Religion and devout feelings are useless unless they are expressed in action and in truth, that is, in real community. (1 John 3:17–18) Jesus says, Love God! And the other command is exactly the same: Love your neighbor! There is no true love to God if it is not a true love to our fellow human being, and vice versa. (Matt. 22:36–39) This has been our experience: Community is possible through the Spirit that comes to us from God. It is when this Spirit fills us that there is true love or our neighbor and full community among us.”  -EBERHARD ARNOLD / September 1935

Following Jesus’ call places us on a direct trajectory towards one another.  This is the church–  a people, called out & called together, in order to witness and realize God’s love together.  But this isn’t a simple process.  We return again and again to figure it out in the messiness of life together.  We’ll gather as Acacia the next few weeks to explore this identity together.  If you’re around, we meet @ 7PM in the GP Underground @ WBCC!  Below, a reflection on some of the scriptures that speak on the church:

It becomes apparent that offering opinion or insight into something like Haiti is an incredibly hard task.  This is no different for people of faith.  Shauna Gauthier described trying to engage the topic with her young girls on her blog.  The bottom line: no easy task.  At times, people of faith settle for oversimplification, prejudice, or just easy answers in order to remain “people with all the answers”.  But in some ways, this kills the act of faith.  And it also overcomes humility.  Trusting God in Haiti is certainly a mystery.  And anyone who hasn’t said, “Why God, why?” this week is simply fooling themselves.

On Oct. 17, 1989, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Bay Area in Northern California. Sixty-three people were killed. This week, a major earthquake, also measuring a magnitude of 7.0, struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Red Cross estimates that between 45,000 and 50,000 people have died.How is this possible?  In short, the infrastructure in a country like Haiti ( Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty, which is less than $1 US / Day) compared to the USA is like night & day.  From building to structure codes to emergency response organizations, Haiti simply couldn’t weather an earthquake in the same way.  It was a disaster magnified by the lack of resources and poverty.  And in a country where there are over 10,000 aid or micro-aid organizations (many of them faith based), one has to wonder where these types of organizations are missing the mark.  More specifically, Brooks poses the theory that the problem is not the amount of money the world gives to a place like Haiti, but how

This is, no doubt, a complex issue.  And as I seek to personalize this moment in someway, I consider the role of the church in the world, and the way we go about “mission”.  I wonder if this is a moment where the church can think deeply about the ways we reach out to others who have less in this world (as we do in Peru).  In many ways, I remain reluctant of “mission” or “mission project” language–  because it suggests that what we do internationally on some project/trip is the REAL work of God, but somehow the rest of life isn’t.  (thank you, Dwight Friesen, for this brilliant insight!)  But on a practical level, I’m really interested in how we use the dollars and cents we have for the people we know in places like Peru.  Are they simply give-aways for people, or gift projects…. or, are they in someway challenging systems of poverty and hurt?  Are they bringing something sustainable?   How does change happen, really, I wonder?  These questions have been at the heart of things like our recent mototaxi project in Lima.  But its really a big question for the 21st century church to work through together!

In this moment, I pray for those on the ground in Haiti in the aftermath of so much death.  And I pray for a hopeful, sustainable plan for the people of Haiti moving forward.  Is it possible that such a way could be paved by those who have Jesus’ kingdom in mind?   I hope so!  In the meantime, if you’re interested in giving towards the need in Haiti– two options:  WBCC has partnered with Abiding Hope Lutheran, which has people already on the ground in Haiti (they’ve worked there for years)  Any donations @ WBCC that you designate to them are 100% towards relief.  Second, our friend Nate Jerome is networked with some important work going on right now in Haiti.  His friend, Matt McCormick, is on the ground there.  You can give & track his work at http://highwaytohaiti.com/

-Craig

All this week, we are sharing reflections & pictures from the team that just returned from Lima, Peru.  Their journey was part of an effort our community made to share gifts & hope with a community we’ve worked closely with for seven years.  After raising nearly $7000 between our group and others @ WBCC, we were able to buy Christmas gifts for kids in Lima, Pachacutec, and Iquitos.  We also bought two brand new moto-taxis as sources of income and employment for the church and those they reach-out to.  Finally, we completed funding several smaller infrastructure projects that weren’t yet finished at El Shaddai.

