Week 3 Summary...

This past week we had the huge blessing of having Steve Bartel come and speak to us about street children. Steve comes with an incredible history of working with street children in Bogota, Columbia and directing a ministry called “Formando Vidas”. The stories he told and the wisdom he shared was absolutely inspiring. Steve shared with us about the three categories of street children: pre-street, on the streets and of the streets. We looked into what God’s heart for street children is, what the felt needs and actual needs of a street child are, and specific characteristics that apply to a lot of street children and their families. We were also very blessed to be given a sneak peak into the ministry that Steve directs. He shared with us secrets and practical tools that are involved in the running of “Formando Vidas”. Along with it was the impacting way Steve remained humble while teaching of how the ministry has been running for 25 years and of how to keep God at the centre of a ministry.

One of the most impacting things of the week was when Steve was talking about working with the kids God has called you to and that you do not have to, nor can you, save all the children. We have a responsibility to work with the children God has called us to and He will call others to work with the other children. One of the main new understandings I got this week was that it is possible! We don’t have to be discouraged. We just need to be walking daily with the Lord and letting Him speak into our hearts what He wants us to do. God was speaking to me particularly today after Steve’s story this morning, in the area of my willingness to lay a person down.

I have really developed a love for street people over the past year or so. This week confirmed a lot of observations I had made and been taught during my time on the streets in Toronto. The main question I think this weeks teaching brought out in me was in what way might God be calling me to work long term with people who are street involved. I will seek the answer by reading scripture and by seeking the Lord in prayer and listening to what my Wonderful Maker is saying.

Community life has been good this week. I have been in my bed by 10:30 (not necessarily sleeping though) at the latest every night except for one, which was an exception because my friend told me she was pregnant and I was so excited that I kept talking to her. Rebecca and I have been getting closer and sharing more with each other, which I absolutely love! She is such a cool girl and I love learning about her. Her heart, her dreams/visions, desires, her life and everything she has to teach me about this beautiful country she lives in. Intercession was cool this week. What a wonderful blessing to get to spend time admiring God’s creation and praying with our roommates. I love my work duty, with minimal frustrations. One of my favourite things about my work duty is the time I get to spend with Meleah during and after it is done. Jessica is also around a lot of the time which is so much fun. I love their hearts and their spirits. Richard also comes around and is highly entertaining for us in the kitchen. He is such a fun dad like man to have around. One thing I wish I had done better this week was, talked to Ann more and helped her feel even more welcome in our class. I am learning how to be even more of an encourager and complimenter (I know it’s not a word) more and more to my friends here. It is something 2 of my good friends from DTS have blessed me with, being encouraged and complimented myself that is. I pray that it overflows into my friendships back at home as well. I have processed some more this week. God is so cool and I have been encouraged and challenged a lot during my time with Him. I want to continue working on sleeping more and processing this week. I would also like to be spending more time just studying the scriptures.

This upcoming week I am looking forward to being taught about HIV/AIDS and grief counselling for children. I believe that it will be so vital to have knowledge in those areas, not only for our field assignment time but also for the rest of our lives no matter where we end up living.

Photo link...

If you are interested in seeing some of the photos from my time in Switzerland please click on the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1632&l=b5e98&id=508932531

Enjoy!

Week 2 Summary...

*** When I am posting my weekly summaries, it is actually what I wrote for my weekly summary that I hand in to my school leaders every week. That is why there is at times things written that you may not understand why it is there, it is usually a class requirement***

This past week the topic was “What if you Got Involved – The Biblical Basis for Social Action.” We had a number of different speakers this week. Ed Morales taught us about meditating on Scripture as well he taught us on justice and injustice. Michael Kelly continued teaching us on justice and injustice. As well with Michael, we looked at church history and the church’s involvement with government. Steve Good came in and talked to us about our hearts, God’s heart and seeking out what we can do to help children and families in crisis. Olivia Jackson finished off our week of class by talking to us about human rights and advocacy.

It is hard to pick the most impacting information of the week. It was a heavy week full of heart provoking things. One of the things I think I really soaked in from all the speakers was to think about what you can do and what God might be calling you to do. I am loving being reminded over and over again how important scripture is and to know it. It is amazing how the answers really are in the scriptures, if we would just take the time to read them and really seek out what God is trying to say thru them. Ed said something along the lines of “We have to start with Christ, before we act on anything.” How important that is, and how much I want that statement to be true of my life.

