No, that's not some newly-invented curseword, it's a town. My new town, in fact... for now. I arrived yesterday around midnight after a three-hour drive from the Chilean capital, Santiago. My Discipleship Training School starts tomorrow.
It's the end of summer/beginning of autumn here. There are mostly pine trees, but I hope that the deciduous ones will change colors as the weather gets cooler. The day is nice... warm in the sun. The base -- a cluster of houses where families and students live and study -- is on a hill. The ground is covered in a fine, dry dust, some pebbles, and some pine needles.. When I look out from I see the Pacific Ocean down below. On the other side of the hill you can see small mountains in the distance. I think the town has 15,000-20,000 inhabitants: bigger than I had imagined, since I had been told it was a little village.
There are a lot of Colombians here for the DTS, several from Bogota itself. Also, people from Chile, Argetina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brasil, Costa Rica, Germany, The U.S., Canada, Holland, and other places too, I'm sure.
This morning we had a church service here at the base, then I rested for a while, then we had lunch. Now I'm hanging out in the kitchen/living area of the girls' quarters. We have a small stove, small sink, and small refrigerator. A sofa, a table, and a few chairs. There are three bedrooms, each with three bunk beds.
The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, we feel sleepy... but I want to go see the town and the beach, and hopefully we'll go do that soon.
Here's to all that begins tomorrow; or all that began when I left North Carolina on Thursday, or Colombia yesterday, or when I left home over a year ago, or the day I was born... not sure when it all began, but here's to the next step!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Soloist
WARNING: SPOILER! If you haven't seen this movie and would like to do so without knowing how it turns out, read no further!
(Written February 3rd)
I went to see "The Soloist" (Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx) inthe only theater it's playing at in Bogotá -- Cine Colombia de la Av. Chile.
It was good, but not quite what I expected. I guess I expected redemption, reconciliation, healing... on a grand scale.
I expected the neatly-tied bow, but what I got was life. Gritty, frustration, disappointing, entangling, obligating commitment to people... And the fact that we can't go in and do some "quick fix" -- erase the damage of disease and time and sin in the world, and then pull out unscathed.
At first, the reporter just needed a story, then he wanted to help the homeless guy and take away his problems -- "fix" him and his life. When he saw it wasn't happening, he wanted out, but it was too late -- he was already in too deep.
In the end, he "settles" for relationship: a slow redemption process, perhaps.
Before I left for the theater I was talking with a woman who is in Bogotá with a visiting YWAM team who has seen the movie and felt disappointed by it for the lack of hope, healing, redemption. It's true what she says, that Jesus could miraculously heal the schizophrenic man and redeem his soul AND his life. But that doesn't always happen. In fact, most of the time it doesn't. And we can lose faith, but we can also deal with it and grow in a slow healing and redemption.
If Nathaniel Ayers (homeless) had gotten on meds, off the street, all better, and become a star celloist, then Steve López (reporter) could've pulled out of the picture, self-content, and moved on with his life.
But we need each other, as frustrating and unproductive as it can be.
A quote from the movie, scribbled on the back of my ticket stub in the dark theater... it speaks what I often think, hope, and pray for the street people, addicts, and prostitutes that I see:
"I believe these children of God are gonna be okay tonight. They're gonna sleep and dream as humans do."
(Written February 3rd)
I went to see "The Soloist" (Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx) inthe only theater it's playing at in Bogotá -- Cine Colombia de la Av. Chile.
It was good, but not quite what I expected. I guess I expected redemption, reconciliation, healing... on a grand scale.
I expected the neatly-tied bow, but what I got was life. Gritty, frustration, disappointing, entangling, obligating commitment to people... And the fact that we can't go in and do some "quick fix" -- erase the damage of disease and time and sin in the world, and then pull out unscathed.
At first, the reporter just needed a story, then he wanted to help the homeless guy and take away his problems -- "fix" him and his life. When he saw it wasn't happening, he wanted out, but it was too late -- he was already in too deep.
In the end, he "settles" for relationship: a slow redemption process, perhaps.
Before I left for the theater I was talking with a woman who is in Bogotá with a visiting YWAM team who has seen the movie and felt disappointed by it for the lack of hope, healing, redemption. It's true what she says, that Jesus could miraculously heal the schizophrenic man and redeem his soul AND his life. But that doesn't always happen. In fact, most of the time it doesn't. And we can lose faith, but we can also deal with it and grow in a slow healing and redemption.
If Nathaniel Ayers (homeless) had gotten on meds, off the street, all better, and become a star celloist, then Steve López (reporter) could've pulled out of the picture, self-content, and moved on with his life.
But we need each other, as frustrating and unproductive as it can be.
A quote from the movie, scribbled on the back of my ticket stub in the dark theater... it speaks what I often think, hope, and pray for the street people, addicts, and prostitutes that I see:
"I believe these children of God are gonna be okay tonight. They're gonna sleep and dream as humans do."
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