Celebrate

As per this page of blog prompts:

Friday, March 11, 2011
Celebrate something -- anything -- today, and then tell us about it.

I didn't actually celebrate anything today, because I didn't see this prompt till tonight. I have a very strong drive these days to feel productive at... anything, so I found this website that offers daily blog prompts. I don't know how long I will stick with it; I will probably only do the ones I really like.

What do I want to celebrate? I want to celebrate a few people who have produced music that I really enjoy.

David Crowder: You are bouncy and interesting and stylistically wonko. I love it. I love your crazy goatee and your afro. I enjoy your album, Church Music. Here's to you, David Crowder!

Dar Williams: Your postmodern folk/pop angst resonates with me a lot. You do well and love and loss and nostalgia. Here's to you, Dar Williams!

The Cranberries: You taught me that music could also deal with causes. Here's to you, Cranberries!

Sara Groves: You work well with Scripture. "Painting Pictures of Egypt" was a big deal for me when I was contemplating graduating from university. "Generations" is still one of the best songs I know to prompt sober reflection on the long-term consequences of today's decisions. Here's to you, Sara Groves!

Bella Sun: I'm so sad you guys divorced. I really loved seeing you play and sing together at the Java Cabana. Your music is still so great for painting to. Here's to you and your broken hearts, Bella Sun!

Joni Mitchell: Again, like Dar, you do really well with love and loss. "A Case of You" is sheer brilliance. I love your lyrics: "I am a lonely artist/I live in a box of paints/I'm frightened by the devil/and I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid/I remember the time that you told me/You said, 'Love is touching souls'/Surely you touched mine/'Cause part of you pours out of me/In these lines from time to time." Ay, I feel it. I heard you became bitter as you grew older, and I hope that doesn't stay true. Here's to you, Joni Mitchell!

Lauryn Hill: Girl, I like you crazy. I love your Unplugged album. It's so raw and so good. Here's to you, Lauryn Hill!

 The Newsboys: You guys shaped my childhood road trips. I still know every word to "Shine." Here's to you, Newsboys!

Jennifer Knapp: I'm not happy with where your life has gone, but I love the music you wrote before you disappeared. I love the confessional aspect to "Martyrs and Thieves," and I sing it when I need to invite God into something and get it off my chest. Here's to you, Jennifer Knapp!

Simon and Garfunkel: Your harmony is magical. I love your poetry in your songs. I still love "Dangling Conversation" so much, and your music is so beautiful. I paint to you, wash dishes to you. I enjoy you. Here's to you, Simon and Garfunkel!

Josquin des Prez: You've been dead for centuries, but you still reliably give me goosebumps. Here's to you and your beautiful compositions, Josquin des Prez!

While I'm at it, I would like to celebrate some people I actually know.

Mom and Dad: Nobody else has shaped my life like you guys, and I love the heritage you've given me. I have so much to be thankful for in you guys. Thank you for loving Jesus like you do, for living His life out in your lives. Thank you for loving me and letting me live at your house till I was 26. Thank you for teaching me to read the Bible every day and for sharing your knowledge and passion with me. Here's to you, Mom and Dad!

Jon: I love you, poet-brother. I celebrate you in your creativity and sensitivity, your way with words, your beautiful, lyrical heart. You are brilliant and lovely, and I am tremendously proud of you. You are very loyal, and you have a big heart for other people. Here's to you, Jon-face!

Steven: I love seeing how you're growing. I love your heart for God and your thirst for Scripture. I love your desire to reach out to other people and share Christ, and I enjoy seeing how you stretch your mind to understand other faiths. Here's to you, Steven!

Cat: You've been my friend for longer than anybody. I appreciate your loyalty and the way you've extended grace to me over such a long course of friendship. Friends like you are rare. Here's to you, Cat!

Jelks4: You guys were my second home during my last two years of university. I can't tell you how I appreciate your friendship and the stories you have given me. Here's to you, Cassie, Lindsey, Miranda, and Gina!

