So yesterday I was sitting in our house, marvelling at the South American mindset. I was planning on going into town in order to get this next blog posted for all of you readers out there, but unfortunately there was a "bloquero" all day yesterday going on all over Sucre, and quite possibly Bolivia. The only road between our house and the city was blocked so we couldn´t leave the house at all yesterday... we watched about seven movies, haha. Our house is on the road to the airport above Sucre so I have no idea what the protesters were trying to prove/get from the government by blocking our road, but whenever people are dissatisfied with things around here they love to block the roads with rocks, vehicles, and other handy, various rubble strewn about. Anyway, onto other news: I got word from my boss, Trent, that we are most likely going on our first trip into the communities on Monday. I believe we are going to be in the villages for at least two months so please be praying for us during that time for patience while learning the language, Quechua, and open hearts among the people we are going to living with. I am really excited about finally getting to be able to go on a trip!
Psalms nineteen... did you think I would forget why I'm writting this blog for these three times? :) The second part of the psalm reads: "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward." Just reading this section of the chapter lifts my spirits whenever they are low. It may not always be easy to follow Him, but it's here, plain as day, why. All of the different parts of God are perfect. This part of the chapter is very poetic (very astute, I know, this is after all the book of Psalms...). David loves to write about the Lord and His attributes; over and over, he praises different parts of God.
I have to admit that the second to last sentence is hard for me at times. I have to consciously remind myself that this earth is not our home, and therefore I need not the material goods that are so highly sought after by my home culture and society as a whole. My focus should be on the real treasure which is obeying God and glorifying His name throughout all the earth. Part of Jesus' teaching dealt with this Psalm as well it seems; in Matthew six he talks about treasures and the eye as being the light of the body. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness." As the Psalm says, following the commandment of the Lord will bring light to your eyes and make your whole body healthy as a result. I like the imagery of the Psalm and Jesus' teaching because it's very easy to picture how important the eye is, and if it's unhealthy how it afects the rest of your body. We must keep our eyes healthy by keeping them fixed on the truth that is Jesus Christ.
In the last verse, we are told that we have been warned and have no excuse for not obeying God´s law, but at the same time we are rewarded by following it. Paul says in Colossians: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." This verse is one that I will keep in my mind as we go and work among the Quechua for however long we can. I must let my life be the witness to others in the beginning since I´ll have no idea how to communicate with them until I learn their language.
I will definitely try to get the last part of this series out before I leave on Monday. I´ll also include some more information on where we´re going and some more specific ways you can pray for my partner and me.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Psalm 19 - Part One
Just to let y’all know, I made it to Sucre, Bolivia on the nineteenth of May. I really want to thank all of you for your support and prayers while I was trying to get into Bolivia. That was one of the most trying parts of my term so far, and all I was doing was sitting around… I most likely would have gone crazy if not for knowing that everyone back in the States was keeping me in their minds and prayers. So thank all of you again! Tomorrow we are traveling through our province to get our equipment from our other house, so please keep our travels in your prayers. And please pray for my missionary visa to all work out sooner or later.
As I was having my quiet time one morning I decided to read one of my favorite Psalms: number nineteen. When I read it, I saw three distinct parts to this Psalm. The first part reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and the night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” It reminds me every time I read it of the glory and majesty of God’s creation in the natural world; especially the wonder of the sun. Every morning I am greeted by the rising sun coming through the windows in my room. It is such a great experience to be able to enjoy seeing the sun rise over the city of Sucre day after day. I think often of this part of Psalm nineteen whenever I see this sight.
Also, one of the most eye-opening experiences I have had related to this Psalm was on my first mission trip to Thailand in 2004. One of the days, our hosts took us to an ancient Buddhist temple located at the summit of a nearby mountain. It was a long, hot walk up those steps to the top, but once we reached it, I can definitely tell you that it was worth every drop of sweat (and the sunburn). The view from the top of the mountain was priceless and indescribable… You could see out for miles and miles and miles of forest. Below the mountain was where three countries bordered each other: Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. These three countries have a horrendous history of wars, slave trade, and corruption, but at that moment at the top of the summit, all I could think about and cry out in my mind was how could humans look at this wonderful display of God’s power and not believe that there is a God who created everything in the universe.
Paul words it very well (of course… he’s Paul) in Romans: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” This verse is one of mant that I get my fuel from to go and try to reach these people groups that are isolated from everything and everyone.
