C-mail, Before Departure

Howdy all,

Well its Sunday and I'm leaving Monday, so this'll be the last state side email for a while. So here's the important stuff...

1. Wrong link on update stuff (thanks to David (I'm referring to everyone by first name basis for no good reason, just fyi) for pointing that out:), its www.globalurbantrek.org then I think once they start posting updates, you'll click on Lima and then journal entries. There should be entries for all the different cities too if you're so interested.

2. The point of the trip is to serve the urban poor in Lima (and the world) This is because:
a). Jesus loved the poor, so should we if we want to follow him.
b). There are a LOT of people living in slums/trash in massive urban centers all over the world. Research the facts and hear the stories yourself, they'll mean more if you find them. Look up third
world urban slums or global poverty. Or if you really want to know, check out this book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932805192/sr=8-7/qid=1150603376/ref=sr_1_7/103-3141177-5357461?%5Fencoding=UTF8
Apparently there's even a whole field devoted to studying this kinda stuff, it causes, trends, and future outlook. Its called Social Science because it is the science (loose terminology) of society. Amazing! (why did I have to go to an engineering school?)
c). The world is getting a lot more urbanized so urban poverty is only going to increase in the near future. Check out the growth of urban centers over the past few decades (it's a cool, but scary,
little interactive map with growing dots for city size,) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/urbanisation/html/urbanisation.stm

3. I don't know all the details about we'll actually be doing, but most likely we'll focus on construction (of what, I don't know), health and hygiene training, small business development, and education. Also our team is half from the states, and have university students from Lima, so the team is completely bi-lingual.

4. I think I'm kinda ready to go, but honestly I have no clue. And I wish I knew Spanish better. So, if you're the praying type, please pray for Spanish skills and clear communication with the people there. Also pray for our team to be bonded together in Christ, both the team from the states, the team from Lima, and the both of us combined. And as always, pray that we'd all just be giving up our own rights and desires and seeking the good of each other and seeking God.

5. I gave in and got a *sigh* blog: http://pressonforjoy.blogspot.com/

I'll let you know what its like when I get there! And thanks for all of the responses, they are very much appreciated. I probably won't get a chance to respond once I get there, but I'll try to get back to you once I'm stateside again.
Press on for Joy!
Cameron

Hold on kids, this could get lengthy. Read at your leisure:

I'm going to focus on points 2 a, and 4, but understand I write this from a greenhorn point of view. I haven't experienced a lot of what I'm writing about at this point, but I'm hoping that the learning process will be evident through these emails as well. So take everything I say more as an in progress report than anything else.

2.a What's all the fuss about "the poor"? Who is this group anyways? There's a lot to say about this, so this email will focus on the fuss about the poor. I put some thoughts up about who the poor are in the blog. (if you can't tell, I'm pretty bored and don't really have much else to do besides write long emails).

So what was Jesus' deal with the poor? I honestly don't have time to give this topic the justice it deserves, but there is a really great book written about it. It's called the Bible, and specifically, I'd recommend checking out Deuteronomy, Amos, and the Gospels to see God's/Jesus' heart for the poor. My third year I co-led a bible study with an amazing guy named Nathaniel (howdy!) and we went through the book of Luke, one long chapter after another. We read some pretty crazy stuff like:

6:20-26 And lifting up His eyes to His disciples, He said, Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall cut you off, and when they shall reproach you and shall cast out your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. For behold, your reward is great in Heaven. For so their fathers did according to these things to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich! For you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full! For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now! For you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you! For so their fathers did to the false prophets.

And also:
11:29-34
And do not seek what you shall eat, nor what you shall drink, and stop being in anxiety. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you have need of these things. But rather seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Make for yourselves purses which do not become old, an unfailing treasure in Heaven, where no thief comes nor moth corrupts. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And also:
14:12-14
And He also said to him who invited Him, When you make a dinner or a supper, do not call your friends or your brothers, or your kinsmen, or your rich neighbors; lest they also invite you again, and a recompense be made to you. But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you shall be blessed, for they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

And later in 14:
And great crowds went with Him. And He turned and said to them, If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me, he cannot be My disciple.