POSSIBLE FOR ALL OF US                                      Katie Cooper

I don’t think I knew what Peru would become in my life the first time that I went. I knew that I would enjoy it since I had done similar trips with the church in Mexico, but it has taken on a role in my life that I may not have anticipated early on. Now that’s not to say that every time I’m there I’m totally comfortable and at ease, or that I love every minute, because I don’t think that is it at all. But I fit in some way. I’m not always totally comfortable in my life here at home either, nor do I love every minute, but I have a role and a place here. There are obvious differences between the two, since my roots here have developed with friends and family for the twenty-four years of my life. Still I can’t help but feel that the bond that continues to grow with our friends at El Shaddai, this relationship we have worked for, hasn’t happened by accident. That even though I didn’t know what Peru would become, God obviously did. He must have had a plan for it. And for the record, I don’t really find myself saying that as often as some, since I’m usually rather unsure of God’s plans.
I’m really excited about the projects we were able to represent during this trip, and I’m thankful that I was able to tangibly see where the money was going and help with the process. One project was buying the Christmas gifts for the Kids in Lima and Pachacutec. Some of us were a little sad that we wouldn’t be giving the gifts personally, as the church is going to pass them out closer to Christmas. However, this was still a project that was incredibly meaningful. At times I’ve wondered if gifts are a project we should be doing, since these impoverished cities have so many more immediate needs. I’ve since realized that it is a very worthy project, especially alongside the other projects we have done or are participating in, that do more directly address those other needs. Coupled with these other projects, I think that gifts for the kids are another easy way for our group to offer them our love. A gift is something so simple to us, and yet it is such a great expression of what our group has to offer, whether physically there in Peru or not.

The moto-taxi project is also a great representation of our group. West Bowles has always been a church that has emphasized service, and I have found this to be a consistent topic in our group as well, helping me to see what things I can do for others. Also in this discussion of service, I feel like we have been able to take it a step further and address ways in which we can empower people and communities to provide and take care of themselves too. That is what I love about this project. I hope it works as something that can provide for the church and for some of the youth that Elsa is helping, because this could grow and eventually provide countless opportunities for them to continue their work for God’s kingdom.

Peru is quite the place. And I realize as much as anyone that trips like this are not for everyone. Being mission-oriented in our lives however, is possible for all of us. I just hope for this to be something that our group can continue to support and learn from. And I believe this is possible for those who go to Peru or have gone, as well as for those who may never go. There is much for all of us to learn from this relationship with El Shaddai, and there is much for all of us to offer too.

All this week, we are sharing reflections & pictures from the team that just returned from Lima, Peru.  Their journey was part of an effort our community made to share gifts & hope with a community we’ve worked closely with for seven years.  After raising nearly $7000 between our group and others @ WBCC, we were able to buy Christmas gifts for kids in Lima, Pachacutec, and Iquitos.  We also bought two brand new moto-taxis as sources of income and employment for the church and those they reach-out to.  Finally, we completed funding several smaller infrastructure projects that weren’t yet finished at El Shaddai.

FINDING LOVE IN LIMA                     Shaya Lawrence

As I reflect on this last trip to Peru, and on the Advent season I have noticed a common theme this year for me. I realize it is an often talked about theme, however it is one that to me is the most mysterious, most difficult to truly grasp, and one in which will take the rest of my life to seek and still may never comprehend even a little of what it is. The theme is Love. I have always truly struggled with this word/feeling/action contemplating; what does it mean to Love? Can you love if you aren’t sure that you believe it exists here the way God intended it to?  Can I learn to love even though I can hardly find the courage everyday to barley love myself? And how does Peru and the coming of the Christ relate to this you may be asking yourself? It was for Love that the God of the universe chose to become like us in the form of an infant in a humble stable, to a young virgin teenage girl to experience the life that we do. That to me is a great incomprehensible love, why does God Love us this much? I often don’t feel that we or maybe just I deserve this sacrifice of the Creator to his creation, however I have tried to love anyway without a real knowledge of how or why and have failed miserably at it most of the time.

So from this Love of the creator, the call of the Christ to love God and to love others, we somehow find ourselves wrestling with what this really means. For me our trips to Peru, and the relationships we have created out of these trips, have shown me more of what this Love is than possibly anything else that I have experienced in my life. It has been this crazy balance of Love given, and love received, which I often don’t experience here in the United States. Our vision in Peru has always been to come along side the people and together figure out how to serve God and others as one community. In the process we have done many different projects, that serve many different needs to the community there in Peru from Vacation bible school, to building a playground, building the church in Pachacutec and upper level in El Shaddai, to our new project with the Moto taxi’s. In the process of assisting with these needs I have come to realize that before my eyes a family has emerged, it is no longer going to Peru for the next project that we go to complete and then leave and come home. There is an excitement, anticipation and longing for the next visit to my Peru family, were once again we come together for a short time and share our lives with one another.

