(becoming human)

I am passionate about freedom.

I am passionate about pulling people into their futures, seeing people for their full potential. Which really just means allowing people to realize that what we feel we are called to do is based on who we already are.

I am passionate about learning and growing together.

I am passionate about laughing at myself, seeing things in perspective, and even having fun sometimes, too.


Some processing from my time in Vancouver has allowed me to realize that I am different, my thinking is evolving, and I am growing. It would not necessarily be evident on a surface level or even in everyday activities. Sometimes important change is subtle, too, and that is cool.

A friend of Ryan (the director of Mission Adventures Vancouver) spoke about cross-cultural sensitivity to a youth group that came this summer . I don't remember her name! But she came from the perspective of being Native, which is super relevant because Vancouver has a pretty big Native population, and that is where we were serving.

She told us a sort of proverb they have in their culture. We have: two eyes to see,
two ears to listen,

and one mouth to speak.

--

I spent some time this summer with Don Neufeld. He is a well-respected friend of the YWAM Vancouver community, a seller of books, a lovely and compassionate fellow.

We were at Costco, buying an enormous amount of food in preparation for one of the teams coming in. I noticed he treated the customer service people he interacted with as they are; as humans.

Dialoguing, conversing, giving advice, caring, relating.

I imagined myself at around his age, being 60 years old and thinking to myself, man, the last 50 years of my life I've treated these moments with little worth, treating people as if they are robots, machines.

I've decided to start taking this on at 19, working on it now. It's about becoming human, I guess.


I have so much to say, and so little attention span with which to work with, I am sure.

I so often feel like my life is so small. That there must be some crazy destiny awaiting me, which must involve extensive traveling, too many culture shocks to speak of, foreign children crying at my feet.

Yet, a truth that I am coming to realize is that we are called to love anyone who comes across our path. That it is absolutely imperative to see our value and purpose in any place, around any people, in any stage of life.

Otherwise, we may never see the freedom (no matter how small) that we are (now) bringing to those around us.