A Short Visit to Chicago

I've been here in Chicago visiting my grandmother. It's been a pretty tumultuous time since May for my family. My grandmother's car accident, while having spared her life, greatly impaired her mobility and her mind has declined. Overall however, things are improving. She's eating more and is awake more during the day. It is difficult to see her so faded from the accident, but she is still as beautiful as ever. Below is a picture of us taken this past Mother's Day. Last night, I was able to catch up with one of my classmates and best friends from college, Mary, as we dipped our feet into Lake Michigan's waters, walked through her uptown Chicago neighborhood, and drank tea in her apartment.

Above is a picture of us taken my senior year of college when I traveled with Mary and some classmates to Peru as part of our "Conflict in the Andes" seminar. We spent time talking to university professors, human rights workers, and some government employees surrounding issues of security, conflict, and the country's future. It was seriously one of the best memories ever. The previous post is a picture of me, Maelle, and Mary.

It's been great to get back to Chicagoland - the home of hotdog stands and streets that go on forever.

Blast From Peru

More Thoughts on Advocacy

Above is a picture taken during class

In class last Friday, our professor asked us to argue whether human rights concepts were consistent with Biblical concepts of justice.

I thoroughly agree. You can highlight instances of God's judgment, His hatred for the unjust, and His passion to restore those who are trampled upon. Within this fallen world, however, the quest for upholding justice will always be marred by sin - whether by the powers of this world or by the individual advocating.

My friend Joe wrote the following excerpt in response to a question I raised in something I wrote:

What is the horror of Cain's sin in Genesis? Is it first and foremost that he took away Abel's right to life? Or is it that he killed a human being made in the image of God and thus defamed the Creator? This may seem like hair splitting but I do not think it is. In my opinion the greatest evil in taking away the rights of others is not first and primarily that we took freedoms away from others or withheld what they deserve. Rather, it is that we dishonor and disdain God by our action. In murder we destroy those created in His image and thus reveal our hatred for God. By closing our hearts to those in need we fail to reflect the glory of our compassionate and merciful God who made us in his image. In this way our sin is ultimately against God. I think one of the dangers in human rights could be that we see the horror of sin on primarily a horizontal axis rather than on the vertical axis with God. This is not to deny the reality and importance of the horizontal.

I return again and again to the passage in Isaiah 59:12-16 -

For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and
treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression
and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven
back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth is nowhere to be found, and
whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled
that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm worked salvation for Him, and
His own righteousness sustained Him.

Advocacy Class

"This is not a theology course," our professor said, however, all of us find ourselves wrestling over deep issues of faith and humanity. And we can't help it, for who cannot help but be drawn into debates over how a Christian witness, how a Christian soul interfaces with this world and the injustices therein. I look forward to how this course progresses - there is so much i've been learning and digesting - stuff that could fill blogs for centuries. I wanted to include, however, in this entry, an excerpt from my notes:

Upon entering the classroom, smattered with Bible verses and excerpts from universal doctrines on human rights, we were asked to do a "gallery walk," absorbing what we were reading, and interfacing with it in our notes and as a class.

Here are some things I jotted down:

Matthew 23:23-24 – keeping the letter of the law
Jeremiah 22:13-17
Ezekiel 22:22-29
Fake religion
There’s a big picture – Ps 140:12-13
God has the answer!!
The “humanitarian laws” seem to hold in place the Biblical principles
Prov 14:31 – insulting God
“you must need buckets for tears” (for the wicked)
James 5:1-6
Ps 35:9-10 the joy of God’s delivery
Suffering for the poor is like the way of the Cross (Henri Nouwen)
1 Peter 3:8-18 – in the context of upholding justice
Articles: What is this based on? What common, agreed-upon measure?Isaiah 59:12-19

We are not righteous in ourselves – we cannot do it!
That is why God worked salvation for us – we are not capable in ourselves to be
just individually or corporately
Ps 10:12-18 (in the message) sounds like the lyrics to some protest song – bringing hope
to some area like the jungles of the DRC
“meetings, meetings, meetings,” – but are we really helping those who need help? (Isaiah 1:10-17)

God, help me wrestle through this!

Finally, this is one of our course objectives:

# 3. Critically evaluated the concept of "witness" as an organizing concept for Christian advocacy in light of Jesus' message of the kingdom and his life.

Countries

So, these are all the countries I have been in. And here's the link to make your own: http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedcountries It was really fun! I hope to make this map a little more red in the coming years!

Cecilia

Have you ever had a friend that you wonder why they aren't a part of your blood family? Though we've gone years and many seasons a part from one another, Cecilia is one of those friends (she's the one pictured on the far right). The Lord knew we needed each other when He put her in my life - and since then, she has stuck closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24) and was born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). We didn't quite have the easiest time in middle school or high school. We weren' exactly "cool," as we were the only Christians in our grade. And though we cared at times, we knew there was something more than the rudimentary shallowness and baseness of the life around us.

She's engaged and I hope to be around for the wedding sometime next year - although this time last year I had no idea I'd be here! I'm grateful for the time we had sitting around tonight. These are some random memories...

Crew, Weezer, Star Trek, Sir, Dave Matthews Band, Christian radio stations, chapel, Roxborough, West Philly, the lobby crew, Latin, Greek (with some interesting teachers...), Konopka, our families, our brothers, Creation, Miss. Lockwood's class, Wheaton, singing and playing music together senior year chapel, introducing me to Christian music, flute, FOCUS...

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Prov 18:24

Habbakuk

These days, I feel like a rug has been taken out from underneath me. It would be a normal sequence of summer days, of getting work done, of painting, of hanging out. However, the Lord never leaves our days like we would expect. Does He always keep us on our toes? For sure; and for our good.

I hadn't read these verses in a long time, perhaps since my later years in college. Habbakuk 3:17,18 reads, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

As my dad and my grandmother sit day after day in the hospital, slowly mending from their injuries, I still have reason to hope beyond feeling depleted of emotional strength, or feeling strangely like a lot is out of place. As my study of the Patriarchs taught me this past spring, God works in instances, and through generations. There is more to His deliverance than what we see.

So as I get work done, paint, hang out, and check in day to day with my dad and grandmother, I must keep the bigger picture in mind, and rejoice that God is more creative than what is known.

My classes this summer are very interesting: Intro to Microfinance; and Disaster and Mitigation. We had 3 seven-hour classes two weeks ago, and will begin classes for "disaster" tomorrow. The readings are so interesting. These classes are unlike any I've ever taken before. The main body of work that I have to do for Microfinance is a paper - which I'm planning to write on South Africa - discussing the effects of apartheid on microfinance - exciting! I don't know which disaster I'll focus on for the other class...

By the way, the Lord brought these Habbakuk verses to mind through some "Disaster and Mitigation" reading I just completed.