Post Leader Retreat 2005

I had a great time on the Leader Retreat last night and today. But it's really nice to be home. I figured out that this calendar year, I will have been away from the fam for about a month doing SPACE and associated trips. That's a little over the top. So last night was the last time I will be away for the rest of the year, as far as I know.

Anyway, I basically got all of my goals done.

My scattered brain notes for the Friday night vision of mission talk:
===
picture share
my job tonight is to change what you care about
you are on the front lines of caring about kids week in and week out
its an awesome responsibility
challenge you to care about the world by caring about your kids
God wants use your kids to impact the world
the church is an unstoppable force
the gates of Hell will not prevail against it
I do what I do because i'm convinced students are a major piece of it
something mystical and magical when we take students to intentionally
serve and impact others
- prepare these kids to do this in their future
- see them live missional lives
- see small groups able to do this on their own
- be strategic about what we are doing - 60% of short terms do harm
- progress them as they get older
complement of community service and summer mission experiences
===

- Started ES on her mentorship. We had a great time talking about ethos, spiritual leadership and dreaming about SPACE.
- Planned SPACE activities for the fall, set all the dates. really good planning session this morning. trying a new nuance for the Nov launch (more later)
- Had a GREAT time talking to CC about her potential thing for India (which is on hold for a while). really great. I signed her up for something in the future, if it happens... (of course, more later)
- Started some very definite plans for the upcoming 10th graders for this summer. the potential for it to happen is pretty good and I'm getting more and more excited as I think about the kids in that class.
- Had a personal retreat with a book, music and a pillow.
- I also gave EmGberg a ride home so that was a lot of fun talking with her. It's nice to spend time with my team from Brasil whenever I can.

UPDATE:
The other significant thing about the retreat, to me, was having everyone hear directly from SM, the senior high pastor and director of youth ministry, right from the start on Friday night.

Here are my rough notes about that session:
===
Fri night
5 reasons with youth ministries break up
1 - division
2 - transition in leadership
3 - not relevant, hokey, not in the students world
we old people are trying to tell them what is cool
4 - harsh environment
unsafe
5 - program got out of the program
they need truth through a consistent loving voice

3 goals for 2005-2006
1 - unified, mutual respect
2 - aggresive about creating a safe place
when we do this, kids blossom
Jesus didn't like wolves
3 - small groups connect
25/27 kids that accepted Christ last year are gone
those other 2 got plugged into dteams
===

Photo: the senior Dteam leaders having a planning meeting in a tree.

another SPACE blog

It's been fun to see some SPACE friends get blogs.  I already posted about LB and FZ.  ES, the 2005-2006 SPACE intern now has one as well.  As part of the internship, her blog will be the primary medium she and I use to jot down thoughts, critique, analysis and other ideas for all the different things she is doing for SPACE.  This is going to be very, very, fun.

Pictures for vision talk - leader retreat 2005

Here are my pictures I'm going to use tonight as part of my talk on the vision of missions... or whatever my talk is supposed to be...
As with all the pictures on here, you should be able to right click for bigger versions of them.

Missions = Tour Guide

"Missions then is less about the transportation of God from one place to another and more about the identification of a God who is already there. It is almost as if being a good missionary means having really good eyesight. Or maybe it means teaching people to use their eyes to see things that have always been there; they just didn't realize it. You see God where others don't. And then you point him out."
- Rob Bell on missions, in Velvet Elvis

So does anyone know where we can get a big trolley car for the summer of 2006?

misc links - thurs

A page to help you with international dialing codes.  With drop downs for where you are and where you are calling.  Also shows time differences.  This would have helped me in Brasil.  Except the payphone instructions were in Portuguese, so maybe it wouldn't have helped.

Sitemeter now has worldmap functionality.  You can see where your recent readers have come from.

PM does his first podcast.

Alex writes, ""Is creating wealth a Christ following value?" With regards to my post of August 16 …Interestingly, although there were a healthy number of comments and contributions, there were very few real practical applications.  But here's the rub: Why did no one mention "giving to the local church" as something practical we can do?"  See more here .

The State of the '03

My day job has taught me many good things.  One of them has been the idea that you should measure what you do.  That way, you know if you have made a difference or not.

I know measuring what you do is not very postmodern.  Measuring what you do is very modern, cerebral and propositional.  Facts and statistics are objective, distant and cold.  But I'm okay with that.  Because as youthworkers, it's important to know whether we are actually making a difference or not.  One metric can be how our students are doing after they have graduated high school and left our ministries for a time.

So I thought I would reflect a little bit on the class of 03.  I was a guys small group leader for 4 years with them, from 1999-2003.  For the 1999 school year, I had a student leader (MG - who is leaving for a year or two for Turkey in a few days.)  My wife came on with the girls in 2001 and stayed until graduation.  We also had a great couple on the team that started in 2000 staying until the end (MK and SK).  And we had another great couple with guys and girls from 2001-2002 (who left being Dteam leaders to go to Australia to start a campus ministry, RP and JP.)  Hmm a bit of a pattern I think.  And also, I NEVER talked about missions the way I do now, until the Spring of 2003, right before these kids graduated.

So... here are some metrics, except I'm not going to talk about overall numbers.  Mostly because its hard to remember, but also because I'm more interested in relative numbers.  Sort of.

June 2003 - Graduation (don't you miss your high school days?)
December 2003 - sent 11 of this class to Urbana Student Missions Conference
summer 2004 - sent 3 on a two week long mission trip to Kazakhstan - 2 from Urbana
summer 2005 - 1 works with Campus Crusade ministry in Wildwood NJ
summer 2005 - 3 help as SPACE mission team leaders - 2 from Urbana
summer 2005 - 4 go on overseas missional trips - 2 from Kstan team, 1 SPACE leader, 1 from Urbana

So overall, at the end of two years, there is a 15 total people (not counting the overlap) that are involved in some kind of cross cultural, intentional, missional experience.  That are living for something more than just themselves.  That are commited to spreading the news of Jesus to the ends of the earth.  That are captivated by the mission God has for them, whether its in another culture or on their campus.

I don't know, in some sense, maybe those facts are a lot less cerebral.  Maybe they will really move you.

Leader Retreat 2005

This coming weekend is our annual Youth Ministry Leader Retreat. It is where we pack up all of our leaders, take them away for a weekend and invest in them. A few major goals for the weekend:
- show the leaders we appreciate them
- give them time to do some significant planning for the school year with their teams (small groups, grade level, program teams)
- time for them to bond with other leaders for community

Here are the specific pieces that I'm looking to get accomplished this weekend:
- communicate the vision for mission as part of the student ministry (part of the Fri night vision talk). I think this probably includes showing (or passing out) some pictures from significant SPACE trips from the past
- start ES on her mentorship (I'm bringing loads of books)
- plan the list of Fall SPACE events including dates
- talk with some of the leaders of the Trinidad team, sort of a debrief, etc.
- really strongly encourage the new 6th and 9th grade D-team leaders to bring their students to SPACE events
- talk to CC about her potential trip to India
- have a personal retreat Sat afternoon - think alone with a lawnchair, Bible, journal, and music

Last year was great because we got to go as a family, but it was a little costly. This year I'm just going and probably only for one night.

Turkey and Uganda

Continuing in the freakish momentum that has somehow been generated at GCC for overseas mission trips, a team going to Uganda for two weeks leaves on Saturday.  It's a team of about 12 (I think) young adults going to serve with AIDS Orphan and Widow something or other. (can't remember it off the top of my head.)  They were part of the send off last Sunday.  It's pretty exciting overall, but what I'm most excited about is that two of the team is from the class of 03, which was the class that me and D were D-team leaders for.  Even more, one of those two, NLind, was one of my SPACE mission team leaders this past summer.  Now, that is very very cool.

One of these days, I will write about the general statistics of the class of 03 and what they do now (slight sidebar - "Its what you *do* that defines you" - from Batman Begins, but is that a Biblical statement?), two years after they have graduated high school.  That's pretty exciting too.
 
Turkey leaves on September 2.  A team of 5 young adults are going to go to grad school there, but also to live there among a Muslim community.  These four guys and one gal are pretty good friends, and embody this cool spirit that desires to live and minister to the unreached, where the need is the greatest.  That's the idea that I think the Church is going to see more of out of that generation.

Very very fun times at GCC.  How many more can we send out?  What other areas of the world can we impact (in the right way of course)?  How many more people to be commmited to being on mission, either somewhere else or in their current places?