Steve started his talk by asking, “What moves us?” It has been cool to think about that this week. Children and woman working in prostitution, being abused and trafficked, and made to feel like nothing… kids living on the streets… people doing drugs to escape… All these things usually because they feel they have nowhere else to go or options of what do to, these are the things that move me. Being a mom and a wife and working alongside my husband in some sort of ministry also pulls me so strongly. So what does that mean for my life? What am I to do? Where am I to go? I felt God speaking about it this week to me, so I am continuing to pray about that area and use discernment.

This week in the community I continued to love it. I have moved past DTS talk with people and been able to dive deeper into friendships, seeking to hear what’s on people’s hearts and how they are really doing. I love those kinds of friendships. It’s funny because before I came here I was talking to my friend back home about the fact that I felt like my heart was so full with love before I left, and that it was hard to imagine that in a week’s time, I would know all these new people and even though I felt like my heart was already full, there would still be room in it for the new people I meet, and there really has been. I feel so blessed that I can love people so easily, especially the people that others have problems with. I love the … unwanted? … unaccepted? I’m not sure what the right word is; I just know that they are God’s children as well and need love. I just pray that it will be honouring and glorifying to God, because He is the one that created me this way. I want to be aware to always give him the credit for compliments that people give me. I need to get more sleep. I struggle with it at home as well. I’m such a night owl, but Rebecca is going to hold me accountable to being in bed way earlier. I’ll let you know on next week’s summary how sleeping is going! I am very excited for this week’s upcoming teaching by Steve Bartel. I have heard such good things about him and the way that he makes you think. I hope my brain can handle it. I think I might need to be processing more then I am. So those are my goals for this week: Process more and go to sleep earlier!

Justice???

What does the word justice mean to you? Do we live in a just or an unjust world? These are some of the questions of the week ... I'll post more later.

Children Statement...

I am here as a child representing the children of the world
We are the victims of exploitation and abuse
We are street children
We are the children of a war
We are the victims and orphans of HIV/AIDS
We are denied good-quality education and health care
We are the victims of political, economic, cultural, religious and environmental discrimination
We are the children who are not being heard; it is time we are taken into account
We want a world fit for children, because a world fit for us is a world fit for everyone

In this world,
We see respect for the rights of the child
We see an end to exploitation, abuse and violence
We see an end to war
We see the provision of health care
We see the eradication of HIV/AIDS
We see the protection of the environment
We see an end to the vicious cycle of poverty
We see the provision of education
We see the active participation of children

We are not the sources of problems; we are the resources that are needed to solve them
We are not just young people; we are people and citizens of this world.
Until others accept their responsibility for us, we will fight for our rights
We have the will, the faith, and the dedication
We promise that as adults we will defend children's rights with the same passion that we have now as children
We promise to treat each other with dignity and respect
We promise to be open and sensitive to our differences
We are the children of the world, and despite our different backgrounds, we share a common reality and hope.
We are united by our struggle to make the world a better place for all
You call us the future, but we are also the present

Adapted from: "A World Fit for Children"

Week 1 Summary...

At the end of every week we have the assignment of writing out a weekly summery, so I thought I would post it on here as well. Enjoy...

The speakers for this past week were Janna Moates who spoke on “Why we’re here – A Framework for Action” and Colleen Milstein who spoke on “A Brain Dead Generation”.

Janna taught about what God’s intention for a child is by looking at the roles family, extended family, local church, neighbourhood, state and national government, international government and NGO’s and the global church were created to play. She also taught us on the many scriptures that are found that speak about children, as well as about fighting for the causes and rights of the poor and needy. We were taught to ask questions, lots of them and to seek answers in the scriptures. We were also taught from Janna about the basic needs of a child, networking and what is making ministries fail or succeed.

Colleen taught on 8 domains that God might be calling us to work in. They are arts, economics, communication, science, education, family, government, and church. We looked at how God shows up in all the domains and is the head of all of them. We were also challenged on where we are at (our willingness) when it comes to where God might send us and what He might want us to do with our lives.

