True Evangelism

Photo of a Healing Waters system in the Dominican Republic

This quote is at the heart of my faith, and at the heart of the work that Healing Waters International does (which is the non-profit that I work for.) http://www.healingwatersintl.org/

Our founder, Tom Larson, used this quote a lot in describing his motivation for the work he did with Healing Waters. It truly describes what Christian faith and evangelism SHOULD be.

"Preach the Gospel at all times, when necessary use words."

-St. Francis of Assisi (Founder of the Franciscan order)

What is success?

Photos of kids in the DR fetching water for their family from a Healing Waters system

A friend of mine shared this Ralph Waldo Emerson poem with me a few years ago. . . enjoy!

What is Success?

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier

because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

New Quote (and my attempt at cool graphic art)

I heard this quote at the movie Call + Response http://www.callandresponse.com/home.html (which could be the subject of another blog entry) and it really resonated with me. I have attempted to create some cool graphic art for the quote. (For those of you that know me, I am not very cool, graphic, or artsy, but I had to try.) Enjoy!

Another good quote, from a beer bottle in the Dominican Republic

A photo of some kids in the Dominican Republic

I spent five weeks in the Dominican Republic (DR) summer of '08. I found this great quote in a most unlikely place, on the label of my beer bottle. There is one major beer producer in the DR, Cerveceria Nacional, and they produce just a few beers, with Presidente being the most popular. (Sort of the Budweiser of the DR)

A few years ago they decided to produce a boutique beer. Boutique beer requires a trendy name and label, and in the DR, Trendy=English. So the beer is called "Cerveza One" and nobody really knows how to pronounce it. The label has a quote in English on it as well, which is ironic for a boutique beer produced by the national brewery in the DR.

That was a long explanation for a short quote, but here it is, directly from the "Cerveza One" beer bottle from the Dominican Republic:

"Life is no more than a series of consequences that could be shifted by the action of one individual that could inspire many to unite over one common goal. That individual could be you."

A great quote

A photo of a child in Peru along the Inca Trail

I just stumbled across this quote. It was on the desk of my CEO and I asked him if I could share it:

“It is one thing to say with the prophet Amos, ‘Let justice roll down like mighty waters,’ and quite another to work out the irrigation system. Clearly there is more certainty in the recognition of wrongs than there is in the prescription for their cure.”
~William Sloane Coffin

A Franciscan Blessing for the New Year

A photo of kids in Guatemala I took near a Healing Waters water system

This is my motto for the new year:

A Franciscan Blessing

May God bless you with discomfort…
at easy answers, half –truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart

May God bless you with Anger…
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with Tears…
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness…
To believe that you can make a difference in their world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen.