Go Weekend: The Love Rally
The Love Rally:
“All you need is love, love, love, love is all you need.” The Beatles wrote these lyrics for their generation back in the mid 60’s. The band members of the Beatles realized that love was an essential in life. That it was something everyone needed and longed for. Today more than ever, I believe people need to be reminded of the true message of God’s love. Instead of us defining who is worthy, or what kind of lifestyle deserves the love of God, let’s look at what God’s word has to say about it. It says in Romans 5:6-8, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God demonstrated his great love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ didn’t die for people who already loved him. He died for sinners…people whose lives were bound up and dictated by sinful desires that were contrary to God’s will. He came to cure the sick, not the healthy. It seems this true message of love has been forgotten and buried in the pile of political stigmas we’ve placed on different people, as we judge whether or not they are worthy of love.
We saw that there was a need for people to understand not just love, but the love of God. With the need now identified, the interns and staff of Go International filled a busy street corner in Kansas City and began the very first LOVE RALLY to protest for love. There were thirty-one individuals standing on one of the busiest street corners of the city, as we each held a variety signs to declare one message, the message of love! The signs read: “God loves Republicans,” “God loves Democrats,” “God loves Prostitutes,” “God loves Addicts,” “God loves Homosexuals,” “God loves Obama,” “God loves Bush,” and “God loves People”!! As we waved these signs in the air, the energy on the street corner was contagious. Cars rushed by honking their horns, rolling down their windows, and shouting, “LOVE” as they passed! Within a few minutes of standing on the street corner, Kansas City had begun to catch onto the movement of Love.
It wasn’t too long before a group of girls came up to some of our interns and asked what it was we were doing. Quickly, the interns expressed the vision of the Love Rally, explaining that we wanted to share the Love of God with Kansas City and show people that everyone, no matter who they are, what their “label” is, what they have done, or where they live, that they are loved by God and by us. The girls suddenly were no longer strangers to Go International, but our friends as they took on our vision, or rather God’s vision, as their own. So there we stood on the street corner that day united as one body, all-coming together to protest for love. We all came from different backgrounds, different races, with different life goals, but we had the common desire to share love. The smiles, the cheers, the volume, and the presence of love that day was something that cannot be captured by any photo. However, I do believe that particular day in Kansas City will resonate in the hearts of the individuals that we encountered. A songwriter once wrote, “Love conquers it all, crosses all boundaries and breaks down the walls.” I believe this was accomplished that day in Kansas City. Walls of bitterness, rejection, of the fear of being alone and not being loved were all torn down. For some, seeing Go International standing on the corner was the answer that they needed that day, for some it may have brought them hope which was once lost. This day was a mark in history for many people’s lives- for the interns, staff members, for the girls that came along side and protested for love with us, and even for the strangers that passed by us. Jesus challenges us to be love to those that we encounter, so I ask you to accept that challenge too. That doesn’t mean you need to hold signs that say, “God loves you”, and you don’t even need to be in a foreign city. All you need is a desire to share love and the will to act.
Written by Go Intern: Lindsey Clark
Go Weekend: Perspective
Perspective:
On Friday, September 11, 2009, I arrived outside the “Go” offices ready for a road trip squeezed in with a bunch of strangers for a four and a half hour drive. Not knowing what to expect, I was a little nervous. The road trip wasn’t bad. I normally sleep on road trips, but not this one. We actually played fun, “getting-to-know-you” games, which made the time go by pretty fast. Four and half hours later, we arrived in Kansas City at our hotel. I’m thinking we’ll go in and unwind, but that wasn’t the case. We walked into our assigned rooms and had a “challenge” card waiting for us, letting us know we have 15 minutes to get our swim wear on and go to the pool. Here was the catch; we also had to wear goggles that had been painted over so we could just barely see out of them! First thoughts: I was being “hazed” for a sorority. It almost felt like a mean joke for the pure entertainment of second years, staff, and other on-lookers. Fortunately there was a method to the madness and it turned out to be a very unique and, in the end, fun, team building challenge leading to the revealing of the first core value.
