Group Picture

This is a photo of our entire group! [back row] Dr. Sebastian, Scott, Jeremiah, Stephen, Ben, Becky, Matt; [middle row] Amanda, Rachel, Marcia, Brett, Eileen, Jason, Chris (CJ), Dr. Rajashekar; [front row] Rodney, me (Alexis)

This is taken outside the administration building at United Theological College, Bangalore.

Alexis Baba

So, there's been an interesting development on the trip... I've become referred to by some of our group as "Alexis Baba: goddess of children!"

"WHAT?! Why?" You might be asking...

Well, as it turns out, 6ft tall, blonde American women happen to be something out of the ordinary around here. Go figure! ;) In fact, a large group of mostly white Americans draws lots of attention, but I seem to be getting quite a lot of it. When I walk by people smile and take long looks. Small children wave and shout, young people giggle, and-- most interestingly-- random families or groups ask to have their picture taken with me. (I'm not the only one, but I must say, I've been in a lot of strange pictures since arriving. Our day trip to Mysore was where this really came to a head. At one point, walking out of one of the Hindu temples, a swarm of school-aged kids flocked around me, asking me questions and so on. It was really something.

I'm not really used to this kind of attention. But, it's fun. I suppose that if I'm going to be taking pictures of all the people I see here, it only makes sense for people to take my picture. :)

The whole thing is definitely making me pay closer attention to the power and privilege I carry as a white American woman. No doubt about that.
~Alexis

Top L: The swarm of kids and their teacher outside a temple

Middle R: Me with a random girl whose parents made her take a picture with me. Can you say "awkward"??

Bottom L: Rachel showing a pic to a group of Hindu devotees who wanted photos of us like we wanted of them. A true cultural exchange! :)

Meat-eaters in a Vegetarian World...

Today during a lecture by Dr. P.T. George (professor of missiology here at UTC), he shared some of the practical challenges for Christian mission in India. Some of these challenges had to do with interfacing with the legacies of [ancient] Syrian Christians, Catholic and Protestant missionaries throughout India's history, "competing" with active Hindu, Muslim, and Buddhist missions, and being culturally sensitive while doing contextual ministry. One comment that he said struck me...

He used the example of Christian missionaries introducing the Eucharist, among other things, to the native, mostly Hindu (and therefore vegetarian) peoples. He said, imagine you're being given education and health care and being told about a loving God, and then you hear that you are supposed to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus... How offensive for a vegetarian, who seeks to preserve all life! He said that Gandhi once said, 'I don't want your salvation if it comes at the cost of the life of another!' Wow! Talk about a vivid example, one that had never occured to me, of how important it is to be aware of our local ministry contexts!

Can't wait to see what other ways this trip will open me up to new thoughts, ideas, and ways of seeing the world...

Not tall-people friendly...

So, I arrived in India at about 4am local time, after about 24 hours of travel. Whew!

The food was good and the company was delightful, but the actual flight... less than desireable. I'd thought that an international flight would have more spacious leg room to accomodate such a long trip-- I was WRONG! Ah well; I watched some good in-flight movies and got as much sleep as I could.

Now that I'm here, I'm ready to go. The campus at the Ecumenical Resource Center, where we're staying, is lovely. I'm about to go out for a walk before the day's events begin.

Looking forward to what the days will bring...

The World Traveler In Me...

So, I'm off for yet another adventure... this time to INDIA and SOUTH KOREA!!

I'm heading to India with 16 others from school for a

class on globalization and interfaith dialog in India. We'll be in Bangalore, Mangalore, and Mumbai. I'm pretty stoked!

Already to prepare I've:

• gotten tetanus and hepatitis A shots
• filled prescriptions for malaria pills and cipro (for crazy bad travelers diarrhea)
• made copies of everything I'll be bringing in my wallet and given them to my mom in case my wallet gets stolen (let's hope not)
• taken out a bunch of cash to travel with
• begun my nightmarish packing: packing for a month for two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT seasons (India --> 70-80 degrees, Korea --> about 30-40 degrees).
• bought little souvenir/ trinkets to give to people we stay with
• bought all the little items like DEET, laundry packets, hand wipes and sanitizer, etc that I'll need while in the country
• arranged transportation for our group to the airport
• begun reading the mandatory book for class: In Spite of the Gods, by Edward Luce... about the current state of things in India, politically, religiously, economically, etc... it's FABULOUS!!!

After India I'm heading to South Korea to visit my little brother, who's been living there for almost a year. He's teaching English. I'm super psyched to see him!

I am still 24 hours away from leaving, and though I've done a lot, I still feel like there's a ton of

things I need to do. I really need to get a handle on the packing thing. I'll want to double check to make sure I have everything I'll need for my camera, that I have my flight document for Korea, that I call my banks so that they know I'll be spending money outside of the country (so that they won't shut off my account thinking my card was stolen), and I need to... re-lax.

