development and entrepreneurship

Thankfully, it looks like I'm going to get to go to Myanmar this summer to apprentice under my good friend Ryan.  He set up an entrepreneurship school over there and I'm really excited to get to learn about how he started and hopefully start one of my own in Haiti some fine day.  It's just a dream right now, but I am taking steps to learn about entrepreneurship and international development.  If I think too far ahead of myself like I'm prone to do I just get paralyzed by thinking about how much could go wrong.  As a friend commented on this blog post before though, what if it doesn't fail miserably and what if God uses it to glorify Himself and love people well?!

Even as far back as 2006 when I took my first real overseas mission trip to Kenya, I can remember asking a friend something along the lines of, "Alright, so we know we don't want people to have to live in this type of extreme poverty, but I don't think the excess of America is all that desirable either."  He agreed and it is something that I've never been quite able to shake.  Ask anyone who has been to a third world or developing country what the main things are that they noticed and one of the likely responses will be how happy the people seemed to be.  Part of that may simply be awkward shyness on the part of the locals, but maybe there's something more to it than that.  Even when I've gotten to know locals on a deeper level, they seem to possess this inexpressible joy that I can't quite put my finger on.  

Many missionaries have done significant damage in the past to local cultures by trying to bring their culture in and monopolize an indigenous people's culture rather than showing the locals where Jesus already is at work and how they might connect to Him.  Somewhere I was reading told the story of how Indians would laugh with each other at how many times they had been saved due to just wanting to eat some food.  How sad is that?  These missionaries have been/are well meaning, hopefully, but mostly just misguided.  There is a right and wrong way to do missions in general and short-term trips more specifically.  The first thing to keep in mind is to go with a learner's heart.  In our campus ministry, we were told to look for disciples who were F.A.T. and that has always stayed with me.  It means faithful, available, teachable.  I've tried to stay that way post college as well and hope that I never lose the ability to be taught something.  There aren't very many arrogant people that are easy to like and I pray I never become that way.

Recently, I purchased a DVD from a group called LGH, light gives heat, an organization based in Colorado that employs around 120 women in Uganda.  It was the story of how they got started and it was so inspiring.  What I liked especially was when the wife was talking about how they just went there and listened to the locals and what they thought their needs were.  The thing that kept coming up again and again was that they wanted to be able to afford to send their children to school but they couldn't afford school fees.  This young couple also saw how the women would sit around and make these beaded necklaces for the tourists that would come through the local market.  As you can probably imagine, there aren't a lot of tourists to Uganda, particularly after the war.  So what this young couple did was to open up the market back here in the states, and now they provide a sustainable income to 120 women in Uganda.  How incredible is that?!

My friend, Ryan, did pretty much the same thing in Myanmar.  He went originally to work with the youth in that country and as he got to know them more he kept hearing the youth talk about how they were desperate for employment and jobs.  That's what gave him the idea of the entrepreneurship school.  Personally, I think that's a great idea for Haiti, but I think I might try and spend some time down there first and see what the locals have to say about their current situation.

Well, here's a link to the light gives heat website...http://www.lightgivesheat.org/Light Gives Heat

And here's a video link to their Merry Christmas video...http://vimeo.com/53466083merry Christmas video

walking with Grandma and next steps

I've developed a new habit over the past few Saturdays that I hope will continue for a very long time.  There is a beautiful park just outside of Sarasota that I like going to and walking the 2.75 mile trail.  It's a flat trail since it is Florida and a very leisurely pace brings me great joy.  To start the walk, I always call my grandma on my mom's side.  She always says I bring a bright ray of sunshine to her day and she does the same for me.  Grandma has such a rich well of wisdom to draw from and I absolutely love talking to her and gaining from her insight.  We'll talk about Grandpa sometimes and what a great man he was.  We'll talk about my love life or the lack thereof and how 'someone special is waiting just around the corner for you, Justin.'  We'll talk about the stresses of work and life in general, how she made it through trials and continues to do so, and what the secret is to her joy.  

Several weeks ago, I had the joy of reconnecting to a dear friend from high school and her grandma, Wilma, who reminds me of my grandma.  Both of them are as sweet as they come and full of life and wisdom.  When I got to visit with Wilma, I asked her the same question, "What's the secret to your joy?"  Both Wilma and my Grandma have virtually the same response; to be grateful no matter the circumstance.  There is a lot of wisdom in this statement, especially since it comes straight from the Word of God.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, " Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."  Wilma said to be appreciative no matter what, my grandma says to always be thankful.  You get the idea, right?  There is no magic bullet for a joy-filled life.  If you want to know what makes people joyful people to be around, ask them.  If you want to know God's recipe for joyfulness, go to the Word.  They will generally be the same answer.

Lately, I've been trying to take steps forward in a few different areas of my life.  What happens so often is that I'll have a great idea, only to obsess over it for anywhere from a week to a month and then nothing ever happens because I can't gain any traction.  So, as a result of that, I often become greatly discouraged.  A few people have come alongside me though and encouraged me to take the next step.  It's funny now that I think about it.  Ryan, my dear friend and pastor, always says at church something along the lines of, "What's your next step?"  I can even remember him handing out cards one Sunday with 3 steps to write down in some area or another.  Why I remember that so clearly is because I couldn't come up with a single step in whatever area it was.  I usually think ahead to 20 steps down the road and as a result become overwhelmed and paralyzed with what to do.

Now, I've decided to take on a new approach.  Someday, I'd like to open an entrepreneurship school or something along those lines in Haiti.  As I was thinking about this, I started to think, ok, what are my next steps?  Well, my first step is to get some mentors in the field.  Another friend of mine who is also named Ryan started an entrepreneurship school in Myanmar recently so I asked him if I could come over and do an apprenticeship/internship of sorts.  He said that would be fine so I'm planning on going over there for a month this coming summer.  With that one step though, comes a whole slew of questions and what if's.  Is it possible to do this without living off of support?  Am I going to leave my comfort and security with my job to take a huge risk that could ultimately fail miserably?

All I know how to do is to take the next step, and that's light years ahead of where I was before.  I've decided that is going to be my new focus for every area of my life, asking myself the important question, "What's my next step?"  That's all I'm called to consider and think about.  I don't have to have the whole future planned out or anything, I just need to be faithful in taking the next step that God puts in my place.