Jars of Clay

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 2 Corinthians 4:7

"Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8

This past week I experienced making traditional pottery here.  It was a great learning experience both about the culture here and also in a spiritual way.  God reminded me of truths in His Word and it came to life in a new way for me as I formed the clay pot myself and saw first hand different aspects of making pottery and how He relates it to our lives in Scripture.  We began with a lump of clay which we began to form and stretch.  As I worked on it (through many different steps) I took away and added more clay as needed.  I had to get my hands dirty in the process.  It was not something that I could do from a distance and just watch the jar come into shape on its own.  It took me as the "potter" to form this bowl/jar/pot whatever you choose to call it.  God as the master potter did not just leave us as a lump.  He is intimately involved in the details of our lives.  He forms us with His hands - He cares about the details of our lives. 

The lady who was showing me the steps pointed out how all of our jars looked different (it was a class so there were several of us making pottery).  Each one was unique.  God forms each of us uniquely to glorify Him.  We are all different and He has gifted us with things that would most glorify Him through our lives.  We are the most full of joy and serve God in the way that He has purposed when we are living out the life that God has uniquely called us to.  This does not look the same for any two people.  Each jar of clay has their own story.  
The teacher of the pottery class also pointed out that oftentimes the pottery gets cracks in it and none of them are perfect.  God chooses to use imperfect people to bring Him glory.  We all have flaws and cracks, and we all fail at times.  Yet, God, in His great mercy, grace, and love provides redemption for us (ultimately from the debt of sin, but also on a daily basis as His gives us mercies anew).  The teacher of the pottery class also pointed out that the final step in making the pottery was to put it in fire.  The purpose was to finish it and to make it strong so it wouldn't melt or break apart easily.  God reminded me that (though it's not the final step for Christ Followers, because we will not suffer the eternal fire) - but that sometimes we walk through the fire and He allows us to go through times of trial and temporary suffering at times.  In Zechariah 13:9 God tells us that "...I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”  In these times of trial our faith can be strengthened and He uses it to refine us and make us stronger.  It was a great time of learning and of spending time with friends here and meeting new ones.  Amazed that God continually teaches me through everyday occurrences such as going to a pottery class.  He is so Good.  


   

Quiet Moments.

It’s been a little over two weeks since I’ve been here….2 weeks. Fourteen days…it’s AMAZING how much you can cram into that short of a time and how many ways you can see God working if you are really looking for Him.  I have been doing things such as VBS, block parties in several different locations, visited the nursing home, had Bible studies, and we will start a 3 day crusade tonight.  Yet, the stories I want to tell you are ones that if I didn’t slow down enough to notice, I might have missed.  Some of the times when God has taught and blessed me the most were in the quiet moments.  It’s in hearing His still small voice through the smile of a child, or in precious moments with kids late at night talking on the basketball court…etc.  So I will share a few of those stories with you. 

“I don’t have any clothes except my school clothes and these jeans.”  When I lived & worked in New Orleans I expected to see people who only had the clothes on their back…wasn’t surprised when they came to our door and asked for a t-shirt or a cup of water.  Yet, out here even though there is extreme poverty, I was somehow taken by surprise when one of the little boys (who has captured my heart) said those words to me.  He broke my heart and brought a smile to my face at the same time…I couldn’t help it – he had a grin from ear to ear radiating off his sweet little face.  You see, this little boy had worn the same clothes everyday for at least 2 weeks (it was his school uniform).  I thought maybe he just didn’t care to change because his family (though they often had on the same clothes several times a week) changed their clothing.  But after several days, we asked if he’d like to come inside and maybe get a new pair of pants.  He came inside and began to look through the clothing we’d set out on the tables – with each shirt we handed him & that fit his smile got wider.  “Do you like this one?” I asked.  “Yes! I don’t have any clothes except my school clothes and these jeans.” he replied.  Once he was loaded down with a few shirts and new shorts/pants he jumped on his bicycle to race home and put his clothes away before anything happened to them.  I think he wore all 3 or 4 of the shirts we gave him that very day…just excited to have something else to wear.  God reminded me of how He has blessed us in order that we may be able to bless others.  We are not to just sit and soak…rather He wants to bless others through us with the blessings He has given us (whether that be our time, talents, or possessions).  He also reminded me the importance of paying attention.  You never know who is going to come across your path each and every day that God may have brought to you for a specific reason.  It’s easy to get into a routine and to forget that we are really here to reach out to people around us – and everything else is just extra (yes, God blesses us and allows us to have joy through other things – but our main purpose is to SERVE Him though every single thing we do). Open our eyes to a broken and hurting world.

