Today I do What?

It's Sunday afternoon and after spending a few hours on my other blog getting ready for my Bible study on Monday I decide it's time to start whining about all the things that I have to do.
HAVE to do? LUCKY to do!
I have a job!! and I get paid.. regularly.
I judge dog shows, travel to, meet people...AND get paid for that also.
I serve my God, benefits beyond comprehension (I guess you could consider that pay).
I bowl, if I'm in town and not traveling to dog shows.
I play racquetball, not well, but well it makes me.
And just maybe I will go to Africa for Lifewater next year.

Enough said.

Get Involved...Buy a Tee-Shirt???

At all turning points in my life I find myself cynical to what I actually support, and today is no different.

The Job...

While looking at details on what field trips (if any) I should go on for Lifewater my eyes were drawn to a Sanitation (latrines) trip in Laos. I hate Laos. I want to go to Africa... NOT Laos, but God pulled the same stunt on Jonah and we all know what happened to him...

So I talk to the wife, and she reminds me we have no money. So I look at the trip detail some more... it's a three week trip. Last month I was gone from work (my normal work) for 3 days and I received over 120 e-mails.

Well, I wonder if God would have gone easier on Jonah if he had a day to day job?? Or if Moses would have used that e-mail excuse in addition to the ones about him not being a good speaker if God would have left him alone??

The Rub...

What if I don't go? Will the information regarding correct latrine construction still be passed along? of course it will.
So what am I being asked to do here? Test my faith? Dominate the world with how I believe?
NO!!!

The Reality...

I have no clue.
I sit here eating cold pizza with my dog Silver and can only assume that in Laos they aren't doing the same.
I know that by going the follow things will occur-

• I'll be showing God that I have faith in where he leads me.
• I'll be helping to empower people to do for themselves.
• I'll be sharing with others my love for Christ in a "Closed Country".
• I'll save lives by reducing the amount of bacteria that will contaminant their food.
• I'll be increasing the level of my training, so that I can contribute more later.

The Boss...

So what do I tell "The Boss"? He's a Christian man so he will be able to understand the desire, but will he understand the need? and more importantly will he understand being gone for 4 weeks while we are trying to make money.

Oh? the Title of this post???

While searching around for information regarding this trip I ran across the website for Blood Water Missions. A notable organization, that does similar work as Lifewater. On the website for Blood Water Missions was the statement

Get Involved.. Buy a Tee-Shirt

I wish that was all God expected from me.........

In his name...rich

LIfewater Conference

I have been back from the Lifewater conference and ETM training for less than 48 hours and I feel the need to outline some of the more important aspects of what I learned and how it effects the world today. Lifewater is more than just a Christian organization that helps bring water to the world. Hopefully these following paragraphs will help clarify this.

Mission Statement:Compelled by God’s call and the global water and sanitation crisis, Lifewater International equips partner organizations and works with them to empower communities in developing countries to gain safe water, adequate sanitation, effective hygiene, and the knowledge of Jesus’ love.

Our Vision:Our vision is a world where every person has access to safe water, improved health, and the knowledge of Jesus’ love.

http://www.lifewater.org/

The details and plans around this mission statement are multi-faceted. As with many of us who were there for the first time, I was exposed to the concept of WASH (WAter, Sanitation, & Hygiene), as a union of needs as opposed to the misconceived mindset of "I'm going to help drill a well in Africa for water".

The weekend (and following week of ETM training) was spent in worship, encouragement, education, and breaking much bread together. The staff of Lifewater along with partners from the various countries were always close by to answer questions that ranged from the technical advantage of a "VIP" latrine, or how to spiritually transform the world.

These are the four workshops that I attended on Saturday;

Hearing From Lifewater Partners-

A Lifewater Partner can be defined as-
A church, mission organization, or non-governmental organization working in a developing country that has been selected through an application process by Lifewater in order to build their capacity in water, sanitation and hygiene.

This hour long workshop provided a platform so that four of the partners could explain in detail what they were currently doing in their country regarding their church, mission and help to bring WASH to the communities. The partners that took part and explained their position in this workshop were from the countries of Laos, Ecuador, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Each partner spoke of the WASH programs in that area, along with the impact of their church. One partner said that the people were now listening to what was being said and a chant they were using is----

"to reduce death we must listen"

Lifewater currently has partners in the following countries-

• Afghanistan
• Ecuador
• Laos
• Mozambique
• Ethiopia
• Uganda
• Kenya
• Zambia

Appropriate WASH Technologies-

This was one of my favorite workshops. It dealt specifically with what are acceptable technologies (sorta like the name implies).