Blogger Profile Tags

For those of you that are hosted on blogspot, you probably know that it creates 'tags' based on what you put as your interests in your profile.  I was poking around the other day, and noticed that LB has put an interest called 'cross-cultural trips with Tony Sheng.'  So blogger tags it, and you can see everyone that has that interest.  (If you call THAT an 'interest.'  HA.)  Just for fun, I put it in my profile too.  So there are just two of us.
If you haven't noticed yet, this whole idea of tagging is huge.  Blogger, flickr, technorati, etc.  Building community through shared interests, not just grabbing a bunch of people and putting them in a room together.

First podcast....?

Not really... but you can get the audio from yesterday's Glimpse Sunday

here. (This link will only be valid until Saturday August 27, 2005)

Trinidad team sharing - 3:07
Brasil team sharing - 16:18
Guatemala team sharing - 26:50
Uganda team sendoff - 38:20

If you have ever had a crazy longing to hear what my voice sounds like... here you go.

Mission Team Reports

Our Missions Sunday today had the keyword 'Glimpse.' My friend T ran the whole thing and did such an awesome awesome job, for all 4 services. One of the things I loved was to watch and learn from him as he put together all the elements of the church service. It is so much more than just music, stories and a talk. It takes the mind of an environmentalist - creating and shaping a conducive environment for growth to occur.

One of the historical things mission teams don't do well is telling their story. They either don't get a good chance to, or when they have the chance, it is painfully boring. We have all had our fair share of hearing mission team reports that are really dry and boring. Of course, sharing a once in a lifetime experience in 10 minutes is never an easy task. Today was great because we got to share the stories, everyone listening was our biggest fans (seriously - everyone listening was so in touch, all the laughter, groans and oohs and aahs), and it was a great experience for these students to have to talk about their experience from the stage.

Photo: The Trinidad team on stage, while ES (who is the 2005-2006 SPACE mentoree) shares about her experience.

to the Class of 05

Well this is the last weekend that a lot of our graduating seniors are going to be around.  At least the ones that are going away to college that is.  Its a bittersweet time.  In one sense, its hard to see them leave.  So many of them have become friends instead of just students.  Not just good friends, but partners.  They actually care about the world.  They think that we can shape a generation.  They have this sense that the young people they have invested in will actually make a difference.

On the flip side, its awesome to send them out.  It really is the crux of what we do as youthworkers.  We build kids so that they can go out in the world.  We sit back and relish what they are doing.  We watch as their biggest fans, we cheer as they take Jesus into places and situations that we only once dreamed about.

Class of 05 - go on and amaze us like we know you will.

She will keep going

Rob Bell on the church --
"But she will live on.  She is indestructible.  When she dies in one part of the world, she explodes in another.  She's global.  She's universal.  She's everywhere.  And while she's fragile, she's going to endure.  In every generation there will be those who see her beauty and give their lives to see her shine.  Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against her.  That's strong language.  And its true.  She will continue to roll across the ages, serving and giving and connecting people with God and each other.  And people will abuse her and manipulate her and try to control her, but they'll pass on. And she will keep going."

in Velvet Elvis

Another new blog

My good friend LB has switched from LJ to blogger. Click here and welcome her.

Guat team home

Our GCC Guatemala team came home last weekend. I did a little light prep with that team in the Spring, and it's been fun to hear stories from their trip. I haven't really talked in detail with any of them, but it sounds like it was a success. It was definitely different than my trip to Brazil, but thats totally to be expected. Different age group, different goals, different context.

All of our teams are going to be sharing during all 4 services at GCC this weekend. If you are around and feel like coming to hear, that would be awesome. And if you prayed for us, being inspired by this blog, I would love to meet you on Sunday.

quote from work

Someone at work just said to me, "You are a good Christian boy."

Strategic Church Planting in Latin America

Nation Churches planted since 1992 Church-planting goals
Brazil 20,000 180,000

Argentina 4,000 28,000
Uruguay 1,000 2,000
Chile 2,000 20,000
Peru 11,000 40,000
Colombia 3,000 30,000
Venezuela 9,000 25,000
Panama 2,000 7,000
Mexico 8,000 50,000
Dominican Republic 4,000 12,000
Costa Rica 500 2,000
El Salvador 5,000 7,000
Guatemala 12,000 7,000
Cuba 6,000 6,000

Origins roundtables

Three Origins roundtables announced.  If only I had a smidge more vacation time left....  Michigan, Montreal, and Rhode Island in the fall.  More here.

Mission Trip Reentry, Debrief and Sharing

We had yet another Brasil team meeting last night, our first one post trip.  It was good.  Like I mentioned before, we never really did a lot to talk about debriefing and reentry, and last night was perfect.  Everyone has had enough time to process, share with their family and friends and get used to being back home after a great experience.

My friend T, the Fusion pastor organized it because he is in charge of 'Glimpse' Sunday, where all the mission teams will get a chance to share with the body about their trips.  In my view, its a pretty crucial thing, sharing with the body.  All the teams are really an extension of GCC around the world.  Many, many people in the church supported us through finances and prayer.  We were all 'sent out' a few Sundays ago.  And of course, its a great opportunity to expose people to SPACE.  (Sidebar:  Part of me wants to keep it really small and be mysterious and subversive.  Part of me thinks that after this summer, it's going to expand exponentially...) (Sidebar 2:  a God sized dream...)
So last night was a combination of reentry, debriefing and planning the service.  All three things are really well connected.  I put together the first two sections below and we did that over pizza.  We then moved into the auditorium and did section 3 below.

The kids spoke honestly and openly.  More than one of them shared how hard it is to be home and away from the team and the experience.  It was a really, really good time of just connecting again and probably the biggest thing for everyone was to hear, "You are not alone.  I feel the same way."

1.
Pick one from below and share how you did this in Brasil:
- Walk with humility.
Remember, you are showing up late to a meeting.  God has been at work among these people long before you arrived!    
- Embrace with affirmation.
Your greatest gift to the people you meet will be affirmation, not criticism.    
- Live with vulnerability.
Don't be afraid of weakness - it's normal.    
- Practice flexibility.
Always expect the unexpected - you're not in control.    
- Live as a student.
Be determined to learn from everyone.    
- Work as a servant.
Be willing to do whatever needs to be done.    
- Speak as a storyteller.
Let the Spirit tell God's story through you. (Taken from The Short Term Missions Workbook)    


2.
Pick two from below and answer:
-    The thing I liked best about my short-term was . . .
-    The thing that made my short-term most unpleasant was . . .
-    A story that is important for me to tell . . .
-    The most significant lesson God taught me was . . .
-    The area in my life where I saw the greatest change was . . .
-    One story that sums up what God did through me is . . .
-    The biggest challenge I face in returning home will be . . .
-    The thing I'm most thankful to God for is . . .
-    Now that I am back home, I feel
-    I find it easy to
-    I find it hard to
-    I wish
-    The people who I feel understand me are
-    I enjoy being with
-    I enjoy (activity)
-    My family says I
-    My friends say I
-    My pastor says I
-    I need help in

other comments from me:
- your emotions will be a rollercoaster
- it will get easier when you get into school and a routine
- its ok to let your emotions fade, but not your convictions

3.
planning for Sunday
- pray for a big ripple in the Body
- draw in
- one story - no other trip - only happened in Brazil
- what was its purpose
- how about the culture
- anything didn't expect
- hardest time
- when did you feel like 'God brought me for this exact moment?'
- one person you connected with
- how is Brazil different now that we went?
- how are you different?
- how can we encourage them more?

Prayer letter follow up

One snippet from GMcM's prayer update email --
"If hurricanes could be made of joy and love, one just roared through Londrina and left a trail of beauty in its wake.  Between August 2 and 9, a team of 10 Americans (6 high school students, 3 university students and a 36-year-old team coordinator) infiltrated our city in early August to help us connect with a new group of Brazilian students. In just eight days, God did more than all we could ask or imagine."

Is that sweet or what?

Brazil Various Stories

While on our various travels home, we had a two leg flight from Londrina to Sao Paulo, stopping in Curitiba. (Side note - Flying over Sao Paulo was unbelievable. You seriously cannot believe how big that city is. It makes NYC look like the mall.) We didn't need to get off the plane, we just chilled for 15 minutes or so. On this flight we met a man named Pedro traveling with his family. Pedro was from Sao Paulo, his wife was from Londrina. Pedro and his family were actually flying back to Wilmore, KY, where he is a student at Asbury Seminary. Before he was in seminary, he was a church planter in Paraguay. A Brazilian planting churches in Paraguay. Isn't that cool?
Of course, 10 Americans on his flight caught his attention and we got to tell him a little bit about what we were doing in Londrina. He loved hearing about it. In fact, he basically gave me an open invitation to bring a team to Paraguay. All around the world, cross cultural workers are dying for teams to come to serve with them. Indeed, the workers are few.

