mardi 13 janvier 2009
Missions music
I'm doing something that I have not done in years - look for a song for a video. And now that I'm searching for just the right music, I remember how this was such a difficult and frustrating task. Granted, I mostly worked on camp and summer mission trip videos for youth so I had a bit more freedom to use any genre of music but now, I have to find something that will be appropriate and touching for a wide range of adults. I do have the last resort of stock music but even when I made videos for youth, I exhausted so much of it that I started to recognize it when local radio or TV stations used the same songs!
I'm trying to juggle all sort of things in my mind as I go through my music collection right now, such as the length of the song, its lyrics, if there are annoying beginnings/middles/ends that have to be edited out, etc. So far, I haven't come up with many songs because I do have a specific theme and mood that I'm after, and some songs are just too melancholy to be used in its entirety while others are overplayed, which is why I would prefer a more obscure Christian artist. I know, I'm too picky - but why is it so hard to find a good missions song? There's a joke that every missions video uses Audio Adrenaline's "Hands and Feet" (or MercyMe's "Here Am I") and I think the reason is because there aren't that many songs that are about missions. And when they are - watch out! It'll get used in every slideshow presentation, no matter who or what it's for :)
Honourable mentions:
"Go" - MercyMe
"To the Ends of the Earth" - Hillsong United
"Go and Be" - Audio Adrenaline
"Here I Am Send Me" - Delirious?
Links to lists of missions songs:
The Unofficial List
Missions Songs
Yahoo! Answers
mercredi 12 juillet 2006
Home culture shock
Well, I've done it again: I've fallen back into my horrible habit of not reading the Bible for stretches at a time. Keeping in mind of course that I love the Bible and that reading it everyday is just the greatest joy and not a chore. But somehow in between being away from home and coming back, I feel like I've returned to my comfortable routine where I don't necessarily have a craving for the Bible like I did. When I was living in Quebec City, I was nearly always by myself and there's only so much you can handle of your own company. So the Bible became even more precious to me - it was a way to get my mind off of myself and onto God. I remember being so content sitting on my bland orange bed in dorms and happily reading the Old Testament. And now? It's been a few days and I am frustrated at myself for reading everything in front of me but the Bible.
I thought I was alone when this happened to me the first time in April, but my classmates experienced the same thing when they also came back from the mission field. My friend Missy said that her devotional life flourished overseas but that after coming home, everyday life just took over and suddenly it was easy to put Jesus on the back burner. I suppose when you're living in a different culture and there's a language barrier, you simply run to God first because you are in over your head and you are well aware of it. But being home, now that's a different story. Errands and appointments just take over your days and before you know it, you realize you haven't really dedicated anything to Him and that you've been running mostly on your own strength.
Sigh, I didn't realize how hard it would be just to be home. It is much easier being here where I am able to communicate with people and where I'm surrounded by family and friends... but, it feels like a battle at the same time. I'm battling being in too much of a comfort zone and I'm battling the ease of slipping into spiritual laziness as a result of familiarity. My classmates and I had a debriefing class where we talked about the emotional process of re-entry and how we would be experiencing reverse culture shock, much in the same way that we had culture shock in our new environment. I assumed I would be fine because I didn't even leave the country but it has been difficult. My few weeks at home in between my trips to Quebec were very confusing and now that I'm back for the summer, I'm still working out that confusion.
What I draw the most comfort from is in how one of our professors concluded that class. We were all sitting there in a sombre mood with probably a funny look on our faces when we heard, "Now think of the Incarnation and the Ascension and what that must have been like for Jesus." Wow, did that grab our attention. I mean, I have wondered how Jesus must have felt in giving up all of the glory and splendour of heaven to come to earth in a human body, but I haven't pondered too much about the reverse in how Jesus was resurrected from the dead and then ascended back to heaven. I wrote the following down in my notes and I continue to be struck by this thought: "Jesus came back to heaven in something He never was in before. He is now in a body at the right hand of God. And not only that, He is the only imperfect being in heaven because of His scars." Not to get into the theological semantics here, but it means so much to know that we are not alone in what we are going through as we figure out how to be ourselves again at home - Jesus most definitely and completely understands.
