Why the Senseless acts of Violence?

The horrific and tragic shootings at Virginia Tech have broken my heart. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the 32 victims as well as the shooter's family. This senseless act of violence is a reminder that pure evil continues to exist in this world. My only wish is that the family and friends of the deceased can remember the actions of the Amish community following the horrific events that unfolded in Pennsylvania, 8 months ago. Compassion and forgivness was never an after-thought with those people. Let us not solve this violence with more violence.

Derek Van Dam

Uniting With a Cause...

I am ecstatic about this trip and everyone going along. Everything is coming along perfectly. So much planning has been put forward by Compassionate Life Foundation and New Covenant Free Methodist Church, it is hard not to get excited. Not only are specifics about the trip coming together, but the mission's team is becoming very close as well. In fact, I feel we are all becoming one big family. Each of us recognizes how vital it is to work as a team once we arrive in Swaziland. That's why we continue to meet, in order to build teamwork skills within the group. Everyone is now able to put names with faces, and we even know quite a bit about each other's personalities. Last Sunday, the mission's team met after Church. (To your left, is a picture of our meeting) We took spiritual personality profiles to better understand our own faith, as well as the faith of others around us. It was called "Uniquely You; Personalizing My Faith."

I believe that personalizing our faith is vital to spiritual growth. It involves developing relationships with others and the Church. As a Christian, I believe we posses a "God-given Personality," along with certain spiritual gifts we must act upon. The difficulty is determining which features are our strongest assets to share with the world. That was the significance of our latest meeting.

Last Sunday was a major "spiritual step" for me. I believe I have discovered my own spiritual gift's, given to me by God. Not only is it exciting, but it is also enlightening. Mainly because I feel that I have been searched in the wrong area's of my life for so long. I would like to share this personal episode of my life, with the reader's of this blog.

Upon taking the Spiritual Gifts Profile, I have found that my strongest characteristics where these; Encouraging/Exhorting, Showing Mercy, and Administration/ Ruling. Here is what I've learned. The "encourager" is compelled to give advice. (Something I have done my entire life). Often "exhorter's" are a confidant to others. They are sought as counselor's and enjoy using their communication skills to share specific insights. I agree with this diagnosis. Also, "showing mercy" has always been a big part of my life. This trip, hopefully, demonstrates my sensitivity to other people's suffering. I can't hold back any longer and let this opportunity pass me by. It is time to take action in my life. Upon serving an "Administration role", I must say, I was a bit perplexed by this one. Even though I have no intentions of ruling over a group of people, I think I feel compelled by a strong sense of duty, to take action in this world.

So there it is. I guess that's about as personal as it gets. I hope it hasn't come off as condescending or egotistical. That is not my intention. I just feel like I have found a real awakening in this life. Now it's time to move forward with it. Coming soon...another Africa Video post! Hope this finds you all well!

Derek Thomas Van Dam