Washing feet at Tech

In my last blog I talked about evangelizing on Texas Tech's campus. For a few weeks now I've wanted to go on campus during a football game day and wash people's feet. As ridiculous as that sounds, I try to make application of the bible in all areas of my life. John 13 has been a very meaningful passage of scripture to me:

"So Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'
Jesus replied to him, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'
'No,' said Peter, 'you shall never wash my feet.'
Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.'
'Then, Lord,' Simon Peter replied, 'not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!'
Jesus answered, 'A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean...'
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. 'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them, 'You call me "Teacher" and "Lord", and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.'

So with this passage in mind, four of us set up at memorial circle in the middle of campus four hours before Texas Tech hosted Texas at home. Given that it would be difficult to stop passers by for the purpose of washing their feet, we decided to ask people to take a survey that would lead in to the foot washing.
The first question of our survey was an icebreakert. Our first real question to our survey was, "What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word 'Christian'?" To which we got a variety of replies: Jesus, religion, bible, God, Julian, Church, salvation, hypocrite, judgmental, cross, music, savior, faith, and me. Following that we asked whether they believed in heaven and/or hell, and if so, where they thought they'd go if they died today. 43 responded that they did believe in heaven and hell, 7 responded that they didn't, several responded that they didn't know, and one responded that he believed only in heaven, and he didn't know if he'd even end up in heaven. Most of those who said they believed in heaven and hell said that they'd end up in heaven, two said they'd go to hell, and five said they'd go to purgatory (a place the bible says nothing about) which would save them from hell. We then asked whether they'd heard the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet, to which most replied that they had. Our final question was whether or not they'd let someone wash their feet if someone offered. Most immediately replied with a "no" or in some derogatory way, but quite a few said yes. Of course those "quite a few" turned into "a few" when they found out we actually had a bucket of water ready to wash their feet. In the two hours we were there, we washed six people's feet, all of whom were greatly appreciative. We finished by spending quite a bit of time with a group of young college guys who were full of questions and converstion.
A lot of people look at the passage in John 13 and suggest that it's not relevant in a modern context because most of the foot washing had to do with Jewish ritual. Maybe they're right to a certain degree, but I consider the words of a student who's feet I was washing, "If I were a king I'd have people wash my feet all the time. This is awesome." To which I respond in my thoughts, "If I were a servant, I'd be washing feet all the time." Just as Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, Christians are called to be servants. Today was an impact-full reminder of the purpose of being a servant. When I consider my King and the life that he lived, I'd have it no other way. I am Christ's servant. In the words of Paul, though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible for Jesus. This is my goal, of which I fall short often, but have come to understand the reward when I remain faithful. I'm grateful for the example of servitude I find in Jesus' life through scripture, and am filled with hope, knowing my leader has paved the road for the narrow way.

Evangelism at Tech

I'm a part of the evangelism team in Cross Campus, the college group at the Sunset church where I'm a member here in Lubbock. Our team has been trying to come up with ideas about how to serve and evangelize on Texas Tech's campus here in town. It's not the easiest to come up with stuff. My buddy and I have started a thursday night bible study that was supposed to kick off last week. Last Thursday didn't exactly go as planned, and all the people supposed to come tonight bailed last second. So we started wandering campus this evening and asking people if they'd like to join us for next week. We probably asked 15 people and the immediate answer was "no" with almost no hesitation. It made me think of selling cars, walking out on the lot and having nearly everyone tell me "We're just looking",when the truth was that the majority was there to buy a car. I don't mean to compare evangelism with car sales in the sense that Christians are selling something because that's not the truth. In a physical sense, I have nothing to gain from telling people of my faith. The truth is simply that if you believe in the real Jesus Christ and what he taught, it would be unthinkable not to tell people of his salvation.
Finally, after getting shut down by several people, a few kids said they'd be up for a bible study. The whole thing brings up a lot of thoughts for me though. Obviously the perceptions vary greatly across a college campus, but it's almost as if the overall vibe is that religion is a thing of the past and Christianity is a self-righteous cult that isn't to be trusted. This is a view I'd very much like to help in changing, but it takes much more than the ability to effectively debate. People need to see the actual love of Christ and believe in its source. That's why I'm almost hesitant to call what we're doing a "bible study". In student's minds that's a huge turnoff, when in reality most people would probably be willing to discuss their religious background and compare viewpoints of theology or lack there of. They say that a lack of education is the greatest reason for poverty, and I believe the same holds true for spiritual poverty. I look at people holding cardboard signs on street corners and I have pity for the different hardships they've experienced that I couldn't begin to comprehend; then I think of spiritual poverty as I walk around in every day life, simply knowing that most people are without an intimate relationship with their Creator. As a Christian, my heart breaks for both. Unfortunately, yelling "Jesus is Lord" across a college campus isn't much more productive than telling a homeless person to get a job. If you care about either, there must be a desire to show the spiritually deprived that Jesus is Lord and the physically deprived that there's alternatives to life on the street.
I'm learning. I don't know where everyone is in their faith, or whether they have a faith; but i want to know, and I want to care. The more I pick up this thick book that's seen multiple millenniums, the more I come to believe the adjective that precedes the word "Bible" in its title. It is holy, and the more I read it, the more I want to be. Christians are called to be set apart, and the majority will never understand. They don't have to; they just need to know we care about them. God has put eternity on man's heart. It's man's duty to seek the answer as to why he has placed it there and a Christians privilege to help reveal the mystery.

What is life?

I was having a rough night a few days ago, and I thought to myself, "life is hard". Then I got to thinking a little more about that, and concluded that it isn't life that's hard; it's death that's hard. Someone might say that there's this time period between birth and death that most people call "life" and that is in fact difficult. Let me put a different lens on that though. I believe the truth is that life is beautiful and a tremendous blessing, and that death encompasses pretty much all the worst of what we know. You see it's death that's hard; not just when someone passes away, but the death that sneaks into life as subtly as the bad guy in a horror film. 

