New Resource on DYM: What Happened? What's Next?

As mentioned in a previous post, I have some resources that are going up on Download Youth Ministry, a site dedicated to provided resources to Youth Workers at an affordable price.  My first non-game went up on the site today.  What Happens?  What's Next? is a missions trip debrief packet.  I am incredibly proud of this resource due to the major role it has played in my ministry context.  We place a high value on debriefing the short term missions experience.  On more than one occasion, I have had students come to me and say thank you for walking through our debrief experience.  The reality is that a lot of youth groups do short term missions very poorly and it results in more harm than good on the place visited and the students visiting.  We have learned a lot of key elements to ensuring this does not happen through our IMPACT experiences.
 What Happened? What's Next? has been our key tool in making sure the short term missions experience is more than a moment for the student participating.  Here's the opening statement from the packet:

 It’s likely going to happen within an hour of your return home. Someone who knows you’ve been gone is going to approach you and say, “So, tell me about your trip.” 

What do you say, where do you begin, how do you explain everything that you have seen/heard/experienced, and how do you even know what or how much info the person is looking for? 

Because of these questions, you might be tempted to go with a response like these… 

RESPONSE 1 – “It was good/great/awesome/life-changing (or some other adjective).” 
RESPONSE 2 – “I can’t even explain it. You just had to be there.” 

Response 1 gives no justice to our experience. Response 2 is almost insulting to the person who is inquiring about your trip. So, where do you begin? How could you respond? What if you could find a way to sum up your experience in one simple but descriptive sentence? 

In the following pages, you are going to recount your experiences and eventually narrow them down to one clear, concise sentence that describes your experience. More importantly, in the process you are going to be able to see the major themes, lessons and experiences God has allowed you through this trip. 

To get there, let me ask you to do a few things… 

1. Give this your best focus and effort. This whole packet is going to help you take what God has done on this trip and see how you are going to take it home. 
2. Don’t jump ahead. You may be tempted to just jump to the top 3 and sentence. If you do, you will likely miss out on some lessons God taught you that you didn’t even realize. 
3. Take your time. We have given you plenty of time to work through this. 
4. If you get stuck, talk to a leader. We want you to make this your personal exercise, so allow your other teammates to work through their debrief materials. 

So, here we go. Let’s take time to see “What Happened” and what God has taught us! 

Check out the resource here.  Check out my other resources on the site here.

KP Transformation, Haiti Night, & Ripples

Last night was special.  Janelle, Katylynn & I had the opportunity to travel to Keller Park Church in South Bend to be a part of Haiti Night.  Kory and Ali Lantz have been living in the Keller Park neighborhood for the past year and a half seeking to be a part of a movement to see the area transformed for the sake of Christ.  One key avenue has been through the ISI group they have formed.

ISI is for Iron Sharpens Iron, and the group is made up of teens from the area who have shown themselves to be respectful, reliable, and  ready for discipleship.  Last night, this group of teens put on a night to build awareness and raise money to help build homes for those affected by the Haiti earthquake.

The night was special to me for multiple reasons:

• Nothing pumps me up quite like teens seeking to be a part of God's global work.  The night did exactly that.  The teens chose the focus of the night and came up with a game plan on how to raise the money.
• Kory and Ali are two of NMC's own.  They are being spiritual multipliers.
• To see where several of these ISI kids are at in their life journey as compared to a year ago is fantastic. They've had their bumps and bruises, but ultimately they are moving forward in their life decisions and pursuit of Christ.
• Kory and Ali were somewhat inspired by what our students have been doing at NMC.  Geoff Cocanower (our Senior High Coordinator at NMC) was there last night, and I sent him a text stating, "You do realize this is another ripple of Kids In Need?  I mean, it's much bigger than that, but if our NMC students only knew..."

All in all, a fantastic night where I'm guessing $2,000+ was raised to build homes in Haiti.  Well done ISI kids, you advanced God's Kingdom last night.

NMC Student on the move!

I L-O-V-E this time of year. It's a time where students get stretched, challenged and used by God in some major ways...

Tomorrow morning, these 14 students and 8 adults begin their journey to Haiti. While there, they will be working in the city of Cap' Haiten with Open Door Haiti. They will be doing Vacation Bible School, hut-to-hut evangelism, construction for an orphanage, and visiting with many who were affected by the devastating earthquake. You can follow along on their journeys (June 10-20) at www.geoffcocanower.com and www.twitter.com/geoffcocanower


On Saturday morning, 43 students and 9 adults will board a bus and head to the Windy City for our ChicaGO evangelism training/experience. They will be learning how to most effectively reach their peers while being challenged to live, pray, serve, listen, and share in the city itself. I will be with this team Sunday through Wednesday. The team will be there Saturday through Friday. You can keep updated here as well as at www.gotrips.blogspot.com and www.twitter.com/nmcchicago2010.

A Big Celebration and A Chance to Take Part in A Miracle

This Wednesday Night we will be having our K.I.N. celebration, where we will take time to close out our school year focus on Kids In Need. We will celebrate we have Gained Awareness and Given Sacrificially, and consider how we plan to Live Differently from here on out.