Our team was blessed with really good health, until the end. Aside from me, who had a slight stomach thing every 3rd day or so, everyone else was mostly healthy. We landed in the US at Dulles, took the tram from the gate to the main terminal and got in line at customs. All of us made it through customs with no issues. As we walked through the lobby into an annex area, AW puked. I was walking in front of her, and heard it.
One of those sounds that makes your stomach turn, literally. FZ was right behind her, and I distinctly remember her first response, "Oh, honey," said in a way that was so infinitely compassionate and maternal.
Our plan was to take a bus shuttle from the airport to the Metro station and then take the Metro back to Greenbelt where family could easily pick us up. AW was a putrid grey color the whole way. But, it was (almost) the absolute best place to get sick - right when we landed on US soil. Welcome home.

All of us liked Fatima from the very beginning. She didn't speak any English, but her heart overflowed with love every time we saw her. Her two sons would interpret for her when they were around. When they weren't, we kind of knew what she was thinking anyway. She was almost constantly thinking about us.
We had game night at her house and FZ didn't get any cake. After we all left, Fatima made her a whole chocolate cake. When BB was sick, she took his temperature every other hour. She made him drink water every hour, she made him soup and toast, she made a wicked potato salad. If my child had to be sick 5000 miles away, Fatima's apartment would be my top choice.

The soccer game was a lot of fun. We sat in the uncovered section - the people's section. Of course, there were the rowdys, the ones who loved the refs in one minute and had very creative insults about them ("You are a cow!") the next. Every once in a while, from the far corner of the stands, you would hear this single drum, beating at some wild cadence. I couldn't figure it out, and wondered whether there was a marching band or something. GMcM told me that fans organize their own fan clubs, complete with flags and shirts and other stuff like that. They all come to the game together, sit in the same section, and of course, bring their drums. The drum, he said, was indicative of the game. Soccer is not necessarily just a game with its procedures, strategy and rules. Its more of a dance, with its beats, rhythm and spontaneity.

Oh Brazil...

Photos: Sao Paulo, Fatimas family, and sitting at a soccer game.

Welcome FZ

FZ now has a blog. Welcome her.

Brazil - Metapost

Here is a summary post that has links to all the Brazil posts. I did this mostly for organization.

Aug 1:
Delays
Monday
Monday eve
Aug 2:
arrived in Londrina
Aug 3:
Wed am
Wed pm
Aug 4:
Thurs
Aug 5:
Friday
Friday pm
Aug 6:
Sat
Aug 7:
Sunday
Sunday pm
Aug 8:
Monday
Aug 9:
Tuesday
Aug 10:
Home

Reentry
Post trip eval
Trip Financials
My Notes about Brazilian culture
Various stories
GMcMs prayer update snippet
What Brasil did to me

I think its almost time to move on to 2005-2006...

Brazil - tonys notes about culture

These notes are more for me than anyone else...
Notes about Brazilian culture that I learned (maybe not all are totally true all of the time)

- greet friends of the other sex with a kiss on the cheek - always go to the left.
- have lunch as their biggest meal
- shower in the late afternoon evening
- never come to a meal dirty (like after playing soccer or working in the yard)
- eat pizza with a knife and fork
- eat a lot of red meat
- most movies are shown in English with Portuguese subtitles (weird - it should be the other way around)
- they listen to a lot of the same music we listen to
- rice and beans are at almost every meal
- the people are so incredibly warm, inviting and relational
- vestibular (the test to get into college) is a huge deal

I'm sure there is more...

Brazil financials

I'm trying to finish all the financials for the trip this weekend. That should close the whole trip mentally for me. Then I can move on.

In terms of how we dealt with spending money for the individual students -- they gave me a check, I deposited that in my account and then bought whatever they wanted and put it on my credit card. I kept pretty close track of what they spent. I will now go through all the receipts and give them a rebate check as well as a record of what they spent.

And for the overall trip... drumroll please....

Expenses:
flight - $13276.50
transit costs (shuttle, team meals, etc.) - $1642.76
costs in Brazil - $446.98
Total Expenses - $15366.24
(In other words, it costs us almost nothing to live and eat there.)

In terms of financial support, we are $15146.25 as of yesterday's mail. Oh, and this is not counting the $6000 credit we have from United. Oh, and the last Sunday we were in church, a parent of a graduating senior wrote us a check for $1500. Jesus gets it right on the money.

Brazil - More processing

I'm still thinking through the trip, in lots and lots of ways. I spent a lot of time recently just updating my journal. Great to rethink through the trip and remember all the funny and obscure details. All in all, I'm just ecstatic about how it turned out. Everything from the team to what we did to getting to know and serve the McMs, all of it - I'm really proud of it all. It has to rank as being one of the more successful things that I have done of late. So I'm just beaming when I think about it. Like anything similar, there are going to be things that can be improved. So here is my rough list of good and bad.

What We Did Right
- We went and served a GCC family.
Hands down, this is golden. Totally makes the whole thing worthwhile.
- We lived among the culture.
Instead of living all together, in an 'American' compound, we split up and lived with Brazilian families in their homes. It's a balancing act, finding enough time for your team together while also making sure you spend a good bit of time with the host families, because they really want to get to know you and host you.
- We went with the intention to build relationships.
Our team never squandered our time there. Every day had a sense of urgency to it, all opportunities were okay to capitalize on.
- We brought the right leader team.
Like I mentioned in a previous post, the leaders were great. There was never a time when I couldn't trust them. Traveling to another country with leadership issues would have been really bad news.
- Our music policy worked.
In the end, it wasn't so much about the music, but about the team paying attention to the rest of the team.
- A community service project that everyone could get involved in.
Both Americans and Brazilians got involved in the playground work. It was pretty awesome.

For Next Time (didn't I tell myself I was too old for this again?)
- Use more live music.
We didn't do any worship as a team. More live music, especially for worship, would have been pretty cool.
- We were a little short on time.
Probably due to flying out a day late. But time did fly by.
- The point leader should stay with the point host.
In this case, since this whole thing was setup by me and GMcM, it would have been better to stay at his house. It was definitely not a big deal. For both of us, the informal, various time around the house would have surely been filled with great conversation and thinking. I'm lucky, because doing this kind of stuff gives me access to some really quality people.
- Leadership sets the tone.
As the primary shaper of the leader culture, I should have been a bit more careful with my attitude and language when the lead team would discuss issues. It's way too easy to be sarcastic and caustic. Even with leaders (maybe especially with leaders), there are attitudes that are conveyed which have to be in check.
- Plan for a neutral location for reentry.
We didn't do this, there just wasn't enough time. Reentry is really important and should also include a discussion about relationships, not just cultural reentry. Adding a reentry location certainly complicates travel logistics though.
- Kids are not allowed to bring cell phones.
Yup, you can relate.
- A sleep-in day.
I got this idea from my friend, T. During one week long retreat, he grabbed all of us leaders to cook breakfast in bed for all the kids. The idea was just to give them a break, let them sleep in a bit, serve them a bit. Great idea. By the end, we totally could have used one of those days.

Photo: The whole crew that helped fix up the playground.

Post trip relevant music

I am small and I speak when I spoken to,
But I am willing to risk it all
Say your name just Your name
And I'm ready to jump, even ready to fall
Brave

I'm playing Gameboy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon
I'm eating candy sittin' at a gourmet feast I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean
Tell me what's the deal with me (I know the time has come for me to)
Wake up and see the glory
See the Glory

With Leaders Like These...

I'm in the process of trying to close out the SPACE 2004-2005 school year. Yup, it's kind of a lost cause. 2005-2006 is already brimming with loads of possibilities, and I'm pretty toasty from Brasil. But its okay. In the meantime, I've had a tremendous summer. And most of what has made it for me has been the phenomenal leaders I've had the true privilege of working with.

These guys and gals score every time. They are engaged, they are learners, they take great notes. They live out loud, they know Jesus is worth it, and they see such potential in young people. They serve and serve and serve, without any regard for their own time, ego or well being. They love kids over and over. They stop and listen for what God is saying to them. They know that the next generation must care about the world. What they believe is integrated with how they live. They are ambassadors, hosts, shepherds, mobilizers, counselors, friends. They will do anything, and not only do it, but ask about what needs to be done next. Warm, gentle, well spoken, they all have a great sense of humor (especially to put up with me.) Reliable, dependable, trustworthy. I think enough of them to ask them to travel with me, to herd a group of kids, to teach, model, encourage, inspire. These guys and gals have made my summer. With leaders like these, who needs students...

