My Reasons

When I was first applying to the HNGR program I was pretty good at articulating why I wanted to do this (I think). Since then I haven't questioned my original intent much. So, in response to the question "Why are you doing this?", I guess the short answer is "God has called me. I just know. I have to go." Though, that isn't to say that I hadn't been looking forward to this experience or that I don't have specific things I hope this experience will do. I think it's good for me to recount some of the things I hope to gain from my HNGR journey.
I hope to experience poverty enough to not be able to wake up another day as if it were a dream. I hope to live with people and hear there stories and share life with them enough to not be able to ignore things that I have ignored for too long. I hope that living in this tension makes me more compassionate.
I hope to learn from Christians here. So far I've been humbled by their wisdom and passion to bring God's kingdom to earth in its fullness. They aren't perfect, but I have much to learn from them.
I hope, in my weakness, to become more dependent on the Lord.
I hope to learn how a Christian NGO in Latin America works and what they do.
I hope to see beauty and learn to have joy in the Lord despite the pain, hopeless, and reasons to despair.
I hope to learn Spanish.
Before leaving Wheaton, the outgoing HNGR students made a covenant. It expresses what is on all of our hearts well, and I plan to keep it central for these next 6 months.

HNGR Covenant 2008

As people of a broken world, we desire to see
God's kingdom with new lenses. In this kingdom,
we see power in the helplessness of an infant,
peace and restoration between God, humanity,
and creation, and forgiveness of debts through
Christ's declaration of Jubilee.

As a community, we commit to kingdom
obedience through:

Turning to the Lord daily,
Supporting one another in prayer,
Journeying this path with our fellow learners,
Remaining present in heart, mind, and body,
Rejoicing with those who rejoice,
Mourning with those who mourn,
Listening to the unheard voices and
knowing them by name,
Sharing the experiences of our journey.

In humility we confess our falleness and
recognize the barriers of privilege. As Christ was
not bound by the tomb, we will not be bound by
despair. In the hope of the resurrection, we fully
rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the
promises of Christ.
Lord have mercy.
Amen.

-Michael