The parts of the body

Still thinking, still pondering.....love. Love within the body of Christ. We're all given certain personalities and some personalities get along well with one type and not well with others. I, for instance, think that I've got a great sense of humor and appreciate others with a similar sense of humor(we'll leave the issue of pride for another day). However, I'm certain that somewhere out there exists someone who does not find me even remotely amusing. I feel bad for that person, of course, because he or she is lacking a good sense of humor, but nonetheless, he or she exists(hypothetically). Now, this hypothetically boring person(let's just call him/her BP for the sake of typing time), probably isn't going to be my first choice of companion, nor I his. And because BP is lacking a good sense of humor, my guess is that there will also be other things about him that will push me away from him rather than draw me to him. Some people you click with, others you don't. Well, as we continue along with our hypothetical storyline and hypothetical person, let's just say that BP also gets on my last nerve: he does things and says things that seem strange to me; I can't understand his logic; he's rude and doesn't follow cultural rules, etc., etc. As BP continues to jump up and down on that last little twitching nerve, we arrive at the heart of the matter.....love. Love within the body of Christ.

BP is made in the image of God. BP is God's creation. BP is God's child. BP is a part of the family of God. And BP is a part of the body of Christ.

And as a part of the body, I'm called to love BP. But how? Sacrificial love is something that is usually reserved for those whom we love deeply:family members, extremely close friends, right? What kind of love are we called to? Well, perhaps there are many levels of sacrificial love. For me to practice love for BP may require me to simply keep my mouth zipped in his presence, or to leave the room to pray when I find myself annoyed, or to even open myself up to extended conversations with this person- knowing that it will require great effort on my part to remain gracious; or including him in activities and conversations when it would be easier not to include him.

Many times I don't see how all of the body parts are truly useful.  Hey, we can get by with only one kidney, right? But the point is that God created the body the way it is and He created the body to work together and to function together in one way and in harmony. And I want to keep thinking on LOVE and how we're called to love one another. He never said that love was easy. He just said that it was the greatest and most important commandmant of all. Love the parts of the body of Christ just as much as you love your own body parts. Just as I want to keep all of my parts ins working order, I need to focus on keeping all of the parts of the body of Christ in working order. Let's not be tossing out those "random" little parts that we don't think are important, because we just might find ourselves flat on our faces, no longer able to keep ourselves balanced.

A Day in Warsaw

Monday was Julia's last day in Warsaw and we enjoyed our time: shopping for Polish pottery, lunch at a nice restaurant, wandering through the Old Town and a guided tour of the Warsaw Uprising(WW2) museum. We were very fortunate in that one of our older youth from the camp had worked at the museum as a guide and volunteered to take us. We didn't have a lot of time, so it was great to have him there to tell us which things we should definitely see. Julia flew out very early this morning and, once again, I'm so thankful for her sacrificing time and money to come bless me on this side of the world. Friends are a true gift from God.

 Me & Julia

Heading into the Old Town

Behind bars

A great mis-translation. Ice cream that hits you like a bomb. It should actually be translated as Pomegranate, not grenade. =-D

Beautiful Old Town Warsaw

  mint chocolate iced coffee= Happy Anna



All in the family

You know that crazy old uncle or annoying cousin or boozy aunt that you dread seeing every year at the family reunion? Or your second cousin, twice removed who's always hitting on you and trying to get you to go to a bar with him. Or your loud-mouthed Aunt Edna who never, ever shuts up? And the only thing that helps you make it through that family reunion is the fact that you only have to see them once a year. Thank God, right?  Cause really, there's nothing you can do to get rid of them, since they're your family. Blood's thicker than water and all that stuff, yeah?
  
This last week at camp there was a guy there who just kind of drove me and Julia right up the Crazy Wall. It's one of those situations where cultures collide, even though we're from the same country. Lets just say that we were stressed out simply being in his presence. As we spent our days kind of trying to avoid him and keeping our mouths shut when in his presence, we were, of course, later on discussing some of the things that he said or did. And how, if it was up to us, we would never choose/allow this person to be a part of a short-term team.

And then a thought clubbed me over the head, KA-BAM! "We're part of the same family!" He's just the crazy uncle part of the family. And though he drove me up the wall and back down again, I knew that his heart for the people was genuine and that he truly wanted to see them come to know Christ. Man, I'm glad that Christ died for all of us and doesn't pick and choose who can be a part of His family based on silly things like personalities and refinement. Cause if it was up to me and my selfish human nature, there'd probably be a lot less people in the family of God.

