By the time you read this I’ll already be on my way to Lima, Peru for the Camps Farthest Out International 10th International Camp! I’m looking forward to 10 days of fellowship with friends from around the world, praying for peace, and singing songs in many languages. This week I’m reposting a piece from July 5, 2011 about our SIA partners in India, some of whom I hope to see in Peru. (P.S. There won’t be a blog post next week since I’m not sure what my internet access will be like in Peru.)
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The work of Spirit in Action, to serve God by serving others through economic empowerment projects, rests on the strong relationships we have with our many partners around the world. In our early years, we relied on the many connections that our founder, Del Anderson, had made through his international adventures earlier in his life and through his tenure as President of Camps Farthest Out (CFO) International, an organization that seeks to spread peace throughout the world through prayer.
One such connection was with Cecil Coipollai, a CFO leader in Chennai, India. Cecil and Del met at an international meeting in 1979 and began exchanging letters, filled with sincere sharing, encouragement, and inspirational literature.
Del felt that we must serve the WHOLE person: body, mind, and spirit. Serving the spirit without acknowledging the needs of the mind and body was incomplete to Del. This is why our work includes economic development projects, as well as information resources and correspondence.
Cecil and other CFOers in South Asia have received various kinds of support from Spirit in Action, including a small grant in 2005 to help with recovery efforts after the tsunami in Sri Lanka. Also, Del sent some literature with every letter to Cecil and the little book titled, Seed Thoughts for Daily Meditation was one of his favorites.
When Del died in fall 2008, Cecil wrote me about his desire to print the Seed Thoughts booklet in English and the local language of Tamil to distribute to CFOers in Sri Lanka and Chennai. He wanted to share this piece, which had inspired both Del and Cicil so much over the years.
This year (2011), that dream is becoming a reality and the booklet will be ready for distribution in Chennai this fall! I hope that many more people will find hope through this booklet which reminds us of God’s presence all around us each day of the week.
Here is a short excerpt from Seed Thoughts. If you would like a copy of the booklet, email me to have a hard copy mailed to you.
Tuesday: God is Power When we draw on our own nerve energy and shut off God’s power then we quickly feel tired and exhausted. When we relax the feeling of strain and draw only on God’s power, quietly expecting God to work through us, then we feel no physical strain, but rather exhilaration and refreshment of spirit. “They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” – Isiah 40:31