We had 10 minutes to find the one key of 150 keys that were scattered at the bottom of the pool, which unlocked the chest that revealed the whole of this exercise. In the first 10 minutes, we failed to find the one key and the keys we found were thrown back into the pool to be searched through again! As one could imagine I was pretty discouraged at this point, but we really came together as a team. Great ideas were thrown out there, implemented and then the impossible came to pass… we found the key in 6 minutes that unlocked the chest revealing the first core value… perspective. It was a victorious moment that we shared as a team. Turns out we were the first group to ever perform this exercise which was pretty exciting because what seemed impossible, we deemed possible!
Written by Go Intern: Kelly Drury
Guest Speaker: Greg Fritz
“What does success mean to you?” This was one of the first things that Evangelist Greg Fritz asked the interns when he spoke this past Thursday. Following his question he gave us his definition of success saying, “Success is simply doing what God wants you to do”. He continued to explain that success means nothing without God in it. God is the only one who can fulfill you. Where we go and what we do only means something if there is purpose to it. Ask yourself, “Is it what God told me to do?
Changing gears he began to emphasize the value of following God’s direction for our lives. He started off with an interesting statement and an honest one in my opinion; “God doesn’t always fill in all the blanks for us”. How many of us feel like we can relate to that? Isn’t that the beauty of trusting in God though? The fact is, we can’t see the whole plan when we are in the middle of walking it out. We experience it one page at a time, like a good book. Like many things in our life, it comes down to a decision. If you are determined to follow God right now, God will lead you. If you learn to follow Him, He will get you to your goals. More than likely though, it won’t be the way you thought it would be. Finishing his previous statement we were directed towards Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. After reading the passage he proclaimed, “If you are going to follow God, you are going to have to learn to make your heart overrule your head.” Wow, how prevalent that was for me! Honestly, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring and we can only go so far when we are leading ourselves.
Wrapping up with what his definition of success was, he gave us two keys to achieve it. The first was following the Holy Spirit and the second was being honest with yourself- both of which are crucial. After he had left I felt like I was looking at things with a fresh perspective. God ALLOWS us to have a part in something much bigger than ourselves. God gives us the OPPORTUNITY to be in His plan for our lives. Loving people and leading them to Jesus is a blessing.
He ended the discussion with this statement and challenge; “I want to lay my head down at night and know that this is where God wants me to be”. This may seem like a simple goal at face value, but I believe it is one that is worth our time. Remember, success means nothing without God in it.
Go Weekend: Self-Discipline
Self- Discipline:
The warm wind blew softly past my face. I heard the sound of grass crunching beneath my feet. It had only been a few minutes since they had let us out of the car; the hand gripped tighter pulling me further into the unknown… I was blindfolded. No one spoke, I only heard soft breathing from the others around me. Where were they leading us? We came to a stop; no one talked, but I heard the thousands of questions racing through everyone’s mind because they were the same as my own. A voice spoke, he told us remove our blindfolds and remain silent out of respect for the dead. My hands began to untie the orange bandana that was blinding my eyes. I blinked once or twice and found myself surrounded by tombstones. They had brought us to a cemetery. They directed us to a very large grave in the middle. I saw the city lights from a distance and the half covered moon as I took my seat on the soft, wet grass. We sat there, waiting, wondering and even with our sight returned we still had no idea why we were brought to this place of forgotten dreams. Our leaders began to speak telling us about how short life is and how any second it can end. They spoke of the people now marked with a tombstone; about how their story was over and how they had already had their chance to live, to make an impact… or not.
