It's been a few weeks since two Fridays ago. Things have been pretty different since then with me working at church by myself instead of in a team. A week after Siera had to go back to Lubbock for summer school, Derek and Shiela left for a two week vacation in New Brunswick. So I've sort of been charge of doin' my own thing in their absence, working on some tasks he left me while he's gone but other stuff too like hanging out with Wes a lot. I've been over at his house pretty much every day, just playing XBox and listening to music. His aunt Marie and uncle Dave are amazing people and so hospitable, I love being around any and all of them. Their daughter Kylie, who's seven, is a pretty goofy kid who's fun to be around. I've also been at home with Tami, Mark, and Joshua doing stuff with them, like going to a local festival with carnival rides. I've been to Six Flags all over the U.S. and ridden all kinds of roller coasters, but I've never been on a centrifuge-style carnival ride. Josh and I paid our eight tickets to be plastered up against the wall of that giant spinning monster, and we both about died laughing turned upside down and every which-way, unable to lift our heads a centimeter off the padding because of the G forces. Even managed to call my friend Zaneta while I was pinned to the wall busting a spleen (which made the ride operator give me an angry look).
With Mark away for his job, Tami and Josh left yesterday to visit her parents in Oregon (yes EVERYBODY is going on vacation, hard to feel jealous though when this whole summer has felt like a sort of getaway vacation from everyday normal life). Marie and Dave have been so generous to let me live at that their house while their gone so I'm not by myself, and that's where I am now. Just another part of the roller coaster.
With my return date August 11th comin up fast I've started looking toward the upcoming year, new student outreach events and Bible study with InterVarsity to plan for. I want to be praying more for those things than I have been, but also keeping my focus on where I'm at and finishing strong. Thanks for everyone for your prayers and support, it's kept me going even when I don't know what it is I'm doing.
Peace, power, and truth be with you in abundance.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Syracuse Heritage Days
Can I just brag on yall for a minute about...well yourselves? This past week has been so humbling and uplifting as I've gotten to hear from so many of you as you check in on me frequently. I had a really tough stretch going into this week and had just so many people speak into my life and pray for me to come out of it, and God was faithful to do so! With all the wisdom that's gotten poured into me and some insight I've taken from a book called "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell that I'm going through with my sister, I feel like my hope in Jesus is so much farther along than it was even seven days ago. That's just freakin awesome. Yall make me so happy.
The blood drive did indeed happen last Friday, and truthfully it was a moderate success, not quite the turnout we'd hoped for. Many of the people Siera and I got signed up couldn't come, for all kinds of different reasons. However, most said we could call on them to come to the next one when we have it, so there was a silver lining. Proud to say I gave blood for the first time, third one to go in first one to come out. Felt pretty hoss-like after I pumped out a pint in 4 minutes 9 seconds, destroying Siera's measly 10 minutes 5 seconds! I was eventually topped by a veteran giver later in the day by 20 seconds or so, but it was my rookie effort so I'll be a pro in no time.
This week the focus has totally changed, more manual labor and less walking. The church has a storage unit that's miles away and we needed to move the stuff it contained into a closer unit nearby. The thing was pretty packed, so Siera and I had to drive Derek's old truck to and from quite a few times before it was all transported. A few scary moments during the process, like when the transmission didn't want to go into second gear and we rolled through an unprotected left had turn going about 5 mph. Thankfully my driving skills are on par with my blood giving skills and we successfully navigated our way out of danger :) nobody died
We also had the task of taking down the v-shaped two way sign with Lakeside's name out front of the church. Dismantling the top parts was easy enough, just a bit of drilling and having fun with a hammer smackin stuff. The posts however...oh those stupid posts. May I just say that the hand saw is officially my least favorite tool in the world, after the broom, especially when it's rusty. Feels like your using sandpaper to go through four inches of wood. We cut them down closer to the ground with the saw for removal the next day (today). The post bases had to be dug out and pulled out, and with their cement bottoms they were pretty hefty. Derek helped me out at first to show what needed to be done. He had the first couple out in about 15 minutes. The third post took me approximately...an hour an a half. I don't know what I like less, being a scrawny kid with no upper body strength or being a city kid with no aptitude for things like pulling posts out of the ground. Either way, I detest being painfully reminded of both, in the same day no less. It didn't help that today was the hottest of the summer so far at 97 degrees (although admittedly 97 in Utah is WAY better than 97 in Houston). But hey, with all this strength training I can finally lift more than the bar the next time I'm in the weight room!
On Tuesday Derek took me to lunch to meet a guy named Wes, a 16 year old who's living with relatives in town because of a complicated family situation. His hope is that I can get to know him and over the summer spend some time with him and do some discipleship. I was unsure heading into it, just because I don't know how good I would be as a discipler. Our mission statement at InterVarsity at Texas Tech this coming year is "Every disciple a disciple maker" though, so maybe this is God's way of preparing me. I spent the next day with Wes as he helped Siera and I move stuff, and I just really loved him from the start. I can tell early on that he has respect for other people, which is something I admire about anyone, especially a guy under 18. It gives me the feeling that we can talk on each others' level and be real about things we face. So now I'm really excited about hanging out with him and get the sense that God has a direction He's going to take us.
