SIFAT weekend retreat

Friday afternoon (4/23) I could have been found gladly leaving Auburn with my windows rolled down headed up to Lineville, AL to SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology). SIFAT is a mission organization that focuses on teaching others appropriate technologies so that they can use them to solve problems in their home country. They also have retreats, camps, and conferences on their campus to educate fellow Americans about the need to help our brothers and sisters who are suffering immensely everyday. I volunteered to work the weekend, and had no idea what to expect. I had been to SIFAT before with my church, AUMC, but we just rented out the campus and did our own thing. This weekend there was a Bug Conference (scientists and a variety of others learned about the advantages of eating certain bugs), a St. Mary's group, an Alex City group, and a small group from Auburn. Most of my time was spent with the St. Mary's group - a church out of Birmingham that my family is involved in.

On Friday night, I met some of the staff (Mary, Laura, Nate, and Jarred) and Lauren (who was volunteering this weekend as well). When the kids were told to bring everything they needed for the weekend, they brought all kinds of clothes and toiletries, but when we put them through "customs," we left them with rain gear, a sleeping bag, flashlight, water bottle, and Bible. They stayed in one of the "global villages" (SIFAT simulated different areas of their campus to be like certain 3rd world countries) and had to cook their food over an open fire. We had a worship service and a devotion that night (Nate taught on commitment and sacrifice. In the story of Abraham sacrificing his only son WHOM HE LOVED he demonstrated to God his commitment and willingness to sacrifice. God waited until the very last minute to tell him not to kill his son Isaac).

I woke up Saturday morning thinking about how much I want to work here. I have always loved working at camps and serving on mission trips, and SIFAT is both! I have also noticed how going to seminary would help me teach devotions like Nate did and that would be a tool that could not only give me credibility but allow God to use my extended knowledge to reach others better. I need to be coming to volunteer here as much as I can and also need to be soaking up His Word as much as I can in order to prepare for whatever calling He gives me.

It rained almost all day, but that didn't stop the awesome things God had planned for us to happen. I started off working with the Alex City group - they spent the morning doing team challenges (and struggled working together). They were late elementary school to early junior high age. The girls thought that I was Taylor Lautner and kept taking pictures of me and asking for my autograph - pretty funny. I then went to teach the St. Mary's group how to make a brick out of clay, water, and straw. For lunch, we had a "Hunger Banquet" - which is where we lined up everyone and handed them all a different color chip. There was a total of 23 in the group, and 3 drew red chips (got to eat all they wanted), about 8 drew blue chips (got to eat 1/2 a tortilla), and the rest drew white chips (didn't get any food). It was a way to demonstrate how the world does not distribute its food among everyone well at all. There is enough food for everyone, but some just eat too much and are wasteful. Mary coined the quote of the week, telling the 3 red chip kids to "eat until you get full... then go back and eat some more."

That afternoon it kept raining, but we had the kids come out and work on the campus - clearing brush and constructing a makeshift bridge. They had a great attitude about the suffering they were enduring, and it was an inspiration to me. After we worked I started to prepare for the slum simulation - where I was to act like a beggar. SIFAT has made a village that looks exactly like what a slum would look like in a 3rd world country. So as far as role playing in the slums, Nate was military, Laura the storekeeper, Mary a homeowner, Jarred a landlord/job giver, and Lauren and I were beggars. When the groups came in (St. Mary's and Auburn), they were taken back at how real it was. They had not eaten dinner and had to find a job to buy a shelter and food... and it was raining. I would hobble over to people and plead for a food - and it was interesting to see each one's reaction. Some would just say "I don't speak Spanish" and walk away. The simulation lasted two hours, and I tried to be as persistent as I could - constantly asking for food, banging on walls with my cane, annoying some to the point they lost their job... At the end I felt like I was really a beggar.

Sunday morning I shared a devotion on how we are called to suffer - how Christ suffered for us and we are called to suffer for others. We can't just go on living our comfortable life - maybe feeling a little bit guilty - while others are dying of starvation and sickness. Read 1 Peter 4:12-19 to them and related it to this weekend. People of the world will think on is crazy for giving up a perfectly "good" life and sacrificing it for the Lord, but we live for eternal reasons. The last thing I shared with them was the song with the line "break my heart for what breaks Yours."

I think that this weekend was such an eye opener for them and to me. When I acted like the beggar, I pretended to be sick and hungry - and actually started to feel sick and hungry. Yesterday I was diagnosed with mono... pretty crazy.

- Grace and peace from Jesus Christ our Savior -

Operation Stache Bash

Wow! This weekend was absolutely amazing. I am privileged to be a member of the Auburn Rowing team and all season we have been training for our big championship race: SIRA @ Oak Ridge, TN. I am in the Men's Varsity Heavy 4 boat and we have come a long way from where we were a year ago. I have been a member of the team since I was a Freshman here at Auburn (Fall 2007) and have really fallen in love with the sport...

But recently I have felt a calling to not row my Senior year and focus on local outreach with my church (AUMC). Our college ministry is growing and I feel called to head up some sort of rural outreach ministry that college students at AUMC can regularly be involved in. There is a lot of work that needs to be done on houses where their owners can not afford to fix them on their own. By offering help to them and explaining that we are doing this work because we are extending the love of Christ showed to us would be an awesome way to spread the Gospel to others. I believe that by committing all the time I would normally put towards rowing practice to this new ministry, there would be a huge growth within the church.

So Friday morning, I back up the truck to the huge boat trailer and haul our huge chunks of carbon fiber to Oak Ridge, TN - excited about what I thought would be my last race to ever row in. We had the privilege of staying at the Brink's lakehouse (which saved the team a large sum of money by not booking hotel rooms) and bonded as a team as we jumped off the top of their 25 ft high dock into cold Tennessee River water.

On Saturday, we eat breakfast at 5:30am and head out to the race site. There are lots of crews at this regatta and boats going all over the place, tents lined up along the course with parents and rowers, announcers with British accents at the starting blocks, and coaches running around trying to make sure all their boats are on time for each event. My boat, the heavy four, launches around noon and after a boat prayer at the start, come in first place. We try not to get too confident, because that race just qualifies us for the A/B final qualifying race. We launch at 4:00pm for this race and come in first again, qualifying us for A finals (which is a huge deal - this puts us at the top 6 out of all the heavy fours at this regatta [about 30]). My dad and sister were there the whole day taking pictures and motivating us to row hard - I love my family! We go back to sleep that night exhausted after an amazing cookout and marshmallow roasting.

Sunday, 5:30am we eat another amazing breakfast and head out to the race site for the big day: finals... If we do not do well in this race all that work was for nothing. We launch at 11:00am and do all we can to stay calm and collected, praying for strength, endurance, and connection. We line up at the starting blocks, sitting ready... attention... ROW! And we're off, starting out a little slower than the other boats. We are in 4th and creep up to third 1000 meters into the race. We are a boat length behind 2nd place and start to pick up our pace for the sprint, and all of a sudden the horn blows as we cross the 2000 meter mark and we placed 2nd to Murray State. We row to the awards dock and they drape the shiny silver medal on our sweaty necks and we row home.

After this unexpected and amazing feat (not to be boastful), we plan to go to Dad Vail Regatta in Pennsylvania. All the while I am thinking: "why is this happening if I am not supposed to row and start this ministry?"

So as we spend the next few weeks training for this last race, I will be spending a lot of time in prayer to figure out what He wants me to do. Please pray for me to hear His calling to its fullness.

Grace and peace from He who loves us most,

W. Van