Photos: The Brasil lead team - FZ, JAB and LB. Three of the CMTS lead team - ELB, NLind and MR.

refreshed template

Well I refreshed to a new (but the same) template.  I figured my old one was so hacked, and I wanted to see if a refresh would make a difference.  Specificall, I want to see if:
- if my sidebar is still at the bottom when using some browsers.
- if posts from my phone still show up in funny font.

If you see either, leave a comment.  (I think that is still working...)

Brasil reentry

I knew reentry would be tough.  However, its a little tougher than I imagined.  Most of it is your standard stuff.  The team just came from an intense spiritual high experience.  Little things remind them of Brasil.  Friends and family are interested, but don't really quite understand.  You didn't have to think about your daily pressures and responsibilities and now since you are back home, you do. 

During our long layover at the Sao Paulo airport, we had a bit of time to talk about reentry and the experience.  Some of the topics and ideas we covered included:
- Is this what you expected?
- What would you change on this trip?
- What were some of the negatives?
- God will continue the work He and you have started in your new friends.  You were a catalyst.  Our whole goal was for you to start something and then have to leave.
- When people ask about your trip, have two versions ready - one that is 2 minutes long, one that is 20 minutes long. 
- Be sensitive to people at home.  They won't understand, and you shouldn't expect them to.
- Don't go home to live a mediocre existence.

On a related note, I'm always looking for good reentry material.  If you have something you really like, would love to hear about it.

Brazil - safe and sound at home

Well thanks for praying.  We are all safe and sound at home.  AW did get a bit sick at the airport.  But otherwise we are all home.  Great trip.  Definitely more posting after more processing.

So Long Brazil

We are leaving for the airport in 15 minutes.  Last night was definitely pretty difficult - we said goodbye to many of the Brazilian students we had built relationships for.  But in the end, that was our goal - to catalyze relationships so that the McMs can build on them.  Still, very difficult. I think today will be harder.  There is a group of them coming to see us off at the airport.  Very cool.  And of course, having to say goodbye to the McMs.

I'm seeing that this departure process is in three stages.  Us and the students.  Us and our hosts.  And finally, us.  The most difficult will be to depart from the team and family that has become us - both in the past 10 days, but also even way before that, as the team came together, prepped, dreamed and prayed.  To be honest, I'm not sure I'm fully prepared for that.  And I know that I haven't prepared the kids for that either.  Of course, the stronger the team, the harder the process.

Ok, so maybe next post from the US...?

 

Oh- SS has a slight temp, but feels fine.  Our flights from Sao Paulo are confirmed, but no seats yet.  Whatever that means.  First cloudy day here in Londrina.  Like GMcM said, people would pay a lot of money to live in a climate like this.

Brazil - Final night

We had a big party tonight.  Like this week hasn't been a party.  Ha.  Seriously though, the relationships which we built - and the context of them - made for a pretty emotional farewell tonight.  When I consider missional experiences, I always consider debriefing around the idea of culture and culture shock, but not usually around how to deal with relationships that are created in an intense, tight environment, and then are seemingly over.

 

Tonight, it was the pizza man, a talent show and farewells.  Hard to say goodbye, but if we expected to be catalysts for relationships that the McMs can grow, its a very healthy symptom.

 

Pray for our flight from Londrina to Sao Paulo.  Rumor is that if it rains, it gets delayed.  Also pray for our flight on our favorite airline - United - from Sao Paulo to DC.  I really don't want to get bumped, and I seemingly cannot check in online for international flights.  And pray for SS, he had a fever tonight and an upset stomach.  Apparently there is another virus going around Londrina - an intestinal one.

 

Hopefully the next post will be from my house.

More Sunday

Today was even more fun. This morning we worked in a park, planting some long growing vines and fixing a walk across cable thing.

EmGberg, one of our students, has this incredible knack for learning Portueguese. It's pretty wild, she can rattle off probably 20 or 30 phrases and is seemingly able to begin conversations after just having been here for 6 days. GMcM said, "She is really Brazilian..." because she is so warm, outgoing and amicable. It's very true. Quite a blessing to have such an ambassador on the team.

Tonight a bunch of us went out to a small snack place, again with more of the Brazilian students. In all, there was 21 of us, packed into a little cafe place. Very cool, very fun. We are definitely helping the McMs gain some new relationships among high schoolers. They are doing university ministry, but there are loads of high schoolers around.

Photo: EmGberg engaging total strangers in natural conversation, and a few of our students and their plantings in the park.

Brazil Sunday

Quick post right now.

Worked in community park this morning.  Planting some long growing vines, fixing some walk across cable things for little kids.  Some kids came right out when we were done to play on them.  Very cool impact in that the McMs will definitely get a reputation out of it.

 

This afternoon, sent A&F on a mini SPACE international date to see one of the biggest soccer games in Brasil.  Very fun for them.  The rest of us split between the guys and LF going to see a local soccer game (Londrina won 2-0) and the rest of the girls going to see a movie and the mall with some of the Brazilian girls.

 

Tonight is some more hang out time and a Brazilian film.  You can pray for LB, she burned her hand on some hot water.  Pray for healing and relief from the pain.

 

Hard to believe that we have only one full day left.

Brazil Sat

I forgot to mention yesterday that right before our carnivore fest, I had a really upset stomach. It's always a pretty fun experience to ask your foreign country hosts if they have a plunger.

This morning, I woke up with the same stomach issue. So I stayed in bed for most of the morning. The other leaders told the kids I was taking a paid vacation day. Ha. Thanks also for praying about BB - he was totally recovered today.

We did a BBQ picnic kind of thing today. The McMs rented a nearby park with a building, bbq pit, and soccer field with lights for the whole day and evening. We just hung out with the Brazilian students, played American football, soccer, frisbee and stuff. Towards the end, we also had a short skit and GMcM did a little talk about identity and how God has created all of us with one specific one. The Brazilians they were totally tracking, it was cool to see that they were so intent on paying attention.

After that we went back to the house to have a quick team meeting. I wanted to cover two specific topics. First, there have been some minor issues with guy and girl relationships between our students and the Brazilians. We emphasized again the idea of being an example and making sure that we weren't sending bad signals. You know that those people that fall in love on mission trips and retreats always live happily ever after... Secondly, now that we are on day 6, attitude is one thing that we all have to focus on. And God refreshes those that refresh others. So at least some of us are going to have to rely on God to help us have a great attitude when we wouldn't be able to have that on our own.

I rode with G and M McM back to my house tonight. They both told me how encouraged they felt. In fact, GMcM said that when he was going to mention it at the end of our team meeting, he decided against it because he started to get teary eyed about the impact we were making and how overwhelemed they were.

Continue to pray for our impact with these students. They are so warm and relational, there are lots of significant conversations going on. You can pray for the team's health, attitude and working together as one movement. You can also pray for my family at home, D and K have a minor eye infection, E has a bit of a summer cold. Its a big drag knowing your family is sick and you are 5000 miles from home.

Photo: JAB, BB and SS at the park down the street from the McMs. We will be working there on Sunday, planting, fixing some swings, etc. as an effort to impact the community.

Friday update

Tonight we went to a Brazilian bbq restaurant for dinner. Can you say carnivore? It was an awesome three hours of red meat.

You can pray for BB. He skipped dinner tonight and apparently has a virus that is going around. No fever, no upset stomach, just a really sore throat. He is resting well and is staying at G's house. G's mother, F, is about the sweetest woman you would ever meet. She is definitely doting on him. Last night, she made F a cake. If there was anyone you would want your child staying with 5000 miles away in a foreign country, it would totally be F.

Tomorrow, we are doing a bbq (yes another one) for the high schoolers. Our team has also put together two skits as a way to stimulate discussion among all the students. The theme is about identity and external and internal forces against the identity that God has placed inside you.

GMcM is experiementing with small group discussions. We've only had one so far, whether it was succesful or not is still up in the air. I think they are going to go better, especially since our students feel like they have really gone a lot deeper in conversation that they expected at this point.

Photo: A and F talking about dating, relationships and God in their lives.

Brazil friday

Hard to believe that it is already Friday. Our time here has flown by. We had team time this morning, FZ ran it and it was great. The leader team is making the trip for me - we are moving in close step synergy, the other three leaders are totally sold out to making this trip for the students, serving the McMs in every way possible and teaching and modeling cross cultural ministry for our students. I'm very fortunate. Our students really feel some momentum with their relationshps with the Brazilian kids, especially after game night last night. They are connecting more and more. An even cooler thing is that they are feeling more and more responsible for the relationships they are building. One thing we have pending is a conversation with GMcM about ideas he can use for follow up with these kids - our students have tons of ideas. We also talked this morning about the idea of leaders reaching leaders, and that those leaders you reach will impact the community way more than you will. It was a great discussion.