Every terrifying act of nature, every picturesque scene, every sunrise and sunset, every clear night sky revealing the stars practically screams out God’s sovereignty to human kind. I am reminded of His power and glory every time I am able to be part of one of these wonderful things.
The second part should be following closely behind this one.
As I was having my quiet time one morning I decided to read one of my favorite Psalms: number nineteen. When I read it, I saw three distinct parts to this Psalm. The first part reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and the night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” It reminds me every time I read it of the glory and majesty of God’s creation in the natural world; especially the wonder of the sun. Every morning I am greeted by the rising sun coming through the windows in my room. It is such a great experience to be able to enjoy seeing the sun rise over the city of Sucre day after day. I think often of this part of Psalm nineteen whenever I see this sight.
Also, one of the most eye-opening experiences I have had related to this Psalm was on my first mission trip to Thailand in 2004. One of the days, our hosts took us to an ancient Buddhist temple located at the summit of a nearby mountain. It was a long, hot walk up those steps to the top, but once we reached it, I can definitely tell you that it was worth every drop of sweat (and the sunburn). The view from the top of the mountain was priceless and indescribable… You could see out for miles and miles and miles of forest. Below the mountain was where three countries bordered each other: Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. These three countries have a horrendous history of wars, slave trade, and corruption, but at that moment at the top of the summit, all I could think about and cry out in my mind was how could humans look at this wonderful display of God’s power and not believe that there is a God who created everything in the universe.
Paul words it very well (of course… he’s Paul) in Romans: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” This verse is one of mant that I get my fuel from to go and try to reach these people groups that are isolated from everything and everyone.
Every terrifying act of nature, every picturesque scene, every sunrise and sunset, every clear night sky revealing the stars practically screams out God’s sovereignty to human kind. I am reminded of His power and glory every time I am able to be part of one of these wonderful things.
The second part should be following closely behind this one.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Reflections While Trying to Wait
First, I want to thank everyone who reads this blog for taking the time and commitment to do so. A little update is due I figured as well before continuing. I have been in Puno, Peru which is located on the coast of Lake Titicaca in Southeastern Peru for about seven days so far. I have been here working on getting my missionary visa in order to enter Bolivia and begin to minister to the Quechua living in the Andes mountains. Please be praying for God to transform my heart to refocus on Him, and Him alone. Also, I will be traveling this weekend, so please pray that it is a safe and smooth trip through immigration, and that I stay open to promptings from the Holy Spirit during my travel to Sucre.
At first, this town really annoyed the heck out of me, to be honest, but then I began to realize that it wasn´t so much the town as it was my attitude regarding my situation for the past two months. On the exterior, I have been fronting a very calm, go-with-whatever-happens demeanor, but under the surface I have kept hidden how I really feel about the situation I am in. One night while I was in Cusco with one of my teammates, we brought up the question, ¨If God wants me there (wherever that may be for each of us; physically, mentally, spiritually), then why is it so hard to get there?¨ We talked about it in regards to us and another missionary, somewhat lightly, but ever since I have realized that question has been haunting me for the longest time, since training, but I had never put it into words and confronted it; I had always kept it in a dark place in my mind so I wouldn´t have to try to answer that question. After my teammate left, I read a book by Bill Hybels, Who You Are When No One is Looking, and I have to admit it hit me pretty hard. The book talked about character, and some of the traits that are tied into character. The trait that most affected me when I read the book was endurance. Hybels says it is common if our expectations are not met overnight, we have a strong tendency to quit. I have to admit that the past two months has been really trying on my endurance for this reason; I expected to be in Bolivia almost two months ago, and still I am in Peru. I have thought so many times ¨Why can´t I just go home? What is God doing keeping me from Bolivia? I could just transfer to an easier, safer job, and still be doing God´s work, can´t I?¨ After reading the book and its chapter on endurance, I realized that I need to keep with this even though it may be the hardest thing I will ever do. In the end, it will ultimately be satisfying knowing that I followed God´s direction for my life and went through with it.
