Scot and Kim and the Apartment

Trying to find an apartment in Seattle has been a frustrating experience for Scot and Kim. They've been nomads for almsot 3 months now and Kim is really ready to get settled in one place.

So, after many false starts and lots of disappointments,Scot and Kim found an apartment they really liked but it it was expensive and didn't take pets (they have a 5 lb. dog that now plays with our 100 lb. Bernise Mtn. dog).

The woman that they applied to tried to get a hold of me as a reference but I didn't get the message so she googled me instead. When she googled me, the blog came up and guess what popped right up: Scot and Kim Come to Seattle!

She was able to read about them, research Missio Lux and find out more about their Aunt, me!

The amazing thing is the timing: I wrote that blog about Scot and Kim 30 minutes before she read it. Kim even came in and said, "Let's have dinner" and I replied, "I have one more thing to do first." It was to write the blog.

It turns out that the woman who had the apartment is a Christian, they do mission work in Africa, and she is very missional in her thinking.

God used this divine coincidence to reinforce to Scot and Kim that they are indeed meant to be in Seattle, that he has big plans for them with Missio Lux and that he is working all of it for his good and on their behalf.

This is a signpost that God put in their path. What sign posts do you have in your walk with Jesus? They can be the reminders when things get tough that all is well because Jesus has our backs covered.

Giving Teens a Voice

This week the Seattle Times had a big article that addressed how Slam Poetry is giving teens a voice where they felt they had no voice. It speaks of how much those that are writing and speaking the Poetry are being changed through the experience.

Eighteen year old Mikeya Jackson-Harper speaks: "It was hard dealing with family issues at home, and I didn't feel like I had a voice anywhere so I started writing to release tension. It helped for awhile so I have just kept doing it."

Ronnie Reynolds, 19 says that "Poetry helps me out, it helps me understand everything. When I write things down on a page, it is sort oflike mapping it out for myself, so I know where I am at."
His poetry has a hip-hop edge; his words rattle into beats, an expression of his need to be heard.

Chap Clark, a very respected voice for the Youth of America, says that our youth today is the most alienated generation in history. They are given everything, except our time, attention and respect.

Technology has definitely made the communication gap so much bigger. It is almost as if we are speaking two different languages, however, we must bridge this divide.

No generation has ever carried so much promise. If we are willing to try to walk the bridge, we will find amazing people with dreams, vision and energy to see the world transformed. If we are willing to believe in them and help walk alongside them to support them in their dreams, we are unleasing potential that is also bigger and more impacting than ever before.

Alex is one in this generation. A couple of months ago, Alex put together an art nite called "This Ain't Your Granny's Poetry." He invited gifted musicians to play, gifted photographers and artists to display their work, and he gave the gift of his Slam Poetry. Alex looks rebellious with his dreadlocks, but underneath he is a talented young man who has a great take on life. He addressed the issues of teens and 20 somethings, urging the girls to dress appropriately and the young men to stay away from pronography. He also had a word for the Church of America; start getting real, move away from the walls and be with the people that Jesus hung out with.

Missio Lux is hosting another Art Nite: This one is called "This Thing's Made of Sticks" on Friday, June 13th at Pine Lake Covenant Underground. If you are in the area, don't miss it, you will experience walking a bridge that will not only help you know the younger generation, but you will find out a lot about yourself as well.

See you June 13th.

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Scot and Kim Come to Seattle

I have a 25 year old nephew named Scot. He married his wife, Kim, almost 4 years ago, after they graduated from college. They have always had an adventurous streak in them, so 2 1/2 years ago, they got on a plane to Asia because they heard that if you went to sit in a certain park, employers of schools would come and hire you to teach English.

So, they went to Taiwan withouth a job, a place to live, or a solid plan. They went to the park and got hired. Taiwan didn't work out the greatest, so they moved to Korea where they had 2 years of adventure: traveling all around Asia, meeting new people, exploring Korean culture, and even starting a new business called Adventure Teaching.

Adventure Teaching (www.adventureteaching.com) hires teachers from US and Canada to teach in Korea. Their first year, they placed around 40 teachers. Not a bad start for a couple of 20 something! It's now exploding and is Scot' full time pursuit,

However, they did one other thing that is most important to me. They started a missional community in their very small apartment. Every Sunday, up to 25 people would crowd in and stay for much of the day as they experienced knowing God, loving each other in authentic friendship, and serving the world. Scot and Kim got a taste of what can be when we go intentionally smaller in worship and community. They got excited about what was taking place, and all the while, God was impressing on them that they have an opportunity to do something ground breaking in Seattle~Missio Lux!

So, they are here! They packed up everything they owned in a U-Haul truck, drove against a fierce wind, snow, rain until they reached the Washington border where they encountered a huge sun welcoming them to this state.