I think back to the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were told that they could live in complete freedom, allowing them to do just about anything, but were instructed not to eat of the "tree of knowledge" in the middle of the garden. God said if they ate from that tree they would surely die. Picture this. For however many years Adam and Eve were in the garden, walking with God, they were experiencing life. Then they opted to test the meaning of the phrase "you will surely die" by eating the fruit of the tree they were commanded not to. But they didn't die right away, at least not the death that someone in the 21st century would expect. Not too long after they were banished from the garden, chaos broke loose in certain areas of their life, and I can just picture Eve looking at Adam, with thought of the peace in the former garden they lived in, and saying, "Death is hard". You see, Adam and Eve experienced the true form of both life and death. They experienced life before there was death, and they experienced life after there was death, most likely concluding life was better on its own.

I say all this to express the importance of perspective. I cannot say "life is hard" without immediately thinking of the Giver of life, without thinking of the blessings that come with life. Life isn't hard. Life is perfect; it just happens to be flooded with traces of death. Distinguishing what promotes life or death is more  than eating an apple a day or not smoking cigarettes. It requires a knowledge of truth, a knowledge of what will light the way. Most people would say that death is inevitable. Then again, most people don't know the Giver of life. For many, the biblical record of Adam and Eve is simply a story. For me it's a historical picture of life without death. Heaven is a promise of life without death, of light without darkness, and of truth without lies. Heaven isn't only something to strive for. It shines light on what's living and what's dying right now.

This whole thought came while  I was frustrated with circumstances, while sitting in a Sonic pretending I had the self-control not to order Sonic's version of Dairyqueen's Reese's blizzard. I point this out to bring thought back to the reality of now and let you know that I don't believe life is a vague philosophy that will one day prove itself true. Life is truth. The key is a matter of distinguishing what parts of death have sunk in to what we know as life and ridding our minds of thoughts of death. When I was sitting there thinking "life is hard", my mind was overwhelmed with thoughts of death, thoughts of the difficulty of physical pain, thoughts of the hardship of loneliness, of the hopelessness of a lost world. That's when it occurred to me that that's not life. Life is the everything good, and after all, we are living.

Youtube channel

My friend, Bryant, and I are going to start a Christian youtube channel tomorrow. We're gonna start tomorrow's video off by introducing Bryant and I, our backgrounds and faith. Bryant has a great story, and is a huge inspiration. We're hoping to get topics and questions from viewers and friends on Facebook. Nick Webber suggested we speak about the importance of media and its consequences in the life of a Christian. I don't know if we'll get to that tomorrow, but we're hoping to pick out of the topics that people suggest. We're trying to reach a wide range of people and hope to give good insight from a godly perspective. We encourage comments and suggestions for how to improve. We certainly want to be an encouragement to both believers and nonbelievers.

Another aspect of our youtube channel will be clips of poetry. I've written lots of poems that I'd like to share that address aspects of Christianity in today's society. I look forward to hearing comments and suggestions from friends on Facebook.

Break Week

Our first quarter here at Sunset is finished and we are on a break week between terms. The first term finished well. I think I passed all my classes, and I've been able to get involved with some good groups outside of school.

There's a program called "China Now" that came to one of our chapel services last week. They are looking for Christians who are fluent and educated in the English language to go to Chinese Universities to teach 14-20 hours a week. Housing and salary is taken care of, so the rest of the 148+ hours of the week can be spent serving and evangelizing. If I wasn't in school, I think I'd already be in China. God keeps teaching me to be patient and letting me know there's endless options for mission work when I finish up school next spring.

I was able to visit a place called "Tent City" over the weekend with some friends from church. It's a little plot of land on the outskirts of Lubbock where there's about 100 military tents set up for homeless people to live. We were encouraged to just go out and make conversation, meet people, and hear some stories, to share time with the people there. I'm so grateful for places like this. They find people in need and help them get back on their feet. There's a "no drug" policy, which I'm sure isn't easy to maintain, but the place seems to be very respectable. I sat down and talked with a few different people, trying to be mostly in one-on-one conversation. I ended up meeting about four different people, each of them having a unique story. The first man I talked to was telling me his family didn't associate with him and he really didn't have any active relationships. When I asked him if he had a relationship with God, he said that really wasn't his thing. Later on in the conversation, he said it's scary not to know Jesus. Questioning whether I heard him right, he again said, "It's scary to be apart from Jesus." I got the feeling this man wanted a relationship with God but didn't understand God's forgiveness. This man doesn't need to hear about forgiveness; he needs to be shown it. Life is all about relationships and if evangelism lacks the relational aspect, then it's not fulfilling its purpose. My personal goal is to be diligent about showing love to people consistently as I tell them about God's love, otherwise they won't trust what I claim is "God's love".

There was a young guy there from Jamaica, who had come up to Midland on a basketball scholarship for the junior college. He's probably my age and he's homeless in a tent. People become homeless a number of different ways. While a vast majority has no compassion on homeless because of drug and alcohol use, I'd say homelessness is a result of three things: a lack of education, a lack of love being shown, and a lack of relationships. Drugs and alcohol are merely used to fill the void. 

Something I think people don't realize is that there's a new generation of homeless people rising up right now, most of whom are underprivileged children in rough homes. If you find yourself lacking compassion for the older generation of homeless people, just take a look at the places where they came from: abuse (both sexual and physical), lacking one or both parents, poverty, having parents who were addicts, and on and on. If Jesus spent his Friday nights with the outcasts, why would I be satisfied with the movies?

Upcoming Mission work

After a couple of weeks at school here at SIBI in Lubbock, things continue to be progressing well. The classes are a load, going to school from 7:30 to 4:30, then having homework and studying I need to do. It isn't the same as my past history of schooling where I studied little. High school didn't require a lot of studying and, without making too many excuses, I was too lazy and lacked much interest in the course material in college to spend much time studying. It's a different story for me when it comes to the bible. I enjoy studying and learning new things from the bible. There are still many things I have to force myself to do though. For example, I'm currently taking a break from an assignment that requires us to read about 70 pages from the MLA book for writing. When I first began to read, I put it down and said "no way", but then I looked and saw reading this book is 10% of our entire grade for the class. It's not like college where you can get away with just skimming because our teachers make us sign a sheet that says we read it or didn't read it... and we're in preaching school. I think that would actually be effective for college professors as well because most people aren't deliberate liars.

