Here's a list suggesting that effective leaders often possess the following ten traits...interesting stuff as we begin the process of soon hiring our student leadership team for the 2012-13 school year across campus...
1. Focused
To lead a team to success, leaders must possess an extraordinary amount of focus. It’s important to eliminate distractions from the work area and to hone in on the key issues at hand. While leaders are often pulled in numerous directions simultaneously, they must be able to retain clear minds and focus on the things that matter.
2. Passionate
It’s possible to teach someone to be a leader, but truly effective leaders are already passionate about what they do. Your enthusiasm and level of commitment can inspire your team members and motivate them to do better work. Modeling the attitude you want each person to have is one of the most effective ways to lead your team toward a successful destination.
3. Assertive
As a leader, you have requirements for your team and goals that must be fulfilled. When team members aren’t meeting expectations, a leader must feel comfortable being assertive. Assertive leaders are firm and bold, unafraid to go after what they want. Such a level of certainty and confidence will serve both you and your team well as you tackle larger challenges and go after new goals.
4. Decisive
Leaders are often called on to make big decisions, so it’s also important for you to be decisive. Of course, a decisive leader should never be confused with an impulsive one. A decisive leader carefully weighs the potential effects of each option and chooses the opportunity that works best for his or her team. To be decisive, you must also feel comfortable taking responsibility for the results of your choice.
5. Empowering
Supporting your team is one of the best ways to encourage members to perform well. Empower each individual by making it clear that you trust his or her judgment. Give people the authority they need to do their jobs well and show them an appropriate level of respect.
6. Confident
Successful leaders are confident in their own abilities and decisions. If you want other people to believe in your capability as a leader, you must first believe in yourself. While you should make sure your confidence isn’t perceived as arrogance, there’s nothing wrong with feeling a strong sense of certainty about your choices.
7. Communicative
Always keep your team informed about what’s going on. All too often, leaders leave their team members out of important discussions and meetings. A lack of communication promotes the spread of false information and resentment among your team members.
8. Self-Aware
It can be tough to retain a strong sense of yourself and the way you appear to others, but focus on being self-aware. Consider your strengths and weaknesses as objectively as possible and don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on your performance.
9. Humble
Effective leaders are down-to-earth and easy to relate with. People feel more comfortable connecting with a leader who is humble and compassionate. Strive to understand where other people are coming from and keep a healthy, grounded perspective on your own achievements.
10. Honest
Finally, effective leaders are honest. Be upfront with your team members and trust them enough to communicate openly and authentically together. It’s important to build a level of mutual trust within your team so that each person feels comfortable addressing his or her concerns with you.
http://www.leadershipandinfluenceblog.com/10-traits-of-effective-leaders/#more-343
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Post-Missions Cynicism By Curt Devine—REJECT APATHY MAGAZINE
Here's a great article I gave to my recent team as we just finished our time in the DR this J-Term...great perspective and helpful thoughts in moving us forward from the amazing resource REJECT APATHY magazine's latest edition...
As I step into the church, bass booms against my chest. Neon lights reflect off the worship leader’s guitar as he sings, “There is no one like our God”—with Auto-Tune. As the song builds, my friend turns to me and says: “Doesn’t this sound amazing? They just spent $300,000 on a new sound system.”
I’m in an American megachurch, yet I can’t help but think about the Third World churches I visited this year—the ones with one Bible, no electricity and a lot of passion. Even though I want to worship, I only feel bitterness. This past year, I went on the World Race, an 11-month missions trip to 11 countries in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. While I love being home with hot showers and cold air-conditioning, the transition has been rough. I can’t help but judge friends who drop $100 on a night out, thinking, “That could feed the homeless boy I met in Tanzania for a year,” or think I’m better than the Lexus driver because my Grand Am is barely worth $1,000. Coming off the missions field can bring on all sorts of emotions from culture shock to loneliness to helplessness. But one of the most common and potentially insidious post-mission tendencies is to become a bitter, America-hating cynic. My first day home, I went to the grocery store and found myself overwhelmed in the cereal aisle with its endless array of General Mills cartoons. We can choose from more than 50 types of deodorant, 115 kinds of toothpaste and 1,000 channels on TV.
The conflict between excess at home and scarcity abroad is a lot to handle. The temptation can be to hate America’s abundance, or forget the poverty overseas and go back to life the way it was before. The key is living within the tension. As Christy Vidrine says in her book Unearth, “There is a balance between the humility of scarcity and the peace within excess.”
