Winter Olympics 2010

Our adventure began early Friday morning, on February 12. Jess, Rachel, Dorrin and I began our trip to the Olympics! We drove to Baltimore, flew to Chicago and then on to Seattle, and then took a bus to Vancouver. After 24 hours of travel and a 3 hour time change, we finally arrived in Vancouver at midnight.


We went through MBMSI's (Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International) SOAR program. Saturday and Sunday were orientation and training days. We learned about the city in general, and about More Than Gold, which was the organization that partnered with the Salvation Army to plan our outreaches. Jess, Dorrin, Rachel and I were paired up with Scott and Hannaly from California, and the six of us made up Team USA.


Monday through Friday were our outreach days. Our outreaches consisted of traveling, usually by public transportation, to a certain transit station. One or two teams were at each station. Once there, we were met by Salvation Army people, who helped us to get hot chocolate and coffee ready. The rest of the day was spent handing out that hot chocolate and coffee, often from a "jet pack" - a backpack that dispensed hot chocolate. If time allowed and opportunities arose, we would start conversations with the people. We tried to direct those conversations toward faith and God, although that didn't always happen. More Than Gold gave us a lot of materials which we could hand out as well. We were stationed near where Olympic events were being held, so right after an event was let out, there would be crowds and crowds of people. Those times were the most fun. Another good way to start a conversation was to pin trade. We were given some More Than Gold pins, which we would give away. Those combined with the free pins handed out by stores allowed us to start trading with others. It's crazy how into it some people were - some had literally hundreds and hundreds of pins, and made a lot of money in trading and then selling the more expensive ones.


Although we didn't get a chance to see an events, we did get a chance to walk around downtown Vancouver, amidst huge crowds of people, and to see some cool things, including the Olympic Torch. Souvenirs were ridiculously expensive, but we all bought a few.


Another highlight from the week was getting to hang out with TREK people. TREK is MBMSI's version of YES, so there were four teams, all of which are leaving this week sometime for their outreaches in Asia, Lithuania, the Philippines, and Thailand. We had the opportunity to visit the Mark Center, our equivalent of HDC, on Saturday night. It was cool to learn about a similar program and see a similar training center, and just to hang out with the TREKers.


It always amazes me how much a mission trip tends to impact me more than those that I am there to serve. I learned a lot. Between the trip, the Perspectives class I'm taking, and some other things that have been happening recently, life is awesome right now. God is good!

Off to the Olympics

I haven't had very much time to think about the fact that we're leaving for a mission trip tomorrow - I've been very busy with other stuff, including my class. Yesterday I read an interesting and very good article for that class, "Apostolic Passion" by Floyd McClung. Here are some of the good points I got out of the article:

If you'll allow me to plagiarise, here is my definition: An apostle is a sent one, a messenger. Passion is whatever a person is willing to suffer for, something you hunger for so intensely that you will sacrifice anything to have it. When these two words combine, apostolic passion is a deliberate, intentional choice to live for the worship of Jesus in the nations. A person with apostolic passion is willing to suffer, so long as God is glorified through the suffering. The focus provided by that passion must solely be on God. If you have apostolic passion, the Father's passions have become your passions. You find your satisfaction and guarantee in Him. You believe He is with you always, to the end of life itself.

Another thought: "We live in a world of competing passions. If we do not die to self and fill our lives with the consuming passion of the worship of God in the nations, we will end up with other passions."

And another: "May I encourage you, dear friend, to give up your life? I challenge you to pray this prayer: 'Lord, be ruthless with me in revealing my selfish ambition and my lack of willingness to die to myself.' I guarantee that He will answer your prayer--and quickly."

Last one: "If you have apostolic passion, you are one of the most dangerous people on the planet. The world no longer rules your heart. You are no longer seduced by getting and gaining but devoted to spreading and proclaiming the glory of God in the nations. You live as a pilgram, unattached to the cares of this world. You are not afraid of loss. You even dare believe you may be given the privilege of dying to spread His fame on the earth. The Father's passions have become your passions. You find your satisfaction and significance in Him. You believe He is with you always, until the end of life itself. You are sold out to God, and you live for the Lamb. Satan fears you, and the angels applaud you. Your greatest dream is that His name will be praised in languages never before heard in heaven. Your reward is the look of pure delight you anticipate seeing in His eyes when you lay at His feet the just reward of His suffering: the worship of the redeemed. You have apostolic passion!"

Hmm...interesting things to be reading right before I go on a mission trip...

We won't know exactly what our ministry will be until we get there, but it sounds like we'll have a packed schedule. I'll share all about it when I get back!