missionary journey to lithuania

Hey cool people, take a look: some photo's from the missionary journey to Lithuania I joined with this summer:

1st album with 4 photo's:
http://www.mijnalbum.nl/index.php?m=fto&a=1&id=71019&key=LNFQADPC

2nd album with 8 photo's:
http://www.mijnalbum.nl/index.php?m=fto&a=1&id=71904&key=QXRDGPDM

 

Thank you for your pictures. Can I just ask you why Lithuania was chosen as the destination for your missionary journey?

 

I have another question but much more shallow: WTF is that purple thing in the plate which appears in one photo from the second album?

 

Come on Dutch Disiciple put us out of our misery....what is the mysterious purple?

My guess would be some kind of beetroot soup by the way Migle. Do you not have beetroot in Spain?

 

good questions. Why Lithuania? Well, let me tell you how I got on a missionary journey.

In the time that I was officially christian but in my heart turned away from jesus, I read the book 'no compromise' about the life of Keith Green. That really inspired me for the mission because reading how Keith Green reached out to the forgotten and needy of the society really touched me. But sin quickly took away that inspiration.

Long later, after I was freed from my slavery and hypocrasy, and really went for Jesus 100% again (I came back to Jesus) and Jesus love filled my heart, I remembered the book about Keith Green again. A chruch memberh held his birthdayparty at a dutch ywam base ( Youth with a Mission; international missionary organisation) and that's how I found out about GOteams: missionary journey's of YWAM in summer (3.5 weeks) for young people.

There where many, also far ones, to lands like Brazil. I could only pay two of them: either Lithuania, or the faith experience (no destination, but getting together to pray and let god speak about where to go). Because it was my first missionary jounrey I decided to do something I knew what I was up to. I figured, when I have some mission experience, I could do smth like the faith experience. but anyway, thats why I digned up for GOteam Lithuania.


And YES it is some sort of beetroot soup! It's made of some sour milk (though it's not sour, really fresh) and with beetroot in it, hence the pink. It was really nice! And you eat it with potatoes (funny, the yellow and pink). Obviously, the first time you see it put under your nose, the reaction is "What?! It's pink!!!"

 

thanks for the explanation, now i'm more calm about it
yep, we have beet here but i never saw it in a soup, it's interesting though
i'll have to taste it.
And nice trip dutch diciple, but i would like to know if you had gone if it wasn't all about Jesus and and his love. I don't want to bother you with this comment, i just mean that we shouldn't need any religious or any other excuse to help the others, well and idon't know if i'm explaining myself properly but, what do you all think about this question.

hugs.

 

It was all about being there for other people. And my motivation for that was my love for Jesus, yes. by the way, I'm going there again, this christmas vacation. In summer it was vor volunteering, now it'll be for vacation.

Being a "Jesus Freak" ain't my excuse to help people: It's my motivation.

If you got any question about weird 'lil me just feel free to ask, don't hesitate. Did I answer clearly?

 

I always wonder though about missionary expeditions ( is that the right word?) .......going to far away places to spread the word of the Lord.....when I think of your country Holland as a quite secular country.

Is it to give young missionaries an experience travelling the world? Or is it because everyones own backyard seems a bit mundane and boring?
I'm not trying to be offensive here,and I could be wrong about Holland , after all I'm here to improve my knowledge of Europe and it's people .....I'm just thinking aloud.

 

Holland is defenitely a very secular country, secularism has hit the culture hard. Defenitely there's much to do for a dutch christian is his own backyard, but yes, this was for me both because I wanted to do the work itself, but yes also to get experience. I wanna be a missionary and commit my life to Jesus and serve all people around me. And the classic idea of a missionary is someone who goes to a counry far away (somewhere in the jungle ) but maybe I'll end up in my own country, that's quit possible.

But going to another country and seeing the needs there make you look with new and opened eyes to your own country. For example, one day I was eating breakfast overthere in Lithuania and I looked out of the window and saw an old woman at the other side of the street, looking for food in the garbage. So I took bread and cookies and walked to her and gave her the food, even though i couldn't speak a word of the language.

To help people which such basic needs made me look different towards the riches we live in, and all our consumerism and materialism.

 

I'm a christian person... somehow. I think Jesus was the first hippie. I also think he was smoking pot and drinking wine... he enjoyed his gift - life on earth in human disguise - that his father gave to him.
...and people he met followed him, and enjoyed the lives God gave to them.
-It's an insult to God to reject the life he gives you. It's an insult to God, living as a monk, unless you find true pleasure, living as a monk. If you don't - emancipate yourself.

