Southwood Lutheran Church

The Happiest People I Know

"Those are the happiest people I know."

A blog post with this title has been ruminating in my head for about a year.  It was originally about shoes, but now its about Tanzanian's.  Let me explain.

I know a girl who works in the shoe department at Von Maur. I have to admit that I was surprised to hear her say that working there is the best job she's ever had.  She claims:  "These are the happiest people I've ever met."  This is not a flaky superficial girl either, she's spiritual, she's a church goer, she prays, she even meditates.  All that and she still says, customers in the shoe department at Von Maur are the happiest people she's ever met.

I think I agree with her.  The shoe department at Von Maur is one of my happy places.  Even if I don't buy anything, I could spend an hour just perusing the possibilities.  In the shoe department you don't have to worry about how much weight you've gained or how tall/short your legs are - shoes look good on everybody.  This makes a shoe shopper happy.

But I started to rethink this theory on Sunday.  I heard someone declare at a Tanzania meeting that "Tanzanian's are the happiest people I know."  I couldn't disagree with her either.  I've never seen bigger smiles than on my friends in Tanzania.  These people, who have next to nothing by way of material possessions, have everything by way of sheer joy and happiness.  It's no wonder that a very common girl's name there is "Happy."

I am laughing at the irony of comparing shoe shoppers (perhaps the quintessential expression of American greed) to Tanzanians (the very picture of humility and generosity).  Our perspective makes such a difference, doesn't it?  If you're looking for happiness - you're going to find it.  If you're looking for greed, you're going to find it.  If you're looking for despair, you'll find it.

So I've been keeping my eyes open for happiness - and I'm finding it, not only in shoes and Tanzanian friends but in:

• The laughter in my small group at the frequency with which we get off topic.
• The joy a young boy named Marvin finds in reading.
• The "cheese sandwich" I made with my nephew out of two couch cushions and a story book.  (Which, by the way, was delicious.)
• The "ah-ha's" people are having as they read Enough.
• The excitement building for Thanksgiving worship and time with family.
• The anticipated "white stuff."

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 (TNIV)

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

Who are the happiest people you know?

Pastor Sara

God is Sufficient

This post comes from Scott Koehn, a member of Southwood's Tanzania team who recently hosted a visitor from Tanzania.

This past weekend, Saturday afternoon until Tuesday morning, we have had a Tanzanian named Munguatosha staying with us. It was his first trip to the United States and we spent all afternoon Sunday touring Lincoln.

He was amazed at the homes people live in, the shopping malls, the automobiles with only one or two people in them, the downtown area, and the university campus. As we passed a small used car lot he couldn’t believe the number of different cars and trucks there were for people to choose from. In his country walking, bicycles, and buses, are what most people use for transportation. I next took him to the new car lots on North 27th streets.

He asked how people could purchase such nice vehicles and live in such nice big homes. I tried to convince him that not everyone was so fortunate and drove him to some of the poorer neighborhoods with small houses and apartment buildings. He pointed out that people still had cars or trucks there as well.

We ended the trip by driving by a Starbucks and store that was marked Pet Hotel. He looked at me and before he could ask I said yes people pay money to leave their pets there while they are on vacation or out of town.

On Monday night I took him to small group where we went through the first chapter of the book “Enough” He sat and listened quietly to us talk about “affluenza” and “credititus” and keeping up with the Joneses. He listened quietly to us read and discuss the Bible verses. As we went through the discussion questions he talked about coming back from Henry Doorley zoo earlier that afternoon and seeing storage buildings where people stored there “stuff” they didn’t have room for in their homes and garages. Then I sat and became quiet. I thought about my own life filled with consumerism, all the stuff I had, and being driven to work hard to get a large enough retirement account that some day I could retire. But the thoughts and questions remained unanswered. How much is enough?

Munguatosha left Tuesday morning to visit other places in Nebraska. As Faye and I discussed the weekend’s events and our visitor around the dinner table Tues, evening, it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I laughed out loud when it dawned on me the answer to my thoughts and questions had been with me all weekend. Munguatosha’s name translates to “God is sufficient”.

Our God is all we truly need.

Beyond One Sunday

We celebrated Global Mission Sunday this past week.  But Global Mission goes far beyond one Sunday and three worship services per year.  Already in the four days that have passed between Global Mission Sunday and today, great things have been happening to change lives in God's kingdom!

