I'll never forget these past three months in Europe.
I've really felt covered in prayer, and God has chosen to gift me with visible fruit that has simply blown my mind. I've gotten to pour out my heart to orphans in Ukraine, love on gypsy boys in Romania, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ in Croatia and Bosnia, but now we're entering the last leg of the race. We're traveling to the final continent and writing the end chapter. This is seriously it. I couldn't have ever imagined I'd be here in the first place, and now the closing stages are drawing near. Some of you (or maybe just my mom) have read every single one of my blogs. I just want to say that you are my favorites. No, just kidding, but it is kind of special to me. I think you've gotten to witness a picture of me, piece by piece, that perhaps I'll never again show anyone else aside from my wife and children. I really envision God utilizing your prayers to help effectively orchestrate the course of my life these past ten months. In fact, I think the church is far more connected than we sometimes give credit. We're brothers and sisters, parts of the same body, and fellow heirs in the Kingdom of Light! If this is your first time reading one of my blogs, you're probably thinking, "wow this guy is weird... I'm going to go check my facebook." I know I'm weird, but I just feel like I want to try something different with this blog. Let me share some things first:
1. My team is going next to Guatemala. After Guatemala, we plan to go to Nicaragua for our final month. Thus, we're spending our two final months in Central America before returning to the US on September 1st. We don't have any specifics about type of ministry or exact location, yet.
2. I apologize for starting multiple projects at once that I have yet to finish (like my story of Neno, the drug dealer delivered by Jesus Christ, or the conclusion to the amazing things God worked out in Croatia and Bosnia). I'm like 68% finished with each of the above blogs.
3. I have met my financial deadlines for the next two months, but they are only the bare minimum one must meet in order to avoid being sent home early. I am still seeking a way to reimburse expenses such as the medical attention I've needed while on the field, the various pricks and sticks doctors gave me prior to the trip, insurance costs, additional flight costs to and from my home before and after the World Race, necessary equipment, et cetera.
4. My train ride out of Croatia was significantly more pleasant than the one coming in (see Welcome to the World Race).
Great, now I get to share my thoughts. I've been asking for a lot of prayer these past ten months, and I genuinely have seen God answer in beautiful ways. I believe this is His will for each of us. God has recently been laying certain things on my heart, and I really feel like He wants me to commit to praying for you. Honestly, this desire has been growing for a few weeks now. It started with one of my best friends from back home. We committed to pray for one another at the same time each day. You know, just to lay aside a small portion of our day to something we believe in. It's been awesome. The time hasn't been just to ask Jesus Clause to bestow gifts upon one another, but to grow closer in intimacy with the God of all creation and to extend our global perspective of Christianity. Read Colossians 1:3-12. Paul writes about a powerful kind of global prayer that connects the church, strengthens it, and reveals to it God's will for each and every vital member of the body. He told me that these past two weeks of dedicated and focused prayer have just absolutely catapulted his walk with Christ. He says he's seen more spiritual, emotional, and physical breakthrough in the past two weeks than he has felt in the past two years. It's really been wonderful. I just don't want to hide cool things like this from anyone else. I'm 100% confident that God desires the same for each of you. 100% confident. And I know some of you know exactly what I'm talking about because you've seen it in your own lives, too. It's just awesome.
I commit to praying for and with every one of you. Some of you may be thinking, "my issues don't really seem important enough to bother you," but I hope you hear me-and more importantly-I hope you believe me. Don't let the enemy's lies keep you silent any longer. He will tell you everything he can to keep you isolated, alone, and feeling as if you aren't worth attention from people or from God. This just isn't true. You need to know that when you wake up every morning, God has beautiful works designed specifically for you... good works that no one else is qualified to do. Also, don't worry about me taking time or thought away from my ministry. This is something I choose to do with my free time, and to be honest, I want to follow whenever I feel God leading. Besides, there is simply no such thing as having too many people wanting to see God work in their lives... the real issue is the opposite.
Feel free to post anything on your heart that you'd like me to pray with you about. You can also post anonymously or send me a private e-mail. Most importantly, though, is for you to make the commitment to spend time fostering a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you ask, I promise you'll receive... and if you seek, I promise you'll find. Don't expect to be confirmed in who you think you are, but expect to be conformed to who God thinks you are.
This is an update to my previous blogs, starting with "Raising the Dead (Your Prayer Is Needed)" If you haven't already read them, please check them out before continuing.
I believe some of you witnessed the power of prayer through Matko's story. I know God used many of you to be a vital part of it. You need to know that we see the fruit of your prayers every day. Not only are we touched by your comments, e-mails, and messages, but also by your silent prayers behind closed doors. Moreover, I have met my financial deadline for the month and am no longer in danger of being sent home early. ;) I really don't think I can thank you enough.
I have a lot on my heart, but before I write about what comes next, I want to share a few pictures from the weekend.