This afternoon, some of our students are writing and practicing a skit to dramatize the idea of God's identity and external things that impact identity. Tonight, we are going to a Brazilian BBQ restaurant. These past two days have been a bit slow because many of the Brazilian students are taking their entrance exams to the universities. So they are studying like mad.

Two of our students are going to the doctor this afternoon. They both have minor sore throats, are a little swollen in their neck. You can definitely lift that up in prayer. Another one of our students is feeling like she is easily distracted. Not sure of all the details, but the question I posed to the leaders was, "When can you tell whether something like this is spiritual?" Satan would love to use whatever he can to distract us. Finally, you can pray that we would continue to use the time wisely, that we would move conversations from the mind to the heart, that we would continue to be mostly healthy. Along the health lines, the food is excellent, the water is totally safe, and the Brazilians are incredibly warm and hospitable.

Photos: game night at Gs, the leader team in the park we will work in on Sunday, some of our team in McDonalds in the mall.

Brazil thurs

We had another good day today, seeing more relationships get built and progressed.  This morning, some of the girls went to a local high school with their new Brazilian friends.  One of the guys went to a local high school early, and then all of us went on a quick tour of the local university.  Pretty interesting.

 

In the afternoon, the girls had a girls only lunch and then went to the mall, again with a bunch of Brazilian girls.  Us guys scoped out a park where we will be doing some replanting and rebuilding.  The park is right in the McMs neighborhood and is a potential trouble spot if the community lets it get run down.  We then drove through some parts of Londrina as well as checking prices at a local hardware store.

 

We met up with the girls at the mall for dinner and then went to G´s house for game night, where they taught us a Brazilian card game, had some music and hung out with more Brazilian students.  One of them was a mad, mad card magician.  A and F also did a little talk about their relationship, who Jesus was in their lives and why that was important.

 

We are continuing to make and build relationships with these students.  In addition, GMcM told me that he felt like we were really helping him make some inroads with their parents as well.  They are building a reputation of creating a safe place for their kids, with good and wholesome activities.  G´s mom mentioned to GMcM how great she thought A&F´s talk was. 

 

The card magician, M, was quite a dude.  Not only was he really good at cards, he was a Rubiks cube whiz, and a violin virtuoso.  Seriously.  Where do kids like that come from?  Those are the types of kids that will engage culture and shape and define the future.  If they aren´t Christ followers, then the future is in jeopardy.

 

A few of our students have commented on how ethnocentric Americans are.  At least two of them have decided that they will learn another language when they get home.  One of the keys for us as a leader team is to make sure experience translates into behavior.  You cannot be the same person as before this experience, your behavior must be different based on the correct principles you experience.  In the movement to build global Jesus followers that care about changing the world, I think learning another language is a great start.

sidebar

just noticed - my sidebar links and info are all the way at the bottom of the page in some browsers. no idea, not enough time to fix it now. but hit the key if you want.

Wed pm

We had music night tonight - at least I think that was the idea. There was definitely loads of music! There were about 20 Brazilian students at the McMs house and a few guitars, drums and a .... karoke machine. Very very funny. The kids had a great time just hanging out, singing karoke and just being together. Lots of fun.

Tomorrow morning has the girls and one of the boys visiting local high schools with friends of the McMs. Only one of the guys can go because of school permission issues with the administration, which is a little too bad. I would have liked to have gone, I would have been very early, but fun. And of course, most kids think I´m a high schooler anyway.

You readers can continue to pray for open hearts among the Brazilian students. There were probably 8-10 of them that showed up tonight that had never been to the McMs house before, which was really neat. That is one of the goals - to catalyze some new relationships for them, which will eventually be used as momentum for relationships at the university level. Our team is totally healthy, all the food here in the city is safe. And delicious. Continue to pray that our team continues to work as a team, that we encourage one another, that we care for one another continually.

SS, TS and me are staying at J´s house, probably the nicest apartment building in the whole city. Which brings up an interesting point that JAB asked me about tonight - what about the idea of comfort zone and taking kids out of theirs? Definitely a valid question. However, a few things come to mind. First and foremost, I believe (at this point) that I am willing to sacrifice the comfort zone issue in order that our students develop a serious affinity to serving families from GCC already overseas. Given the choice of developing a student outside of their comfort zone versus having a student understand long term partnership with a GCC family, I think we should be opting for the latter. Secondly, they can always choose to go outside their comfort zone in the future, college, post-college, etc. And their idea of moving out of their comfort zone may not be totally feasible in their high school days, while under the close care of their parents. I´m not convinced we should be reaching for the most inhospitable places on earth to travel to with high schoolers. College aged people are a different story (and out of my realm.) If a student gets a burning desire to be overseas from a high school team working with a GCC family, I´m sure they will find loads of places in the world that will expand their comfort zone. In the meantime, even though it´s plush, I can tell you - without any doubt - the McMs are so hugely encouraged by us being here.
I know I said it before, and I say it with so much more direct experience now, sending a team to a GCC family is about the best goal we can have.

Wed am

Great day on Wed so far.

Team time in the morning, including having GMcM give an intro, overview.  We talked a bit about culture and example.  This team is an example.  Also, we are asking them to exclude some of their own culture, to immerse themselves in another culture, and not impose their culture on this one.  A hard task, but the essence of cross cultural ministry.

Did a conversation about challenges to youth, small group atmosphere with all the students.  Had about 8 Brazilian kids show up.  Then had the basketball star come and talk about his life with Christ including losing their 2 year old daughter.  Then went to a local school and played some basketball in teams.  Tons of kids were watching, they all wanted our autographs.  Very funny.  Will upload pics soon.

Tonight is music night (I think).

Our kids are relishing this trip.  Very fun for them and the connection we have with the McMs is becoming a more significant thing to them with more time.  The ideals behind this trip are becoming tangible.  I´m loving it.

I drove in Brazil today. LB was scared.

arrived in Londrina

Well after almost 48 hours of some kind of travel, the team has made it here to Londrina.  After departing Dulles (finally), all other flights and plans went pretty well.  We didn´t do too bad, since we got:

- $6000 in airline credits from United

- 9 free rides on the Metro

- 5 rooms for free at the Hilton (the team forced me to take the king room)

- $200 in food vouchers that we definitely used up

 

Thanks for praying.  We are well, in good spirits, happy to be here.  All of our hosts are great.  The girls are staying with the McMs; SS, TS and me are staying at Js, and JAB and BB are at Gs. 

Mon eve

Almost boarding all 10 of us

Monday

I'm at the Hilton Bus Center. We got 5 rooms here last night, $6000 airline credit and loads of food vouchers... Not such a bad deal I guess.
A little frustrating but not much we could do in the scheme of things. International travel - just go with the flow and be flexible.
Team is doing well. We ordered $140 of food last night at 1am.
We will probably do a thing in DC today, National Geo museum - themes of culture, exploration, risk, inititative.

Delays

We got bumped from our flight. $600 credit for each ticket. Same flight tomm

adult church praying for us

right now, we are in the middle of morning services where adult church is praying for us.  the momentum is building...

saturday

Less than 24 hours before we leave. 
Today is my 11th wedding anniversary.  We are getting a brownie sunday and renting a dvd tonight.
Just played Go Fish with my 7 and 4 year olds.  E, who is 4, doesn't know her numbers.  Very fun.
Next post will probably be from Londrina Brazil.

Leader Reading

One of the hands down best parts about this trip is the leader team.  I've said it before, I'm saying it again.  These guys and gals do whatever it takes in order for the mission.

- JB went into a sporting goods store with a handwritten letter for me, on some psuedo church stationary, asking if he could get a discount on some flag football stuff for the trip. (He got 50% off by the way.)
- JB and FZ drove into DC looking for the visa place.  When they got there, there was no one there.
- LB sat in the international SPACE office and copied and scanned passports and visas with D.  For a few hours.
- All three wrote some hott devotions for the plane ride.
- JB and FZ collected various facts about Brazil and common phrases in Portueguese.
- LB and FZ put together the plane packets.

Totally my privilege to lead with them.  Part of the honor is getting to create and shape their ethos, while they do the same with the students.  (Yup, that message from Erwin again.)  So one of the things I did is put a little packet of "light" reading together.  Below are the articles.
(If you are one of my leaders reading this, stop reading now.)
- Billions to be won - going after the largest mission field in the world - youth
- STM - make a difference?
- Alex McManus - plant churches?
- Alex McManus - the News and hospitality
- Organic Multiplication

Wow... it is late Friday night and we leave Sunday evening.

