(no subject)
As always when I go to the other side of the globe I discover truths I always knew deep down but never realized and am inspired and changed by people I did not know just a short time ago.
I grasped even more that the glory of my God covers all the earth, not just America. That the body of Christ truly is international. At SLOT in Poland though tons of bands played we only watched one. Otherwise, we were always having 6 hour conversations with brothers and sisters we had just met. Gabi from Hungary, Tom from Scotland, Louise from England, Gerrard from Holland, Kasia and Marcin from Poland, Florian from Germany... people with the same visions and struggles as ourselves...from totally different cultures but seeking the same God.
I am educated and convicted now as to practical ways to "seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with my God". Go to www.speak.org.uk- a campaign presented at SLOT by our friend Louise- trade justice is something I urge all believers to pray about and get involved in. Steve and I are talking and praying about what exactly to do and anyone is welcomed to join us- we will start some regular meetings on this subject.
I am even more thankful for my best friend, my husband Steve, whom I got to share this experience with. He is a hardcore world traveller- he pretty much never complained and never had such thing as jet lag. We became even more of a team abroad, when I got lost he had the sense of direction. I love you, Steve.
We experienced so many things bigger than ourselves: our flight from Canada to London was delayed 20 hours so we had to pay $400 more to re-book our Ryanair flight we missed...we were moved at Auschwitz (so much of the anti-Jew rhetoric prior to the Holocaust reminds me of the anti illegal immigrant jargon today...thought I compare nothing to Nazism...still...this is what I was moved by) feeling small next to the Lubiacz and Wawel castles in Poland, Rembrandt paintings and the history everywhere we walked. In London we exeperienced the poor but beautifully multicultural area we stayed in (seriously- on the street corner you could see a Russian foodshop, a Vietnamese foodshop, a Jamaican barber, a Latin American restaraunt, a Thai restaraunt and every person that walked by was from a different nation), Camden Town- where subculture was the culture and we were offered marijuana twice and saw a drug deal in our mere 15 minutes there, Liverpool Street- the business district where offices are house in old and modern buildings alike and business people drank wine at a lovely park after work...and the Tower Bridge area where within walking distance was the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, a gallow where hundreds of Jesuits were murdered, a wall built by the Romans in 200AD and so on.
And most of all- God was experienced. I know He did stirring in us and I pray in the young people who were in our English conversation workshop. The last day we discussed spirituality and ultimately Jesus and though Polish is strongly catholic, one 15 year old girl was very vocal about the fact that she didn't believe in God.
SLOT also encouraged us in what we do putting on shows here. Churches don't like that we allow some secular bands...but SLOT is not advertised to youth groups but mainstream culture...half the bands are secular...and technically it's not even a "Christian event". But when we went to worship one night hundreds of people were jammed in a small room- most of the have come to Christ over the years as a result of SLOT- including my friend Kasia...once a drug addict and now she simply glows with Christ. One girl came to Christ simply by going to a painting workshop led by a believer and just began to weep because she sensed God, still another couple of girls approached my Polish friend Kasia and asked "what is it that we feel here? " and prayed with her that night. SLOT is shaping culture in Poland rather than being shaped by it; rather than being a Christian copy of the secular pop culture. SLOT is Christian because Christians create it doing things they love and encouraging spiritual seeking through creativity and relationships...not because it is under a Christian (music) label. So, relationships and creativity allow Christ to be shown to our generation and culture in a more real way than things that are simply labeled Christian by loose criteria. So we press on to glorify God in everything we do: church, relationships, work, Blackhart productions, eating, playing, etc. We can never put things back into Christian and secular boxes even though some people may not like it. We will do what God has called us to do.
This trip more than ever has inspired change in me and purpose here at home. I feel like I was gone for much more than 2 weeks. Thank-you God for allowing me to experience. Continue to change me that I may bring You more glory.
I grasped even more that the glory of my God covers all the earth, not just America. That the body of Christ truly is international. At SLOT in Poland though tons of bands played we only watched one. Otherwise, we were always having 6 hour conversations with brothers and sisters we had just met. Gabi from Hungary, Tom from Scotland, Louise from England, Gerrard from Holland, Kasia and Marcin from Poland, Florian from Germany... people with the same visions and struggles as ourselves...from totally different cultures but seeking the same God.
I am educated and convicted now as to practical ways to "seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with my God". Go to www.speak.org.uk- a campaign presented at SLOT by our friend Louise- trade justice is something I urge all believers to pray about and get involved in. Steve and I are talking and praying about what exactly to do and anyone is welcomed to join us- we will start some regular meetings on this subject.
I am even more thankful for my best friend, my husband Steve, whom I got to share this experience with. He is a hardcore world traveller- he pretty much never complained and never had such thing as jet lag. We became even more of a team abroad, when I got lost he had the sense of direction. I love you, Steve.
We experienced so many things bigger than ourselves: our flight from Canada to London was delayed 20 hours so we had to pay $400 more to re-book our Ryanair flight we missed...we were moved at Auschwitz (so much of the anti-Jew rhetoric prior to the Holocaust reminds me of the anti illegal immigrant jargon today...thought I compare nothing to Nazism...still...this is what I was moved by) feeling small next to the Lubiacz and Wawel castles in Poland, Rembrandt paintings and the history everywhere we walked. In London we exeperienced the poor but beautifully multicultural area we stayed in (seriously- on the street corner you could see a Russian foodshop, a Vietnamese foodshop, a Jamaican barber, a Latin American restaraunt, a Thai restaraunt and every person that walked by was from a different nation), Camden Town- where subculture was the culture and we were offered marijuana twice and saw a drug deal in our mere 15 minutes there, Liverpool Street- the business district where offices are house in old and modern buildings alike and business people drank wine at a lovely park after work...and the Tower Bridge area where within walking distance was the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, a gallow where hundreds of Jesuits were murdered, a wall built by the Romans in 200AD and so on.
And most of all- God was experienced. I know He did stirring in us and I pray in the young people who were in our English conversation workshop. The last day we discussed spirituality and ultimately Jesus and though Polish is strongly catholic, one 15 year old girl was very vocal about the fact that she didn't believe in God.
SLOT also encouraged us in what we do putting on shows here. Churches don't like that we allow some secular bands...but SLOT is not advertised to youth groups but mainstream culture...half the bands are secular...and technically it's not even a "Christian event". But when we went to worship one night hundreds of people were jammed in a small room- most of the have come to Christ over the years as a result of SLOT- including my friend Kasia...once a drug addict and now she simply glows with Christ. One girl came to Christ simply by going to a painting workshop led by a believer and just began to weep because she sensed God, still another couple of girls approached my Polish friend Kasia and asked "what is it that we feel here? " and prayed with her that night. SLOT is shaping culture in Poland rather than being shaped by it; rather than being a Christian copy of the secular pop culture. SLOT is Christian because Christians create it doing things they love and encouraging spiritual seeking through creativity and relationships...not because it is under a Christian (music) label. So, relationships and creativity allow Christ to be shown to our generation and culture in a more real way than things that are simply labeled Christian by loose criteria. So we press on to glorify God in everything we do: church, relationships, work, Blackhart productions, eating, playing, etc. We can never put things back into Christian and secular boxes even though some people may not like it. We will do what God has called us to do.
This trip more than ever has inspired change in me and purpose here at home. I feel like I was gone for much more than 2 weeks. Thank-you God for allowing me to experience. Continue to change me that I may bring You more glory.