"Thank you, God, that I can be a part of Your family and that Your Son came to die for all of the sinners in the world- not just the ones that I "approve" of. Help me to see Your mercy and grace for me and to show that same mercy and grace to others. Amen"

Polish Camp #1- Maradki

Looking out our bedroom window at camp

Polish Camp #1 is officially over and we arrived back in Warsaw a few hours ago. It was very different from any of the camps I've done before on this side of the world. It was run by IM missionaries, but was a family church camp. There was a nice mix of believers and unbelievers and because it was family camp, it was just that: families. Some families had kids and some didn't. The schedule was completely different, since there was no emphasis on english. English was offered once a day, but so were plenty of other things: kayaking, canoeing, sailing, paddle boating, swimming, volleyball, cross-stitching, ballroom dance classes, etc. The accomodations kind of blew my mind. The place where we do camp in Ukraine has never bothered me, but compared to that, this place was a resort. I really like kayaking and loved being able to get out on the lake every day with Julia to kayak. The weather was also a huge blessing. It's much cooler here than in Ukraine, with the average temperature this last week around 77F. Lovely. Julia and I had a lot of fun teaching the kids in the morning(studying the teens of the Bible) and the older youth(13-20) in the evening(the book of Colossians). We still had a lot of work to do, but it was a great pleasure to experience another piece of ministry that is going on in the IM family.

Youth group birthday party- note the warthog on the wall

Fun with the youth

Kid's bible studies

Relay race

Julia and I with our roomies



Pre-Camp Fun

I arrived in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday afternoon and have really enjoyed the last few days. It has been raining non-stop, but the fellowship has been great. The plan was to spend most of Wednesday with two of our interns who have just finished their internships. We were going to go walk around the old town part of Warsaw and just spend time together. These two young guys have become like younger brothers to me over the past nine months and I've spent hours listening to their hearts as they've served in India, Romania and Poland. The rain changed our plans, but we still had a great time here in my host's home, talking and laughing together. Vali flew back to Romania early Thursday morning and I'm not sure when I'll see him again, but I'm really looking forward to doing my third camp with Szymon's team from Radom, Poland. =-)

Camp planning has been very different for me this time around. I'm used to beautifully organized and efficiently run camps in Odessa and this first camp is anything but that! It truly looks like it will be a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate flexibility. Julia arrived from Charlotte yesterday and we found out that we're leading a highschool bible study without a translator and teaching a morning bible study to the junior high group- all with materials we were just handed yesterday. =-0 So we've been scrambling all day to go through all of the materials and come up with activities for 10 sessions with teenagers. We're actually really looking forward to it. Should be lots of fun!

With Vali and Szymon in my host's beautiful home

Sat. Evening Post, 7/2

It's been another good week here in Odessa. Time to rest, but also lots of visiting and hosting and English Clubs, etc. I spent most of Sunday afternoon with one of our young interns from Poland, who was here doing a soccer camp with the other IM team that serves in the center of Odessa. Szymon is just finishing his internship, with half of his time spent in India and the other half in Romania. I've talked with him quite frequently throughout his internship, but it was great to see him again in person. Monday evening was spent with Lindsey, our newest intern here in Odessa. It was fun to make Chinese for dinner and chocolate chip cookies and just sit around and talk. Tuesday was bible study in the evening, followed by dinner here with an adopting family. Wednesday and Friday there were English clubs in the evening and I spent the days catching up with paperwork and communicating with some of the interns. Thursday I took the day off. And today, well today I was at worship practice and then cooked all afternoon for dinner with the newest World Race group that just arrived this past Monday. As usual, a great evening was had by all- good food, good fellowship, lots of laughter. Good stuff.

Car/dog picture of the week:



Hey, it was two in one. How could I resist? 

The latest World Racers

Well, this might be it for a while. I'm heading to Poland on Tuesday and will be there for seven weeks, July 5th- Aug. 23rd. I'll start by spending a day with Vali and Szymon, the two interns who were in India. Vali is just finishing his internship in Radom, Poland, and Szymon just returned from finishing his in Pitest, Romania. Then I'll do two camps back to back; the first is with two of our former Polish interns- brothers who went through the training center here: Filemon and Amedeus. Then I'll do the next one with the team from Szymon's hometown. I'll have a few days in between the two camps, so hopefully I'll have some time to write and post some pictures. After that I'll spend the next two weeks visiting former and current interns all over Poland. Please pray for: spiritual, mental and physical health and that I'll be an encouragement to many people. I'm feeling a fresh cold coming on right now, so please pray that it would go away quickly! 



Wonderful, Merciful Savior

Quite often during my prayer time, I use the acronym ACTSO to help me stay focused on what I'm praying about. It breaks my prayer time down into the following categories:

*Adoration
*Confession
*Thanksgiving
*Supplication
*Others

I've really enjoyed this method, because it helps my mind to stay very focused and not wander to everything else that's flying around in there. I love starting with the Adoration category, since it is a complete focus on God's attributes. In keeping with that, this morning I started a list of what He is to me. And again, I felt so refreshed and enouraged by starting my prayer time this way. Give it a try!

The Lord is my:
-Keeper
-Provider
-Protector
-Strength
-Sustenance
-Shade at my right hand-Ps. 121:5
-Shepherd
-Creator
-Salvation
-Judge
-Forgiver
-Healer
-Help
-Master
-Redeemer
-Encircler-Ps. 125:2
-Refuge
-Refiner
-Righteousness
-Author
-Motivator
-Load-bearer
-High Priest
-Confidant
-Mediator
-Light
-Guide
-Instructor
-Sufficiency
-Shield