Today I was able to hang out with a couple friends of mine who I attended seminary with in the Philippines.  Through an interesting chain of events my friend Steve who is 61, Rueben who is in his 40's, and I all live in the Twin Cities  Rueben is a Russian man who taught seminary (and will be teaching at North Central University in the fall) and is in the US on medical referral.  I hung out with Steve a lot when we lived in Baguio, Philippines and we studied together.  So its so cool when I can catch up with them.

As many of you know, my neighborhood isn't the nicest in the world.  I guess many people might be scared to live where we do or would never consider it as a place to raise a family.  I believe God has divinely led us to live in our neighborhood and I love my neighbors.  They bring a sense of diversity, perspective, and spunk to the city.  I was hanging out with our team here the other day and said, "We live in a wild and crazy neighborhood.  I like it!" 

While we were chatting at the park today, two drunk guys started to get into a fight.  They were going back and forth when Steve tried to break it up.  Another man came on ths scene to split it up and he threw one of the men on the ground in the process.  Drunk people are kind of lopsy-topsy already so the guy fell pretty easily  Perhaps the most amusing part of the whole scene was that the guy who split up the fight took the liquor from the man he threw on the ground.  I think the only reason he broke up the fight was to get some more booze.  Crazy.

A few minutes later a cop car pulled into the park and took two of the guys away.  I think there must have been some phone calls because one of the guys was pretty much passed out on the ground.  A few minutes later another drunk guy came to the picnic table where Rueben, Steve, and I were sitting and was awfully confused.  He didn't have his shoes on and had no idea where he was. 

None of these guys would be classified as "refugees", meaning people I work with on a daily basis.  But they are my neighbors and many refugees walked through the park as all of this transpired.  These are people who live in my hood.  I walked away today thinking that I don't want to become a person who ignores my neighbors.  It is pretty true that there is little you can do to help a drunk person; at the same time, I want to continue to "see" my neighbors.  I feel like so many of them aren't even seen.  It is pretty much as if they don't even exist to the general population. 

I have noticed that since I returned from overseas that I have no problem relating and talking with people who are quite diferent from me, of different ethnic background, etc (all of whom were today at the park).  I get a coment almost weekly about how large of a cultural distance there is between "us" and "them" . . . and perhaps I just don't understand because this is my life and has been for 7 years now.  I sometimes take for granted how living in the awkwardness of a different culture is normal by now.  I can't document this but I feel like many people have drawn an imaginary line around my neighborhood and labeled it "Invisible," at least to the down and outer.  I can't expect very many people to even want to do what Charity and I do on a daily basis; I just wish that imaginary line could be erased.  My neighbors aren't invisible.  I talk to them and know their names.  They are very, very real. 

So many of the students I tutor feel invisible.  To their family they are valued, but to the average American they are just a stupid person who can't learn the languge fast enough.  The seemling slow our CEO world down.  I ache for my students and my neighbors.  I feel their pain.  I hug them.  I see them.  I cry with them. 

And any amount of care I have only scratches the surface of how visible my friends are to God.  I can't comprehend that kind of love and presence.  I'm so glad the we serve a right now, totally present God.  He sees us and knows our names. 

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I've blogged.  Well, I'm back and hopefully I'll be more consistent. The pace of life and ministry here have seemed to accelerate quite a bit in the last month.  I'll give you a "cliff notes" version and then on to other thoughts.

Cool Stuff Happening with our New Friends

We've had a chance to connect with lots of refugees this last month.  For the first time since we arrived, I feel like most of our friendships and social interaction are primarily the people group which we are serving.  As a "missionary" and person who wants to do everything I can to be in relationship with refugees, this is awesome progress. 

We went to World Refugee Day out at Minnehaha Park with an E. African family and have gone to eat several times with students who John is tutoring.  To us being in community and bullding relationshipos like this is like suckin on helium. . . you never want to come down from that manic mode. . . . we love it!!

In the US, we could easily have a bunch of white friends and do ministry from 8-5, kind of viewing refugees as our "project".  Sick! We are pleased to see that the majority of our time is being spent with refugees.  These are our friends, our joy, our family. We just keep inviting ourselves places, inviting others places, and attempting to stay present with God's presence with our neighbors.  We have some wonderful American, white friends too, who we have gotten to know, which helps to bring an ongoing understanding to what it means to be American and missional at the same time.