On Saturday, we took Matko cliff diving.
On Sunday, Matko came to church for the first time in his six years here. It was absolute pure joy seeing him walk through those doors. Tim preached from Hebrews 13. He said he felt like God was speaking directly to him. When Tim spoke about angels (or messengers from foreign lands) bringing good news from God, Matko put his hand on my knee and couldn't stop smiling.
After church, we started planning our last week in Europe, so here's what's going on now. God has really been laying Bosnia on the heart of my teammate, Joel. It's very important to him, and I've decided to support him and go along. We are traveling six hours by bus to Gornji Vakuf, the war-torn town where, in the 1990s, the Bosnian war began. Joel really has no plan beyond following the LORD there. We consider this an ATL (ask the LORD) style ministry. We have no contacts in Bosnia, and a very limited budget. This means we're bringing our tents.
And the reason I include our Bosnia trip in this blog about Matko is because Matko is coming with us. We spent the evening together, and I've been including him in making our arrangements. He's been calling bus stations, preparing food, and praying. I committed to discipling him, and I can't think of a better way to do it than to bring him out on the mission field so he can witness firsthand what it's like to follow God and live by faith. I think it will be awesome to show him how God directs us, provides for us, and empowers us. Matko is on fire right now, and I want to encourage his passion by giving him his first opportunity for missions. I do expect our time to be intense, and as in anything, there is potential for harm. I really just want to ask for your prayers to cover the three of us as we leave for Bosnia tomorrow morning. We really need the Holy Spirit to go before us and cover us in all we do. I'm praying that we grow closer both to each other and to God through this trip. I'm praying that Joel and I can have the wisdom and strength to be positive examples for Matko. I'm praying that we can discern God's will for us in Bosnia. I'm praying that we can bring worship, hope, praise, and love to a land of division, war, and despair. I'm praying we have divine appointments. I'm praying we find a place to sleep at night. And I'm praying especially that God uses Matko to accomplish beautiful things through his newly found and God-given zeal, obedience, and willingness. Here we go!
You guys, I don't even know how to say this. I don't know what to write or how to word this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. Matko (Matt) accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior tonight.
WHAT? Did you get that? The impossible happened TONIGHT. Prayers were answered! Seriously, like God answered our prayers verbatim, and then added some beautiful and unimaginable twists. ALL the glory belongs to God. The way He orchestrated everything blows my mind! Matko and I practically skipped with joy all the way back home. We couldn't stop cheering. This is NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOR for me, let alone for Matko! The transformation we prayed about was instantaneous, radical, and so, so, so beautiful. Just YESTERDAY Matko and I were talking about the beggars here and he shrugged and said most beggars in Croatia are crooked and he'd never give them money. Just TWO HOURS ago he gave away all the money he had on him to a beggar on our walk home! <lol>
So I'm getting ahead of myself, but I can't help it. I spent literally all day on my face praying for him. Honestly, I noticed a lot of spiritual attack... I really felt like the enemy was trying hard to get me to doubt-to doubt that I heard from God, to doubt the power of God, to doubt in the accuracy of Scripture, to doubt myself, to doubt the power of prayer, to doubt the willingness of God. "Should I have written my blog with such confidence? Should I have made those promises? Am I setting up God for failure? Am I endangering the church's reputation? Am I full of wickedness and pride? Am I testing God unrightfully?" All day long I spent rebuking the enemy's lies and interceding for Matko, until I finally felt like the Israelites when they were up against the Red Sea with the Egyptian army coming up behind them. I felt like God was waiting until the very last possible moment when all looked hopeless because He wanted to show off some awesome power in parting the Red Sea.
And man, HE DID! He raised the dead! He pursued Matko throughout everything and all of heaven is rejoicing tonight at the works of His hands. God ordained every tiny detail today according to His perfect timing and will. If you knew Matko, you would be literally blown away. After we prayed, he immediately became transformed. He started saying things like, "I want to be like Jesus! I want to bring hope to people and help them!" He tried, but failed, to explain the supernatural joy he was feeling inside. I'm just like, "I know, man! I can't explain it, either!" He felt a happiness lift away his depression for the first time in his life. As we were walking the strip, everything felt alive to him, "I feel like a new person! I see the world with different eyes!" Oh yeah, and I didn't say a word to him about his lack of a job or laziness, but God must have! That was cool, too. Matko exclaimed that he wanted to get off his butt and find a job the very next day! He told me, "I don't feel any laziness over me at all. I can't explain any of it!" It literally felt like he was going through true deliverance-as if strongholds were, in fact, being torn down, and the enemy's lies were, in fact, being exposed by the light of God.
