Nigeria Day 1: Behold the Power of Education

Nelson Mandela has a famous quotation that reads like this “Education is the most powerful weapon we have in the world today.” Amen. 

As educators you literally hold the keys of the future in your hands. You have the divine potential to unlock the greatest resources the Lord has given us...our children. Their ideas, their dreams, their possibilities, their talents, their hopes, their gifting, their imaginations, their character and development; you, as an educator, have a huge role in unleashing, forming and transforming this things in a way that can literally bring change to the world. 

I am honored today to be a part of helping to shape educators in Nigeria. Today I have had the privilege of hearing these teacher’s dreams and desires for themselves, their students, their city and their nation and it is incredible, humbling, awing and inspiring. 

I truly believe Africa holds keys to global restoration and transformation, and these teachers are vital in that process as they directly influence, train and form the youth that will be tomorrow’s leaders. 

Critical thinking is our focus here in Nigeria. How do we become critical thinkers? How do we begin to evaluate what we are doing? How do we train our students to become critical thinkers so that they can develop and become responses to critical issues facing our world today? We mix in with critical thinking the Golden Rule, as interpreted by Eugene Petersen: “Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.” With this we teach the six pillars of character put out by the Josephson institute: trustworthiness, fairness, respect, responsibility, caring and citizenship. Now close your eyes. Imagine what the world would look like if these traits were embodied and partnered with critical thinking. What would the crisis in Syria look like? In US inner cities? In war torn Congo? What if we began to live this out? How different would society look? Would your neighborhood look? Would your family look? I think it is so important and so powerful, critical in our world today. 

I am so excited and encourage by what I have experienced here today with the teachers. They are grasping and wrestling with these concepts and moving beyond a world they have known into a world full of new possibilities. And they will be able to bring their pupils along this journey. I cannot wait to see what Nigeria looks like thirty years from now as a result of the work of these individuals in the life of their students; as a result of what the student’s are doing in bringing these character traits to life. God is so good, amen? 

“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” I think the Golden Rule is the way we do this. My challenge to you today is to “ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.” And watch the world be transformed, one act of love at at time. 

Dreams of yesterday, todays future, todays reality.

God is so funny. Two years ago I had a vision where I was with the Lord in a sweet place, a place of intimacy, a place of deep pondering, a place of his heart, looking out a window. I should fill in here that often I see the Lord like a lion, and in this vision that is in fact what he was. He was a lion looking out the window, almost sad, like he was thinking about something that troubled his heart. Then I was with him around a strategizing table with blueprints spread out. I saw his paws spill wine and then walk over the blue prints, putting big red wine stained paw prints on them. I followed him as he walked and the next image was me holding little dark skinned children and I knew the Lord was saying more than strategy, what matters is to love them and love them well.

Around this same time my heart began to ache for the children of my neighborhood. At the time I lived in East Hollywood and had learned about various gangs that existed there. Part of the initiation process for a certain gang that started in this neighborhood was killing. 7-9 year olds seeking to be in the gang were told to kill as many of the rival gang as they could--whoever had the most kills was in. My heart wrenched at this--I thought "we talk about child soldiers overseas and in wars, but we never address the child soldiers and the daily wars existing in our backyard." Though this was a reality in my heart, I didn't know what to do with it. So I did what I could--I loved the neighborhood and prayed.

When the time came to transition from Los Angeles for a season, I received prayer and the word given to me was that I would be like the Pied Piper, leading the children nobody wanted.

This began to stir things in me. When I first came to know the Lord and felt a call to missions my heart was drawn to go overseas and start an orphanage and love the lost and forgotten children. As I grew in the Lord he began to reveal more of his calling to me--that I was made for social justice, for leadership, for systemic change, for reformation. This led to various years working to combat sex trafficking, forced prostitution and systemic poverty. Yet even in that season I was drawn to children and youth. I didn't know how to make the two world collide, but I knew God was shifting things in me and bringing forth different desires of my heart.