This isn't to say that life is without struggles.  We constantly are trying to figure out more ways to serve and struggle with the tension of hanging out and being present with refugees vs. seeing them propelled into God's Kingdom of Light.  But we are very aware that the big, Kingdom stuff is God's business and we just want to keep being there.  Charity and I are both convinced that if we are simply "there", simply involved at street level, then God will continue to do what he always does in radical heart transformation.

Tutoring and future plans for our work with ITeams

My afternoon tutoring with students has picked up quite a bit.  Right now it seems like the majority of students range from age 18-25 and are recent arrivals in the country. Most have been here less than a year.  The goal is to build relationships and prepare them to enter college or GED equivalency programs.  This has been extremely rewarding and so cool to watch their progress. 

Within the next month or so, ITeams hopes to start an International conversation club/program wherein the focus is on friendship and "talking".  Many English programs are good about teaching the basic grammar rules but this will hopefully force people to talk and get immersed with speaking language, rather than learning about langauge.  We'll keep you updated on how this moves forward.

Incarnational Living

Charity and I have told each other again and again how we love where we live.  Many people would absolutely hate it - the traffic is busy, the parking is a troublesome, it's too dangerous, English sometimes isn't heard all that much. . . I guess many could go on and on about the inconvenience of it all.  But for us, it rocks!  We love the diversity and its pretty easy to start conversation with our African neighbors.  I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

With this however, comes the call of God to go deeper, be more involved, talk to more people, hang out with more students.  We don't want to get comfortable.  Each week I have one or two meetings with leaders of some sort wherein we come up with some clever ideas.  Seminaries and ministry leaders call this theologicing or strategizing.  I love talking theology, church planting, strategy, etc. . . but there is just absolutely no substitute for meeting and hanging out with the people your serve.  At the core, this is missions.  This is what God called us and sent us to do.  We want to be very narrow on this focus.

I wish I had the time to tell you the many stories I've heard and the journeys of many of our new friends.  They are extraordinary.  This happens in real time with real people with real needs.  We know that many of you who read this blog have prayed the exact words that I am typing now.  We know that this type of stuff didn't just "happen" because we were clever or proactive.  We treasure your friendship, involvement, and count it a priviledge to be serving with you in doing God's thing in Minneapolis.

Myanmar got blasted with a cyclone about a week and a half ago and it has left thousands of people dead, homeless, and without anything.  Guys, it's pretty horrible.  Our minds can't really even conceive what has taken place.  We watch the news and get sad for a brief moment and then grab another chip and sip more coke.  It's not like we totally don't care; we just can't even fathom it.

One of the ways we can help is by giving money and resources.  Here is a link where you can help:

http://www.worldvision.org/Worldvision/eappeal.nsf/egift-disaster-response-southern-asia-cyclone-relief?OpenForm&campaign=11365553&cmp=KNC-11365553&OVRAW=myanmar%20cyclone%20how%20can%20I%20help%3F&OVKEY=myanmar%20cyclone%20how&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=31493393511&OVKWID=233314242511&ysmwa=9WbvSUn2qpYR733kA2voP8nNZ8J3wM_34FnIQgKbPOvC2WOWiTba_Bi0EJQVWHos

Myanmar as a country makes about $2,600/yr (just over $200/mo per person).  That isn't very much.  Some of us spend that kind of money on coffee and and snacks in a given month.  I don't want to put anyone on a guilt trip but we have so, so much.  Charity and I probably would fall in the lover 20 percentile in American income and we still have lots left over to give.  We can make adjustments and give more. 

I want to be a Christian who gives up "things" in my life to better serve Christ.  When I confess that I'm willing to sacrifice my life unto Jesus but then I don't sacrifice the things in my life, it makes a huge statement.  The things in my life actually are the ingredients that make my life.  I want to give it away as Christ modeled.  Greg Boyd mentioend this week that, "if the disciples who sacrificed their very lives for the Gospel were warned about becoming hypocrites and not sacrificing, how much more the American church?"  We haven't really had to sacrifice anything in our life. . . this is my personal journey. . . welcome to my misery if you're in the same boat. :) 

Don't be guilted, but give to Myanmar because the Lord lays it on your heart.