Okay, so it began as I was praying alone in the basement of the café. I kept hearing Matko's voice, but I waited and prayed until God just directed everything in a really cool way that I don't need to share. In fact, I don't think many people would believe me, anyways! Regardless, I ended up inviting him for a walk to the Riva (the gorgeous strip on the coast of the Adriatic). We just hung out and I told him everything God had been putting on my heart.
Matko is truly a great guy, and I believe God is going to continue to work miracles in his life. Something changed in him tonight. All of a sudden he was totally and uncharacteristically excited to learn about the Bible. I shared with him some stuff in my own words, but I can't wait until I can share with him the pure honey of the Word. He opened up and shared some things with me that he said he's never shared before, and he wants to meet with me to learn about God every day until I leave Croatia!
Missionaries and other Christians have been planting seeds and watering them for years. The people here at the Café have invested so much and shown so much love. It's especially cool because there are so many wonderful people surrounding him to uplift him in prayer and guide his new walk. I really mean that, too. The people involved with the café ministry are just a pure joy to work with. Praise God for their support of Matko.
I hope as you read this, you're just like, "aaaaawesome!" Isn't it cool to see the supernatural at work? Isn't it cool to KNOW that you're a part of this Kingdom? There is nothing in the world apart from God that could deliver someone instantaneously from suicide and depression.Nothing. You guys, I know a lot of you read my last blog and posted your prayers for Matko. I know others of you have prayed silently. I hope you know that God not only used the missionaries here in Croatia, but that He also used each of you to play a really special role in this story. I don't know exactly how or why God uses our prayers to accomplish His will, but somehow and for some reason it is pleasing to Him.
And Isn't this exactly what the church is all about? I didn't expect Matko to ever read my blog (maybe I did), but after I saw God radically transform him before my very eyes, I just had to share with him some more about his cool story. Honestly, what a great first glimpse of the church of God! His first night as a Christian, he got to see what its all about. We read through a bunch of prayers for HIM with the biggest, dumbest smiles you could imagine, hugging each other, and overall acting entirely undignified. During his first evening as a member of the body of Christ, he witnessed the church genuinely love him before he even knew the church. Sound familiar? Isn't that how God has loved each of us?
I feel like we need to just praise the LORD right now. We need to be in awe of this beautiful God who was, and is, and is to come. I don't know... it just seems appropriate, doesn't it? If you feel led to post a comment of adoration to our God, please feel free to do so. It's really sweet sometimes to see glimpses of other people's hearts and to see how God prompts each of us uniquely to bring Him glory. I know I've been really encouraged by the unity in mind and spirit that I've seen between believers, missionaries, friends, and family around the world. I really believe that we, the church, are meant for so much more than we sometimes give ourselves credit.We, the church, are meant to be unstoppable. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Just an hour ago I promised a non-believer that God would do something supernatural. Usually I'm very cautious with my words, especially when dealing with God. I would really like your immediate prayers, because tonight I have faith that God will raise a man from the dead.
I don't even know how to spell his name, so I'll just call him Matt. He's been a regular at the Global Café (the club we're partnering with) for six years. For six years, the local missionaries have shared God's love with Matt, and for six years he has outright rejected Christianity. He spends hours every day playing video games in the basement of the café while we do ministry upstairs. He even has his own set of keys. Any time someone tries to share God with him, he shrugs it off and says he doesn't believe, and even if it is true, he doesn't care if he goes to hell.
Today, after volunteering at an English Camp ministry, I went to the basement to take a nap. Matt was playing World of Warcraft. I have been able to connect with him these past two weeks because I am a video gamer, and I'm not too bad at Warcraft, myself. ;) Anyways, I said hey and whatever and went to take a nap. Strangely, as I was dreaming, at some point my dream turned into an epiphany of sort, and I woke up with the inexplicable feeling that it was the right time to talk to him about God. Without praying or even thinking about what I was doing, I called him into the room in a really serious manner, told him to sit down, and started sharing my heart.
I just feel like the timing was right, the situation was right, the conversation was right, and that he desperately needs our prayers. We had a long talk, and he told me that he's tried religion and church before, and nothing happened. It was at this point when I made the promise. I just have way too much faith in Scripture, and I've seen God answer my prayers way too often, to let this slide by. I promised him if he sets his heart on finding God, and really spends time in prayer, God will begin to supernaturally transform his life. I steadfastly believe God reveals Himself to everyone, and that no one can plead innocence on judgment day. I believe God is always stretching out His hand in invitation to pull His children to Him. I believe He's always pursuing the lost sheep. He's always knocking. He's always willing.
As I closed the café for the day and we parted ways, I asked him what he was going to do. He told me that he was going to go home and ponder the meaning of life. You guys, I believe he is going to find it.
