The Rocio Project: Week 4

Roots=Belief
Trunk= Values
Branches= Behaviors
Fruit= Consequences (Poverty, addiction, etc.)

New Ideas. . .

My pen can't move fast enough as the lightbulbs come on in my brain. The speaker, Christine Colby, has been showing us how we have to look deeper than the obvious problems and needs we see in communities- we have to go all the way to the root. Poverty is a mentality. We have to change the ideas and beliefs that cause the problems. It's what sets us apart from other, secular compassion projects- recognition that there is always a deeper issue than malnutrition, or illiteracy, or bad water, or consumerism. Unless you deal with the deeper issue at the root level- the belief- your program will not be sustainable and transformation is impossible. And unless your own perception or worldview has been transformed to God's, the change you bring to others will just be a reflection of your culture, not God's intentions for that community. Our hearts.

Deal with the root before you touch the fruit. Don't point out the speck in the other person's eye before you get the log out of your own. And seek God in the details- ALL of them.

Meet Tanner, Amanda, and Alex, fellow participants

in my school! There's 3 different countries represented

in this photo, and as we learned this week, 4 different

worldviews!

Whew! Talk about brain overload. Every week, the teachings just get me more excited- it makes so much sense! Suddenly, community development becomes much deeper than handing a skinny kid a bowl of soup. It's relationship and trust and commitment and teaching new ideas. But always relationship.

This week we'll be focusing on Dynamics of Development- I'm excited to put legs on these ideas and find out some practical steps of how to bring biblical worldview, and through that, transformation, to a community!
On a Personal Note. . .

As you can read, I'm loving what I'm learning. And surprise! All of my homework needs to be done in Spanish! Quite the challenge, but it's making me grow in my language abilities- like a built-in language school for free! I'm pretty sure my English spelling is getting worse, though. And then there's the random moments where I can't remember what the blasted plastic thingy with the handle that you drink coffee out of is called in either language. . .

 I translate for Amanda (costumes included!)
Every other Wednesday, our class
researches and presents a community
at our basewide "Family Night".  Amanda
and I were in charge of the first one-
Hispanic gang culture in East L.A. A drama,
statistics, and intercession were all a part
of getting the needs of this community out. 

I'm continuing to build friendships with the other students and staff here at the base and enjoying them. I had the chance to let off some pent up energy and see a little bit more of Costa Rica white water rafting on Saturday- can't get much better than a good adrenaline rush and some beautiful tropical mountains! Rice and beans are a steady part of my diet- like 2 times a day, but they do a good job of flavoring it up a bit. Still miss tacos, though!

My Paraguyan roomie, Analia, and I escape to MacDonald's
to research our communities and learn more about each
other's cultures. Creativity sometimes gets killed sitting
in the same bunkbed trying to concentrate for hours
every week, so we grab every opportunity to take our
work elsewhere!

I've been struggling with some mental fatigue in the last week. Apart from my classes, I've been trying to be more disciplined in my relationship with God (i.e. spending time with him, taking every thought captive, letting truth into the dark places in my heart), and I don't think Satan's appreciating the effort. But God has surprised me again with how He knows how to speak to my exact need and I'm loving Him for it! Please pray for a stubborness to not get lazy and good rest.Well, that's about all for now! I love hearing from people, so if you have a couple minutes, let me know what's up with you!