I am grateful that God called Scot and Kim to Washington because it is a gift to have family in the area again, but even more, I know that their call to Missio Lux will make a major impact on their lives, but even more, on the Kingdom as God does his awesome thing through them!

Cyclone in Myanmar

My day started by exercising with my next door neighbor. She had the news on when I came and we saw the footage of the cyclone damage in Myanmar. We heard the number, 22, 467 died, which we replayed to make sure that we had heard correctly.

It's true, in one big storm, tens of thousands of people died.
The destruction is massive, water everywhere, but suddenly water is unsafe to drink. Trees on top of houses, so hundreds of thousands of people are homeless. Roads are blocked by downed trees and overturned houses so rescuers are struggling to get to the crisis.

It's easy to think, "Where is Myanmar?" and pass of this suffering.

But, the opportunity to pray for God's presence to be increased in this very isolated country is very real. The ruling junta, an authoritative regime has cut Myanmar off from the international community for decades. Perhaps this storm will open the door to this country so healing comes forth and dramatic change takes place.

My dream for Missio Lux is for us to respond to these crisis' with compassion, prayer and action. My dream is that we can have a presence through our response of prayer and action in more crisis' than not. In order to do that, we must develop a global heart for the world and a local heart for the people that are in our lives. We must realize the jewel that lies within us, God's heartbeat, and intentionally experience and share the freedom and hope that Jesus offers with everyone...both next door and around the world. That includes Myanmar. How will God use us? Let's dream big and act big.

Challenges in Africa

I've been blogging about the Sudanese children going to school in Africa.
This is a story of what took place as one student tried to get to Nukuru to go to school.

Our Sudanese brother, John Kher, has a sister named Adhieu who lived in the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp in Uganda. until she got her opportunity to go to school. John found a friend who agreed to escort her to Nukuru so she could go to school. He went to get her, they got on a bus headed for the city, and everything seemed fine.

That is, until the escort was arrested. They often throw people in jail without reason until they are given a bribe. Sometimes if no bribe comes, the jailers lose interest and let the prisoners go.

The escort told Adhieu to keep going on the bus. Think about this: Adhieu is 13 years old. She doesn't speak the langague. She's spent most of her life in an IDP camp, so her exposure to the bigger world was extremely limited. Now she's on a bus, alone, having just experienced the traumatic situation of seeing her protecter hauled off to jail.

How would you be affected? The only word that comes to my mind is terror. The injustice of a life like Adhieu' only makes me want to intensify our efforts to get these Sudanese children who have lived in so much terror all their lives into a safe, clean and healthy environment. It's worth the sacrifice of a few hundred dollars to make this happen.

What's the rest of the story? When Adhieu's mother went to the bus station to pick up her daughter, she wasn't on the bus. Now the whole family and those who care about them are all frightened. The image of the 13 year old on a bus in a country where she doesn't know the rules or the language is set permanently in my mind.

Fortunately, Adhieu knew enough not to leave the bus station. It turns out that her bus decided on a whim to go to Nyrobi instead of Nukuru. John tracked down the bus and found someone to go to Nyrobi to hopefully find her at the station. I can only imagine everyone's relief when Adhieu was safe and found!

Does this story touch you?
Do you have a 13 year old daughter, sister, niece, friend?
Imagine them in this story and see what emotion this leads you to feel. Then, consider what you are willing to do to make a difference in a land where basic necessities of life aren't considered "necessities but luxuries." Perhaps as we all do our part, we will one day see Adhieu's and others like hers different than what they have experienced to this part.

Seeds of Hope

Our African project for getting kids from Sudan to boarding school is moving forward.

We named it "Seeds of Hope" which is a great name because every one who is educated is helping seed hope in Sudan. Their only hope of a different life is through education. Because life in Sudan is basically unsafe, to be at a boarding school in another country where the students are fed, housed, and educated makes life bearable. This is in contrast to the overriding despair that has dominated Sudan since 1987 when the "Lost Boys of Sudan" became a reality.

Missio Lux has the unique privilege to help these kids go to school. We believe that by educating the children, they can return to their country and offer solutions to see a country transformed.

It's a big vision, our first global Missio~

May 1st, 11 students started school in Nukuru, Kenya. Some of their names are: Panther
David, Samual, Amour, Deng, Jacob, John, Isaiah and the only girl is Adhieu.

Many have asked us why so few girls go to school. We asked our Sudanese brother John the same thing. His answer: "Girls don't go to school in Sudan." We want to change that and open wide the door to opportunity for girls, as well as boys, to get educated so that they have seeds of hope for a different life.

Eleven lives are being transformed while we read this blog. We have dreams of 19 more to start**; and after that to open the door wide so that we see hundreds of children in Sudan educated so they will then seed hope into their devastated country.

**30 kids is the first goal because they are the identified children from our Sudanese brother John Kher's village.