To the naked eye it appears that I'm back to life as usual. For you reading this, you are probably going to go back to life as usual - sans Colombia blogs - after reading this.

DON'T!

This is my challenge to myself as well as to you. Don't let life go back to the way it was. No, you don't have to pack you bags and leave, no you don't have to quit your job or sell your house, no you don't have to do anything major like that. Do something "major" by remembering to pray for the people in Colombia and throughout the world, especially as we remember Reformation and the way that a single person impacted the church throughout the world for centuries to come. Do something "major" by talking to your congregation about starting a companion relationship with a congregation in Colombia, Tanzania, or somewhere else if you're not from Southeastern Minnesota. If you already have such a relationship, remember to give of our resources - your time, your finances, and your prayers - for those people. Do something "major" by checking out the Lutheran World Relief Colombia Advocacy page and consider joining their advocacy network to receive updates of advocacy opportunities and other prayer concerns in Colombia.

These "major" things are ways to make a big difference in your life and the lives of brothers and sisters in Colombia and they're things you can start doing right now. They are ways to make sure that you have not wasted your time reading my thoughts on the last couple of weeks and ways to remind our friends in Colombia that they are not alone.

Yesterday was a day of visiting and goodbyes before I returned to Bogota today. One of the things I did was sit in on the ladies' meeting - yes, the women of the church gather just like they do in the U.S., just without the quilting! The young people also put together a service last night to say goodbye. Though I am ready to go home, it did make leaving a little harder.

During last night's service, I was asked to share a summary of my trip. What I told them is that I hope this trip will be a seed, not an end in and of itself. Especially after this experience, it's so incredibly frustrating to watch in the majority of Christians and churches in the U.S. - this includes myself - our tendancy to think inward. Sharing the last couple of weeks has been living out the "one body" of Christ's church. Why do we look so much inside our own walls, or maybe just our own communities? If we do look beyond, why is it to just do something concrete for someone to make ourselves feel better for what we have? If Jesus is "the way," then we NEED to share experiences with people from other places and other backgrounds in order to see other parts of that way. Our vision is narrow, and we can't see the whole picture if we continually look inward.

I don't think that everyone reading this needs to pack their bags and head to Colombia tomorrow, but I DO want you to consider your own perspective of the Christian church, consider what sufferings AND blessings people of other backgrounds bring to the Christian experience.

I was observing music practice Saturday night as the young people prepared for Sunday's service. It occured to me that their approach to learning music was the same as their approach to ministry. Sunday there were six people ages 17-25 that lead the music (7 if you include my participation). Few, if any, read music in the traditional way. Instead, the more musically literate ones help the others, they learn by hearing, and they just work at it until it comes out right - which is much faster than it would be if I had to do that. The better ones can get it right in two or three tries.

Just as many of us are used to complete music given to us so we can play it correctly, as written, we're also used to tried and true methods of ministry. Things that have been done many times, things that have been discussed and researched and approved. In Colombia, they have some of that including much of the same liturgy that we have as well as creeds, hymns, and other portions of worship. The grander scheme of their ministry, however, is more by trial and error. They learn the basic concepts and then learn by trial and error. There isn't much error in their trials because their ministry is done with such a passion, but they are able to hone what they do, how they invite others, where they meet, what projects they do, everything. Then, once they have the basics down, just as they would try out ways to "dress up" a song a little with echoes, key changes, etc., they seek ways to improve what they already have in their ministry.

This reminds me of the parable of the sown seeds. Yes, research as to the most effective means is nice, but sometimes you just need to sow with abandon, with passion, to get the word of God out in whatever means possible. After all, isn't this how new methods of ministry are born?

Romans 16:16 says: "Greet one another with a holy kiss." Well, I have definitely been living out this commissioning this week! In case you don't know, Colombia, like many other cultures, does the kiss on the cheek greeting, and not just with your best friends or family - with EVERYONE. We also hug a lot and hold hands, especially when praying.

Having enjoyed the simple action of touch, especially when it communicates more than I can understand in the language sometimes!, I have been thinking about a discussion that is going on in many of our congregations in the US, especially as winter (and cold and flu) season approaches. I'm sorry to all the healthcare professionals out there, but, though I understand the importance of good hygiene, I hate the trend of leaving out the sharing of the peace or just waving. If you're worried about getting sick there's a miraculous new invention called hand sanitizer. Use it. Or give hugs! Hugs involve little to no skin-to-skin contact and are even more meaningful. Another even better option, don't touch your face with your hands until after you've had the chance to wash them.

I suppose, living in the culture we do, I should mention that there are people who don't feel comfortable with this, but I haven't met anyone who feels uncomfortable with a handshake.

Now that I've said my "soapbox piece" I would like to encourage you to, in whatever way you can, maintain connection with your brothers and sisters - and I'm not just talking about biological ones. Forget science for just a minute and share a hug; it's like reaching out with the hands of God to bless each other.

