Thursday, August 27, 2015

8 Reasons Why Youth Workers Should Use True Story: What God Wants Us To Do About Poverty



It's late August, and if you work at a church or school, you're gearing up for what you know is the real New Year. So, first off... Happy New (ministry/school) Year!

Now, if you're a youth worker looking for a curriculum to use at your youth group or school this ministry year, you're in luck, because you've stumbled upon the blog of a girl who happens to know of a great resource that was created just for you.

Last summer, I had the absolute privilege of working with a fantastic team from Compassion Canada to develop True Story: What God Wants Us To Do About Poverty, a youth curriculum video series about poverty, injustice and our part to play in God's story of redemption in the midst of it all.




It's pretty fantastic, and I think True Story would make a great addition to your curriculum line-up this year.

So, I give to you... 

8 Reasons Why You Should Use True Story: What God Wants Us To Do About Poverty

1. Let's get this out of the way: It's FREE. Like for reals, no-hidden-fees-and-no-strings-attached, zero-dollars free. Why? Because at the very core of who they are, Compassion is passionate about reaching youth through the local church, and that passion isn't limited to the youth and the Church of the developing world. So, True Story is Compassion's gift to the Church, because we know that today's youth, no matter where they're from, will accomplish great things for the Kingdom.


2. True Story is easy-to-use, adaptable and all available online. True Story comes with an incredible Leader's Guide that is designed to support you and your small group leaders every step of the way as you make this conversation about poverty and justice fun, personal, engaging and real. It's also super adaptable to fit the needs and structure of your group. Finally, it's all available onlineWe are so excited about True Story that we don't want anything to stand in the way of your group getting started!

3. Youth groups urgently and desperately need to have this conversation - because young adults are leaving the Church because of the lack of compassion- and justice-related conversations. I think most youth workers in the church can recall Hemorrhaging Faith. One of the biggest reasons youth left the church? The lack of compassion- and justice-related conversations and action. Christian youth (myself included) want to believe in a gospel that is about bringing hope to the darkest places of this world with both words and deed... so let's start talking about and acting upon the Gospel that is just that!


4. Is your group headed on a missions trip? This is a great prep course to do together as a team. Prepare your group to serve in the most broken places in this world by looking at God's heart and story of redemption behind it all... The story in which we get to play a part. 

5. Is your group of young Christians looking for "What's Next?" Maybe you just finished Youth Alpha or a similar course, and now that your youth are excited about Jesus, they're wondering what it looks like to follow Him in practical ways. What kinds of things is Jesus all about? Why is our world broken? What can we do as the Church? True Story is a natural next step in discovering some answers to those questions.


6. Week 5 is a serving-together opportunity, and it's gold. A whole bunch of head knowledge is useless if it's not put into practice, which is why on Week 5 of this 6-week journey, you and your group will roll up your sleeves and serve the poor, marginalized and oppressed in your community. Whether this is something you do together all the time, or you're terrified by this foreign concept, from my humble experience I personally think there aren't many things that strengthen faith, unite groups and deepen relationships with Jesus and each other more than serving together. 

7. You get to listen to my voice for 6 weeks! Just kidding. But seriously, I got to work with the most talented (and awesome) creative team on True Story's video segments, which are pretty sweet and are sure to engage your group with footage from all over the world. 

Want a taste? Check out our promo video:



8. Compassion and Justice issues are central to the Christian faith and they mean a lot to Jesus. And that's the bottom line here. Justice, compassion, serving the poor... This stuff is some of the most-mentioned stuff in the Bible, and stuff that Jesus preached and lived and simply assumed to be a part of every Christian's life. And I mean, if it means a lot to Jesus, I wanna take a good hard look at it, you know?


So now that I've convinced you, you're left wondering, How can I get my hands on True Story? Remember that "available online" bit (see: Reason #2)? You can get your copy of True Story at www.compassion.ca/truestory, where you'll find the entire leader's guide and 6 video segments available for download, plus a whole bunch of extra resources designed to make True Story the best possible experience for you and your youth group.

I will be praying lots for you as you start this conversation about poverty, injustice and God's invitation to the Church in the middle of this messy world, and I hope that True Story is just the beginning of a conversation, and eventually, a lifestyle of compassionate living.


Questions?
There's a nifty little Contact Us button at the bottom of the True Story website.

Connect. 
Personally, I would love to connect with you on Twitter and hear all about your True Story experience!
I would also love it if you would hashtag all your True Story photos and experiences as #TrueStorySeries.
Plus, don't forget to connect with Compassion Canada on Facebook and on Twitter.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Why The Difference Truly Is Jesus

The last thing I expected to be knitting for our Guatemalan Compassion girl, Esperanza, in the week before we got on a plane to meet her was a baby beanie for her soon-to-be-born child.

But there I was, pulling the tiny soft-yellow loops through one another to make a little cap to keep tiny little ears warm in the mountainous Guatemalan countryside.

Just a week and one day before we stepped on that plane to Guatemala, the office of Compassion Canada called with the news... Esperanza is pregnant and married, and would be leaving the Compassion program effective immediately.

Our reactions moved and ranged from shock to confusion to worry.

Yet both we and Esperanza were still very much looking forward to our visit, and we stepped on the plane with expectant and hopeful hearts... knowing that we were headed into a very different culture, one our First World minds would struggle to understand, yet we were determined to try our very best. 

Fun Fact: I LOVE flying.
Welcome to Guatemala! :)

The length of the drive from Guatemala City to Esperanza's community should have prepared me for how truly far removed her home is from anything I've ever known.

But it didn't really.

