Pondering the Faith

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"

I've had a gnawing question lingering in the back of my head recently..."So, you want to go to the mission field? What are you doing with the mission field before you now?" I've realized that within my own culture here in the States, there are sub-cultures that I have no idea about nor have tried to learn about or relate to. There are people in my own backyard that are living in poverty, struggling with concepts that I have never had to grapple with or even been exposed to. They live right outside my doorstep, but just far enough to be out of my comfort zone. Well, I've been convicted recently that it is time to step outside my comfort zone and get my feet wet in learning to relate to people different than myself in order to understand another's worldview. How am I to communicate the Gospel to someone if I do not understand their values, their life, and what is important to them? And what makes me think they should have any reason to listen to me? What do I know about them?

On that note, I ventured outside my "neighborhood" this morning to visit a friend who is putting on an inner-city art camp at Restoration Academy in Fairfield. Amanda Blake is an art teacher at Hudson Elementary School, and has a heart for inner-city ministry. She is networking right now to raise support/grant money to start some full-time art programs at some inner city schools that are lacking these programs. Her passion for art, for people, and for the lost is evident in the work that she does and those she surrounds herself with. I'm looking forward to spending more time with her and learning from her ministry! {Unfortunately, they finished the camp early today so I only got to shoot a couple boys still working on their "peices", but they did not seem to mind being the center of attention!}

In the meantime, I'm going to continue pondering...thinking...praying...and exposing myself to those who live differently than I do, in hopes of understanding what the Gospel looks like to them. Hope you enjoy the pics!