sa·ga [sah-guh] n.
1. a prose narrative of achievements and events in the history of a personage, family, etc.
2. a narrative or legend of heroic exploits.
Saturday night I witnessed a man named Marcos retell his story in front of about 25 other young adults, including the gory details about his family history, his mentally challenged mother, his apathetic aunt, and the broken families that she paid for him to stay with. He said he sometimes wonders what would have been better, to be raised by drugs, alcohol, and witchcraft like he was, or to be raised by his mentally retarded mother.
This group of young adults meet together every week to worship and share their stories with each other. They call their meeting Saga.
Having seen this, I was reminded of just how important the element of story is to our lives. Our lives are not cookie-cuttered. Everyone's story is different. You can only get to know a person so well without knowing their story. And sharing our story is how we open our pasts up to others. The importance of story is why we love to watch movies and read books. And it's why the Lord handed us the Bible instead of a list of his characteristics and why he gives us community instead of just coffins to die in. We are to live out this life and share the story.
That night at Saga, Mark said, "Sharing our stories gives strength to us and strength to others. God has given us community for this reason." And Marcos added, "When there are irregular elements to your story, it confirms for others that their story is accepted too, even if it's not normal. Having heard others' stories, I feel that I know them better." Knowing each others' stories connects us. We are entrusting a part of our lives to each other.
The most moving part of the night was when the group sang these words to God over and over: "Escreva a sua história através de mim," write your story through me. I realize now that that's what seperates regular stories from sagas. You can live to write your own story, but won't the plot be boring! Or you can you let God write the story. You can understand that you're nothing but the paper. And that's where you get legendary narratives of heroic exploits.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Camp & Cardio, Barbeque & Blessings
We've been in Brasil for almost two weeks now, and it is becoming more and more obvious to our team just how much God is in control. Especially in terms of the camp that we are all preparing for: Camp Roots.
Ali has been talking about how camp has been organized so far. She feels as if planning camp has been like buying a suit, where she and Mark have been buying up all the accessories here in Brasil, the tie, shoes, socks, etc., while they're relying on the U.S. camp directors to buy the suit itself. It sounds weird, but but that really is how it seems.
And sure enough, when Ali sent the lyrics of the song that she wants to use as the theme of camp, she received a reply with a breakdown of what the lyrics meant to the U.S. directors, and how the lines of the song fit perfectly into what they are drawing up for the Camp Roots curriculum. It's details like that that help Mark and Ali be able to relax and trust God with the rest of the camp preparations. Not to say there isn't work to be done, there's just no reason to be worried about it.
In other news, I've started walking or riding my bike to Mark and Ali's house from the house I'm staying at. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes for me to walk, and there's so many hills that it takes 45 minutes to ride the bike. Nothing like an hour of cardio to start your day! (If you know me well at all, you know that I wouldn't do that unless I had good reason to. In this case, that reason is lunch.)
Speaking of food, the family I'm stayin with had a barbeque tonight and oh man was it good! The only thing that wasn't fun about it was that there seemed to be two language barriers stacked on top of each other. They were speaking Portuguese...but they were also speaking Golf.
Tonight we also went to another youth group devotional at the Kaisers'. They've been talking about finding God in unexpected places the past few weeks, and tonight we focused specifically on finding God in the blessings. At first, this sounds like the obvious place for him to be found, but there is a lot of great things he does, times when he is actively working, and what do we do? Chalk it up to chance, coincidence, or good luck. Whether it's a full ride to college or a good parking spot, we have a tendancy to explain it away rather than thank God.
Ali has been talking about how camp has been organized so far. She feels as if planning camp has been like buying a suit, where she and Mark have been buying up all the accessories here in Brasil, the tie, shoes, socks, etc., while they're relying on the U.S. camp directors to buy the suit itself. It sounds weird, but but that really is how it seems.
And sure enough, when Ali sent the lyrics of the song that she wants to use as the theme of camp, she received a reply with a breakdown of what the lyrics meant to the U.S. directors, and how the lines of the song fit perfectly into what they are drawing up for the Camp Roots curriculum. It's details like that that help Mark and Ali be able to relax and trust God with the rest of the camp preparations. Not to say there isn't work to be done, there's just no reason to be worried about it.