I always pray for God to show me ways to love His people. You know, I've played Warcraft with him. We've played soccer together. We've had great conversations. He's a really cool guy. But I feel like today I really loved him in the best way I can imagine. I totally understand the doubts he shared with me. I totally understand where he comes from. It's like, I don't expect him to ever read this blog, but I really want to pray for him. I really want him to know God's love and sacrifice. This is a big deal. I want to rejoice with all of Heaven when he comes to know Christ. I want nothing more than to add my voice to the multitude of angels who will sing a joyful song when Matt finds the source of all creation and dedicates His life to worshiping Him. I pray for God to excite me for the things that excite Him, and to break my heart for things that break His. This must be it.
Tonight I have faith that mountains will be moved and the dead will be raised. I believe in the power of my God and I just want to pray that Matt really does decide to seek it. You know what would be cool? What if everyone who reads this blog posts a prayer for Matt? What if we lift up this matter as a unified body of Christ and really cover the whole situation with the sweet incense of prayer? I am beyond convinced of the power of prayer. Beyond convinced. If nothing else, wouldn't it be cool to see, say, twenty people spend some time today to fight the spiritual battle together? To rebuke the enemy's lies and tear down his strongholds? To just stand side-by-side, with the King shining like a diamond in our midst, committing ourselves to His awesome service, just like David and his mighty men in 1 Chronicles 10?
I'll pray, and if you want to post your prayer after me, please do so. You can post anonymously.
God, I love you, and I just want to glorify you in all of this. Matt needs you, Father. Show him your beautiful mercy and grace tonight. Soften his heart. Stir his mind. Compel his spirit. Do whatever it is that you do to draw people to you. I'm totally clueless, but I believe if he really seeks you tonight, you will rescue him from the miry clay. Incline your ear and hear our prayers, Father. May they be a sweet aroma to you. I worship and adore you, God. If you wanted to use me today, and if you called me away from the US for 11 months to come to Croatia to meet Matt, and if you used my background in World of Warcraft to open up doors, and if you ordained my footsteps at the Café, and if you set us up together, and if you were in our conversations, and if you inspired me to speak to him today, and if you compelled me to write this unnatural blog, and if you planted the seeds through six years of missionary work, and if you have continually watered and prepared and tilled the soil, and if you are pleased with the prayers now from your children-your friends-your beloved bride... that you hear our plea and work in tandem with our obedience and worshipful service so that our wills can come together in a sweet concurring flow that can change the world one heart at a time. If I open myself up for embarrassment or to looking like a fool, I pray that you give me the strength to continue unabashed and unashamed so I can approach every situation with an unstoppable zeal and with a fire that cannot be quenched. Amen.
Like Don Quixote, whenever he embarked upon a new adventure and felt the ribs of his faithful Rocinante under his heels, I feel exhilarated knowing Croatia is finally and firmly underfoot. God has truly ordained our footsteps and every detail has fallen perfectly into place. In fact, the specifics unfolding before us seem a bit, well... quixotic. Our contact, Tim, found a charming apartment that astonishingly fit into our meager budget for lodging. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a balcony overlooking the gorgeous rocky coastlines of the Mediterranean. Our ministry primarily revolves around a hip club called Global Café, where Tim and his team of missionaries work. Street evangelism consists of walking the picturesque Riva, a strip of boardwalk on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and promoting the club at the local high school and college (love it). Much of our relational evangelism consists of live music, karaoke, movie nights, playing cards, soccer matches, and video games.
Honestly, it reminds me a lot of home. The contrast between these past eight months of poverty and this one is incredible, but beneath all the luxury lies a subtle world of dangerous excess, and I walked right into it the very day I arrived. This is Neno.
Covered with tattoos and body piercings, he first greeted me with a playful smile and the flick of a cigarette. He was rough around the edges, but had the sort of character that betrayed a curious softness on the inside. These past two weeks I've spent a lot of time with him, and I've seen some really cool things happening. To be honest, though, I've heard some pretty disturbing things, too. He's given me permission to tell some of his testimony, but I hope you don't read this as just another story on paper. His struggles are very real, but we both hope that you see beyond them. The purpose of this writing is not to showcase a man, but to use a man's story to showcase something far greater.
"When I was 14 years old, I started smoking pot. I liked it because I could hang out with older guys who I looked up to. I felt mature and big. They told me I could learn how to sell drugs. They said I would get money, motorcycles, and girls, so I tried it. I became their son."
Over ten years later, Neno was smoking 15-20 joints of pot each day.
"I started carrying a knife when I was 14, and got into a lot of fights. I gained respect on the street. During the war years, the streets were especially dangerous, and when I was 15 or 16 I started carrying a gun. My father's monthly paycheck was like $400 USD per month, but I could make $1500 USD in a day from drugs and crime. I spent 100% of it on prostitutes, bikes, and more drugs. Through it all, I always felt I was missing something."
His mother died when he was four months old, and his dad never cared about his drug habits. He left home at 16 and never went back.