Anyhow aside from the boring studying stuff, I attended a meeting today for a mission trip some students are taking to Ottawa Canada in mid October during our fall break. It's fairly inexpensive for an international trip, between $500-$700, so I'm really hoping to go. We would go for a week and do different evangelistic activities and spend some time with the small church up there. I guess Ottawa has a population of about 1 million people. I've never been to Canada so I would enjoy taking the trip. I'm at the state in my life where I really want to travel everywhere and get a sense of different cultures, hopefully being a good example for Jesus wherever I go.

I started taking a Portuguese class that one of the teachers at SIBI is teaching. He was a missionary in Brazil for a long time and takes students on week trips during the summer to both Brazil and Mozambique, which is apparently a Portuguese speaking country as well. So far the language seems to be very similar to Spanish, but more difficult to learn. Hopefully after a while of the class I'll be prepared at least for a short term trip to a Portuguese speaking country. It's funny how learning it makes me want to finish learning the more advanced teachings in Spanish... in due time I suppose.

I've been looking for different opportunities to serve outside of school in the community and quite a few people had suggested that I go visit the Carpenter's Church here in downtown Lubbock. I got on their website and found out they were very interactive with homeless and poverty stricken people in the downtown area. They meet every day of the week and house what homeless people they can. Anyhow I went and joined them last night for their Wednesday evening meal/service. It was certainly different than any church I've ever been in before. I met the couple that leads the group and they were very kind, explaining that it's family atmosphere. I got to help serve some dinner and listen to stories from all sorts of different people. It was humbling, kind of like Nicaragua in a lot of ways. There were various people from all walks of life, most of whom seemed to be struggling, whether homeless or financially impoverished. I appreciated being able to sit down and just listen. I like to hear about where people come from. It helps me to be more compassionate. The reason I have a tendency to be a hypocrite and judge by appearance is only because I haven't spent enough time getting to know and understand people who differ from myself. While the church service and dinner was rather chaotic, I found it to be peaceful. The truth is that we can't organize everything to be the exact way we'd like it to be. Sometimes things are out of our control, so we do our best and let God do the rest. I commend the folks at the Carpenter's Church for starting a good work and creating a family setting amongst people groups that are too often separated by barriers that only exist in our minds. More to come...

Made in his image

Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." -Genesis 1:26

I won't lie to you and tell you the first thing that comes to my mind whenever I see anyone else in society is that they are also made in the image of God, just as I know myself to be. But that's the truth. We were all intended to reflect God's image. That is, God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Notice how the scripture reads "make man in our image" suggesting not only that there are multiple persons implied (Father, Son and Spirit), but also that those persons are unified. In other words, man was created to be unified with God. Think for a moment of the most special relationships you are a part of. What makes them special? Is it not the unity that has taken place, usually because of a common interest, purpose, or often times last name.

The reason I'm even writing this is because we have a tendency to overcomplicate things, myself especially. Life is simple. God's purpose for us is simple. It's to show the unifying love to one another that God has shown to us. Instead we make things out to be a great competition, again, something I'm most guilty of. As Americans we tend to think it's us against the world. We're "proud to be an American". When truth be told, just as any legitimate blessing, there's nothing we've even done to earn our citizenship. And the people that have gone leaps and bounds to earn their citizenship in such a blessed country are the ones most scrutinized, persecuted and often forced to leave. Ponder that for a bit. It doesn't make sense. And yet the same attitude Americans tend to have of "this is mine" inherently so, has unfortunately rubbed off into the attitude of the American church. The freedoms and graces of Christ are so often felt to be deserved or earned, and thus divisions begin. Things would be so much simpler if we would just have an understanding of how richly blessed we are, no matter what we're talking about. Maybe you've worked for everything you have, and you refuse to credit your blessing to someone else. At least be thankful that  you're not one of the approximately 27 million slaves in the world right now, because no matter how hard they work, freedom will never be earned, only possibly given. There are so many unmerited blessings that we have that we take for granted, and ultimately we're left broken and divided.

I was tempted to complain about some frustrating issues I've had with my stomach lately, then I met a man in class with me who was far worse off. He hasn't eaten in over a year, but instead has been fed for 12 hours a day with a feeding tube, while his stomach is drained by another tube into a catheter-like bag that he carries around his shoulder. And my point isn't that we can always find someone worse off than us, so be grateful. My point is rather that every thing we have,  every breath we take, every blessing we can call ours is a gift that we don't deserve. Life is an unearned gift from an Almighty God. And the reason God gave us that gift is to be unified with him through Jesus. People are not the enemy. Terrorists are not the enemy. Foreign countries are not the enemy. We're all just broken image bearers of God. If we could only see society as such.

Anyone who knows me knows of my desire to help homeless people. I don't know why but I've always had a desire to help them. I've heard all the criticism towards them. "They've had their chance." "All they do is buy alcohol with that money." "I won't help someone that won't help them self." I don't see it that way. The Bible records David, "the man after God's own heart", saying in the 119th Psalm, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant". Why would David say that? He was the king of the most prominent nation in the world. Every one of his needs were met. He seemed to to have it all. The reason David made that plea to God is because he saw everything he owned, every relationship he had as an unmerited blessing from God. He knew that the reason he was well off was because God kept pursuing him. Even when David made mistakes, God didn't leave his side. The thing that makes me different from the homeless person standing next to wallmart with a cardboard sign is that I've been shown more love. I can't take that for granted. I can't assume ownership of a blessing I've done nothing to earn. At the end of the day, a paycheck is still a blessing from God because he gave me the hands to earn it.