Huh, the good news is I just read Luke 24 and John 20:24-31 to make sure I didn't accidentally write things in a heretical slant (all for orthodoxy here!) so that was a way to get into the Word again :) I know I'm not being as (spiritually and otherwise) disciplined as I have been or as I should be, but I trust that God is working on me and helping me to relearn life at home with Him. What joy, immeasurable joy it is that no matter where I am, He will never leave me nor forsake me. Jesus is faithful, to the very end!
Libellés : missions
jeudi 22 juin 2006
Missions, books, organization
Just some of the things that I dearly love.
During the last few weeks, I've had the opportunity to talk to people about the spiritual needs in Quebec, which is why this journal entry caught my attention right away. I'm glad that word is getting out about this mission field within North America and I pray that God will continue to send workers into the harvest there. I think the coolest thing for me now is that when I mention Montreal and Quebec as a mission field, people are no longer surprised like they were a few years ago. It's become generally accepted that I don't need to go overseas in order to be a cross-cultural missionary - I can do it within my own country (clarification: missions can and should be done everywhere, but it's not necessarily cross-cultural everywhere).
This is an illustration that I heard at a conference in Quebec: if you had 13 daughters and one of them was really sick, which one would you tend to? A bit simplified but true. Quebec needs Jesus so much and she needs people who are willing to go there to build up the church. The Joshua Project reports that the percentage of evangelicals among the Quebecois now totals 0.8% of the population, which is an increase from the frequently quoted 0.5% but that is still less than 1%. I love what Tim says about how Christians there "worship like they mean it". It's true - and it's one of the things that I miss about being in Montreal.
In a complete change of topic, I've realized today that I have absolutely no more room on my bookshelves. My room is a current mess from trying to sort things out so that I can make more space, but alas - you simply cannot squeeze books. I hate to break it to my parents who have already built a huge storage unit inside my closet for this very reason, so I think I need to make a trip to IKEA... I also have the problem of cataloguing what I own so that I can avoid having to return duplicate books again. I'm using LibraryThing at the moment but I know I'm going to surpass 200 books soon and will need to subscribe to this service because it is abolutely wonderful. I do have to say that I've never gotten the point of tags; I must be the only person out there who believes that one tag is sufficient for each item that needs to be categorized. But using LibraryThing beats an Excel spreadsheet anyday; it's quite possibly the best internet thing I've used since Blogger.
I suppose getting this book will help me to figure out how to categorize things in real life and not just on the internet. It's probably my favourite HGTV show because I can actually put their concepts into practise. Even though I tend to be pretty neat, the biggest problem I run into is with paper. I have piles and piles of paper (not to mention numerous boxes filled with them in the basement) that I need to go through this summer and decide how to organize them all. I never realized I would need to find books on "home economics" and orderliness this soon. As an aside, it's funny that when I see books published in 2001 or earlier, I think "that's a little old." Well, off to do some more organizing!
Currently listening to: The Book of Genesis (not that I understand Hebrew)
* This blog is now 3 years old!
lundi 1 mai 2006
A non-comprehensive list
I just got back from a really late night dinner with my friends and this is what we ended up chatting about:
You know you're a missions major when you...
- have trouble speaking English because you're mixing it up with the language you're learning
- know someone who is in or has recently been in a country with major political upheaval
- think nothing of owning music in at least five languages, even if you don't understand them
- have read William Carey's "An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens"
- consider potential boy/girlfriends based on which field they're interested in
- know John Piper's mantra by heart
- drop words like modality, apostolic, language acquisition, indigenous, redemptive analogy, nationals, bicultural, tentmaker, ethnography, and mobilization into your conversations
- sing worship songs in English and wonder what it would sound like in a different language
- get into a debate with another missions major over the benefits and problems of short-term missions
- have used a squattie toilet
- fundraise like crazy and are up to your ears in food, crafts, etc.