As a special part of the night, we are going to take to be taking a special offering for a project I encountered while in Rwanda in April. An email Pastor Jason Thompson sent out today explains the situation very well.

At the "Kids In Need" Celebration this Wednesday night, we'll be taking an offering to help build a church in the Pygmy tribe of Rwanda where. Last school year, as a result of Rwanda Night and the Silent Auction, our students helped make possible a Rwandan Exodus Conference that resulted in the planting of over 30 churches in remote and unchurched areas of Rwanda.

One of the churches that was planted as a result of this Exodus, was in the Pygmy tribe. For only $1,400, we can now build these people a church building to meet in.

The stakes are high because unless the Pygmies have a formal meeting place (meaning a building), they will not be allowed to continue meeting as a church body. There is a law in Rwanda that was put into place shortly after the Rwandan Genocide that said people were not allowed to have formal outdoor gatherings in one location for an undetermined amount of time.

The Pygmies have less than 6 months to build a church. We would love to leave Wednesday night with enough money to build the Pygmies a church building before they are no longer allowed to meet!

The Pgymy pastor believes it will take a "miracle" of God for this to happen. Wouldn't it be cool for your student to be apart of someone else's "miracle"?

I'm excited to see NMC take part in this special miracle.

Coolest IMPACT team Picture... EVER!

I actually have a very large version of this shot in our office area.

It Just Got Personal - Part 10

To many this is just a picture of a bunch of white people holding black babies.

To me, it's a picture of what happens when you let it get personal.
To me, this is 10 students and 4 adults who who have allowed the statistics and stories of Kids In Need Impact them (Gain Awareness).
To me, it's a group of students decided the best way to spend their spring break was going to Kenya, Africa and loving on orphans (Give Sacrificially).
To me, it's a group of 10 students and 4 adults who have, to varying levels had their lives wrecked/ altered through their experiences in Kenya (Live Differently).

To many, this is just a picture of a bunch of white people holding black babies.

To me, Gain, Give and Live just got a name, a face and a story. It's a reminder that Global Minded Youth Ministry is worth it.

It just got personal.

It Just Got Personal - Part 9

To many this is a picture of some dude overlooking a waterfall.

To me, that's my college roommate, friend, and ministry partner, Caleb Bislow. I have personally supported Caleb. Our ministry has collectively supported Caleb in significant ways. I have heard Caleb's stories of obedience to carry the call to take God's story to dark, dangerous and despised places. In April, I saw him in action in some of those dark, dangerous and despised places. HE IS LEGIT.

Caleb's is a story of someone who allowed those who are marginalized, abandoned, forgotten to mess with his life (he let it get personal).

To many this is a picture of some dude overlooking a waterfall.

To me, it's someone who let it get personal, and did something about it.

It just got personal and it's time to do something about it.

Check out Biz at www.unusualsoldiers.com and his blog at www.unusualsoldiers.blogspot.com

It Just Got Personal - Part 8

To many, this is just a picture of two people.
To me, I'm standing Charles, one of seven survivors of the 11,000 Tutsi’s who in 1994 tried to take refuge in the Nyamata Catholic Church behind us. He lay in the midst of corpses and blood, playing dead, as he saw his father killed and hung from the rafters, heard his brother scream his final breath, and watched as the rebel armies to machetes, guns, and grenades to the men, women and children.
Somehow able to flee and escape the rebels. 16 years later, he leads tours through the church where he saw more death than anyone should ever have to see.

To many this is just a picture of two people.
To me, the genocide now has a face, a name and story… Charles.

And it just got very personal.


Below is a video I shot at Ntarama, a different church than the one mentioned above, where 5000 were massacred. It is my initial reaction after walking through, seeing the remains & clothes of those massacred, and hearing their stories.

It Just Got Personal - Part 7

To many, this is a picture you might see in National Geographic.
To me, it’s a Pygmy refugee.

The Pygmies have fled the jungles of the D.R.C. because the rebel armies have been ravaging them. The rebels have been told the Pygmies possess special powers. In an effort to receive those powers, the rebels have been known to slaughter the Pygmies then eat them.
(yes, you read that correctly... EAT THEM).

The Pygmies are even seen in the refugee in the refugee camp.

Ironically, I never got his name in the mix of everything. I do know that the only thing he was wearing that day was the sweatshirt you see. He was walking through the mud and would head back to his tent made of a tarp and sticks.

To many this is just a picture you might see in National Geographic.

To me, refugees now have a face and a story. Unfortunately it still doesn’t have a name… and it’s still very personal.

It Just Got Personal - Part 6

To many this is a picture of a man praying for someone.
To me, it’s a Jacob, who is suffering from Malaria. Were he in the states, he’d have access to the needed medical attention to be able to live a somewhat normal life. In the mountains of Rwanda, he is facing death. In that moment, all we could do was pray.

To many this is a picture of a man praying for someone.
To me, preventable diseases like malaria now has a name and a face.

As we prayed in that hut...
It just got personal.

It Just Got Personal - Part 4

To many this is a picture of a little African boy.