There ought not to be divisions among us. I know that's an idealistic statement, and thus I understand that I cannot expect any more of others, to break down the barriers that society puts up, than the efforts I myself put forth. I have to be willing to associate with those most different from me, in interest, in race, in ethnic background, in culture, in financial background, in religion, or in whatever else might separate us.

Jesus prayed one of the most powerful prayers of unity shortly before he was crucified, "that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me." (John 17:21-22) I'm confident that the world would believe that Jesus was sent from God if the Christians that follow him would show the same unifying love that he came and displayed 2000 years ago. Go show some act of love that will help unify your family, your workplace, your church, your marriage. When you see someone different than you, learn about them instead of criticizing them. My brother so wisely stated to me earlier this week that you can learn from anybody, even if it's simply to have a better understanding of why they believe what they believe, regardless of how senseless it may seem.

"Love one another... By this all men will know that you are my disciples." (John 13:34-35)
I don't want to have to tell people I'm a Christian. I want them to know simply by the love that I show them. I've fallen short a thousand times, but this is my goal none the less, and I hope it's yours too.

First few days at SIBI

Don't tell anyone, but I think my facial hair is growing faster in Texas. At this new rate, I believe I'll have a full grown beard by 42 (fingers crossed).

Yesterday and today were orientation days for school here at Sunset and actual school starts tomorrow. So far everything's gone well. The church was packed on Sunday. I was surprised there didn't seem to be many empty spaces and it's supposed to hold like 1400 people. I was able to meet some people in the college class Sunday morning as well.

Sunday's lesson preached was on missions and the daily chapel is held in what they call the "flagroom" which has each flag from the world's countries hanging on the wall, as symbolism of the focus of serving every nation. So far, I've been impressed by how outward focussed this church and school is here at Sunset. Many of the faculty have served in the foreign mission field and there are many different ongoing ministries throughout the world that are supported by Sunset. Even though schooling is going to go from 7:30 to 4:30 Monday through Thursday with a short day on Friday, I'm hoping to get involved regularly in local service and volunteer work. There are breaks at the end of every quarter for a week that I'd love to be able to go and serve on. It sounds like there will be opportunity to serve here not too far away in Mexico City. I forget that Mexico City is the second largest in the world behind Beijing I believe. Luis, one of the first year preaching students in our class who has lived most of his life in Mexico, was telling me that there are still various tribes and people groups in Mexico that don't even speak Spanish. They're still speaking their native language. Luis's passion, much like myself, is to share the gospel and Christ's love with people and countries who've never heard or experienced it before. He even said his goal was to be a missionary in countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith, which has also been on my heart much recently. As Luis said, and I second, you obviously don't go to be persecuted, but you go out of love for all the people who haven't experienced Jesus's love... and in the end that may be towards the very groups and people that deliberately persecute Christians. All in all it was neat to meet people of like passion and faith.

Since today was orientation, they had an allotted time for all 42 or so incoming students to share a little of their background and story. It was humbling to hear of all the different stories of people's faiths and how they came to Sunset. There was one man that stood up from Taiwan, who introduced himself as "Hong Chu", but he said, "people just call me Cliff". As funny as that was to hear, it's kind of sad how little tolerance many of us have for cultures we're unfamiliar with, whether it's the pronunciation of a name or any other cultural practices. I was surprised by the number of deaf people attending the school. Of the 42, nine are deaf. Sunset apparently has a large deaf ministry. They have their own section to sign along as hymns are sung during worship services. It's all a pretty cool ministry. In fact, that's why my classes are going to be from 7:30 to 4:30 is because I'm going to be in a sign language class from 7:30 to 8:30 every day. At first I thought, "no way, I don't want to lose an extra hour of sleep. The day's already long enough." But after a short while of consideration I thought of how much it would mean to me if I was deaf and people went out of their way to learn my language to communicate with me. Someone brought this little thought up to me which I thought was interesting. They said if Jesus could come down from heaven to earth and humble himself to learn the language of the time, then it's not much to ask of us to do our best to learn the languages of people we minister to. I thought that was neat and probably part of the reason that Jesus not only seemed to be fluent in Aramaic, but also likely Greek and Hebrew. In fact, I've noticed that the little bit of Spanish that I know and use to Spanish speaking Americans, they love it. It's as though I've taken the time to better understand them, even if it's just a few sentences. So that was my conclusion after thinking about whether or not to take sign language class. They say you can communicate decent after a year of class, unlike taking high school Spanish. And I'd like to think I'm not as immature as I was when I attempted to take high school Spanish.

For those of you wondering what the school teaches that all of these people from different backgrounds could all be a part of, it is essentially a two year bible degree. The bible is taught, along with all sorts of communication and language classes. It was developed to equip anyone for a career in ministry, whether that be a youth minister, a pulpit preacher, a missionary, deaf minister, or whatever else.

Along with Hong Chu, Luis, and many of the deaf, there were many other interesting stories. A young woman shared of her time as an atheist until she grew close to a Christian family that simply loved and cared for her as another human being. Another woman shared of her troubled past, her time in and out of prison until she developed a relationship with the Lord. Two young men had had near death experiences and still battle physical struggles, but were so full of joy. Overall I was surprised at the diversity of our group of students and I think it will be both a humbling and an educating experience just to learn alongside them. My worldview is so small, and I praise God for continuing to open the doors to expand it, and to ultimately be formed into the image of Christ. I'm looking forward to the school year, as strenuous as it might be, and I thank all of you who constantly continue to support me in my future career in ministry. God bless!

Lubbock, Texas

I have arrived in Lubbock, Texas yesterday evening after stopping in Denver and Santa Fe on my drive down. Speaking of Santa Fe, contrary to popular American belief, Koreans make great cars. My Sonata got 40 mpg the last 300 mile stretch. I don't even sell cars any more. I retired from that a few days ago. I'm just proud of how far hyundai has come ya know. Anyways, school starts here this upcoming Monday. I'm all moved in with my interim grandparents, Marshal and Rubye Anderson, my Uncle Brian's parents. I'm already forming good habits. I got up this morning at 5:30 and went to the gym. Pablo would be proud of me. I currently know two people in the state of Texas that I can think of, and I'm hoping to expand that number exponentially as the days go by. When you wake up at 5:30 you have so much time in the day. I've already gone for a walk and watched high school football practice. I think I saw Booby Miles but it was too far away to tell.

