Fish Heads and Paparazzi and People… Oh My!

Our team upon arrival in Shenzhen

It is amazing the time it takes to truly process a trip like China. So much occurs in such a short time that you wonder what to share with everyone. I am going to do my best to share the amazing experience that God blessed us with while in China.

Some highlights for me were:

-Arriving in Hong Kong, we dropped off my bags and I was finally able to join the amazing family that God blessed me with for the past few weeks. We bonded in the lights of the harbor and over some amazing mango drinks!

-We had the opportunity to go to church in Hong Kong. It is so cool to see the church in Asia so on fire for God and to share Him with those around them. Even at the end of the service there were multiple hands raised at the call to accept the sacrifice that Jesus gave for them. 

 

One of my favourite little guys in yellow!

-Visiting the two factories that we would be serving at the following days. One factory made switches and plugs while the other made lingerie and sleep wear. We were also scheduled to play some basketball at the factories as well. They had initially thought we were team Canada, which scared me a lot, seeing as I had never played a real game of basketball.  Our first night of playing I did not head out on the court very much as I was pretty intimidated. The next game, with some encouragement from my teammates I played a bit more and by the time our third game rolled around I played most of the game as our runner and even scored some points. 

Our time in the factories gave me some insight into the culture in China and why people do what they do. Now being in South Africa, it sure feels like there is a lot more room to breathe here!

Playing Stella-Ella-ola

-Playing with the kids at the factories, leading some soccer, some crazy indoor games and even a rousing round of Stella-ella- ola… Many of you will probably remember that one from elementary school. Haha.  

 

-The skit and songs, and testimonies that we shared at the second factory were special. It was cool to see the messages that the kids pulled from it. Thin included things are not always solved best through violence and that pride often leads to failure. God is moving in the lives of these kids and it is exciting to see!

 

-Oh and the dance from the garment factory. Love this... I hope to keep in shape by performing it daily!! Haha.

Can 2 On the beach!

-Cheering on Team Canada in soccer, beach volleyball and indoor volleyball! I am so proud of all of our athletes that left it all on the pitch, sand or court.

 

 

-Attempting to find the China Sea!!!

-Catching up with Sam in China!

-Some amazing Chinese food… and some really interesting food. 

For more details about the things that we did you can check out our blog. The information is on my pre-China blog and you can email me to get the password.

One of the things that I learned more about over this trip is that everyone has a kind of sweet spot when it comes to serving God. When they are outside of this spot serving is really draining and although it is rewarding they are not able to keep it up too long. However, when they are serving in their sweet spot the time is actually almost refreshing and refilling for them.  I am not positive where my sweet spot is yet but I am excited for this journey to find out.

Hong Kong university students converted to cheer for Canada

One of my greatest challenges on this trip came after our first day in the Athletes Village.  The morning started great. Jess and I were able to walk right in to the dining hall despite not having the correct passes and the first girl we talk to is a South African soccer player. She told us where the girls were sitting and I reunited with Shorty and Noko, (two of the athletes we were at camp with) among other girls. After that, we went into the other dining hall and I tried to start some conversations with some of the other athletes. These were fine but had no depth to them. I realized at that point how completely unprepared I was to be in China and even more so South Africa.However, God is so faithful and two of my teammates really encouraged me. They reminded me firstly that God did not call some me of the future who was fully prepared and some super speaker and ultra wise. He called me, as I am, and all He wants from is to step out in faith and go. They also reminded me that God is made so much stronger in my weakness; because it is there, in my brokenness, that there is no room for doubt of who is in control and making the extraordinary happen.  

 The next time we were in the village the morning was tough as we hit many language barriers, but I felt God calling me to stay with a small group that was going to stick around the village longer while the rest of our team went to watch track. 