I realized, after taking a good, long look at myself, that my attitude for the last two months was one where I expected to run into problems, of course, but that God would snap His fingers and solve them all instantly. I have been so focused on how God will use me once I get to Bolivia, but I have been completely ignorant of the fact that God is shaping me right now to better perform the tasks ahead. I had blinders on, figuratively, and I thought all would be swell once I finally reached my destination. Everything around me was simply a hinderance to ignore (or complain about), unless it helped me reach my goal. These were thoughts that I have to admit were in my head, and I had bought into. An event yesterday morning brought all of these thoughts to the forefront of my mind all at once, and I was surprised to actually realize that I thought these. The event I mention is that my boss gave me permission to head to Bolivia two nights ago, so yesterday morning I woke up and went to the bus station to buy a ticket for the first bus out of here. Once I got there, I quickly realized that it was too quiet, and something was up. There was no one at the station, either to sell tickets or to buy them. Apparently, for the next two days the entire city is pretty much shut down, and will reopen on Friday... My first emotion when I found this out was frustration and I thought ¨How could God let this happen?! I am so close to getting to where I am supposed to be! I am here to obey His will, and one thing after another has hindered me from accomplishing it, in my mind!¨ Then it dawned upon me, who am I to think that I know exactly when God wants me to leave, what God wants me to do, and how God wants me to do it. I had tried to take control of the situation, instead of letting God control me. He obviously knows what He´s doing, and I can only follow Him, trusting that He will take care of me. He never said that following Him would be easy: ¨If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.¨ Matthew 16:24 And I had let that slip from my mind, thinking that I´m a missionary, and therefore, would have an easier time of things because I am, well, a missionary. Oh, how the opposite has been true so far!
It feels like I have been in the middle of a war since before I set foot on Peruvian soil. Every day has been an uphill struggle to obey Him. I can´t remember a single day since training has been over where it was easy for me to open up my Bible, pray, or see people lovingly through God eyes. In retrospect, I had let myself into the trap of thinking that since I was doing what God called me to do, I needed to do nothing more. Oh, how I have been so wrong! God has already used this time to show me the rough areas of my life that He is trying to smooth out so I can be a clearer reflection of Him to others. To close this, yet again, long blog, I have learned, or relearned, that yes, God wants all lost people to turn to Him and love Him, but at the same time He wants me to become more like Jesus and is shaping me to resemble Him because in my present state I cannot most effectively glorify God and draw closer to Him. And He will do whatever it takes to accomplish these goals, if it means I have to be delayed two more days, or two more months. I need to follow His plan, not my own.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
At first, this town really annoyed the heck out of me, to be honest, but then I began to realize that it wasn´t so much the town as it was my attitude regarding my situation for the past two months. On the exterior, I have been fronting a very calm, go-with-whatever-happens demeanor, but under the surface I have kept hidden how I really feel about the situation I am in. One night while I was in Cusco with one of my teammates, we brought up the question, ¨If God wants me there (wherever that may be for each of us; physically, mentally, spiritually), then why is it so hard to get there?¨ We talked about it in regards to us and another missionary, somewhat lightly, but ever since I have realized that question has been haunting me for the longest time, since training, but I had never put it into words and confronted it; I had always kept it in a dark place in my mind so I wouldn´t have to try to answer that question. After my teammate left, I read a book by Bill Hybels, Who You Are When No One is Looking, and I have to admit it hit me pretty hard. The book talked about character, and some of the traits that are tied into character. The trait that most affected me when I read the book was endurance. Hybels says it is common if our expectations are not met overnight, we have a strong tendency to quit. I have to admit that the past two months has been really trying on my endurance for this reason; I expected to be in Bolivia almost two months ago, and still I am in Peru. I have thought so many times ¨Why can´t I just go home? What is God doing keeping me from Bolivia? I could just transfer to an easier, safer job, and still be doing God´s work, can´t I?¨ After reading the book and its chapter on endurance, I realized that I need to keep with this even though it may be the hardest thing I will ever do. In the end, it will ultimately be satisfying knowing that I followed God´s direction for my life and went through with it.
