GENERATION SALAAM
Week 6&7: Sacramental Ordinary
Atlanta is starting to feel like home. I've settled down into a routine, I am developing some amazing friendships here, I know my way around...
and I'd be lying to say the fact that I'm more than halfway through with my internships doesn't make me sad.
God-moments have been happening almost on a daily basis, and I'm beyond grateful for the points of connection he has given me with people I've been meeting everywhere, whether in Clarkston, downtown Atlanta, Snellville, Duluth, or Lawrenceville. People from other countries and who have grown up here all their lives. Each person has a unique background, perspective, and story to tell.
My passion is to uncover those stories, and maybe, even get the opportunity to tell them through my photographs and interviews.
I have been both so humbled and encouraged by every encounter God has placed my way.
Encounters such as...
> A lady from Burma calling me over to where she sits in front of her house just to do henna for me and to chat every week
> Numerous college interns telling me their testimonies of how they came to faith
> A college student from Grace telling me that our newly formed friendship is an answer to prayer
> Talking to several waiters and waitresses at restaurants I visit from Nepal, the Philippines, Malaysia, and China (working at Japanese and Indian restaurants haha)
> Speaking to a lady from Sudan in Arabic while I ask her about the earrings she makes and sells
> Talking to owners of coffee shops who came from Hong Kong and Korea
> Meeting the homeless in downtown Atlanta (from all over the country!) with Honor the Homeless (a ministry whose website I'm helping to rebuild) and having individuals approach me asking for their picture to be taken
> My communications supervisor telling me about his professional journey
> Working with the middle school pastor at Grace Snellville on his new workbook on diversity
> Chatting with my Uber driver from Haiti
> A friend of mine from college coming to visit me and participate in Gen Salaam
> 4 friends of mine driving 6.5 hours from Kentucky to visit me for a weekend (they are on their way at this very moment!)
> Countless introspective and God-centric conversations with other interns during car rides
> Team meetings and times of prayer with fellow interns prior to Gen Salaam
> When a refugee lady ran into her house and came back with a large packet of homemade friend rice (or "nasi goreng ikan") after finding out that I was from Malaysia, where she had spent several years in transit between Burma and America
> When three kids of different ethnicities confided in me about things that happened in their homes they didn't have the courage to tell anyone before
> Hearing from various pastors about their testimonies and why they are at Grace
> Going to the Forward conference (a big annual Christian conference) with a girl from Clarkston, trying clothes in every store we went to in the mall, and riding a merry-go-round together
> Filming a video for Honor the Homeless in Sugarloaf Country Club and meeting state representatives who used to be homeless themselves
> Speaking to the cashier at an Indian and Nepali buffet about his country
> Meeting a fellow photographer and chatting about not only freelance photography but about every individual's inherent worth
> Talking with a middle schooler on the bus about their dreams and passions
> Friends driving 8 hours from Kentucky just to see you. :)
> (JUST happened after I pressed "publish" on this blog post and thought I was done) an unexpected - but not coincidental - run in and conversation about faith, prayer, and the future that strongly ministered to both parties
Every conversation I've had with someone has given me a little (even big) glimpse into his or her soul. I couldn't ask for more. Taking full advantage of these internships and opportunities outside of my internships have encouraged me by showing me possibilities and how God is already working around me - all I want to do is see and hear how he is already working and then possibly join in as well. :)
I am grateful for both the fact that I am from another country AND that I have had a primarily American, Western education. It wasn't always easy adapting, but drawing on commonality for the purpose of relating to diverse peoples has really opened up my eyes and focused them upward instead of inward. Diversity is mesmerizing to me, and I believe similarities as well as differences should be celebrated.
This week I was reminded of my first trip to America. It was funny to think that I knew so much about America and American history before I even stepped foot onto American soil. And now this is the country I've spent most of my time in for the past three and a half years. It was the Summer of 2015, and I was making my way first to Murfreesboro, TN and then Virginia Beach, VA for an international speech and debate tournament. This is a side note... but unfortunately, I had just taught at a kids camp that week and had contracted a stomach bug from a kid. Long story short, my family and I finally left the house for the airport but not without me literally screaming because of how much pain I was in. I had never felt that sick before in my life, couldn't stop throwing up, and hadn't even been able to finish packing. My debate topic at the tournament was travel restrictions... how ironic. :)
Anyway, I didn't start living in the States till the Fall of 2016, and even now I am still on a student visa. I was 17 and alone. Now three years later, America feels like a second home to me.... not because I always identify with the culture here - I wouldn't even identify with Asian culture 100%! I've just been in between all my life and learned to embrace that- but it feels like home now because of the people I met here.
I have so much more to learn, so much more of the world to see, so many more stories to glean nuggets of wisdom from. All I can do on my part is to make the most of every opportunity.
God has taught me to seize moments and not let petty things (or even stomach bugs!) come in the way of seeing how he is working or being a part of others' lives. It's just not worth it! The Holy Spirit is still chiseling me. And when I decide to look outward rather than inward he transforms my narrow-sightedness into an intentional embracing of others and others' cultures and into an ability to see how he is already at work in the lives of people around me. With his guidance I pray to continue gleaning from and creatively documenting nuggets of gold from the sacramental ordinary.
Week 5&6: What are my CORE values?
In addition to having a recent and still ongoing craving for Japanese food, I have also been attending a weekly workshop every Wednesday through Grace, outside of my internships, called Younique.
I've had fascinating discussions with other interns on our...
personalities.
strengths.
life purpose.
workplace motivators.
organizational preferences.
personal offenders.
and personal values.
So what are my personal values?
