much clearer than I the power of God to rescue and redeem. For them, life with or without Christ is a stark contrast between a life of hope and purpose or a life of despair and simply surviving.

At Grace Ministries I observed a young woman who had come through the program and is now one of two “house mothers” in the girls’ home. Ewe is her name and she is beautiful inside and out. She is the embodiment of the term ‘servant leader.’ When Ewe was seven years old her mother died and her father abandoned her. Her circumstances left her vulnerable and an easy target for exploitation and abuse, but God blessed her with the opportunity to come to Grace Ministries.

Some of the adults and students from our team had the opportunity to interview Ewe and hear her story. It was powerful. Because her father abandoned her and her siblings, she said that she did not trust men for many years. She said she rarely smiled during her early years at Grace Ministries. Over time God has placed a passion and burden in her to help children who have come from life circumstances similar to hers. Today she beams with Christ’s love.

At the end of the interview one of the most beautiful moments of the trip occurred. We asked Ewe if she had any questions or thoughts for us. She paused and looked at us, then looked down. She began to well up with tears and said, “You are all my family.” She was weeping, we were weeping and we just looked at each other weeping. It felt like a long time to look at each other weeping, but it did not feel awkward. I felt honored and responsible to fill that role.

We used a lot of family language on this trip. Our students came back with new Thai and American brothers and sisters. I don’t know that in the United States we understand as clearly the depth of meaning of this kingdom bond as much as those in a country where less than two percent of the population are Christians and where you often lose your biological family when you become part of the family of God.

Our team became close and committed to those we met in Thailand, but also incredibly dear to each other. I have never prayed more for people than I did in the fourteen days of this trip. It was life changing. Since we got back ten days ago, we have met with members of our team four times. I think we honestly love each other, are seeking to encourage each other toward Christ, and are committed to making the time to build into one another.

I am discovering that developing a strong family or community is rooted in a love of Christ and a desire to seek Him as our source. I am seeking to give myself wholly and completely to Him. I am talking about a love that is willing to sacrifice and walk humbly with God. To join him in a movement that is not ordinary, but extraordinary. It is not defined within a culture or family, but by His kingdom. Secondly, I am learning to love others out of the overflow of love and strength Christ infuses in me. This also requires sacrifice.

I truly believe that while on this trip we worshiped God when we loved the poor. We loved God when we played with orphaned children. We loved God when we listened to each other’s hurts and prayed. We loved God when we responded to his leading to do something tangible to meet a need.

In Matthew 22 (NIV) Jesus said that the greatest command is this, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The second is this, “Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In John 13:34 (The Message) Jesus says, “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples – when they see the love you have for each other.”

This kind of community does not just occur on an overseas vision trip. In fact, this value is something our school community has expressed as being an important part of our identity. Our three core values are EXCELLENCE, GRACE, and FAMILY. As a Christian school community I pray that we can be intentional as staff, students, and parents to seek to live out Matthew 22 and John 13. After getting a taste for rich and deep community this summer I am hungry for that to continue to grow and develop in our school.

The past couple of years we have focused on each of our core values as a point of emphasis. Two years ago it was a focus on developing a results-oriented process for continuous improvement (Excellence). Last year we put energy toward developing initiatives to promote the development of our student’s hearts as well as minds (Grace). This year our focus is on our community and seeking God as we attempt to model a loving and open Christ-centered learning community (Family). Our community is larger than the walls of our school. When Ewe said we were her family she was speaking of the kingdom of God. We are all one in Him, we truly are one family in Christ.

I will not forget the scene as we left Grace Ministries. The night before we left our girls and the girls from Grace Ministries had a slumber party. The morning we left our girls and the Thai girls were walking in mass to the train station. They were all weeping as they said goodbye to their new sisters. It was a glimpse of the fulfillment of God’s kingdom. My concept of family is much too small. We have a lot to learn from each other. I can’t wait to see what God will do as he draws his family toward Himself and toward each other.

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