Celebrating Spring~

For the longest time, I thought I was lover of all things winter. The long, pointed icicles I'd find every morning, and the cozy family get-togethers that called for spontaneous reminiscing; it was my most favorite time of the year. However, this past winter hit me more like a stone rather than a fluffy snowflake. After Christmas, the cold got to my bones, and as my face paled from lack of sunlight, anxiety seemed to pervade every moment. The joy of Christmas fell away, as the temperatures also took a drastic plunge.

Looking back, I know I had a major case of the Winter Blues, and I'm no materialist, but I know the thoughts I was having were of chemical decent. Lack of sunlight and Vitamin D can cause negativity, and minor depression. Your brain struggles to produce serotonin and other anxiety-fighting agents. Throughout January and February, I felt plagued with unending sorrow and sadness that had some hidden root. However, I praise God for Spring, because it couldn't have come at a better time.

Now, I enjoy taking long walks in the  forest, the leafy ground showered in sun. Sometimes, I just stand in the sunlight and feel the heat build on my skin. The euphoria I experience makes me more and more thankful for the season of spring, where the old can thaw out and be absorbed by the seeds underneath, to ultimately produce newness. I believe that I am a seed too, and God sent down lots of snow and chilling temperatures.  But now I can't stop smiling, because spring is finally here, and joy is blooming in full.

Their Smiling Eyes: Love Guatemala Mission Trip

Day 1:

Day 1 is over, and I feel changed. The change I have experienced can not be defined by words. I know, I know-I am using a cliche. But I promise I am using the phrase in the most un-cliche way possible, because today was unlike anything I've experienced thus far.

Travel days call for Starbucks runs in DC  waiting for a transfer flight, impossible crossword puzzles in new-agey Air Travel magazines, and a spontaneous conversation with a Guatemalan. Let us focus on the latter.

I never got his name. It was on the flight from DC to Guatemala City that a friendly Guatemalan told me his story. The story he told me gave me a glimpse at the Guatamalan spirit. The Prologue to my very first mission trip started with him, as his narration made the rest of Day 1 all the more extraordinary. The Guatemalan said that he was a teacher, born in Guatemala, married to a Virginian. This Guatemalan travels back and forth between the U.S. and Guatemala to make money as a Spanish teacher in each. He told me about the national bird, the people, and the volcano that has wrecked Guatamala City twice before. He concluded his novella by giving me Guatemalan currency with a smile that said "We are family." Okay, but I just met you dude.

Little did I know, this encounter was my first bridge into Guatemala, and showed me the determination of the Guatamalan.

After Customs, we made our way out into a mass of people, all waving and shouting. Our mission leader stood tall over the Guatemalan mass of short stature. We followed Ben to the truck where he called Carlos to pick up the rest of us. Carlos arrived with a smile in his eyes. 

The drive to Magdelena was intense, as mild road rage ravaged the insanely busy streets. But after hairpin turns and 60 degree + hills, we arrived at Carlos & Thelma's house, our missionary hosts.

Upon establishing a plan for our stay in Magdalena, we were quickly off, and began visiting locals. The magic happened here, as what I saw was ethereal, and the unbelievability would not stop pulsing through my veins.

Lilli is a young girl enrolled at the art school. Her roof is a draped tarp, and her mother has a post-cancer infection, yet her eyes smiled widely at us.

Violetta is a member of the cooking school, who lives in a 9x9 foot room with two children and an alcoholic husband, yet her laugh could make a cloudy day the sunniest yet.

Spiritual poverty outweighs possessive poverty any day. Lying in bed here, reflecting on day 1, I just know there's something special about the Guatemalan people.

Day 2:

We got right to work on Day 2, scarfing down a delicious Guatemalan breakfast of plantains and Magdalena Bread. I can't forget the tortillas, which are served at every single meal.

The vocational training center we are centering our work around allows students to study art, carpentry, and cooking, to put themselves in the market-world and fall out of the cycle of poverty. The picture below is the mural our church painted, with the help of three extremely talented art students, on the wall of the VTC. I did the water!

Upon completing the mural, we continued visiting students. We met Carlos (not the same Carlos as our host), who offered up his days wages to give us Pepsi to drink. We also met Jacuelin, an inspiring young girl who plays the mother role for her family in a tiny tin house. Her mother left her family for another man.

We concluded the day with worship from my grandma Gail, my brother Logan, and myself. I felt moved, yet again.

