One of Eliana's 5th grade teachers asked her what she wants to be when she grows up. She gave the same answer that I did for most of my childhood: "a missionary in South America." If she'd had more time, she would have given the longer answer: "I want to be a lawyer working with the International Justice Mission in Ecuador, helping the poor fight for land rights and providing safety and freedom for women who have been raped."
That, my friends, is a great dream for an 11-year-old to have. If she aspired to be a professional basketball player, I might be concerned, because it would be so out of the blue. But this is a dream that fits her -- with a keen ability with languages, a love for travel, and a heightened need for justice -- she's got what it takes.
A clear sense of vocation fuels daily discipline. It gets Eliana up in the mornings to do Rosetta Stone Spanish before she heads off to school. It motivates her to work hard to earn good grades, and then keep working even when no one is watching, like when school's out. Yesterday she received a Presidential Academic award bearing President Obama's signature. Today we spent our first morning of summer vacation (by request) . . . homeschooling. Eliana (11) taught Easton (3) to write lower-case letters while Emma (6) and I worked on cursive. Next came math and vocabulary. What a blessing to have such motivated children!
Teaching is a vocation that took me a while to discover. It wasn't until an education class in college that things clicked for me and I realized what I was born to do (though Mom and Dad knew it all along). Now, more than 16 years later, I'm in the thick of preparation for a teaching ministry. Being a woman in academia brings unique challenges (childcare chief among them), and so I was delighted to discover a newsletter designed with women just like me in mind. The Well, published by InterVarsity, is "a virtual gathering place for graduate and professional women to receive wisdom, care, challenge, and inspiration as they seek to follow Christ in the academic or work world." If you check out their current featured articles, you might be surprised to see that you know at least one of the contributors. I was delighted when they asked if they could publish a recent blog post.
I'm reminded of Paul's words to Timothy: "Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you . . . Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all" (1 Tim 4:14-15). It's one thing to decide to be a lawyer, or a college professor, but quite another thing to become one. Natural talents and spiritual gifts must be nurtured and shaped by daily discipline over a long stretch of time. Nobody wakes up in the morning and finds themselves in an academic career. It's the culmination of thousands of daily choices, the fruit of discipline nurtured by mentors who are a few steps ahead of us on the journey. That's why I'm so glad to have a resource like The Well, a companion for the long pilgrimage of finding and fulfilling my vocation.
How about you? Do you have a passion buried inside you just waiting for the right season to take action? You may not be able to throw yourself into it completely at this stage of your life, but perhaps there are tiny steps that you can start taking now . . . so that when the time comes you'll be ready to roll.
Showing posts with label IJM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IJM. Show all posts
Thursday, June 7, 2012
finding our vocation
Dr. Carmen Imes is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and serves the broader church through teaching, speaking, writing, and creating YouTube videos. She earned a PhD in Biblical Theology (Old Testament) from Wheaton College under Dr. Daniel Block, an MA in Biblical Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a BA in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. She and her husband, Daniel, served as missionaries with SIM 15 years. They have three children: Ana, Emma, and Easton.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
loving college life: part 1
Joy. Momentum. Growth. Ministry. These words capture this semester for me. While last semester I could barely keep my head above water and my heart above panic mode, this semester I've been living the dream.Deep down I hoped that being on a college campus would offer opportunities to connect with undergraduate students. Wheaton students are bright, talented, passionate, intentional, (twitterpated!) and full of energy. And I love being around them.
(So do my kids. The campus restaurant and the game room are favorite destinations. And so is the gym. Check out Eliana and her friend Gwyn on the climbing wall in the gym!)
College life is messy. Students say and do some of the most unbelievably immature things sometimes. But the campus leaders (both administration and students) take each opportunity to talk openly about what it means to live in a diverse community and love each other well. The energy around here is palpable. Students are fired up against the global slave trade and excited about sustainable agriculture. A half-dozen teams spent their spring breaks serving needy communities around the country. Students meet to pray for the world and for each other. They tutor refugee children in local schools. A steady stream go overseas to study and reach out.
One of my favorite Christian artists, Sara Groves, was here in January. Her heart for God and for ministry epitomizes the ethos of Wheaton College. She was just as real and vulnerable in person as her music would lead you to expect, and Mom and I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to worship with her and hear her heart. Sara is living proof that you don't have to have "arrived" in order to reach out to others. She sings from the midst of her own struggles. As she says, she's "broken, but grateful." Though she is a big name in music, Sara's travel schedule is filled with benefit concerts for groups like World Vision and International Justice Mission. We don't have to wait until we have a degree in hand, or the counselor says we're healed, or the bank account is in the black to start reaching out. Ministry starts when we realize our own brokenness, recieve the love of God, and begin extending it to others.
Dr. Carmen Imes is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and serves the broader church through teaching, speaking, writing, and creating YouTube videos. She earned a PhD in Biblical Theology (Old Testament) from Wheaton College under Dr. Daniel Block, an MA in Biblical Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a BA in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. She and her husband, Daniel, served as missionaries with SIM 15 years. They have three children: Ana, Emma, and Easton.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
the clincher
If you've been following my blog since 2010, then you may remember a post I wrote last December about the global slave trade. It's a problem that's not going away anytime soon, but there is a groundswell of discontent over this issue -- women and men who are not only concerned, but courageous enough to do something about it. When the church that we've been visiting announced their plan to conspire together to spend less and give more this Christmas, and that 90% of the Advent offering would go to International Justice Mission, we knew we were ready to make this church our home. We attended an IJM film screening in December where we learned more about the work that IJM is doing to free slaves around the world. As the speaker reminded us, a video doesn't free slaves, but it does make us aware of the extent of the problem.