"My gang was untouchable. We'd hang out together all day, beating up people regularly, getting into fights every day, dealing and doing drugs. The temptations all around me were too much to pass up. We started doing criminal work, making businesses pay us to protect them. If they didn't pay, we'd tear up their place. I was doing steroids, getting big muscles, I had two pit bulls, shaved my head, got tattoos. It wasn't nice for people to see me. People passed on the other side of the street because no one could tell when I might hit somebody, so I kept up with the violence to keep my pride. When you have pride, you have everything on the street.You don't have to wait in line for bread."
It wasn't always glamorous for him, though. He once overdosed on 7-8 grams of cocaine and nearly died. This was the worst experience in his life, but not for the reason you
might expect. It was hell to him because he couldn't feed his addiction
to cocaine for those five days he spent in the hospital.
At this point in his life, it might seem like the right moment to introduce the hero of the story, but it didn't happen like that for Neno. Things continued to get worse before they got better. In my next blog, I'll share some very deep hurts and the thing that changed his life forever.
There are far greater concerns in life, but I can remember very few conditions worse than the present. I write simply to laugh at myself and pass the time. I give you permission to laugh at me, too.
It's around 2:30 in the morning. I have already been traveling for 30 hours straight (destination: Split, Croatia), and I'm entering the last stretch with only six or seven hours to go. I can't sleep. It isn't because our reserved seats were taken when we got on the train (which they were), and it isn't even because I'm feeling ill (which I am). I cannot sleep because I am physically unable to cohabit with the man crammed next to me on the train. Even before he took off his shoes, I knew something was dangerously amiss. The funk had begun to unsettle my stomach even while his feet were enclosed by an inch of shoe leather and hidden underneath his seat. When nighttime rolled around, he took off his shoes and propped his feet up next to my face. Our tiny compartment instantly filled with the most powerful odor I have ever known. His sense of smell must be handicapped by the grace of God in order to live comfortably, and my heart sympathized for him. I really didn't want to embarrass or make him aware that his mere presence was pillaging my sanity, but I honestly started worrying about brain cell atrophy. I tried to force my body to adjust to the reek, but I'm not sure if we're engineered for such harsh acclimation. I tried everything. I tried to bury my face into the edge of my seat in the opposite direction of his abominable stockings. I even took off my shirt to wrap around my head, hoping to protect it from my adversary's aroma. Running out of intelligent options, I seriously pulled my stick of deodorant out of my backpack and rubbed it over my nostrils and upper lip and, using my necklaces, fastened the exposed stick of Old Spice to my chin. The rancid tang, however, was both tenacious and sinister...
...so that brings me here, sitting on a toilet in the tiny dirty train bathroom, hoping no one wakes up needing to use it. I never thought I would consider such a place a refuge. I have my pack stuffed in here with me. The walls are covered with ick and the floor is worse. Mosquitoes (of course) infiltrate my position through the ventilation at every stop. I'm filled with a constant dread that someone outside is furious at me. Every few minutes, water from the ceiling leaks down my back, but any attempt to change my fortune seems futile. Murkiness threatens to engulf me as my laptop battery appears to be throwing in the towel, as well. With moist resignation, I accept my bleak fate... welcome to the World Race <wicked grin>.
In answering questions for Bluffton University's alumni magazine, I was encouraged to share my thoughts about the World Race, the human race, and most importantly, myself.
WARNING: Introspective blog, mild question dodging, and moderate vulnerability.
•Have you always been active in service/wanting to serve (church, community, school, etc.)?
C. S. Lewis writes, "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." In Revelation, Jesus pointedly rebukes the lukewarm church, and I, reluctantly but with much conviction, include myself among the Laodiceans. I've always been active, but I'm not sure I've always been truly serving. It's a hard line to write, but for most of my life I've been pretty caught up in myself. My definition of service has recently undergone significant renovation. In its sincerest form, service is worship, and worship is most acceptable when we offer to God everything we have and all that we are. That's what I want now. I want to serve with every ounce-every fiber-of my being, with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. I've always had a heart for mercy ministries, whether it was sticking up for the kid being bullied, giving clothes to the poor, or offering hope to the hopeless. But my charity, however significant in my own eyes, was mostly out of surplus, when it was easy, comfortable, or popular, and less often out of the self-sacrifice characterized by the poor widow, who out of her poverty gave everything she had.
•When did you first actively begin thinking about doing a World Race?
A friend introduced it to me during the '07-'08 snowboard season. At the time I felt like I had it all together. I had a dream job. I lived and worked with my best friend. I had a nice car, dated a pretty girl, attended church regularly, and saved a lot of money. Perhaps you noticed, however, that ‘I' was the subject of each one of those sentences. Or was ‘I' the object? Either way, my life wasn't Christ-centered and I was ready for a change.
•What triggered it?