Dr. Thomas: Your quiet strength and thoughtfulness were a big deal for me. I really enjoyed having you for a professor. You always made me think more about whatever we talked about with your questions, and I appreciate your letting me hang out with your family whenever I visited Jackson. Here's to you, Dr. Thomas!

Mrs. Darlington: I loved being in your English class. I loved your boldness for our faith in a system that really discouraged it. Here's to you, Mrs. Darlington!

Mrs. Proffer: You helped me to love the arts in a deeper way than I would have had I not switched into your humanities class senior year.  You are an excellent teacher. Heres' to you, Mrs. Proffer!

Mrs. Rouse: You were a little intense, which was why I wanted you for a teacher. You taught us how to write essays, and your tireless work helped shape the writer I needed to be in order to write my way through university and seminary. Here's to you, Mrs. Rouse!

Dr. Gray: I hope someday to be used of God in even half the way you have been. You are a hero. Here's to you, Dr. Gray!

Krystal: I loved getting to know you during all those lunchtimes at MABTS. I miss you scads, and I love your heart for Jesus. Here's to you, Krystal!

Cary Beth: You have been an encouragement to me for as long as I have known you. You make me love Jesus more, and I enjoy spending time with you so much. I love your stories and sense of humor and your excitement about the things of God. Here's to you, Cary Beth!

Billy and Estelle, Kevin, Amanda, and Ava Jo: I love you guys so much. You really made me part of your family when I was at Mt. Pleasant, and you are true friends. I love your passion for serving Jesus where you are, and it has been a true privilege to know you. Your hearts are incredibly generous, and I can't even tell you how I appreciate you. Here's to you, McClures!

Amber: You put a lot of neat things into my life--neat concepts, ways of thinking, music, passion for Him in a broken world. Here's to you, Amber!

Ben, Lela, and Jessica: I loved being able to hang out with you guys. Our WaHo nights are great memories. I still can't believe you stayed up with me till like 3 in the morning discussing spiritual gifts out of that Institutes in Basic Youth Conflicts book! Here's to you guys!

Karlena: You have been tremendously patient with me in this last time of transition and figuring things out. I appreciate your honesty and willingness to listen and to call me out on stuff. Here's to you, Karlena!

Alysia: I appreciate your introducing me to Peace Portal, and I appreciate your friendship. I've needed friends badly here, and it was a good thing we met last summer. I appreciate your delight in worshiping God. You have a stellar voice. Here's to you, Alysia!

Amy Evans: You rock so much. I love how you love Jesus. I love how serious you are about Him and how serious you have been since I met you in '08. It's a huge encouragement. Here's to you, Amy Evans!

If you aren't on this list, please don't be hurt. It's not because you're not important; it's because it's nearly midnight, and my brain has conked right out. Assume the best of me?

Praises

• I've reconnected with one of my friends here. We had lost touch some, but I got to visit her and her family yesterday. It was a good time.
• Things are picking up at the Centre. We're seeing a couple more ways to reach our community, and it's nice to see things moving up. We have also gained a couple more volunteers, which is cool.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that I would intentionally share the gospel. It is really easy not to talk to people in public, because many people are reading or texting or listening to music, and people don't talk to each other much if they don't know each other. I have felt so timid recently, and the truth is that I do have good news to share. Pray that I will have wisdom and creativity and boldness to share it.
• Pray against discouragement and loneliness. Sometimes I feel very isolated and unproductive, and it is difficult to bear in mind that most of what happens here now will echo in eternity in a way I cannot now grasp.
• Pray for wisdom in connecting with my friends from the various communities I run around in. Pray for wisdom in priorities and for open doors to connect with people. Pray that God would give me eyes to see their needs.
• Pray for open hearts to accept the gospel, open doors to share it, and open windows of heaven as God pours out His blessings.
• Pray for the conference we're holding April 30. Pray that, like at the wedding at Cana, Jesus would make up for where we lack with something of His own, even better, that would glorify Him.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Here's to you guys who pray for me! I couldn't do anything without your prayer support. It means a lot that you petition the Father on my behalf.

