What are you doing in April '09? An EFCCM adult work team is being organized to go and tackle one or two of the many building projects under construction near Santa Cruz. This Partnership Work Team will be involved some or all of the following:
It was great to have Isaac and Iris (pictured here with Steve, our Latin America Area Director) on hand at the EFCC Conference '08 to represent our EFC congregation in Mexico. Isaac is the church's pastor, and Iris is his wife. They headed back having observed so much at our Conference and in our curches. They know who their partners in Canada, they can dream about how to work together in more creative ways and they have a whole list of things to share with their local church, Arbol de Vida (Tree of Life), to move it on to becoming a sending church as well.
It was great to be able to share this time with them, and have their experience as missionary hosts inform the EFCC's perspectives on how to best to engage in future missions.
During my recent (short and sweet) vacation, I heard a sermon on the Call to Action. This is one of the recurring themes in the stories people tell themselves all around the world. An individual becomes aware of a problem or a conflict that isn't clear to everyone else, at least not in the same way. It won't leave them alone, and continues to resurface at odd times -- it's often something that brings discomfort to both the person and their community. Eventually the individual ends up at a crisis point, and must make a decision: Either follow the call to action, or intentionally forsake it. As should be pretty obvious, the most interesting stories are ones where the protagonist chooses action.
One good reason that I like talking about stories is that it connects us to the larger story that we're apart of. The Old Testament, the New Testament and our modern era are all simply an extension of the same story. Our chief protagonist has always been God, who is also the Author (and Finisher). And he allows us input into our own chapter. He graciously allows us to write something that's as interesting and adventure-filled as we dare. And He is the one calling us to action, nudging us to influence our world to be a little closer to His vision, infused with His love and harmony.
If you are curious about what it would take for you to rise to the call to adventure, don't hesitate anymore. Contact us, and share where you feel yourself being pushed. There's nothing worse than being given a chance to write, and just staring at a blank page... Don't let that happen to you!
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