Med Mission Nica: Day 2

It will definitely be hard to put today into words. Sundays are great days down here in Nicaragua. It is always so amazing to have our perception and understanding of worship expanded by worshipping in a global context. We started our day of worship at Verbo Church. This is the Buzbees' church and shares some similarities with what we are "used" to. Many of the songs we sang today, we knew the English version and then Elizabeth even translated the sermon for us which was a blessing. After church we had the Buzbees join us for our Sunday lunch and had a great time sharing together. A good bit of our team are 'veterans' or have connections to the Buzbees, so our time with them is always treasured.

No trip to Nicaragua would be complete without the trek over to Wimby's Market. Anything you could think of is for sale there and they are ready to bargain. This team was spared my annual tour of the 'meat' section, though. We did have to make it a quick trip so some of the team could make it out to church in Los Cedros.

Brooke, Kathy, Buddy, Lil and myself made the trip down to Los Cedros for church. Los Cedros is a community near and dear to the Wildwood teams as we have built three homes there, taken the children to Campo Alegria and also worked in construction on the Christian school. Pastor Manuel and his wife have also become dear friends and partners in the ministry.

I was given the opportunity to preach tonight and really felt like the Holy Spirit had spoken to me in my quiet time this morning and so it seemed like He was preparing me for something - and then found out later that it would turn into a message. The worship service is so different in Los Cedros. It's not modern, no A/C, no words on the screen or other amenities, yet the people worship with passion! Nearly all have walked to church in the heat and work up quite a sweat in their passionate worship which lasts over two hours. I wonder each year if I found myself in that situation if I would make the effort to go to church.

After I preached, we invited anyone down for prayer. Our team came forward and we prayed individually for about 25 people. It was a powerful time of ministry and the Holy Spirit was palpable. God really challenged my heart during that time and I felt Him calling me to a greater ministry of prayer. I'm not sure what that will look like, but am trusting Him on that one!

We hit the road early tomorrow for what will be our first day of clinics. We will be heading down to Los Cedros for our first clinic day. Please be praying for our team that we would have the opportunity to minister physical and spiritual healing!

PS - if you are reading this on Facebook - head to toddveleber.blogspot.com to check out pics. You can also follow us in real time at twitter.com/wwoutreach.

Med Mission Nica: Day 1

Well we have made it safely to Nicaragua and I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of this team. It already seems like God is doing a good work in the hearts of those that are on the team, so I can only imagine what He has in store for us this week.

We had a pretty uneventful travel day and despite having only a short layover - managed to make it just in time for our departing flight from Miami. We then arrive in Nicaragua, in the middle of their hot, dry season (it hasn't rained since November) and it starts raining... and not just raining, but pouring for about two and a half hours! What a blessing as we ended up with much cooler temps than expected after the rain.

Today was a fairly relaxed, but important day for us as we had to prep all the supplies for our clinics that will be starting on Monday. All the pills and vitamins had to be sorted, bagged and labeled for distribution from our clinic pharmacy. This process took us over four hours, but we did get to take a break and enjoy a nice dinner prepared by our favorite Nicaragua cook - Maria!

Tomorrow morning we'll join the Buzbees for church at Verbo and then have a relaxing Sabbath afternoon to enjoy some silence and solitude before heading to evening church in Los Cedros. Our Wildwood teams have invested much energy and resources into the community of Los Cedros and it is always exciting to join them for worship and see families we have built homes for and children we have taken to camp.

We appreciate your prayer support and will do our best to have daily updates. Pray that God would work in us and through us in a powerful way. Don't forget to follow our twitter updates at twitter.com/wwoutreach.

A Cry for Mercy

O Lord, who else or what else can I desire but you? You are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind and soul. You know me through and through. In and through you everything that is finds its origin and goal. You embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion. Why, then, do I keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you? Why do I keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded? Why do I keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success acclaim and sensual pleasures? Why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one? Why do I keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?

Help me, O Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which I am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words and thoughts can be come a hymn of praise to you.

I need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. I know and trust that this is the road to freedom.

Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend. Amen.

- From A Cry for Mercy by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Reaching Out

As my role begins the process of changing, it has led me to do some extensive and intensive prayer and study in God's Word, as well as research in areas that I feel the need to press into more deeply. Of course for all of us that claim to follow Christ, we are both equally bound and terrified by the word evangelism. No other word is seemingly so compelling and repulsive at the same time. It falls into that category of our life and faith where we go, "I know I should be doing something but I'm not really sure what to do, so I will put that one on the shelf for later."

But in thinking of our call to evangelism or outreach, I came across some great insight in writings from John Piper and Robert Coleman. They helped me see that really this concept of outreach is less about us and more about God... go figure. Seems to be a common reversal we make in most areas of life!