- frequently mention, "Well in (city/country/etc.), they do things by..."
- tend to bring up Abraham's call in Genesis 12 a tad bit
- can classify whether your missions trip is E-0, E-1, E-2, or E-3 (alternatively P-0, P-1, P-2, P-3)
- wonder which country your professor(s) will be in this time
- get excited over finding a new Christian song that sings about missions because now you have more options than Audio Adrenaline's "Hands and Feet" or MercyMe's "Here Am I" or "Go" for your slideshow presentation
- want another Haystack Prayer Meeting (or Student Volunteer) Movement to happen
- read missionary biographies for fun
- know what truly good coffee tastes like outside of the North American chains because you had the authentic thing in El Salvador, Colombia, etc.
- talk about SIM, SIL, TEAM, GEM, SEND, OMF, NTM, AIM, or IFMA
- refer people to the Joshua Project site on more than one occasion
- take out the Operation World book and pray through it
- have had a chance to practise writing support letters
- hear of a country and think you know of a missionary there
- can pronounce the names of people around the world that no one else can repeat
Note: A lot of these would probably be similar to the experiences of missionary kids. This list isn't definitive but after sitting in a car with four other missions majors tonight, I think we fit into a lot of these :)
mercredi 15 mars 2006
The rest for now
I forgot to mention that I didn't intend on coming back to my Christian college for my third year (hence the graduation). I had applied to a different school to learn videography but missed the very last step of the process, ending up on the waiting list instead. I was filled with both disappointment and yet a strange sense of joy that God had closed the door and it was then that I knew I would be returning for a third year.
With a major I was now content in, I jumped into it wholeheartedly. I became a student leader for one of the mission teams, and I went to Montreal for the first time. I guess if I had gone to the other school, I would have missed out on knowing an amazing group of people this side of the country. I'm glad it didn't work out that way :)
Now that I'm in my fourth year, it has been such an adventure! I entered into an intensive missions training program and became very good friends with my cohort. We are presently all over the world and within a few weeks, will be reuniting again. And if I can complete all of my courses in time, I will be finished with my program. I still get a kick out of what God has done within such a short time span but how much an impact it has had on me.
High school me and almost finished college me - what a picture! And in a few months, I will be entering grad school. I found a funny sticker that says this:
I feel like I'm putting myself into a perpetual state of studenthood, and am a little worried for when that ride will be over. But I am confident that God will continue to guide and lead me, and take me through all sorts of experiences. Honestly though, I am ready for a break this summer before I return to school. I need it for my sanity!
mardi 14 mars 2006
Turning back
As my friends around the world and I get ready to settle into our last month of cross-cultural fun, I've been reflecting on these last few years at college. I never would have guessed at how God brought me from high school to where I am today. In fact, I didn't even expect to attend a Christian college! All I remember from then was a yearning to learn even more about Jesus and how I figured that spending a year deep in the Bible and with other Christians would feed my soul so much. And it has - immensely.
After my first year, I wasn't quite sure what to do so I stuck around for a second year. This was the first time that I changed my major; I was now in youth ministry. I loved working with the kids from my church and being a part of their lives for three years. I didn't think I was called to be a youth pastor so I was left with a slight nagging feeling of what I could really do with my degree. At that time, my two loves were youth ministry and videography (it's really reflected in the beginning of my blog).
During my second year, I had to take another missions course in order to graduate with my diploma. That was around the same time that I was thinking about switching majors and upon going through the list of programs at my school, I told my friends, "I will never be a missions major." This was uttered in the same breath as other programs which honestly, I would never be caught dead in. But I love how God has a sense of humour....