• Pastor Moshi, the Pastor In Charge at Uswaa in Tanzania received the prayer requests from Southwood's people and was eager to have his congregation begin praying for Southwood. He said:

To us here at Uswaa are fine. I received the list of prayer requests. Thanks so much for share with us the prayers we will do on our side.  As Christians we have an opportunity to go before him and cry for help. Thanks so much. WE WILL PRAY.

• Michelle is writing on her blog this week about how she's praying for her AIDs orphans, Neema and Kantate in a new way.  Check out Southwood's Global Missions page to learn more about taking a Global Missions trip or sponsoring an AIDs orphan.  From that link you can also watch the Global Mission's video we showed in church this past Sunday.
• This week we are sending money to Uroki Secondary School in Tanzania so that Uswaa students can participate in a 90 day intensive course in English to prepare them for acceptance exams to Secondary School.
• On Saturday 60 people from Southwood will work at Kids Against Hunger for our Southwood Serves day.  They will work for two hours and package over 10,000 meals that will be shipped around the world.

If you'd like to dig deeper into how you might get involved in Community and Global missions check out the book The Hole In Our Gospel, by Richard Sterns.  This is an incredible book that both gives a picture of the reality of need in the world and gives us real ways that we as individuals and churches can be involved in spreading hope.

An Experiment in Hunger

Could you go for a whole week eating beans and rice?  How about just rice?
 
This past Sunday we hosted a human experiment focusing on the types of portion sizes, foods, and dinner settings of people from different income levels around the world.  People who attended the Hunger Banquet were asked to “Come. Eat. And Leave Hungry.”  That hunger was both physical and metaphorical.
 
First the physical hunger, the attendees drew out a colored card as they entered the room:

• Blue cards placed you at the high income table where you were served a meal of lasagna, garlic, bread, and salad.
• Orange cards placed you at the middle income tables where you were served rice and beans.
• Yellow cards landed you with a seat on the floor and a bowl full of rice.

After eating the meal we talked about how it felt to be in one particular income level or another.  The people at the high income table felt guilty.  The people in the middle were just glad to be in the middle.  The people on the floor were still hungry, and had a new appreciation for those around the world who go hungry.  One person from the high income table ventured across the room to share her food with the hungry.
 

Scott Young from Lincoln’s Food Bank was there and shared an important message about the reality of hunger right here in Lincoln and in Nebraska.  The Food Bank is doing amazing work in many areas, but there is still need.  You can listen to Scott’s message here.  Scott reminded us that most of us have drawn a blue card in life.  Not because of anything we’ve done to earn it, but by “the lottery of the womb.“  He said, “many of us have woken up on the third base and we think we’ve hit a triple.”
 
Participants in the Hunger Banquet left with a metaphorical hunger to “do something.”  Many will be serving at Southwood Serves this Saturday, and many others will find themselves walking across the room in the future to share the food they’ve been given with others.
 
Are you hungry?  (physically or metaphorically)  What are you going to do about it?
 
Pastor Sara

Mission Sunday

Listen to Pastor Greg's Message

Text based on: Matthew 25:31-46 (NLT)

“I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” Matthew 25:40 (NLT)

Matthew 25 contains 3 parables about Jesus’ second coming. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus is making a connection between the final judgment and whether or not we have served to meet the needs of the “least of these” in our midst. Jesus says that when we serve the “least of these,” we are serving him! He even goes as far to say that if we ignore the “least of these” amongst us, our hearts are not with him and our salvation is in question.

Some Facts about Poverty

• 40% of the world’s population make less than $2 a day (2.6 billion people).
• 15% of the world’s population make less than $1 a day (1 billion people).
• 4.5% of the world’s population make $105 a day (0.3 billion people).
• The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for just 5 percent of global income.  The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of the world’s income.
• The top 20% of the world’s population consumes 86% of the world’s goods.
• Some 350-400 million children are hungry.
• About 1 in 7 worldwide (854 million people) do not have enough food to sustain them.
• Approximately 25,000 people die each day of hunger or its related causes, about 9 million people per year.

Serving the Least of these has had an impact!