James, the brother of Jesus, writes that every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above. Therefore, the first response we should have to the excess around us is thankfulness. God has given us food, water, shopping malls and Venti Mocha Frappuccinos, even though we don’t deserve them.
Our second response should be wise stewardship. I once heard a friend say she has a closet overflowing with clothes, yet she complains she has nothing to wear. This reminded me of Jesus’ parable in which a ruler gives varying amounts of money to his servants. Some make wise investments and use the money well, while one hides his share in the ground. The master returns and reprimands the servant for doing nothing. If we have full closets, stocked refrigerators or fat bank accounts, we should look for wise opportunities to give to others and encourage friends and family to do the same.
Another important fact to remember is the grass is always greener on the other side. When my team did ministry in Iringa, Tanzania, we partnered with a young teacher named Peter who was a little overexcited about America. He told us: “I’m so happy to be with a team from the U.S.A. I love American churches. One day I will go to America and learn so much about God!”
I stared at him in disbelief, thinking, Does he really think America has more of God than Africa? I told him most of my friends couldn’t wait to come to Africa to experience more of God’s presence. He didn’t understand. The truth is, we are all guilty of this way of thinking. The misconception most of us buy into says community, miracles and true passion only exist in the Third World. On the other hand, much of the Third World believes effective ministry only happens with lots of money and high-tech resources. Jesus says something completely different. In Luke 17, He teaches His disciples not to listen to people who say, “Here it is” or, “There it is,” referring to the Kingdom of heaven. Rather, He says, “The Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Experiencing God’s presence has nothing to do with where you are and everything to do with how you live with those around you. Every country poses its unique problems for those seeking God. In Ukraine, alcoholism is rampant. In Thailand, the sex industry plagues hundreds of thousands. In Tanzania, theft and crime create serious problems. Every country uniquely needs God’s grace, but the good news is He faithfully pours it out on those who seek Him, no matter the place or time.
Whether you’ve experienced extreme poverty or you simply want a change in your life, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
If you had all the time and resources to make an impact, what would you do?
Now, with the limited resources you do have, what impact can you have on your local community?
What small steps can you take toward making a global change?
America is not your enemy; it’s another opportunity. You don’t have to wait for a missions trip to experience God and share His love. The adventure isn’t over just because you’re home.
http://rejectapathy.com/magazine/archives/issue-02/statements/26152-post-missions-cynicism
As I step into the church, bass booms against my chest. Neon lights reflect off the worship leader’s guitar as he sings, “There is no one like our God”—with Auto-Tune. As the song builds, my friend turns to me and says: “Doesn’t this sound amazing? They just spent $300,000 on a new sound system.”
I’m in an American megachurch, yet I can’t help but think about the Third World churches I visited this year—the ones with one Bible, no electricity and a lot of passion. Even though I want to worship, I only feel bitterness. This past year, I went on the World Race, an 11-month missions trip to 11 countries in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. While I love being home with hot showers and cold air-conditioning, the transition has been rough. I can’t help but judge friends who drop $100 on a night out, thinking, “That could feed the homeless boy I met in Tanzania for a year,” or think I’m better than the Lexus driver because my Grand Am is barely worth $1,000. Coming off the missions field can bring on all sorts of emotions from culture shock to loneliness to helplessness. But one of the most common and potentially insidious post-mission tendencies is to become a bitter, America-hating cynic. My first day home, I went to the grocery store and found myself overwhelmed in the cereal aisle with its endless array of General Mills cartoons. We can choose from more than 50 types of deodorant, 115 kinds of toothpaste and 1,000 channels on TV.
The conflict between excess at home and scarcity abroad is a lot to handle. The temptation can be to hate America’s abundance, or forget the poverty overseas and go back to life the way it was before. The key is living within the tension. As Christy Vidrine says in her book Unearth, “There is a balance between the humility of scarcity and the peace within excess.”
James, the brother of Jesus, writes that every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above. Therefore, the first response we should have to the excess around us is thankfulness. God has given us food, water, shopping malls and Venti Mocha Frappuccinos, even though we don’t deserve them.
Our second response should be wise stewardship. I once heard a friend say she has a closet overflowing with clothes, yet she complains she has nothing to wear. This reminded me of Jesus’ parable in which a ruler gives varying amounts of money to his servants. Some make wise investments and use the money well, while one hides his share in the ground. The master returns and reprimands the servant for doing nothing. If we have full closets, stocked refrigerators or fat bank accounts, we should look for wise opportunities to give to others and encourage friends and family to do the same.
