When they got back and the window was finished getting fixed we headed out to our VBS site in South San Francisco to hang out and help out the kids. The drama team did an amazing job, and we all loved playing a good amount of tag.

This morning we woke up, had breakfast and did our group devotion and headed out to our first ministry site, St. Anthony’s, where we got to serve lunch and share a meal with the 2000 some odd people who came through the doors for lunch. It was amazing to see how positive the majority attitude was, especially for people in their situation. We stayed at St. Anthony’s from 9am until 2pm and were exhausted but were ready to move on to VBS.

After VBS today we had a few hours of free time where we went down and spent some time on Fisherman’s Wharf just hanging out and having fun! We are so tired and we miss everyone back home but we are having such good experiences. Keep praying for us as we finish out the week.

For lunch we were able to experience Ethiopian food. For most of us it was a first time experience and there were definitely some mixed emotions when it came to the taste, texture and substance of some of the food, but everyone tried pretty much everything and held their comments until we were able to debrief about the meal.

After lunch we headed out to a Salvation Army church where we are helping out with their VBS this week. Usually on CSM trips we would not spend more than one day at a particular ministry site, but our schedule is different and so we are able to help out at this particular church through Thursday. The church leadership was so excited to hear that we would be there the whole week and we are really looking forward to the opportunity to form relationships with the youth and the staff there.

We got back about an hour and a half ago, debriefed briefly, and are about to fall asleep. Please continue to pray for us as we continue on our adventure.

After dinner was over we went back to our cars and were given a prayer tour of San Francisco. It was very enlightening and, at points, very saddening to hear the story of the different neighborhoods in the area. We were told about the homeless and those trapped in different exploitative industries. As we drove around we were asked to pray for those enslaved by the darkness within this city.

We got back late and had no internet to post this entry…sorry to those who were awaiting it being published.

You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your khakis.

But more than just this, I heard a different, more hopeful, voice ring through Steve’s message. Some might say the voice of God. Instead of denying our worth as human beings, like Tyler did, this voice reinforced it. As the message was preached I was told us of our worth as children of God.

You are special. You are a beautiful and unique snowflake.

I was reminded that being a child of God is an identity that is beautiful and holds meaning. Being a child of God is a blessing beyond anything I can truly grasp. As the message went on I was hit yet again with a Biblical truth told by Tyler Durden. A truth that keeps so many of us, myself included, from fully assuming this identity.
It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.

We need to lose the need to please people. We need to lose the desire to look respectable in the eyes of the world. We need to lose the identity we find in our job. In our bank account. In order to fully live as children of God we must lose our identity that the world holds as our end and purpose. We need to lose the identity that the world loves so that we are free to to assume the identity God has for us. An identity characterized by love for God and love for people and true stewardship (Mr. Webster: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care) of God’s creation. An identity that loves God thus moving in us to care for the orphan, widow and stranger. An identity that yearns for justice and always demands mercy above sacrifice. An identity that is truly worth reaching for.

Within our words are the power of life or death. For those of us familiar with the creation narrative this should be making huge connections. In the first chapter of the Bible we are told that G-d created man and woman in his image. Jewish and Christian theologians have debated what it means to be made in the image of G-d for centuries. I would argue that a part of what it means to be made in G-d’s image is that we have the power to speak life. Much as G-d spoke creation into life we have the ability to speak life over people, and possibly over all of creation (I recommend the Everything I Have Said to You sermon from Mars Hill Church). We can choose to uplift one another or we can choose to tear one another down and leave others with a pain they may feel for many years to come. The degree to which we reflect G-d properly and realize we are made in G-d’s image is our choice. From there G-d can work in us to perfect us and further form us in G-d’s own image. Luckily for us creation was not a one time event, it is continually happening every second of every day.