God laughs...

Sometimes at me. Oh, I know my Heavenly Father loves me; He just doesn't always take me as seriously as I do.

Case in point: today I went to the Centre for a bit, just to drop off some salad stuff for tomorrow, and then I got sucked in to the whirlpool of activity in anticipation of our fundraiser. It was a good thing, though; there's a lady whose computer I periodically fix (I am not remotely qualified), and she had come yesterday looking for me, when I wasn't there. Today she started asking me when she could bring her computer for me to look at it, and I told her, no problem, I can go home with you and look at it. She was delighted. I also was delighted; the last time I went home with her, she ended up giving me delicious dinner. So off we went. On the way she began to tell me, with deep and abiding excitement, about molokhiyya, a very famous Egyptian dish, particularly popular in Cairo. She had made some last night, and it was very delicious, and she would feed me that. I was, of course, only too happy to oblige.

We arrived at her house, and I set to messing with her computer while she busied herself in the kitchen. After half an hour or so of sheer frustration, she said I should just come eat dinner. I walked into the dining room, and... there was the molokhiyya. Molokhiyya, I have learned, is whole kidneys boiled in crushed grape leaves, garlic, and a respectable amount of salt. I gulped and thought, She's going to give me as much meat as possible to honor me. Well, thank You, Jesus. I could feel Him laughing.

I know what you might be thinking: Jennifer, you're an MK. You've eaten weird things! Or: Missionaries have to eat a lot crazier things in other parts of the world, you huge whiner. I know, I know. But homegirl didn't grow up eating organs. And homegirl took two years of biology in high school. I know what kidneys do.* So I asked God's blessing and help and grace to eat, and sat down to my full bowl. It was everything I could have imagined. I am now immensely grateful for bread and cheese and strongly flavored pickles. My friend did give me a kidney and some change, and she offered seconds. God has a sense of humor.

What tonight bought, though, was an opportunity. I got to serve my friend in the name of Jesus, and I got to spend time with her. God let me pray with her and share with her from the Bible. Her brother is in Libya with his wife and five small children, and they are running out of food, and he is afraid to go into the streets because of the violence. This morning I read Luke 12, in which Jesus talks about how we are worth more to God than many sparrows, how He will feed us. I got to pray with my friend for her brother, and I was able to open biblegateway.com and share the passage with her in Arabic.

The Lord is good. He works in ways that are sometimes exceeding mysterious, but He is good.

Praises

• Praise God for this opportunity to share with my friend.
• God gave me a good day today and blessed me with encouragement.
• I had a really neat time in Ottawa learning about how to pray for Canada and hearing from God in interesting ways.
  

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for my friend and her brother's family. Pray for the Middle East during this turbulent time. Pray for the rise of rulers who will rule with justice and righteousness.
• My landlord is putting the house up for sale. Please pray for wisdom for me in how to respond to that--do I stay? Move with her? Move somewhere else? Will it even sell?
• Please pray for God's provision for the Friendship Centre. We are under some pressure right now. We are holding a fundraising dinner tomorrow. Please pray that God will move in the hearts of people to give to the Centre, and pray that He will raise up provision in places we don't even expect, just to show His power. Pray that He will protect His reputation in front of the people who have seen the Centre operate.

Thank you so much for praying!
-Jennifer

P.S. Ottawa post forthcoming; I haven't been able to collect my thoughts well for it yet.


*Kidneys make pee. Just in case you didn't know. If you haven't eaten part of a ureter, your life is incomplete.

Onesiphorus

Hi friends!
I have to apologize to you; I've been a terrible blogger. I'm still in Canada, though, and I still need your prayers, so I hope you'll forgive me!

I was at church yesterday, and I heard a sermon on Onesiphorus. If you don't know who that is, that's pretty normal. He's a guy who lived in Ephesus and probably went to Timothy's church, back in the day. Paul talks about him twice in 2 Timothy, and that's the only time he shows up in Scripture:

2 Timothy 1:16 The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; ¹⁷ but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. ¹⁸ The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.