And also in 14:
Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not first sit down and consult whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other
is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So then, everyone of you who does not forsake all his possessions, he cannot be My disciple.

And also:
18:22-27
And when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, Yet you lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven. And come, follow Me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, He said, How hardly those having riches shall enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich one to enter into the kingdom of God. And the ones who heard said, And who can be saved? And He said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

And of course more, but for brevity's sake. Well, praise God for that last verse! We'd all be done without it. But seriously looking at everything else, Jesus can't really mean all that stuff? Surely he's only talking about our hearts, right? I mean, no one really gives up all their stuff to follow this guy. To do what he's asking, I'd have to be homeless and just live out in the streets?

These were the questions I wrestled with, and still do. It would be so easy just say that this all boils down to the state of my heart, but shouldn't the state of my heart be reflected in the way my life is lived, both outward actions and inner thoughts/attitudes? I can't just write this off, this is the Son of God saying this. And not just here, this is all over the Bible. Now, I'll admit that the passages above are cut and paste and as such can be taken out of context, but I challenge you, go see what Jesus is really saying and what he calls his disciples too. I don't think it is an easy life, but that's the point, it is life. Only He can make us alive, after we die to ourselves. Its only when I'm following him that I do feel alive. And as for no one following Jesus like this...I'll save that story for later. However, I will say, as according to Thess 4:9-12, that work is good so that you're not a burden on anyone and not lacking in order to give to those who do need help. The question of how much comprises "not lacking" and what all needs to be had in order to not lack is a tougher question.

So those words above are the words of Jesus. I guess that's the whole motivation behind this trip, I'm trying to take him at his words. I'm not doing such a great job since I certainly haven't sold everything and given all I have to the poor, but whether Jesus actually does call his disciples to that is a question I hope to answer on this trip. I would certainly appreciate prayer in this matter as well, but pray for the folks we'll be serving first, they are the reason we're there in the first place.

4. So here it is, just before the trip. I feel, well, ready. At least I'm ready to get out of SLO and this apt. I've been here for 5 years, and I'm a little too comfortable here, so in a sense, I'm glad to go. Moving on to something new always brings the same anxiety you get just before going into high school after a long summer of being done with junior high. "What do I do? I don't know anybody! What if that dream where I'm there, but I forgot to put pants on comes true?" Aside from initial anxiety, I've had this fear that I'm just going to wake up there and be like, holy cow, I'm Peru, surprise! That thought is disconcerting, but I don't know what to do about it. I'm slowly
pegging away at Spanish vocab. I'm trying to pray a lot more. I've been reading Ezra and he had some pretty amazing success since he prepared his heart before he traveled to Jerusalem. I haven't had much luck dealing with my heart, frankly since I don't totally understand what "the heart" is (not definition, but in life). So I ask God for help and He does some pretty good stuff with what I guess
is my heart. Even so, God's been showing me this week how important obedience is. We can't just say we love God if don't do as he asks of us. We need to humble ourselves to him and what he asks of us. That is love of God. Its not easy, but it is so good. 1 John 4 is an awesome chapter, check it out.

As for preparedness for the culture there, I listened to a radio station out of Lima. To my untrained ears, the music seemed to be a mix between Mexican and Chinese. It wasn't bad, but to me it all sounded the same. My complete guess is that entering into another culture is one of those things that you just have to jump into and get your bearings in the midst of it. I'll be sure to let you know, if I learn.

Thanks for hanging around during the long introspective one, they'll be much shorter and hopefully story based after this.

Press on for Joy!
Cameron

PS check out the blog for the origin of the word mission, graciously provided by Reneau.

Mission, the word

Here is a brief overview of the word mission, courtesy of Reneau

The word "mission" has three forms in Latin: New Latin mission-, missio religious mission; Medieval Latin, task assigned; Latin, act of sending, from mittere to send. (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus)

Here are some verses that use this word as translated in the NIV:

Josh 22:3 For a long time now-to this very day-you have not deserted your brothers but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you.

1 Sam 15:18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.'

1 Sam 15:20 "But I did obey the Lord," Saul said. "I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.

1 Sam 21:2 David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.

1 Sam 21:5 David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men's things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!"