I wanted to start patterning my life after the greatest two commandments (Matt 22:36-40), but honestly, the World Race troubled me at first. Now, I like travel and thrill as much as anyone. I mean, I went to Africa for my cross-cultural experience at Bluffton and I was living in the mountains as a snowboard instructor, but I had to ask, ‘how can you justify asking churches, family, and friends to support you gallivanting around the world for a year?' My skepticism, however, turned into wonder as I read about young people absolutely obsessed with Jesus Christ-people who refused to deny Him even when being robbed and threatened at gunpoint, people who quit their jobs to sleep on the floor, people who left their homes to befriend a little girl living alone on the streets. This was the kind of church I wanted to be a part of. This, I believe, is God's calling on my life.
•When you set out, what did you hope to accomplish?
Tree63 famously sings, "Every blessing You pour out I turn back to praise." I'm among the world's wealthiest, healthiest, and most educated. My goal, hope, and prayer, was and is to glorify my King with these blessings. I wanted to spend the year abiding in Christ, fostering such an intimate relationship that I could no longer help but let Him permeate every facet of my life, from deciding what to buy at the grocery to shaping how I raise my family.
•Tell me about the race and what it has entailed so far.
On the surface, the World Race is an eleven-month mission trip through eleven different countries. Each month has its own distinct flavor, spiritual climate, and ministry needs. We live and travel in teams of six or seven, with each person fulfilling (and often discovering) his or her unique role within the church, whether it be preaching with conviction to a crowd of Maasai warriors, providing daily encouragement to the team through acts of service and words of affirmation, or noticing the Romanian child that everyone else overlooked.
•What countries have you been in?
In the Philippines, my team worked with PCF ministries in the garbage dumps of Manila, where over five thousand people live in the most abject poverty you could ever imagine. I can't even begin to describe... remembering it still brings tears. In China, I witnessed firsthand the beauty and power of the underground revival I had so passionately read about in the US. In Kenya, we served a pastor whose church primarily consisted of street children addicted to glue. He opened his house for us-the very same house in which he risked his own life to hide refugees and internally displaced persons during the post-election riots, devastation, and murdering the year before. In Uganda, we worked with a large Anglican church that was interested in identifying and empowering potential leaders, and in establishing cell groups throughout the poorer neighborhoods. The relationships we built through the church and community made it one of the hardest countries to leave. In Tanzania, we lived with the Maasai warriors on the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. At the end of our three months in Africa, I felt God leading me to speak to the Maasai church leaders about some delicate and tough issues that I had seen in their church. This was my most visibly influential ministry to date, and their heartfelt response to action, even in light of my youthfulness, inexperience, and personal flaws, is true testament to the mysterious power of the Holy Spirit. In India, we were introduced to spiritual warfare like I had never before imagined. The women taught at a volunteer school for ‘the untouchables,' while my brother and I traveled to minister at major areas of depression, disease, and counterfeit religion. In Ukraine, we worked primarily with the local orphans and new church plants. Finally, I am currently answering these questions from the castle balcony of a beautiful Gypsy village in Romania. Most of my time here is spent discipling the young kids who lack father figures, affection, and attention of any kind.
•What countries will you eventually be in?
We are in the process of working out next month's details. At the moment, it looks like we'll be in Split, Croatia, working with a young couple who started a café ministry, but struggle to maintain it. We hope to encourage them and their ministry by volunteering shifts, establishing relationships with youth in the community, and drawing crowds to their café through social events and live American music. Whatever God sets before us. After Croatia, we plan to fly to Central America for our final two months.
•Tell me about your day-to-day activities, who you work with, etc.
I am living without any semblance of customary routine. Sometimes I don't know even know where I'll be sleeping the next day. The only structure in my life right now is God's unfailing provision and guidance. As a team, whether we are tenting in an African desert or jumping from hostel to hostel in China, we try to maintain regularity in Christ. We pray together daily, regularly encourage one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, speak life into each other's lives twice a week, and watch the latest episode of the Office whenever we find stable Internet.
•Name two things you've learned about yourself since beginning the race.
I never before saw my introversion as a gift to embrace. Instead of being unsettled when feeling socially burnt out, I now recognize that my unique disposition (which demands relatively less human interaction to stay healthy) as something God can use to consecrate more of me to Himself. For example, if we're walking somewhere as a large group, and I feel neither the need nor the craving to be immersed in conversation, I allow myself to float to the back and fall into intimate prayer or song with my heavenly Father.
I've also discovered that my blood is considered a ‘must try' by various species of mosquito worldwide. You might be thinking to yourself, "Yeah, I've been to tropical climates and I hate mosquitoes, too. I can relate," but you would be wrong. No one can relate to me. I have observed with severe scrutiny as they harmlessly bizzer and tizzer around an equally attractive human being, and I stare with literal incredulity as they invariably leave that person's presence and travel halfway across the room to take a stab at my ankle.
•Name two things you've learned about the human race since beginning the race.