In other news, I've started walking or riding my bike to Mark and Ali's house from the house I'm staying at. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes for me to walk, and there's so many hills that it takes 45 minutes to ride the bike. Nothing like an hour of cardio to start your day! (If you know me well at all, you know that I wouldn't do that unless I had good reason to. In this case, that reason is lunch.)
Speaking of food, the family I'm stayin with had a barbeque tonight and oh man was it good! The only thing that wasn't fun about it was that there seemed to be two language barriers stacked on top of each other. They were speaking Portuguese...but they were also speaking Golf.
Tonight we also went to another youth group devotional at the Kaisers'. They've been talking about finding God in unexpected places the past few weeks, and tonight we focused specifically on finding God in the blessings. At first, this sounds like the obvious place for him to be found, but there is a lot of great things he does, times when he is actively working, and what do we do? Chalk it up to chance, coincidence, or good luck. Whether it's a full ride to college or a good parking spot, we have a tendancy to explain it away rather than thank God.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
This Morning, I Woke Up in Drug Rehab...
Josh, Mark, Sam and I spent the night out at a secluded farm where recovering drug addicts live in community together. By the time we arrived last night, things were winding down and we just said hello and went to bed. But in the morning, we woke up early for breakfast, and then we all spent an hour in quiet time wherever we wanted to around the farm. I chose a bench outside where I could watch the last minutes of the sunrise.
After an hour, we all gathered around a tree and Sam led us through our discussion. He started by asking everyone what was going on with them spiritually, what they'd been reading, what they'd been praying about, etc. The first man to speak was upfront about how he'd been putting other things before God and was looking to fix that.
I found what he said to be incredible. One, because of his honesty. Two, because it was the EXACT same thing Sam was planning on discussing. His plan had been to talk about things that we put before God, and before he even started talking about it, another guy brought it up. Apparently, it really needed to be talked about...
When we returned home, we spent some time working on projects around Mark and Ali's house. They are in the process of making their garage into a bedroom for four boys, so they need a desk. Why buy one when you can build it to your exact specifications? And what a better opportunity to get more carpentry experience than an international woodworking project?
So I drew up some designs for the desk, and spent maybe three hours walking to and from a recycled wood center with my new friend Ismael. We talked a lot, which is surprising since he knows no English and I'm still trying to figure why anyone would want to speak a language called Pork-n-cheese.
But it went well. We both learned a lot of each other's languages, and we got to know each other well.
(In case you're wondering, the first phrase you should learn how to say in any language is "How do you say ____?" which can be rather difficult, since you can't use that phrase to begin with. Good luck with that.)
As if the conversation wasn't good enough, the recycled wood store (ok, junk yard) was an awesome sight to behold. They had entire houses-worth of junk separated and sorted. Wood, doors, doorframes, windows, stained glass, piping, toilets, and yes, kitchen sinks. Plus, they had a treehouse! I could have spent hours there! Especially since it would take me awhile to figure how to ask if I could go up into the treehouse.
This evening (you should be catching on to the fact that I had a packed day by now) the youth group from the Igresia de Cristo came over to Mark and Ali's house. Somehow we got thirty people and change into the Kaiser's limited living room. We got to sit in on the group's continuing discussion about finding God in unexpected places. Look out, world, this group of teenagers is obviously serious about going for God.
My day ended on a high note when, on the way home with the family I'm staying with, we stopped by my new little brother's mom's house. I just stay with the father and son, so it was a pleasant surprise to get to meet his mom as well.
Drug rehab farm, cross-cultural carpentry, junk yard, Brazilian youth group, and family time. Some of them unexpected, but all means to a great day of relationships strengthened.
After an hour, we all gathered around a tree and Sam led us through our discussion. He started by asking everyone what was going on with them spiritually, what they'd been reading, what they'd been praying about, etc. The first man to speak was upfront about how he'd been putting other things before God and was looking to fix that.
