Through My Eyes by Lauren Bruhn
Check out Lauren’s thoughts for the end of Go’s dating and relationship series and the beginning of the Mystery Trip.
Through My Eyes by Lauren Bruhn
Re-examine what loves means to you as Lauren talks about Go’s dating and relationship series.
Through My Eyes by Lauren Bruhn
These past couple weeks all of us here at GO have been setting the majority of our focus on fundraising money for the Mystery Trip coming up in January. Today was our deadline for the one thousand dollar payment- it seemed to sneak up on us very quickly. I was expecting to walk into the offices today and feel an uptight atmosphere, but I was surprised when I felt an environment of celebration. God is faithful, and we got our money in! As we celebrated each other’s success, we shared stories of unique fundraising techniques, divine conversations, and miracles that we experienced. Today, 2 Corinthians 5:7 (we walk by faith and not by sight) became real to me.
I really love this quote by Gail Dever: “Keep your dreams alive. Understand, to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember, all things are possible for those who believe.”
-Lauren
Through My Eyes by Lauren Bruhn
Just like any ordinary day, we all gathered at the offices at 1:30 and began the day with worship, led by our wonderfully talented worship band. As I looked around the room and observed everyone entering into worship, I was so… happy? Delighted? Joyful? Whatever the feeling was, I was inspired; inspired by a group of young adults pouring out their hearts fully and shamelessly to God. Being involved with a group of people that have such genuine hearts and a radical passion to make a change in the world makes me want to become a better person; it creates a sort of domino effect. Tonight is our first worship night of the year, and I am expecting the inspiration that I felt today to ripple through everyone that is at the worship night. I’ll let you know how the night went; you’ll just need to check back in tomorrow.
-Lauren
Eyes Wide Open
January 10, 2011 by kto
Filed under Blog, Current Series, Featured
For many of us the suffering of others around the world can be overwhelming. Sometimes, it seems easier to turn our eyes away from disturbing stories of rape, incest, murder, starvation, slavery and genocide. The Eyes Wide Open series exposes these overwhelming issues in a real and raw format.
Ephesians 1:8 says this, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…” Many times we read that scripture and we think that it’s all about “us”.
Our life.
Our call.
We can tend to read the scriptures with a centric focus, and think that it’s all about “me”. But what about the person whose only hope is that you know your call? Think of the child, who’s sold into a life of prostitution and slavery and their only hope is that someone would come and rescue them. The child dying of starvation… your life may be their only hope.
Below is some feedback of what some of our interns have gotten out of this series.
So how do you feel about this series?
It sounds like such a cliche` answer, but I seriously can’t believe I didn’t know this was going on. Everything that we’ve gone over so far seems so barbaric, yet it is happening right now. – Anna Brown
Now learning about social injustice issues in the world, how has it motivated or inspired you?
Two things that came to mind as I was going through this series. The first is realizing that with the technology we have at our fingertips as Americans we have the ability to take down many of these issues with a video camera, a few clicks on our computer, and the power of one plus one.
The second is, as I was thinking about the absolutely stupid reasons behind why some of the most major social injustices are happening in our world today, it inspired me to want to be a part of making change happen from the top level down.
Obviously, we all have the responsibility to, at the very least, support the efforts of all who are making a difference in these situations, but realizing that it only takes one to spearhead such life-giving operations and make it all a reality is a humbling and empowering thought.
So simply understanding that no matter if you are only one person with a video camera, or a influential political figure, these issues can be changed. All it takes is us taking the initiative and deciding to get it done. – Anna Steininger
What issue would you say most impacted you?
ALL of them. It is sickening that these people are forced into these ways of living and that their normal life is horrific. It makes me want to start somewhere. I am praying for all these groups that God will send laborers. I am only one person, but I can ask God to show me what I can do to make a difference in these people’s lives. – Kelly Drury
Click here to view an excerpt from one of Christa Baca’s journal entries from the 2008 Mystery Trip. May it inspire you to open your eyes.
Through My Eyes by Lauren Bruhn
Hello readers! My name is Lauren Bruhn, I’m a first year intern at Go International! I work in the missions department, which I love, and write a blog called “Through My Eyes”. Let me decode this for you. Basically, I will be writing a couple of times a week explaining what’s going on at Go, through the eyes of a first year intern. I will be living and writing about everything from a typical day at the offices to the big trips we will be going on. You can be expecting fresh blogs, both written and video, throughout the year! Keep reading- I’ll keep it interesting for you!
-Lauren
Adventure with Arbo – Slackline
Adventure with Arbo – What if you were lost?
Radiate: Cup of Love
Bringing light everywhere we go.
During the Go Internship we have the opportunity to reach out to the city of Tulsa on a weekly basis. We call this time “Radiate”, because we are bringing light everywhere we go. Our first official Radiate was called, “Cup of Love”
As we sat in the offices and prepared, emotions began to arise. The excitement for our first outreach was tangible, as we cut out custom-made cup holders to wrap around the cups that we filled with sweet tea, lemonade and Gatorade. We packed our supplies and headed toward downtown. With the sun shining bright and anxious faces looking our way, we set up our drink station and began sharing cups of love with those in need.
As our team struck up conversations, people were pleasantly taken back by what we were out there to do. It was then I began to realize how easy it is to get caught up in the busyness of our everyday lives. We can easily become overwhelmed by our bills or car payments or any number of other things and lose sight of how much we have to be thankful for. That day during Cup of Love was different. The individuals we encountered, who had next to nothing, were overwhelmed with joy by something as simple as a free cold drink. As I sat and observed everything happen around me, I slowly saw people’s hearts open up; and in a way, it was like they were given hope once again. By showing them that we cared and telling them that God loves them and no matter what, He is always watching over them; well, that made a difference. My heart broke as I heard the story of one man who lost his family, his job, his house, and even his dog. It was then that I realized it’s the little things we take for granted; like knowing that at the end of your day, you have a house to come home to with a warm shower, a good meal, a loving family, and maybe even a dog to greet you with a wagging tail. When we overlook the small things in life, we miss the whole message of what being thankful really means. Take time to look around you, smile at someone, listen to his or her story, and be a blessing.
Written by Hilary Patrick
Big Jon and Matt Arbo’s: Rapper’s Delight