This guy was pretty awesome. He was a regular dude, but he encouraged and refreshed Paul. He wasn't ashamed of Paul's being in prison (not afraid to associate and identify with someone that others were trying to shame), and when he traveled to Rome, he made a huge effort to find Paul. According to what I can find in several sources on the Internet (and some through Google Books, so it's not a totally lost cause), the population of Rome could have been several hundred thousand to just over a million at the time. I just want to let it sink in that, at this time, cell phones, phone books, and the Internet did not exist. So Onesiphorus combed through the city till he found Paul, and then he went and hung out with him at one of the lowest points of his Christian life (see 2 Tim. 4:9-16, noting everybody who bailed on him).

Anyway, I wanted to mention some Onesiphoruses (Onesiphori? Yeah, I had to go there) that have refreshed me lately:

• Karlena and Veronica: these two ladies have become really cherished fellow-laborers. The three of us share the same heart for the Iranian church, and they are awesome prayer warriors and encouragers. They made the effort to find me and include me and pray with and for me, and they have been like cold water to a weary soul.
• The team from Pine Lake, who came through a few weeks ago: Andy and Pam, Tim and Donna, Pam, Vera, Paige and Courtney, Grant, Ryan, Lauren, Emily, Regan, Paige, and Kayla. They were here for a week, helping with the Centre, but they were incredibly encouraging and refreshing. It was awesome to see a group of teenagers who love God, love each other, and love other people. It was also just really excellent to hang out with a group of people from Mississippi, who could all speak my language. The time I got to spend with their group was incredibly refreshing.
• Carolyn Higginbotham and the Bellevue prayer team, Amanda McClure, Pat LaBelle, and the First Baptist Mt. Pleasant prayer team: I sent out a crucial prayer request letter, and these ladies were on it. The Lord really listened to their prayers and has started to do something special in the Iranian church.
• My parents: they pray for me every time we talk, and they listen and love me even when I'm culture-shocking.

These people have been like Onesiphorus for me; who has refreshed you?

Praises:

• The Lord is uniting people in support of the Iranian church, and His Spirit really seems to be moving among people.
• I have made several new contacts through some of my friends' personal networks. The Lord seems to be widening my sphere of contact.
• I was able to have a significant part of a conversation in Farsi last Monday.
• I have one girl (already a Christian) who wants to spend time studying the Bible with me on a weekly basis.

Prayer requests:

• My landlord is talking about selling the house. This won't be able to happen for several months, but, if she does end up selling, I want the remaining time spent living with her to be fruitful. Please pray for an open door for the gospel. Pray that God would cause her heart to long for Him.
• Pray for boldness to share the gospel as I build these friendships. Pray for wisdom and gentleness and real love in how I share the gospel.
• Pray for my Farsi study. I have not been working very hard at it for the past few weeks, and I need to pick back up and keep studying.
• Pray for this fledgling Bible study and that the Lord would open the door for more people to come. Pray that non-Christians would come.
• I was reading Jonah in my quiet time a little back, and I hit the end of Jonah where God expresses His concern for a great city of 125,000. Vancouver has 2.3 million. Pray that the Lord would raise up laborers for His harvest here and that the Holy Spirit would work in people's lives to convict them of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and that he would draw people to Jesus Christ.
• Pray for Karlena. The Lord has given her a big, long-term vision for discipleship and training. Pray for like-minded fellow-workers and wisdom in putting it together.
• Please continue to pray for the Iranian church, for healing and reconciliation.

Again, thank you so much for praying!
-Jennifer

Sing, Sing, Sing

The human ear is cued to hear the human voice in a way it does not register other sounds. Working on weekdays at the Centre, we commonly hear opera music piped from somewhere across the street (I think it’s Wagner on repeat, plus a selection of vocalises), and we know, among all the other sounds, the warmth and richness of the human voice, even in a recording. Something about the voice, even if it is canned and distorted, is distinct from everything else.