Acceptable WASH Technologies can be defined as-

• Culturally Acceptable
• Locally Available
• Locally Reproducible
• Affordable
• Sustainable
  

Many points surrounding technologies and current conditions in the countries were addressed in this workshop, the most important item I learned in this hour was the requirement for SUSTAINABILITY. This is one word that kept rearing it's head more than others throughout the entire five days.

The equipment and technologies that are supported by Lifewater must be oriented to being operated by, repaired by, trained for further use by, and most important supported by the people that will be using these methods to maintain a minimum level of WASH. Lifewater will not give objects, but rather empowers the poverty stricken and sick with training.

In this same Workshop information regarding Sanitation and Hygiene was addressed with the same focus toward sustainability.

This workshop also gave some broad brush stokes regarding technologies that are employed by Lifewater.

WASH- Transforming Communities- The Big Picture

In this workshop we explored the the traditional definition of "development" as opposed to the need to "Transform" a community. We learned the importance of community mapping and how that information can be used to access the requirements of a proposed project.

The Fine Line of Sustainability

This was one of my favorite workshops, however it was one of the "headier" ones also. It dealt primarily with trying to understand and relate to poverty in any given country and how it in turn correlates to the need of Sustainability. It examined how poverty is perceived and the impact of poverty on people.

I walked away from this with the understanding that poverty is not a financial situation that can be remedied with money or technologies thrown at the problem. Poverty is the lack of empowerment by a people and that in itself continually keeps them from achieving goals as simple as their daily needs.

With any project that needs to take place where common western goals are set, the process of achieving those goals needs to be taken into as much consideration as the goal itself.

On Saturday evening there was a social connection gathering that included everyone at the conference. This gave me more opportunity to hear from the staff of Lifewater along with those guest speakers that were in some of the workshops.

It is hard to describe the fellowship and camaraderie that grew throughout the week. One of the men I grew close to said it was the most important and unexpected gem that he took home with him.

After Sunday Morning Worship and brunch there was an international faire, and it gave everyone more time to ask questions about the countries where Lifewater is active. Either country partners or country coordinators were at each booth representing the eight countries that Lifewater is currently active in.

We started our training in ETM on Sunday night-

ETM stands for Exploring Transformational Missions. When I first signed up for the conference the title was very confusing, but as the week continued the meaning became clearer.

Transformational Development can be defined as---A holistic approach to personal and communal change based on humanity's need for spiritual and physical health and well being. Jesus Christ is the author and model for transformational development as one who restores relationships with God, self, others and the rest of creation.

The entire training class is taught in the same method that is used in training the partners and their associates oversees. Because of communication barriers; pictures, skits, and even play dough sculptures are used to communicate information.

The three sections that were covered in the ETM training can be summarized;

• Compelled by God's call and the global water and sanitation crisis.....
• Lifewater International equips partner organizations and works with them to....
• Empower communities in developing countries to gain safe water, adequate sanitation. effective hygiene, and the knowledge of Jesus's love.
  

I sit here reviewing the information and come to the realization that I can't provide any summary that would give justice to the 3-1/2 days of class time. Some of the highlights involved are listed below. Although most will need some explanations, they will be memory sticks for me;

• Poverty and the Poor
• Merging the Great Commission and the the Great Commandment
• Importance of the WASH framework
• Lifewater Project Cycles
• Effective Learning Principles
• Exploring Teaching Methods
• Cultural Sensitivity
• Servant Attitudes
• Understanding Change
• The process and Steps to Change

I don't know where GOD will lead me next. I will sign up for additional training and trips abroad. And the HS will lead by giving me opportunities to serve.

In His Name.....rich

A Doggy Fairy Tail

Originally posted to the "agility net" in 2002--

If Only……….

Once upon a time in a small hamlet on the left ocean and north of the large city of angels, there lived a mediocre handler with a wonderful dog. Harry tried to train his dog Carmen to do many things. He taught Carmen to shake, to sit, to lie down and to fetch. One day Harry decided to do obedience. He tried hard to teach Carmen how to sit straight, walk at heel and come when called. Carmen was good. Carmen did her best to try to please Harry. Every so often Harry was unclear with his commands and Carmen would do what she thought Harry wanted. Harry would get mad, and Carmen didn’t understand, but Carmen loved Harry so it was okay.

