Culture Shock

I think I am beginning to understand what "culture shock" means.

It's not that there is anything wrong -- it's just different, different, different, different.... Different road signs, different rules for crossing the street, different rules when you walk into a house, different food, different directions on doorways, different advertisements on the metro, different transportation, different cars, different money, different ways to measure distance, different bathrooms, day after day sitting with people as they chatter away in a different language and you don't have any idea what they are saying, going to a museum and someone gives you a long, detailed explanation of what you are looking at, and you only understand 0.1% of what he is saying. Sometimes, you may even recognize that this new way of doing something is better than what you do at home, but that still doesn't stop it from being different...

You aren't mad at people -- after all, they're just doing the normal things they have always done -- you just get TIRED. Tired of having to THINK about all the little bits of living that you never had to think about before. Tired of having to work so hard to accomplish the normal little bits of life that you have to do every minute of every day.

I've loved this trip to the Czech Republic, and to be honest, I'm still loving it, but I think I will be very, very glad to be home.

Tales of the Tryons Czech / First Week

Just a quick note... Sue and I are here in the Czech Republic. The Internet here has been spotty (our link was down for the past several days at the home where we are staying), so it's been hard to get out a report.

HOWEVER, we want to report that we have been having a great time here! The first few days were mostly getting set up (and recovering from jet-lag!), getting art supplies, coming together as a team (both the US team and the church we are working with here), learning about the Czech Republic and its history and culture.

On Tuesday, we dove into what will be our more or less regular schedule for the next two weeks. We are in a large tent in one of the squares in the city (within sight of the river). In the morning, we spend time in devotions and prayer, and then in our individual art activities. After lunch at a local cafe, we start the free workshops. There are a LOT of people walking through the square, so we have many people dropping in to the tent, curious to see what all these crazy artists (5 of us working on creating art, plus a photographer/journalist and a bunch of the people from the church) are working on. We are open to people of all ages just dropping in and joining various learning sessions. Not surprisingly, my table of clay attracts a lot of kids! I have kids from probably around 6 or 8, up to much older "kids" in their 20's and 30's. (I'm convinced that picking up a lump of clay will bring out the child again in almost anyone!) It's pretty crazy, with up to 6 or 8 people all working at once. Depending on who is there, or when they come, or how much "instruction" they need, I may be teaching a specific project, or just helping people out as they dive in and start making whatever is on their mind. Technically, the workshops start at 3:00, but it's hard to turn down a bunch of excited kids at 1:30 or 2:00 when we get back from lunch, so by the time 5:00 rolls around, I'm pretty whipped. Happy, but exhausted!

After dinner, the local church is putting on either music concerts or teaching seminars in the tent, so we have to clean up all our stuff (and I have to clean all my tools and clean the mud off the table :-/) before we leave for dinner. One of my hardest things is getting all my students to stop in time for me to clean up!

It's an amazing, diverse team. I'll try to describe them more later, but for now, I have to get to bed, since the alarm will go off all too early in the morning tomorrow!

Keep praying for good, meaningful conversations, for good communication across the language barrier, and for good health for the team.

Blessings!

The Potter and the Clay

Did you ever think about who was the first Potter in history?  The Bible says that God formed Adam out of the dust.  Not, it doesn't specifically say this, but I have a feeling that He added a little water to the dust first so He could make Adam from clay!

God is an artist.  Look around and see the beauty of a sunset, or a tiny flower, or hear the gurgle of a swift running stream, or see the majesty of a snow covered mountain, and you cannot help but see what a wonderful artist He is. There is art in everything God does, and He has planted that same spirit inside each of us.

As an artist and a potter, I know that God speaks to me through my work with clay.  In Isaiah 64, the Bible says that God is the Potter, and we are the clay.  When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in II Cor. 4:7, he says that we have this great message of God's work of reconciliation that he has given to us, but we carry this message as if we were "jars of clay", so that the glory of the message doesn't go to us (the clay pots) but to God.  When I build a sculpture out of clay, I can see many parallels between the creative process I go through, and the way that God works in our lives.

When you start with clay, it is dry dust.  It's as if it is dead.  You can't do anything with it in this state.  In the same way, when God finds us, we are spiritually dead.  There is nothing we can do to reach out to God on our own.  However, if you add some water to this dust, it suddenly transforms into something that can be worked and molded.  God adds "water" to our lives in the form of His Holy Spirit.