I realized, after taking a good, long look at myself, that my attitude for the last two months was one where I expected to run into problems, of course, but that God would snap His fingers and solve them all instantly. I have been so focused on how God will use me once I get to Bolivia, but I have been completely ignorant of the fact that God is shaping me right now to better perform the tasks ahead. I had blinders on, figuratively, and I thought all would be swell once I finally reached my destination. Everything around me was simply a hinderance to ignore (or complain about), unless it helped me reach my goal. These were thoughts that I have to admit were in my head, and I had bought into. An event yesterday morning brought all of these thoughts to the forefront of my mind all at once, and I was surprised to actually realize that I thought these. The event I mention is that my boss gave me permission to head to Bolivia two nights ago, so yesterday morning I woke up and went to the bus station to buy a ticket for the first bus out of here. Once I got there, I quickly realized that it was too quiet, and something was up. There was no one at the station, either to sell tickets or to buy them. Apparently, for the next two days the entire city is pretty much shut down, and will reopen on Friday... My first emotion when I found this out was frustration and I thought ¨How could God let this happen?! I am so close to getting to where I am supposed to be! I am here to obey His will, and one thing after another has hindered me from accomplishing it, in my mind!¨ Then it dawned upon me, who am I to think that I know exactly when God wants me to leave, what God wants me to do, and how God wants me to do it. I had tried to take control of the situation, instead of letting God control me. He obviously knows what He´s doing, and I can only follow Him, trusting that He will take care of me. He never said that following Him would be easy: ¨If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.¨ Matthew 16:24 And I had let that slip from my mind, thinking that I´m a missionary, and therefore, would have an easier time of things because I am, well, a missionary. Oh, how the opposite has been true so far!
It feels like I have been in the middle of a war since before I set foot on Peruvian soil. Every day has been an uphill struggle to obey Him. I can´t remember a single day since training has been over where it was easy for me to open up my Bible, pray, or see people lovingly through God eyes. In retrospect, I had let myself into the trap of thinking that since I was doing what God called me to do, I needed to do nothing more. Oh, how I have been so wrong! God has already used this time to show me the rough areas of my life that He is trying to smooth out so I can be a clearer reflection of Him to others. To close this, yet again, long blog, I have learned, or relearned, that yes, God wants all lost people to turn to Him and love Him, but at the same time He wants me to become more like Jesus and is shaping me to resemble Him because in my present state I cannot most effectively glorify God and draw closer to Him. And He will do whatever it takes to accomplish these goals, if it means I have to be delayed two more days, or two more months. I need to follow His plan, not my own.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Friday, May 2, 2008
The First Blog...
Welcome to everyone who is reading this blog. Thank you for taking the time to read about some of my adventures and thoughts. I figured I would change my updates to a blog from the traditional e-mail that I have sent out in the past because this is much easier for me, and I believe for y´all as well. You can tell other people about this blog if they are interested, and there is no need for me to moderate who can see it; as this blog is available to everyone. Also, you can simply e-mail any blog entry that you want to whomever you wish as well. I will still try to send out an e-mail to my list of people whenever I update this blog so y´all can know whenever I add new stuff. Another great thing about this blog is that I have added links to the left of my fellow slaves of Christ; most of these are on the team I am on currently, and, if you are curious, you can peruse their blogs as well to get to know some of the wonderful, awesome people I am working with.
So onto an update! I am currently hanging out here in Cusco, Peru trying to acquire my visa to get into Bolivia to work with the Quechua in the Andes mountains. It has been a very trying time so far because I am simply sitting here, waiting for some important documents to arrive in the mail so I can get that visa. Cusco has been an awesome experience so far; it is a great city that is home to some of the most interesting history of South America. This means that there are ton of gringos (white people) who visit this city every week; I don´t think I have ever seen this many gringos in one place since I´ve been in South America! Next week I think I will visit MachuPicchu and some of the other ruins around the city simply to pass time waiting, and because people fly from all over the world to see some of the amazing sights that are just a few hours from me, so why not?
We -Graham and me- have been here since Monday (Graham left last night for Sucre, he already has his visa), mostly sitting around (or napping) and eating in between those important times. But these last few days have given me a lot of time to think about some stuff, which was helped by a book I read, Jesus with Dirty Feet. So, if you´ll indulge me, I will share some of those thoughts with y´all. I would advise you, if I can can, to keep an open mind while reading these; some are singular thoughts, others follow a train. There are two main ideas: being a Follower of Christ, and church (and in reality, they go hand in hand). So I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed thinking them!
When we become a Follower of Christ, we have a new purpose that is completely transformed from when we were simply lost in the world: Jesus redefined greatness with a rag and a basin of water by humbly washing His disciples´ dirty feet. To serve others is to live.