God blessed the time and I went forward trusting in Him. I had a few great conversations. First, I connected with a bunch of South African track athletes; it was neat to get a different perspective on South Africa because of their cultural upbringing compared to the soccer girls. The next course (dessert :) ) was shared with a rhythmic gymnastics coach from Finland. She was a special woman with such a heart for her team. We talked a lot about identity and worth and ways we can help athletes find these values outside of the podium. We also spoke about burnout and the impact it has on athletes and about her own experiences with it. Lastly, we began to talk about the importance of full round coaching, including the value of spiritual support. We then spoke about the church in Finland and I think we both left feeling encouraged and challenged.

Our constant friends in the Paparazzi

 God provided many opportunities to learn a lot from the athletes and staff at these games and many chances to step out and trust Him. I relearned in a better way that God does not need me to know everything, instead to just be willing and open to learning and trusting Him to lead. Also, just to spend time getting to know Him and His word better. It is not complicated, but not always easy either. I thank God for this experience in China and for all of you that are uplifting me in your thoughts and prayers!

A little taste of Tandem biking and Team Canada

 

T-1 Day to Adventure

Wow... I can't believe this day is already here. Tomorrow afternoon I will be hopping on a plane to Hong Kong. I wanted to take this chance to thank you guys for your thoughts, prayers, financial support and love as I head out on this exciting journey! It has been quite the adventure for me thus far. As I write this ideally, I would be in the Vancouver airport with my team preparing to board my flight to Hong Kong. Instead, I am sitting in the backyard of my family friends’ home hoping that they will arrive home today and can take me in for the night... haha. Surprise!! In my defense I did call first, they just were not around to answer. I do have back up plans in case they do not make it home. Why am I here and not on the plane? I tried to get my passport released from the South African Embassy on Friday and asked them to send it to Vancouver. Next day delivery, it should be no problem. It didn’t get put into the mail until Wednesday, but that’s okay it should still show up this morning it will just be cutting it close. Next surprise, it showed up to my house in Calgary this morning. Thank goodness for my kind and caring parents who will make sure it gets to Vancouver tomorrow well before my flight leaves tomorrow afternoon. I want to take a chance to praise God for His faithfulness and care, I know He is in control and I cannot wait to see what He has planned to use this monkey wrench for His glory! On the amazing, awesome super cool God side He has not being taking a nap and leaving me to fend for myself. For one thing that passport that is coming is complete with the needed Visa despite there having not been enough time to finish the processing!! Also on my flight to Vancouver, I ended up taking 3 bags. One is full of donated soccer gear. The second bag cost me $18.00 not $20. The third the girl warns me is going to cost $100. I take a breath and say that is fine I knew it was coming. She then turns to me and says the computer is only charging me $20 for the bag. No idea why but she’s cool with it and I will take that blessing for sure!! It’s such a blessing!! God is so good and evidence of His hand is all over this trip.  I cannot wait to see what else He has planned to blow me away with!

I wanted to take a second to reflect on how I am feeling and what is going on with me emotionally. There have been a few moments of anxiety about my passport and Visa leading up to this trip. But it is amazing how each time I have turned it over to God and trusted His timing and outcome and He is so faithful. He is replacing my fears with freedom and anxiety with peace. So many people have talked about issues of safety and it is definitely worth concern. South Africa has a reputation and many parts that are dangerous. I have spent time in thought about this and although I recognize the danger, I choose to enter this journey with care but not worry. God is confirming His call to me both in the big things and the small, therefore trusting Him with my safety is easy. I figure if He will be glorified more through my pain or death than the next however many years of my life than I go willingly. But so as not to end on that somber note I have a bit of an update on what I have done since arriving in Vancouver on Tuesday. 

We came out to spend some time with the FISU games Canadian Women’s soccer team. Yesterday we rode tandem bikes along the sea wall! I definitely recommend trying this if you are in Vancouver, the weather was amazing, the scenery was stunning and the experience was a blast. There were many little chances to serve the girls, collecting gear after the ride, taking some photos, serving lunch. It will be nice to be a familiar face once we are in China. The girls are very sweet and I had the opportunity to get to know some of them a bit better over dinner as well. I am excited to see what God has planned for our time in China. Things will be different from other years because they are fairly closed off to religious matters and are not accrediting many chaplains. However, this gives us a different kind of freedom to be around and connect. I am hoping to spend a few days with the South African teams and cannot wait to see what will come from that. While we are there I will not have internet access of my own, nor will I be updating my blog. If you want to follow what we do or contact me or our team we can be emailed at aia.swat.2011@gmail.com

And our blog will be  aiaswat2011.wordpress.com. This site is password protected to protect our team and the work we are doing. If you want access to the blog you can email me before tomorrow afternoon or the team email above. 