Traveling is something I do alot. And I love it. But this prep time beforehand... the waiting... the packing... I really just HATE this part! Ah well, soon I'll be in the air and off on another adventure.

Wish me luck!!

What I learned

Whew... what a summer...

I can't say enough how incredible my summer was. This FTE project helped me focus my interests and learning on at-risk youth in new and meaningful ways. I met tons of awesome people and think I've made some healthy relationships with other colleagues in ministry all over the country. Not to shabby.

But, did I learn anything? Well- duh! Of course I did. But what? Well... First of all, I learned some things about myself. I learned that I already have the gifts of being able to work and live with vulnerable and at-risk persons. Actually, I wouldn't say that I learned that, so much as that gift was affirmed in me. For whatever reason, I believe God has given me the ability to see people where they're at, and to bring my love and care to them there-- so that they can experience God's love. Also, young people seem to dig me. Maybe because I actually take them seriously. Maybe it's because I'm tough, while being funny, real, and caring at the same time. Over the summer, my ability to be able to see wider systems at work and to see broad themes was affirmed by those with whom I met and worked.

Now, what does all of this have to do with my original goals for the project? Well, I originally asked this question in my project proposal: How are [effective] youth ministries able to offer hope to at-risk young people? HOW-- How do they do that? How can I do that? In every conversation I had this summer, in some way, shape, or form, the same answer was given-- by creating healthy and loving relationships with young people. Relationships. It's all about relationships. Meaningful, consistent, stable, boundaried, accountable, affirming, positive, faith-centered, loving relationships.

These relationships are the goal. They are not means to an end. In ministry we do not engage in relationships for the purpose of changing young people or getting them to live more Christian lives. We are in relationship to them simply because they are children of God and we love them. As God loved us. Christ is the model for relational ministry with at-risk people... For no other reason that God so loved this world, God came to be with us. That is the incarnational promise and good news of the gospel. No strings attached, Jesus came and walked among us. Still dwells in and among us. Professor Andrew Root talks about this very concept in his book, Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry. I tell you, this book, which I didn't my hands on until the end of my summer project, basically states everything I've been feeling, thinking, and learning this summer. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in youth ministry.

Anyways, each place I went to this summer approached relational youth ministry differently. As you can see in my earlier blog posts. But, they all emphasized it in some way. So, my challenge as a minister is to discover the ways in which relationships can be made and grown in each of my congregations and communities. Then, and only then, can real hope be shared with those at-risk.

security… Security… SECURITY!!

For the last week of my FTE research I loaned myself out to the Event Staff of the Western States Youth Gathering in Anaheim, CA. The Safety and Security folk scooped me up and so I’ve been working with them. I’ve never done “security” before, and it’s been pretty interesting. Because it means I have a precarious relationship with the youth. In their minds, for all practical purposes, I’m the bad guy. I hate being the ‘bad guy’…

What does my job entail? Patrolling the events/workshops for good behavior. Helping in the case of an emergency, particularly medical emergencies. And making sure kids keep curfew and are where they’re supposed to be. Now, I did not realize that the job would entail making sure kids didn’t fight in line at the Dance Dance Revolution arcade or that I’d have to be “that” adult at the dance that kept kids from grinding a little too closely. I also had to kick random hotel guests out of our rooms because they were trying to get friendly with our girls…

I didn’t want to be too strict, because that’s just really not me. I mean, I will let you know what needs-be-- no doubt-- but I don't want to be hypocritical. I don't find lots of things to be too damaging or harmful to kids. But, I also needed to do my job and make sure everyone followed the rules. Which meant that for the most part, the kids responded well to my proddings. As I was doing my rounds after hours last night, I ran into LOTS of kids partying outside in the hallways. I had empathy for them—I was right there when I was in high school… But, I just asked them to keep it down and to get to their rooms, where they could stay up as long as they wanted for all I cared. I said I knew they just wanted to hang out because they weren’t tired yet, but I just honestly said, “Hey, I’m just doing my job. Don’t make this difficult for me. I’m not gonna go find your youth directors, just get to your rooms and you can hang out all day tomorrow when the Gathering goes to the beach.” And surprisingly, (actually, not so surprisingly) they listened. One girl whined, “Ugh! You’re being so nice about it! So now I feel guilty… And I still like you even… “ haha… That made me feel good. Like I said, I want them to be where they’re supposed to be, but I don’t wanna be the bad guy—though I will be if necessary! (Which I was a couple of times with lurking guys who kept creepin on my high school girls!!)

I guess this just goes back to what everyone this summer has said about effective youth ministry—that young people really do appreciate boundaries. Tough love is quite effective. And taking the time to listen to them, even if the end result is still you telling them to move their butt, goes far in their minds. They might even still like you when it’s all said and done! :o)