When I begin to work on a sculpture, I usually have a picture in my mind of where I want to go with this piece, of what it will look like in the end.  I am also figuring out the steps I will need to go through in order to reach that goal.  When God saves us, He has a very clear picture of the path He wishes to bring us down, and the final destination He has for us.  The clay has no idea of the final destination, but the Potter knows...

I also know that clay, even in its best state, doesn't always cooperate with what I want it to do.  It may crack, or be so soft it collapses.  However, I keep patiently working with it, even when it seems to be fighting  back.  God knows our nature, and how we don't always go in the direction He wants us to go, but He patiently keeps working on us.

Next, when I have finished molding the sculpture, I need to put it aside for a time to let it dry.  I haven't forgotten about it, but it looks like I am not doing any work on it.  However, this is a critical step in the process.  If the clay isn't allowed to completely dry out, then in the next step--the fire--the trapped moisture can turn to steam and literally cause the piece to explode and be destroyed.  If it explodes, it may even ruin other pieces around it.  One danger with this step though is the fact that the clay becomes very brittle and easy to break.  It is very easy to bump it and cause it to shatter.  When God is working on our lives, it feels sometimes like He has forgotten us, or set us in a corner to be ignored. Life seems dry and unfruitful, and no one is paying any attention to us.  In reality, He has not forgotten about us at all. Rather, He is preparing us for the next step in His process.  The Potter knows what He is doing...

Of course, just when we think things can't get any worse, they do...  Into the fire!  When I fire a piece in the kiln, I know just what temperature I have to reach.  The firing begins slowly, and then step by step over the next several hours, I will push the kiln hotter and hotter, up to around 1000°C (bright yellow heat), usually over a period of eight hours or more.  I have to  carefully control the temperature so that the stress of the heat doesn't shatter the pieces inside of the kiln.  In this heat, there are many internal changes that take place inside of the clay.  When God, as the Potter, puts us through the fire of circumstances and trials, He knows just exactly how hot to make things in order to accomplish His purposes in us, to strengthen us and prepare us for what is coming next.  The Potter knows what He is doing...

Next, I let the kiln slowly cool down.  It usually takes six to eight hours for the kiln to cool.  If I open it too soon, the thermal shock can shatter the pieces.  God knows when we need to rest, and He knows when to lower the heat in our lives.

When I take a piece out of the first firing, the heat has transformed the clay from "dried mud" into stone.  It is now hard and strong, but it is not yet beautiful!  It has no color or shine.  It is not very useful yet.  So, I have to add glazes to the pot.  Now, I know which glazes are supposed to create which colors, but when you look at the glaze in its raw form, it just looks like mud!  There may be some color, but it is dull and uninteresting.  There are times when God is working on us, and the circumstances just don't seem to make sense to us.  They may look ugly or hard or useless. However, God has a purpose for everything, even when it looks ugly or useless.  The Potter knows what He is doing...

Then... it's back into the fire.  If the first fire seemed hot, the second firing is significantly hotter!  In this case, I have to increase the temperature up to more than 1200°C.  For the finest pottery, the temperature is even hotter.  Under this heat, the dull ugly glaze melts, and the chemicals react to form the beautiful, glistening finish that I am looking for.  I have to carefully control the temperature until it has reached exactly the right level before I can shut off the heat to let the kiln once again slowly cool down.  Now, the piece is not only strong, but it is beautiful!

God knows where He is taking us.  He has a purpose in mind --  purpose that may or may not make sense to us.  We may not even have a chance in this life to see the ultimate goal of what He is doing in us.

A true piece of Art reflects and communicates the heart of the artist who created it.  It speaks of the artist's dreams and goals and concerns, and what really moves them.  In the same way, as God's artistic creations, we are intended to reflect and communicate His heart to the world around us.  It may be a very long process, full of difficulty, but God wants to make each one of us into a Beautiful and Unique work of His art.  If we are ready to go through the times of molding, and the dry times, the times that don't make sense, and through the fire, then we will see how God reflects His beautiful love to the world through us, His artwork.

Seeing Scripture as an Artist

As I read a passage in Scripture, I should be asking:

Is there something God is saying directly to me?