Last Sunday I worshiped in Castillo Fuerte (Mighty Fortress) Lutheran Church in Bogota. This particular congregation spent a lot of time praying. I don't just mean that they had lots of short prayers or that their prayers included every person who had a sniffle in a hundred mile radius. Their prayers were true prayers of the heart, true worship. I admit, I didn't particularly care for it. Part of it was simply that I didn't understand everything and I was trying so hard to understand that I couldn't pray on my own OR with them. Another part of it, though, is that I have become accustomed to our culture of efficiency, go-go-go, and do-do-do. What was the purpose of a 15 minute prayer to tell God how great God is? God knows that, a sentence, maybe even a few, would cover it. Also, where is the part praying for those around us? There weren't even really thanksgiving prayers. Well, there were, but only “Thanks God for being great” kind of prayers. Where is the part that actually gets something prayed for?

After spending more time here and after a lot more prayer, I have a different understanding. First of all, I have been on several home visits a day, have been at homes of my hosts for lunch or just to pick something up, and have been at gatherings of different groups of church members. Each time we pray. During the home visits we sometimes pray three times - once before we eat (it usually isn't a meal, but they definitely like to feed visitors!), once before we read the lesson and talk about it, and once before we leave. Many of these prayers include specific petitions for something, but there is also a lot more adoration than I am used to as well. Now, after living in their homes, seeing what they have, seeing what the people are like, and seeing how they practice their faith, it makes more sense. Life is simple here. I am used to the amazing power of technology, money, and the life around me. Here businesses are a shelf of things for sale in the front room or garage of a house, cars are only owned if absolutely necessary and you have a lot of money. Technology such as phone calls and computer use are available in small amounts as you need it from every street corner. In contrast to this, I can see how the grandness, vastness, and immenseness of God can be so overwhelming. It is overwhelming. Somehow we, or at least I, have come to believe that anything is possible. God is, I think I understand the nature of God, but I am not as impressed with God as I should be. I have taken God for granted, taken my faith for granted.

Let me make something clear here, Colombians live differently than we do, but not in such a way as deserves pity. True, they have less materially and they don't have as many opportunities to do things like, for example, travel to another country for two weeks just to see what it's like. However, life, here, where I am, is comfortable. Life for many is full of family and friends and so long as you have work you can support yourself and your family. Not to say that life is fine here, poverty and violence are still a part of life, but a part that requires our compassion, our recognition of the situation and our emotional connection, but it does not require our pity.

Those things being said, take a few moments to pray. Actually, I encourage you to take several minutes or more to pray. Don't recite a prayer that you say every day or just go through the motions, actually open your heart up to God. Contemplate how amazing it is that we are the children of such a power. Don't let the ringing phone, the impending end of the commercial break, your next appointment, or the waiting laundry pull you away from your time with God.

You may have heard of the new project in the ELCA called "Lutherans Read the Bible: The Book of Faith Initiative." I think there is a lot we can learn from the Lutherans in Colombia. In my experience, we, at best, give the Bible a special place in our homes and take it out occasionally, maybe even daily, and we might also keep little wallet cards with verses on them. I am continually surprised by how often written messages here end with "I leave you with this verse..." Sometimes they write out the verse, sometimes only the reference. Personally I would have to think long and hard to come up with a good verse every time. Maybe this is more of a personal confession, but I believe it's the same for many of us.

Jorge and I went on more house visits yesterday. At one home he asked if I wanted to teach something. I asked which verses he was going to use (we had only gotten as far as "Luke, chapter 4"). He said no, whatever passage I wanted. You mean just pull something out of thin air? Ok, maybe if I had my usual Bible, with all its tabs and markings, with me I might be able to find something, but I have a lighter-weight Bible with me for this trip.

If you haven't already looked into more about the Book of Faith initiative, I encourage you to check it out. I also challenge you to blow off the dust from that Bible and think about what passage you would choose if asked to share something.

The last couple of days I have witnessed true fellowship. I accompanied the pastor of the congregation in Tunja on several visits of people in the town, particularly in a community far from the church. We just went and visited. He asked what was going on in their lives and was genuinely interested. Sometimes we would share a reading and talk about it. We would always pray. They often wanted me to pray, me with my insufficient Spanish.

The last two nights we were at the church with the young people (about 17-25) just being together but also practicing music. Last night was especially powerfull as there were even more people there with varying levels of musical ability. They were there to actually LEARN. I spent some time with one young man learning to play the song Sanctuary on the guitar. He obviously wasn't a very accomplished musician and I can't help much with the guitar, but we got through it.

Did I mention these young people gather EVERY night?

How different would our faith communities be if we truely spent time with one another? We were truely part of each other's lives? And I don't mean in the way of a click that doesn't allow others in. When we were on our visits, I witnesed Jorge (the pastor) talking to some boys and inviting them to come learn music and come to their youth gathering on Friday nights. He wasn't pressuring them, but it also wasn't an insincere invitation with no intentions of a result. This is how the church has grown here in Colombia - by invitation, by sharing, by caring. It doesn't matter if people are members, if they have enough money or talent to contribute to the congregation, nothing matters. They are just invited.