There are a few kids that have come to really grow on me because I’ve watched them grow up from babies to older kids (or little kids to teenagers).  Because of this I feel we have a special relationship – yet, what it looks like has changed over time.  Especially with the older kids…they used to be the first ones to run up & jump on my back or give me the world’s biggest hug.  Now, if they were to run & jump on my back I’d probably be shocked – that is after picking myself off the ground because they are bigger than me now.  But even though they don’t do that – they show me their care in a different way.  There is one kid who now does not like to come around during the day time.  He prefers to be under the cover of night – and at first I thought that he just did not want to come around at all. Yet, he started making his way over little by little as there weren’t many people around and it was dark.  Then one night last week after all the team had gone inside, he and his siblings came over and sat on the basketball court. We got a chance to talk about goals and his hopes for the future.  You see, I worry about these kids as if they were my own.  I want to see them succeed and I want to see them doing well – my heart breaks for them when I know they are hurting.  It’s moments like that night…when I got to spend that precious time with those kids for about an hour in the quiet of the night, that I perhaps treasure the most.  After-all life really is about the relationships – our relationship with God, and with other people.  Once all else is stripped away it is HIS WORD that will remain and the relationship we had with Him and others through Him. 

Sunday the Pastor I was listening to said something like this… “When people see me they say something like - oh Pastor, I really enjoy being around you and talking to you.” He said that is when he wants to just tell them “No, you really wouldn’t like ME. What you like is JESUS who is IN me. I am nothing but a filthy mess…it is JESUS that you want. HE is the One that you are seeing when you are drawn towards me.” That may not be his exact quote word for word – but that is the basic point he was getting across.  Without Jesus working in and through us we stink.  The flesh always fails, yet Christ is victorious and ANY good that is in us is because of HIM. I want to always remember that – the power of Jesus and how He is the One that enables me to do anything of worth – because on my own I could do nothing that would matter at all.  It is easy for me (and for us as humans) to want to be prideful or to take credit for something good – yet it is not us at all.  It is Christ working through us & He is the One who deserves ALL of the glory.  J  

Childlike Faith...

As I write this I feel the weight of my eyelids closing down…the intensity of the sun will do that to you.  It is as if you need twice as much energy here to get things done because the sun just sucks it right out of you.  Anyways, I wanted to post an update to let you all know what I’ve been doing this past week.  Last week I helped out with a VBS in a village that has limited access to hearing the Gospel.  It was amazing to be a part of that team and to reach out to and pour into kids in that village.  The woman who helped us to run the VBS (we’ll call her “Ms. J”) shared some of her story with me.  She has been hoping for years for there to be a church started in her village.  She desires to get a Bible study started among the children of the village and to build that community.  God provided funds to build a ramada on the land that she has recently been given approval to call her own (they have to receive permission from the tribal leaders to be granted the land) & she hopes to use this to reach out to the people in her village.  When asked how many believers there were in the village she answered, “Just me.”  I believe she was talking about adults because I know her son is also a Christian.  God did a great work last week not only among the children at VBS, but also in bringing encouragement to “Ms. J’s” heart.  We held a revival service in that village one night last week & it was the first of its kind.  This week we will be returning to do a block party in that same village to reach out more to the people there.  We also had a youth rally on Friday night here.  It was fun to see the kids running around playing team games (including a hotdog eating contest….one kid ate 7 hotdogs in 5 minutes!) & to hear one of the team members do Christian rap. 

This week we will be doing block parties around town and in several of the villages on the Rez.  Pray for people to come and to have open hearts to what God wants to say to them through these times.  I am also working alongside a Chinese Baptist Church who is here this week…I think of it as a cross cultural experience within a cross cultural experience. Haha.  Seriously though, it has been such a blessing to work with them.  Some of the kids from the houses around the church have been coming with us to the different villages.  Now, they may just be looking for something to do, but it is still great because it allows for them to hear the Word and to be poured into during these times. 

As an aside – no trip to the desert seems complete without being pulled over by border patrol… (they were trying to be helpful to us though) – A few of us were going to watch a football scrimmage game for one of the youth that goes to church here, and on the way got stuck in a huge dust storm.  Of course I used the opportunity to take lots of pictures of the dust and clouds. J  The road we were on has a lot of washes going across it (we would call these dips in the road or ditches back in the Southeast) – these normally wouldn’t be an issue, but when it rains out here it almost always floods these washes.  The ground is very hard since it is so dry and so is unable to soak in the water like most places can.  It just pools on top causing flash flooding.  The Border Patrol saw us and pulled us over to warn us that if we kept going in that direction we would likely get stuck because of all the washes.  The villages are many miles apart and so we would be in a bind as you could imagine. Anyways, I know that has nothing to do with the rest of my blog, but thought I’d just share that story as well to give you a little insight into life out here.  