Another important fact to remember is the grass is always greener on the other side. When my team did ministry in Iringa, Tanzania, we partnered with a young teacher named Peter who was a little overexcited about America. He told us: “I’m so happy to be with a team from the U.S.A. I love American churches. One day I will go to America and learn so much about God!”
I stared at him in disbelief, thinking, Does he really think America has more of God than Africa? I told him most of my friends couldn’t wait to come to Africa to experience more of God’s presence. He didn’t understand. The truth is, we are all guilty of this way of thinking. The misconception most of us buy into says community, miracles and true passion only exist in the Third World. On the other hand, much of the Third World believes effective ministry only happens with lots of money and high-tech resources. Jesus says something completely different. In Luke 17, He teaches His disciples not to listen to people who say, “Here it is” or, “There it is,” referring to the Kingdom of heaven. Rather, He says, “The Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Experiencing God’s presence has nothing to do with where you are and everything to do with how you live with those around you. Every country poses its unique problems for those seeking God. In Ukraine, alcoholism is rampant. In Thailand, the sex industry plagues hundreds of thousands. In Tanzania, theft and crime create serious problems. Every country uniquely needs God’s grace, but the good news is He faithfully pours it out on those who seek Him, no matter the place or time.
Whether you’ve experienced extreme poverty or you simply want a change in your life, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
If you had all the time and resources to make an impact, what would you do?
Now, with the limited resources you do have, what impact can you have on your local community?
What small steps can you take toward making a global change?
America is not your enemy; it’s another opportunity. You don’t have to wait for a missions trip to experience God and share His love. The adventure isn’t over just because you’re home.
http://rejectapathy.com/magazine/archives/issue-02/statements/26152-post-missions-cynicism
Thursday, January 12, 2012
A Final Post from the Dominican Republic...
Hello for the last time from the Dominican Republic...we just finished a final team dinner together on a warm and breezy night...we said goodbye to new friends this morning at our ministry site and then headed into the capital city of Santo Domingo...we visited the market and then walked in and around some of the oldest buildings in the Western hemisphere, including the National Cathedral and National Monuments of the DR...these buildings are amazing structures and are almost 500 years old! I did have a very fun moment this am...as I went thru a pack of baseball cards I brought for my sponsored child in this community and school, we found together a baseball card with Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez that simply said Dominican Pride...it was a moment that connected us together as we took a picture of that card together...I love God's little fun surprises for a dad in the USA and a little boy in the DR who both love baseball and the Dominican Repubic...
We then drove to the coast and spent some time this afternoon enjoying a resort on the ocean...there has been good food, lots of Dominican music, and a time to relax at the beach after a very busy week for us all...in many ways, it is somewhat strange to be at a resort after being part of a community with such great physical needs during our time in the DR...you find yourself feeling somewhat guilty and somewhat resistant to what you see all around you...yet in many ways this resort represents more of who we are as blessed Americans...and the greatest challenge of this trip is yet to come in many ways...God's calling to us is not to just feel guilty and grateful...it is to live with what we have seen, experienced, and heard from God in a place of prominence in our daily lives...it is the challenge of living in our own community and culture that God has placed us in as a Christian who is compassionate, communicates about the needs of others near and far, and serves out of a heart that is full because of what God has done in Jesus for us...that's really our final task of this trip...to spend time asking God to show us specifically what our response individually and as a team will be as we come back to Cornerstone and the semester ahead...we'd ask you to pray for us to be motivated and passionate to be advocates for the people of the DR and to help us to build a community that is focused on others and creates a mindset of service and love and character in the soccer community and other places of influence in our lives...
We are tired and yet so very blessed after our time on this missions trip...thanks for reading this blog...I've loved being with young men and women who I believe will indeed change the world...CHIP
p.s. If all goes well, we should arrive back at GR airport sometime around 10:30 pm tomorrow night or so after our travel day! We know there is snow...and we will call from Atlanta with any flight updates!
