The Travels of Amber: Relaxed Weekend

Happy Independence Day America! (I’ll be sadly missing the fireworks this year…apparently they don’t celebrate 4^th of July here…)

On Friday, we had our last day of the sports clinic in the Masi community. It was a beautiful day and we all cherished the sunshine. Looking back at the last week it is apparent that each day we had improved as leaders and the clinic became more organized. Now when we have our clinic in the Ocean View community, we should be experts by then right? Haha…if only. It was so amazing to watch the kids learn and to be able to connect with many of them. Whether they know discipline at home or not, they learned about rules and respect which are essential in playing sports and going about life. Many of them still haven’t mastered the concept of a line without pushing and shoving but they are still young grasshoppers.

Not only has it been fun to watch the kids learn but I’ve learned some lessons of my own-especially in my faith. Coming into this trip I felt a little pressure from people’s expectations of what I would be doing here-and it seemed like everyone’s expectations were a little different. It can sometimes be good to feel a little pressure as to not be complacent but the pressure should not be the motivation behind my actions. This all seems really vague but I shall elaborate momentarily.

One of the things that has been a part of Calvin and mine’s daily routine is reading a chapter in the book of Acts from the Bible. Last Wednesday we were particularly amazed at the boldness and courage the disciples had when sharing about Jesus to even those who put them in jail for it. It made me stop and ask myself, what does it even mean to follow Christ? Am I doing all that I am called to do? Feeling inspired by the words we had read, the next day, Calvin and I talked to Sharon (the director of the clinic) about the possibility of speaking to the children, at the end of the week, about the Lord and his love for them.

Sharon is one wise lady. She listened to our ideas and also our own concerns about our ideas, given the nature of the clinic and the social context. She said that if the Holy Spirit is leading us to do that, then she is open to it. However if it’s because we are responding to some kind of pressure or because we think that’s what “good” Christians do, then she is against it. One key detail to note about the scriptures we had been reading in Acts was that the disciples/apostles were led by the Holy Spirit to speak those bold things. I am not trying to imply that this does not happen today or that I am not called to speak the name of Jesus. It just means that I need to be in tune to how God is moving and what He is leading me to do. Sharon described to us that when she first began working in these communities, she went with all guns blazing and would relentlessly share her faith with anyone she encountered. After awhile she soon realized that this proved to be destructive. It only pushed people away; something was missing. As she reflected on her actions, she realized that she was doing what she thought was the “right Christian thing to do” but not what God was calling her to do in that particular time and place. She advised us that from her experience that doing things for God that you are not necessarily called to do can be more damaging than productive. She also told us about how she changed the outward appearance of her sports clinics and training programs but kept the inward foundation of Christ. As she made these changes, the Lord used her in many powerful ways and the love she showed spoke so loudly to the kids and the volunteers that she had built relationships with. There’s a really great quote by St. Francis of Assisi that reads “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” I think it sums up how Sharon goes about her ministry today.

I was very grateful to hear Sharon’s experience and wisdom and told her we would be praying about it. That night and the next morning I felt no peace about the idea of talking formally to all the kids about God. Neither did Calvin or Sharon. So that Friday I went about the morning as I had the other days- teaching volleyball skills and drills and hoping that they were feeling loved.

I sometimes wish there was a formula that told me how to follow Jesus but then do we have a formula to tell us how to go about any other relationship in our life? It’s a learning process but the important thing for me to remember is to love God and love others and let the Spirit lead me (easier said than done haha).

This past weekend I was able to rest up and finally do some sightseeing!

Chapman's Peak!

We nearly missed the sunset so we had to jump out of the car really fast and then drive to the next spot to try to capture as many good pictures as we could. It was quite comical.

On Saturday we went were for a nice hike and it stayed sunny for most of it. We only got sprinkled on the last bit of the climb down and it poured down just as we got in the car.

Christina, Claire and Calvin! They surprised me for my birthday with some cupcakes and candles. They had strategically distracted me in order to set it up. Such nice people :)