Ten Sure Ways To Know I’m On The Rez…

1       At any given moment you may find yourself in a dust storm…& we’re not talking little ones either

2.       It’s 100 degrees at 10:30 in the morning…

3.       Getting pulled over by Border Patrol is not out of the ordinary

4.       You have to watch where you step, not because you may trip over a crack, but because you have to look out for snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, cacti, and horse & cow poop (the open range makes for lots of it)

5.       Time is relative….we operate on “ish” time. I love it. J

6.       The desert is DARK at night – no light pollution here, making for an incredible view of the stars. You can literally see millions - & yes, I have seen the Milky Way out here.

7.       There are as many dogs as there are people.

8.       There is no grass.

9.       Monsoon season means 12 inches of rain…for the entire year (& lots of frogs during the month of July).

10.   The most incredible sunsets I’ve ever seen. J

Ninjas, Vampires, & Actors...Oh My!

Summer has always held fond memories for me.  When I was a kid it meant spending countless hours in the pool, eating Hawaiian Shaved Ice, sleeping late, & playing outside until it was so dark you couldn’t see and Mom & Dad made me come inside.  As a teenager I spent long days practicing baton so I would do well on the field Friday nights come football season, & there would always be a week that I would spend somewhere doing mission work.  My love of traveling & my love for serving others came together and I felt like I thrived the most during those hot summer weeks of inner city ministry in different parts of the U.S. (As a side-note….Ironically my first mission trip was to New Orleans – little did I know back at age 14 that I would someday live there for a while as a missionary) During college Summer meant a break from writing papers & cramming for exams, a time to relax and spend time with family, and the duration of those mission trips increased to several weeks. It was after my Freshman year of college that I realized God was clearly placing a call on my life to be a missionary.  Since then, Summer has also meant rekindling relationships either on the mission field in the places that I continued to return to time after time, spending time with my family (even if briefly), and yes – still going to the pool every now & then. J Last Summer I fell into a job at a 5 week camp for elementary school kids. Little did I know when I said “yes” to working there, the tremendous blessing that I would receive from it & how much of a "God thing" that it really was.

The past months have been a time of transition in my life (& even though I am still in a transition time, I am going in a slightly new direction … more on that later) God’s provision is amazing, and at just the right time & in HIS timing, He provided me with the opportunity to work at that same camp again this Summer.  It has kept me busy, often exhausted at the end of the day, yet has been more of a blessing that I could have asked Him to provide for me through that camp.  We just wrapped up our 5 week camp, & I was reminded of how God continues to bless me with amazing friends wherever He sends me - & enables me to maintain those friendships across distances.  It was great to get to work with (& be silly with) Sarah & Kim again, and to form new friendships as well.  We spent time with 80-ish kids everyday & though we were the teachers, we had just as much fun as the kids.  From Stone Mountain, to pool trips, to playing ninja, vampires, & using our *AMAZING* acting skills (HAHA) – we always seemed to be able to have fun no matter what we were doing.  I guess this blog is kinda a tribute to my co-workers from Summer Safari.   God used the laughter that we shared to in some way help me through a difficult time of transition from one place I love & captured my heart to another place that God is leading me to (even though I’m not completely clear on all those details yet…)   

Tomorrow I will leave to go back to a place that has also captured my heart….I fell in love with it many years ago, and that feeling has never left.  To be back in the desert, back to days of 110 degree heat, to big open skies, some of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen, and nights with a canopy of millions of stars…none of that even compares to love I have for the people that have such a grip on my heart.  I sit here with an excitement (not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight with the thought that I will actually be in Arizona tomorrow…), but also an anxiousness – I haven’t been there in a year & ½ - will my kids remember me? Will they remember the countless times I gave them piggyback rides, or the deep conversations I shared with some of them, or the basketball games, the hugs, the silly games we played, etc., the LOVE that I have for them? Willl they? ---You know, I have come to realize that it doesn’t really matter.  We are called to love.  Whether someone loves us back or not – whether or not someone even notices how much we love & care for them, we are called to love them with the love God has given to each of His children.  So I will strive each day to do that.  I am anxious in another way – because of the love I have, I am anxious to see how they have grown – what have they faced in the past year & ½? This I know – it will bring me to tears, maybe out of a brokenness for difficult things they have faced, or maybe out of a joy from how I’ve seen them grow – I will be brought to tears.  This is okay.  So, whatever tomorrow brings, I am approaching it with an expectation of God to be working (He is ALWAYS at work around us – we just have to open our eyes to see what He is doing) - & to see how He wants me to join Him in that work.