The Ins and Outs of the TEAM

This outreach experience has been very different from what I had expected. To imagine that I am living in the same house, sleeping in the same bed and cooking and eating in the same kitchen, yet I am on my 3 month practical work is a bit weird for me. I know that God has caused us to remain here, as He has confirmed it in prayer to our entire team and we all have peace about the ministry that we are doing. I guess for me it is fairly “normal” everyday life – loving and seeking Jesus and loving and serving people in His name. By the grace of God this is how I live life whether in Canada or Guatemala, yet I am doing it in another new culture and language.

For me the greatest challenge has been being culturally and linguistically immersed. It is different this time – mostly because I am used to being in a warm culture and live out my life in such a way and it is definitely a COLD culture here in Ukraine!! (warm and cold cultures relate to how people interact, communicate, etc.)  I have been amazed at how differently we all like to do things and having lived with various roommates and families in the past I understand that we all have our own nuances about daily life, tie four other cultures into the knot and you got an interesting situation. It has given way to many good conversations about culture, respect, loving one another, conflict, having differences and respecting them, etc.  It is also interesting in that our age range is fairly small. We are mostly in similar life stages and have all been Christians for at least 7 years.  Personality wise, we all get along and enjoy each other’s humour and hearts. It is a gift from God!

I can genuinely say that I love my team. We are a family. We enjoy being together, praying together, talking about God and His word together, laughing together, cooking and cleaning together, loving and serving others for Jesus together – you get the idea J Yet there is a level where I feel like my own culture inhibits me from connecting with them on a deeper level because there are barriers in the way we think. And if barriers in the way we think, barriers in the way we understand each other and then treat each other.  How I have become acquainted with the independent spirit and mentality that has shaped me as a North American. A year ago I never knew that it was so resilient – for positive and for negative. My prayer has been and remains that every bit of independence and resistance to others (aka – PRIDE) would be transformed into true interdependence with the Holy Spirit first and my co-labourers and family members in the Gospel second.

Our team :) about to enjoy North American Christmas meal :)

And as much as I desire that every barrier be destroyed I am realizing a valuable truth. Jesus likes that we are all different – He made us that way. It is not wrong to be different. Being uniform in thinking, culture, dress, custom, culture, etc. is NOT what unites us and brings us into oneness. The Love of JESUS CHRIST is the only thing that brings us into true unity and oneness. For His love to dwell in our midst we must actually acknowledge our differences and not try to conform to another’s standards, but recognize that we are all who we are, yes in process, and yes, being changed and transformed into the likeness of Christ, yet unique in that process.

The world will look at us and see our love for one another and know that God sent Jesus into the world. That does not mean that they will look at us and we will all look the same. That means that they will look at us in our radical differences and see that there is a genuine supernatural love that we have for one another as walked out in our actions, words and lifestyles and they will see that ONLY GOD can unite these people and give them such a love. ONLY JESUS’ love is this powerful.

In the midst of learning to work as a team, failing at it, repenting and trying again to with one heart feed the homeless, love the poor, the alcoholic and drug addict, share Christ with the every day “Joe”, bring joy to children through English classes, etc.  I am left crying out to God to truly live and experience more of His love through the cross of Jesus Christ and His Spirit that lives in my heart and life. I am becoming more desperate to live in the love of God than ever, as I realize how far away I am from what Jesus has purchased for me! Yet in hope I know that His grace is bringing it to pass!

Our team sharing Christmas Eve with some of the brothers who feed and minister to the homeless and two of the guys who receive ministry. It was a blessed time to rejoice in the Lord in the freezing cold night - he he he - JESUS is born and we are family because of Him!