Has dutch secularity becomed threatened since the assassin of Theo van Gogh?
The assassin has made huge impact in european integration policy and in DK, it has becomed a big issue in the 'Culture Struggle'. -There's a big debate where to put the limit/distinction between freedom of expression and law about blasphemy.
I think freedom of expression overrule blasphemy law. In UK they just made a law to forbid making fun with religion. -That means that a fine movie like "Life of Brian" by Monty Python would be forbidden, if it was produced nowadays. That's not culturally progressivity. I'm afraid that my right to express myself is in danger.
-Many comedians in UK has protested against the new law also, btw.

Why are all people so serious nowadays? Don't ppl wanna blow the frames anylonger? Don't we want a revolution anylonger? Don't we want Gods creation (mankind) to revolt the system, by defining a whole new culture?

) / ) (""") ) * ("" @@ ’_) ("") ("”") (’’)
\/_( *)_( (_ */"" @@ (_) (_(* )_( .. )<,

p.s. I respect your mission deeply. To feel good being a missionary must be the definition of happiness, definately! (But I'm trying to start a debate about Christianity and repression meanwhile. And I hope you will participate in debating that aspect of Christianity).

 

you mean a talk about freedom of expression vs. blasphemy?

Well I must say to you that there is quite some hypocrasy, at leats that's how I see it: Theo van Gogh called muslims goatfuckers and most of Holland didn't bother about it (except muslims and some other religious groups such as christians), but as soon as there's a christian who says in public that homosexuality is a sin, or that abortion is murder THEN it is unnacceptable! A bit weird, huh?

Well I dont really know if there should come a law against blasphemy or how far the freedom of expression should go: I'm not a person very much into politics. I think van Gogh said terribly rude things and people should speak words lovingly and not use words to break people down. So the society needs a lots of love I think, and I dont know if making a law about it would work, I mean the love needs to start in human hearts, on a personal level, and when the love will start from within society it will affect society.

Dutch secularism affected by the murder? I think that there is a much bigger need for tolerance now, escpecially for muslims, but also for christians. policians that have a very hard and strict policy against muslims are gaining great support (Geert Wilders). When something happens caused by a muslim terrorist, people blame it on all muslims, and the next step is to blame it on all christians too, and all other 'religious fundamentalists'. i dont know how much it happens but it defenitely does happen. This is shown in the attacks on mosques as well as churches in Holland in the weeks after the murder.

But maybe you could specifically say what you want the debate to be about, a specific question or smth. And where do you want it, on the christianity forum?

 

This is only what I think, Dutch disciple but if you or wolf want to start a thread about Christianity and repression, can we do it in this forum?


I'll join in ( once I've worked out what I think on this one:& )

 

But isn't this what Jesus is all about...his messages well the ones that I as an old christian hippy relate to....turn the other cheek.....love thy neighbour as thyself..they are totally revolutionary.....it's just that us humans get all wrapped up in living our greedy little lives and have enormous trouble living up to such ideals

 

Theo van Gogh made a critical film, because he's a critical artist and debator. A premise for a harmonic free & social dynamic society is that art is above religion. Critical documentary and critic manifested as satire is the nerve in any democracy. If "Life of Brian" would be forbidden, if it was produced nowadays, our democracy is in danger.

love and understanding,
-wolf.

 

...And ofcourse I agree that it's terrible that muslims get attacked in Holland these days (and christian churches as well). -That's not the kind of secularity and socialism I want. People can believe in whatever they want, but religion has no special right above art. That's the basic conditions in a secular democratic society.

love and understanding,
-wolf.

 

Excactly - to feel well & to treat ppl good are connected. To feel well is a premise to treat people well. That's obviously, if life is a gift from God. God might be a philosophical abstraction, but Jesus represents a certain human destiny.

 

Dutch Disciple... Atheism has never caused casualties, in difference to the three monoteistic world religions. So why have any of those religions deserved to be expected to be superior ideas to atheism? Why should a certain meaning system have a special status in a democracy, just because it's labelled "religion"?
Should a blasphemy law also censor people who are critical to philosophy then? To thinkers like Nietzsche and Sartre? (I can hardly imagine that).

 

I thought about this wolf, and I don't think it's true. What about communism? Which as practised in Russia and China made atheism state doctrine. So lots of people were killed by the state for their religious beliefs, as this was seen as a sign of opposition.

What was the religious state of Nazi Germany? I don't actually know, but I don't think it had anything to do with the three major religions.