The following are a few pictures from our first full day.

Day 3:

Leading worship for 50+ Guatamalan students was amazing. I had the privilege  of praising God's most holy name with extremely talented musicians native to Guatemala on the morning of Day 3.

After worship, we had the opportunity to visit all of the classes the vocational center offers, being art, carpentry, cooking, and English. The determination in the students showed how badly they wanted to get out of the cycle of poverty and support their families.

Next was building a kitchen for a family of 10 who all lived in a small hut. I got hugs from many of the kids, their grins contagious and beautiful. I didn't think it was possible, but with our team of 7 and a few hard-working Guatemalans, the job got 3/4 of the way complete as late afternoon unfolded. The heat was becoming unbearable.

We ended the day with visits, one of which was the family of Maynor. Maynor greeted me with a hug, and took delight in opening gifts from his sponsor, the Stamper family from Southpointe Church. He was so excited he couldn't contain himself! Maynor is enrolled in the art school and is extremely talented. Although this family doesn't have very much, and Maynor and his sister have to make daily treks up the mountain for firewood, the joy this family had was awe-inspiring.

Day 4:

Our last full-day.

Day 4 included finishing the kitchen, delivering food to the needy families we visited, and visiting Antigua, where we bargained with local artisans for Guatemalan crafts.

I'm shortening the description for this day, because this being the last full day of our trip, it called mostly for reflection:

I now have a new perspective on people. People, when born into wealth and good care, never have to depend on God if they don't feel inclined to. (Notice I am not saying those that are in good care and born into wealth don't need to depend on God.) The Guatemalan people, because day-to-day living is a challenge in itself, have to depend on God, and trust in him fully. Because of their trust in Christ, we can witness the array of fruits that bloom, most noticeably generosity. (Thelma, Carlos's wife, made a necklace and earrings for my mom, and almost every family we visited offered us something.)

Day 5:

I climbed a mountain today. A big one. Because it was our last day, 4 of us got up and hiked a steep mountain, where, at the top was a view of Guatamala City, three Guaramalan volcanoes, and jungle. On the way up, we saw many older women and children hiking up with axes and machetes to collect firewood. We only hiked the top half, driving up the first half, and I was out of breath after 10 minutes of hiking the insanely steep incline. Seeing the Guatamlan women and children conquer the mountain with such determination reminded me that these people, so dependent upon God, also have put their family's well-being #1 on their lists.

We left for the airport after his hike, and in an emotional farewell, we boarded the plane home...

Fruits,Vegetables, and Most Importantly Jesus

Call it a fad if you want, but fruits and vegetables are so IN right now. The "healthy/paleo/organic" lifestyle has brought about stores like Earth Fare & Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, and I for one am not complaining. More recently, I started juicing, smoothie-making, and eating super-duper healthy. Less half an hour ago, I had some crazy delicious green juice, featuring an apple, three leaves of romaine lettuce, and an organic lemon. No one can stop me now!

The high I get while I'm juicing or smoothie-making is pretty amazing. I feel even better when I read an article talking about the enzymes in the foods and the awesome things they can do for my body. But this vibrant lifestyle can only offer so much...after all, they're just fruits and vegetables! So can Jesus Christ offer this same sense of fulfillment for my life?

Yes. Actually, Christ's love for us is so empowering that He is all we need. Looking through the Gospels, particularly  in Mark, Christ calls his disciples by name to drop everything and follow Him. The thought of dropping everything today and following Christ is overwhelming to most Americans today, but the power of Christ can only shine through us if we devote every aspect of our lives to Him. Tony Robbins, an American author, once said, "Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment." This "sincere and selfless contribution" is synonymous with devoting our lives to Christ, because when one devotes his/her life to Christ, they are giving Christ the honor and glory for every single thing that happens in their life. Giving God the ultimate glory is the beginning of finding true fulfillment!

So yeah, worldly fulfillment may seem easy to achieve, but true, eternal fulfillment can only be achieved through Christ. Fruits and veggies sure are good, but Christ's love for me is so much sweeter!

