Lots to do and even more to prepare for. I will be spending my first week in Tanzania in the Iringa District with Ray Menard of Cheetah Development. We will be looking at a number of projects Cheetah is getting involved in. One of which is a potato warehouse. 40% of the crops in Tanzania rot in the fields. This warehouse will assist in the storage of the crops so more can be sold.
I will meet the rest of our team when they arrive in Dar es Salaam on Sunday morning the 27th of this month. We will then all fly up to Mwanza where we will begin our serving first thing Monday morning.
You can read all about it on our Team Blog at:
http://crossroadstanzania.wordpress.com/
This same blog will transfer to our Team Facebook profile at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tanzania-Trip-2010/128611477160700
Please pray for us as we go. Thank you in advance for all you prayers and support.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Conflict
Relational difficulty, disagreements, arguments, misunderstandings, no matter what you call it, it sucks. Whether it is myself, or someone I love, that fact of the matter is I don't like it.
My problem is that over the years I have become addicted to conflict. It is not that I go looking for it, but the fact that if finds me, has changed me over the years. Having spent 7 long years as an over the road truck driver, I have seen a more caustic side of my personality come out. I am very introverted by nature, but I love being around people. I have, for one reason or another had a lot of relational opportunities of different types over the years. The fact that I am addicted to it comes more from walking through it with others. I have had the privilege of walking through relational conflict with some of the bravest people I know who have committed themselves to reconciliation. As we have walked out the other side of those reconciliation experiences, I have witnessed a transformation in not only their lives, but myself as well. As they have done the hard work of talking, crying, laughing, yes laughing, through the often deep quagmire of relational reconciliation, they have been changed, and the lives of the people they have been in conflict with have changed. They not only see the other party in a new light, but they also see themselves differently too. Most of the time they understand more deeply how different we all really are. They have begun to appreciate more that it is often more about "difference" than "right or wrong".
When we stop long enough to look at conflict as an Opportunity our whole perspective on everything begins to change. When we stop long enough to alter our focus off ourselves and decide that we will focus on giving God Glory in the midst of our chaos, we gain a whole new insight on the process.
My problem is that over the years I have become addicted to conflict. It is not that I go looking for it, but the fact that if finds me, has changed me over the years. Having spent 7 long years as an over the road truck driver, I have seen a more caustic side of my personality come out. I am very introverted by nature, but I love being around people. I have, for one reason or another had a lot of relational opportunities of different types over the years. The fact that I am addicted to it comes more from walking through it with others. I have had the privilege of walking through relational conflict with some of the bravest people I know who have committed themselves to reconciliation. As we have walked out the other side of those reconciliation experiences, I have witnessed a transformation in not only their lives, but myself as well. As they have done the hard work of talking, crying, laughing, yes laughing, through the often deep quagmire of relational reconciliation, they have been changed, and the lives of the people they have been in conflict with have changed. They not only see the other party in a new light, but they also see themselves differently too. Most of the time they understand more deeply how different we all really are. They have begun to appreciate more that it is often more about "difference" than "right or wrong".
When we stop long enough to look at conflict as an Opportunity our whole perspective on everything begins to change. When we stop long enough to alter our focus off ourselves and decide that we will focus on giving God Glory in the midst of our chaos, we gain a whole new insight on the process.
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