Primarily, I've been blessed with seeing the world through a variety of lenses. We have different colors and customs, but when it all boils down, we're really not so different. We all laugh and smile; we all have the same hungers, the same needs, the same yearning for love. We all desperately need God.
Also, there seems to be one universally accepted, worldwide language, and let me assure you, English is definitely not it. The language I refer to is ‘football,' known to we unenlightened US Americans as ‘soccer.' Regardless of culture, tribe, political stability, or economic standing, the human race loves watching eleven guys kick a ball at eleven other guys.
•How is being a part of this race stretching you and your faith in God?
Let me share with you just one such example from the church I served in Kenya. The church isn't perfect. It isn't rehearsed. And it isn't pretty. In fact, it's very ugly. Most of the church members show up with crude bottles of glue shoved between their teeth so that they can inhale the fumes without using their hands. Many of the men are either aggressive or severely drugged, with sluggish red eyes and drooling lips. One woman passed out on the floor during worship, and her two-year old daughter spent the rest of the service climbing on her motionless body. There are serious illnesses and infections everywhere. The majority of the church body consists of street children without homes, families, or jobs.
How do we love them? How do we be real with them? Do we take their glue before feeding them? Sadly, many wouldn't accept that trade. Do we take their glue for the duration of the service and then give it back to them after they have been fed with sacks of beans? Some of them skulk around the back until the service finishes and then rush to the front to grab sacks of food. I've had to literally throw men out of the church. Pushing, shoving, and fistfights are not uncommon. They are well-trained at jumping through our hoops, receiving salvation every week just to receive a sack of food. Wouldn't you do the same? Wouldn't I? What else can we do?
•When is your race finished?
In the first week of September, we return to a very different nation
than the one we had left over eleven months ago-a new president, a
different economy, and friends with new babies.
•Plans for after the race?
I desperately want to take hold of the growth I'm experiencing on
the mission field. I want to share my passion for the Bible with family
and friends. I want to spread my growing desire for intimacy with
Christ to the local churches. I can hardly wait to apply eleven months
of godly fellowship to my current and future relationships back home:
to better honor my family, to further challenge my friends, and to
better love my future wife...
Often I wonder what God would have me do after the World Race.
Sometimes I want God to tell me exactly what to do, but so often I
overlook the fact that He is instead trying to teach me exactly how to
live. Recently I've decided that, while it's great for me to pray for
future guidance and direction, I also want to seize each day: to take
hold of the life lessons I am learning here on the field. I want to
rediscover each day how God would like to use my circumstances to
sculpt me more into His likeness so that I can continually allow His
daily presence to have a lasting impact on the rest of my life.
Have you ever met someone who you knew God was using (or is going to use) to further His Kingdom?
I believe I have. Here are a few I haven't yet mentioned:
Name: Patrick Nyabera Natel
Status: Servant
Story: Patrick is an unsung hero. He served our three WR teams in Kapsoya with enthusiasm and cheer. He was always the first one up to cook breakfast, and was usually the last one to sleep after shopping and cleaning. I can hardly remember a time in which he wasn't smiling. He volunteered to lead worship, translate, shop, cook, clean, escort, protect, and do absolutely everything he could to make sure we were comfortable. His favorite phrases were, "Be happy," "Smile," and "Praise the Lord!" One time he gave me a bag full of his clothes while I was at an internet café. He told me to keep an eye on them while he ran an errand for us. Somehow I managed to lose them and felt terrible, but he continually reassured me that everything was okay with a big smile and a bigger heart. He truly gave everything without expecting anything in return and sacrificed of himself to become a servant to others.
Interesting Facts: Patrick is Maasai and full of stories about lions, leopards, and war. He knows the Bible inside and out and can quote scripture all day long. He was a sharp shooter in the army. He can carry burning hot metal pots straight from the fire with his bare hands. He caught a pickpocket in the act and prevented a theft while we were completely oblivious. He left his family (wife and newborn baby) to serve us for three weeks without any expected pay.
Picture: I'm on the left. Patrick is on the right. We are dedicating a Bible to the man in the middle.
Name: Garbino Gai
Occupation: Sudanese refugee
Story: I was alone on a hill on the outskirts of Eldoret (See The African Church (PG) for more about the intimacy of this place). As I was reading James, I noticed another guy in the distance. I waved at him and he walked over and sat down on the rock next to me. I recognized his gentle heart and thirst for God almost immediately. James 5:16 stuck out to me as we studied together. "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." We confessed our sins to each other, and he opened up to me with an extraordinary level of trust and sincerity. We spent the afternoon together, and I prayed for him and led him through his own heartfelt prayer to God. My biggest desire was to inspire him to continue seeking God on his own.