In the darkest and most secluded corners of our cities, 27 million people are still being held against their will. A full 80% of them are women and girls. They are forced to work for little or no pay. Most of what they are made to do would turn your stomach. It turns mine. And they can't escape . . . unless someone from the outside breaks into their world to rescue them.
Kinda like what Jesus did for us.
10,000 slaves are being held in the greater Chicago area. Most of them have been trafficked here from other countries. They don't speak our language, don't know where they are, and wouldn't know where to turn for help even if they could escape. The only Americans they've ever met are . . . shall we say . . . not very safe. Some of these precious women are locked up right here in Wheaton, Illinois, a town some say is the heart and soul of Evangelical Christianity, with a church on every street corner and one of the foremost Christian liberal arts institutions in the world. What can be done?
International Justice Mission is working around the clock and around the world to break into the dark corners of the world and rescue slaves. Rescue operations are risky and expensive. They require careful planning and strong relationships with law enforcement and legal personnel. Once men and women are freed the job is not over. They need trauma counseling, job training, a safe place to live where they can learn to trust again.
IJM provides this after-care for rescued slaves. And they work to bring perpetrators to justice. All the while they pray. They pray that the kingdom of God would be established, that hidden things would come to light, that the lost would be found, and that the people of God would rise up and take action.
A blog post doesn't free slaves, but perhaps it raises awareness. Knowing about the problem is the first step to doing something about it. You might be interested to know that IJM has an outstanding reputation in the way that they handle funds. Ministry Watch includes IJM on their top 30 ministries for 2011, calling them a "shining light" for financial accountability.
We learned two very exciting things at the IJM film screening in December. Both offer hope in the face of a global epidemic that can quickly seem overwhelming. (1) College students around the country are helping to end slavery in their own cities by helping police identify businesses where "employees" may be at risk. A bit of surveillance can indicate whether women who work at a massage parlor go home at night, or if employees are foreigners who never seem to stay very long. There are relatively easy ways to get involved and make a difference in your own community. (2) IJM is learning that they do not need to prosecute every perpetrator in order to achieve dramatic results. In Cebu, Philippines, they have worked together with law enforcement to end child prostitution. The high-profile arrest and prosecution of just a few slave owners has led to something like an 86% reduction in the availability of children for sex. Slave owners do what they do because they can get away with it. When they begin to realize that there is great risk involved in exploiting people, they quickly find other ways to make money.
How many slaves will be freed in 2012? That depends very much on what you and I decide to do about it.
In the darkest and most secluded corners of our cities, 27 million people are still being held against their will. A full 80% of them are women and girls. They are forced to work for little or no pay. Most of what they are made to do would turn your stomach. It turns mine. And they can't escape . . . unless someone from the outside breaks into their world to rescue them.
Kinda like what Jesus did for us.
10,000 slaves are being held in the greater Chicago area. Most of them have been trafficked here from other countries. They don't speak our language, don't know where they are, and wouldn't know where to turn for help even if they could escape. The only Americans they've ever met are . . . shall we say . . . not very safe. Some of these precious women are locked up right here in Wheaton, Illinois, a town some say is the heart and soul of Evangelical Christianity, with a church on every street corner and one of the foremost Christian liberal arts institutions in the world. What can be done?
International Justice Mission is working around the clock and around the world to break into the dark corners of the world and rescue slaves. Rescue operations are risky and expensive. They require careful planning and strong relationships with law enforcement and legal personnel. Once men and women are freed the job is not over. They need trauma counseling, job training, a safe place to live where they can learn to trust again.
IJM provides this after-care for rescued slaves. And they work to bring perpetrators to justice. All the while they pray. They pray that the kingdom of God would be established, that hidden things would come to light, that the lost would be found, and that the people of God would rise up and take action.
A blog post doesn't free slaves, but perhaps it raises awareness. Knowing about the problem is the first step to doing something about it. You might be interested to know that IJM has an outstanding reputation in the way that they handle funds. Ministry Watch includes IJM on their top 30 ministries for 2011, calling them a "shining light" for financial accountability.
We learned two very exciting things at the IJM film screening in December. Both offer hope in the face of a global epidemic that can quickly seem overwhelming. (1) College students around the country are helping to end slavery in their own cities by helping police identify businesses where "employees" may be at risk. A bit of surveillance can indicate whether women who work at a massage parlor go home at night, or if employees are foreigners who never seem to stay very long. There are relatively easy ways to get involved and make a difference in your own community. (2) IJM is learning that they do not need to prosecute every perpetrator in order to achieve dramatic results. In Cebu, Philippines, they have worked together with law enforcement to end child prostitution. The high-profile arrest and prosecution of just a few slave owners has led to something like an 86% reduction in the availability of children for sex. Slave owners do what they do because they can get away with it. When they begin to realize that there is great risk involved in exploiting people, they quickly find other ways to make money.
How many slaves will be freed in 2012? That depends very much on what you and I decide to do about it.
Dr. Carmen Imes is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and serves the broader church through teaching, speaking, writing, and creating YouTube videos. She earned a PhD in Biblical Theology (Old Testament) from Wheaton College under Dr. Daniel Block, an MA in Biblical Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a BA in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. She and her husband, Daniel, served as missionaries with SIM 15 years. They have three children: Ana, Emma, and Easton.
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