The Present Meets the Future

I recently began to read C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters and came across a profound way of looking at time, which I felt was appropriate since we are beginning a new year. The quote reads: "The present is the point at which time touches eternity." In our perception of time, the past and the future do not meet except for in the present. We tend to think of the now as the middle of the timeline, but in reality we simply cannot fathom eternity. It is a bit of a sobering thought to think of today as being virtually invisible in the grand painting of eternity. Even so, that does not make the present meaningless. It is quite the contrary. The present becomes all the more important because it only happens once.

I think it is important for us to realize that the time we are given will never be given back to us when it passes. We must make the most of the short time we really have here on Earth because we only have so much time to take it in and to be with the other people on it. My generation has coined the term YOLO, or You Only Live Once and although this philosophy (if it can even be called that) could motivate some people to do great things, it is largely misused. It has become an excuse for people to do stupid things, or spend all of their time finding new ways to live life to the fullest. The latter is the bigger problem of the two because the way to the fullest life is not something new or in need of discovery. It is right in front of us. John 10:10. Christ has come so we may have life to the full.

Time is precious not because I will die, but because others will.

Live Shows: Live Mess-Ups

When you have a live show, there are many variables at play, which means any of those things could go wrong. The lights could glitch, the music could skip, queues could be missed, or someone could keel over right then and there. Although the last one is a bit extreme, there is no telling what will happen during any given show and since The Donkey’s Back has about thirty-five shows in the span of three weeks, things are bound to go wrong. Even so, the good thing about live shows is that you can just roll with it and that, among other things, is what we have learned to do this past week.

The Donkey’s Back is a 45-minute multimedia production for children from 4-12, although adults often enjoy it more than kids do, complete with puppets, song numbers, drama, illusions, and a clear gospel message. Our team consists of Anna, Cornel, Barbara, and myself and we are one of two Christmas show teams from OM Ireland. We started our tour last weekend and we will be going to schools, churches, and community centers across Ireland until the 21^st of December. This past week we went up to Donegal, meaning about 4-5 hours of driving each way. Our set primarily lives inside a trailer as we travel and the jostling around doesn’t seem to be good for the screws, as we keep losing them. We have a few spares, but clearly not enough (or in the rights sizes) so several times this week the set was being held together by duct tape.

Over the course of the week, the shows had great feedback from teachers and the kids all seemed to really enjoy themselves, but often times, they didn’t see what was happening behind the stage. During several shows, the costumes for the donkey completely came off and during Friday night’s show all the costumes had malfunctions. At some point, I accidentally knelt on the cable from Anna’s microphone that is strapped around her neck, causing her to nearly choke to death for a second. At one school, where the room was packed with kids, a small autistic boy decided he wanted to see behind the stage so he booked it all the way across the room and ran behind the set. Needles to say, he was shocked to see Anna’s arm up a puppet and he stood there stunned for a moment as two teachers came running after him. From the beginning of our show, we have had technical difficulties with the lights. We have mostly worked out a method of changing them to do what we want during the show, but every once in a while they have a mind of their own. During a show at a church, the lights would not stop flashing. We tried to fix them, but they kept on flashing. Thankfully, we were able to stay focused and kept going. When people came up to us afterwards, they didn’t even say anything about the lights! That was the same night that I missed an entrance with my puppet because I heard some rowdy children very close to the stage, and when I realized I had to come up, I started coughing. I guess my brain was in tune with my hand because I just made the puppet cough too, and then proceeded with my line as if coughing was in the script.

I am sure there are other examples of mess-ups during our shows, but I tend to forget them. We don’t really have time to dwell on them. If we did, the show would unravel itself and we would become afraid of ruining the show every time we did it. There is no denying that God is the one who has given us peace of mind. We have had to carry all our equipment up frozen stairs and through endless hallways, but He was with us. We had to do a whole show in an echoing hall where we couldn’t hear our own voices and only hoped the kids could hear us, and He was with us. We were an hour late to a show because we got lost in Dublin, but He was with us. All of those little stressful moments didn’t matter because He was with us. We have to remember that He is the one in control. Even when a show seems to be flawless, He alone is the one who drives the message home and opens the hearts of those watching. In view of His power and grace, our stressful moments don’t mean a thing.

