Homeless...

So today I was homeless in Washington DC. We started off the day around 7am and took the metro to a certain stop. We got off and went to this park area and we got some breakfast by some people from a church that drove by... tuna sandwiches, hard boiled egg, banana, and a cup of coffee. I wish that I liked tuna... haha :) Then we talked to Scott and he offered his own apt. for us to live in for 6 months or a year.. however long we needed. He also gave us an opportunity for a job. He started talking about his theology and church, which we didn't wholly agree with, but he was so sincere and kind to us.
Then we headed to another park and there was a line for food, we got the last of soup and I was given a blanket, coat, sweater, and some toiletries. They prayed with us and sent us on our way. I slept on a park bench in the national mall and got some stares and comments about being homeless. Those were interesting and definitely dehumanizing.
So when doing ministry, why don't we ask the people what they need. Even though we give them some gloves, scarves, and things like that, they only need those every once in a while... they have other needs. Also, I feel like we need to give them more than just our leftovers or things that we don't want.
It was a very good experience, and opened my eyes to the world around me. My thought processes have changed. Now to take what I have learned and apply it.
Find the face of God in everyone!

Understanding...

I have really been struggling with this. There are people that would rather sit down and argue and debate over theological crud instead of going out and helping people. Why would a Christian, a disciple of Christ argue over the little, insignificant stuff while there are people that are suffering and needing love... God's love? It just doesn't' make sense to me. I thought that was an older, more conservative thought that not many people were still stuck in today... but I stand corrected. I am worried about the upcoming church, my generation. There are people stuck in their ways unwilling to move and people that are overly open and have no boundaries and restrictions or beliefs for what they do. We really are in a pickle...

Here are some just random thoughts that I could flush out... but I just keep coming back to them...

• Jesus' followers must seek to submit every area of their lives to him, including their political views and economic choices.
• Why do Christians tend to shy away from those in need... homeless, crack addicts, alcoholics, violent people, rapists, and even victims of these.
• The task of Christians is to simply announce the Good News. We can't save anyone. It's God's job to save people. So we need to stop trying to and becoming burned out and depressed and give up... Love is an action and is what we are called to DO!

Interviews...

Today was another interesting day... just like all the others. We went to the University of Maryland to conduct some interviews, but conduct them in everyday conversations... this was extremely hard for me and extremely out of my comfort zone... however, I did. I met a girl named Jessica (ironic I know). She was not a Christian and was very post modern in her thinking. I have not had many opportunities to talk to people who have that strongly disagreed with the way that I think theologically. She didn't have an emphasis on the spiritual aspect of life in any way. It was all one man for themselves.
After that, we went to Arlington Church of the Nazarene. We talked about their ministry, which wasn't really theirs, but all networked through other churches. This isn't bad, I just felt like the balance was off a little. They do amazing work and are definitely impacting the world around them. Then we had a potluck with homemade food. It was incredible, especially since we have been eating out so much.. Well once again, all of this walking and thinking and debating is wearing me out physically and mentally. We have another ministry we are visiting tomorrow so I need to get rested...
God will provide the necessary resources for what he has called you to do! Never doubt God! & Women can be just as effective as men :)

Thoughts...

My mirror reflection... what does that mean? Who am I? Why am I the way that I am? Why do I believe what I believe? Is what I believe right?

Today was very interesting. I had many debates over certain topics. For example, can God use Muslims, Buddhists, etc.? I'm tired... but here is a quick overview of my day. We went to Community of Hope in DC. It was originally founded by the Nazarene church. However, they have pulled a lot of their support and input because of bureaucratic issues, which may or may not be correct. We learned about their ministry and services it provides, and then we did some odd jobs around for them. I organized a paint/art closet with James and organized some papers and some others cleaned, organized books, and shredded papers. There is an after school program, but today of all days, they were over flooded with volunteers, so we were asked to get out of the way when that took place. That was a slight bummer, cause I was excited about that. Oh well!

Here are some final questions that are floating around in my head looking for an answer as I head to bed...
What is "the gospel"? What is salvation? What is ministry? What is evangelism? How do we define these is different social contexts and minister effectively?

N-Street Village

Well, today proved to be another interesting day. Full of theological conversations and wrestling with thoughts that I didn't even know existed. Here's a quick run down of my day: went to n-street village ministry (I'll explain later), visited the White House, ate pizza and had deep conversations, took a quick nap, got misled on the University of Maryland, had more discussions.. and eventually sleep!! N-Street Village Ministry is a ministry for only women designed to get them off the streets, away from addictions, if they have any, and to provide housing and community for those who can't. http://www.nstreetvillage.org/
Today really challenged my thought process. Everyone doesn't think like I do. I have known this, but sometimes I still expect it, or have an underlying presupposition. So, I have been dealing with how different people view sin, what does ministry mean, what is the Gospel and good news? What does incomplete mean (biblical and theological).
We as people cannot save others... we leave that up to the Holy Spirit and the grace of God. So we need to stop thinking that God needs us. He doesn't. We just can be used by him to do his work.
Right now... all my thoughts and ideas are racing around in my head, not making a whole lot of sense.. so I will work on organizing these and see if I can get it down on paper (or a computer screen)
God is love... how do we show that love in the way people need it most?

Adventures in DC

This morning we went to the shrine of the immaculate conception and attended the 10:30 mass. The mass seemed to be different from other Catholic masses that I have attended. It still followed the strict liturgy and was over in an hour. The building itself is the 2nd largest basilica in the world. It is immaculate and amazingly beautiful. There are not paintings but instead hand-crafted mosaics. It's absolutely beautiful.
There were however some problems that I had with this experience. We walked in during the middle of a mass. It felt weird and wrong to be disrupting the service, even though we really didn't because the place is so huge 90% of the people didn't even know we were there. Then we went downstairs to take pictures and explore the basement of this building. There were prayer chapels lining the sides and names of all the parishes that gave money for this building to be built. the founder of it also had this statue like thing of himself and a chair that was made for when the pope visited was on display. There was a gift shoppe, bookstore, and restaurant too. After that, we went upstairs to the mass and there was an angry portrait of Jesus looking down at me the entire time. It just doesn't remind me of the Jesus that I serve. I have a hard time with the church being a tourist attraction and having a gift shoppe and restaurant. It just seemed very impersonal and could have been more effective to have different churches with ministries around the area. Also, I saw with the Catholics today, I feel like mother Mary could become too much of an icon and worshiped more than Jesus. Yes, she was important, but not to the extent that I believe they put on her (maybe I should look more into that before making that assumption).
After that we went down to Union station and had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. We went to the Holocaust Museum. It was really amazing. It was something that I have wanted to do since 8th grade when we were not allowed to go through it in the 8th grade. It still blows my mind to know that people could do that. The propaganda and brain washing of the kids is shocking. There was a board game for kids that the objective of you being the German with a goal to get all of the Jews out of your town. I cannot fathom within 6 months Hitler had power and brainwashed so many people.
Well, this was just the transitioning day to get used to the town and what not... Tomorrow we will be visiting our first ministry site and starting to do all of our homework... :)