Her home sits in a community that is 8 long hours away from Guatemala City.

On the road.
Driving into Cobán, Alta Varapaz, the closest city to Esperanza, a 2.5 hour, $10 bus ride away and where she has been only 3 times in her life (including once during our visit).
P.S. Take note of the election posters lining the road... Those would soon be nowhere to be found in Esperanza's forgotten community.

It is a community where the water pipes are only turned on once a week and the nearest city, shopping mall and McDonald's sits 2.5 hours away.

Even the country's presidential campaign does not reach Esperanza's community. With a fall election looming in Guatemala, we were bombarded with election posters everywhere we went... except for in Esperanza's community. Even the vote-hungry presidential candidates can't or won't be bothered with the people living in this remote region.

Our guide from Compassion Guatemala's head office, Ruth, would later express shock at how low both Esperanza and her husband, Hernan's proficiency in Spanish is. At their level of schooling, she said, they should be far more fluent in the country's national language.

But they weren't... not even the church's pastor, Javier, spoke Spanish; only their project director, Martin, did. So this led us to gather the story of Esperanza and her community through triple translation - English to Spanish to Q'eqchi' (the local Mayan language) and back again. It was quite the game of broken telephone! ;)

And as we sat in the church that is home to Compassion project GU996, with the centre's countless children peering through the window to stare at the Canadians, we gathered what we could of our Esperanza's story...

Within minutes of being face-to-face with this sweet girl for the first time!
P.S. #InGuatemalaIAmTall
P.P.S. Notice the kids in the window behind us? 
Okay, maybe not that tall. #NotSoLittleBrother
My parents with Esperanza, her husband, Hernan, and her mom, Doña Maria.

A mutual friend introduced her and Hernan, who is just a year older than Esperanza, at 18. The two, nearing the end of their primary schooling (the highest level of education available to them in their community), with him finishing Grade 6 and her, Grade 4, soon found themselves pregnant and married at 17 and 18 years old... The next "normal" life stage in their community, if you will.

Some of the precious kids of Esperanza's community...

Their story, under the lens of First World culture, calls for major edits. And while most people can agree, when presented with theoretical questions, that development and poverty eradication is best carried out in a grassroots, by-the-people-for-the-people manner, I think most of us are still quick to reach for our Western "values" when we hear a story like Esperanza's.

I know I am.

The first question in my long list of questions is Will she be able to finish her education?

And her community will look back at me with this: Will she be able to finish her subpar, 6th grade education? For what?

Well, even a 6th grade education can make all the difference, I'll say.

Because I'm a soon-to-be International Development student and I've read United Nations stats, you know. Duh.

And I'll be met with are-you-an-alien looks because why would a farmer's daughter, and now, a farmer's wife ever need a 6th Grade education to raise her baby and feed her family? Her mother and grandmother certainly did without one.

Well, I'll say, what if she one day has hopes to move to the city and pursue higher opportunities?

But you see, my projection of First World culture is fast crumbling because she can't even speak Spanish and finishing 6th Grade certainly won't help that, as evidenced by Hernan, so how would she be expected to survive in a city that has barely even heard of her native Q'eqchi' language?

I think you see where I'm going here.

All of this is so far removed from anything I've ever known. And in the world I grew up in, anything removed from what I've always known is wrong.

But that is simply not true. 

Yes, there are deeply ingrained, systematic issues and problems that are running rampant in Esperanza's community.

But so often we mix up what is inequality and what is culture. What is holding a people group back, and what is simply their way of life, something they can't afford to lose.

It is truly a fine line, one humanity will always be walking.

But when it simply comes down to it, what I believe and what I saw makes all the difference is always Jesus.

This overwhelming picture I've painted for you above... Man, there is overwhelming hope in it because of Jesus. 

There's Esperanza's father, who we met when we later visited her home, who asked us to join him in prayer for his family... Because sure, his daughter's story might look different from what he and his wife had hoped when Esperanza registered in the Compassion program, but because of how Compassion and the local church has touched his family, he knows that there is a God who loves his family more than anything. So he prays, and invites us to pray with him. 

Esperanza's father, Don Juan, Hernan, and my papa. 

And while Esperanza will be leaving the Compassion program, the local church that has been journeying with her all along will not be leaving Esperanza. That is the beauty of Compassion's program: It works exclusively and closely with the local church so that once a child leaves the Compassion program, they are already a part of a thriving and supportive church community that will journey alongside them for life.

Sharing some gifts... including the aforementioned baby beanie. :)

Because the reality is that it could take years and years and perhaps even a lifetime before Esperanza's community gains things like quality education and uninterrupted access to clean water.

And yes, we will work towards those things with tenacity, because they are basic human rights. But the hope we can offer now - as in right now, at this very instant - is Jesus.

Because...

The difference between hope and hopelessness is more than education, healthcare and social programs. 
The difference is Jesus.
Just two girls from opposite ends of the world who have the Cross, the Kingdom and the Love of Christ as our greatest hope.

***

This blog post would seriously have no hopeful conclusion without the hope of Christ. And that is why the difference truly is Jesus. That's not a line or a slogan. It is the essence of Compassion International's ministry.

Sponsor a Child with Compassion. No, it doesn't make everything "perfect", by any standard, including in our First World minds. But it inserts hope into the most broken places on this earth in the form of not only education, healthcare, and social programs, but most importantly, Jesus Christ.



ps Check out my mama's reflections on this day!
pps More photos from our trip to Guatemala can be found on Instagram. Man, that country is so beautiful!


Sponsor a Child in Jesus Name with Compassion
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