I don't know who all is going to read this, but to those of you who would like to hear me write on here, go ahead and post comments and questions and I'll respond to them in new blog posts. Yes Texas is as hot as they say, but Montana's just as hot right now. It's no where near as humid as Alabama or Mississippi here, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

I started writing a book here a couple months ago and I'm only two pages in. It's a lot harder than it seems. Y'all are welcome to email me some subjects for chapters to get me going. So far my book is a nonfiction collection of thoughts, and after having read a few of Donald Miller's books, I'm thinking I'll go with his writing style... write as it comes and be honest about everything.

I haven't met my wife yet, but they tell me she's located her locally. I'm gonna try to be on Texas Tech's campus frequently, maybe she'll be there.

God is good! I'll post again soon

My future plans

After spending over half of the last year doing mission work in Nicaragua, my future path has become much clearer. In fact after being back to the states for a few months, then returning to Nicaragua last week for 8 days, it was difficult to even leave Nicaragua. God has opened the door for me to attend a two year school in Lubbock, Texas which would allow me to have a full time career in ministry. I plan to begin school August 11 at Sunset International Bible Institute there in Lubbock. Given that it is only a two year program to receive a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, I will not be permitted to have a job while attending school. Since SIBI is not a nationally accredited state school, government funding and student loans aren't an option. The majority of students attending raise support from churches in order to cover living expenses while going to school. While requesting money is my least favorite thing in the world to do, I'm learning that a career in ministry requires much dependence upon the church body to be able to bless the lives of others spiritually and financially. That is my passion, to bless others lives in the name of Jesus all over the world. I could not have lived in Nicaragua for six months without continual and prayerful support from so many friends, family and brothers and sisters in Christ, and I know that my future will be much the same. During my next two years in school, financial support can be sent to Sunset International Bible Institute - 3723 34th St., Lubbock, TX 79410, earmarked with my name for school funding. Anyone that has specific questions or would like to talk and/or pray with me about this is welcome to get ahold of me on my cell phone, 406-321-2307. Thanks to all who continue to help in this ministry that God has blessed me to be a part of!

Joy in Jesus

"The woman said, 'I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." -John 4:25

In John 4 we see a picture of a broken woman. She had clearly had a troubled past, one that had yet to be restructured. She was holding out in hopes that the Christ would come. And her eyes were so blinded that when Jesus stood in front of her, she looked him in the face and said, "one day my savior will come." I'm convinced that non-Christians don't envy the lives of Christians because we are much like this woman at the well. The very presence of God is among us and our go-to phrase is "Christ is coming", or "It'll all be worth it when we get to heaven." What is going to make heaven so satisfying? Is it not that we will be with our Creator who welcomes us into his presence every day? Our reward is God himself. And yet we so often look beyond the Christ who's humbled himself to walk with us daily. Our pride narrows our vision to forget that God is Lord and Creator. He has created everything good on earth. Every good and perfect gift is from above. What are we holding out in hopes for, when Jesus has already come? Our sins have been forgiven. There's nothing to tie us down because we are victorious in Jesus. All that's left to do is to enjoy God's presence. And yet we settle for so many things that don't measure up. Jesus declared himself the good shepherd for a reason. We are his sheep. When we follow his lead, we are led beside still waters and into green pastures, Psalm 23's picture of peace when we give up control. All that's left for us to do is to let these words sink in:

"Then Jesus declared, 'I, the one speaking to you, I am the Christ.'"-John 4:26

I want to share

I saw a kid no older than ten years old smoking a cigarette a couple days ago. I can't tell you how that hurts me. He was sitting among a group of 8 other homeless kids, just living the life that he sees as normal. It doesn't matter what background you're from, no one is going to disagree with me when I say that it's not that kid's fault. I'd even go as far as to say that it's my fault. My best guess is that this kid smoking was nine years old. I've seen him begging before. He has a hardened look on his face, the kind you see on the 40 year olds that are smoking outside your average bar. When we see this, naturally we want to blame someone. His parents are the easiest to blame, and I'm sure they're deserving of it. But they aren't present. The person that sold this kid a cigarette needs a swift kick to the face, but that won't change anything. The societal mindset is slowly becoming, "everyone's opinion needs to be respected". Let me go ahead and throw that out the window and tell you that's garbage. Opinions are based on flawed perspectives, from varying backgrounds of unique upbringings. People will tell you that's why we need to respect one another's opinions, but facts suggest differently. This kid I saw smoking will most likely grow up to have an opinion respected by almost no one. And rightfully so, because when you grow up on garbage, you're gonna overflow with garbage, in your speech and in your actions. While we can agree that this kid's upbringing is not his fault, he will be credited with his faults come the end of his days. It doesn't seem fair does it? It's almost like these people need to be told the truth, not my opinion, not your opinion, but the truth. I can say with certainty that there are millions more, just like this kid I saw, who were born into hopelessness and will live a life of hopelessness apart from being told the truth. I've told people my thoughts, my opinions, my advice on countless occasions, only to find out later how wrong I was. My words come and go, but truth is everlasting and universal. The reason I tell people about the Bible isn't because I grew up being told the bible, because then it seemed just a book. I can confidently tell people about God's word now because I know it to be truth. The Bible speaks of the same problems with the same wrong answers from thousands of years ago that we still face now. We may be intelligent people, we may be well-taught, but we will always have flawed opinions. Our opinions derive from our natural selfishness that leads us to believe we're entitled to things, and thus we can live how we want. The problem with living how we want is that it leaves others in need. If we live how we need, by serving others (like this 9 year old smoker), our wants have a funny way of exposing themselves as they are, unimportant. This isn't a "my way" versus "your way" thing. I've influenced people to live my way, and it's flawed. The quicker we understand everyone's opinions are not all that important, including our own, the more we long for a higher standard. That's why the Bible doesn't teach us that Jesus's standard of living isn't "a way" but "the way". The quicker that's understood, there will be less homelessness and less hopelessness, and more humble hearted helpers. Maybe this seems like a bold conclusion to be drawn from one instance of a homeless kid smoking a cigarette, but this conclusion can be drawn from every issue in every corner of the earth, because it is truth.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." -Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Helping to provide for 1st and 2nd grade students