D

My wife D does an incredible amount of behind-the-scenes stuff for SPACE. I'm going to try to list it all, with just recent memory, but I know I'm going to miss something...

- SPACE chef - made taco salad for 40 people for missions prep day
- SPACE art director - two posters for Brazil and CMTS mission teams
- SPACE dessert queen - made a Brazilian lime pie for our team meeting
- SPACE bookkeeper - organized, entered and reported on over 350 SPACE contributions totalling more than $22K
- SPACE mission leader - helped brainstorm and execute our DC day, with some great ideas including going to the Air and Space Museum, culture survey and not going to Adams Morgan
- SPACE administrator - helping to coordinate, organize and double and triple check all the visa paperwork
- SPACE help desk - answering crazy questions from parents about shots, etc
- SPACE maid - cleans up the international SPACE office for me
- SPACE permission granter - lets me do this crazy experiment
- Sheng general contractor - making sure our bathroom remodel goes fine next week, with two kids in tow
And of course, sooo many other things.

But what she does best is being a wife and mother. That counts multitudes more than anything in the list above.
love

visas are done

whew
check it out - visa guy said for all of ours to come through like that was a miracle, 'there is usually always something wrong with some of them.'

Londrina, Brazil

I mentioned a bit in a previous post about some mistakes on my last international missions trip. Here is what I think we are doing right this time:
- Long term partnership
We are working with a family from GCC. They used to live in Maryland and are one of the families that are homegrown on mission.
- Engage the local culture
Our team is going to be split up and staying with at least two families, possibly three. There is no sense of an American 'compound' as such this time, no concept of us retreating to our little home away from home. Home for us will be totally Brazilian.
- Setting up local ministry
One of the things we will be doing there is being involved in a culture exchange. It will look something like us hanging out with Brazilian high schoolers, being exposed to elements of culture from both countries. This is a great opportunity to jump start relationships that our hosts have with students, since our hosts work on a college campus. It could help getting them started for the next college term. Another activity we will be involved in is planting a garden at a local school.
In both cases, it's not as simple as bringing a team to build a church or construct something and then leaving. Instead, our activities should really give something for our indigenous, local ministry leaders to follow up on and build upon.
- To bless our family away from home
I hope that the team is sick of me saying this... Our whole mission is to bless and serve our GCC family. The rest is just icing.

Pew report - Teens and Technology

The Pew Internet report titled, "Teens and Technology: Youth are leading the transition to a fully wired and mobile nation."
87% of US teens aged 12-17 use the internet.
45% of teens have cell phones and 33% are texting.
51% of families have broadband.
73% of home teen users go online from a computer located in an open family area.
Size of wired teen population surges at seventh grade mark.  60% of sixth graders are online, jumps to 82% of seventh graders.

McLean Bible, VA - student ministry openings

McLean Bible Church, one of the mega churches on the other side of the DC Beltway from me, has three student ministry positions open.  I like to read job descriptions and these seem to be well thought out.  Hopefully, looking at those job descriptions can help some of you readers.
However, check out the required/preferred experience and the salary for each of these jobs.  That is some serious job experience and those are some heavy job responsibilities.  Of course, to live in DC on that salary.... My personal opinion - you would have to be insane to take any of these jobs. Of course, many of us are crazy already...

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE/SKILLS (for all three)
Bachelor degree required
Minimum 3 years experience as a full time staff member responsible for a growing student ministry of at least 350 students
Minimum 7 years student ministry experience (may include part time and internships)
Proven experience growing a student ministry numerically (must be documented in resume)
Compatibility with McLean Bible's vision, core values and statement of faith (available at www.mcleanbible.org)

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE/SKILLS (for all three)
5+ years experience with a growing student ministry of 500 or more students
7 years full time experience in student ministry

STUDENT MINISTRIES CAMPUS MINISTRY COORDINATOR
$45-55K
RESPONSIBILITIES TO INCLUDE:
Developing and implementing a campus impact strategy to incorporate students into the weekly large gathering event
Building and empowering school coach teams for selected schools
Developing outreach tools/events to reach campuses
Coordinating small group community Bible study development and leadership
Overseeing the transition from grade-based small groups to regional community Bible studies

STUDENT MINISTRIES VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
$35K-45K
RESPONSIBILITIES TO INCLUDE:
Defining the needs of the student ministry alongside the director and associate director
Recruiting, equipping and impassioning adult volunteer staff
Developing and maintaining a database retrieval system for matching interests, gifts and skills of volunteers with the needs of the ministry
Designing and implementing volunteer selection process including detailed job descriptions
Initiating appropriate training for volunteers
Ensuring quarterly performance reviews of all volunteer staff
Facilitating recognition for volunteers
Organizing staffing for all events including pre-event prayer and post-event analysis
Development and direction of student leadership team

STUDENT MINISTRIES ASSIMILATION DIRECTOR
$35-45K
RESPONSIBILITIES TO INCLUDE:
Ensuring a guest-friendly environment including building signage, promotional materials…etc.
Monitoring student attendance
Management of the student ministry database
Recruiting and equipping adult and student greeting teams for all events
Developing and overseeing ministry follow-up strategy including all emails, phone calls, and correspondence
Coordinating periodic phone and email "blasts"
Overseeing the assimilation of students from children's ministry to junior high ministry and from junior high ministry into the high school ministry

god speaks campaign

Godspeaks campaign starts again.  There was one in 1998, now another one in 2005.  More from the Friday Fax.

don miller sermons

linked here

Just Jump In

I leave for Brazil in 4 days. It's one of those things you can't quite comprehend. In many ways, its totally exciting. What a privilege to take a group of students into another culture, solely to encourage and bless a family from our church. With this trip, I think I've encapsulated a lot of the principles that I believe in so strongly in regards to overseas mission trips with students. (Long term relationship/partnership, strong team preparation, engaging the culture, etc. - all the stuff I've written about before)

The last time (and first time) I left the country with students was in 1993. Although it was a pretty good mission trip, there were a lot of things that we did incorrectly. There wasn't such a clear distinction between being a mission tourist and really having a mission to bless others around us. We didn't engage the surrounding culture like we could have. We stayed in an American 'compound.'

As much as I love taking students into new experiences soley for expanding the Kingdom, I'm a nervous wreck about this one. I wake up every morning feeling like I'm going to puke. It's getting better now that all the visa paperwork is complete and almost (hopefully) done. But there is still the actual traveling, making sure everyone has all their stuff, and hoping that we have prepared these kids in the right manner to really impact and bless others.

On the contrary, I know that God has paved the way for us. Nothing is going to be a surprise for Him, He lavishes in the fact that we are taking a risk for His sake.

This summer, my daughter K learned how to jump into the deep end of the pool. It's a real model for me this summer. The unknown, a new culture and context, the butterflies in the stomach, the final action of just taking that step. Let me get my googles.

Photo: The third time ever that K jumped into the deep end of the pool.

3 fibs and the truth

Great article here about which details 3 fibs that American churches have propogated about premarital sex.  Looks like a great resource to think through when students bring up related questions.

PM's 2006 student missions budget

My good friend PM has already published his 2006 student missions budget.  I told you all he was the real deal.

4 out of 10

good news!! four out of our ten visas are done.  the remaining six should be ready (keep praying) on thursday...  thanks for uplifting this need!

Building community with a splitter

I've decided that I'm buying a bunch of these if I can. It occurred to me a few days ago that while we are traveling, it would be so fun to listen to music with another person. I did this with K when we went to Boot Camp last summer. And I'm thinking that it would be fun to do it again with different people on our team. Much like trading music, but listening together. The overwhelming principle - building community among the team.

Final Brazil team meeting

We had our last team meeting tonight before departure. We went over the info packet, including what to pack, how to pack, what to bring, what to expect with regard to weather, activities...and of course, a music policy. Ha.
Seriously though, music is such a big deal with students, I decided to come up with some rough guidelines.
One final topic was - whatever you do now affects the team. Don't get enough rest before the trip, the team has to drag you along. Don't spend enough time with God, you hurt the rest of the team. We are now an organism that functions together.
Good meeting overall, the mood is excied yet a bit nervous and apprehensive. Worries include 23 hours of travel, what will the food be like, hoping no one gets sick. The team seems excited about the ministry opportunities we will be involved in, including the culture exchange, planting the garden and the various sports things.

T minus 6 days until Brazil!

Summer greetings to all you partners of SPACE!!
(Students Prepared to Act for Christ's Empire - the student missions component of GCC's youth ministry)

Thanks to all of you who have prayed and supported this summer's SPACE activities.  Your involvement and support has been crucial as we seek to send some pretty cool kids intentionally into other cultures and experiences to expand the Kingdom forth.

