the time has come.

derek and i will be saying goodbye to kigoma, tanzania quite soon (in less than a week!), and while we will be very sad to say goodbye to our new friends here (who are seriously SO AMAZING...tanzanians are incredible), we will be super stoked to get home and see our old friends once again. YAY SAN FRANCISCO!!!! we've both been glued to craigslist the last couple of weeks looking for rooms and jobs...goodness its a lot of work! hopefully i start getting some more replies to my replies soon. haha.

anyways, i wanted to share a little bit of what i was reading today in acts chapter 2. i found it to be really encouraging for me, and i think its a perfect picture of what the church (as a whole) should be...but unfortunately, for the most part it isn't.

in acts 2:22-41 peter is addressing the crowd that has gathered. some of them (in the crowd) were mocking the apostles, and others were just curious, but peter just told them why jesus died and was raised from the dead. he says in verse 24 "But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." and he went on to tell them all about it, and what David had said about it a long time before. After he was done telling the apostles about all of this, it says in verse 37, 'When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"' I love that. The felt the reality of the message and recognized it as true. it says they were "cut to the heart". i think that i identify a lot with that line especially since being here. there are so many orphans whose parents have kicked them out, or died of AIDS (one in particular who i will write more on later when i can post a photo), and no one wants to care for them. it cuts to my heart...i see the reality of it first hand, and it breaks me. i know that all these kids have now is the love of jesus. this scripture passage goes on to say in verse 41 that about 3000 people became "christians" that day. if you want to read this passage for yourself, here's a link:
http://bible1.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Acts+2%3A22-41§ion=0&version=niv&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ac&NavGo=2&NavCurrentChapter=2

the next section of verses that shows the outcome of all of this is verses 42-47. it says that the new followers devoted themselves to the apostles teachings, and to the fellowship with eachother. they saw the truth and embraced it. one way they embraced it is shown in verse 44 and 45, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." first of all, they had everything in common. this means (to me) that there weren't denominations that were "right" and "wrong". they straight up followed the Bible, and followed what Jesus taught through the apostles. they were ONE, they loved eachother and encouraged eachother and "they had everything in common". cool. secondly, they gave things to those in need. they were generous. this is a sign of unconditional love...they sacrificed their own belongings and comfort for those who couldn't afford it. here's a link to this section so you can read it for yourself:
http://bible1.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Acts+2%3A42-47§ion=0&version=niv&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ac&NavGo=2&NavCurrentChapter=2

this is the early church. this is what christianity is truly about. what has christianity become? now, i'm not saying that all churches or christians have it wrong. definitely not. i'm just speaking generally, i'm talking about what the rest of the world sees. we see priests molesting little boys, we see rich christians being stingy with their money, we see christians who couldn't care any LESS about the environment..this BEAUTIFUL creation that God has given us we just continue trashing, we see christians walk right by homeless people and not even give a second look or a smile for fear that they'll feel guilty...maybe that guilt is jesus tugging on our hearts to do something for our fellow human being.

these are just thoughts that are coming into my head and convictions that are happening in my own heart. i think that jesus is trying to teach me new ways to love. i just pray that he will help me open up my heart enough to truly take hold of it all.