Peters off the Prairies

Sunday, 2 November 2014

Walls & Gates

Funny, when Phil is away (he is in South Africa right now) and I am alone at home, I find myself double locking the downstairs door and making sure no windows are open at night. I am usually not a fearful person, but somehow I feel more vulnerable when he is away. This vulnerability makes me aware of the potential “points of entrance” that if someone wanted to break in, they would most likely use.

A couple of days ago I read a verse in the Bible that stood out to me:

“ No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls salvation and your gates praise.” Isaiah 60: 18

It could be that having just come back from the Congo, a country that was misused, mislead and abused by outsiders and insiders alike, that I was reminded of how fragile our world is.

Seeing the reconstruction that is needed there makes me aware that not only in places like the Congo but everywhere: our societies, families, marriages and personal lives that we are susceptible and vulnerable to elements that may lead to destruction and undoing.

The verse I read made me think of 2 things: that I am thankful for the walls of salvation in my life, which represent to me the safety and security I have through my faith in God, but I did have questions about the gates.

Gates historically have been related to access, trade, safety, defense and health. It was the place where important announcements; agreements and transactions were made. They were typically guarded and protected by the military.

My questions came because of the negative I have felt come out of a defensive, dogmatic, fearful "us vs. them perspective", which has caused much damage. On the other hand the verse reminded me that yes, we do need gates and even walls in our lives, but instead of seeing them as restrictive and imprisoning, we may see them as safe, life giving and freeing. Gates that know when to open and close.

“Walls of salvation” boy,… the world needs protection that brings life!! When you hear about the horrors of rape, sexual and physical abuse used as a military weapon on women in the Congo, the world needs walls of salvation. Places with life giving, nurturing walls where women in the Congo can grow, blossom and be all that they are meant to be. This is something I think of when I think of the school we are planning.

What about “gates of praise? ”

While in Congo our Teachbeyond team was looking at properties to rent for the school we are helping to open next September. One of the locations we looked at was in a rundown, dirty and overcrowded area of Kinshasa. As we were walking through this uncomfortable area clutching tightly our personal possessions, we heard some singing…somepraises, praises to God coming from a church situated at the center of this area (watch my video clip bellow).

The contrast was shocking. Here we were in one of the most broken down areas of town hearing beautiful praise songs. We started to relax and were drawn to the music. The sounds of praise that resounded over our heads brought a smile to our faces and comfort to our hearts. He was there. He is there. He is everywhere.

I don’t have answers….and don’t plan to give any. I just want to say. Whether we admit it or not, walls are needed in our lives and what we let in and out of our gates

has a great impact on our lives and on the lives of others.

Thanks for being a listening ear.

Tammy

Friday, 19 September 2014

To love mercy…

I had a really good day yesterday.

I started settling into my new TeachBeyond office in Kandern. It was so good to connect with real people again instead of the “virtual meetings” on Skype which I had had most of last year while I was in Canada.

I connected with some colleagues who are helping with our Congo school project #fateb-teachbeyondkinshasa. We spoke about how we could encourage our team in the DRC, and what communication is needed to make people aware of the school start up there and how they could get involved. We also talked about my upcoming trip and the interviewing of new teachers and training of our new school board.

Our new school board in Kinshasa, Congo that I am working with

Painting project

After that I went home and worked at renovating some old furniture…basically giving it a face lift by repainting it. Some of it will go into my new office. Those of you who know me well know that I am a very “happy camper” when I can multitask: lots of different things going on at once. Phil also came home with a very nice “new” car because we had to get rid of our old one before we left Germany last year.

Then last night I listened to the news: the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, a boat full of refugees sinking and hundreds of people dieing, fighting in the Ukraine, ISIS and the horrors we hear about…. I felt overwhelmed by all the pain, hopelessness, ugliness and sadness in the world around me.

So how am I to merge these worlds? I live in the “first world” - full of plenty, good relationships, peace… Do I ignore what’s out there? Do I shut it off because I can’t handle hearing about the pain, and feel like I can’t make a difference anyways.

Volunteer with Open Schools #openschoolsworldwide, teaching this young lady to read

For most of my day I felt like I was in control, and that perhaps in small ways I could make a difference in the world. But the day ended with me feeling like ”What can a small difference do anyway?” No answers….

I woke up this morning with a song in my head. It is a verse my parents used to sing with us when we were kids:

Children who will soon be learning to read with Open Schools

“You have shown me, oh man, what is good and what the Lord requires of me:

But to do justice

And to love mercy

And to walk humbly with our God…”

(Micah 6:8)

Wow, there is the answer.

Friday, 5 September 2014

a·bun·dance

Our little town of Holzen on the edge of the Black Forest

One of my first impressions upon leaving the Canadian prairies and settling back on European soil was “Wow, is it ever green, and lush, and hilly, and colorful here!” Maybe it is due to all the rain Europe has untypically experienced this July and August, but this feeling has continued these past weeks as I have walked through the vineyards,

Farmer market finds

gone to the farmers market, pulled the weeds out of my overgrown flower garden and received baskets full of tomatoes and plums from our neighbors here in our little town of Holzen.

Abundance….

That is the word that came to mind.

a·bun·dance, n.

1. A great or plentiful amount.

2. Fullness to overflowing: "My thoughts . . . are from the abundance of my heart" (Thomas De Quincey).

3. Affluence; wealth.

4. Chemistry The amount of an isotope of an element that exists in nature, usually expressed as a percentage of the total amount of all isotopes of the element.

I have been challenged recently by the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples shortly before the time came to ascend to his heavenly home; the prayer we know as The Lord’s prayer. Most of you are familiar with it and it may even be a part of your daily prayer ritual. The portion that has challenged me recently is …”give us today our daily bread”.

Oh that wonderful German bread!!

How often I have prayed that part of the prayer with earnest fervor! And blessed child that I am, I have been the recipient of that daily bread every single day of my 46 years of life.

What I appear to have missed seeing until recently is the word: “give us today OUR daily bread”. Could my western individualistic cultural bias have blinded me from seeing that the daily bread I receive is to be OURS, which implies that it is to be shared with those around me?

This realization causes me to ask myself (as well as you):

What is the daily bread we have received that is to be shared with those around us?

What is my “abundance”?

What is the daily bread I been given and entrusted with today that is my responsibility to share with the “our” community in my life?

What have I been given that will help meet a basic need of others?

I challenge myself and you to think about this. It is something different for each of us, and it probably changes every day. It could be time, acts of service, funds, empowering others vision and ideas, a meal, a listening ear, a caring gesture, defending or speaking up for someone who doesn’t have a voice, and how about sharing the love and relationships you experience as a family?

So I’m going to try to take up the challenge and make the “my” into an “our” on this “new yet familiar journey” back here in Europe. I hope you’ll take up the challenge too.

Hiking up Mt. Vesuvius ( the volcano that destroyed Pompeii)

Thursday, 14 August 2014

Reconnecting

Well we left the prairies 3 weeks ago and there have been moments when we do miss that beautiful big sky and those endless summer canola fields that waver in the prairie wind, but most of all the friends and family we left behind.
Being on the road for us Peters means time to reconnect with each other (during those long car rides), with good friends, family and church bodies that stand with us in our work here and abroad. These are good times - yes, a little stressful when you sleep in a different bed every couple of nights, but our hearts are full of thankfulness for the wealth of meaningful relationships God has surrounded us with.