• Life expectancy in developing nations increased from 46 years in 1960 to 66.1 in 2005.
• Preventable child deaths have fallen 50% since 1960.
• The percentage of people with access to clean water in developing countries went from 35% in 1975 to 80% in 2007.
• Polio has been almost eradicated from the globe.
• Adult literacy has risen from 43 to 77 percent since 1970.

Next Steps

• Pray for the “least of these” in our midst.
• Get involved: Give your time and money to community and global missions work.
• Change your lifestyle; live more simply and generously so others may have basic needs met.

Three Cups of Tea

Last night, like about 1000 other Lincolnites I got the chance to hear Greg Mortenson speak.  Mortenson is the author of the book Three Cups of Tea, a Three Cups of Tea young readers edition, and a children's book called Listen to the Wind.  (Each of these books will soon be available in Southwood's library.) Greg also has a new book coming out in December called Stones into Schools.

Read the Journal Star article here.

The title of the book Three Cups of Tea comes from something Greg learned when he was rescued by a small Pakistani village after a failed attempt to climb K2.  It takes three cups of tea to build a relationship, the first cup we are strangers, the second cup we are friends, the third cup we are family.  You know what happens over those cups of tea?  Conversation - the essential ingredient to building strong relationships.

From a blog post I wrote last summer after I had read the book, Here are a couple of my favorite lines from the book Three Cups of Tea:

"In times of war, you often hear leaders - Christian, Jewish, and Muslim - saying, 'God is on our side.' but that isn't true. In war, God is on the side of refugees, widows, and orphans."

And from a young woman, educated at the first school built:

"When I was a little sort of girl, I would run away and hide my face. But after I graduated from the Korphe School I felt a big change in my life, I felt I was clear and clean and could go before anybody and discuss anything."

Greg is an incredibly humble man, and that is inspiring. He is building schools one at a time in order to break the cycle of violence. He quotes an African proverb that says: "If you educate a boy, you educate and individual. If you educate a girl, you educate a community."  I am just now finishing up a book on the global condition of women called "Half the Sky, Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide"  look for a review of that next week.  I am so thankful that Greg Mortenson is encouraging and equipping girls and women to be educated and to then educate and care for their families and their communities.

You can learn more about Mortenson's work here and see some of his speaking appearances here.

Did you hear Greg last night?  What inspired you?  Have you read the book?

Pastor Sara

Hands Tied Together

This Sunday is Global Mission Sunday at Southwood.  We will spend the morning celebrating the relationship God has given us with our brothers and sisters in Tanzania and Honduras.  We've been connected with these global family members for years now, but this year we found out that they are connected to each other too. 

Check out this great story!  It comes from Invo Makayo, the Headmaster of Uroki Secondary School in the Uswaa Parish in Tanzania.  He has never met anyone from Honduras, yet he faithfully prays for them as his own brothers and sisters.  To the right is a picture of Invo with Kristi Larson, one of the members of Southwood's Tanzania team.  You can read another story about Invo and Kristi here.

On August 3rd, Invo sent us this email:

After prayers (by Staff and Students of Uroki) for our sisters and brothers in Honduras, I decided to research a bit about this Country. On one website I faced the following alert:

Travel Alert: The security situation in Honduras remains fragile following recent political instability. Travelers should stay away from any demonstrations and monitor the media for any developments.

I was moved by tears. I heard the echo of Pastor Sara's words when preaching at Uswaa. I heard her telling us about our young sister (Honduras). She said we are three sisters (Uswaa, Southwood, and Honduras). I really felt as my own kinsmen are in great anguish. What then could I do to help them ? Nothing, nothing at all, the distance is a limiting factor, BUT even if I could be there who Am I to calm the situation? Nothing.

On the other side of the coin ... We have lots we could do. PRAYERS !!!!!!!!!!! yes by faith we have powers to stop everything that is disturbing our brethren. And this is what I'm calling upon to every body that known to have brothers and Sisters in Honduras Let keep our hands tied together till security is restored

In his service,

Invo

Sometimes I think we can go to Honduras and Tanzania and think we are the big brother or even the parent in this global relationship.  Thinking we have everything to give and teach and nothing to gain.  Oh how wrong that is - we have so much to learn and so much to be taught about faith by these faithful people who care so passionately for ALL of God's children.

Come and join the Global Celebration this Sunday!