 

actually christians were people that did many good but if you're gonna focus on the bad stuff......ever heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer? A german theologian in nazi-germany who spoke out against hitler and the nazi, spoke out against the injustice done to jews, spoke out to the way Hitler identified himself as a god, he spoke out against religous leaders that followed Hitler, and He fought for justice and that the church should be the representative of Jesus.

There are many more like him, and persons like bonhoeffer or desmond tutu or bisshop romano (killed in el salvador) are the famous ones, there are far more of those christians that are unknown and work unseen in ghetto's and the places in the world that are uncared.

the Bible says that there will be people calling themselves christians but in fact they are wolves in sheepcoats. If you look at history, but also at modern day church you can see those words are true, but there are defenitley those that follow in Jesus footsteps, even though they are labelled 'conservative', 'old-fashioned', 'fundamental', etc. etc. and they are the true members of the body of Christ, the true church.

I have never seen 'life of brian' (what's it about?) but Theo van Gogh I know ofcourse. And yes, he was critical. Nothing wrong with being critical (in a positive way) we should always think about what we're doing and how the world is working. The film 'submission' of Theo van Gogh and the (muslim) politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali was meant to speak out about violence done to islamic woman, and thus is critical. BUT please explain me the use of using the word 'goatfuckers' when talking about muslims. Does being critical mean deliberatly insulting a religious/ethinc group or minority?

My opinion is be critical in a positive way. Critisize, but don't be so awfully rude by deliberatly insulting these people. The use of that word, and many other words from van Gogh's mouth, what's the use of that?

2 oktober there was a huge protest in Amsterdam against the governements financial policy, which is very un-social. I was there too, I protested there, not inspite, but BECAUSE I am christian. There were 200.000 people there, only 4 protests in the history of Holland were bigger than this one (the number one, 500.000 people or so, was in the 80's against nuclear, my mother was there ). I saw very much banners there with personal insults against certain politicians. I thought that was very rude and totally pointless. My opinion was to protest in a good way, positive, with a clear idea why you are there and what you want, and not personally insulting politicians, which has nothing to do with the governements policy.

opinions/reactions please?

 

Communism, yes... very good example...

If you're a communist in our western societies nowadays, you'll be rediculoused. Why has religion monopoly of being the common meaning system in society, dutch disciple? Why is religion better than communism? Who will be able to prove which meaning is better than the others?
Communism might be bad, but it's better than a creationist cultural world order, where kids get brainwashed to believe that Darwin was a liar, and that it's scientifical proved that the world was created in 6 days, and that Adam was able to name all the animals within 10 seconds, because he had an abnormous big brain.
People can believe in it if they want to, but it's a private matter - not a political matter. I don't want all books at libraries to be burned, just because the ruling political discourse moves closer and closer a theocracy, and more away from the basic principles of any democracy.
...And I hope all women will fight against conservative anti-abortion laws. I don't believe it was Jesus' original intention to allow people to live in false shame that way. Jesus was on the sinners side, and he was a rebellion towards the imperialistic Romans.

My kids shall not grow up in a society, where notoric ideological lies will be considered as 'necessarities' in the public opinion. People can have whatever religious belief they believe in. But religion may never, never, ever colonize the political debate in a secular democratic society.

Right now, in Denmark, the christian rightwing is about to take over the whole country. They occupy peoples mind, and made them zombies.
Denmark is a neoconservative paradise. All political debate is christianity vs. islam. The religious political discourse force the public to take part between 'Christian' and 'Muslim', in this debate. So the religious discourse is the perfect equipment for the capitalist class to control the working class, as you might see:
In Denmark people don't debate politics anylonger in public; they debate religion and values (camouflaged as politics). The conservative capitalists - the handful of men who get wealthy by plundering the rest 90% of the world population is laughing right now. For instance, the danish army participate murder civilians in Iraq, in the name of our rightwing governent and ..."God". Yes, you can bet that we got a wolf dressed like a sheep here! Just reflect two minutes about whom at power. -The rich and powerful man is laughing because he can keep a (true christian) revolution down, by controlling the people by religion. I'm not talking about you as an individual, but I must say that as a whole, that's the function religious sects, as an established social institution, contribute to reproduce the tyrants monopoly at power, and that's a huge loss for the free public opinion.

Isn't that scary!?

I'm sure that christians and muslims could live much more harmonic and peaceful together, if people wouldn't let themselves get seduced by the 'official version' of each their dualistic meaning systems. Religion should not be a political matter in a secular society, more than art is. The ruling conservative rightwing has monopoly of the official version of Christianity.
And that's the direction away from the possibility to think and speak free.