Still listening, my eyes gazed over the many graves surrounding me. Questions still raced through my mind, but questions of a different sort, questions about these people buried so deep in the ground- were their dreams buried with them? Who were these people, what were their joys, what made them smile, who made them smile? How did they shape their world and how did they make it better. How many never got the chance? What stopped them? Fear, discouragement, doubt; what stopped them from doing what their heart desired? Are there doctors lying here, musicians, storytellers or perhaps housewives, fathers or good husbands? How many became that doctor, storyteller or husband and how many ran with full speed ahead? What dreams lay in the darkness because fear crept in and stole what they held so dear? I stared once again toward the city lights and now wondered about those people… Are they going to live out their dreams or shall they be buried with all that they could have been beneath the ground? I wept inside for those whose story had been written and wept for those who were afraid to start writing it. The night came to a close as we rose back up and made our way to the cars. I took one last look at the tombstones sitting there, unmoving, unfeeling, just there. I didn’t just want to be there, just something to take up space, I wanted more, more than a half-written story, more than a tombstone, more than just hoping my dreams and desires would someday come to pass. I wanted more than a field of forgotten dreams.
Written by Go Intern: Caleb Hutton
Project Panama – Random Facts 4!
Follow Matt and Jon as they delve into the Kuna’s history and discover the significant importance of coconuts on their islands!
Go Weekend: Overview
Overview:
Each year the Go Internship kicks off with the Go Weekend. This is a 3-day event where the 1st year interns take an adventurous trip to experience unique challenges and overcome obstacles that represent the core values of the Go Internship. As each core value is revealed, the interns learn how to work together effectively while their personal leadership abilities are being stretched. Through various opportunities they learn how to tap into their creativity, to push their limits, and seek fresh ideas and new perspectives. A common statement made throughout the weekend is, “Never say I can’t, but ask yourself how can I?” During this time they quickly learn how to put 100% into everything they do as they pursue excellence. With that being said, this trip is also a great opportunity for the second year interns to put the creativity they’ve discovered from their past year into practice, as they custom make and create new ideas and challenges each year. Because of this, we are able to constantly better the experience, as we never settle to become comfortable with the previous year’s layout. All in all, this exciting weekend is meant to show the vision of Go International and encourage the interns to actively pursue the direction that God has for them, 1st year and 2nd year interns alike.
Check back for more posts from the weekend.
Project Panama – Random Facts 3!
Who are the Silahs and what do they do? Listen to Matt and Jon’s insights into the wonderful leaders of the San Blas Islands.
Photo of the Week – by Christa Baca
Taken by Christa Baca
Guest Speaker: Johnie Hampton
This week we were honored to have Mr. Johnie Hampton share with us about his life and his business, Hampton Creative. With many things to voice and many life lessons to portray he focused on one thing- overcoming fear. Simplistic and straight to the point, he created 6 points about conquering our fears that left the interns revitalized and encouraged.
He started with:
1. Don’t be afraid of preparation. Many people go through times of pain and trial and no one ever sees it. What they see is the “you” that has come out of that and entered into the “limelight”. Preparation produces character.
2. Don’t be afraid to show passion about what you want to do. He began to explain that we are individuals and if we are going to live out our dreams we have to do it unlike any other. Later he reinstated this point with a candid statement, “If you are passionate about it, you will make it happen.”
3. Don’t be afraid of opposition. All too often people will tell you what you can’t do instead of what you can. Opposition is an opportunity to learn.
4. Don’t be afraid if it doesn’t work out the way you planned. Just because things don’t work out the way we planned, it doesn’t mean they won’t work at all. Twists and turns are a part of life; it’s what proves who is determined and who is not.
5. Don’t allow yourself to be offended. This step, in my opinion, is vital. Offense only holds you back from learning and growing. Forgiveness is for the one who gets offended more so than the offender itself.
6. Know your season. Mr. Hampton started off this crucial point with Gal. 6:9 – “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Persistence is key for success. How bad do you desire to fulfill your dreams?
Once he was finished I was left thinking about how I had let fear creep into my own life and determine what I was capable of doing or being. A few moments passed and I realized that I had allowed fear to become an excuse, an excuse for settling for less. The truth is, we determine what we are capable of. Fear is only a circumstance and just like any other circumstance it is subject to us and how we look at it. I’ll finish with reiterating a statement made earlier by Mr. Hampton, “If you are passionate about it, you will make it happen.”
Photo of the Week by – Rebekah Dornberger
Taken by Go Intern: Rebekah Dornberger
