Turn off the news on TV and tune into this

I'm tired of being bombarded with negative news. How about good news for a change. The following is an excerpt from: Hope Rising: How Christians Can End Extreme Poverty in This Generation. (pp. 23 – 24).  Who knew...ending extreme poverty really is possible. Check this out:

These statistics will shock you. You may wonder why you haven't seen them before:

• From 2000 to 2011, the number of kids dying from measles has declined by 71 percent (from 542,000 deaths per year to 158,000) because we are completing the work of immunizing every child.
  
  
•  Worldwide, between 2000 and 2012, estimated malaria mortality rates fell by 45 percent in all age groups ... and most of them (3 million) were kids.
  
• We used to say that 40,000 children die each day from preventable causes. Since 1990 the global under-five mortaility rate has dropped 47% from 90 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 48 in 2012.
  
• Every day there are 20,000 fewer children dying of preventable causes – every day! ... If we keep our current pace of progress, we will soon live in a world where massive numbers of children will no longer die of preventable causes.
  
• In 2000 there were 102 million children of primary school age not in school – mainly due to poverty. By 2011 that number had been cut in half, to 57 million. That's 45 million children getting an education. Literacy rates are climbing. Those gains were made in less than 10 years.
   
• The number of HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths has fallen dramatically, according to a UN report. Death rates fell from 2.3 million during its peak in 2005 to 1.6 million last year, says UNAIDS. The number of new HIV infections fell by a third since 2001 to 2.3 million. 

 

The Cross is like a Lexus?

           Last weekend, I was catching up with another friend of mine from college. This particular friend is also graduating from graduate school; however, she is graduating with another Master's degree. This time, in business administration. And this particular person is incredibly successful in every sense of the word. She's goal driven, she has worked in finance for a very long time and put in long hours in the office. She does work very hard. While we were talking and catching up, she almost sounded embarrassed that her parents were buying her either a BMW or a Lexus. She - for whatever reason - sounded guilty and yet she had no reason to feel this way. She earned a full ride to her graduate school. She is financially independent of her family. And suddenly it hit me.
          I reminded her that her parents were truly proud of her. They wanted to express their love, pride, and affection for her by buying her a really nice car. She thinks it's too much. It's too expensive. It's too nice. Isn't the cross that way? I mean really, God came down and offered Himself up for all of us. He paid a price that none of us - not even the wealthiest person on the planet - could afford. The cross is extravagant, we don't deserve it - but God loves us enough regardless of how many times we have fallen short in this lifetime - to lavish us with His love, praise and forgiveness.

So, you speak Spanish. Do you like puppets?

“So, Allie what are you going to do while you’re in Bolivia?” When mentioning the Bolivia mission trip, I’m asked that question a lot. To be honest, I don’t know why I’m going. What would you do if you had to say…”well, the only reason I'm going is because God told me to go.” And some probe further, “Yeah, but what are you going to do?” Half the time, I feel like Jesus is holding my hand and we’re going through a trail in the dead of night. I can only see so far ahead of me. Right now,  I don’t have a lot of clarity about my life in general. Maybe that’s a good thing…anyway, I’ll continue to attempt to answer the most frequently asked question…in my typical roundabout way.

            Usually after the 11am service, I head upstairs to the children’s church. Haley, my friend’s daughter, is 3 and, of course, she’s my buddy. So I have to get a hug from Haley. Needless to say, I ran into the kid’s church pastor who is also going on this year’s mission trip. He says, “So, I hear you speak Spanish.” I affirmed his statement and he said: “Good. I was wondering who was going to help interpret for the puppet show. You like puppets, don’t you?” Then he proceeded to show me the puppets hanging on his office wall. How could I say no?!

            So, what I can say is that my answer is evolving. I am now going to Bolivia because: a) God told me to and b) I get to participate in the puppet show for the children. The answer really isn’t that simple. Really, it’s not. I sense that God is taking me to Bolivia to experience two things: a deeper form of powerlessness and a deeper awareness of spiritual poverty. I don't quite know how these things will shape up.

