Training Grounds For the Future

April 6, 2017 by 2 Comments

Remember what I said about school in my last post?  In the post, Mexico Vision Trip – Come,  I said that,

“School felt meaningless and I felt lazy when I was reading a book or just relaxing.”

However, school is not meaningless and it is ok to read a book or to relax when you’re tired. School has a purpose. It is important. But, why? 

School teaches you how to learn.

Now, one of my Dad’s favorite quotes about school come to mind. He says it every time we ask, “Why must I do school? Do I have I do this?”  It is,

School is where you learn how to learn.

It is as simple as that. 

We go to school and get taught how to learn. That way, when you are older, and you don’t have people in your life who are able to teach you things, you will still be able to learn something new. You will know how to teach yourself new and important things that you didn’t need to know when you were younger.

For example, you are driving to work and your tire pops. What do you do? You have never changed a tire in your life – never even seen one changed, for that matter. 

First, you would know that you need to find instructions on changing a tire. (Unless you are really ambitious and think that you can change a tire without instructions.) Once you find your instructions, you would read them and interpret what they mean. Then, you would change the tire, following the directions. Also, if you knew that you weren’t strong enough to change the tire, you would go and find someone to help. 

In this example, you 1. recognized your problem, 2. figured out how to solve the problem, and then 3. solved it. Does this sort of sound like those math word problems we have to solve each day?

So, we go to school to learn how to learn.

For those worried teachers out there, yes, it is extremely important to know how to read, write, solve problems, and interpret information. 

Life prepares us for the future.

Life, as it is now, is a training ground for what life will be like tomorrow, next week, next year, or the next season in my life. What you are experiencing today, will prepare you for a challenge you have to face in your future. 

I did gymnastics for four years and I loved it. I practiced at home almost every day. To perfect my cartwheel, sometimes I would do more than a hundred in one setting. 

Now, I don’t believe that gymnastics is what I will do for my career in the future, but it did teach me an important lesson – Perseverance.

Perseverance is steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

When I was practicing my cartwheels, I did cartwheel after cartwheel after cartwheel. Those cartwheels were not perfect overnight. I had to be patient with myself and continue to practice, even when it seemed like I was going nowhere.

So, the experiences you are facing now are training grounds for you to live out what you believe and to learn new skills that you will use for the rest of your life.  Go.  Train hard!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Christian Living, Mexico Vision Trip, Missions

Mexico Vision Trip – Come

April 4, 2017 by 1 Comment

 Culture Shock  -the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, a way of life, or set of attitudes.

I believe that I have had more trouble adjusting back to life here in the states than I did in Mexico. When I returned home, I had difficulties focusing on school. I kept getting distracted and my mind wouldn’t stop wandering. I seemed to be only half here.

So, I started to think about why this was happening. Is something going on in by brain that is keeping me from thinking straight?  What happened in Mexico?  What did I see there that could effect me in this way? 

As I was thinking those thoughts, I felt the urge to write a poem. For me, writing poems are one way of expressing one’s thoughts in a creative manner. You have to plan your thoughts and ideas in an organized way. This can be a little harder than just writing everything out normally. It makes you really think about what point you want to make.

Through writing the poem, I realized what was part of my problem. The problem became clearer as the words flowed out.

I now knew the plight of the orphans. I had begun to learn how to help them – and I wasn’t doing anything about it. Yes, I had been to Mexico for a week and played with the kids. I had fixed up part of their homes and encouraged them. But, now that I’m back in the states, what am I doing to help them – solving algebra problems?

I felt that I was doing nothing to help them. And, that perspective transferred over to everything else I did. School felt meaningless and I felt lazy when I was reading a book or just relaxing. I had identified my problem.

So, after reading my poem again, I realized that there are things that I can do to help the orphans around the world right now. I can raise awareness of the plight of the orphans and I can encourage others to go and serve them, as well.

 

Come

Come. Come and see.
I beg you. I plee.
Come and see
The poverty.
The tattered bed,
The weary head,
That wonders…
“What is my purpose?
Why am I here?
Does anyone care?”
Come and see.

Come. Come and care.
Show a child that they matter.
Show them they are special-
That they are better
Than what other people say they are.
Come and care.

Come. Come and serve.
Fix a fan. Build a house.
They deserve
Much more than this.
More than dirt and grime.
More than dust and ash.
Come and serve.

Come. Come and play.
Bind up wounded hearts
By kicking a ball
Or throwing darts.
And, oh, when you call
Out their name,
You are saying,
“You’re important to me.”
Come and play.

Come.
Come and see.
Come and care.
Come and serve.
Come and play.
But, come in love.
Not in selfish ambition
Or to make yourself great.
Come to make God great.
Come to change lives
With the power of the cross.
Come.

Filed Under: Mexico Vision Trip, Poems

Mexico Vision Trip – Reflections

March 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment

 

A child looks out her window, sitting on a tattered, worn bed, wondering what her purpose is in life – wondering if she even matters. She has never had anyone say to her, “Good job.” Never has anyone shown her love. All her life she has always been told that she is stupid and good for nothing. 

Is this how children deserve to grow up – wondering why they were left at a children’s home or an orphanage?  Or asking why their parents don’t care enough to take them back home?

No! But, unfortunately, there are over 140 million orphans in the world. These children either have no parents, have parents who can’t support them, or parents who just don’t want them. 

This breaks my heart. But, it breaks these children’s heart more than mine. It rips their hearts in two when they find out that they are not wanted or cared for.

(It is important to watch the video for the rest of the post to make sense.)

That is what we did that week we were in Mexico. When we went to the children’s home, we played volleyball and soccer with the kids, showing them that they matter to us. We painted their nails in order that they might know that they are loved. When they drew a beautiful picture or did a fantastic cartwheel, we told them so. 

Also, to show that their safety and needs were important to us, we painted their dirty walls and cleaned out their rubble filled back yard.

What I learned this week is that no matter what language you speak, what you look like, where you live – we all want to laugh, have fun, and be loved. But, most importantly, we all need a Savior. We are all sinners and we all desperately need Jesus to save us.

 

 

Filed Under: Mexico Vision Trip, Missions
For His Great Name