I am so blessed, thankful, and honored to be a part of team with the purpose we have. Along with our Cameron Show brothers, we are proclaiming the gospel to over 1,000 kids, students, and teachers in Ireland. We don’t always get much sleep and sometimes our arms feel like they are going to fall off, but God is with us.

The two teams

When we aren't sleeping on the road, we try to have a little fun. :)

Taste of Ireland: Although most schools are English speaking with Irish-Gaelic courses, there are some Irish-Gaelic schools where speaking English is strictly prohibited. Everything is taught in Irish-Gaelic, including math and foreign languages, such as French. 

Unity

This past weekend we celebrated the tenth anniversary of OM Ireland. The two days of celebration were a culmination of months of hard work and preparation from staff and volunteers. Many things could be said about this weekend, and many good things have been said, such as how there were more people than we expected or how George Verwer, founder of OM, came and encouraged each individual in the crowd. What I would like to share however is not about the event or even about my experiences; it is about unity. The topic of unity came about several times this weekend and whenever something is repeated, you know it is important.

The ten-year anniversary was an event for us to celebrate with others all that God has done and is doing in Ireland, so naturally we had some people on the property who were not from around here. In speaking with one of them, it was brought to my attention how very blessed I am, and we all are, to have such a wonderful community and team. Each staff member has a job to do each day, yet we still find time to help one another and see the needs of the team as a whole. Work and duties aside, we are able to come together every morning and learn, worship, and pray with one another. It never even occurred to me that in other work places people don’t generally squeeze around one table at lunch to eat together, or spend time in conversation with one another over cups of tea, because it all just felt so natural. I believe it is this unity that made my transition into the office so smooth. It would have been difficult to not feel welcome. This unity among the team allowed us to pull together all that was needed for the celebration and it allows us to continue toward a common goal.

A common thread is essential for unity, and this weekend brought to light another form of unity. Over forty people came on Friday night and over two hundred joined Saturday, coming from near and far to be with us. And what was the common thread? It was not involvement in or even people who have been impacted by OM, although both had a presence. The common thread was, and is, Christ. Some who attended may not know who Christ is, but they came to see what He has done and is doing in Ireland. OM would not exist or have a purpose without Christ, and it is in Him we have unity. The two hundred people in that tent gave a mere glimpse of the unity that is in Christ around the world and the unity that should be enveloping every nation and people group. What else can bring together liars and thieves, pastors and preachers, young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor? We are all subject to the human condition, which means we all need a savior. When we understand that, we are able to stand together in Him.

The tent on Friday morning.
Thankfully the weather cleared up later.

Floating lantern ceremony, representing the different
lights we have shining here for God's kingdom.

Taste of Ireland: If you are asked "have you had any tea?" depending on the time of day, that could be a question referring to if you have eaten supper. 

An English Expedition

I am sitting in the living room of a lovely English couple, and when I say lovely, I do not mean prim and proper lovely. They are hilarious. They have great senses of humor and they make you feel quite at home. Why am here you might be wondering? I came for the One Way UK puppet festival in Derby and Reading. Instead of going home (Ireland) in between, Anna and I have stayed here. We have been helping a friend a little with her puppet workshop and at the festival I have been learning so much about puppetry and how to better use it for ministry. I am so pumped for our Christmas show!

Aside from puppets, Anna and I got the opportunity to go to London yesterday! We spent the entire day exploring London, which of course was not enough time. We made the most of our time though and saw the Parliament building, Big Ben, the London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham palace, Westminster Abbey, the London Tower, Tower Bridge, the Globe Theatre, the Millennium Bridge, and Oxford Circus. I am quite proud of our navigating skills on the underground and our ability to fit in nearly everything we wanted to see. I would like to go back one day and actually see a show in the globe theatre and somewhere else as well. I would like to go inside Westminster abbey and to Baker street. There was just too much to see! I suppose that's how the world is. And think, that's just the world. What will heaven be like?

Taste of England: a flashlight is a torch and Big Ben is not the name of the clock but of the hand on the clock.