            Powerlessness, like people, comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. In a previous life, I worked as a Case Manager for a nationally known non-profit. Some days, for example, I would come home from work and wonder why I could pay my rent and so many others could not. If one of my friends started to complain about their work, I’d bring up a situation that I felt absolutely powerless over and hit them over the head with it. In some ways, I felt that it gave me power – it really didn’t. That kind of job wears a lot of people out. It certainly wore me out – I didn’t have any faith and if there was a God, why did life have to suck for so many people? I still don’t have the answer to that one – even though I do believe in God.

            So yes, there are different levels of powerlessness. Traffic. That’s a great example. We are all powerless over traffic. Then there’s the powerlessness of rejection – whether it’s by a romantic interest, a friend, or even family members. How about when a home burns to the ground? That happens more often than not in California. One of my close friends lost her home this year. The list can go on and on. Have you ever made a list of all the things that you are powerless over? If not, make one. It’s a great exercise. And the answer still is the same – no matter how many times I do it: I’m powerless over the external but powerful over the internal. That’s really it. Powerlessness isn’t an adversary. It doesn’t have to be – though it may feel like one at times. I guess it depends on our perception. If I simply accept that it exists, I can embrace it. And I take it one step further: I can embrace it with God’s help. Easier said than done. I know.

            Now the spiritual poverty thing. First off, let me be clear I am not one of those wealth is evil type of people.  I agree with my homeboy Dave Ramsey who says that wealth is a great magnifier of who you are. Allow me to poorly paraphrase Dave:

 If you were an asshole before you became wealthy, you are (more often than not) an asshole on an even larger scale. If you were generous before you became wealthy, you are (more often than not) even more generous.

I am not a “stuff” person. It drives my mother crazy because “stuff” is part of her love language. It’s not part of mine. Not really – unless you count books. I love books – writing in them, the texture of the page, the smell of them. This isn’t to say that I’m not attached to certain things that are of great sentimental value. I am. While technically, admittedly, below the poverty line I am not poor in terms of global poverty. I still have access to food and water (as long as California has it). I can pay my rent. I also have access to healthcare. Have I been on skid row in L.A.? Yes. Have I lived on skid row in L.A.? Hell no. Do I see opportunities to get out of the poverty line? Yes. I do. But sometimes, I forget who ultimately drives the bus.

            I am fortunate to have close friends in various parts of the country. Some of whom have donated and supported me on this wacky spiritual adventure. My friend Sarah and I often call each other – some how we tend to balance each other out. When I feel overwhelmed and “my crazy” comes to visit, Sarah reminds me: Who’s driving the bus? You or God. I forget that God is ultimately driving the bus. That’s what I mean. I’m spiritually poor because I forget that everything flows from and back to God – these people in Bolivia are dependent on God for everything. Even in their lack, there is a great abundance in the spiritual bank account.

Buy the Crib, Go to Bolivia

One night, our dGroup joined another small group meeting at the church. It was at this meeting where I met Brandy. My group already knew that I was discerning about Bolivia. It came up in prayer a few times and in a dream. I thought God wanted me to sponsor a little girl instead of going to Bolivia. Isn’t that big enough when working (a few) part-time while in school? Reluctantly, I opened up to the group that night about Bolivia. I told them that it isn’t logical. It doesn’t make any sense. That’s when Brandy shared with me her story.

            I don’t really know Brandy very well. It’s funny how God puts people at the right place, at the right time. Anyway, Brandy shared with me about how she and her husband struggled to conceive a child. After years of trying to conceive a child of their own and seeing fertility  specialists, they finally accepted that having a child of their own wasn’t in the cards for them. So, Brandy began to pray to let go of the dream that she had of becoming a mother and accept God’s will. During one of her moments in prayer, God told her to buy a crib and set it up.  It didn’t make sense. And to a certain extent, she thought that she was crazy. Did she read the spiritual memo wrong? Somehow though, she had the courage to follow through and answer His request. She went to Target. Passing through the infant section, I can only imagine the thoughts going through her mind. She told me that her thoughts were similar to mine: this isn’t logical, if others knew that she was doing this they might think that she lost her mind, how were they going to have a child when they were told it wasn’t possible.  After pacing back and forth, she finally bought the crib. And yes, she set it up. A week or two later, a little baby boy was in the crib. His parents are part of her husband’s extended family. God answered her prayer – it wasn’t how she expected it.