Pastor Sara

Watch and Vote

Here are two great videos that Southwood members have been working on.  Watch them, vote for them, and they just might get some money out of it to support these great causes!  Don't worry about choosing between the two, they are entered in different categories so they can both win!!  Vote now!

First, Coach Bob Bauerle's program:  The Making of a Champion

Second, Southwood's AIDS Orphan/Needy student scholarship program, video made by Heidi Longe, The song used on the video is an African Hymn sung by the children of Southwood on the VBS CD!

Here's how you vote:

1. Go to Website and watch the videos Coach Bob and Faces of Hope
2. Select the “Register” tab at the top-right of the page
3. Enter your contact info with your e-mail address and select “Register”
4. Check your e-mail for your login confirmation (If it doesn’t come to your inbox, check your junk mail)
5. Follow the link in your e-mail and login in
6. Select “Watch & Rate Videos”
7. Under the tabs, in the search box type “Coach Bob” and "Faces of Hope" then select “Search”
8. Select the video Link
9. Use the stars under the video to input your rating (The rating system is on a 1-10 scale, move your mouse over the stars to select your rating).

Thank you for voting!

Global Mission Prayer Request

As many of you have heard on the news, Honduras is currently experiencing some political unrest.  Please continue to keep our sister church, LaCeibita and our brothers and sisters in Honduras in your thoughts and prayers.

Below is a video created to explain what happened in Honduras to the international community. 

Glasses in Honduras

I recently returned to Lincoln after spending a week in Honduras, part of a team of 22 people who all decided that God’s call was pulling each of us to serve our brothers and sisters in Honduras. I have been blessed to be a part of this mission for each of the last five years, and each year I eagerly anticipate how the next trip will be both the same and also different than each of the others.

It’s a bit difficult to put into words, but there is a feeling I get when I am doing God’s work in Honduras that is exactly the same each year I go down. The easiest way to describe the feeling is one of all-encompassing peace and satisfaction. The days are so simple and free of the modern-day distractions that bombard us here in the states, that it is easy to see God at work all around us. This year that feeling came when I saw the one-toothed grin of an old man from La Ceibita who our team fitted with a pair of prescription glasses. I don’t know what it was like for him to look through those lenses for the first time, but his smile showed that his world was extraordinarily different with those glasses on than it had been without them. Our team saw this smile over and over as we fit people in four different villages with glasses that were collected here in Lincoln. The same feeling of service came in the dental clinic when our team finished with a procedure that we knew would remove a great source of physical pain from someone’s everyday life. These are the feelings that I have come to expect from the trips to Honduras, and a big reason that I keep going back.

As rewarding as these expected feelings are, I think even more valuable are the things that happen that are a complete surprise. It is these unplanned moments that really make me see that God is in control. One of those moments happened this year when the team was spending the evening with the congregation of our sister church in La Ceibita. Our plan was to pop popcorn and show a movie in Spanish, but God had other plans. We got to the church and plugged in the DVD player, and wouldn’t you know the machine didn’t work. We tried everything possible, but our movie wasn’t going to play. What were we going to do without the movie? We definitely didn’t have a backup plan. We ended up grabbing a guitar and singing and dancing (thanks Josh) with the people in the church. Then we played the most intense game of musical chairs I have ever been a part of. The smiles on everyone’s faces showed me that we were doing more to build relationships with our friends in La Ceibita than we ever would have watching a movie. It wasn’t what we expected, but it couldn’t have been any better.

Another unexpected blessing on the trip came from a rainstorm. This was no ordinary rainstorm, it rained like someone had turned on a faucet full blast. The problem with the rain was that part of our team was in the back of a pickup getting absolutely drenched. The truck rides that day and night weren’t fun at the time, but when I look back at the trip that is one of the memories that comes back first. Being in the back of a muddy pickup truck, soaking wet, under a tarp, breathing diesel fumes, with a handful of people really didn’t know each other a few days earlier, this ride really brought our team closer together. Laughing at a joke told under a tarp flapping in the wind at 45 miles an hour brought me closer to the people I was with, and not just because I was crushed up against them. That is the other thing that makes me want to do these trips over and over, it’s the people I get to know along the way. I share something with these people that comes back full force when I see one of them at Southwood on a Sunday morning.

The expected feelings, the unexpected God moments, the friendships with team members, the relationships with Hondurans; all of these things are what make me want to go back to Honduras again and again.

Erik Robart