On Friday I was sitting on the bus, mostly by myself in the back, when I heard some sounds above the engine and street noise and just knew someone was singing. I looked around, and a girl was sitting in the very back of the bus, singing to herself without an iPod. I thought, That girl is a Christian. I don’t know of other people who sing without an iPod while on transit. So I went back and sat next to her and asked what she was singing. She was surprised; she thought no one could hear her over the bus noise—but she was singing “Amazing Grace.” She was a Christian from South Korea who had been to school in Chicago and had come to Vancouver to teach English.

When I am at home, I often think of my dad as “happy singing man,” because he walks around singing and happy a lot. I think this can be a mark of Christians—people who have songs in their hearts, who sing to God. We don’t know a lot of stuff about Jesus and His disciples’ daily life, but I suspect that it included singing. Matthew and Mark both state that Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn and went out after the Lord’s Supper. I doubt that night was the first time they had sung together. We know that God sings (Zeph. 3:17), we know that Jesus sang, we know that Paul and the early church definitely sang, and we know that heaven rings loud with singing. Let’s sing too. We have no idea who it might encourage.

Praises
• God always reserves people for Himself (I Kings 19:18). He is at work in lots of places, through lots of people, even today.
• I’ve gotten to make a couple of new contacts over the past couple of weeks.
• God is opening some neat doors in my Iranian friends’ Bible study, through a possible new venue for it, and through some people who have started coming to it.
• I have had a couple of possible outreach ideas.
• My BC Health came through; now I am just waiting to hear about my work permit.

Prayer requests
• This is definitely a time of growth and stretching for me. I am dealing with culture shock and self-shock and definitely need wisdom from God. Pray that God would help me to be sensitive to those around me and really to love them, in word, attitude, and deed.
• Pray for wisdom in developing my outreach ideas and wisdom in choosing who to partner with for them.
• Pray for partners in ministry for me and my team—that God would raise up likeminded souls and open doors for us to minister outside of our particular suburb.
• Pray for divine appointments and boldness in sharing the gospel.
Thank you guys for praying for me! Please update me on how you are doing!
-Jennifer

Jesus is offensive.

Hi friends,
On Friday I was riding the SkyTrain, when a man on a scooter backed in to the car I was sitting in. This wasn't just any scooter, though: this man had signs hanging all over the place, with the Lord's prayer, the armor of God from Ephesians 6, and multiple other signs proclaiming the love of God for people. His scooter and his signs were covered with hearts proclaiming God's love. As soon as he rolled onto the train, the atmosphere in the car changed. People looked at him and at each other, elbowed each other, and snickered. I was so impressed by him--here was a man who did not care what all the strangers around him thought, who was thrilled to be one hundred percent about Jesus, openly and obviously, everywhere he went. I watched him for a few minutes, then went and sat down next to him and asked him to tell me what he was about. We got to exchange testimonies, and it was so encouraging for both of us. Afterward, when we got off the SkyTrain, I was walking with him toward the elevator, and we passed a group of teenage girls who started to yell at him, mocking his signs and making fun of Jesus. We ignored it and kept going, but I couldn't help but think, This man deals with this every day. He was not pushy, crazy, or offensive; he just had signs hanging off of his scooter, and teenage strangers yelled at him. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:12, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." I went home awestruck, sat down and prayed for boldness despite the possibility of persecution.

Today I was talking to two ladies, helping one with her resume, when they started asking me why I am here, what brought me to Canada, what I'm about. I felt prompted to be straightforward with them, so I was up front about what God did to give me a heart to love Muslims. One of the ladies, as it turns out, was Muslim, in the process of strengthening her faith in Islam. She chewed me out and accused me of insulting Islam, or being a white supremacist, of all kinds of things. I grew cold all over and was shaking, but I felt tremendous love from God for her. I can't explain this love; I just know that it was there. I didn't fight her; I let her yell. She told me that Jesus is just a prophet, that Jesus is not Lord (I hadn't mentioned this), that I was basically a terrorist.

