My friend Sarah, a fellow LIFTer,
and I are currently sitting in a quaint little coffee shop in Antigua,
Guatemala. Today, November 3rd,
is our rest day. Everyone is currently shopping
at the market, exploring the city, eating tons of food, and enjoying the
culture. It has been a great day to stop
and reflect on this past week and all that has happened so far.
On Wednesday, Noah Nehls, the
director of Students International in Guatemala, taught one of our “Missions
Practicum” classes about solidarity. He
started the class off by showing a Ted Talk given by a Nigerian woman. She spoke about literature and how much of it
only portrayed one story about the place where she lived. African’s were portrayed as poor and
uneducated. She said that the people in
power, the Americans and British, were able to control when, where, how, and how
often that one story was told. She
concluded by saying that one-sided stories create stereotypes, rob people of humanity,
and are incomplete. After the video he
asked us one question, “What story are you telling wrong?”
We broke for dinner and had time to
think about the video and to ponder the question. When we resumed class, Noah went on to talk
about poverty and how it too is portrayed as a single story; as a lack of
material possessions. This is only part
of the story. Poverty can also be
physical, social, emotional, psychological, governmental, and spiritual. Poverty is a manifestation of broken
relationships in all these areas and we are all impoverished because of sin.
He talked about a survey called “Voices
of the Poor” in which they asked the poor what they lacked. They said that they
had no hope, no dignity, no voice, no worth, and no value. Those things don’t take money to fix, but time
and much more. It is very evident how materially
impoverished some of the people in Magdalena are, but fixing their material
poverty won’t change the fact that they will always be in poverty while on
earth because of sin. Student’s
International understands this and therefore focuses on relationships over tasks.
Spending time with people, investing in their
lives, and sharing truth are the things that will make a change. Ministries focus on relationships over tasks;
it is definitely not the American way, but it is what makes a difference. Pouring into people, being vulnerable with
them, loving and serving them, and giving them our time, this is what we are called
to.
Friday morning, I was reminded of
Noah’s question. During my quiet time I was reading “Holiness” by J. C. Ryle.
In the chapter called “The Cost”, he says,
“Do not speak only of the uniform, the pay
and the glory; speak also of the enemies, the battle, the armor, the watching,
the marching and the drill. Do not present only one side of Christianity. Do
not keep back the cross of self-denial that must be carried, when you speak of
the cross on which Christ died for our redemption. Explain fully what
Christianity entails. Entreat men to repent and come to Christ, but bid them at
the same time to count the cost!”
“Do not present only one side of
Christianity.” This statement got me
thinking back to everything Noah had talked about on Wednesday. Thoughts of one-sided stories and poverty
flooded my mind yet again. I thought about if I presented Christianity as a
single, one sided story.
I realized that too often I focus
on the crown but not the cross. The
single story I tend to speak about is the crown. But since I am a follower of Christ, I am told
to pick up my cross and follow Him, to deny myself and serve Him. There is a cost to follow Christ. When I started thinking of the whole story, I
realized that there is a poverty that I’m called to as a Christian. I am called to become impoverished to the
things of the flesh. I must rid myself
of earthly desires and things of this world. I must focus on things above. I must remind myself of the whole story of
Christianity and proclaim it to others.
Each morning before our quiet time,
LIFTers put on the armor of God together. We put on the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate
of Righteousness, the Sword of the Spirit, the Shield of Faith, the Belt of Truth,
and the Shoes of Peace. We prepare
ourselves for battle. This is one of my
favorite things we do as a community because it reminds me that we must always
be ready to fight. It reminds me that I
must be constantly denying my flesh and carrying the cross. The cost is high, but Christ is worth it.
We are all so thankful to be in
Guatemala and serving at all the various sites. Pray that we are willing to lay our desires
aside to serve as the Lord calls. We are one week in and are excited to see what
God in the remaining week here. Thank you for all the prayers thus far.
“Pray
for us that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the
mystery of Christ - Pray that we may proclaim it clearly as we should.” Colossians 4: 3 & 4
Gloria a Dios!
Christy White
Enjoyed reading your blog Chris. Love you and have been praying for you and your team.
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