Is there something God is saying to the community I am a part of?

Is there something profoundly beautiful here?

Is there something profoundly ugly here?

Is there a mystery I haven' seen before?

Is there someone experiencing a pain that I too have experienced?

Is there a captive being released here? Am I that captive?

Czech Republic OM Arts Trip

"Proclaim Release to the Captives"

Sue and I have been accepted to go with OM Arts to the Czech Republic from September 20 through October 11. The Czech Republic has been dear to our hearts, and we were excited when we heard of this opportunity to go. In spite of a relatively solid economic base there (or, perhaps because of it), the Czech Republic has many spiritual needs. By some reports, it is the most Atheistic nation in the world, filled with a spirit of lostness and hopelessness

We will both be sharing our spiritual and artistic gifts in an evangelistic outreach during an international Arts Festival in Prague. We will be working with a local pastor who will coordinate the outreach. We are working on developing plans for activities during the time there, but it will definitely involve working with local Christian Artists there to use creative ways to express the Love, Grace and Hope of our Savior.

I've learned from our trips to Moldova and Hungary just how important it is to have a vibrant and active prayer team backing us up! We can make all the plans in the world, and bring the most amazing skills and materials with us, but nothing will happen if we aren't working from a foundation of prayer!

As you would expect, finances are a large challenge. I was first thinking of them as a “hurdle to get over,” but maybe that's the wrong analogy. In our asking you to partner with us in the finances of the trip, we are asking you to be a part of the trip, just as much as when we are asking you to partner with us in your prayers. The Lord could simply drop the finances in our laps, but instead, He tells us to go out and ask. So, we are asking you to come along side of us in this mission!

We have saved up a good chunk of the funds required for the trip, but still have a way to go. We are excitedly waiting to see how God provides!

Regardless of how you are able to give financially, we covet your prayers, not only during the trip itself, but in the time leading up to it—with all the planning and prayer and training that we will be going through. We want to be open to the many ways that the Holy Spirit will be speaking into our lives during this time, to have a real and lasting impact on the people of the Czech Republic.

If you wish to be on our prayer team, let us know so we can keep you updated. We need your prayers:

• For our time building the team as we prepare for this trip
• For the hard ground of the hearts of the people of the Czech Republic, that God will be preparing that ground for the seeds we will be planting
• For wisdom on how to share the nature of God through the lens of art. 
• For cultural adjustments as we seek to connect with the hearts of the people we are serving
• For safe arrival of the materials we bring to use with the outreach

Thank you so very much for all your participation in this ministry!

Pathways

A couple of weeks ago, my son Sam married a wonderful young lady.  They two of them asked if I would give a blessing over them at the reception dinner.  As I prayed about it, I remembered the this:

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Some time ago, I was reading the familiar passage in Ecclesiastes 3 which begins, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."  As I pondered the passage, the Lord gave me this clear picture.

I was standing at the edge of a tall cliff, looking out into total darkness.  To the East, the sun was starting to rise.

Dawn.  The new light slowly crept past me, and I began to see details below.  I was looking out over a vast valley.  As the light grew, I began to see hills and depressions, forests and fields, clearings and dense bogs.  After a while I began to see buildings – houses, taller buildings, little towns and tightly packed cities, rundown shacks and shining mansions.

Then I realized that the entire valley was covered with pathways.  Some of them were narrow little walkways, others were broad roads.  They meandered all through the valley, passing through towns and fields.  Sometimes they were rough and steep, or tangled with the roots of trees, almost disappearing under the darkness of the deep forests or through deep rifts between jagged rocks.  Other paths crossed high hills or gentle fields bathed in sunlight.  Often the paths would cross over each other, or sometimes two paths would join and become one.  Other paths would split, with each branch going off in its own direction.

Then I saw the people.  All over the valley, the pathways were covered with people walking along the paths.  Some by themselves while others walked in twos or small groups.  What struck me though was the fact that each and every person was walking along the path... backwards.  They could see what was behind them and what was immediately around them, but each one walked along his or her path with no knowledge of what was ahead of them.

Then the Lord showed me the meaning behind the picture.  As I looked out over the entirety of the valley, I was seeing time as He sees it – all at once.  A time and a season for everything.  He sees the beginning and the middle and the end of all the paths all at once.  He sees every sunlit field and dreary forest as one.