We then drove to the coast and spent some time this afternoon enjoying a resort on the ocean...there has been good food, lots of Dominican music, and a time to relax at the beach after a very busy week for us all...in many ways, it is somewhat strange to be at a resort after being part of a community with such great physical needs during our time in the DR...you find yourself feeling somewhat guilty and somewhat resistant to what you see all around you...yet in many ways this resort represents more of who we are as blessed Americans...and the greatest challenge of this trip is yet to come in many ways...God's calling to us is not to just feel guilty and grateful...it is to live with what we have seen, experienced, and heard from God in a place of prominence in our daily lives...it is the challenge of living in our own community and culture that God has placed us in as a Christian who is compassionate, communicates about the needs of others near and far, and serves out of a heart that is full because of what God has done in Jesus for us...that's really our final task of this trip...to spend time asking God to show us specifically what our response individually and as a team will be as we come back to Cornerstone and the semester ahead...we'd ask you to pray for us to be motivated and passionate to be advocates for the people of the DR and to help us to build a community that is focused on others and creates a mindset of service and love and character in the soccer community and other places of influence in our lives...
We are tired and yet so very blessed after our time on this missions trip...thanks for reading this blog...I've loved being with young men and women who I believe will indeed change the world...CHIP
p.s. If all goes well, we should arrive back at GR airport sometime around 10:30 pm tomorrow night or so after our travel day! We know there is snow...and we will call from Atlanta with any flight updates!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A Final Day in Los Alcarrizos...
Wow...it is Wednesday already...and we are finishing up our time in this community that we now find so familiar...it has been a short time but a remarkable full time of ministry and memories and being moved in Spirit and action here in the DR...
This morning we joined several hundred students for a time of prayer, Scripture, and the singing of the DR national anthem outside before school began...and then we jumped into our painting mode and finished the 3rd floor project, including putting on a new color on today...we are pretty excited to see the progress that has been made thru our work with our Dominincan friends in preparing this facility to open in a few weeks...
The afternoon was filled with time with students from the school...activities included face painting, bracelet making, coloring contests, and ring making...out team has loved interacting with many different groups of children this week...we even popped into a few classrooms to see what they were learning and up to as well...the power of education continues to be reinforced to us here...and w are grateful that even our participation in this trip helps that to be possible for more and more kids at risk and need in this area...you can't help but be excited about what God has in store for them as Christian leaders in the DR in the future...
And then we had our first official soccer match against the JOMA club team from Santo Domingo...our girls had a big win led by goals from Kate, Jen, Anna, Amanda, and coach's son Mitch....we played against a men's club team connected to this group the last couple years, and we love building a relationship where they are excited about playing soccer with Americans, are very interested in what is happening at Cornerstone, and are exposed to what it means to be an athlete who loves Jesus and plays as His representative...it has been a blast to have this sports component to our trip here...
We held our final nightly debrief session tonight as well reflecting on what we've experienced, how we have been impacted by the people and community here, and how we hope to participate in a renewed way in God Kingm work, at home and across the world...there was a spirit of immense blessing among us for the time here and the opportunity to serve and learn and love and be loved in the Dominican Republic...and I hope that all of you connected to this team will have a chance to hear their stories, talk about their questions, and be encouraged by their experience in seeing and joining making Jesus known in word and deed in a place unlike what we call home...
Tomorrow we head into Santo Domingo to see one of the oldest communities in the western hemisphere...and we hope to catch a few final rays of sun on the beach before flying back to snowy Grand Rapids on Friday...thanks for your prayers and partnership...I'll close with the words of the apostle John that summarize what we have seen and hope to live out in the days to come:
I JOHN 3:16-18 (The Message)
This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality.
This morning we joined several hundred students for a time of prayer, Scripture, and the singing of the DR national anthem outside before school began...and then we jumped into our painting mode and finished the 3rd floor project, including putting on a new color on today...we are pretty excited to see the progress that has been made thru our work with our Dominincan friends in preparing this facility to open in a few weeks...
The afternoon was filled with time with students from the school...activities included face painting, bracelet making, coloring contests, and ring making...out team has loved interacting with many different groups of children this week...we even popped into a few classrooms to see what they were learning and up to as well...the power of education continues to be reinforced to us here...and w are grateful that even our participation in this trip helps that to be possible for more and more kids at risk and need in this area...you can't help but be excited about what God has in store for them as Christian leaders in the DR in the future...
And then we had our first official soccer match against the JOMA club team from Santo Domingo...our girls had a big win led by goals from Kate, Jen, Anna, Amanda, and coach's son Mitch....we played against a men's club team connected to this group the last couple years, and we love building a relationship where they are excited about playing soccer with Americans, are very interested in what is happening at Cornerstone, and are exposed to what it means to be an athlete who loves Jesus and plays as His representative...it has been a blast to have this sports component to our trip here...
