Dixieland in Dresden?

It was a very strange moment when I stepped out of the main train station in Dresden, for what should drift to my ears but the sounds of swing and English words! Where am I - the States? Nope (or "nein" to honor the host land) - just the annual Dixieland Festival in Dresden.

I went up for a weekend to visit good friends and got the added pleasure of crawling through the crowded streets to listen to music on many different stages - jazz, swing, Southern flair - all there, and all being played by German bands! The music was great fun, and if you click on the video below, you'll get to hear a bit of one of the bands - I really enjoyed their red shoes. Too bad you can't see the guy on the other side of the stage wearing his cow patterned coat!

The rest of the all-to-brief trip to visit Tom, Jen and the kids went well. Some of went for a walk through a

beautiful part of Dresden - what beautiful buildings! We walked...and walked....and walked, but the blazing was well worth it because of all we got to see.

So fun!

Seeds of Change...

It’s the day after Easter, and I’m walking in a place that may seem strange to some – the Herrnhut Cemetery. It takes less than 5 minutes to get there from my house, and upon entering, I am immersed in history, in stories untold. (To the left is the path up to the Herrnhut Cemetary and the Prayer Tower)

Names and dates greet me as I go from stone to stone: Mathilde, 1875 .…Johannes, 1902….Heinrich, 1913, Amelie, 1930. Interestingly, my mind goes back to last week, to the stories that were told by the Staff and Students from our Fall Discipleship Training School. They have just returned from the international outreach part of their DTS, and they bring with them accounts of lives touched – the orphanage they worked in, the Ethiopian tribes they worked with, the almost forgotten African village tucked away in the corners of India that they searched for and found.

Why the connection between the Herrnhut cemetery and the DTS? Because while I was walking through that graveyard as well as listening to our students and staff, I heard the future. I looked at those headstones and wondered at the countless number of lives that were touched, and when I listened to those 10 teams report back, I thought the same. These staff and students carried with them seeds – seeds of the hope that was within them, their relationships with Jesus. They planted their seeds, not always with knowing how they will grow, but trusting they will produce much when God brings them to life.

I wish you could have been here last week during the report back time for our DTS – I would have even saved you a seat! As with every school, the stories are not always full of easy passage, but I see and hear God’s hand in the lives of those who go, stories from staff and students who gave up their known way for a season. (To the right - the report back by the team leader of the Chad/Cameroon/Ethiopia team)

We had 10 teams this year, which encompassed 95 people on the field in 12 countries: Chad/Cameroon/Ethiopia, Ghana, India/Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Israel, Nepal, China, Pakistan and Thailand. They left on their outreaches in January, and thankfully (though we had a few tense moments with several teams, i.e. having to emergency evacuate one team from their location because of attacking rebels), all returned safe and sound.

And with stories. I recall the Ghana team and how they didn’t have an overabundance of finances, but were able to raise 5,000 Euros (about $7,800) for a project they were working with. I think of the somewhat strange story from the Israel team about one of the ministries they did – digging graves. That may sound unusual, but they told us that this was the one cemetery in the whole region where Christians, Jews and Muslims could be buried together – one island of peace in the midst of an area in vast turmoil. (To the right: The report back from our China team)

The stories go on! But, above all, I walked away with the reminder that what you and I do by supporting these teams impacts not just their lives, but the lives of hundreds of others. The seeds of change have been planted, and the stories remain to be told, in your life, in mine and the lives of those in the nations.

(Click the video below and listen to the Nepal team singing!)

A Great Time at Home...

What can I say? Being able to be home for a break from the end of November through mid-January, and home for the holidays for the first time in three years, was truly a gift. Good times with family and great friends, good food, great connection time with my church family, a zillion choices, and most everything in my own language – wow! (Look - it's me, Mom and Dad at Christmas - so cute!)

I didn’t get to go to all the places I wanted to go, like to my family in Kansas, so that’s on the agenda for the next time I’m home (which I’m not sure when that will be). But, all-in-all, the time home was refreshing and thought-provoking. I come away each time with a thankfulness for my parents and family, amazing friends and supportive church…and, of course, the wonderful Seattle coffee. (Picture on right: good friends, hanging out)

Here I am, speaking at my home church.....and celebrating my 33rd birthday with good friends

A Campaign for Hope

I’m sitting in New York City, the epitome of the international city, at a pre-launch meeting for an event called The Hope Campaign. Gathered with me are several dozens of people who all carry the heart for issues of injustice in the world: child soldiers, poverty, illiteracy, lack of clean water, human trafficking, etc. Each person, including myself, sees the great need in the world, and wants to do something to fight back…but what? How can one small life make a difference? (My good friend, Melissa, and I, reconnecting!)

The statistics on Human Trafficking alone are staggering: 27 million people a year are trafficked in the world, across national borders and within their own countries, some for forced labor, most for sexual exploitation. Some of those numbers include children, and all of those numbers include valuable and irreplaceable lives – someone’s brother, mother, sister, son, friend.

