Back in May 2014 I started to write down one thing every day on a note card. It had to be less than 10 words, and something that happened that day. No other rules or stipulations. Could be good or bad (most things are good), could be unexpected or something I planned.
15 months later, I'm still writing down one thing every day on my note cards as sort of a daily calendar. It started as an easy way I could log some of the unique or simple or unexpected things that happen in life. Now that I've hit and passed the one year mark, it's really fun to think back to life one year ago and what was happening in my life at the time. I guess you could say it's been my own take on the one thousand gifts list that ann voskamp writes about in her book. I read it a few years back, but wasn't ambitious enough to start my own list of gifts. (And I love lists). At the time, I think I thought her concept of discovering joy in the small things was too simple. But she wisely asks the question, is the height of my joy dependent on the depths on my thanks? God gives us gifts, and as we give thanks for them we unwrap the gift given: joy. I do remember she wrote a lot of nails: "life-changing gratitude does not fasten to a life unless nailed through with one very specific nail at a time." What I'm writing down each day are not profound things, but I guess you could say it's my nail that is fastening gratitude to my life, in a small but meaningful way.
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This summer marks the second summer mission sent to Tanzania. We partner with Life Ministries (the name of Cru in Africa) in reaching high school and college students with the gospel. 35 staff and students took part in the summer mission. Most of their time was spent speaking to high school and college students in large groups, and then following up with students who were interested in learning more about following Jesus. Shown below is the group, who were able to share the gospel with 4,000 students this summer, and saw more than 2,000 decide to follow Jesus!
Meet Bariki. The Tanzania Mission Team met him this summer, and this is his story as told by Tyler, one of the team leaders: Bariki went from being a Maasai warrior in a traditional Maasai tribal community, to coming to know Jesus and helping others follow Him. "My parents worshiped trees, stones, and the witch doctor. When I was in 6th grade I heard about the real God who created the world. I really liked the story of God in the Bible, I liked it more than the stories of the gods of my father," said Bariki. Bariki really felt the presence of God one day in church, "People were preaching to me you need to get saved." But he thought he was saved because he got baptized. Later Bariki met a girl who said, "do you know Jesus loves you?" Bariki responded, "Yes I know. And I love Jesus." The girl responded, "Have you made you a personal commitment? Is Jesus in your heart, and are you obeying him?" Bariki said, "I teach the bible, you cannot tell me anything, you cannot tell me anything ... you are a girl but I am a man, I am a warrior." But the girls voice kept being in Bariki's head. As he went on with his life he kept hearing this whisper, "The only place you can get peace and life is in the Lord." When he was 22 he went to church and a member of the congregation led him to a personal commitment of following Christ through prayer. For the first time he experienced the joy and presence of the Lord and truly came to know Jesus. He said when he prayed to receive Christ, when he opened his eyes everything was new. In the morning he would wake up without peace. He felt life was meaningless. He woke and felt like God saying go to church where you will get peace. And that happened and more. The testimony of God's faithfulness since is amazing! He was kicked out of his family and community, he experienced intense persecution and near death in the African wilderness. He learned to forgive and love from the heart - even the people that beat him and tried to kill him. And the man never stops smiling. His joy from the Lord is amazing and he has been a huge help to us on the trip. In all this, his entire family, brothers, mother and even father have committed their lives to following Christ and accepted persecution and exile from their community. I've learned so much from him in a short time and it convicts me and pushes me to trust a God and follow him no matter the cost. Today, Bariki pastors a church of other Maasai believers and preaches with a passion that is unmatched. His sermons are simple, they are about following Christ. He retells the stories in the bible with conviction and pushes his congregation to follow God. I felt I needed to share his story. Even though there is much more to say. -Tyler "Preaching the gospel is always about risking, it is always about taking a step of faith." -Bariki |
Amy WellnerEncouraging others to intentionally live out their God-given identity. Archives
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