Here's the thing: I haven't drawn a line in the sand. I did not make the Bible exclusive. I did not make Jesus exclusive. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Jesus drew the line. He made statements that, if taken seriously, are extremely offensive in this pluralistic society. Jesus is offensive, if you take Him seriously, if you take Him in context. If He had come, preached, and died, we could say He was merely a good teacher or good prophet (though, if He had only been a teacher, the things He said would classify Him very quickly as a madman). If He had come, preached, and died, we could take him just as seriously as we commonly take Mohammad, Buddha, or any other religious teacher. But He didn't just come, teach, and die. He fulfilled prophecies, He brought sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, freedom to those held captive all their lives, food to the hungry, and life to the dead. He foretold His death, burial, and resurrection, and He died exactly as He said, and He was raised from the dead, exactly as He said. He ascended to heaven in front of five hundred witnesses, and He claimed authority over all heaven and earth. He drew the line. He was and is different from every religious teacher that ever lived, and He is still provoking the same reactions today that He provoked two thousand years ago. Jesus is offensive.

Praises

• God has witnesses like that man in the scooter. He is at work everywhere, even through unexpected people.
• The community of fellow Christians is precious and beautiful and encouraging.
• The party went well on Saturday. My Iranian friends shared their faith boldly. Some people were offended, but God can use that.

Prayer requests

• Pray for the lady who became so offended and angry today. Pray for peace in her heart and life--true peace.
• My Iranian friend with whom I shared two weeks ago appears to be giving me the cold shoulder. Pray that this is not so, that I would continue to have opportunities to spend time with her.
• Please continue to pray for the status of my work permit and my BC health.
• Pray for strong local partners for me and my Iranian friends to work with--especially in North Van, West Van, and Coquitlam.
  
• Pray for health, peace, and unity in the Iranian church.
• Please continue to pray for divine appointments.

Thank you guys for all of your prayer support,
-Jennifer

Welcome to Canada, it's the maple leaf state...

Hey there,
I'm actually in Canada now, after several months of waiting. I arrived Monday and was granted a six-month work permit. The past few days have mostly been about getting my bearings. Things are complicated here, but I have had a neat time meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends. Part of me still can't quite believe I'll be here for two years. Just to keep this on the brief-ish side, I'll give you one neat thing that's happened:

Tuesday night I ended up at my Iranian friends' house for dinner. We had another guest who was there to get advice about the hairdressing industry in Vancouver. This lady is from Sri Lanka. She grew up Buddhist. Her family has actually dedicated people out of each generation to serve the idols, and she grew up serving many, many idols. Eighteen years ago, she was teaching in a hospital in Egypt, and she was surrounded by Muslims and all of the trappings of Islam, and as she was there, one day she had a dream of Jesus. She ended up turning her life over to Him, and now she is a sold-out believer who wants to go back to her own people once she has earned the money to print Bibles in their language. We were utterly amazed at her story; God has no boundaries. He reached an animistic Buddhist in the middle of a Muslim country, just because He wanted her in His family.

I am really excited to be here in this time. I'm excited to be around multicultural Christians in a deeply multicultural society. God has blessed me with this opportunity.

Praises:

• In the past few weeks two people have come to Christ out of connections with Christians leading conversational English classes
• I have successfully acquired a bank account and a Social Insurance Number
• Many vibrant ministries are working in Vancouver to reach multiple sections of society, and many of them are connecting with one another

Prayer requests:

• I need to get an apartment--the sooner, the better
• I need to get my bearings on how to get around the city without getting totally lost
• Boldness to share the gospel
• SBs have over 1000 volunteers coming in the next two weeks to help with the Olympics. This is taking quite a toll on the team who are coordinating them; pray for wisdom, patience, energy, and comfort for these team members
• Pray that we as believers look to see where God is working and get in on that, rather than trying to do things our own way
• I need to find out where I fit in all of this; I need wisdom to know where God wants me
  

I love you guys, and I miss you--my friends, my chilluns, and my family. Please let me know how you're doing.
-jmay