A Social Whim~

This past week, I'm proud to say I put myself out on a social whim, and a powerfully engaging conversation with another Believer bloomed forth. The Upperclassman was a steadfast Christian, as far as I could tell, and so I started asking a series of eye-opening questions. "What church do you go to? Hmm. Is it more traditional? What do you think about (insert social issue here)?" The conversation unfolded into a philosophical conversation that engaged both me and her, and the conversation forced me to think beyond the realm of superficial beliefs. Superficial beliefs are that knowledge at the surface of your faith that doesn't define your beliefs, but is what has been crunched into your mind from your environment. Are they really your beliefs? I climbed deep into my heart, and discussed a variety of social issues and some topics that forced me to unbuckle from life's booster seats, and engage with another believer. Moral of the story? Put yourself out on a whim, and force yourself to dig deeper into your faith. I don't regret it even a little...

¿WWJD?

"What Would Jesus Do?" It's that phrase from Sunday School, the same place you tried to answer every question with "Jesus!" or with an undeniable attribute of God. However, if every Christian is asking him/herself this question, "WWJD?", shouldn't we see a society in which the Christian is coinciding with others in love, and spreading the gospel to the wicked, the corrupt, and the broken? Okay. Maybe that's a lot to ask. Christ was perfect, and well, we aren't, so there is a small bit of room for error even if we try our 100% best. However, even in this scenario, the world should still be teeming with our efforts to love & show compassion. I pose a simple question: Is it?

I think the powerful acronym, "WWJD", has been buried under problems that we think are relative to this day in age. Finances. Politics. Work. People think that Sunday's are for Jesus, and the other days are for personal success and growth. It's about "What Should I Do?" during the weekdays, and the "old-fashioned" phrase of "WWJD?" is a once-in-while "church" thing.

I hope you noticed my quotation marks around old-fashioned, and know that I don't agree with any coined terms like it that seem to be prominent in the church. I believe that the "WSID" mentality is the reason for the civil uproar directed at the church. Society has a negative prejudice against Christians because we are stunningly hypocritical, going to worship God on Sunday's and making statements of submission to the Prince of Peace, but going through our weeks with the mentality of only helping ourselves, and occasionally doing what we think Jesus would do, but usually just doing what brings glory to ourselves. For example, one might make a poetic FB post about an empowering lesson from church, and during their week, ridicule others and defy the very lesson they supposedly gained from church.

We must regain our footing, and stop stumbling on new-age motives of self-glory. Christ is the same as yesterday, unchanging. Therefore, in our valiant effort to be Christ-like, shouldn't we show unchanging devotion to Christ, and continuously exhibit devotion?

More Than Just a Soul~

In the words of the legendary author, John Steinbeck, "I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed." The soul is more than a mortal instrument  meant to bring prosperity. It is more like an amulet, being chased by two opposing forces, both forces capable of melding the amulet into destined eternity. Have you ever just stopped in the middle life's chaos, and thought about your soul? What defines a soul? Steinbeck defines the soul as a glittering instrument, a lovely and unique thing in all of the universe. Steinbeck clearly sees something explicitly powerful about the human soul, but do we? A soul, dictionary-defined as "the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body", is something more valuable than any material pocession. I don't think many of us really understand this though. The human soul is intricately woven, and is not only what Christ aims for, but the Devil too. The soul is so powerful that the spiritual warfare that intensifies daily all revolves around the human soul. Every soul won by Christ is a victory. So if the soul is the target of the almighty Father and is pursued by the ultimate tempter, why is it ignored? Glory in Christ's name, thank God for winning your soul, and pray for your brother's soul, because a soul doesn't just give life, but the state of a single soul decides one's eternal destiny.

Meekness~

What defines meekness? According to our dictionary, meekness is...

• : having or showing a quiet and gentle nature : not wanting to fight or argue with other people

  And furthermore,

  : enduring injury with patience and without        

  resentment

 I wouldn't have looked this up if it weren't for the powerful words in the "Sermon on the Mount" that I read the other night. Meekness was one of the beatitudes, and yet I'd never heard a real definition for the word, or if I had, I had let it sink like an anchor in life's ocean.

Meekness.

So what?

I think this trait defines Christ's attitude in his most trying times. When Jesus was brutally beaten and bore the weight of a sinner, did he retaliate? Meekness is something that should be practiced by all. I think many of us think of meekness as having a gentle nature in the midst of physical trials. Physical pain. Verbal accusations. But what about mental & spiritual pains?

Jealousy, Vanity, and Hate are all attackers of the mind an soul, so why not find peace when these things attack? I wrote "meekness" on my finger today at school to remind me that in the midst of a trying, annoying environment like high school, I need to maintain meekness. Not retaliate, but endure the mental and spiritual trials that walk the halls of school with me.