We held our final nightly debrief session tonight as well reflecting on what we've experienced, how we have been impacted by the people and community here, and how we hope to participate in a renewed way in God Kingm work, at home and across the world...there was a spirit of immense blessing among us for the time here and the opportunity to serve and learn and love and be loved in the Dominican Republic...and I hope that all of you connected to this team will have a chance to hear their stories, talk about their questions, and be encouraged by their experience in seeing and joining making Jesus known in word and deed in a place unlike what we call home...
Tomorrow we head into Santo Domingo to see one of the oldest communities in the western hemisphere...and we hope to catch a few final rays of sun on the beach before flying back to snowy Grand Rapids on Friday...thanks for your prayers and partnership...I'll close with the words of the apostle John that summarize what we have seen and hope to live out in the days to come:
I JOHN 3:16-18 (The Message)
This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Water, Paint, Soccer, and a Familiar Face
Tuesday in the DR brought more painting as we finished up most of the 3rd floor gym facility...we can't wait to see the women from the community that will soon be in this space! They are planning to open it to the public in just a few weeks...
It also brought a tour of the water purification system that they have here on site...they produce over 25,000 galllons of clean water every day that is sold at reduced cost to the people in the community, many who have no other clean water source...they even employ pastors as small business partners to distribute the water...and everyday trucks roll out of here and literally save and help make better the lives of children...clean water diseases account for more deaths of children than anything else in our world today...and I love the fact that this ministry is providing living water on both levels in Los Alcarrizos...in fact, we were here with the men's soccer team two years ago when the earthquake in Haiti occurred...and the Lighthouse project was able to bring over 100,000 bottles of water to church partners in Haiti...I love the passion here to not only change this community but also in the nation next door...and Dominicans serving Haitians is a powerful example of the church at work across traditional boundaries...
We continued in our soccer clinic work today...we hosted 30 or so students from the school ranging from ages 6-18...every time I come here there is a growing interest in the community in relationship to soccer and more kids are ready to play this game...even a few who who have given up some time with baseball to play "futbal"...Marissa Bliss shared her faith story with this group of kids after we finished our time with them...after te clinic we played a short match with some of the older boys who have put together the first-ever Lighthouse School soccer squad...the soccer field at the school is really the only facility in the area...
A highlight of today's time here was a visit from another CU student...Marcel, a member of our men's soccer team lives in the city of Santiago here in the DR...he was a Dominican high school student and soccer player who watched our men's team play last year and eventually ended up at CU this fall to begin college in the States...we've loved having him as part of the soccer and Cornerstone communities, and it truly is a blessing to see how God has connected him to us through our ministry and mission partnerships here in his own country...he worked and played alongside us today...it's a pretty great story...and we'd love to someday have a graduate of the Lighthouse School here attend school at CU...
Tomorrow is our final full day here in the Los Alcarrizos community...we'll conclude with work, visits to classrooms, time with kids, and a final soccer match...and some visits with children sponsored by folks in the CU men's soccer program...it will be fun to reflect on all we've experienced and what we will do in response to our time here...that's a huge part of what we are praying for...
Thanks for praying and following us this week...we enjoyed the most sun and warmest temperatures today...we love you and miss you much!
for the DR team,
CHIP
you can check out some more pictures and some videos at the UNTO website link below:
http://www.untoinc.org/news/
It also brought a tour of the water purification system that they have here on site...they produce over 25,000 galllons of clean water every day that is sold at reduced cost to the people in the community, many who have no other clean water source...they even employ pastors as small business partners to distribute the water...and everyday trucks roll out of here and literally save and help make better the lives of children...clean water diseases account for more deaths of children than anything else in our world today...and I love the fact that this ministry is providing living water on both levels in Los Alcarrizos...in fact, we were here with the men's soccer team two years ago when the earthquake in Haiti occurred...and the Lighthouse project was able to bring over 100,000 bottles of water to church partners in Haiti...I love the passion here to not only change this community but also in the nation next door...and Dominicans serving Haitians is a powerful example of the church at work across traditional boundaries...
