arriving in the new jerusalem.

so sioux center happens to be stamped with the whole "jerusalem" title, right? well, just so happens to be that i am now in most possibly thee actual jerusalem or what i might call thee "new jerusalem," grand rapids michigan..the home of the christian reformed church of north america!


sunday i had the privilege of arriving in michigan to a warming hostess welcome by laura vander ploeg who later gave me the scoop on the surrounding communities of allegan & holland which i had to be sure to add in here as it just so happens to replicate much of sioux county with its societal structures set in such a way that hinders & barricades certain groups of people from services or opportunities...which laura and i later found true as we had the joy of meeting with the director of ATLAS in zealand.  segregated communities still do in fact exist, my friends, right within our very own neighborhoods! individuals, families, and groups of people in need of resources, support systems, guidance, or merely just a listening ear & A VOICE!

tuesday as i was on my drive to the christian reformed world missions office for training, a crazy goon in the car beside me starts to wave ridiculously and low and behold its my wonderful sister & friend, nadji remer! who would have thought that God would have equipped us both for a semester abroad in nicaragua in fall of 2009, a semester of rooming together this past fall, and now training together before we are sent to separate "ends of the earth"...how great is our Father!

now i sit here "FULL" with a delicious Kenyan meal in my stomach, an ample amount of fellowship with such a broad range of aged people, and a day and a halves worth of good, solid information regarding anti-racism (accepting white north american privilege as okay OR treating others as less thans), poverty (all humanity & creation lacking yet possessing value), shalom (perfect unity & peace through Christ alone), the foundational structure & strategic direction of CRWM (a beautiful ray of local & international partnerships), cultural customs & norms that gotta be dropped and others adapted to as well as suggested or discouraged approaches towards community development (the linking of resources from within to create change).

something that i have appreciated greatly is the emphasis on dropping our humanly distorted mindsets & perceptions for a more Biblical, God centered, Spirit led model that is embodied by prayer and fellowship with God the Father and His Body..

i challenge each of you to expand your minds, ask me & yourself questions regarding what hinders you from knowing that fullness of love that God intends for both us as His people but the remainder of creation and humanity as well.

also i must close with how what a gorgeous work He has made in creation, lake Michigan might measure up quite closely with thee Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.:)

*praise God from whom all blessings flow, His beloved daughter ~ BRose.