This family has shown me over the years that the possibility for a more whole love does exist and is worth searching for; they are fully present with you in the moments you share with out distraction. They remember everything and every one from the past visits and care so much to get updates on each of the people who have come before. This is amazing to me because when I’m home here in the United States, I’m lucky if I can remember anything about a new person I meet, including their name. It is all too often because I cannot learn to be present with that person with out being distracted by… what do I need to do next? what does this person think of me? Oh I’m hungry, wait what did you just say? These things sound funny but in reality how often are we truly present with one another with out looking at our phones, or doing something else, or wondering what the next thing is on my list that I need to get done? And I can’t help but ask myself, how can I truly love this person if I can’t set aside my schedule for a moment and be fully present with them? The sad thing is that we do this to each other so often, that it doesn’t surprise me that we can often feel so alone in the midst of a room full of  people, or even just standing across from a person that you think you’re having a conversation with. In Peru it is almost as if everything that you worried about at home stops, your head and heart are clear, and you are present with the people who have shown you how to love. They see you for who you are and they Love you anyway. This Love that has been shown to me from my Peru family has continuously challenged me to learn how to love others in the same way that I have been loved by them. So as I have reflected these last few years it is evident that they have contributed to our lives, just as much as we have contributed to theirs, and it has been a beautiful cycle of love that can only be real and experienced because of the great mysterious love that God has for us, the God who came himself in human form as a baby to show us what that love should look like.

I still have so much to work out with this word/feeling/action called Love, and I still have many doubts, but I am learning that I must receive Love before I can truly give Love because without love for myself and confidence in the fact that I am God’s beloved then loving others will always be tainted by my insecurities, and the distractions that often come with. As I sit and continue to contemplate the advent season, and Peru I can’t help but be overjoyed by the same excitement, anticipation and longing for the new born King as I do for my family in Peru, and for what He might bring for the next year in my life, in Peru, and for his kingdom.

All this week, we are sharing reflections & pictures from the team that just returned from Lima, Peru.  Their journey was part of an effort our community made to share gifts & hope with a community we’ve worked closely with for seven years.  After raising nearly $7000 between our group and others @ WBCC, we were able to buy Christmas gifts for kids in Lima, Pachacutec, and Iquitos.  We also bought two brand new moto-taxis as sources of income and employment for the church and those they reach-out to.  Finally, we completed funding several smaller infrastructure projects that weren’t yet finished at El Shaddai.

THE MEASURE OF BEAUTY                                Cassie Nason

A dozen smiling Peruvian faces greeted us in the airport terminal in Lima…at 1 a.m.   I was the only member of our group who had not been to Peru before, and therefore hadn’t experienced the midnight greeting from Pastor Elsa and her varied crew of neighborhood kids and family.  It was also these smiling faces that were my last memory of Lima after our three-day whirlwind tour.   And I think there is only one word for these people I met there.   Beautiful.

Before I was able to absorb the beauty of the people I met in Peru, it’s important to relay to you my first impressions.  First of all, Lima hits the senses full force, even at midnight.  I have always been intrigued by the smell of places – different houses, different cities.  And Lima delivers a solid urban too-much-polution, too-little-trash-pick-up punch.  By daylight the sprawling city is a tangle of brick, dust, smog and gray sky.  As we taxied to our various locations to pick out gifts for the kids (one of our primary goals in going), I found myself searching for a view of a breathtaking coastline, glorious mountains, a speck of grass or even a solitary tree.   Anything.  In Colorado we forget how well fed we are on a steady diet of natural beauty.  In Lima I was starving.

Compounding my shock at the utter lack of any organic beauty was the stark poverty of many Peruvians.  There is no disguising the plight the people of Pachacutec, a refugee-camp style “village”, are living in.   There is nothing redeeming in the landscape here.  It is naked need and it is hard not to be overwhelmed.

Fast forward 24 hours and our group, along with Elsa and her goodbye party, are sitting in an airport restaurant eating together and waiting for our flight.  In attendance is Elsa, her daughter Annie, Jonathan, a young man from Elsa’s church who is finding his way out of a difficult past, and Pierro, a seven-year old boy from Elsa’s street who is all but neglected by his drug-dealing parents.   With my utter lack of Spanish I found myself doing a lot of watching this trip.  Facial expressions.  Body language.  And as I sat watching Jonathan and Pierro from over my bowl of soup I was struck by how blinded I had been on this trip.  I watched as Jonathan helped Pierro pick out his favorite flavor of ice cream and then tossle his hair with his hands to tease him.  I watched as the dinner wore on and Pierro, obviously getting sleepy, put his head on Jonathan’s shoulder.  And when they waved us goodbye I saw Pierro take Jonathan’s hand in his.  It was beautiful.  Simple.  I nearly missed it.

Mother Teresa once wrote “ The important thing is not how much we accomplish, but how much love we put into our deeds everyday.  This is our measure of our love for God.”  The profoundness of this thought has never penetrated my heart as much is it did as I left the paradox of Lima. Amid the dirt and desolation of Lima is shimmering beauty.  If we have eyes to see it.

there are few things more fragile
than an embryo of hope

given its chance of life only by those who say ‘yes’
to its promise

like the prophets who said yes to God’s urging
Mary who said yes to an angel
and Joseph who said yes to his Mary

like the people of faith through all of time
who have said yes to the promise of love

and as we sit by the side of our wall
- whatever that wall might be –
surrounded by the rubble and rubbish
of broken dreams and lives

what faith does it take to imagine
an embryo of hope
being brought to life here?

what ‘yes’ are you able to say
for it to be born in our world?