The Quality of a Leader

I mentioned in a previous post that we were blessed to spend a week at the Christian Community Development Association Conference, we had the chance to go and learn from people who have walked the paths we are walking.  It was encouraging to hear the testimonies of how God is moving in cities around the world. 

CCDA was started by a man named John Perkins, who along with his wife moved to Mississippi over 35 years ago to live out the gospel among the people there.  They founded CCDA which has grown from just 200 people to over 2000 people.  They are wonderful testimonies to people walking the walk, not just talking. 

Every morning we had the chance to participate in a Bible study with John Perkins. One morning he focused a lot on leadership and I wanted to share this quote with you:

  "We need to measure the quality of a leader by the amount of growth the people he is leading are experiencing."

That quote has really stayed with me since we left CCDA, and has really reoriented my thoughts on leading others.  I think oftentimes we look at the quality of a leader by what he gets done, or the amount of people who show up.  We don't always look at the potential fruit, or the growth that the leader is encouraging in us the followers.  I just wanted to share that with you and give you a chance to evaluate how you look at the leaders you follow and the people you lead. 

Kisses from Katie...

I have so much on my heart and there are so many exciting things going on in the community now, and I can't wait to share them with you as they unfold over the next couple of weeks.  This past week we went to the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in Indianapolis.  It was a really great chance to get away with the staff of Mission Adelante, spend time together and learn about the Kingdom Work that is happening all over the country and around the world.  We flew to Indianapolis and I got the chance to read, which is something I rarely have time for. 

I read the book Kisses from Katie on the way to the conference and just had to share about it.  I had heard of Katie and her ministry in Africa before, and was really excited to read the book.  What got me even more excited was in the description on the back cover Katie talked about essentially living between two worlds and the struggles that go with that.  Being caught between the way you envisioned your life to be, and the plan God has for you.

The book did not let me down.  Katie was honest in describing the struggles that she faced.  Figuring out what was her new normal, and accepting the fact that the Lord's plan for her life was dramatically different than anyone, including her could have imagined.  Her story resonated with me in a very strong way.  The life I live now isn't one I could have ever imagined for myself, and even though I live in Kansas City, Kansas and not Africa I have some of the same feelings and struggles.  Feeling the same emotions of being caught between two worlds, and looking back at an old life that seems both foreign and comfortable all at the same time.  Yet, being able to rest in an unrelenting peace that the Lord has directed your steps in a way you wouldn't be able to imagine.   

So basically, I highly recommend this book and had to share with you my favorite quote from it. 

 It was Katie's response as to why she cared so much and why the Lord cares so much for us: 

"Because the Lord who created you loves you, because he created you for a purpose and He wants you to fulfill that purpose.  Because the God who knows every hair on your head desires to lift you out of the dust and in to His glory."

Katie's ministry: http://www.amazima.org/

The Lord doesn't waste anything...

A theme that our Missional Family has picked up lately is that the Lord doesn't waste anything.  He doesn't waste the wait, He doesn't waste the meantime.  He doesn't waste the easy and he doesn't waste the hard.  These past few days the Lord has made His lack of wasting so abundantly clear to me.  

This past Wednesday I had the chance to address the teachers and staff at one of the local elementary school.  This school has 7 or so of our kids, who make up about 15% of our Tuesday night program.  I got the chance to share with them a little bit about what it means to be a refugee, the process that these families go through, and a little bit about Nepali culture.  It was wonderful to get to share with the teachers who spend everyday with the kids, and help the teachers understand the kids better.  It was weird being the one presenting at a Wednesday in-service, when I spent a year on the teacher side. 

If you knew me during the year I taught in KCK you probably knew that I strongly disliked my job most days.  The kids were for the most part difficult, I didn't feel supported by my principal, and I was new back to Kansas City with few friends or connections outside of work.  I had no idea why the Lord had me doing what I was doing, most weeks I wanted to quit.  Now I know why I didn't.  Teaching in the district has given me the knowledge of what it is like to be there, as a teacher or student.  I know what our kids need to be successful, and how to build a bridge between teachers and my Nepali friends.  I could have never imagined when I was teaching how the Lord would use a time that was so difficult for me.  

This week the Lord didn't waste my illness(an upper respiratory infection).  He used it to give me a chance to tell a Nurse Practitioner what I did for a living, and how God works in my life and community.  The Lord then used that NP to teach me a lesson in humbly accepting help from others (in this case a free visit to the doctor), which has been a big struggle for me. But in this case all I could do was say thank you.  There was no way for me to argue about it, no way for me to say no, and nothing that this person expected in return.  The most I could give was a thank you.  The Lord used a cough to teach me to let Him bless me through others.  

