sharing

08.06.07

gathering together

Yippee! After watching countless people zip along, I was the last man down the zip-line. Exhilarating. Freeing.

The setting: RockRidge Canyon, a getaway resort hosting the Alpha course for a weekend. But there was another kind of freedom we were seeking. That is, freedom in Christ. Young and old alike danced unashamedly into the evening as the worship band played. Something was stirring. It was decided to offer water baptisms, symbolizing the freedom of new life in Christ. Six people stepped up that night, and got very wet and very cold. In a way, that is more appropriate than a warm bath. One of the quotes that stuck in my mind went like:

“God doesn’t make life easy, He makes people great.” - unknown

Last October I expressed an interest in volunteering some time towards the Alpha Canada web site. Now that I’m in B.C., Lyndell invited me out to an Alpha course and has spent a few hours beforehand showing me around the site and administration tools. Mid-way through the course, they do this weekend on the topic of the Holy Spirit. I didn’t sleep much that weekend, but it was a good chance to get closer to God and get to know some people.

Another community I am involved with is the young adults group from FLEFC. With the Vancouver-appropriate name RAIN, we have begun meeting to discuss the NOOMA video series by Rob Bell. We watched “Dust” this week, the one about what it really means to be a rabbi’s disciple. The conversation that ensued was great, some really deep people.

Finally, this week I took part in an online chat hosted by TruthMedia. I’ve been invited to become a co-leader. It’s like any small group, except without the opportunity to put people in so many boxes. All you have is a person’s nick name, so you usually don’t know age or gender or if you find them attractive or not. Everyone is just a human being, no barriers. Plus, that kind of anonymity gives a sense of security that encourages openness and vulnerability.

There are a lot of hurting people in this world, but there is a Heavenly Father who loves us dearly. Donald Miller’s writing really grabs me at times:

“The God of the Bible seemed to be brokenhearted over the separation in our relationship and downright obsessed with mending the tear.” - Searching for God Knows What

human resources

The last four weeks with Campus Crusade for Christ have involved a lot of learning and planning. I am working with the fun bunch from Human Resources, but located on the second floor with IT. There is already a system for accepting application forms, which was developed for Campus Ministries projects by Andrew and a few others. He has been showing me the ins and outs of the system, and teaching me a few things about Ruby on Rails too. I’m still pretty young to this technology, but I have helped with a few changes.

Andrew is returning to Ontario in a week, leaving lonely me to adapt the system for HR’s needs. That will involve both additions and simplifications. With only 9 weeks of implementation time, I have my work cut out for me!

open arms to open source

We are making an effort to share components between the two similar systems, but hope to step beyond our walls. One cool aspect of working with non-profits is the willingness to embrace open source. Since there is one Master over all, we are all on the same team.

The very day I mailed the newsletter announcing my intention to join Campus Crusade for Christ, I received an email from JAARS:

“We currently have one project that uses Ruby on Rails (when you filled out your Skills Questionnaire with us, you used it). We may be needing some help with that so I will keep your skills in mind!”

That is a pretty cool “coincidence”, given what I’m working on: a similar tool, same technology. Now I am in touch with the developer, so we shall see if there is anything we can share.

Volunteering with Wycliffe and attending SVM2 before staring here has given me a better grasp of the common technical needs of ministries.

the plan

After September, I am thinking of joining Campus Crusade for Christ full time to work with TruthMedia. Some of my own web application ideas seem to fit with their vision. Coming on staff will involve raising monthly support, which is daunting, but not as daunting now that I’ve experienced support raising on a smaller scale.

For education, I have signed up for a few public lectures at Trinity Western University, and I may begin an online course in the fall. But after investigating the options, I don’t expect to be doing full-time studies this year. I noticed iTunes U has some podcasts on Hebrew language and study… very cool!

Besides planning for the fall, I’m also planning for the web work being done in human resources now. I heard this quote recently, and I quite like what it says:

“In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Plans may fail or go off track, but planning helps prepare us for what may come.