Isa 48:15 I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.
Acts 12:25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.


Here is the Strong's entry for Derek 1870 which is Hebrew word being translated as "mission" in the above OT verses

Derek 1870 AV translates as "way" 590 times, "toward" 31 times, "journey" 23 times, "manner" eight times, and translated miscellaneously 53 times. 1 way, road, distance, journey, manner. 1a road, way, path. 1b journey. 1c direction. 1d manner, habit, way. 1e of course of life (fig.). 1f of moral character (fig.).

Here is the Strong's entry for diakonia 1248 which is the Greek word being translated as "mission" in the above NT verse
1248 GK AV translates as "ministry" 16 times, "ministration" six times, "ministering" three times, and translated miscellaneously nine times. 1 service, ministering, esp. of those who execute the commands of others. 2 of those who by the command of God proclaim and promote religion among men. 2a of the office of Moses. 2b of the office of the apostles and its administration. 2c of the office of prophets, evangelists, elders etc. 3 the ministration of those who render to others the offices of Christian
affection esp. those who help meet need by either collecting or distributing of charities. 4 the office of the deacon in the church. 5 the service of those who prepare and present food.

Who are the poor anyways?

I think any answer to this question is a dangerous one. By developing standards of poor vs. not poor, it becomes easy to err in three ways.

First, if one group or individual seems very poor relative to a second group or person, it becomes easy to ignore that second group because they aren't "poor enough" to bother with. I'll admit that I definitely fall prey to this kind of thinking. That's partially why I was hoping to go on some sort of trip outside of the United States. I honestly have not heard of many if any people starving to death here due to lack of food. We don't face many diseases that come with poor sanitation. I've wanted to see/know the poorest of the poor that are in the world. I tend to go to the extremes so it why not go to the lowest level of poverty? I'm not sure what I'll see in Lima but I don't that is going to be the worst, but it should give a very honest picture as to what poverty is. I don't know if this makes me a poverty snob, or if poverty is really different between areas and types. Regardless, the poor are still here in America. The most obvious to see are the homeless, but there are other, subtler forms of poverty as well which take effort to seek out.

The second way to err is to lump ourselves into the poor category. If we're not rich, then we're just scraping to make ends meet, so we must be poor. And since we're poor, I can't worry about everyone else who is poor. This is the easy way to look at things because it absolves us entirely of any responsibility to anyone, rich or poor regardless of our own position, rich or poor. I, just like most of you, would consider myself middle class in America. However, in the world, even "poor" college student me, am abundantly wealthy.

Finally, the third way is to make the poor, "the poor". You know, them. The ones we see on TV, murmur a few sad words about, shake our heads at and then go back to scarfing down a burger while yelling at the stupid referees for that last bonehead call. Someone wrote a very good column about this phenomena here, and I pretty much agree. Part of me says why bother looking unless you'll do something, and there are far to many things for one person to do. (Face it, you are only one person in the world and you do not have the power to make much of a change in it.....unless you have a friend in very high places:). I'm going to try to bring home some sort of tangible application to global urban poverty that can be done while we live in the states. I can't guarantee anything original or earthshaking or anything at all, but we'll see what God does.

So is there a correct way to consider the poor? I'm not sure there is. I'm tempted to say anyone who is in a condition worse than yourself, but I don't think that encompasses it. I think the issue is who is your neighbor, and how can you love them as Jesus calls us to love them. Is your roommate your neighbor? how about your actual neighbor? the homeless guy downtown? the illegal immigrant? the legal immigrant, the starving children continents away? Honestly, I don't know who, but pray, ask God to show you your neighbor, and He will. And be ready to love them, whoever they might be, for that is how God loves us. What a privilege it is to pass that along.

Press on for Joy!

If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For if he does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.
1 John 4:20:21

Return of the C-mail

Howdy all,

If I've learned one email key this year, it is to be brief in email. Therefore, all C-mails will consist of the most important points followed by more detailed, lengthy, unintelligible dribble. That said:

1. I'm done with school!
2. I'm going to Peru on a missions trip!!
3. If you want a few updates from me, you're reading this so good., you'll get more. If you want more frequent team updates go here:

www.globablurbantrek.org

and/or here

www.coollist.com and click join list on the right hand side and list ID is limatrek@coollist.com. (I'll be honest and say the site looks a bit sketch to me in terms of spam and your email addy, so if you use this, perhaps use an expendable email. I could be completely wrong though.)