The Colors of Fall

As the leaves change colors and fall to the ground, I cannot help but enjoy the beauty of it all. Where there were once endless shades of green, there are now warm reds and yellows. The trees over the roads make canopies of autumn bliss that gently let their leaves be carried away with the wind. The leaves float and dance as they fall to the covered ground where they crunch under toe and heel. The hills still teem with green grass and wooly sheep, but now the landscape is kissed by the season’s change. Even the vines that crawl up the stone walls have left summer behind.

I feel like a child watching a magician. I am in awe of the wonders around me and astounded by their Creator. I cannot fathom how so many colors are produced out of nowhere or how a single tree can purposefully lose its own leaves to prepare itself for winter. Nature is magnificent, but it is our Creator who is worthy of praise. With each season He gives and takes away life and with each day He displays His beauty and wonder. Have you ever looked up at the sky and thought about the hand that painted it? I often do and I smile every time. He doesn’t just paint a new picture everyday, He paints a new one every minute and His canvas is so large, we cannot even see it all.

Sometimes it is hard to see beauty in life, in this world even because it is broken in so many ways. Even so, God is good and His love endures forever. 

Taste of Ireland: If you want to play football while you're here, be sure to be specific! You can play soccer, Gaelic football, or rugby! 

Psalm 148

This literally gave me chills. I nearly cried actually. 

Psalm 148 

Praise the Lord.^[a]

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights above.
² Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
³ Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars.
⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens
    and you waters above the skies.

⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for at his command they were created,
⁶ and he established them for ever and ever—
    he issued a decree that will never pass away.

⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
⁸ lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    stormy winds that do his bidding,
⁹ you mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
¹⁰ wild animals and all cattle,
    small creatures and flying birds,
¹¹ kings of the earth and all nations,
    you princes and all rulers on earth,
¹² young men and women,
    old men and children.

¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
¹⁴ And he has raised up for his people a horn,^[b]
    the praise of all his faithful servants,
    of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise the Lord.

We are the only creations that are too self-absorbed to praise Him constantly. Our songs do not even compare to the songs of His symphony. We are finite beings, minuscule compared to all of creation, and yet, He loves us and longs for deep relationships with each one of us... I cannot begin to fathom it. 

If you have not seen any of Louie Giglio's talks, you should definitely check some out. 

P.S. Thanks to Tim for sharing this with us in devotions this morning. 

Everything is a Tool and Anything Can Be a Tool

This week two of our training courses were on creative thinking and evangelism. We started out with some exercises to get us thinking outside the box. At first we had one random object that made its way around the circle and each of us had to use the object in a different way, pantomiming and making the object take on alternative functions. Each of us were then given a random item such as a paperclip or a helmet and we had to tell the gospel using that object. Some things seemed easier to work with and others you really had to stretch, but we quickly learned that you don’t have to use the object to tell the whole story. Just use it to get you started or help you make a point. The last round we did was with one object that got passed around the circle and when it was your turn, you couldn’t use the same method as anyone else in the room. It was so cool to see how one object could be used in so many different ways.

Learning to share the gospel using the most unexpected of things was something so practical and helpful because now I can enhance my abilities to share with people and even feel more confident when I do. I know I am a visual person, so having something physical helps me collect my thoughts and it may prove helpful in reaching someone with a similar mindset. I also greatly enjoy that kind of thinking. It makes me remember all the times my sister, Ate Kelsey and I used to act out infomercials for household objects.

Everything is a tool and anything can be a tool if you are willing to think outside the box and see beyond the surface. A watch tells time so you can talk about the creator of time or how our time is running out. We wear watches as accessories and our looks can sometimes become our priority. A watch can help tell a story about bondage because of the way they look like shackles. It is a circle that unites us with God, but when undone there is a separation between us and Him… The possibilities are endless!

Taste of Ireland: If you need someone to take you from point A to point B, you ask them to “give you a lift”… Getting a ride has a negative sexual connotation, so don’t say that. And if you need to ask what time they are getting you, you would say “what time will you be collecting me?” 

P.S. Sorry if the quality of this post is not my best. I did not really proof read it and I chose to sleep vs. take more time to write it. :p