            So, that night I went home and said, I’ll go.  I told him, “if you want me to go Lord, I’ll need your help. If this is really your plan.” I set up my account on GoFundMe and within 2.5 weeks, my trip was almost fully funded! Clearly, I’m meant to go.

Judgy Mcjudgy Pants.

Life is funny. I totally agree with John Lennon’s quote: “If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans.” There are a lot of things I never expected. I never expected to cross paths with a girl from Tanzania who told me about Monterey Church.  I certainly never, ever, expected to actually like that church. I kept coming back. And I never expected become Christian and get baptized in the Pacific Ocean (in December). Now, some of you may be like: wait a minute, you’ve been raised Catholic. You’ve already been baptized. Yes. True. However, God didn’t speak to me through the Catholic church. I didn’t know Jesus. I knew of Jesus in an historical and theological way.  I just didn’t know him in a “heart” way. 

            I can’t remember which book it’s in, but I think it’s either in Matthew or Mark where Jesus is standing outside the disciples’ boat. It’s dark. It’s cold. He wants in the boat. And I can’t help but think of that as a great metaphor for humanity. He wants to get in the boat. He wants to get in your boat and my boat. Waiting silently, patiently.  He doesn’t judge the type of boat. It could be a dingy or a yacht. He just wants in to help guide it safely ashore. Perhaps, I’m more of an Armenian than a Calivnist. I am absolutely convinced that God is calling every single human being back to Himself. Yet, we ignore His call. We take pride in our  (scientific) advances and achievements. Secretly, humanity thinks that we can outdo God; however, God won’t be outdone.

            As I mentioned to you in my letter, Bolivia truly wasn’t on my radar. I didn’t want to go to Bolivia. As a matter of fact, I judged people who went on international mission trips. The church that I am currently attending has small groups called discipleship groups or dGroups. I joined a dGroup when I first began going to Monterey church to get to know the community a bit better. During my first meeting, there was a woman who shared about her trip to Bolivia. As I listened to her, I became a bit angry. I spent several weeks during the summer working with children from a low-income area. I would hear them tell me about the gun shots from the local gangs that they would hear at night in the neighborhood.  And I looked at her and said: “Why would you go thousands of miles away to help people in need there when there are so many people that need help here? I don’t understand you people who go and do service abroad and pat yourselves on the back and ignore the poor here.” She looked at me with those shining eyes – this woman just radiates Jesus’ love and said “It motivates me to serve people here.” And she does serve people here. She literally goes and prays with perfect strangers. She reminds them of God’s call – that the Father loves all of us. Yes, I was a little judgmental perhaps. Ok, not a little. I was very judgmental. Little did I know that He was going to call me to go to Bolivia.

Welcome!

Hello everyone!

 Thank you so much for your support. I truly could not have done it without you! As promised, I have started the blog that I will keep up as I go through the process of going to Bolivia. I am not sure whether or not I will have a steady internet connection or the time to update the blog while in Bolivia. However, I will copy my journal entries and update all of you after the fact.

Some of you have known me for a long time. Some of you are friends of my parents who know me in a limited context. And some of you are family and have a chance to get to know me in a different way. To a large degree this blog is about my journey but it isn’t. I have a feeling that God is going to work His way through this blog. Faith is a lifelong process and journey. A friend of mine reminded me that God “speaks to all of us in different ways.” Perhaps God will do just that through this blog. I don’t know.  I have left the comments section open. I will not monitor it. So, be nice to one another. If you have something that you would like to correspond with me about, please do so at: allie.holsen@gmail.com