Like-minded

When we went to the LAM orientation last June, we met some really great people. One of whom was Jodi. Our first meeting was when we sat next to each other the first night at an Argentine steak house (a bit of foreshadowing there, wouldn't you agree?). I liked her immediately when she was bold enough to try the tripe. Although we are similar ages, she and I are in different seasons in life and have been gifted in different ways (she's an artistic storyteller, and I'm, well, a number lover). However, we share many of the same thought processes, deep yearnings to communicate Christ's love in tangible ways, and love for God's big world. And she loves my kids and they know it. She leaves for her mission field of helping raise awareness - through videography - of Christian missionaries reaching out to the Muslim world of North Africa. Single, white, Idaho-ian woman. She is currently taking classes in self-defense.

Here's a shot of the boys (Andrew is laughing hysterically in the back) at one of our last days at the LAM orientation. If only there was a picture of Jodi, Chris and I watching this "performance". The kids were asked to sing a few songs that they had learned in their Vacation Bible School. Johnny, of course, had said "no way!" But, when he saw the other kids up there, he changed his mind. And instead of singing the songs, he yelled them at the top of his lungs. And, as you know, he has very strong lungs.

Anyway, Jodi has been in Simi Valley doing some consulting as she prepares to leave and we have been able to have some sweet time together. She gave me a book [Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle: Living Fully, Loving Dangerously by Kent Annan] and it is one of the best I've read in quite awhile. Here are some quotes that I resonate with:

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"In the years leading up to the decision to move to Haiti, part of what helped me wade through the guilt and hypocrisy was not pretending - to myself and to others - that it's pure altruism. Rather, I could be honest about searching for more meaning but also committed to the hard work of making a better life possible for someone else."

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"Reasonable limits don't work best for me. And it's true in my trying to follow Jesus too. I relate to the young man slumping away from Jesus' demand for everything, but I'm also profoundly drawn to Jesus' radical demands. They strike me as true. They're so hard, yet I long for the invitation. At this intersection it seems grace, work, freedom, obedience, sacrifice, and joy meld into a simple, whispered invitation.... But then what kind of narcissistic, messianic, self-important, desperate thing is this - or am I? Sure, some heroes like Saint Francis and Mother Teresa do a radical separation so they can go further into the world, but they're saints, and they're a bit nuts, and I'm pretty sure not eveyone is supposed to do it their way. I always find more courage to do what I believe or want to believe when I'm not alone. Shelly's the one I wanted to be with me. Here she was, married to and loving a fool - and wanting, like me, to learn more about love. So we drive to the airport. We board the plane for Haiti."

... or Argentina.