u09 reflections & praises, part I

A month ago today, I celebrated His Birth by driving down to St. Louis with three of my colleagues. I remember the very moment the warmly lit up Arch came into view. It was a special moment, when the years of dreaming became reality and I felt Him whisper, "It's here! Welcome, Daughter."

And then the week came and went, in what feels like a blink of an eye. Throughout the next couple months, I plan to get over this self-imposed writer's block (read: laziness) and record the snapshots of significant moments, emotions I felt during those moments (very important for a flaming F) and praises that I have heard or experienced since then. So here it goes...

On Abundance-
A recurring key word this year was "abundance." In light of the economic conditions, limited resources (registration #s, available volunteers, budget adjustments, etc) was a constant reality. Yet the God we studied in the book of John and encountered throughout the year was an extravagant, prodigal (no, it does not mean "runaway." At least, that's what I thought it meant :P) God who turned 120+ gallons of water into wine for a party that probably had many guests already happily inebriated. A God who recklessly chose to give up His limitless power and sovereignty to come down and live amongst the sick, the sinful and the disempowered. So despite the stark economic circumstances, God did provide abundantly:

• We ended up having more volunteers and stewards (volunteers who signed up to serve at Urbana the entire week) than we needed! The folks who signed up later ended up being put on a wait list. This was a huge answer to the Ops team's ongoing prayer for enough staff to serve at Urbana.
• An abundance of creativity and the deep collaboration that took place between the arts teams- theatre & dance, worship, 2100 Productions. All the material and financial resources in the world (which we obviously did not have) could not have bought the creativity, talent, imagination and collaboration that flourished throughout the year. A product of this amalgam of God's artistic provisions? The opening piece: "Words & Pictures"
• Spiritual support and direction. We had intercessors all around the world praying for Urbana, and it did not go unnoticed. All of the speakers had personal intercessors. Heck, I got to have a personal intercessor. There was always someone to go to for prayer. I am grateful for the prayer warriors to helped hold down the spiritual fort before and during the conference.
• Finally, the Global Projects administrator sent me the following numbers soon after Urbana was over:

The GP team prayed to recruit the following # of students at U09:

20 students for Kenya

The result: 63 signed up indicating interest in the Kenya GP

40 for China Global Projects

102 want to follow up about China GPs

100 for Urban Projects

141 are interested in signing up for an Urban Project

50 for the Global Urban Trek

233 students want to follow up about the Global Urban Trek

I've never participated in a GP, but as a LAUP alum I am stoked to see how this coming summer will look like for the various GP/UP teams and the lasting impact it'll have on communities in the States and around the world.

At 2:21 AM on January 1st, I wrote in my journal: It's done. Urbana 09 is over. But His work has just begun. We're writing up reports, scheduling debriefs and getting ready to transition out. I will start saying good-byes to some of the Urbana staff starting this week. But His work with Urbana 09 has just begun. And how exciting that is!

Addendum to the list of provisions:

• Speakers. How can I forget the speakers?! Learning from the abundance of their wisdom and experience and the humility with which they supported one another was a highlight in working for Program. Many people commented on the cohesiveness of this year's program. I think cohesion is key in maximizing the effectiveness of an event/conference, so I consider that a huge compliment. But really, all that we did was invite the speakers. God orchestrated the program and called them, and they faithfully and generously made themselves available.
  

the good news about the most materialistic faith

...He [Jesus] loves and cares for the material world. The fact of Jesus's resurrection and the promise of a new heavens and new earth show clearly that he still cares for it. This world is not simply a theater for individual conversion narratives, to be discarded at the end when we all go to heaven. No, the ultimate purpose of Jesus is not only individual salvation and pardon for sins but also the renewal of this world, the end of disease, poverty, injustice, violence, suffering, and death. The climax of history is not a higher form of disembodied consciousness but a feast. God made the world with all its colors, tastes, lights, sounds, with all its life-forms living in interdependent systems. It is now marred, stained, and broken, and he will not rest until he has put it right. (pg 110-111)

Christianity, therefore, is perhaps the most materialistic of the world's faiths. Jesus's miracles were not so much violations of the natural order, but a restoration of the natural order. God did not create a world with blindness, leprosy, hunger, and death in it. Jesus's miracles were signs that someday all these corruptions of his creation would be abolished. Christians therefore can talk of saving the souls and of building social systems that deliver safe streets and warm homes in the same sentence. With integrity. (pg 112)

t. keller, the prodigal god

a timely reminder

everyday i get an e-mail from the henri nouwen society. a few days ago this timely reminder was in my inbox:

Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say, "How will next year be for me? Where will I be five or ten years from now?" There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let's rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away.

if i had it my way, i'd have a light to beam for the next 20 years. but i suppose that takes away the excitement of living in the present and the trust of His good and perfect plans. thank you for the light that i have right now.

chewing, pondering, sleeping

the mandatory 2 week vacation officially started on tuesday, but i haven't been processing as much as i would like to. what i have been doing is eating, vegging and sleeping, which has been rejuvenating. i didn't realize how tired or weak i was. anyway, i'm planning to write a series of reflections on my experience at urbana 09, in case anyone's curious.

a couple goals (for some reason, i don't like the word "resolutions") for 2010:

1. work on bullet point A of #4 of my "goals for the 20's": live a life of thankfulness- by jotting down at least one thing i'm thankful for everyday.
2. find creative ways to spend more time with God. learn, practice and grow in spiritual disciplines. (go through the celtic prayer book? paint more? suggestions welcome!)

today, i am thankful for: a wonderful 3 hour phone chat/catch up with el novio. i guess distance does make the heart grow fonder sometimes, hehe. but i'm glad he's coming home next week.