I found what he said to be incredible. One, because of his honesty. Two, because it was the EXACT same thing Sam was planning on discussing. His plan had been to talk about things that we put before God, and before he even started talking about it, another guy brought it up. Apparently, it really needed to be talked about...
When we returned home, we spent some time working on projects around Mark and Ali's house. They are in the process of making their garage into a bedroom for four boys, so they need a desk. Why buy one when you can build it to your exact specifications? And what a better opportunity to get more carpentry experience than an international woodworking project?
So I drew up some designs for the desk, and spent maybe three hours walking to and from a recycled wood center with my new friend Ismael. We talked a lot, which is surprising since he knows no English and I'm still trying to figure why anyone would want to speak a language called Pork-n-cheese.
But it went well. We both learned a lot of each other's languages, and we got to know each other well.
(In case you're wondering, the first phrase you should learn how to say in any language is "How do you say ____?" which can be rather difficult, since you can't use that phrase to begin with. Good luck with that.)
As if the conversation wasn't good enough, the recycled wood store (ok, junk yard) was an awesome sight to behold. They had entire houses-worth of junk separated and sorted. Wood, doors, doorframes, windows, stained glass, piping, toilets, and yes, kitchen sinks. Plus, they had a treehouse! I could have spent hours there! Especially since it would take me awhile to figure how to ask if I could go up into the treehouse.
This evening (you should be catching on to the fact that I had a packed day by now) the youth group from the Igresia de Cristo came over to Mark and Ali's house. Somehow we got thirty people and change into the Kaiser's limited living room. We got to sit in on the group's continuing discussion about finding God in unexpected places. Look out, world, this group of teenagers is obviously serious about going for God.
My day ended on a high note when, on the way home with the family I'm staying with, we stopped by my new little brother's mom's house. I just stay with the father and son, so it was a pleasant surprise to get to meet his mom as well.
Drug rehab farm, cross-cultural carpentry, junk yard, Brazilian youth group, and family time. Some of them unexpected, but all means to a great day of relationships strengthened.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
A Productive Day at a Brasilian Orphanage
Today, our group of five in Brasil went to the Lar, an orphanage on the other side of town.
What a blessing! When we first arrived, I helped Sam, one of the longer-term interns, and Barbara, a Brasilian that works with the Kaisers, sort clothes in the Lar's donations room. We only worked for a little while before a lady came in and told us that we could go eat lunch with the kids. We did and they laughed becuase I couldn't understand what they were saying.
After lunch, we were much more productive. Not to say that we went back to work, but rather we had a water balloon fight. And that was followed by capture the flag. And that was followed by soccer. Lots of soccer. So in terms of relationship, which is more important anyway, we were much more productive.
While we were playing, Barbara came up to me and explained that the kids had been calling me Tio, "uncle.". Needless to say, that made my day. Well, that and when I scored a one-touch goal against Brasilians.
When it was almost time to catch the bus back home, I laid down in the grass, sweaty and tired, my feet black with the dirt from the soccer field, and realized yet again how good God is, and how happy I am to be living the life that He has laid out for me.
What a blessing! When we first arrived, I helped Sam, one of the longer-term interns, and Barbara, a Brasilian that works with the Kaisers, sort clothes in the Lar's donations room. We only worked for a little while before a lady came in and told us that we could go eat lunch with the kids. We did and they laughed becuase I couldn't understand what they were saying.
After lunch, we were much more productive. Not to say that we went back to work, but rather we had a water balloon fight. And that was followed by capture the flag. And that was followed by soccer. Lots of soccer. So in terms of relationship, which is more important anyway, we were much more productive.
While we were playing, Barbara came up to me and explained that the kids had been calling me Tio, "uncle.". Needless to say, that made my day. Well, that and when I scored a one-touch goal against Brasilians.