In Coleman's The Master Plan of Discipleship, he shows us something quite remarkable. In the book of Acts, evangelistic strategy seems to focus mainly on people who have been prepared in some way by God to be receptive to receive the Gospel. So God is the great evangelist - He is the one who prepares and persuades. "He awakens sinners (Ephesians 2:5), opens their hearts (Acts 16:14), draws them (John 6:44), empowers the gospel (2 Thessalonians 3:1) and calls the lost (1 Corinthians 1:24)."

So I simply have the privilege to join God in what He is already doing! I just have to be about the process of "outreach"... or as the great commission would put it... "as I'm going" to look for opportunities to make disciples of the ones God is already calling. Does that not seem a relief to anyone else?

Look at how this took place in the book of Acts:

• The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost unleashed the gospel on a host of spiritually sensitive Jews who had come from at least fifteen different nations to worship the God of the Old Testament

• The next big harvest came in Samaria (Acts 8:4-25), where Jesus earlier had laid a foundation by His witness (John 4:4-42)

• The Holy Spirit sent Philip to an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading the scroll of Isaiah and was puzzling over who chapter 53 was talking about (Acts 8:26-39).

• The evangelistic breakthrough with Gentiles outside Jerusalem came with Cornelius, who feared God and gave alms and prayed and had a vision of God's messenger (Acts 10).

• When Paul launched his missionary career, he followed the pattern of going first to the synagogue in search of some receptive Jews or God-fearing Gentiles (Acts 13:5, 14, 42f; 14:1; 17:1f; 10, 17; 18:4, 7, 19, 26; 19:8)

• On his second missionary journey, Paul's planning was checked twice by the Lord. The Holy Spirit forbade him (for the moment) to speak the word in Asia (Acts 16:6), and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go to Bithynia (Acts 16:7). Instead, Paul saw a vision with a man saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us" (Acts 16:9). The focus again was on the spiritually receptive.

• In Philippi there was no synagogue. So Paul found a place where women prayed outside the city and joined them, where one was converted (Acts 16:12-14).

There were times when Paul argued in the marketplace or town center, but it wasn't a pattern like this. Yet the pattern of looking for the receptive or as Coleman says, "to look for those who want to move for Christ. Life is too short to expend excessive time and energy upon apathetic people."

This has really resonated within my heart. Not that we ever ignore or push any spiritually calloused people away - we are always called to pray for those outside the faith, but to search for those where God's Spirit is working and calling. God's purpose and mission remains the same - that the Gospel go to all nations - even to those who would be resistant. Piper says, "We become partners with the Holy Spirit, and we should be alert to those who are beginning to be awakened by His grace." And Coleman is right when he says, "I am convinced that a few such persons are within the influence of every Christian."

They are around me. They are around you. By the privilege and duty God has given us, let us relentlessly give our lives to this great calling... that the world may know Christ! As Jesus said of his mission, "To seek and to save the lost." We have the responsibility to do the seeking... to find those that He is calling and leave the saving up to Him!

Dying in Bed

I've been studying the spiritual disciplines with a fellow sojourner and friend and we have been using Willard's Renovation of the Heart. Aside from being incredibly weighty and thought-provoking, it also has really pushed in on my heart in some amazing ways. Recently it has been with my understanding of Luke 9:23-24, Then he [Jesus] said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.

Now I've always wrestled with this idea of picking up an instrument of death as a means to truly follow Christ. And if I'm being really honest, at times, I've simply thought, said or even lived, "Well, I like the heaven part and having Jesus as Savior, but I'm not all in on this dying to self thing" and proceeded to live my life. That mindset has been unraveling, but now at a more rapid pace.


Then I came across an amazing excerpt in my TAWG the other morning, that helped me immensely try to visualize the reality of dying to self:

"Represent to your imagination that your bed is your grave; that all things are ready for you interment; that you are to have no more to do with this world; and that it will be owing to God's great mercy if you ever see the light of the sun again or have another day to add to your works of piety. Then commit yourself to sleep as one that is to have no more opportunities of doing good, but is to awake among spirits that are separate from the body and waiting for the judgment of the last great day.

Such a solemn resignation of yourself into the hand of God every evening, and parting with all the world as if you were never to see it anymore - and all this in the silence and darkness of the night - is a practice that will soon have excellent effects upon your spirit. For this time of the night is exceeding proper for such prayers and meditations. The likeness which sleep and darkness have to death will contribute very much to make your thoughts about it the more deep and affecting. So that I hope you will not let a time so proper for such prayers be ever passed over without them."
- From A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law

I had to read that a few times. I've even read it again the last few days. Mainly because I like thinking that lying in my bed is an enjoyable experience and one that will bring me rest - and something that I will wake up in. Not too fond of thinking of my bed as a grave or coffin. But to steal some phrases like... living each day as if it were my last or live like I'm dying have greater clarity. I'm not there yet... but I'd like to move, by God's grace, to such a place that has "excellent effects upon my spirit" because I understand and live more fully what Jesus taught in Luke 9:23-24. Then I can only help but wonder what it would look like to have a world of Christ-followers living the same way.

Richness for the Good?

