Because Isaiah Says So
I have gross runner's feet. For starters, they're flat. The fourth toe on my left foot is shorter than the third one, and I've had one pedicure in my life that didn't even make it 24 hours before getting chipped.
But my feet are beautiful, because the prophet Isaiah (52:7) says so:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
His words are later alluded to by Paul:
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Romans 10:15)
There aren't any mountains in Wisconsin, but I did run across a plethora of college students who are excited about bringing good news and publishing peace and salvation at the Beautiful Feet student missions conference last weekend. The event is hosted annually by one of the Concordia Universities; this year's at CUW drew students from all but Bronxville and Ann Arbor. I was honored to help represent the LCMS Office of International Mission by leading two breakout sessions and engaging with people who stopped by our display table.
My feet might not be beautiful, but campus sure was. I thought I'd be too late for fall color. WRONG!
But my feet are beautiful, because the prophet Isaiah (52:7) says so:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
His words are later alluded to by Paul:
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Romans 10:15)
There aren't any mountains in Wisconsin, but I did run across a plethora of college students who are excited about bringing good news and publishing peace and salvation at the Beautiful Feet student missions conference last weekend. The event is hosted annually by one of the Concordia Universities; this year's at CUW drew students from all but Bronxville and Ann Arbor. I was honored to help represent the LCMS Office of International Mission by leading two breakout sessions and engaging with people who stopped by our display table.
My feet might not be beautiful, but campus sure was. I thought I'd be too late for fall color. WRONG!
I didn't even mind the snow since it didn't cause any major travel nightmares.
OK, I'm done taking pictures of colorful leaves now ;)
The OIM display table promised "international" candy: Dominican, Polish, and Korean, although apparently you can get HI-CHEWs at CostCo?! I also saw them in the MIA airport yesterday.
L to R: me, Todd (a past Mercy Medical Team participant who happened to live in the area), Matt (my counterpart in the Asia region), Anne Gonzalez (St. Louis-based Manager of Short-term Mission Training and Engagement), and Chelsea, a GEO Missionary preparing to deploy to the Czech Republic. Please pray for the students each of us interacted with, especially those considering short- or long-term missionary service as a result. I trust that the Holy Spirit worked through our presence and our words to encourage even those for whom that might not be the case. One conversation jumps out at me: I have my doubts that the Concordia University - Portland grad student - and young mother with baby #2 on the way - is even an LCMS member but her demeanor totally changed when I shared about the many missionary families in LAC!
A perennial feature of Beautiful Feet is a table encouraging students to pray for missionaries and mission efforts around the globe. I spotted a Peru team I'll be hosting on the list of upcoming MMTs...
...and found the entire LCMS Spain missionary team on the prayer chain.
I'm still not convinced they're beautiful except in a biblical sense, but thankfully they weren't TOO cold when I decided to brave no socks.
I forgot to take a picture of my first group, but here are the smiling faces that came to round two of "The Long and Short of It," my breakout session on the long-term impact of short-term teams.
I couldn't come to Milwaukee and NOT connect with my sweet friend and former LAC missionary Natalie. How thoughtful is this welcome to my room at her mom's house (shared with FOUR eccentric kitties!)?
Natalie attends First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cedarburg, where my former pastor now serves. What a joy to hear Rev. Tim Seban's All Saints Day sermon!
Cedarburg is adorable. Stop #1 after worship wasn't quite open yet, so we had to go wine tasting to kill time. Oh darn.
Is 11:00 am too early for ice cream? Not when the special at Cream and Crepe Cafe has "pumpkin" in the name of it.
Back to campus (Natalie's alma mater, consequently) for a pic by the lake (aaaaaaaaand to pick up the computer charger I had left in my breakout session room...).
We spent a chilly but delightful afternoon at Shalom Wildlife, an animal sanctuary you can tour by foot or in a golf cart. You can buy buckets of feed for the animals or bring your own (we each went through a bag of ALDI carrots). There were bears, goats, sheep, deer, llamas, alpacas, raccoons, badgers, lemurs, wolves, a camel, a tiger, a puma, a white tiger, and more.
Selfie with an elk!
We warmed up with a driving tour of downtown followed by tacos and margaritas.
Natalie had to work on Monday, but the Madsens, friends of mine from Chicagoland, drove over an hour to spend the day with me. Our morning consisted of "The Domes," and then a cheese shop (of course), a sausage shop, and a spice shop on Old World Third Street.
We whiled away the afternoon at the Milwaukee Public Museum before meeting up with Natalie and her fiance for tapas. I avoided the museum's "Spiders Alive!" special exhibit by touring the butterfly garden :)
By the end of my visit, my heart was full but I was ready to go back to the tropics, Maybe not at 3 am when I had to get up to catch my early flight on Tuesday, but such is life.
Until next time, blessings!
Comments