When it was almost time to catch the bus back home, I laid down in the grass, sweaty and tired, my feet black with the dirt from the soccer field, and realized yet again how good God is, and how happy I am to be living the life that He has laid out for me.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
A Place to Open Your Wings
It's been 24 hours in Brasil for Josh and I, and we are already hitting the ground running. The missionaries we are working with, Mark and Ali Kaiser, head up a lot of different ministries at the Igreja de Cristo here in Itu. They primarily work with the youth, but also do a homeless ministry and frequently visit an orphanage.
The most incredible thing we've seen so far is how the Kaisers use they're home for the "equipping of the saints" (Eph 4:11-12). I am proud of them for not clinging to the cultural norms of raising your private nuclear family in your hone and, while others may visit frequently, all of ministry is done elsewhere. Obviously, in our house back on Cockerell, that principle just doesn't work. When they explain to people how their community works in Portuguese, they use a phrase that connotes something like "intentional frat house." That way, people start to understand that their house is special and that there is a variety of people living in and visiting it.
Still, they face a lot of odd looks and questions. "You've been married for six years, why don't you have kids?" Not to mention the question that most missionaries have to face: "So your job is just to hang out with people? Someone pays you to do that?" Living in close community with others is just as much a social oddity here in Brasil as it is in Texas, if not more so. The way Ali put it was that at least in the US, they can just call it nonconformity, but here they don't even have a word for it.
The one thing that has captured what Mark and Ali do with their home is best summed up in a sharpie-on-butcher paper artpiece (an under-appreciated form of art, in my opinion) that hangs in their living room and says, "In this house, you're invited to open your wings."
The most incredible thing we've seen so far is how the Kaisers use they're home for the "equipping of the saints" (Eph 4:11-12). I am proud of them for not clinging to the cultural norms of raising your private nuclear family in your hone and, while others may visit frequently, all of ministry is done elsewhere. Obviously, in our house back on Cockerell, that principle just doesn't work. When they explain to people how their community works in Portuguese, they use a phrase that connotes something like "intentional frat house." That way, people start to understand that their house is special and that there is a variety of people living in and visiting it.
Still, they face a lot of odd looks and questions. "You've been married for six years, why don't you have kids?" Not to mention the question that most missionaries have to face: "So your job is just to hang out with people? Someone pays you to do that?" Living in close community with others is just as much a social oddity here in Brasil as it is in Texas, if not more so. The way Ali put it was that at least in the US, they can just call it nonconformity, but here they don't even have a word for it.
The one thing that has captured what Mark and Ali do with their home is best summed up in a sharpie-on-butcher paper artpiece (an under-appreciated form of art, in my opinion) that hangs in their living room and says, "In this house, you're invited to open your wings."
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Summer Plans Become Reality
Summer is in full swing for us at the Allelon house. Time seems to go slower without a repetitive schedule, but at times it seems to go faster since I'm usually not paying attention to what time--or even what day--it is. Wes is at his summer internship as a hospital chaplain in Houston and we miss him dearly. Since I have finished with school for the summer, I have been working full time between keeping the house clean, helping people move around town, and completing wood projects in the garage as an aspiring carpenter. (Pictures to come!) Josh is still working as a waiter while mentoring our friend John.
Our co-workers in Christ, Kyle and Marshall, have been staying with us again. They bring a spirit of life and purpose that I sometimes let get pushed aside for the sake of school busyness. It's good to have then back on this side of town.
Keep Wes in your prayers as he is experiencing a life-changing internship with cancer patients. And keep the rest of us in your prayers as the neighborhood kids are out of school, Marshall and Justina are getting married, and Josh and I are heading to Brasil for four weeks on Sunday to work with a youth camp in the city of Itu.
Our co-workers in Christ, Kyle and Marshall, have been staying with us again. They bring a spirit of life and purpose that I sometimes let get pushed aside for the sake of school busyness. It's good to have then back on this side of town.
Keep Wes in your prayers as he is experiencing a life-changing internship with cancer patients. And keep the rest of us in your prayers as the neighborhood kids are out of school, Marshall and Justina are getting married, and Josh and I are heading to Brasil for four weeks on Sunday to work with a youth camp in the city of Itu.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)