And those statistics take a very real presence not far from me here in Europe. This is not a story for Eastern Europe alone – it is in every nation, and in almost every major city. And the question comes to my mind again – what can one life do in the face of so much?

And that is what drew me to New York for this meeting – the desire to do something. As I listened and gave my administrative piece, I heard the hearts of the others in that room that wanted to work in, or were already engaged in, issues of injustice. As the meetings unfolded, we listened as a framework for the future began to come together. (The picture is of my friend, Tonya, presenting about a township she works in in South Africa)

In short, The Hope Campaign will serve as a platform to focus and facilitate individuals and organizations to educate, inspire and move towards action on issues of injustice. Next year, starting at the end of February and going through mid-March, different groups (and anyone can apply to host a venue) will gather in New York City to raise awareness and provide action steps on issues of injustice.

It was a privilege to be a part of these meetings, and I hope to be a part of the first Hope Campaign event next year. I won’t say any more about it now, but if you’re interested in more information, just let me know. There will definitely be more about it in future updates. (Here I am, in Times Square!)

Didn't You Go to India and South Korea?

Yes, yes I did...but I've just been too long in getting back to you! Here's the update...

India

After a night of much enjoyed sleep, I stepped out of the entrance to the hostel into the muddy streets of Manali in Northern India. My friend Rosie and I had come to visit the India Outreach team, and one of the team leaders, Isabel, was taking us on a small tour of the “city” that had been their home for almost three weeks.

It had been dark when we arrived the night before, so I hadn’t seen much. What overtook me first was the incredible beauty of the mountains – that isn’t something I had expected in India. The lush, towering peeks struck such a sense of awe in me – amazing.

But as I turned my eyes to the streets, my heart grew heavier. This “city” of Manali is inhabited with tourists – with about 80% of those tourists being Israeli – but there was little in the way to recommend it. The streets were muddy, the shops somewhat few, the local homes very poor, and cows roamed the streets with more freedom than people did.

After our walk, Isabel brought me back and I asked her about what drew people here. She took me to my room, and pointed to the grassy looking area right in front of my door – marijuana plants. She explained that so many tourists come here looking for cheap drugs, cheap sex and meaning to life. The first two are readily available, and the last one – well, while the eastern religion of India is readily available, the purpose people are looking for often eludes them. And that is why this team was there – to be a light in a place that was so heavy with darkness, and to show that real meaning can’t be found in emptying yourself, but in being filled with the life of Jesus.

That was one small glimpse of my time with our DTS India Outreach team. Though the travel to them was grueling (36 hours each way), it was well worth it to be able to connect with this group and see all that they had been led into.

As I already mentioned, the team was living in a place where tourists came to seek after “recreational” activities and eastern religion. Just in the way the team chose to live – boys and girls living in separate rooms, not engaging with drugs and singing joyful worship songs – set them a part from many other who came there. They had developed friendships with the people in the hostel, shop owners and tourists in the cafes, and had the opportunity to share time and again about why their lives were different.

And the day before I left, we had the opportunity to go into a Christian Children’s home/school. This place is home to about 90 children, and gave education to many more in the local area. Five of us climbed onto the school bus with the kids one morning and headed off to school – what a sight we must have been among those little, black-haired children!

This facility blessed me as I met teachers and workers who were giving of their lives. As they shared the hope of Jesus with each child, and sought to give them an excellent education, they were building hope for this nation, and in this area, where hopelessness often reigns.

It was sad to leave the team, and although the trip home was also grueling (another 36 hour journey), it was such a privilege to see the students and staff giving of their hearts in this nation.

South Korea
My mind was reeling and my fingers flying as I took notes at the YWAM Global Leadership Team meetings on Jeju Island, South Korea. Every year, the Global Leadership body of YWAM, numbering around 55 people from all over the world, gather to pray together, to hear global reports, and to plan for the future of this Mission.

I was just there as a note taker, commissioned through relationship to help the main administrator of these meetings by taking detailed minutes of their all day sessions. I have been doing this already for another international body in YWAM, and now was the time to put my flying fingers into service for this leadership group.

And what an amazing time it was. I was blown away again by the breadth and scope of what Youth with a Mission is. From the obedience of one couple, Loren and Darlene Cunningham (see Loren to the right), to a vision they received from God, had grown a Missions agency that is a little over 16,000 members strong. We are running Discipleship Training Schools in over 150 nations and in over 50 languages, and are involved in numerous global issues – literacy, fighting poverty, orphans, business, human trafficking, the United Nations…and the list continues. My little role in Herrnhut, Germany was feeling very small at that moment.

Though the above things were impressed on my mind and spirit, what engaged my heart in a deeper way was watching the leaders of our Mission took more than one time to pray for a young woman who had contracted a serious form of malaria as she served in Africa. This woman was in a coma, and the leaders of the Jeju Base as well as her family and friends were carrying a heavy load during this time. And so, as members of our global family were hurting, the leaders set aside their time schedule and lifted her and the others up in prayer.

