Our Wicker Basket Adventure

Jesus went to a Samaritan town one day, and asked a woman for a drink. Instead of answering, the woman asked why He would chose to talk with her; a woman of ill repute. Jesus could have provided a simple answer, but decided to use an analogy of well water in order to deepen the conversation. "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

"Sir" she replied, "You don't even have anything to draw the water from this well..."

That got me thinking about the process of drawing water. You can use a pump, a wooden bucket, a clay pot, or a wicker basket...wait, who would use a wicker basket to draw water?

I read a story this week of a grandfather telling his grandson to draw water using a wicker basket, so I decided to keep them in mind as I recalled our last week of outreach.

Our team packed our stuff last week, and headed from Manila to the prostitution capital of the Philippines. We met with a researcher named Dr. Fuller, who explained the complex issue of prostitution and how each problem is interrelated with another. For example: the 12,000 current prostitutes provide a huge boost to the local economy, making the government afraid to shut it down; the churches are afraid of stepping in and having the government shut them down; and Dr Fuller is afraid that he won't get the support he needs from the churches. Not to mention; every person has a need which is personal to them. So we decided to get personal.

That night, our group went to the clubs in order to meet the men and women who engage in business, and were amazed by the things we felt and saw. I struggled with lust, and the ladies struggled with judging the guys. After 10 minutes of staring at the floor in order to protect my wandering eye, I realized that it was impossible to watch the guys and the girls interact, so the group and I decided to do something different.

We danced to the music in the club, and played games like "20 questions" with each other. We forced smiles on our faces, and did the best we could to ignore the temptations flying at us from all angles. Amazingly, it worked! By bringing joy into our situation, we were able to change our focus from lust, pride and condemnation to an attitude of curiosity. We wondered what thoughts were running through their heads:

Did the women feel rejected when the prettier girls were taken home? Did they compare their bodies to the other girls? Did they enjoy talking to regulars? Were genuine relationships formed? Did the guys think it was a fair exchange, or did they want to abuse the women?

The next day we discussed our experience, and Dr Fuller guided us in discovering the different perspectives and desires each person had. Men wanted fun, women wanted security, but we all want to fill a void. It was a very unique opportunity to see the humanity in the industry.

So what does all this have to do with wicker baskets?

There is a story of a young boy who told his grandpa that he didn't find any use in reading the bible, because he forgot everything the minute he closed it. The grandfather put down the wicker basket full of coal that he was holding, and told the boy to fetch a basket of water. The boy dumped out the coal and ran to the well to draw water. He repeatedly tried to pull up the basket, but realized the water had drained too quickly. Frustrated, he ran inside and told the grandpa that the process was useless, to which the grandfather replied, "It's not useless, just look in the basket." The boy looked into the basket and realized it looked different. Instead of being coated with coal soot, it was clean. That's when the boy realized that his grandpa wasn't asking him for a basket of water, but a clean wicker basket The grandfather took the clean basket and put fruit in it, turning to his grandson and saying, "come on, we are going to bring this fruit to the hungry and poor."

I think that's the point of outreach; to weave people together like a wicker basket, and then dip ourselves into the living water. We hope to take the living water to the people around the world, but the water leaks through the spaces between interwoven fibers. It would be more efficient to carry the water using a clay pot, but that's assuming that the point is to carry water from one place to the next. Jesus didn't bring a well to the woman in Samaria; it was already there. I don't know whether our team brought the living water anywhere new, but i do know that we were a much cleaner wicker basket at the end of our trip, and watered a lot of grass in the process.

                                   Life: The Musical

Every year I hear people sing Auld Lang Syne at midnight; a song reminding us to appreciate the people in our past.  This is the first year I didn't hear that song though, and interestingly it's the first year that I decided to pause and remember the days gone by. It was a rewarding activity, because I was able to see how God orchestrated a year full of various seasons and transitions for us.  Belize was a time to learn, Cebu a time to play and Manila has been a time to listen.  As I thought about how the year was concluding, I began to discover  an underlying motif in His concerto.

Manila gave us the opportunity to increase our effectiveness by dividing into 4 groups and partnering with small, local churches, while also giving us a greater sense of ownership in the ministry.  We were able to take leadership roles in activities like door to door evangelism, camping in the slums, youth retreats at a water park, and lots of prayer walks.  We enjoyed the freedom to create and improvise, but at the same time, we felt out of tune with each other.  Things became more frustrating as the days went on, until one morning we had a breakthrough.

As we were discussing our concerns one morning, the tone of the room began to lift.  We learned that listening was the key in remaining harmonized through such diversity.  We needed to hear how it all came together in order to appreciate the different roles.  That afternoon, we decided to compose our own outreach activity which utilized the gifts of each individual. Some people prepared games, other songs; a few acted out a drama, and others shared the gospel.  It came together perfectly, and helped us realize how instrumental each person is.

New years eve was the following night, so we incorporated our newly discovered skill to create a vision for an exciting new years eve.  Each person took ownership of an activity, while helping others be successful.  The end result was one of the best new years we can ever remember.  We had a "murder mystery" dinner, a dance, a fireworks show, and a time of reminiscing about the year that God's been conducting.  That brings me back to the introduction: what's the motif of His concerto?

I think the thing I've began to realize is that God is composing the most beautiful love song ever to be played at a wedding, and we are instrumental to it.  It's a symphony of rich complexity.  A symphony comprised of billions of instruments, playing various harmonies, and canons.  A symphony that's increasingly harder to perform and conduct with each passing year.  It would be easier to have one instrument, but then the song would lack the majesty deserving of such a glorious occasion  I think that's why we ask ourselves every year, "should old acquaintances be forgot" and settle on a resounding, "No;"  our Maestro is creating a masterpiece through them.