That missions class changed my life forever! It was then that I accidentally learned the name of the Chinese language that I speak and felt that God had really placed a burden on my heart for what I was learning in that course. I knew I had found my place and so right after I graduated, I quickly switched my major again.
And now I have to go, so the story will continue at a later time :)
mercredi 3 août 2005
Answering the questions asked
"If we are to address our Gospel proclamation to the questions that people actually are asking, what would those questions be? The questions... have to do with life now. In tribal African societies, the question is if there is a power that can control the powerful, capricious spirit world. When I was in China, I was impressed that the question was if Christianity can produce a better person and a better society. In India, the spiritual quest is for a truly spiritual character. Each of these questions has a proper, biblical Gospel answer.
What is striking is that each answer to such issues of present living draws upon the fact of Jesus as Ascended Lord. So much of Western theology has been centered on Jesus' crucifixion. We focus on the atoning sacrifice of His suffering and death. This focus answers the question of guilt. When we add to this proclamation the fact of Jesus' resurrection, we add the assurance of eternal life. However, Jesus' Ascension addresses a whole different set of questions and desires.
.... The third event in God's saving work in Christ, the Ascension, often is treated as a sidelight in Western and Eastern theologies. However, for those dealing with current issues of life, it is this third element of the salvation event that has the most meaning and relevance. It is Jesus the Ascended Lord over all creation that is the good news their heart yearns to hear. It is from the Ascension that they proceed best to grasping the implications of the Resurrection and the Crucifixion, just as St. Paul did from his Damascus Road experience of the Ascended Christ."
- Herbert Hoefer, Gospel Proclamation of the Ascended Lord
An interesting missiological observation I came across in my mounds of research. I'm only using the first part of this article, but the author's distinction between guilt-based cultures and shame-based cultures is really interesting, especially in how Westerners communicate the gospel to people who may not have the same understanding of guilt in their culture.
Libellés : missions
lundi 1 août 2005
International Congress on World Evangelization
Seems rather silly that I'm saying this now, but I have no clue how to pronounce "Lausanne", as in the city in Switzerland and the Lausanne Covenant. I've heard it mentioned in passing but I can never remember the correct way to say it.
I'm thinking of using a section of it in my paper. Here are some parts that really stood out to me:
The Uniqueness and Universality of ChristI've read this document several times, but I still learn something new every time I go through it. If you have a chance, I urge you to read the whole covenant as well.
...We also reject as derogatory to Christ and the gospel every kind of syncretism and dialog which implies that Christ speaks equally through all religions and ideologies. Jesus Christ, being himself the only God-man, who gave himself as the only ransom for sinners, is the only mediator between God and people.... To proclaim Jesus as "the Savior of the world" is not to affirm that all people are either automatically or ultimately saved, still less to affirm that all religions offer salvation in Christ. Rather it is to proclaim God's love for a world of sinners and to invite everyone to respond to him as Savior and Lord in the wholehearted personal commitment of repentance and faith.
Christian Social Responsibility
Here too we express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive. Although reconciliation with other people is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty.
The Urgency of the Evangelistic Task
More than 2,700 million people, which is more than two-thirds of all humanity, have yet to be evangelized. We are ashamed that so many have been neglected; it is a standing rebuke to us and to the whole Church. There is now, however, in many parts of the world an unprecedented receptivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are convinced that this is the time for churches and para-church agencies to pray earnestly for the salvation of the unreached and to launch new efforts to achieve world evangelization.
Libellés : missions
lundi 9 mai 2005
Definitions
"Missions is simply that our hearts so overflow with a love for our God and such a fervent desire that people of all nations worship Him that His glory will be of pre-eminence in our thinking, praying, giving and service." - John Piper
Missions: The colossal worship of God. God reveals His glory to all nations in order that He might receive glory from all nations. The ultimate value of our salvation is not to be seen in what we are saved from, but what we are saved for.
