Bursting Bubbles, Making Friends

Steve (left) and Zach were two friends from Northwestern College that we had the privilege of working with in Opelousas.  Both seniors, Steve hopes to be working in youth ministry soon, while Zach intends to work for the Iowa state patrol.  I recommend both of these guys if you're looking for a good youth pastor or cop.

You understand that there are Christians outside of your own bubble, don't you?  Well of course you do.  You would be silly to think otherwise, because the God we serve is bigger than the little realms that we occupy in our day-to-day worlds.  However, if you're like me, you can often get preoccupied with these minute universes, so much so that you might be taken by surprise to see that there are others, not so much unlike yourself, in other places around the world.

Such was one of the best parts of our trip to Opelousas last week, when we were able to partner with not only the people of Opelousas but also with a team of students and faculty from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.  Oh, those crazy Northwesterners.  They outnumbered us nearly 2-to-1, and as one of our team members put it, "their guys (they brought football players) made us look tiny."  

While we say "bag" they say "beg".  They made mention of summer when the thermometer broke 60 degrees, while we listened in awe at stories of endless snow.  Their basketball teams were competing in the NAIA national tournaments, and ours, well, they were strategizing for next season, we'll say.  Yet, what was consistent for both teams was the simple fact that we were bound together indelibly by the same faith in Christ, the same orienting motivation that caused us to travel hours away from home, not to the beach and a party scene, but to a tired town in Louisiana as much in need of grace as the rest of us.  The whole scene was reminiscent of Paul's plea to the Colossians when he says that when the new self is active there is no Greek-Jew, slave-free distinctions, but "Christ is all, and in all." 

We could all stand to have our bubbles destroyed like this more often, because it might just confront us with the reality that, though our culture might tell us otherwise, we are not at the center of our stories.  

Thalia (top) works alongside Jill from Northwestern.

Kelsey (center), a NWC senior, was on her fourth spring break trip to Opelousas.  She was interviewed by a Lafayette news station that was doing a story on Hope for Opelousas and the Northwestern and Bryan teams.

Ross, a freshman, melting girls' hearts with photos like these.

Emily from NWC.

Brian (left) with Tavian and Loren Carriere of Hope for Opelousas.