"So you're going to go suffer for God's work!"

Why Germany? It's sad that I become hesitant to tell people that I am going on a mission trip to Germany. The response is almost always the same. "Why Germany?" or "Wow...that's some real suffering for God's work.", said with a wink and smile. If I was telling people that we were going to a third world country, I'd probably get some genuine empathy and admiration for the guaranteed, dramatic life changing experience that would ensue. I know that my friends, who are now full-time missionaries in Africa, have certainly left everything they know as normal here in the States to live without much of the luxuries they were used to. They see death, abuse and horrific circumstances that poverty and violence have left in their wake. We see beautiful scenery, amazing architecture...cathedrals and castles surround us. We eat great food and sleep in warm beds. We come into contact with people who are living their lives with no concern of what comes after death. We see child after child that won't hear the story of Jesus from their parents or a caring Sunday School teacher. We feel sadness...heavy darkness...as we travel by train and by foot. I can't really describe the feeling, but maybe these videos will help you to understand why it's important for us to go to Germany each year for as long as God is calling us to it. Below are two videos that Steven and Susan Jett had made to give the story of Bruehl, Germany. In the first video, you will see two people being interviewed. Both are neighbors of the Jetts and neither know Christ. The second video contains interviews with members of the church plant that we support when we travel to Germany. Aaron and I are passionate about Germany, because God designed us that way, just as God designed my niece Lilli to be passionate about human trafficking, and our friends to have a heart for Africa. None is less important to God. However...I'm often left to feel that way.

Light for Bruehl part 1 from Steven Jett on Vimeo.

Light for Bruehl part 2 from Steven Jett on Vimeo.

Developing a Filter

I was sitting at my computer this morning, wanting so badly to write, but nothing seemed to come to mind.  As I began watching some "Anderson 360 Ridiculist" clips, which by the way I love, I came across the one below. I couldn't find a way to imbed the video, so if you don't want to go to the trouble of copying and pasting the following link, I'll give you a synopsis.

http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2012/10/10/ac-the-ridiculist-bad-report-cards.cnn.html

Sir John Gurdon just won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work in understanding how cells and organisms develop. As a fifteen year old student, his science teacher wrote the following on his report card.

"I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist; on his present showing this is quite ridiculous, if he can't learn simple biological facts, he would have no chance of doing the work of a specialist and it would be a sheer waste of time both on his part and of those who have to teach him."

The teacher also mentions his unwillingness to listen and his persistence in doing things his own way. I'm going to assume good intention on the teacher's part, because I have taught myself to do that in every situation. Doing so dampens the fire that rises within me, when I believe some harm or injustice has been done. What saddens me is the fact that Sir John took the comments to heart as a young man and switched his studies from science to literature. But then by coincidence or by God's divine intervention, he was assigned a zoology class by mistake and his passion for science took him further than anyone could imagine. He admits that every time an experiment didn't work or he experienced any type of failure in the lab, he questioned if he was living out his teacher's prophecy.

As I think about Sir John Gurdon, an image of my daughter, Gracie, comes to mind. Let me try to describe the picture. Gracie is standing before me, ready for school. She is wearing a bright orange tie die skirt, a black school endorsed t-shirt and being pulled over her head at the very moment is a light blue sweat shirt that has some silliness displayed on the front. (I can't recall what the sweat shirt says on it, but its silly.) The outfit, in my opinion, is ridiculous and she knows it by my look and by previous experiences of me trying to get her to conform to my sense of color coordination and style. I don't comment, because it won't do any good, but I do ask her which shoes she's planning on wearing. She looks at me and says confidently, "I don't know, but they probably won't match." and walks into her bedroom.

I thank God for a daughter who doesn't conform. She calls herself an "artist", which gives her license to do her own thing in her own way. My mother-in-law always said that Gracie marches to her own drum beat. I don't know what she will be, but I pray that God gives her a filter far stronger than the one I have; a filter to block out the cruel criticism, thoughtlessness and advice that comes from good and bad intentions that could become stumbling blocks in her journey to become what God has designed her to be. I pray that every snicker and cruel word that she will surely face as she continues through school will fuel her innate desire to be herself and follow God's plan for her life. I pray that I will teach her to see herself only as God sees her and to dismiss the words and actions that threaten to bring her down and to cherish those that build her up.

Ephesians 2:10 

For we are God's masterpieces, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.