Journal Writer: Pablo Villavicencio
Trek City: Cairo

Journal Entries:
July 7, 2001
July 10, 2001
July 11, 2001
July 14, 2001
July 18, 2001
July 25, 2001

Trek City:Cairo

Meet the rest of Team Cairo

THE SCOOP ON PABLO:
Pablo feels strongly that believers need to apply their studies and skills to transforming our world for Jesus, and yet it's not a simple path he treads. "I firmly believe," he says, "that there is a need for both women and men of God with integrity to be making the decisions of policy that affect the lives of countless people. I am still investigating what it looks like to be an ambassador of Christ in the sphere of politics and economics. It has been a source of much tension in my life to understand how both a calling to the nations to further His kingdom and an inclination to politics and economics can be integrated." 

In 1998, Pablo ventured to Hohhot, China, on an InterVarsity Global Project. While at Berkeley he has led a small group Bible study, men's discipleship group and prayer group and taken part in a variety of leadership and evangelism training conferences. Pablo has a real desire for prayer: to depend on God in prayer, to pray for the world - specifically for global missions concerns and international current events - to bless others through intercession and to lead others in prayer. He also seek to share his faith in relationship. "I am trying to be more transparent about my faith and how God is working within me, especially amidst my struggles, not only with Christians, but also with those that are not Christians." Some of these relationships include the homeless men and women of Berkeley.

"I feel a calling to go and to love the poor. . . There are many options open to me right now, and many of them are very lucrative and promise a very comfortable and well-off life. To be honest with you, it is very appealing. But I am also confronted with Matthew 16:25: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."

Pablo has taken many classes on the global and the urban issues of injustice, poverty, globalization, and contemporary theories of both politics and economics. "I view this summer as an opportunity to see first hand what I have been learning. . . I want to see God's children of the urban slums not just as objects of my studies, but how God sees them. I have a sincere desire to be part of God's transformation of the world." Presently, Pablo hopes to continue his education somewhere with a Masters program for Development Economics and Policy or International Affairs. 

Hometown: Walnut, California
Siblings: Danny (27)
My parents immigrated to the United States in their 20s-30s. Throughout most of their early years in the US, they never made any attempts to assimilate into the culture because they always assumed that this was just a temporary situation and eventually they would return to Ecuador. It wasn't until I was in high school that my parents finally decided that America would be their permanent home. Therefore, my brother and I grew up in a very traditional Ecuadorian home.

My mother is an excellent cook, my father used to write poetry, and my brother is the best salsa dancer I've seen (and I've seen a lot of them). 

School: University of California, Berkeley
Major: Political Economy of Industrialized Societies
The major is interdisciplinary, incorporating Political Science, Economics, History, and Geography. These are all disciplines that really intrigue me. 

Reflections on Urbana 2000 

Anticipating the summer in Cairo . . .
On the most superficial level, I'm concerned that I will either get rabies or end up with a bug in my stomach. I'm actually really concerned about this rabies thing. Does anyone remember the movie Cujo based on the book by Stephen King? That's some scary stuff. 

On a deeper level, I'm scared of what implications this summer will have on my future plans. For quite some time I have had romanticized ideas of what serving the Lord abroad would be like. I have always been intrigued by missionaries' stories of their adventures and hardships in laying down their lives to spread God's love in foreign lands. As I am nearing the end of my college career, I have been thinking a lot about what my next stage in life will be and what the cost and consequences will be for the options I am considering. In this process, I have been challenged, convicted, and confused by Jesus' words in Mark 8:34-35 in which he states, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it." Heavy words. 

What does it mean for me to deny myself and pick up my cross? What is my cross? If I choose to stay in America and enter the market place, am I saving my life? Can you be a true disciple of Christ and be rich, living in America? To what or whose standards am I measuring my decisions and life? Are they mere reflections of American or mainstream Christian cultural values? 

One of the scariest thoughts for me is whether I am truly willing to go to the missions' field and leave my immediate family for an extended and/or indefinite amount of time. Just thinking about it makes me miss my mamí already. 

The Trek forces me to confront these questions and many others. It not only promises to expose me to pertinent issues affecting the urban poor, but also, potentially, will challenge me to consider what my role will be in bringing about God's transformation in these areas. What I fear right now is that I do have a role.

Heroes: Jesus, Peter, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, and Abraham Lincoln 

Passions: I divide my passions into two categories, all-time passions and temporal passions. I'm fickle by nature so my passions rarely stay consistent. My all-time passions include God, traveling, quality food, impressionist art, chicken (I love chicken; its my choice meat) and deep meaningful conversations. My temporal passions include current musical worship CDs Waterdeep and Mad City Worship, www.blogger.com, poetry slams, and country music (I know, I'm ashamed, but its true).

Nickname: Pablito, Pabs, Paul

Favorite Meal: Sushi (nothing says tasty like fresh raw fish), Korean BBQ, Korean food in general (except those anchovies served as a side dish)

Most Recent Books Read: Making Life Work, by Bill Hybel

Pet Peeves: Wasting time watching hours of TV, the inequality between men and women (especially within less developed countries), the oppression of people groups in general, overzealous animal activists, Anne of Green Gables  (at least the 6 videotape series, never read the book), and condescending techies.

Bad Habits: I'm addicted to caffeine (especially Irish Cream Lattes) and chocolate. I also have this annoying habit of saying 'what' after someone asks me a question, regardless of whether I heard them the first time. 'What' is my filler word when I am processing the question in my mind. I also procrastinate a lot.