Libellés : missions
jeudi 28 avril 2005
‘óλος - whole, complete; adverb: entirely
It looks funny with the banners in the corners but I couldn't decide on which one to keep, Make Poverty History or Discover Jesus Christ - so I went with both. I may take them down later on, but this was what I had in mind when I decided that:
"Meeting basic human needs is inextricably linked with the gospel, just as it was in Jesus' ministry. Sometimes social concern is a consequence of evangelism; sometimes it is a bridge to evangelism; and sometimes social action accompanies evangelism and church planting as an integrated activity." - Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Study Guide (Christian Community Development)
It seems as though one is usually emphasized over the other among Christians. Conservative Christians tend to get pitted with the gospel, and liberal Christians with social concerns (both gross generalizations of course). But they need to be balanced with a holistic view in mind. Jesus came in a body. And yet we can overlook that and believe that our only concern is the soul. Yet if the body perishes, where does that leave us? Or we put so much into caring for the body that we forget that the soul needs healing too. I'm far from where I should be on both sides, but I'm starting to see the integrative role that they have in ministering to the whole person.
I love this quote, which is also found in the Study Guide:
"God's inbreaking Kingdom is characterized by righteousness, justice and peace. The gospel of the Kingdom declares that sin, disease, and oppression are never the last word. Where Jesus is King, He brings forgiveness, healing and liberation. God alone will bring it to fulfillment at the end, when Christ comes again. But until then, God is always working to display tangible signs of the governing love of His Kingdom. The primary agent of the Kingdom is the Church, the redeemed community of the King."
Really, you can't have one without the other :)
Libellés : missions
mardi 29 mars 2005
Prophecy?
It's funny that when Michelle interviewed me last year, this was my response to one of her questions:
9. Pretend for a moment that you had the choice to grow up in another city, anywhere in the world. What city would you want it to have been?
I would have wanted it to be something in Québec so I could be fluent in French and still maintain my Canadian citizenship. It's the best of both worlds!
And of course, I had no idea at the time that that would be where I'd end up (eventually). All this time I was wondering where I should go, when I think I knew the answer. God has a good sense of humour.
Libellés : missions, Montreal, questionnaires
jeudi 24 mars 2005
How convenient...
My friend is right - I never realized how some people do not enjoy getting those tedious "update on my missions trip" emails every few weeks or so. I've been sending out actual mail, but that takes forever for me because I'm such a procrastinator. And I never know if people read them or toss them. Same thing for email; more than likely it ends up being in the wrong folder or deleted. So, I'm going to follow her footsteps and update this thing when I'll be going away for my cross-cultural practicum next year. It's far off but I can talk about how my plans are coming together. And whoever's interested can read about it :)
Anyways, back to the friend. Her name is Laura and she emailed me her site address today. I'm getting even more excited about her upcoming journey just reading her posts! A couple of people I know are going to China for a year and teaching English at a school there. It'll be such a blast reading about how they're learning Mandarin and having fun with the kids. I considered it at one point last year when there was a presentation in February or something, but the timing wouldn't have worked with my program. Regardless, I'll be praying for my friends and keeping in contact with them as best I can.
Speaking of my program, I'll be pre-registering for courses next week! I'm set to graduate next year, and my load will be much lighter compared to previous years. The only problem is there's a lot of rearranging I have to do because of how I've taken so many classes already. I never realized getting a head start could cause issues later on, but I should count my blessings and thank the Lord that I won't be stressed beyond belief for my last year.
So, onto Greek homework now. Just four more weeks.
Libellés : missions
mercredi 23 mars 2005
Minorities to be majority
I'm getting ready for this big paper coming up, in other words, the dreaded thesis. At my school, certain programs require that a thesis is written in order to graduate. I decided early on that I did not want to be stuck slaving away over that in my last semester so my goal is to finish it this summer. I've also realized that no matter where I am working from, I have access to this site. For the next few months, I'm probably going to link to every article I come across that has anything to do with my topic.