For the majority of my time in ministry I've mainly worked with families and students who are abundantly blessed. In fact, I coined a phrase "silver-spoon ministry" in efforts to describe what it was like to minister to students of privilege - students that regularly received a brand new car for their 16th birthday, usually much nicer than the one I was driving. Silver-spoon ministry has it's challenges for sure... and then one day, I started to look deeper into the Scriptures (and in turn my own heart) to discover if there was any possibility of harnessing materialism for the Kingdom. Could materialism somehow be for the good?

I'm no different than anyone out there really. We've all been subject to the indoctrination of the American Dream as an active or passive part of our education. It's said many different ways: be self-sufficient, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, make a name for yourself, have it your way, get rich, get stuff... and as a result: be happy. And even though I learned early on lessons from Scripture to the contrary, the American Dream mantra is a tough one to overcome. Let's face it, we do like stuff and we'll do whatever it takes to get it so we can be happy.

But where this American Dream intersects with the Kingdom of God is of great interest to me and has recently been a place of great tension in my heart. Even in knowing that the American Dream has no power to save - and actually has the opposite power of destruction - we continually find ourselves lying prostrate before that idol in worship. And I am guilty of that. And over and over again in the Gospels we see encounters with the hurting, homelessness, poverty, outcasts, social injustice and the like. And there standing in the way of those encounters are selfishness, greed and materialism.

In the summer of 2005, I led a group of high school students to the second poorest country in this hemisphere: Nicaragua. I had never been to a third world country before and didn't really know what to expect. One morning we loaded the bus to head to La Chureca - the city dump. I've written on it numerous times here before, so feel free to search through any of the summer archives here on this blog to read more. So in driving through the deplorable conditions of humanity that were living in abject poverty, I still knew that I would get on an airplane and return to the comforts of my home and American way of life. Or would I?

I returned not knowing what to do with the amount of "treasure" that my family and I possess. Things that seemed common like a vehicle for transportation, food in the pantry, clothes in the closet and clean, hot water for a shower and a bed to sleep in began to feel like a luxury. I didn't dare venture to actually think of my "luxury" items. I thought that everything had to go. I didn't know where to start. The American Dream started to look less like a dream and more like a nightmare.

The goal then became to try to understand how to live the Gospel in a world that I, and the students I seek to minister to, is riddled with narcissism, materialism, greed and entitlement. And those values are sought after and even rewarded. And then one day I came across a quote that read, "The most serious problem facing the church today is materialism - materialism not as a philosophical theory, but as a way of life." And it isn't going away anytime soon.

My initial inclination has always been to simply vilify this American Dream. And don't jump too far ahead, because I intend in no way to excuse sins of greed, materialism, etc. that Scripture condemns. But I began to wonder if the American Dream could be rescued and renewed for the Kingdom? And so while I do my best to understand my wealth and resources from a global perspective and even strive to bring that understanding to my students... rather than getting stuck in guilt or moving towards manipulation... maybe the answer is a both/and. A rejection of the sinfulness and selfishness of the American Dream, while at the same time, an understanding that what we do find that we have (in our time, talent and particularly treasure) can be used in an amazing way for the Gospel around the world. I can do something about the children in La Chureca even if I can't physically be there to help. God has resourced me well - and many around me - to finance the efforts of the Kingdom.

Then the gospel and our desire for live it out missionally moves from simply being about going, to being about going AND sending. How can we not only go and serve but also funnel our possessions into service devoted to God's glory and advancing the Kingdom? So maybe the silver-spoon that looked problematic can be redeemed by removing it from our mouths and using it to feed someone else's mouth! Now that's richness for the good!

Where is the longing?

"As a deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:1-2). Not only did I learn this verse as a young child, but someone along the way put it into a song that I remember singing a lot. Needless to say, it is not only a verse, but a concept that is very familiar. There in would lie the ultimate problem. Could the idiom, "Familiarity breeds contempt" apply to Scripture? Or worse could it apply to our relationship with God.

Obviously if it does, it points out where the problem lies... within our own hearts. At moments like these when my heart seemingly drifts away from the one and only source of life and from the Creator God who loves me and is constantly pursuing me, I am reminded that my only source of satisfaction is found in Him. My only source for life comes from Him. I need Him and should desire Him as much as a deer longs for water... or as much as I need water. The Psalmist goes on to say in Psalm 63, " O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory" (vs. 1-2).

That is the essence of what it means to love God - to long for Him and find satisfaction in Him. John Piper says it well, "God is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him." It seems so simple in concept yet so amazingly difficult in application.

I find that I can be so easily drawn into the trappings of this world and consumed with the ritual of 'life' that I lose the longing. I dream of the day when creation is reordered and our lives truly find and reach complete satisfaction in Him... in His presence. Until that day, we are challenged to live a life of longing... of continual pursuit of a God who loves us and gave Himself for us. By His amazing grace, He is sanctifying us and creating a deeper thirst in us as our journey continues. I have tasted that the Lord is good and I want to spend my days in a satisfied relationship with Him, all the while inviting others to come and find satisfaction in the living water that never runs dry!