I mentioned in my last blog post the opportunity we had been presented with to help out a group of 26 students with school supplies. Early last week we were able to put together little bags with notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers, rulers and a few other small things to present to the students. This little community we helped is one I've never been to before, a couple miles off the high way on an old dirt road. There are two small school buildings for first and second graders seemingly in the middle of nowhere where two ladies travel by bus from Matagalpa to come and teach. When we showed up to the class of first graders during their early morning class, they were all excited to have us. We passed out a packet of school supplies to each student, some of the most grateful kids we've served. It made me smile to see how excited these kids were when we brought these things. It wasn't a great amount, it ended up costing a little under $100, but the teacher was quick to let us know how much that meant for these little kids future schooling for the year. As a kid, it's always cool to have your own things, and many of these students were without the simple things that the average student has. Below are a few pictures of the kids all excited to hold up their bags and thank us. We realized on our way out that there were another 30 or so kids who were in the other class without supplies. We returned at the end of the week to help those kids out as well. It was a great blessing to serve these young students and pray for their futures!

Helping kids get to school

Pablo and I have been approached with the opportunity to help supply 26 first and second grade students with school supplies in a poor community outside Matagalpa. I know you're probably thinking, "Every community you talk about in Nicaragua is a poor community." While this is true, think of what you know to be poor, and think more poor. Early education isn't much of an option in the United States, but more of a mandatory thing. Even though primary education is free in Nicaragua, many students don't go, and especially if they don't have the means to buy school supplies. We were able to help out a family of kids last week with school supplies, otherwise they wouldn't have gone. More specifically outside of the cities in Nicaragua, education isn't as encouraged. It's pretty much a guarantee in some villages that if you're over the age of 10 you will be working in the fields, but that doesn't mean you can read or write.

The community leader for this school actually approached a nonprofit organization, before Pablo and I, working in a nearby community about the opportunity but were turned down. We're talking about somewhere between $200-$400 to ensure that 26 children get educated for the year. When it came to my education growing up my greatest concern was what car I was going to be allowed to drive, not whether or not we could afford school supplies. With only a few people donating $50 these kids will be taken care of, in a community where they would otherwise go without.

It's tough to describe in words sometimes the specifics of the need here in Nicaragua. It really does take faith to not be here and to support this ministry. I am tremendously blessed to be on this end of so many people's generosity and see many lives blessed by it. May God bless you all greatly!

Donations can be made through the paypal link on the right (which is fixed now) or through the Laurel Church of Christ, 714 E 5 St Laurel Mt 59044.

Serving in Matiguas

When I first came to Nicaragua this past summer, I was told we would be visiting a prison and a drug rehab center. Knowing Nicaragua was a third world country, for whatever reason I still pictured in my mind what an American prison and drug rehab center would look like. The reality of these places here in Nicaragua is that instead of there being a large building with a roof, there is a large area fenced in, and inside the fenced in area are a few small structures that would not even be considered an established organization in the United States. When we visited the Matiguas rehab center yesterday, I decided to take some pictures to give everyone a little better understanding of what things look like. 

We brought with us a few bags of rice and beans and are hoping to bring more on our next few visits. They are always appreciative of our support and our desire to spend time with them. I was a able to sit down with a young man, 21 years old, named Hector and talk a little of his life and experience. Hector was born on the atlantic coast of Nicaragua (where English is commonly spoken) and has traveled a good deal with his family. He's been to several different countries and even lived in Europe for three years. He is fluent in both English and Spanish and is apparently an intelligent man. After being at the rehab center for four months he spoke of his desire not to leave because of his fear of returning to the same habits of drug use he had developed beforehand. I was a little shocked to hear that a person who had seen the world would be satisfied with his position of living in a shack and bathing in the river. There is a deep reality to the struggle of drug use among these people that I cannot explain or understand, but I am encouraged to see people with a desire to change and a contentment in a simple life with Jesus. I hope and pray that our visits continue to help encourage lives and that people like Hector may feel more freedom in their future as they develop their relationship with the Lord.

A big thanks to those who support this ministry, allowing us to serve a people in need. Specific donations to the Matiguas rehab center or other forms of ministry here in Nicaragua can be made through the donation link on the right side of the page or through the Laurel Church of Christ. Anyone is welcome to email me with thoughts or questions, ike2307@hotmail.com. God bless!

 Most sleep in these three little cobachas built of sticks and tarp.

 This little basin is where clothes and dishes are washed

 the kitchen for the 80+ people who are served food

 In Nicaragua, when there is not a nearby dump, trash is usually burned. They have dug giant holes for a place to burn their trash. I can't tell you which is worse, the smell of burnt trash or when it's littered everywhere, but there is a good combination of both all around the country.

 This is the new bunk house that was just built, able to keep about 25 people.

This is the nicest of the three outhouses they have available to those undergoing rehab. Yes, even the four women living there have to endure the 13 degree slant as they rest their head against the tin side of the pooper. I can't say whether there's toilet paper available, but I doubt it.