We continued in our soccer clinic work today...we hosted 30 or so students from the school ranging from ages 6-18...every time I come here there is a growing interest in the community in relationship to soccer and more kids are ready to play this game...even a few who who have given up some time with baseball to play "futbal"...Marissa Bliss shared her faith story with this group of kids after we finished our time with them...after te clinic we played a short match with some of the older boys who have put together the first-ever Lighthouse School soccer squad...the soccer field at the school is really the only facility in the area...
A highlight of today's time here was a visit from another CU student...Marcel, a member of our men's soccer team lives in the city of Santiago here in the DR...he was a Dominican high school student and soccer player who watched our men's team play last year and eventually ended up at CU this fall to begin college in the States...we've loved having him as part of the soccer and Cornerstone communities, and it truly is a blessing to see how God has connected him to us through our ministry and mission partnerships here in his own country...he worked and played alongside us today...it's a pretty great story...and we'd love to someday have a graduate of the Lighthouse School here attend school at CU...
Tomorrow is our final full day here in the Los Alcarrizos community...we'll conclude with work, visits to classrooms, time with kids, and a final soccer match...and some visits with children sponsored by folks in the CU men's soccer program...it will be fun to reflect on all we've experienced and what we will do in response to our time here...that's a huge part of what we are praying for...
Thanks for praying and following us this week...we enjoyed the most sun and warmest temperatures today...we love you and miss you much!
for the DR team,
CHIP
you can check out some more pictures and some videos at the UNTO website link below:
http://www.untoinc.org/news/
Monday, January 9, 2012
Mondays Leave You Exhausted in the DR!
Today was another full work day for the DR soccer crew here in the DR...we split into crews and spent the day working to help prepare new facilities here on the ministry site...many of us were painting the third floor of the gym (hence, the pictures I'm sure you will see with paint splattered all over our faces from ceiling work!) and others were helping get new apartment ready for the ministry director and school superintendent here who has been a great encouragement to us as a team...and we finished the days with tons of wheelbarrow runs full of moving dirt and rocks over to the new kitchen site...
One of the unique things about our partnership down here is the physicalness of the trips...in many ways, I think it is why our athletes love the experience...it gives us an opportunity to serve with our hands and feet and the rest of our bodies in a tangible expression of our belief in the Kingdom work God is doing here...we are simply being led by the Dominican leadership as we do some things we might not normally do back home...and there is a pleasure in that service that we find in knowing we are part of God's bigger vision...even in small and hidden and tiring ways...and I am quite certain God is pleased...
Tomorrow we will get to meet over 1100 new friends as the students at the Lighthouse school return from Christmas break...there will be energy and laughter and conversation all around us...and we see the very reason we are here...we'll be popping into a few classrooms on our morning work break and hosting another soccer clinic for kids from the school in the afternoon...
This morning we read several passages demonstrating the compassion of Jesus in action in the Gospels...pray that we'll chase after that example of compassion in action as we care for one another and develop a new heart for the people and children of this community...and may it move us to action at home and across the world as a result of our time overseas...
Ok, it's time for an earlier bedtime...or else this guy will be crawling to breafast! It is tough keeping up with the energy and work capacity of college students! (you should have seen these girls carrying huge tiles up 4 flights of stairs all morning...)
For the DR team,
CHIP
One of the unique things about our partnership down here is the physicalness of the trips...in many ways, I think it is why our athletes love the experience...it gives us an opportunity to serve with our hands and feet and the rest of our bodies in a tangible expression of our belief in the Kingdom work God is doing here...we are simply being led by the Dominican leadership as we do some things we might not normally do back home...and there is a pleasure in that service that we find in knowing we are part of God's bigger vision...even in small and hidden and tiring ways...and I am quite certain God is pleased...
Tomorrow we will get to meet over 1100 new friends as the students at the Lighthouse school return from Christmas break...there will be energy and laughter and conversation all around us...and we see the very reason we are here...we'll be popping into a few classrooms on our morning work break and hosting another soccer clinic for kids from the school in the afternoon...
This morning we read several passages demonstrating the compassion of Jesus in action in the Gospels...pray that we'll chase after that example of compassion in action as we care for one another and develop a new heart for the people and children of this community...and may it move us to action at home and across the world as a result of our time overseas...
Ok, it's time for an earlier bedtime...or else this guy will be crawling to breafast! It is tough keeping up with the energy and work capacity of college students! (you should have seen these girls carrying huge tiles up 4 flights of stairs all morning...)
For the DR team,
CHIP
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)