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and I look forward to Sharing with you all when I arrive in South Africa. I am scheduled to land on August 21, 2011 at 7 am South African time.

P.S. I emailed all the contact emails that I had about my blog update so if you didn’t receive it and would like to be on that list please send me an email at rae.bauer17@gmail.com. Sorry if you have already done that but I am using a new computer... thanks Greg... and don't think I have all of the addresses. I promise to get that organized from here on in!

Love,

Rachel

NTC Review

From May 3-8 I was in Ottawa for Athletes in Action’s National Training Camp (NTC). NTC is an opportunity for athletes from all across Canada will get together. There were 70 athletes and about 30 staff and interns present.  Perspectives are changed and athletes learn that their passion and talent is from God and through playing they can worship God if they allow Him to come onto the field with them. As I journeyed through the week of sessions, and lab situations on the field, the staff challenged us to retire the athlete slave inside us. The athlete slave is the one that is tied into the sport 100%, they go beyond paying with intensity to the point that their identity is hinged on athletic success. This athlete is devastated and shaken to their core with a loss or an injury.

Working on my agility. My coach would be proud!

I wanted to share a bit of what God taught me as the week progressed.  One of my biggest struggles with my faith has always been knowing the truth, but never really feeling it in a tangible way. It was as if the knowledge was stuck in my head but could never reach and impact my heart. I had the blessing of captaining a fantastic team of athletes for the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. (A 24+ hour sport marathon that truly pushes you to your physical and emotional limits and challenges you to experience God as you truly have cannot finish this thing completely on your own strength. This experience really helped me grow much closer to God. As I spoke words of truth to my teammates and saw the impact of God’s message and love in my teammates faces it was as if I learned each of those things in a very new, very real way. All of a sudden these were not just words on a page and things that were cool but truths that resonated to the core of who I am. They were truly the definition of my worth and value. When we reached the final event of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. our team was down 2 men. This final event is a very individual, personal challenge and two people on my team were going to have to do it twice. I challenged my team to prayerfully consider if God wanted them to run it a second time. When we reached the starting point of the event I asked my team if anyone was feeling challenged to run it twice. You could have heard the crickets chirp (not really... two people said they were considering but neither had a strong conviction to go.) Being a captain I did what a captain should do, I said I would start it off and run it twice and by the time I get back I said that I hope someone else will feel they are meant to run it twice. (Andrew did and you can read hid story below.)

Round One

The first time I did it, I remember it being so hard. My legs felt dead and I felt so slow. As I went I was talking to God saying “There are so many people in our group that are so much stronger, and so much faster than me. Surely it would be better for them to run it again. Not that I won’t do it, just if someone else can or should do it... please let them know.” It was really cool because God met me there, and challenged me there. I had this overwhelming sense that I couldn’t ignore. God was telling me that I had so much more in me; that He wanted to do so much more through me. That I will run it again and it will be stronger than the one I am doing right now because He would be my strength and He would carry me. 

Round 2

The second time that I went I had the need to just praise God out loud. It was as if the truth could not be contained just in my head. The whole way down and back up I was proclaiming truth, and there was just this push of truth into my heart. There was no denying the truth that God had for me. I shouted out about His love, how His Grace is sufficient for me, how is mercies are new every day and I need them new every day. Did my legs still burn, yes, did I still feel exhausted and slow, yes. But I pushed harder than I did the first time and I truly leaned on the strength of my creator who loves me with an unfathomable love. One that goes beyond my understanding of love, which overwhelms and overjoys! God is so good, and He met me there on that mountain. He gave me a greater sense of Jesus’ love and sacrifice and a deeper knowledge of just how much I need Him.