Here's an interesting one: Non-Europeans to surpass 50% in big cities.
Libellés : missions
mardi 22 mars 2005
Victims of racism
"A new poll is challenging the view of Canada as a tolerant and open society, as close to four million Canadians report being the victims of racism.
The Ipsos-Reid poll, released Monday, found that one in six adults, or 17 per cent of those surveyed, said they had experienced racism personally."
- 1 in 6 Canadians victims of racism: poll
Libellés : missions
vendredi 4 mars 2005
Just a few more months
I really miss the friends that I made on my missions trip.
Libellés : missions
mardi 1 mars 2005
Whirlwind ride
What a blast! I'm back from the missions trip now, and trying to process all the wonderful memories as well as study for a midterm tomorrow. I'm not sure how much I'll write about it because a lot of the trip was hard to capture in words. I will say though, that the trip was pure worship. Every aspect of it was touched by God. It was one of the deepest times of fellowship I've ever taken part in, and I'm sure I can say the same thing for my team. The bonds we made through the trip were so strong that a bunch of us are going back to visit our new friends.
And, I realize now how much my city looks like hick-town :)
Libellés : missions
vendredi 18 février 2005
Au revoir
Well, this is it! I'm leaving on my missions trip today! Prayers would be so appreciated and when I get back, I'll make sure to write about all the wonderful things God has been doing and has done within us on the team.
We're moving into spiritual warfare and taking back what rightfully belongs to God. Satan is going to try and attack us in every which way he can, but we have Jesus and the prayers of the saints from everywhere. Please pray that we would be equipped to bring healing and love to the people we meet, and that we would have strength for each day.
I'm so excited, with the greatest sense of peace and anticipation. God is going to work mightily, and Jesus' name will be lifted high. We are going for God's glory!!
Libellés : missions
jeudi 10 février 2005
Approaching final destination
Blogger comments have apparently changed, so I might try them out for a while - when I get the chance to update the template.
The reason I've been busy is that I'm heading off on a missions trip at the end of the month. February has mostly consisted of preparation work and getting all the details sorted out, with a good mixture of stress and joy. I've had an incredible time hanging out with my team members and getting to know them better through all the fun things we've done. We were able to practise our worship set this week, and it was such a blast praising God in another language. And amidst all these wonderful blessings, I'm trying to get ahead in my schoolwork since I have a lot of midterms and assignments due when I get back.
You can also tell Reading Break is coming, because a lot of the students are getting crazy. Some of my friends are taking power naps every spare second they get, others are sick, and then there are those like myself who can no longer utter a sentence correctly. I keep having to correct my words because I say them wrong or mix them up, and I can't seem to stop. I just hope I don't do that on my missions trip in another language!
Libellés : missions
mercredi 2 février 2005
Sweet surrender
I'm not quite sure what's happened to me since I've come back from the trip, but I know it's for the better. I haven't been praying the way I have been lately since I first became a Christian and in the years I was growing in my faith. God is filling me up so much! For a long time I was feeling dry, and now all of a sudden I want to do nothing but to keep on praying for anything and everything. It's overwhelming and there's a lot on my heart right now, but results will come of it. I'm not sure what just yet but I think this month holds something significant for me, so I will have to wait and see! Well, I am going on a missions trip at the end of the month - that could be a major reason :) Somehow I feel like there's a bit more though.
Libellés : missions
Missions Fest recap
There's so much I could say about each of the days I was in Vancouver, but it would make for an insanely long post. Some of the highlights from the trip were:
- Flying again
- Taking lots of public transit
- Going to a workshop at the last minute
- Helping out with my college's booth
- Listening to some great seminars
- Staying with great hosts
- Hanging out with seminary friends
- Exploring Stanley Park
- Hearing hilarious vegetable theology
- Noticing how organic everything was
- Attempting to speak in French for a few hours
- A break from the usual school life
Libellés : missions