One day Harry saw agility on TV and thought, “I can do that!” He looked at Carmen and thought, “I can teach her that!” Harry spent the next two years going to agility class, seminars, and even agility camp. They went to trial after trial after trial. Harry had worked as hard as he could, but he knew Carmen wasn’t the best. Harry thought that Carmen just wasn’t like all the other “real good dogs”. But Carmen was good. Harry was just a mediocre handler.

Harry had always thought, “If only I could talk to Carmen as though she were a person, I could teach her everything”. We all know that dogs only hear dog, not human, but Harry was a dreamer. “If only I could talk to Carmen and she could understand me.” Well, one day while at the village market, Harry saw a ceramic dog that was very pretty. He bought it and took it home. As he was coming through his front door Carmen jumped to meet him, and Harry dropped his package. Much to his dismay the ceramic dog had broken into many pieces. Harry was furious! Just as he raised his hand to Carmen he heard a beautiful voice, “Hello Harry. I am the Fairy Dog Mother. Thank you for releasing me! I have lived in that ceramic statue for over a hundred years.” Harry nearly fell over, but Carmen was beaming, “My Fairy Dog Mother?” The Fairy Dog floated around his hut and told Harry, “Because of what you have done by releasing me, I will grant you one wish. But it has to be dog related.” Harry thought, and thought, and finally realized that this was his chance to have a really smart dog. This was his chance to be able to talk to Carmen. So Harry said, “Fairy Dog Mother, I want to be able to talk to Carmen.” And the Fairy Dog Mother responded, “Oh my! That is a very hard request. I can do it, however, you only have eight hours.” So the Fairy Dog Mother and Harry worked out the time and date when Carmen would be able to listen and understand exactly what Harry was saying.

Harry was so excited. He planned for weeks; he had all the agility equipment cleaned and polished, he got course maps to study with Carmen, and he even also planned on working on obedience and flyball. He thought, “Eight hours. I can teach this dog everything in eight hours. Then I can show everyone how good I am at the next trial.” The day came, and when he awoke, Carmen was staring at him as she did every morning, waiting to play. Harry tested her, “Go around in a circle” he said, and sure enough, she did. “Get the newspaper. Now open it, turn to page A4”. Again she did all of it. Carmen could understand every word he said. It was like talking to a person.

So out back they went, and as they walked the agility course, Harry would carefully explain to Carmen what she should do. He explained when she should run really fast, and when she needed to go slow. Harry even reviewed a course with Carmen and it was then he realized she could read the course map. It was wonderful! Harry would be great! He didn’t want to waste any time so they worked non-stop, straight through lunch and dinner. At the end of the day, Harry was happy, and felt that now his whole world would change. Harry had dinner and went to bed, exhausted.

When Harry woke up the next morning he was excited. This would be the first day with a really good dog. The dog that he felt he deserved. But Carmen wasn’t by his bed. Where was Carmen? Harry jumped up, feeling irritated, and looked all through his hut. “Carmen!!!” he’d call, but no answer. After all the work he had done where was she? Harry called out to the Fairy Dog Mother. As luck would have it, she was still in the neighborhood and soon she was floating around in his hut. Harry asked, “Fairy Dog Mother, where is my dog? Where is Carmen? I spent all day yesterday talking to her, training her and telling her all the ways she could be a better dog.” The Fairy Dog Mother said, “Harry, did you tell Carmen that you would always take care of her and give her a warm place to sleep? Did you tell Carmen that if you ever acted mad, it wasn’t because of her? After eight hours of talking did you tell her you loved her and would never let anyone hurt her?”

And so it was . . . Carmen had always tried to be a good dog, but now that she knew Harry didn’t love her, she went off to look for a handler that did. Not far down the road, Carmen came upon a fellow named Richard. She and Richard became friends and they decided they would stay together. After a few months she showed Richard the game of agility. Although Richard turned out to be just another mediocre handler, he loved Carmen more than anything else on earth, and they lived happily ever after.

The moral of the story is this: Love your dog for what they are, not what you want them to be, and they will do the same.