 I wanted to share the stories of a few other athletes as well and the impact that God made in their lives through this time.  First is Andrew’s story. It was cool how God works things. The morning of the draft for the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. we were playing soccer. Our team had two less players than our opponents and Andrew was running late. When He arrived the staff decided to put him on our team instead. This was the one and only time we were in contact before the draft. We were meant to be on the same team.

My Fantastic team minus one. 

Facing so many trials and tribulations from the beginning of this year, NTC was a retreat that I originally felt to be a time to reflect on what God has done for me to this day. I can truthfully say it was more than just a bible retreat, more than just an athletic experience, more than an event that I could ever imagine, it was a LIFE changing experience through Jesus Christ who has strengthened my faith and existence as a spirit walking this earth.

I was wound up and hindered by stress for which was bestowed upon me by the loss of my father in early February. I was lost, depressed and had the biggest course load of work to complete in my university history in order to graduate this year. While at NTC all these things were running through my mind before meeting any other university athletes and Christians. 

From day one I could see the way in which Christ has entered into some of these athletes lives, which allowed me to analyze where my faith had lied. Day after day I learned to implement faith in my sport, each day I learned to overcome tendencies for which evil had overcame my mind away from Christ, each day I learned to allow Christ to be the focal point for which I could not be swayed or dismayed in a way which would try and pull me further from His good name. What had really inflamed this spark which was growing inside of me, was the blessing of my teammates with Rachel leading us as our wonderful team captain. As I always live by the motto, "things always happen for a reason" it was no mistake as to why I was on Rachel's team, where a bond from a random occurrence of me being placed on a different team earlier in the week had started. 

As the 24 hour marathon had quickly approached and by being on Rachel's team, I learned to persevere through pray and worship to our blessed Father, who has given us a life to live in His image and likeness. Being short a few players cause of injury and a challenge with finding ones faith, The Joshua's as a team still pressed forward towards the goal to win the prize. (Yes I still have this bible verse memorized which is Philippians 3:14) What had really influenced my journey was our last challenge; Golgotha. 

With having two members short, a couple of our teammates had to go twice. Rachel of course feeling the call from God had volunteered to be one of the two. Before all this, I was notorious for being weak minded, having a heart that was not as strong and a person to shy away from a challenge that seemed to difficult to complete. God had plagued my mind reassuring me that I can do this, not only would I be able to do it but that my father would be watching me with a proud spirit. I stepped up to the challenge, the first time was mentally and physically tough, so much so that I was regretting my decision of volunteering to go twice. But athlete after athlete before my turn again kept pushing through with the strength of Christ, especially from a girl climbing the mountain with two herniated disk all the way to the top. It made me tear up and thoughts of God and my father in heaven kept saying to me that I can get through this, no doubt can hold me back from completing the task for which God has lead me to complete. Each step, each pull of strength, doubt try to keep me from running in faith, each slip from climbing a mountain full of mud and snow tried to keep me from doing this for the God who has given me life and to my father who was a part of my life to be the man I am today. As my teammates continued to sing and praise His name in celebration to push through and make it to the top, I fell to my knees when I had done it. I had completed the impossible for which a weakened mind could not have done before, to a man who was once a boy lead by a man that had graced him with his presence, to a broken down, tired and overwhelmed body for which Jesus’ sacrifice had blessed me with and to others on this planet for the sins that had captured many. Tears of sadness had left the eyes of a boy thankful for these blessings and to have the strength to do this for God and for a father whom I love and cherish to this day. With all these steps of faith and strength today, I am bound by no chain, I am free from all evil and walk with the spirit of Christ within me. 

This was only one experience that had changed my life, but it was an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and I thank God for His blessings to be able to accomplish these challenges and for the support of beautiful people whom I will never forget.

Lastly I wanted to share Gen’s story. Gen is an athlete from Calgary who I respect deeply for her skill and her genuine character. I was blessed to share this experience with her as a roommate and as a friend.

A little bear crawl for Jer and my Dinos girls!!