However, as we walk through time, we can see where we have come from and where we are right now, but we can only guess at where our paths are taking us.  Our paths may cross other people's paths, and we may walk along together for a time.  We make our plans and try to control our lives, but the reality is that we really don't have a lot to say about where our paths will end up.  But, God sees the end from the beginning.

Today the two of you are standing at the top of a bright hill, looking back on the paths which have brought you to this point.  Those paths have come from different places, and they have wound around through high places and low, through through light and dark.  A little while ago, your two paths came up next to each other and ran in parallel for a while.  Today, those two paths have become one, and you're about to take those first steps back down over the other side of the hill together.  You have some good guesses about what the path looks like, but you have no guarantees.  However, you do know the One who not only sees the path, but who has laid it out for you.

I would like to make this toast as a blessing over the two of you as you start this path together:

I don't ask for a path which will always be straight and smooth, because I know it won't be.

However, I pray that the two of you will walk well together.  When one stumbles over a root or a stone, may the other one always be there to pick you up again.

When the storms come and the way is dark, may you both be an encouragement and a light to one another, and when the way is bright and clear, may you both be there to share the wonder of Christ's Grace and Love.

May you have Peace and Joy along the way.  May your lives always reflect the Light of Jesus and be a source of Encouragement to others whos paths cross yours.

May you be Wise as you consider the places you have walked through, and wise Guides along the path, leading others to the Truth of Christ.

May you always have a keen sense of Jesus walking with you on the path, just a step ahead of you.

Blessings to you!

Following The Potter in Moldova

This is actually a story from a year ago when Sue and I went to Moldova in the summer of 2010, but I realized I had never posted anything about it:

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One of my most precious memories of growing up is the time I spent summers at the local art gallery taking pottery classes. In the summer of 2010, I was able to share some of that joy with a group of children in rural Moldova.

Our church went on a missions trip to a small village in Moldova, near the Romanian border.  Our primary goal was to work along side a local pastor and the OM Moldova team in a children's program for the week. We were considering what else we could do in this program to bless the children and share the love of Jesus with them.  I remembered sharing my love of pottery and clay through a couple of classes with the children in our local church, and how much they loved it.  We were unsure of where to get quality pottery clay in Moldova, so we decided to carry the clay along with us. Getting a pair of 50lb boxes of clay on two flights and through customs was, to put it gently, an interesting challenge, but we did eventually get it in.

There were around 100 children participating in the program, so rather than try to deal with all of them at once, we split into smaller age-specific groups of around 15 to 20. With help from our Moldovan translators, I was able to teach the children some basic exercises and shapes, and then let them use their imagination to create what they wanted. It was fun to watch the excitement of the children as they were at first frustrated, but then began to get the feel of working with the clay. The pastor was able to borrow a small kiln from a local school, so we were able to fire many of the pieces the children had made to make them more permanent.
 

The pastor also introduced me to Peter, a local potter, and we spent time sharing together. Since we hadn't used up all of the clay with the children, I was able to give a 25lb block to Peter to bless him and his work. The OM Moldova team was then able to take another block of clay with them a couple of weeks later to a similar children's program at a church in another small village. The pastor's wife there is an artist herself, and was very appreciative of the clay, since she was finding it difficult to obtain quality clay there to work with.


I would like to return at some point with the team to the village in Moldova. One of my dreams is to take a smaller group of some of the older children and spend some some more concentrated time with them, to see them get beyond simply making a shape to the point where they can express a little of themselves in their creation. After all, the oldest Potter in the world is God Himself. He formed Adam “out of the dust of the earth”, and made Adam “in His own image.” He has passed that same spirit of creativity and expression on to us, if we take the time to discover it.

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I have not yet been able to return to Moldova, but I am thankful I have been able to pursue that dream in Hungary.  The LORD only knows where I will be able to take my clay next...

Blogger and Google+ Merge

So, Blogger and Google+ are being merged into one integrated service.  Makes sense, since they are both owned by Google, and many people, like myself, already have both accounts.  Just makes you stop and think a bit, as the Great Google Blob gets one size larger.

Of course, if this gives Google+ a little more momentum as it tries to catch up with Facebook, then that's probably a good thing, since it comes a little closer to being a viable alternative to the social networking site that Everyone Loves to Hate...