And I saw again that no matter how astounding the work we do in this world is, it’s the time we take for the individuals that truly leaves a mark on the soul. May God give you and I the strength to give the time that changes lives.

Again, so many stories, so little time! But, being able to serve at these meetings, though very busy at times, was a privilege for me. I felt exposed not only to the bigger picture of YWAM, but to a deeper understanding of how one person’s life can make such a dramatic difference in the future of nations. I met a lot of unsung heroes at these meetings – people who had gone into remote villages in Africa and India, into uncharted sectors of business and industry, people who had been kidnapped for their faith - and all with a desire to see God’s love spread to a hurting world. It was a humbling as well as energizing time for me, and I hope that I can bring even a small piece of what I learned back to the Base in Herrnhut. (Check out some of my YWAM friends to the right - the man in the front with me is from New Zealand, the red-haired woman from Canada, the one woman from Kenya and the other from Holland)

And so, I think that’s it for now! As always, how can I express my deep thanks to you? Thank you for walking alongside me in prayer and support – these last months have been challenging physically, financially (but, by the way, all the finances came in for all the trips – wahoo!) and spiritually, and you help bring joy to my step. Thank you for reaching out to the lives around you.

Drop a note if you have the time – until we type again –

Cory

Warning...wild baboons on the loose...

It’s about 5:30am, and I’m finally finished with what seemed like an eternal flight from Germany to Cape Town, South Africa. Two friends were there to greet me, and they promptly ushered me into the car for our journey to where I was staying.

And that’s when the contrasts began. As we were nearing a stoplight, my friend slowed, but wouldn’t come to a complete stop. “You don’t want to come to a full stop at a light, if you can help it,” she said. “because if you do, there’s a chance you could be carjacked. We’ve had that happen here – people taken from their cars at stoplights and harmed.” That was an eye-opening statement for me, one of many to come about this vibrant, beautiful, city on the cusp of change…

First impressions of Cape Town: WOW! The jagged peaks jut out over the ocean, and the view is breathtaking. After having been in land-locked Germany for some time, the mountains and oceans (the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet here) were a welcome sights indeed. My friends and I spent an afternoon at a national park, where we came to the southernmost point of Africa (see pictures), and along the way, ran into a troupe of baboons (these critters actually go through neighborhoods upending garbage and going into unlocked doors in search of food) and ostriches. Yes, ostriches by the ocean! Who knew? We saw pictures of penguins that are in the area, but alas, no sightings. Sad day.

And then, after the initial enjoyment of nature’s beauty, other impressions begin to edge their way into my consciousness. Black South Africans walk the streets, and some come up into the neighborhoods, scrounging for food in the trash cans. Poverty is a big issue, and it’s a very apparent one – I was staying in a nice home on the hill, but just 10 minutes away was the “township” of Masiphumelele, which is full of very small shacks that house too many people and don’t have running water or consistent electricity. The shacks leak when it rains (and it rains a lot in winter) and are susceptible to fire because of the cooking methods and the unsafe, hijacked electricity. Unemployment is high in the township, and hope can be low.

But in the middle of a situation that man would say is without hope, hope lives. A small group of YWAMmers, along with other ministries, are reaching out in an effort to bring transformation to this community of about 20,000. Transformation, while a nice word, takes time, a lot of unified effort and what one person said, “long obedience in the same direction." When I arrived, the YWAMmers were just finishing up the rebuilding of a shack for a woman and her 4 children. Another man was taking time to teach basic computer skills to help men and women upgrade their abilities so that more jobs would be open for them.

And then there was another endeavor that really excited me. I have always enjoyed business, and I see that business can have a dramatically positive social change if it’s walked out with God-inspired principles. African Hope Crafts (www.africanhopecrafts.org) is a Christian founded business that has the goal to provide jobs for men and women suffering with HIV/AIDs. The employees create beautiful jewelry which is sold through a small store front in Cape Town as well as through those who’ve chose to become distributors. The sale of one set of jewelry – necklace, earrings, and bracelet – gives the funds for one day’s wages for one person. As the distributors increase – and anyone can become one – the revenue increases, more people are employed and a community is changed. Now that’s exciting!

So, all-in-all, my meetings were successful, spending time with good friends was encouraging, and my time in South Africa was impacting. Even though I've shared these observations about the township, please know that Cape Town was much more than what I communicated. Iit's a city coming alive with possibility - with businesses, schools and ministries - but is also one dealing with issues many of our cities are dealing with. As you continue to see Africa in the news, I hope this note comes to mind and you are urged towards prayer and action.

And as you think about what I’ve shared here, be on the lookout for a wild troupe of baboons in your own neighborhood…

Know that you’re appreciated - until we type again,

Cory

P.S.: Next stop, India Outreach team visit, with 10 hours of flying and 16 hours of bus travel…more to come….

The fun April DTS Crew....

Just the other day, we gathered as a DTS to take a School photo - 18 students and 7 staff from six different nations. Man, trying to get one photo where everyone looks good is nearly impossible, especially when we're all cracking jokes. :)

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy seeing our faces. Until we meet again!