Update: Two weeks later, on my next Sabbath, I went back to the hill. As I was reading Revelation, I noticed another guy in the distance. Garbino! What a moment that was! We hugged and strengthened each other in the Lord. My heart leapt with joy as he pulled out from his pocket his worn copy of the New Testament in Sudanese. "I carry it with me everywhere I go now."
Update #2: He must have kept the little slip of paper on which I scribbled my e-mail for five months, because five months later I received an e-mail that I hope to never forget. He encouraged me greatly and asked for prayer. I told him that I would relay his prayer requests to my friends and family. Without sharing too many details, he had to leave his family and friends in Sudan and go alone to Kenya, where he is trying to obtain an education. No one from his clan has ever received an education before, and he is trying to be the first to increase his family's standard of living. They are struggling to survive and he aspires to return one day and provide for them. He told me he prays before he sleeps every night and often remembers our encounter. He needs sponsors to help him finish school so he can find work and provide for his family. He is maybe 18 years old.
WOW. Before you read my intended blog, I have to tell a bit about how I'm posting it right now. I was randomly walking around the Gypsy village where I'm staying, looking for a spot to spend alone time with God, and saw a castle in the distance. I walked through a torn part of a gate, past several people tending the gardens, and noticed the main door was open. Why not? I walked in the castle and realized there was a geoscience conference going on. NO ONE HAS SAID A WORD. I acted as if I perfectly belonged here and walked right around all the cameras and business people into an antechamber, took off my shoes, plopped myself on a couch, and pulled out my computer. A signal?! What?! WIRELESS?! Are you kidding me?! Hahahahahahaha -- so I'm sitting by myself, crashing some big shot conference in a random castle in a Gypsy village in Transylvania, Romania. And I am so glad, because we don't have internet anywhere else available, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it into town on Mother's Day to post this! God provides. ;)
We love Him because He first loved us. –1 John 4:19
I simply can't write enough about my love for my parents. I adore my father's strength and integrity. His faith through hardship has inspired me since childhood (see I Believe: A Story of Faith). I admire my mother's selflessness and humility. She had planned to enjoy retirement this year, but decided to work another year to help support my ministry instead. They fervently prayed for me long before I was born, they prayed for me at my bedside every night as I grew up, and they have continued to prayerfully support me throughout this year. I know they want, and have always wanted, the best for me. Honestly, they would give me the world. I believe they would even sacrifice for me.
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! –Matthew 7:11
Part of God's perfect design for parent/child relationships is to demonstrate the beautiful relationship He desires with each of us. Mom and dad, I am so thankful for the ways in which you have illustrated echoes of God's love. Truly, through Christ's work in your lives, it has been so much easier for me to more fully grasp the concept of a loving heavenly Father.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. –1 John 4:8
This very moment as I write (the rough draft), there is a little boy climbing on my lap, absolutely enthralled with my every action.
He plays with the hair on my arms, asks me endless questions in Romanian, and mimics everything I do. His name is Andreas. He is a gypsy child living in the gypsy village in which we are staying. His parents, like most people here, don't believe in Jesus Christ. He is growing up in a home without parents who show him the love of our heavenly Father. I've heard that his parents don't really take care of him. They don't even care if he goes to school.
Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. –Mark 10:14
Sometimes, when the other children are at school, Andreas wanders the village. Yesterday he found me while I was drawing water from the well. His heart is so pure; with bright eyes and eager enthusiasm he offered to help me carry the water. After a few trips to the well and back, I thanked him and started washing the team's dishes. I expected him to run off, but he faithfully thrust himself by my side and volunteered his affectionate services once more.
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD. –Psalm 127:3
Andreas is going through a difficult childhood. He is regularly dirty and hungry, and lacks the nourishing love from parents who fear God. My heart breaks for him, and I've made it part of my personal ministry to try to show him a glimpse of Christ just as my parents made it their personal ministry to do so in my life. Today I sent him on secret missions to help me with chores just like my father used to do with me. I took him jogging all the way to the village limit, and circled around to pick him up whenever he pooped out. I brought him back home and showed him a kid's movie about Jesus on my laptop. I prayed for him throughout the movie, hoping God's Word would transcend the language barrier. When Jesus calmed the storm, his eyes were glued to the screen, and when Jesus was crucified he covered them.
Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. –Matthew 18:3
By now he has left my lap. He has gone home for supper and rest. As night approaches and I settle down to conclude this blog, I am reminded that, if the LORD wills, tomorrow will bring fresh opportunities to serve Him. We are planning a children's program full of songs, games, and Bible lessons. We will be doing prayer walks and house visits, and I have a follow-up meeting with a sweet 38-year-old man with whom I've really connected well. His story is beautiful, and I wish I had the time and expertise to share more!
Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. –James 1:22
Happy Mother's Day, mama! You had asked me to write more about the people I've met, so I wrote this blog specifically for you. I hope today you see a faint glimmer of how God has been honoring the fruits of your good works. Love you.
