those initial thoughts

Though fried onions is not my personal breakfast favorite, I know some people here at the Young Leaders Gathering 06 have thrown themselves at those onions for the extra breakfast kick they are used to.

One morning I observed what people were putting on their breakfast plates and who felt right at home with the mucus-textured-cinnamon-blob delicately folded into a banana leaf. Some went for the adventure, some filmed the cultural experience and others stood well away lest their stomachs betray them. Others partook in a classy manner as to say “what’s the big deal, we all eat this at home, don’t we?”

Here at the YLG, we are so different and have such a wide array of backgrounds and experiences. Yet I stand amazed seeing delegates of 110 nations come together and engage with one another adding their own nation’s particularity and culture.

A German woman devoted to Chile. A Brazilian man working with transvestites. An Egyptian pastor devoted to his local church. An American man working with drug addicts. A Finnish woman running for local elections.

I guess I expected I’d be attending a missions-oriented conference with cross-cultural jargon and jokes flying high in the skies. Instead, many here have never travelled outside their country. Truly a unique gathering of national delegates committed to seeing the whole Church bring the whole Gospel to the whole World – often times starting with local work.

So you could wonder what points such a large group could agree upon and what they really want to discuss. And then you hear pertinent questions from alert young leaders – But what is this Lausanne movement? And how does it affect me? How will it support my work at home? And why isn’t the younger generation of women speaking more up front? How do we connect? Aren’t there enough networks as it is?

And these valid thoughts are mirrored by choice speakers. Most have already taken up the call for their generation. They challenge us to face the crises of our time. The challenge to lay aside our earthly ambition. The challenge to become servant leaders.

So although I sorely miss my buttery breakfast croissant, this has been a remarkable time allowing me to be informed, inspired, developed and connected. What a rich place to leverage learnings from all over the world and apply them to my world.