Gather in the Nations and Let's Learn God's Heart for Reconciliation

When I was a child, I could hardly wait until the first day of a new school year, and I never lost that excitement when I was teaching middle school students, and it was just the same as I approached the opening days of the School of Reconciliation and Justice. We are now into our second week of the three month course, and it is pure joy getting to know this group.

Zipporah arrived first and travelled the furthest...Papua New Guinea. And then there is Zefanya from Indonesia but works in Lebanon, and coming closer to Europe, we have two Brits, Sarah and Nathan, and one lovely American, Ashlee and then three Rwandans, Antoniette, Godfrey, and Innocent, and finally one Nigerian, Henry. Add in five marvelous staff from last year's school and a couple of other Oval staff, Jon and Leah, taking the course part-time makes us a community of around 16 - 18 plus baby Caitlin.

Last week each one shared their life story with the group, and I marveled at how God had shaped each person: Some have lived very normal life experiences, and others have lived through difficult circumstances, but in both cases, this is a group wanting to learn how to live out God's heart for justice and reconciliation in their countries.

Strategy session - Ineta, Sodangi, Simplice, Olivier and Nanzip

On our first day as I welcomed everyone, Jon and Leah's little girl, Caitlin started smiling at me and then came to me asking to be picked up. This was a first, and she was insistent that she was going to open the class with me. As I stood there with this precious child in my arms, I thought about how secure and loved each of us is in the arms of our God. And in this security, we can trust Him to teach us how to overcome evil with good.

Some want to understand more about peacebuilding; some want to enter politics and make changes in their governments, others want to tackle social problems through advocacy. In each case, my prayer is that we will let God strength us with his love for this world and to be able to see beyond the corruption to the beauty that God originally designed for this planet.

Opening dinner at my house



Sodangi teaching us from his life story



Welcome to SORJ and taking notes...lots of thinking going on!



Final tip: Learning how to be the change you want to see in the world has to include music!