The Follower of Christ obeys the King and, in the process, becomes more like the King. It is a lifetime of demanding, humbling, beautiful, risky ventures that are worth every ounce of sweat. Jesus´ commands are our life-blood; it should be impossible to follow anything else that is of this world. Jesus´ enduring, central message to His followers is ¨Be like me. Live like I did. Follow in my footsteps.¨
Calling a church a building is like calling a Follower of Christ a two-by-four. The plural of ¨Follower of Christ¨ is ¨church.¨ It´s nothing but a fancy way for Followers of Christ to say ¨we¨ or ¨us.¨ But church isn´t a chance happening; Jesus never meant for His disciples to be alone. The first thing Jesus did to start His ministry was to call His disciples together. Jesus went everywhere together with His disciples; and when He did send them out, it was at least in pairs.
The stuff of the Kingdom of God: seeing brokenness and repenting, talking with Yahweh, being named Valuable and Beloved, loving and serving others as Jesus did, and obeying the King should all be done with others.
All Followers of Christ mess up (it´s inevitable), and so all Followers must pick up the rag and water basin to serve and give and lead. Jesus called us His sheep, and Himself the Good Shepherd. All the sheep themselves must do some shepherding- strongly leading, humbly serving, and always following after Jesus; it is a necessary part of being a Follower of Christ.
There are no churches. There is only church. One church. Sure, there are a number of buildings that shelter Followers of Christ from the elements, and there are a number of names posted on those buildings... but there is only one church, one family. Every single Follower of Christ counts all the other Followers of Christ as brothers and sisters. Amen.
So onto an update! I am currently hanging out here in Cusco, Peru trying to acquire my visa to get into Bolivia to work with the Quechua in the Andes mountains. It has been a very trying time so far because I am simply sitting here, waiting for some important documents to arrive in the mail so I can get that visa. Cusco has been an awesome experience so far; it is a great city that is home to some of the most interesting history of South America. This means that there are ton of gringos (white people) who visit this city every week; I don´t think I have ever seen this many gringos in one place since I´ve been in South America! Next week I think I will visit MachuPicchu and some of the other ruins around the city simply to pass time waiting, and because people fly from all over the world to see some of the amazing sights that are just a few hours from me, so why not?
We -Graham and me- have been here since Monday (Graham left last night for Sucre, he already has his visa), mostly sitting around (or napping) and eating in between those important times. But these last few days have given me a lot of time to think about some stuff, which was helped by a book I read, Jesus with Dirty Feet. So, if you´ll indulge me, I will share some of those thoughts with y´all. I would advise you, if I can can, to keep an open mind while reading these; some are singular thoughts, others follow a train. There are two main ideas: being a Follower of Christ, and church (and in reality, they go hand in hand). So I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed thinking them!
When we become a Follower of Christ, we have a new purpose that is completely transformed from when we were simply lost in the world: Jesus redefined greatness with a rag and a basin of water by humbly washing His disciples´ dirty feet. To serve others is to live.
The Follower of Christ obeys the King and, in the process, becomes more like the King. It is a lifetime of demanding, humbling, beautiful, risky ventures that are worth every ounce of sweat. Jesus´ commands are our life-blood; it should be impossible to follow anything else that is of this world. Jesus´ enduring, central message to His followers is ¨Be like me. Live like I did. Follow in my footsteps.¨
Calling a church a building is like calling a Follower of Christ a two-by-four. The plural of ¨Follower of Christ¨ is ¨church.¨ It´s nothing but a fancy way for Followers of Christ to say ¨we¨ or ¨us.¨ But church isn´t a chance happening; Jesus never meant for His disciples to be alone. The first thing Jesus did to start His ministry was to call His disciples together. Jesus went everywhere together with His disciples; and when He did send them out, it was at least in pairs.
The stuff of the Kingdom of God: seeing brokenness and repenting, talking with Yahweh, being named Valuable and Beloved, loving and serving others as Jesus did, and obeying the King should all be done with others.
All Followers of Christ mess up (it´s inevitable), and so all Followers must pick up the rag and water basin to serve and give and lead. Jesus called us His sheep, and Himself the Good Shepherd. All the sheep themselves must do some shepherding- strongly leading, humbly serving, and always following after Jesus; it is a necessary part of being a Follower of Christ.
There are no churches. There is only church. One church. Sure, there are a number of buildings that shelter Followers of Christ from the elements, and there are a number of names posted on those buildings... but there is only one church, one family. Every single Follower of Christ counts all the other Followers of Christ as brothers and sisters. Amen.
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