I struggle to put a spiritual experience into words, because really the way that God moved me and the way that I saw Him work in other athletes from around the country (bringing 250 lbs football players to tears) has no word.  My relationship with Christ has deepened. In one week I fell in love with 70 brothers and sisters, who share the passion of sport with me, and who crave sharing their earthly passion with the God of the universe.  I came to see myself as a creation that was given passions, skills, talents, and that by simply using what I’m given, God is glorified.  Someone told me that a wave is something that’s beautiful, and that by simply being both beautiful and strong in being a wave it shows us God’s glory, and I was amazed at the weight that fell off my shoulders at the thought that by simply living as a creation of God, using the characteristics He’s given me, I am fulfilling my role as a creation, because God’s glory shines through all that is good.  

More than anything, I experienced the reality of my own weaknesses and the overwhelming power of the Spirit in us.  I don’t really want to give you too much detail of my experience, partly because I don’t know how and mostly because I want to encourage each and everyone one of you to explore how deeply you can experience and worship God by giving Him back and surrendering all that our incredibly passion filled, fun, intense, addictive, sometimes toxic and political, creative, raw, emotional, and powerful sport has given you.  I’ll be praying that you all step out of your comfort zone (or uncomfortable but familiar zone) and find a God driven motivation, ridding yourself of the athlete slave that can sometimes take over or that simply keeps nagging you when times get tough.  If you’re as clueless as I am about how to do that, join Athletes in Action on your campus or sign up for the retreats or next year’s NTC.  If anything you’ll have a ton of fun and meet incredibly inspiring people (but I trust that God will use it for so much more than that!).  

Proof that there were some smiles

Sport, properly directed, develops character, makes a man courageous, a generous loser, and a gracious victor; it refines the senses, gives intellectual penetration, and steels the will to endurance. It is not merely a physical development then. Sport, rightly understood, is an occupation of the whole man, and while perfecting the body as an instrument of the mind, it also makes the mind itself a more refined instrument for the search and communication of truth and helps man to achieve that end to which all others must be subservient, the service and praise of his Creator

I pray that you will be impacted by these stories and the change God left in the lives of each of these athletes. Athletes who will return to their teams to bring Christ into their sport and who will spread a passion for His name to teammates, coaches, fans and friends. To see some video reflections from NTC look at http://www.youtube.com/user/2thewallpaper. There are 3 videos of athletes’ perspectives from NTC. 

AIA Retreat Review- March 2011

I wanted to give you an update on some of the ways God has been working through Athletes in Action here in Canada before I leave.  Our athletes in action group on campus was so blessed to see a pair of U of C basketball players give their lives to Christ this year and are so encouraged by their passion and love for Him!!