I've had some pretty phenomenal experiences this summer so far.  As I wrote about in my support letter, I was able to spend a few days
helping out with a community outreach with a youth pastor friend in Gilbert, AZ.  We had a great time reaching out to the community via a skatepark outreach, his local church's VBS and helping lead and direct a great community of students.  We may potentially partner in the future on some student mission projects.  I also helped lead a 21 person team of middle school kids and leaders that helped with an organization that supports missionaries with technical services.  We did various work projects around the property including washing and cleaning cars, lots of lawn and landscaping work and general cleaning.

As of now, we are about 6 days away from departing for the Brazil team.  Our team of 10 students and leaders are very excited about serving and encouraging GCC missionaries the McMs.  Plans include a culture exchange with Brazilian high schoolers, a one day baseketball camp and planting a community garden at a local school.

Our departure is July 31st and we would really appreciate your prayers about the following:
- that our visas are approved in the next day or two with no issues
- a safe arrival and good health for the entire team
- that our team would pour out ourselves in order to serve and encourage the McMs

Feel free to check tonytsheng.blogspot.com with updates about our mission to Brazil.  Thanks once again for supporting SPACE - you are integral to the next generation of students creating the future for the Kingdom!

love
- tony

real failure?

'real failure is actually not trying' - read another post in his series of mDNA from Phil

SPACE summer finance

With Trinidad now off and in the field, the other team dealing with finances is Brazil. In 11 weeks of raising support for these two SPACE teams, we have raised about $22K. That's about $2K per week, which I think is a pretty astonishing number.
A few things I have noticed regarding this summer's finances:
- Protect donor information. Make sure that your leaders that need to know the information (for thank you cards, current status, purchasing items and budgeting) understand how sensitive it is.
- Work in tandem with the church's finance people. We have a great accountant who has gone out of her way to help us. For example, we enter all the donations into an Excel spreadsheet, but only date, donor name, amount, team name, team member. We use that for feedback to the team members. Our accountant actually enters all the personal info of the donor into some accounting system. At the end of the year, they generate all the receipts. So she has made it really easy for us. Once you have agreed on a system, it will go much easier.
- Don't manage the donations by hand. Use a computer. If you have experience with Excel, you know what it can do. My top three Excel things - Sort, AutoFilter, Subtotals.

Trinidad is en route!

The third of our four major missional movements is now en route. They left Columbia at 7:00am this morning. I was crazy enough to get up at 5.45 (am!) so I could meet them all at 6 and see them off. It's a great team and I am overjoyed with their team and the work they are doing (like I am with all the SPACE stuff going on this summer.) For new readers, this team is serving and encouraging a family that our church supports in Trinidad. This is the third student team that we have sent to this family as long as I have been at Grace. Long term relationship, students impacting a part of the world where we already have a connection, seeing church planting and evangelism first hand - all elements that I believe are right on track with a student mission strategy.
On a related note, in the summer of 2004, we sent out 33 students and leaders. 12 of those directly impacted a Grace supported organization (although another 12 went with an organization we had gone with before, but not suppported by the church.) This summer, we will have sent out 52 students and leaders on some sort of missional experience (Trinidad, CMTS, the DC day trip and Brazil.) Of that number, 40 will have connected with a Grace supported missionary family or organization. I know that one of the challenges for this school year and next summer is momentum.

I love these parents

I've been going a little nuts this week trying to get all of our team's visa paperwork for Brazil. Of course, I need to make sure this integral fact is clear - this last minute pressure of all of this is totally my fault. I had everything we needed, but didn't get the info out in time. Now, everyone is running around like a bat out of ....
We turned in 4 out of 10 last night (the VISA guy lives a few miles down the road) and he said everything looked good and they were in the Brazil counsular office today. (I know because the church got a call about them.) So that is great news. Thanks for continuing to pray about them.
Even though I totally dropped the ball, the parents of these kids have been phenomenal. They have totally bent over backwards to get all the stuff their kids need. Not only that, they've apologized for being so late. Not only that, they've offered to help me do whatever needs to be done. (I didn't bring up tiling the shower though.) And, they have all done it with such a great attitude. Note the envelope above. I don't know what language that is in the lower right corner, but I do know that it made me laugh out loud when I read it. "Importante." Not only are these parents so helpful, they crack me up. No wonder each student on this team is so great.

Most Muslims

Muslims in the World
1,316,000,000

Muslims Who Know A Christian (well enough)
152,000,000 (12%)

Muslims Who Don't Know A Christian
1,164,000,000 (88%)
from Joel

Brazil - pray for visas

hi readers... could you pray for our visas, specifically that:
- all the paperwork would get in and approved no problem
- even though it says 'valid passport for 6 months', that would be ignored
- they would have mercy on us because we are bunch of kids

thanks for praying!

reminders to myself

If you are planning an international mission trip:
- don't decide to retile your bathroom in the two weeks before you leave.
- don't wait on the visa paperwork until the last minute.
- continue to love these parents that bend over backwards to get their kids' stuff to you on time.
- laugh at the chaos God loves to be in the middle of.

missional DNA

Phil at signposts has a series of posts about missional DNA, an idea put forth in a new book from Alan Hirsch, one of the authors of The Shaping of Things to Come . 
These five elements are; missional incarnational impulse, apostolic environment, communitas not community, organic systems and disciple making. It is Alan's thesis that these five elements are the catalyst for the missional church.

getting our attention

In one of my recent posts, I faintly alluded to something that I had really wanted.  I can't write too much more about it, but it was something that I thought God had really planned for.  We'll call this plan X.  It wasn't a material thing, but something much bigger than that.  Anyway, it didn't work out and I was a bit surprised that it didn't.  At dinner last night (SO good to be with the fam again), D and I were chatting about the rather strange things that have happened of late:
* the healings and somewhat miracles that happened in AZ
- Susie's knee being prayed for
- Courtney's headache going away after Mandy (of all people) kissing her forehead
- John's knee being prayed for
- Bill's gas tank being filled
* the stranger that bought $63 worth of ice cream at Dairy Queen for the LC kids
* D going to the doctor yesterday and having a miraculously low blood pressure (she has a history of high blood pressure)

D said something like God is taking care of us in spite of plan X not working out, He still wants us to know He is there.  Right on.

shots for Brazil

Got my shots for Brazil this morning.  Tetanus, yellow fever and hep A.  If you are in Howard County, MD, I have a great travel vaccination place.

Brazil passports

Thanks for praying for LF - she got her passport.... Now to get visas... I get my shots tomorrow.... Team meeting on Wed, packing party on Sunday, departure on the 31st....

LC - CMTS wrap up post

A few of us leaders took a few of our middle school (Light Company) kids to serve at CMTS over this past weekend.  CMTS serves missionaries both out in the field and at home by fixing cars and supplying technical and mechanical expertise and equipment.
We had a team of 21 students and leaders and they all worked extremely hard.  Most of it was manual labor - washing cars, mowing grass, landscaping, cleaning and hauling stuff.  Definitely hard work and these kids were all troopers.
CMTS has their annual open house this coming weekend, so it was a really good time for us to go and help make the place look a little nicer, cleaner, more organized, etc.  What I love about the place is that the director and his wife, Andy and Nancy, have a very cool perspective on the world that you don't usually find.  They are in touch with so many people.  They have lived a wild life of faith.  They aren't at all into image, prestige, or position.
It is one thing to serve and to do a really good job at it.  But I think it has to be more than that.  One of the ultimate goals of SPACE is that we are preparing kids for something.  The things that we do, mission trips, outreaches, serving the homeless, whatever, those things are all on the way to something else, none of them are an end to themselves.  And that's what I love about CMTS.  It's the perfect blend of working really, really hard, to help an organization that is doing some really cool and unique things around the world.  But it's also cultivate a worldview that includes a deep commitment to the nations, the lost, and a life of faith on the edge.

Post AZ

The Sun beat yellow down my face and lit the asphalt like some charcoal paste - and I stood on the top of the quarter pipe, afraid to drop in. Afraid of the fall. Afraid of what it meant to leave the safety of the horizontal. I had no problem going down the gentle incline of faith - few appreciate being forced to swallow a steep change in altitude while standing on four wheels, or the four pillars of house, school, employment & play.

Our God is an extreme God. A God that drops in on people he loves. Instead of sitting up on high, he leans forward and flows into our lives. An extreme God rids himself of his kingly estate and drops into our ordinary. An extreme God feels the awkwardness of the moment and starts to wash the other people's feet. An extreme God plays outside in the heat demanding that we do not hinder the little children from coming.

