bigger than a box

Hello anyone who is reading:) I'm really excited to be able to blog again, but a little bit overwhelmed as to what to say. So I guess more than anything- I hope that what I share with you encourages you and helps you to see God in this crazy thing we call life. And maybe hearing some stories from a different place can remind you of the summer and its inevitability.

I'll do my best to give you a glimpse of summer in NZ thus far with 2 stories/ things I'm processing through-

First has to be my time in Nelson for summer project. For 2 weeks I lived along one of thee most astounding, yet peaceful beaches I've ever seen. I spent lots of time in the kitchen and on the beach. But spending time with my Bible study women- Bexs, Beth, and Lauren- was such a gift. The point of us gathering in Nelson was to grow in our faith and to see others begin living in faith. So... as we met people from all around the world on the beach, we asked them what they thought about God. May seem a bit difficult-- but actually it is absolutely amazing to hear people talk about something that most people avoid. People have much to say. And people have experienced many things that shape who God is to them. Two girls from Switzerland thought that the sun was God. A woman from England thought science was the answer to it all, a student from Germany told us she had never thought about God. And person after person from NZ told us stories how they have never been to church, and do not understand who Jesus is. My favorite part of these conversations is after you listen to people and you actually value what they have to say-- they start to ask you questions. The girls from Switzerland asked us "Well then why do you believe in Jesus?" High school guys from NZ asked us, "Well if going to church and reading the Bible isn't what it's about, then what is Christianity all about?" And still another woman from England asked if we would pray for her- to give her faith that God does forgive, He does love. These conversations may seem crazy, way beyond what you'd ever talk to people about-- but I continue to be amazed at how God is working in the lives of people from every nation. My prayer as I left Ohio was to see that God was bigger than my life, bigger than the walls I build around Him-- and man-- He is. I continue to pray that the people we talked to on the beach will be encouraged to keep asking questions, and keep finding God.

Nelson was wonderful. And after Nelson, our team then took 6 days of "time off" to drive around the South Island. I'm really not sure that any words I could say about this trip would do any better than the pictures. And the pictures are only the beginning. But seeing the beautiful landscapes on the South Island was worth every second of the trip. I'm still praying that God would remind me of what I saw and that He would keep reminding me of His beauty and power.

Last lil bit of update (it's amazing to me if you're still reading). So... some thoughts on what's going on since we're back in Wellington now. Our team has been talking a bit about the US presidential campaign. We have been talking about what it looks like to live in faith- do we vote? do we care? who do we vote for? It is so easy for each of us to say, "Man I'm so overwhelmed, I have no idea how to pick a candidate and how to get good info about each of them. I'm just going to not care." I know I do it. But reality is, choosing to not care is a huge decision, with big consequences. To keep this short- I decided that Jesus cares and so I'm called to care. And not just to care, but to get off my butt and maybe put a little effort into such things. So I found this quiz- http://www.gotoquiz.com/candidates/2008-quiz.html -which you can check out- where you enter what you think about issues and it helps you pick a candidate (I do not yet know if this is the best quiz, alls I'm saying is start somewhere). So just last night, we were talking about this quiz and politics when I asked my friend next to me who is from South Africa, "Hey Jared, you're from Africa how would you answer this question about what the US should do in places such as Africa?" This question grew into something much bigger to me. As Jared answered the question I heard him talk about his family, how the gov't where they live is so corrupt his Dad's business may go under in the next month, how the gov't has taken away electricity b/c they didn't care to conserve it and now they are out of it for 5years, and how thousands of people are getting murdered-- in SOUTH AFRICA. Which is supposedly a 1st world country.

So I stepped back a moment to think about what is going on and how much I've cared in the past. Now I've got a friend from this place, 5 friends from this place, and I want to know why I think I can choose to not care. I'm not trying to overwhelm or to guilt-- I'm trying to get us to care. I'm trying to listen to what God has to say about this world and what we can do while we're here. There are no perfect answers. No president will fix everything. The problems in Africa are not easy. I'm just trying to learn and hear that God does have something to say about this. He does care. And it doesn't matter if it's going to take a lil effort on my part.

So yes NZ is a tiny country-- but I can't get over how many countries are represented here. And how much the Gospel changes everything in every place. I'd love to hear from you guys-- and let me know if you have any good info about the elections-- I love to hear what others are learning on their journey.~ Lacey

ps please join with me in praying for Jared and his family- we are praying right now that his Dad would get enough electricity for him to call NZ.