Spiritual Update 001

Hey there,

Thought I'd share with you again things that are going on in my life, things I am learning, things I am messing up and how I am finding God within all of it. I hope to be honest and open and write this sort of update, about once a month.


Lost Paradise.

One day I decided to go for a walk around Penang, a small island in Malaysia. I was looking to find somewhere to swim. I wandered through the back of a school, hopped across a few rocks and stumbled upon this.

My own tropical paradise. I had it all to myself...but the thing is

This place was filthy with rubbish!

I was at a loss as to how there could be so much rubbish in what would have been such a beautiful spot. The water had stuff floating on top (Yes, I did jump in and for the next half an hour I was constantly spitting just to make sure I got rid of anything I might have swallowed).

This experience reminded me very much of my call as a Christian, to restore beauty to the world and help bring it back to the way God originally intended. 'On earth, as in heaven'.

One way to go about this would be spending alot of time complaining about the state of things, voicing my opinions and focusing on how much rubbish there is. For the most part of my early Christian journey this is the approach I would take. Sometimes you can be so against something that you forget what you are fighting for.

Now, I am learning to be captured by a vision of what things can become and what God intended them to be. I am becoming more and more convinced that this approach is more helpful and effective. In fact the Bible does say whatever is good, noble, true, right, excellent or praisworthy, think of such things...

So I stood there looking around at all this rubbish and was reminded of the enormity of the task (the vision of a new beach) and realised it is useless for me to undertake a mission like this by myself.

I can't really make any difference.

That is a sad reality, but at the same time it's also exciting and freeing because I can partner with others in bringing, 'heaven on earth'. I don't have to do it all!

To remember the fact that I need others, I picked up one piece of rubbish. Not coz I am great or anything like that, (I could have taken heaps more) but because I just wanted to remind myself that I can not and am not supposed to do this on my own.

Lastly, rubbish is a helpful way for me to understand 'sin'. As something that robs things of beauty and wrecks what they were intended to be. If I could see all 'sin' like that, I might not be "littering" so often.

Here is something worth standing for

Death.

I think about death quite a bit. Going to places like Afghanistan sort of forces you to!


I don't want to die, but I have pretty much reconciled myself to the fact that I have no control over when I will die. Anything could happen at any time to anyone. And it does.

I had a good conversation with one of my students Naomi just before I left about dying and what you'd like people to say at your funeral or be written on your tombstone. I'd like to imagine that my funeral went on for days and days with people sharing all these great stories of how I'd touched their lives and what a great guy I am. When it comes down to it though there is one thing that I would like written on my tombstone above all else. "Well done good and faithful servant" from God. One day I will find out too, I just hope its not soon.

What would you like written on your tombstone?

Immigration

I am by no means qualified to speak on this topic. In fact this again reminds me of my inability to fill every need I see and I am so glad there are people like Chris Booth, Naomi Barker and Amy Hill out there, to name only a few. These guys know so much more, have worked with refugees and are actively advocating on their behalf. If you do want to find out more about this stuff maybe they can post something at the end of this and you can chat with them.


One of the frustrating things about being in another country is that I haven't really been able to understand or be understood. This has made communicating even the simplest things hard and often I have misunderstood or been misunderstood. I had very little contact with fluent English speakers in Malaysia which motivated me to learn more of the language. This whole time I had been surrounded by the most lovely, supportive and hospitable people. They let me into their homes, on the back of their motorbikes, took me to play Indoor Soccer and into their schools. I could not have asked for better hosts and yet I remember looking forward rewarding myself with one night in a hostel where I could speak to someone knowing I had understood them and they, me.

I had everything in my favour. Refugee's don't.

They come to Australia (if they are lucky enough) and find they can't communicate with the locals, so they seek out the comfort of being understood, and the ability to communicate with a group of people who 'get' what you are talking about. Instead of integrating into the Australian way of life they look for a community that understands. Who can blame them!

Wouldn't it be great if we could buddy-up every immigrant with a bi-lingual Aussies who could help them find their feet, a friend, and some understanding in our country?


Luxury vs Simplicity

This is a conversation I have with myself from time to time. On this occasion it was set off by remembering my friend Lisa talking about a sermon she heard recently.

I was wandering through a mall in MALLasia!! Haha, yeah anyway. As I was walking through I spotted a place offering massages for a little over $10AUD an hour. I thought to myself, 'I will do a little more looking around then i'll come back'. But on my way round I saw a World Vision display and went over to check it out. After seeing the pictures and reading the information presented, a massage seemed pretty extravagant.

I decided not to get one.

I then wondered. What made me stop at a massage and yet allowed me to spend a whole heap more money on a round-the-world trip? And why stop at a massage, why don't I just live off rice and mashed potatoes?

I have thought about this again as I quickly passed through India to get to Afghanistan.

I am looking forward to but also nervous about the challenges I'll be presented with as I come in contact with and get to know people living in poverty. I am not looking forward to walking past someone who is literally starving to death knowing that I am probably going to spend that money instead on some luxury. I guess you'll hear more about this challenge throughout my time in Asia.

If you are ever thinking about the same sort of thing here is some advice you might find helpful.

• You shouldn't feel guilty about having experienced material blessings. They are good. You need to desire to pass them on to others.
• In my experience, when you start to measure (by looking at what you have given up or are unwilling to spend) then you also start to compare. "I'm better than so-and-so" or "Gee, I could be doing so much more".
• Don't impose your limits on others. (I am very good at imposing my limits) Your freedom to spend or your choice to live simply should not make you look down on others who don't share your conviction...why is it so much easier to say this than practise it!?!?
• Your money does not dissappear when you spend it! This was a really liberating for me to understand. It took me about 23 years to realise that while the money may leave your wallet, it is actually helping someone else make a living. The waitress, hairdresser, chef and storeowner all benefit from money you spend.
  

Hope this helps you decide how you spend your money and whether you are comfortable?


Well, I think I'll leave it there for the time being. I just wish people could be here sharing this journey with me, especially my students (If I make it back next year, my homeroom motto will be "Come and see"). Wherever you are I hope you're having your own life changing experiences.

May God be a part of that life changing experience,

Love Andrew