I went to a private Christian College, the type of school notorious for marrying couples off shortly after graduation.  Obviously, I'm not a girl that fell into that category.  I would be lying if I said I never cared, sometimes it was tough to watch most of my close girlfriends walk that path, and wonder what the Lord's plan was for me.  Over and over I have seen God's answer to that question.  His plan was for me to be here, doing what I am doing and loving my Nepali friends.  He has given me the chance to serve them in a way that would only be possible as a single person.  He isn't wasting my wait on that one, he is using the wait and allowing me to see Kingdom life in action, in a beautiful way.  I feel so blessed that God filled me in on what He created me to do at such a young age.  

Look at your life, look at the good and bad, the easy and hard.  How is God using them?  

Remember that the Lord doesn't waste anything.

sunday afternoons

On Sunday afternoon a small group North Americans and some of our Nepali friends gather to sing, pray, and devote ourselves to the word.  This has only been going on for a few weeks now, so we are still kind of in the experimental phase of it, but the Lord is really blessing our time together.  This past Sunday we had a wedding during our gathering.  The wedding was for a couple that was married in Nepal, but it was after their papers were filed for their move to the states, so they aren't legally married here.  So on Sunday Jarett, David and Ram helped them out.

Kick Off!

We kicked off our fall trimester last Tuesday night with 47 kids!  It really is a new trimester, the kids are in totally different groups for the first time since Kids' Club started.  It had to happen because we added so many new kids that we had to add 2 new groups!  It really isn't a bad problem to have.  We also graduated about 6 of our kids to teens club at the end of last trimester.

  

a sari kind of day...

This weekend the Nepali community celebrated Teej.  The festival is a ceremony for women.  Women will travel to their family of origin and celebrate with them, some of the Hindu women also fast.  They end the fast with a celebration that includes food, dancing, and everyone wearing their fanciest clothes.  The community wanted to honor women who had made and impact and chose to celebrate myself and two other wonderful Kingdom servants.  If you know me at all, I am not one who likes too much attention, so it may have been a little intimidating.  I didn't plan on dressing up, but when I heard that the other two ladies were I had to make a quick phone call to one of my friends and she dressed me in one of her saris.  I am so beyond blessed with the chance to serve and love my Nepali friends. 

Fayetteville

We went down to Fayetteville this past weekend with some of the members of our Missional Family to explore the idea of Business as Missions.  The wonderful people from New Heights Church  have done some great things through  BAM, and it was wonderful to get the chance to learn from them.  They gave us a whole weekend so we could learn from them, big thanks for that.  It was also a lot of fun to get to hang out with some of my favorite people for a whole weekend.

Girl's Afternoon!

This year at Kids' Club we started a system called Party Points.  The different groups could earn points for participation, good behavior and following directions.  The girls of Group 3 earned the party, beating out Group 2 by 1 point.  We went swimming at David's parents house, painted nails and ate snacks.  Big thanks to Holly for organizing the party and the group leaders for coming out to help! 

Party in the Park!

Last Sunday we had our end of trimester party at the Wyandotte County Lake Park.  We had a great time and about 250ish people in attendance (we went through 300 plates, so that is our best guess).  Everyone had a great time honoring our kids, teens and ESL students, as well as thanking our volunteers for a great trimester.  The adults then heard the story of the Paralytic from Luke 5, while the kids got to play water games.  It was a wonderful afternoon!

So proud of her....

One of our seventh grade girls was inducted in to Kauffman Scholars this past weekend.  If you aren't from Kansas City the Kauffman family is kind of a big deal.  If you know baseball they are the people behind Kauffman Stadium where they Royals play.  Mr. Kauffman decided that the best investment for his money would be in young people, thus Kauffman Scholars was born.  Students from 2 of the inner city districts, who meet the income requirements are invited to apply at the end of 6th grade.  It is a 3 month long process that involves an application (that was more complicated than my application for grad school), a placement test (4 hours long, on a Saturday) and a family interview.  If they make it through all of those things they might be selected for the program.   It is such a big deal because they provide social and academic support for the participants from the start of 7th grade to the completion of COLLEGE!  They also pay for any college expenses not covered by scholarships or grants so the students graduate from college debt free!  I was able to walk with this student and her family though the entire application process, and was beyond thrilled when she got the letter saying she got in.  It was such a blessing to get to celebrate with her and her mom after the induction!