The most impacting information for me was the questions presented to us. Questions like “Can God really call me anywhere or do I have specific places that I am only willing to go?” and “What if the greatest spiritual battle of our time is being waged against children and we don’t even know it? What is Satan understands the value of a child to God better than the church?”

This week I was challenged to think about the kids in my life already and think about which children are in a place that they really need me or someone else to “come just for them”. Which child needs to be reminded they are significant? I really was able to better able to understand God’s intentions for children this week. During times of my own healing I have had it prayed over me again and again that the things that happened were not what God wanted for me, and it is amazing to really have a scriptural basis of what He did want for me and for the millions of hurting kids. Something this past week also has taught me is how valuable a child is to God. I have always loved working with kids, but more and more I am beginning to look at a child and love them because God loves them. Not because they are cute or say funny things, but because they were created in the image of Him and I have a responsibility to help them become who they are meant to be … God said so. As well I feel like the things I learned this week and have yet to learn are going to significantly affect the way I am going to be a mom to my own kids, as well as with the children I will work with in the future.

This week we were assigned to read Motivational Factors for Work with Children At Risk by Steve Bartel of YWAM, Colombia. It was definitely something that made me think about my motivation factors for being here. I also thought a lot about how often so many people to go on to the field with not bad motivations but not the right one and how it totally makes sense why it is that people are burning out so fast. I can recognize in me that my motivations do have to do with having compassion for the kids and a desire to obey God’s calling. I can also see in me, already and growing stronger daily, the desire to bring honour to God. God is in the business of restoration and healing and bringing His children back to Him. I pray that my motivations will become more and more centred on being used as a tool in those areas and that I will glorify God and honour Him in all I do.

Some of the questions this weeks teaching brought out in me are, where is God calling me / what kind of ministry is He calling me to? And I have been really challenged on the question “Am I willing to go anywhere?” My answer used to be without a doubt, yes. But somewhere along the lines I have narrowed it down a bit, so I am left wondering, is it narrowed down because I have a clearer view on what God is calling me to or is it because of something else? I will continue to seek answers to these questions through prayer and reading scripture and really just listening to what God is trying to say to me… I’m scared… willing to listen, but scared.

This week in community I feel as though I did well. I love living in a community and it is not something I normally find that challenging. I was able to listen to a couple of my new friends stories this week, which was amazing. I love my work duty, which is cleaning up the dishes after lunch. I enjoy doing an act of service that makes a difference. I am beginning to learn to love reading my Bible again, which has been a struggle all my life. But knowing how relevant the Bible is and how many answers are in it, especially for the type of things I am learning about, makes me feel passionate about reading it again. I love learning what I am learning about, though I can tell I will probably cry daily for the next 9 months. I just feel really blessed to be here and to be meeting the people here. I feel really at peace about being here, like I am exactly where God wants me. I really just love being here.

His children...

Our topic this week is: Why we’re here – A Framework for Action. Our speaker is our school leader. Her name is Janna. She is a wonderful woman with a huge heart for the children who live at risk and for those that God is calling into those children’s lives. We started class on Monday talking about how we ended up at the school and sharing scriptures that have influenced our journey here. We went on to be given an enormous amount of depressing statistics of the world’s children. I was going to share some of those figures with you but I’ve decided not to because it is not the numbers that count, it is the individual lives that make up the numbers that matter. God knows and created every single one of the children who live in a circumstance that He did not want for them. They are the result of a life being lived in a fallen world. But God cares and he wants us to care as well. Here are seven things I learned today about the intention that God has for His wonderful little ones:

1- God creates every unique person as a child with dignity.
God intends that no one prevent a child’s life from fulfilling His purpose. Respecting the image of God in every child demands a Christ-like response to nurture them throughout childhood.

2- Children need parental love in a broken world.
God intends for all children to be raised by at least one loving, committed adult.

3- God gives children as a gift to welcome and nurture.
God intends for children to thrive in stable and loving relationships.

4- Society has a God-given responsibility for the well-being of children and families.
God intends children to flourish in a just society.

5- Children are a promise of hope for every generation.
God intends that each generation will extend faith and fullness of life to the next. God intends that this generation grasp the centrality of children to his purposes for our time.