An extreme God loves his people more then the law and death- finds a way out, pays the price with his own life. An extreme God not only lives in human form for us, but dies to set us free. He came for:

an extreme reason:
in an extreme way,
and left in an extreme manner.

and this was all for you.
So, drop in,
as he dropped in for you.

Read more about the after effects of the Drop In outreach from PM. Watch this community of students become men and women that change the world because they are out of their mind...

Lc

LC trip-21 great kids and leaders mowing hauling washing cars. Went to dairy queen tonight and a stranger bought us $63 of ice cream

final Brazil lead team mtg

We had our final lead team meeting tonight.  Great great time.
Spent some time talking about how to create and shape ethos,  what values do we want the team to have, and how do we create and shape those values.  Opposite of rules...
I made them all listen to one of Erwin's talks before hand - the one from Catalyst - "The Primal Essence of Leadership"  Hands down the BEST leadership talk I have ever heard.  I swear I've listened to that message over 100 times.
(Link is I think on my delicious page)
Anyway.... very cool meeting, great discussion.
I'm humbled to be leading these quality guys and gals.
Very hard to believe we leave for Brazil in two weeks.

middle schoolers

middle school mission trip starting tommorrow until sunday. cmts. did someone say i was out of my mind?

blogger template

its late.
im really really tired.
a simple email post was turned into html tag purgatory.

My time in Gilbert, AZ

Quick short post about AZ, much of it already posted... but wanted to lay it out organized and neat. ha.
I flew in on Sunday from Savannah/Hilton Head after being on vacation. Flew into Atlanta right in the midst of Hurricane Dennis. Threw up on that flight. Didn't want to get on another plane. Especially to visit someone I had never really met. Landed in Phoenix at 1.30am PST, 4.30am EST.

Overall Picture
A combination of community outreach utilizing the Drop In Center (a ministry including homework tutoring, food and free skateboarding held every week during the school year at Gilbert Vineyard) and a kids VBS.
M and T were used to prime for W, TH and F - passing out flyers in the community and serving skaters at a local skatepark by handing out water, inviting them to W, TH, and F.
The team included students and leaders (some of the ones I met included Obie, Susie, Bill, Keith, Patty, Allyson, Courtney, Cela) from Gilbert Vineyard, three guys from Northern Ireland, a pastor/church planter from India, the Sportreach Extreme team and myself.
(PM and Gilbert Vineyard have made long term relationships with people in both Northern Ireland and India, which is how these guys came over for this.)

Monday and Tuesday
Team time in the am - praise and worship, devotions, hanging out, etc. I gave a few short talks here and there during M and T. Afternoon spent about an hour or so splitting into groups and passing out flyers around the community to invite them to the events later in the week. It was about 110 degrees F. Also prepped coolers, ice and water bottles for the skate park. Dinner was provided every night for us and anyone wanting to come to VBS, so we did odd jobs to assist for that. Evenings the team was split between helping out at VBS and outreach at the local skate park - about 10 minutes away from the church. Skate park outreach consisted of giving out free water, hanging out and making relationships and demos from the Sportreach Extreme team. M night I went to the skate park. Very wild. Talk about a subculture. T night I helped with VBS. They gave the adults free iced coffee. The first night had 150 kids show up - Gilbert Vineyard is a church of about 500-600.
I flew out on W right after lunch...The agenda W, TH and F included skate, BMX, and climbing wall demos at 3pm and 6pm, slip and slides, a free BBQ dinner, as well as skate time for kids that showed up.

The SportReach team
A cool bunch of guys and girls, mostly college aged and younger, that drove around the US with commitments to help out churches by doing an extreme sport clinic, show, type of thing. These guys and gals worked extremely hard, and were loads of fun to be around. Best story about them was 'The Blessed Burb (a GMC Suburban).' Talk about God providing... Two engines replaced for free, breaking down next to a wallet and being able to return it when they were towed to the town it was from...

PM
A great sense of humor, easy-going, great family, the right kinds of priorities, he loves students, passionate about students reaching the community. He's built students that care about God and the world because thats the kind of person he is. A great community that he is a part of, he 'speaks life.'
That's him in the orange shirt. A few minutes before this picture was taken, he grabbed a set of new skateboard wheels he had in the church van, got a bunch of skaters together and did some funny competition to give away the wheels. It was so cool to watch him connect with these skaters. They are playing a game of 'skate.' (I have very little idea.)
For me, taking the risk of:
- flying to AZ
- puking my guts out on one of the flights
- sacrificing some time with the fam
was totally worth it to work, minister and hang out with him. God has tied our hearts together somehow.

So What?
- skate culture is a cool youth subculture. does it exist in MD? if not, is there another unique subculture?
- drop in center
reminds me of the concept of proxmity places in TSOTTC - very very cool idea
- long term partnerships
PM is totally into long term partnerships. They have been back and forth to N Ireland and India a few times. I have this feeling we are going to do things in partnership in the future - its a totally fun feeling...

Oh. and the first time this has ever happended to me - Susie said her knee was hurting, about an 8 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst. PM, Obie and I prayed over it. And she said right away, it went to a 0. And stayed there.

OJ

My first oj in 5 days. Wow!

Az heat

It makes no difference that its a dry heat

AZ tues a

my laptop died i think.  not good.
having a great time here.
prayingmantis is money.
definitely more posting once I get home on Thurs.

youth subculture - skating
once you are youth worker, you are always one - PM
long term partnerships
God ordained team - sport reach, Ben from Nepal, N Ireland guys, me

AZ tues

A snippet...

so far we have done:
- am worship and prayer
- hangout time
- lunch
- pass out flyers to neighborhoods
- rest
- pack water bottles in coolers
- dinner
- split between team going to skate park and helping for church VBS
- the sport reach team (thats the extreme sports guys) go to skate park too
monday and tuesday are just setup, outreach days
w, th and fri the sport team does clinics, competitions and shows
with fri being the big competition for prizes and stuff

Az mon

These az guys are the real deal flyers in comm this aft skate park tonigt

Flight fun

At the atlanta airport connecting to phoenix. Hurricane is wreaking havoc. Barfed on flight from hilton head

evil and the future

The future is one that will be sprinkled with manifestations of darkness like this and worse. This is a battle of will that won't go away.... This is a time in which people need to know that the future is open with possibility but the responsibility for shaping that future is ours. Today.  - Alex McManus posting on the latest terrorist attacks

God's audible voice

Hearing God's audible voice is an idea that I have been thinking about for a few years on and off.  Does God audibly speak?  If so, how do I tune myself to listen?  Is this idea Biblical?  It's been a cool thing to think about.
Seth has two posts about the topic, 1 and 2.  Some great stories. 
I think it might be easy for us here in Western Christianity to answer no, and try and explain it via logic or reason.  Remember "The Excluded Middle."

greek versus hebrew

Phil posts a great chart on the Greek versus Hebrew way of discipleship, notes from a session at the Forge summit.  Very insightful.

more vacationing

we are STILL having a great time.  i'm not sure i wrote that we were in hilton head, sc.  we've been here before so we know what to expect.  but tons to do for both kids and adults.  this time we are so spoiled, we are renting a house with a pool.  i know rough.
between swimming, eating and napping, i'm thinking through Daniel as prep for AZ and my time with prayingmantis and his students.  really looking forward to that.
only two slight bumps - having to do dial up, and a slight bump in the road for something i was really really hoping for.  its ok, we will get used to it, God has a bigger plan.
we checkout on sat, spend the night in savannah with my sister in law and then i fly out sunday afternoon.  back home wednesday night, go to work on thurs, LC trip on friday, back home on sunday.  two weeks and then brazil.
K has made some incredible progress in her swimming.  long time readers know that i'm not a swimmer at all.  i've only really learned in the last 4 years or so, and i still have far to go.  this week K and I both swam to the bottom of the pool for the first time, using those dive toys.  it's a totally wild wild experience for me - i never imagined i could do it.  and it's wild that K is so much more aquatic than i ever hoped to be.  i'm glad though, i didn't want my kids to be as handicapped around the water as i was growing up.
fixed some of my posts from my phone that were messed up - that weird text over text.

Brazil passport update

Thanks for praying - lf's passport is in the works

Pray brazil

-for LF getting her passport
-for the $13k left
-for the lead team and a clear sense of purpose and responsibility

Daniel prep for AZ

In what ways was Daniel (from the book of Daniel) a cross cultural missionary?

Vacationing

Been having a great time so far. Cycle between food naps and the pool. Had a great mini golf date with K today.

Vacation depart

Columbia to smithfield nc in 6.5 hours not bad in fri dc traffic