To me it’s Paul… the AGC Baby Center orphan who loves to swing on his swing. In fact, it seems that's all he ever wants to do. He hardly ever smiles. But if you go for his stomach and tickle like mad, the most amazing smile that could stop time comes beaming from him.

To many this is a picture of a little African boy.
To me, the African orphan crises has a name, a face and a story.

It just got personal.

It Just Got Personal - Part 3

To many this is a picture of a white lady and some random black boy.

To me, it’s my wife holding John.
John fell asleep while watching our IMPACT team do their drama.
Janelle swooped in to pick him up and hold him tight while he dreamed.
John is an orphan who lives in the Mathare slums.
John's primary care giver is a 14 year old girl named Sara.
Tonight he does not have a mommy that will rock him to sleep or comfort his cries.

To many this is a picture of a white lady and some random black boy.
To me, "street kid" has a name, and a story.

It’s John… and it just got personal.

It Just Got Personal - Part 2

To many this is just another picture of a bunch of shacks.

To me, it’s the Mathare slums of Kenya, home to approximately 1 million Kenyans.
It's a place where I have walked the "streets" -- a mix of mud, trash, and poop.
It's where I saw countless kids wandering around... this being the only way of life they have known and may ever known.

To many this is just another picture of a bunch of shacks.
To me, poverty now has a location.

It just got personal.

It Just Got Personal

To many this is just a picture of 5 women.
To me, it's the story of D.R.C. that rocked me most.

3 of these women were raped by rebel armies while going out to collect wood.
3 of these women were abandoned by their husbands and families because they were raped.
1 was raped by 5 men at once.
1 is 6 months pregnant.

2 of these women run a ministry called Jehovah Jireh.
2 of these women are seeking to provide housing, healing and hope to 15 women who are tragic victims of the D.R.C.'s continual conflict.

To many this is just a picture of 5 women.
To me, rape and the D.R.C. conflict now have names, faces, and stories.

It just got personal.

Times are changing

In Kenya, it's 7:00 p.m.
In Rwanda, it's 6:00 p.m.
In Dubai, it's 8:00 p.m.
In Bangkok, it's 11:04 p.m.
In Seoul, it's Tuesday, 1:04 a.m.

In Nappanee, I'm confused.

Post-Africa Trip Rankings

Totally opinion here. I only saw snippets of these countries, and I bring in my own preferences, prejudices, and perspectives.

Economic Development:
1. Rwanda
2. Kenya
3. DRC
-the difference between 2 and 3 is much more significant than 1 and 2-

Spiritual Darkness
1. DRC - I wish I could put into words the feeling as I crossed back and forth from the border of this country.
2. Rwanda - The clouds of the genocide linger, yet the church is moving forward.
3. Kenya - Plenty of issues and spiritual battle still.

Food
1. Kenya - I ate mainly American here and was able to eat at two different Brazilian Steakhouses, so it's a bit slanted on this one.
2. DRC - May have been the amount of meals and our host family who cooked for us.
3. Rwanda - Not a single thing wrong with the food here, but there has to be a last place.

Airports:
1. Seoul, Korea - Free private showers that looked like they were out of a 4-star hotel. No armrests in airport seats let you lay out. Free internet at computers. Perfect temp and really quiet.
2. Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Had special seats you could sleep in. Very open and decent temp. Loud and busy.
3. Bangkok, Thailand - Free internet stations. Good food courts. Very warm at the gates.
4. Kigali, Rwanda - Very small. Nice coffee shop. Easy to navigate.
5. Nairobi, Kenya - Ridiculously hot. Nice Coffee House.
6. Chicago, O'Hare - Busy, uncomfortable, too many negative experiences with delays for me to like it.

Most likely to Return:
1. Kenya - The most close ties (Maasai, Baby Center) and Janelle was gripped there.
2. DRC - Something stirred in me there.
3. Rwanda - Who knows, I may head back, but I see the ministry there carrying on well.

Visiting a Genocide Memorial

Some photos don't need commentary.

Rwanda and DRC Photos

Some of the photos from my experiences in Rwanda and DRC. I will expound on some of these experiences over time.

Some quotes... moments of levity on my trip

• "I really feel like God is leading me toward working with prostitution." -Brittany
• "You can do anything in Congo... if you have money." -Enock
• "Africa is confusing." - Biz
• "Car will be here to pick us up at 9:00 a.m." (at 11:00 a.m.) "Tire is getting changed. Car be here soon." - Safari
  
• "In the time I was in Tanzania, I think I drank about 50 chais." -Matt Maloney
• "You are a stubborn man, Caleb." - Eugene (said several times, making me want to say, "You keep on using that word. I do not think that word is meaning what you're thinking it's meaning.")
• "Did you get that on video Biz?" - me to Caleb after throwing up on the side of the road.
• "I'm trying." - Biz in response to my question

Globe Trotting

I received a call last night from home. As another day of European flights look to be cancelled, some fantastically amazing folks back home have found a way for Matt and I to depart tonight (Tuesday afternoon) and trot the other direction across the globe.

Nairobi --> Dubai --> Bangcock --> Seoul --> Chicago

40 hours of travel across the globe. Here we go!

Pray for our connections and a complication-free return home.