Matiguas Drug Rehab Center

It's great to get to be able to speak to these folks in the Matiguas drug rehab center. Last week I shared with them a lesson about standing alone in their faith. For many of these men and women it's easy to praise God and live a life apart from drugs and alcohol inside the facility, but outside can be a different story. As successful as these programs have been for many people, there are always some that go back to the same habits they desired to be away from. Society has a tricky way of making everything look "good" in nature, and does very little to accommodate  a recovering addict. For those in this rehab center, going back into society, there will be very few, if any other people who understand the battle they are going through. It's the story of any Christian. As humans we struggle with sin, and when we become aware of our addiction to it we begin to understand we need help. Jesus Christ is the only one capable of freeing us from our sinfulness. Any recovering addict deals with the same problem. No one around is convicted of their issue quite like they are, and thus there continues to be great pressure from society to continue in the error of their ways. For a Christian there are a great number of standards set high alongside the low moral standards of society. The bible's forbiddance of sex before marriage, intoxication, unwholesome language, divorce, hatred, among other things, is a blatant contradiction to what society allows to take place every day. In other words, as a Christian you are going to be outnumbered. The bible prepares us for it from its front cover to the last page in revelation. Joseph stood alone in an Egyptian prison, Noah stood alone looking like a fool while building a huge ship on dry land that had never seen rain, Elijah stood alone surrounded by 450 prophets of false gods that would've killed him had God not provided a miracle, and our Savior Jesus Christ stood alone as he was beaten and persecuted by the very men he came to save. There is one thing that all of these men held in common. They held fast to the faith they had in God our Father, understanding that they were truly never alone. The focus for anyone addicted to sin (everyone) cannot be on what is being given up, or else the habit will never be overcome. The focus has to be on what is to be gained. Giving up anything sinful is a small price to pay in return for the rewards God promises, both in this life and in the next. After we prayed for the group at the rehab center, 8 people made the commitment to be baptized. Jeffrey Alberto Colero Rivera, Karla Patricia Sandino Cros, Marvin Jose Mendez Mercado, Francisco Jose Juares Alvarado, Julio Cesar Ballastero Flores, Vismar Antonio Mendes Senteno, Everton Yovann Centeno Mendez, and Milan Montinero all repented of their past before God and made a commitment to start a new life in Jesus Christ. I can't describe to you in words the experience of standing before these broken hearted people who have gone through tremendous hardship and seeing them soak in the truth of God's word.

Yesterday we visited again to share some food and God's word, as well as spend some time with those that we baptized last week. So many people come forward and ask us to pray for things in their lives and with their families. It's a great honor to be able to serve all these people. There's one man in particular who I love seeing every time we go. His name is Jorge. He's a giant of a man who is built, maybe 250 pounds. He reminds me of the prisoner in the Green Mile (the movie with Tom Hanks), just a huge friendly man who likes to smile. Jorge praises God like it's the greatest blessing on earth, I guess because it is. The older I get I have a tremendous respect for soft hearted people, regardless of physical stature. No one can soften a man's heart like God, and it's evident when God's done just that in a person's life.

The Matiguas drug rehab center is funded only by the families of the those enrolled in their program, many of whom are not responsible enough to follow through with their financial commitment, leaving the rehab center in a tough place financially. As we normally bring snacks and drinks and have brought sacks of rice and beans with us before, it's been requested that we help support the center with food. A 100 pound sack of rice costs around $45, while a 100 pound sack of beans costs about $35. The $50 it takes to feed a family at a restaurant in the states would provide food for the 80+ residents of the Matiguas facility for several days. Anyone interested in helping financially with this particular ministry is welcome to donate through the paypal link on the right hand side of the page or through the Laurel Church of Christ. I ask that regardless of whether you're able to help financially that you would help prayerfully, especially for the 8 people we baptized, named above. Thank you all for your continued support of this ministry, God bless! 

praying together before these young men and woman were baptized

The double rainbow above Matiguas as we baptized 8 people

Love in service

I love these kids in El Delirio. This week we taught them the history of Samson. We try to add in a little animation, so Pablo played Samson and I played the white narrator. 

Pablo and I don't do anything special. We visit, share God's word, bring drinks and snacks, and color pictures together. It's special for them though. Although Pablo doesn't like to be called "Gringo", it makes me smile when all the kids start yelling, "Los gringos estan aqui", and there are 50 kids that seemingly come out of the bushes to join us in the little community building we enter. Some of these kids have a good parent or two that takes care of them and love them, but a lot of them don't. Many are without fathers. Many are without role models in their life. The situation's no different from anywhere in the world. It becomes that much more obvious amidst great poverty though. You see in some of the pictures there are a few kids that have a new set of clothes, but most are covered in the same dirty clothes we saw them in the week before. A lot of their little bellies hang out 'cause they're wearing the clothes they had when they were two years younger and smaller. For me, visiting these kids doesn't get old.

Yesterday I sat and talked with a 15 year old that lives in our neighborhood. He told me his dad was as tall as I am. Knowing he's without a father now, I asked if he'd met him before. He answered no, that he hadn't, but that his mom had told him. While my friend plays it off like a tough guy, those types of things leave a void in anyone's heart. Fortunately he's taken comfort in the fact that God is a Father to the fatherless. But while God is the most important personal presence we're in need of in our lives, the essence of God's love is often most easily recognized in loved ones around us. For some it's tough to understand God as a loving father when they've never known a loving father. That is why the duty of Christians is simple, to love. Not the kind of love that society has caused us to think of, but a Godly love. The bible says that God is patient with us (2 Peter 3:9), kind to us (1 Peter 5:7), that he doesn't treat us with the punishment we deserve (Psalm 103:10), that his love is constant, and that he is slow to anger (Psalm 103:8). Love is a verb that God puts to work every day as he blesses us with new life every morning. When Jesus taught that we ought to love our enemy, he wasn't suggesting that we thoughtlessly give them lots of hugs and kisses. Jesus wasn't telling us how we were supposed to feel about people by loving them, he was instructing us how to treat them. Feelings are simply a result of the actions put forth. I promise that no one will ever truly love impatiently, no one will ever love pridefully, no one will ever love selfishly, and no one will ever love without hope. You've heard that the expression that love is blind. I respectfully disagree. Love is all seeing, all knowing and all powerful. God is love. The more we love those around us, the closer we are to God. And thus the more we seek God, the more we're filled with love.