At the end of March we were able to bring 7 athletes out to a retreat in Gull Lake with other Christian athletes from U of A, U of S, U of R and some other colleges. It was a time of growth and the athletes were challenged by Rodd Sawatsky (the Chaplain for the Calgary Stampeders) to be clear in where their identity was found. One of the ways we did this was by walking alongside the paralyzed man who was lowered from the roof giving us the chance to see the bible come alive in a way many had never experienced. To strongly see the mat that He spent his life on (think about that for a second. This man is paralyzed, that means he can not walk. If there is no one there to help him this would mean he is stuck on that mat, if he got sick, he got sick on the mat, if he needed the bathroom, he was stuck on his mat... you get it? People could use him as a landmark, kids would say to each other lets meet at the guy on the mat, you’ll be able to find him, you can smell him from three blocks away...This man’s identity was completely tied up with his mat),  to think of what would drive the men that carried him on his mat to put up with the smells and the dirt that would have defined the paralyzed man’s years on that mat. To feel the men’s struggle as they stood outside the house that was full to the brim of people, knowing they could not bring the paralyzed man in, but knowing that they needed to get him to Jesus, because Jesus could heal him. To think of the men as they dug through the roof, dirt spilling on the richest, most honoured men of society, and on Jesus himself. To be lowered with the paralyzed man who spent his whole life hoping people wouldn’t look at him, but dying to be seen for who he really is not just for his condition, who was now the center of attention for a captive audience. When he was finally lowered at Jesus’ feet Jesus doesn’t heal what the man and his friends thought he so desperately needed, instead Jesus heals his heart and his soul saying “your sins are forgiven.” Now you can imagine the outcome, the men that carried him and lowered him down are probably confused, Jesus is calm, the spectators are all going “ooh... what’s going to happen now, this man Jesus just said he forgives someone’s sins...” they are looking the Pharisees for how to respond, the Pharisees are outraged... thinking to themselves “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” , and the paralyzed man is still stuck on his dirty disgusting mat thinking to “himself Jesus just forgave my sins, I am free and forgiven.” Then the spirit revealed the Pharisees thoughts to him and he turns to them and says “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?”. He could have left them their scratching their heads but in his mercy and to show once again his authority as the son of God he turns to the man and says pick up your mat and go home. Talk about your epic movie climax, the man picks up his mat and leaves, the people are floored and leave praising God for his power. We are left with the question of why Jesus made the man pick up his mat, it still smelled just as bad as it did before the man was healed yet Jesus told him to carry it. Sometimes Jesus heals us of our pain right away, and sometimes we carry our hurt and our scars as a chance to glorify God. When people on the street asked this man “hey buddy what’s with the mat?”, He will be able to turn to them and say, I used to be stuck on this mat, then Jesus healed my soul, forgave my sins, and allowed me to walk again. What a powerful testimony brought on by a dirty, smelly, disgusting mat!

I wanted to share with you one of our AIA Calgary students experience from retreat as well. God was definitely moving in the entire group, not just in my life. There is movement on the U of C campus and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do! 

"AIA Retreat experience

The main take out I have from the retreat was the theme of Rodd's first session but I felt it related to every talk he had. Defining who I was, or in my case, Redefining. I remember how he showed how John described himself as just being the one that Christ loved. Period. Going into the retreat I was a little overwhelmed with school, getting results from my midterms and also the results I had from my track season. I wasn't in the greatest of places. I remember when Rodd came to our AIA night I said something along the lines of "I know God loves me and that he is there, but so what? how is this affecting my life". Going in, in my head I've always known God is number one but by how I let school and track and just other things in my life effect my attitude towards life and everyday living it hit me at retreat that they were definitely sharing roles of 1a,1b,1c. So it became an evaluation of trying to turn my heart towards the attitude that John had as well. To be that Christ loves me and that is all I need. To know that while grades and performances are great and to an extent important, I can't let it define who I am and how I will live my life. 

So I guess that was the biggest thing that impacted me from the retreat because I was able to apply it quickly and into the rest of the semester and to push through finals. I gave it my best, and while I guess the results still sting cause it sure wasn't what I thought I would get since I thought I started to grasp the concepts in my classes there's just been some peace, and I've been able to bring a much more joyful attitude into everyday."

It was great to see the encouragement that these athletes received from the fellowship in that time. To know that Athletes in Action is so much broader than just our campus and to meet some of the athletes they play against is always so special. All of us left with such a profound impact from one of our worship songs. It’s called “Never let Go” by Matt Redman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FWj7yqf6oM

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death 
Your perfect love is casting out fear 
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life 
I won’t turn back 
I know You are near 

And I will fear no evil 
For my God is with me 
And if my God is with me 
Whom then shall I fear? 
Whom then shall I fear? 

Oh no, You never let go 
Through the calm and through the storm 
Oh no, You never let go 
In every high and every low 
Oh no, You never let go 
Lord, You never let go of me 

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on 
A glorious light beyond all compare 
And there will be an end to these troubles 
But until that day comes 
We’ll live to know You here on the earth 

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on 
And there will be an end to these troubles 
But until that day comes 
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

It is so powerful to remember that through the good and the bad, the mountains and the valleys God is never letting go of us! Praise God for the work He did at retreat and for the two basketball players from U of C that have accepted His sacrifice and gave their lives to Him at a Campus Harvest event down in the US!!