4. It's been a pleasure to know you all and I wish you all the best.

Press on for Joy! Cameron

Well, school is over. After five years, I've graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in aerospace engineering. The emotion of the leave from here hits rarely, but stays for awhile when it does. I think there is more nostalgia over the actual idea of what college is than a feeling of morphing into a new phase of life and molting past environments and friends. As such, I've had a difficult time bringing myself to say goodbye to many people. Unlike high school, I just know I'll see everyone here again somewhere, sometime, near and far future alike. And if that is the case, who likes saying good bye twice? Besides, almost all the people I'm talking about are reading this right now (hopefully) so, howdy! How are you? Good weather huh? Yep. Alright, well see you later. (See, no reason to say good bye at all).

But about this summer. As noted, I'm going to Lima, Peru to work, serve, and love the poor in the name of Jesus. This is what many in the church sector call a "missions trip." I've never really understood where the name missions came from. There is the famous great comMISSION from Matthew 28 (which doesn't contain the word commission or mission). If someone does know the origin of this word applied to this context, please let me know. I'd love to learn and share it with all of you. That said, I've never been on a mission before, but I've known a number of people who have gone and returned. For the most part, the conversation upon their return has gone like this:

Hey!
Hey!
(brief small talk)
So how was the trip?
Oh, it was awesome. (pause and smile)
Neat....um, so what happened?
oh, so much (pause and smile again)
(faked knowledgeable nodding on my part) yeah, good to hear.

at this point the conversation gets interrupted with a flying soccer ball or squirrel or what not. In any case, I've always wanted to know what God was up to "over there". Apparently a lot of quiet smiling. Now, this isn't true for everybody, but the fact that it happens at all drives me nuts. Perhaps I'm too impatient or I don't know what I should expect when I return and try to think back. But regardless, I'm going to do my best through this email update to do a few things:

1. Glorify God: He is worth it. If He did anything, or even if He didn't, I think we ought to know and praise Him for it. It doesn't matter if He works in your life, your roommates, a prime minister or
an orphan in China, He's God and its just amazing to watch Him shower His love and might on His children. And if you have no clue what I'm talking about (ie God, Jesus, orphans, etc) I'd recommend a) start reading one of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark , Luke, John). Just give it a chance and see who Jesus says He is from his own mouth. b) Talk to me, I'd love to share what Jesus has done in my own life and what he is all about for you and beyond.

2. Journal: This trip will be difficult (details about the trip in another email). I expect to cry, I expect to get frustrated like never before and have to deal with conflict. I expect to be filled with joy. I've always been encouraged by folks who wear their heart on their sleeves. I'm not quite like that, but I'm going to do my best to keep record of what my experiences and perceptions of them are to show how God works through the madness, misery, and emotions of this experience.

3. Call you to action: I'm guessing I'm going to feel some pretty harsh conviction this summer, but tempered with grace. I'm going to try to do my best to convey that with the same grace (forgive me if I don't and point it out too) back to everyone here in the states. I know there must be something we can do or change or give to God to help love the least of these and be a disciple of Jesus for the poor. My hope is to let you know what that is in the hope that you can take it seriously and practically.

Those are the goals of these emails. Expect about 5 or 6 (one now, one more before, two during, and a few afterwards). If you don't want to be on this list, just delete them as you get them and don't tell me. I also wanted to thank all of you for being the awesome people that you all are. It has been such a blessing to know you all in many different contexts within the past five years. I never appreciated who people were until I got here, and man, I don't know how I lived
before. Enough sappiness.

Press on for Joy!
Cameron

PS. Thanks to everyone who prayed/is praying and supported me. I'm
am more than covered financially for the trip thanks to your generosity. God doesn't skimp I guess:) Thanks again!

I gave in

yep, I got a blog. Sorry. Just posting emails and thoughts from Peru.