Life at the Oval in Pictures

 
Documentary Filmmaking School

Noel and Olivier finished the School of Reconciliation and Justice last January. Coming from Rwanda and living through the genocide, they have stories in their hearts to tell in order to facilitate healing in their nation. Noel is already known in Rwanda for two documentaries he produced, and so he staffed the school under the leadership of Janice Entee from Ghana who started the school here. Media is such a powerful tool in our media driven world, and we hope to see many stories being filmed by the students of this school.


Noel, Nanzip, Olivier filming Fidel knocking at my house



Noel instructing Fidel

                                        


Filming in my house....a star for the day!

 From London to the Classroom to a "Happy Birthday



Dreaming



too much studying





All for One and One for All



A Quiet Moment

Life here has many rainy days but also lots of days filled with joy as we learn together. There are lots of personal dreams being pursued in these pictures. Each one of these dear friends is looking to God's dreams in their lives to be realized as they study, work and play here far from their homes.

Learning to Live with Others...in love!

Do you sometimes wonder why don’t those people see the world the same as I do? If you have ever lived or worked cross-culturally, you will probably have lots of funny stories about not quite understanding what was happening in various conversations. I do and often I just didn’t get what was happening and just smiled! Globalization is everywhere and living and understanding one another is a challenge.

For the last few months, I have been staffing the School of Foundations of Inter-cultural Studies , a University of the Nations course designed to train international students to be able to work effectively in multi-ethnic / cross-cultural teams. One of the members of my Reconciliation Walk team, YanYan has a passion for this course and so during this season, she led her first FIS here at the Oval. YanYan is from Hong Kong and brilliant and very funny. With her leading the school, I served as a member of the school staff. The school was small but also because everyone has been working together in other schools this year; we were able to talk about some of the thorny issues that confront us living in international communities and to search for the biblical values that guide us living together as followers of Christ.

What is so beautiful and so challenging is by living and talking together, one realizes that my own “ethnocentrism” needs to give way to listening to others and seeking to understand the way they do things. …not that one way is better, but often it is just different. When Jesus prayed that we would be one, he knew that this world of diversity and living in harmony was going to need “godly love” binding us together. No wonder the world has conflict because truly we don’t all see the world the same. Challenging but good!

If you want to read an excellent book on this subject, I recommend Dr. Duane Elmer’s book, Cross-Cultural Servanthood. Dr. Elmer starts with the premise that every marriage is a cross-cultural adventure so the book is very helpful in teaching good communication skills especially for moving from one culture to another to work. We are living in a very pluralistic world and learning how to engage with others is vital if we are going to be a part of God’s redeeming work. Enjoy the journey!

Looking at Coins

“Has God’s face ever been on a coin? We are the coin that bears the living image of God. Giving of ourselves with whatever that might include, is the only legal currency of the kingdom of heaven.” --Gordon and Gladis DePree

Over the last two weeks, I 've absorbed a wonderful rest finding my feet for the next half of 2010 which seems to be running at a fast pace. Friends loaned me their home in the country while they went away on retreat themselves. It has been rather a resting/work time that has enriched my soul and quieted my heart because the beauty of God’s creation surrounds me here and that always revives me.

The last time I used this blog was in 2007 aboard the Next Wave on an adventure of a lifetime, and then as these things go, I fell away, but I want to return to it in this season. My birthday this year reminded me that I am getting older(the number is a bit scary), but I hope the fruitfulness of being an image bearer of God is getting clearer year by year as I continue working with training others and learning from all I meet.

This next week, I’m teaching in our Foundations of Inter-Cultural Studies School on Cross-Cultural Servanthood. Walking through the fields, musing over what examples to share, I have been reminded of so many friends at home in the US, here in England or in the nations who have taught me to see life from another’s person’s shoes. It has been a privilege to meet so many unsung friends who in their lives are coin bearers who bear that living image of God. Some of the clearest examples have come from friends who live in the midst of conflict and yet bring hope to the hopeless. What I know more than anything is that I need more of God’s love, mercy, and diligence in my heart daily to be able to live the kingdom of God in a way that honors those around me, wherever I am. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail, but I know ultimately God’s grace does abound when I spend time reminding myself that He is alive and “the heavens declare His glory.”