Walking downtown the other morning around 7:30, there was a kid, maybe 10 years old, outside one of the buildings sleeping on the ground with his raggedy old shirt tucked over his knees because it was a cool morning. I've seen the kid before begging around town. I believe he is one of the kids that told us he left his home a few miles away to come beg in the streets of Matagalpa. As he lay there, everyone just walked by. People become numb to these types of things. Maybe many of the passers-by have attempted to help one of those kids before but to no avail, maybe not. Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that there's a homeless child sleeping on the sidewalk. While you're not going to see this in the United States, I guarantee you we've all passed up on such opportunities to serve in our every day life. How many things have we grown numb to because we lack the desire to lovingly serve those around us? Love isn't always pretty. Often times love comes with having to put up with someone we wouldn't spend 10 minutes with by choice. You might think love smells good, but it often comes with the worst BO. Contrary to Hollywood's perspective, showing love is usually not a desirable task. In the end, you'll find love to be selfless. We are selfish. Love is a requirement of getting outside of ourselves. Fortunately God has already paved the way, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:16-18)

Ladalia Rehab visit

Today Pablo and I visited a different drug rehab center in a town called Ladalia. It's actually the rehab center that our mission group had visited this summer, but it got shut down and is now being run by different people. Praise God that after only a couple months they already have 180 people that have begun rehabilitation. Although in a lot of ways this is the most difficult part of many of these people's lives, as they've hit rock bottom, it is a blessing for them to more openly receive the message of Christ. Today I shared with them how difficult it is to draw near to God in our own pride. The thing that always has and always will draw people nearer to God is a humble heart. And while every individual in that rehab facility has struggled with different sufferings, the bible makes it clear that our suffering doesn't have to be in vain. Whether the struggles of these people has arisen from their own poor decisions, from circumstances outside their control, or a mix of both makes no difference. We have all made mistakes in the past, and we all struggle with different burdens. Christianity isn't a self help program. It is a process of burying our old lives and starting anew in Jesus Christ. A common misconception is that the cross is a symbol of hope, when in fact it is a symbol of death. While many reading this and many who listened to Pablo and I in Ladalia today have most definitely experienced "unfair" circumstance, the only human to walk the earth who was truly deserving of anything spent his life in servitude, only to end in death on a cross. And if the history of Jesus ended there, Christians would be without any hope at all. But Jesus raised from the dead, by the power of God. While the cross meant death to Jesus, it also means death to our sinful lives, and while Jesus rose from the grave, so anyone who has truly been filled with Christ has risen to a new life in him. New life in Christ doesn't mean we become free from suffering though. As in the case of the Apostles, it often means the opposite. But as the apostle Paul wrote, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."  Even Christians often forget that Jesus promised that in this life we will have troubles. But we are to be confident, because Jesus overcame the world. While sufferings don't commonly appeal to people, it is in our weakness that God's power is perfected in us. The miracles you see in the bible occur amidst the greatest trials, unspeakable hardships, and impossible odds. After all, if we think we can make it on our own why would we need God? But we do need God, and thus, out of love, he allows great hardships to occur in our lives. As I spoke to a room full of broken people today, I didn't sugar coat anything. I know they've had it rough, and I know there will be trials to come, just as in anyone's life. But because of Jesus we do have hope, an eternal hope. Being a follower of Christ doesn't often entail great physical blessing, but I know of no greater joy, no greater peace, no greater hope and no greater contentment. Personally I have found far less satisfaction in 20 years of physical blessing than in 4 months of serving in a third world country. Because of Jesus I can honestly say as Paul did, "for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

1/20 Nicaragua Pictures and updates

We met this little guy at the trash dump,wearing a tarp as a cape to shield the sun as he dug through trash.

 If you look closely at the pocket of the young man on the  right you see a gray bottle. Those are the bottles that a lot of young men his age use to sniff glue. We spoke to the young man with his mouth full on the left, Erling, as we've been able to talk with him many times before. He's 17 years old and he's been addicted to sniffing glue for quite some time. He has told us many times of his desire to quit, and we are trying to arrange to take him to one of the rehab centers in the area. Please pray for Erling and his future with Jesus, apart from a life of drugs.

 This young family is always the most appreciative of any we serve food to in the trash dumps. It's always humbling to see how grateful they are to get a plate of food.

 The iphone camera doesn't quite do it justice but there has been almost no cloud cover the last week, leaving an open sky to see the full moon and stars

 This little guy, Estefan, is one of the kids who begs in the streets. There are always a few begging here at this gas station at the entrance of town. It's been great to be able to speak and pray with these kids, as we give them a meal to eat.

Carlos, the young kid on the left, is the kid I wrote about in my blog post last week. He's always really friendly and grateful when we come around. We got photobombed by Estefan haha

 We were grateful to be able to speak to more than 60 people at the Mataguas drug rehab center again this week. It's always a great experience and a blessing to be able to praise God as the sun sets over top the trees in the background.

 At the end, everyone lined up to get pop and some homemade stuff from the bakery that we brought. One of the guys told Ater, one of the leaders, "I'm alright. I don't drink pop. It's bad for you." Ater quickly responded, "It's the drugs and alcohol that are killing you." The guy laughed, and I think took a glass of pop. I guess we'll have to bring orange juice next time.

 There hasn't been more than one or two women the last times we've visited the rehab center, but this time there were four, one young girl in her teens who was eager to let us pray for her.

 There are so many kids up in El Delirio that we get new ones coming every Friday. I've never seen this guy before, and apparently he's never seen a white person before either

 Pablo playing games with some of the kids

 My little buddy Miguel always shows up for some cookies on Fridays. It's tough to get him to smile when you take pictures though

 I sat down with little Francis while everyone colored and listened to her for a bit. God only knows what she was saying, but we still had a good time haha

 My goal is to make this kid smile one of these days. We're O for 2 so far, but it's gonna happen. He's not a happy camper

I promise they smile when I'm not taking pictures. 

As I brushed my teeth before we left to El Delirio Friday  I decided it would be a good idea to bring all these kids (who have teeth) toothbrushes and some tooth paste. It's the least we could do since we bring them cookies and pop every week.