I asked myself that question and was surprised by how quickly four words popped into my head:
1. Excellence
looks like: cultivating and acting upon unique talents with one's given time and resources in a way that brings God the glory
2. Integrity
looks like: meaning what you say and saying what your mean, being the best version of your most authentic self (and not in a way that demeans others)
3. Empathy
looks like: actively putting ourselves into others' shoes, a continual willingness to learn, knowing that we aren't always right
4. Understanding
looks like: asking questions, open-mindedness, honest and constant self-evaluation (cultivating strengths and assessing blindspots)
Conversely, here are my personal offenders:
1. Victimization
can look like: grumbling, complaining, a self-focus, a very vocal/unfiltered disdain of difference, "pain is the worst thing I could go through" attitude
2. Hypocrisy
can look like: legalism, not saying what you mean/meaning what you say, imposing my truth on others before I fix (or at least acknowledge) the discrepancies in my own life
3. Mediocrity
can look like: an excessive waste of time, no self-discipline with no desire to improve or change
4. Closed-mindedness or Apathy
can look like: "my point of view is always right," "my reality is the only reality," "I am devoid of culture"/I am "normal" one and others are weird
Interestingly, I could clearly identify connections between my personal values and offenders.
My value of excellence is tied to my offenders of mediocrity and, more subtly, victimization. My value of integrity is tied to my strong feelings against hypocrisy. My empathy fights against developing an attitude of closed-mindedness and makes me incredibly sad and burdened when I witness apathy. My search for understanding life, people, and cultures is tied also to my offenders of closed-mindedness and victimization, because a self-centered mindset keeps one from exploring the world and all it has to offer! It also feeds depression, a narrow mindset, and self-righteous behavior. Knowing my values and their connections with my offenders also allows me to try my best to react to my offenders not in anger or haste but with tact and compassion. I mean, have I been guilty of the aforesaid negative attitudes I just mentioned? Of course. I am so much a work-in-progress myself. And I know a big reason why I have reached the conclusions or mindsets I have is not because of goodness within me but simply a cultivated willingness to learn and correct my own mistakes...
I am a strong believer in the practice of honest self-evaluation on a constant basis, for doing so facilitates--no, accelerates--one's growth and character.
Knowing my strengths, values, and view of the world helps me keep things in perspectives and even not get unnecessarily frustrated at people when they are not like me. That's what I appreciate so deeply about gaining an understanding about the diverse strengths of different people! Knowing the motivation behind the behavior of others helps us not to draw conclusions prematurely based on what is displayed outwardly and instead develop empathy for the now identified motivation. Sure, it is unfortunately possible to use personality tests to label the self and others, but they are when used rightly, I believe they can instead function as a language by which people can express themselves in a way that isn't necessarily drawing attention to self but in an objective way that facilitates personal and group understanding. We have so much to yet learn about both ourselves and others, and we can learn from the experiences and character traits of others without forcing ourselves to become someone else entirely.
Not everyone is like me! And that is a-okay.
- Eliza
P.S. My ABSOLUTE favorite personal strengths assessment is the Gallup StrengthsFinder, one of the 3 assessments we used in Younique. Especially if you're cautious about putting yourself in a box... it's definitely harder when there is only a 1 in 33 million chance of someone getting the same lineup of strengths as yours.
My top 5 strengths:
1. Maximizer
People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
2. Empathy
People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imaginging themselves in others' lives or others' situations.
3. Achiever
People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.
4. Individualization
People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.
5. Harmony
People who are especially talented in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don't enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement.
Week 3&4: Off to work we go...
After diving into what felt like a whirlwind of preparation, it feels surreal to have finally begun building relationships with the families of Clarkston.
At the apartment complexes of Indian Creek, the site I oversee, families come mainly from regions such as Myanmar, Nepal, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.
An unexpected surprise made my day the very first week we kicked off Generation Salaam. Just as I was about to leave, I found out two of the children I had been interacting with are from Malaysia. Located in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is the country where I spent most of my childhood. Excitedly, the kids introduced me to their other siblings and mother. I was invited into their house where I had a long conversation with their mother, during which we exchanged contacts and I realized that my Malay (or Bahasa Malaysia) isn't quite as rusty as I thought it was.
"I'd like to tell you how much joy was on your face the moment you found out they were from Malaysia," another college intern told me, "that was such a precious moment!"
On another note, interning with the communications team at Grace has also been providing me with a unique opportunity to learn more about Grace's various groups and ministries and witness what goes on behind the scenes. I've not only been able to take photos and manage social media for Grace Snellville but have gone multiple times to the campus of Grace Midtown for events such as a Housefires and Upper Room concert and Pentecost.
This past month in Snellville and Clarkston has been a refreshing time for me personally as I develop new connections as well as revitalize old ones. It's been especially special connecting with friends here in Atlanta from Kentucky or who have a connection to Asbury.
It has also been serving as very much as a time of introspection for me, and I am trying to be intentional with journaling and going forward with this ongoing process of reflection even as life continues to occur at a fast pace.
However, though I consider introspection one of my strongest suits, introspection itself has made me realize that too much introspection, or introspection internalized to an extreme, isn't healthy either. It is helpful to understand the inner workings of my mind and my heart, but trying to solve or even comprehend by myself can only feed into narrow-mindedness and anxiety. God promises to partner with us even in matters of the soul, and his love ensures that we are never alone in the process of seeking understanding of ourselves and others. I'm grateful for both his presence and the presence of community around me.
Committed to proactiveness and development, I look forward with anticipation to continually grow in not only my skills, connections, and knowledge of ministry and outreach, but, more importantly... to grow in love, character, and right standing, before the Lord.
- Eliza