As I spent a year at home, I would watch movies like "Freedom Writers" and pray things like "Lord I want to be like that. I want to make an impact on youth. If you can teach them you can change the neighborhood and a society."  I took a class on emotionally intelligent leadership and sparked in me was a desire to train others in what I had learned; to set up resource centers for children and parents to learn how to take care of themselves and love each other well. I thought about going to school for education, for law, for human rights... for something that could open doors to do what I wanted to do, what was still forming in me. I was looking for the how of my desires.

Then out of the blue I was offered a job that brought it all together. EPIC works with children, youth and families teaching everyday leadership so that people can be empowered to become the change they wish to see in their context and lead others in true leadership; embodying the Golden Rule.  I'm working stateside with at-risk and vulnerable youth and children. Tomorrow I get to fly overseas with an amazing team and help train Nigerian teachers how to become critical thinkers so that they can help their students become critical thinkers who live out moral and ethical character in everyday leadership. I'm living the desires of my heart. I'm living out the dreams and visions God gave me.

You know, people have asked if I'm worried or nervous going. Not at all. I'm actually really excited and feel an anticipation in my heart and spirit about what God is going to do. I look forward to making new friends and holding these precious kiddos. I already love them.

As I wrote this tonight in reflection on going to Africa tomorrow, this is what I'm thinking and want you to pray with me. Where I am today started with dreams,visions and desires years ago. I think God does something in our dreams and visions that allows us to carry out what he is asking us to do...like they serve as a preparation for things to come. They prepare our hearts to respond, to hope, to dream things we haven't imagined. I want this for Nigeria. I want the work we do to spark in the teachers there dreams for their pupils, dreams for their nations, dreams for themselves they never thought possible. I want them to encounter God's heart for their nation and in that catch a glimpse of where God is taking them and the vital role they play in shaping young people. I want them to go bigger and imagine wilder then they have dared to before.  I want to join them in praying these things forward for their children and nation. I want to see them wrecked by God.. I want to be wrecked by God with them.

I cannot wait to sit with these precious children, teachers, administrators, and people of God. I cannot wait to learn from them, with them, and to impart what God has given me to impart to them. I am excited to create art with them and I pray these times of art would shatter any limits they may have in expression and creativity and would open floodgates of creativity, freedom and new thinking.

I'm so ready to go. So so ready. Pray for us. Pray that in every second we find ourselves in the center of God's palm in the midst of his will for us, covered and smothered in his goodness, love, mercy and grace. Pray that exactly what God wants to have happen would happen.

I love you. May you find yourself in the place I have just prayed we would be found.

AZ

EPIC Art

Hi everyone!

Hope you have all been well in the in between of posts. Life on my end is good. Full, but full of good good things.

I have officially logged two weeks of work with EPIC (Everyday Progress in Character Leadership Center). I am loving it! hough it's not necessarily easy.  I am learning everything from the overall mission and goals of EPIC, to what it looks like contextualized in Cabrillo Village and Jos, Nigeria, to what it looks like to expand into other locations as doors continue to open, to what it looks like to collaborate with other organizations in the area, to learning the art projects we will do and the "why" behind them, to learning how to operate a MAC, to developing a fundraising letter and strategy, to meeting with experts in the field to learn from them, to meeting and getting to know the board, to preparing for my first trip to AFRICA.... do you see why I say it is full, but good, and not necessarily all easy, but definitely enjoyable?

I think one of my favorite things we did this week was to create artwork. On Friday, three of us took an art class from our art coordinator to learn how to do the projects we will be teaching and doing with Nigerian teachers in a couple weeks in Jos. Here are a couple pics.

 It was so fun to create, to express myself in this way. And my team is so encouraging, so sweet and complimentary--It was  a really stress relieving, uplifting day.

Another highlight from the week would be Thursday evening, when I met with the team going to Nigeria. I love our team. EAch of us uniquely different, yet each called specifically by God to go. As we spent time in prayer Thursday evening we were filled with hope and could sense God's hope and purpose for this trip--exciting.

I am getting ready to format a mailing list, both electronic and physical mail for people who want to recieve our Si Se Puede Times (a newspaper the Cabrillo kids help to write and design about what's going on) and newsletters, etc. If you would like to be on this, email me at anzirbel@gmail.com and let me know your contact info!

Love you all. Happy Labor Day. May this holiday find you basking in rest and health.

With love
AZ