6- God welcomes children fully into the family of faith.
God intends for churches to provide children with opportunities to know him and fulfil their calling in the body of Christ.

7- Children are essential to the mission of God.
God intends that His church be a witness in every community of His transforming power, so that His purpose for every child can be accomplished.

So it begins...

The course I am taking here is called Children at Risk, so the stuff I am going to be learning about is going to be intense and heartbreaking. I feel like I am going to be crying a lot.

On Thursday night 2 girls and I watched "Invisible Children". It is an incredible documentary that 3 American guys, with little filming experience, made during their time in Africa in 2003. They tell the story of children who are used as weapons and children who are the victims. The film exposes the effects of a 20 yearlong war on the children of Northern Uganda. These children live in fear of abduction by rebel soldiers, and are being forced to fight as a part of violent army. It is hard and intense to watch things like that because it is unfortunately the truth of so many young lives.

Last night we watched a movie called "Innocence Lost". It follows a couple as they look into different situations that children are facing worldwide. Some of the areas they went into were:

The UAE (United Arab Emirates) where children are being kidnapped, as young as three, from villages and brought into Dubai to be a camel jockey.
The Soviet Union where young kids are being imprisoned for petty thefts and their cases are taking long periods of time before they are heard before a judge.
Greece where children with special needs are being basically thrown/hidden away by their families and put into institutes that are not equipped or staffed to deal with the amount of patients they have.
Togo, Africa where young girls are being sold for as little as $30 to live in another household and basically be a slave for the rest of their lives. As well as young girls being given to priests as his wife, to pay for the sins of someone else, usually a family member.
San Jose-Costa Rica where young girls are being pimped out and force to prostitute themselves in order to survive. Male tourists on the video were recorded as saying, "The girls enjoy what they do and they want to do it. They like knowing they pleased a man." (I almost lost it at this point. It took everything in me not to scream at the TV. They are just children. They feel disgusting and worthless. They hate it, they just don't know any other way..... oh Lord how I want to be involved in showing them another way.)
The last place they went was to Central America. In Guatemala they interviewed many street kids who are addicted to sniffing glue. They say that they use it to forget. When one child was asked what he wanted to forget his response was "That ... I exist." The homeless children are often beaten and have even been raped by members of the police. (How does this happen? How is it that those who are supposed to protect do harm? I have heard that this happens from my friends on the street in Toronto as well. I have been missing my street friends and those who work with them a lot today.)

Some of the quotes that really struck me during the movie were:

“That child needs to be hugged. That child needs a teddy bear and that child needs to be told that someone loves them. They are only children.” – worker on street children

“Necessity wears an ugly face” – young female prostitute

“Children are victims of a society that doesn’t really give a dam.”

“The biggest killer of street children is not the bullets, it’s not the glue, it’s the world’s indifference.”

The movie ends by saying “Until children are given a voice, everyone of us must speak for them” and so while I know that these next months are going to be incredibly tough and full of tears, it is my prayer that at the end of this course I will be better able and more equipped to speak for these voiceless, precious children of God’s.

Burtigny, Switzerland

Yesterday was my first full day here. It hasn't been that busy, they are allowing us to get settled in, explore the area, and get over jetlag. My flights here were both good. I sat by myself on both flights. My luggage arrived safely and I made a friend on the train that was very kind and chatty and strong. He must have been since he carried my bags on and off the train for me. A girl called Helen came and picked me up and I got to the base just as dinner was starting. The base that I am staying on is in a cute little village. It is surrounded by hills and on non-cloudy days has an incredible view of the French Alps and a beautiful lake. The base even has cows! Very cute! I am sharing a room with a girl called Rebecca. She is from Switzerland, but not from around here. As of right now there are 4 girls and a guy in my course. We are still hoping that a married couple from Rwanda will be joining us next Tuesday if they get their visas. Yesterday we just reviewed the syllabus for the semester and there sounds like there is going to be a lot of really good knowledgeable speakers. We also have quite a few books to read and assignments, but I am excited!!! Today we were assigned our work duties. I am on clean up after lunch, so I will be doing dishes and cleaning up the dining hall. Below are a couple of photos that I have taken over the last 2 days. Enjoy.