That about wraps up the updates I think. Tomorrow and Saturday Lakeside will be running a booth at a festival in town called Syracuse Heritage Days, doing some face painting and giving out information about the church. So you'll be hearing how it went soon after.
I'd that yall give God prayers of praise, cause He has been so good and faithful! He definitely pulled me up out of the miry clay these past days and lavished joy and peace all over my life. And, AND for those who were praying for Becky and Matt, she is holding in there very well and the baby is very healthy, even startin to give a few kicks! Praise the Lord Almighty who is so good, so so good to us!
Til the next time, thanks for prayin, thanks for supporting, thanks for everything.
p.s. a lot of people have been asking for my address. It's
1424 N 630 W
Clinton, UT 84015
Faith, passion, and peace be with you in abundance.
The blood drive did indeed happen last Friday, and truthfully it was a moderate success, not quite the turnout we'd hoped for. Many of the people Siera and I got signed up couldn't come, for all kinds of different reasons. However, most said we could call on them to come to the next one when we have it, so there was a silver lining. Proud to say I gave blood for the first time, third one to go in first one to come out. Felt pretty hoss-like after I pumped out a pint in 4 minutes 9 seconds, destroying Siera's measly 10 minutes 5 seconds! I was eventually topped by a veteran giver later in the day by 20 seconds or so, but it was my rookie effort so I'll be a pro in no time.
This week the focus has totally changed, more manual labor and less walking. The church has a storage unit that's miles away and we needed to move the stuff it contained into a closer unit nearby. The thing was pretty packed, so Siera and I had to drive Derek's old truck to and from quite a few times before it was all transported. A few scary moments during the process, like when the transmission didn't want to go into second gear and we rolled through an unprotected left had turn going about 5 mph. Thankfully my driving skills are on par with my blood giving skills and we successfully navigated our way out of danger :) nobody died
We also had the task of taking down the v-shaped two way sign with Lakeside's name out front of the church. Dismantling the top parts was easy enough, just a bit of drilling and having fun with a hammer smackin stuff. The posts however...oh those stupid posts. May I just say that the hand saw is officially my least favorite tool in the world, after the broom, especially when it's rusty. Feels like your using sandpaper to go through four inches of wood. We cut them down closer to the ground with the saw for removal the next day (today). The post bases had to be dug out and pulled out, and with their cement bottoms they were pretty hefty. Derek helped me out at first to show what needed to be done. He had the first couple out in about 15 minutes. The third post took me approximately...an hour an a half. I don't know what I like less, being a scrawny kid with no upper body strength or being a city kid with no aptitude for things like pulling posts out of the ground. Either way, I detest being painfully reminded of both, in the same day no less. It didn't help that today was the hottest of the summer so far at 97 degrees (although admittedly 97 in Utah is WAY better than 97 in Houston). But hey, with all this strength training I can finally lift more than the bar the next time I'm in the weight room!
On Tuesday Derek took me to lunch to meet a guy named Wes, a 16 year old who's living with relatives in town because of a complicated family situation. His hope is that I can get to know him and over the summer spend some time with him and do some discipleship. I was unsure heading into it, just because I don't know how good I would be as a discipler. Our mission statement at InterVarsity at Texas Tech this coming year is "Every disciple a disciple maker" though, so maybe this is God's way of preparing me. I spent the next day with Wes as he helped Siera and I move stuff, and I just really loved him from the start. I can tell early on that he has respect for other people, which is something I admire about anyone, especially a guy under 18. It gives me the feeling that we can talk on each others' level and be real about things we face. So now I'm really excited about hanging out with him and get the sense that God has a direction He's going to take us.
That about wraps up the updates I think. Tomorrow and Saturday Lakeside will be running a booth at a festival in town called Syracuse Heritage Days, doing some face painting and giving out information about the church. So you'll be hearing how it went soon after.
I'd that yall give God prayers of praise, cause He has been so good and faithful! He definitely pulled me up out of the miry clay these past days and lavished joy and peace all over my life. And, AND for those who were praying for Becky and Matt, she is holding in there very well and the baby is very healthy, even startin to give a few kicks! Praise the Lord Almighty who is so good, so so good to us!
Til the next time, thanks for prayin, thanks for supporting, thanks for everything.
p.s. a lot of people have been asking for my address. It's
1424 N 630 W
Clinton, UT 84015
Faith, passion, and peace be with you in abundance.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Blood Drive
This whole last week has been centered around the blood drive that's coming up this Friday. Siera and I have been going door to door almost every evening soliciting (except at houses which say 'no soliciting', some of which are in very small font I might add) people to sign up for a time to donate blood. This outreach has proven to be very effective since it's very hard to offend anyone by offering a chance to give blood and it's open to everybody. Even so, it brings people to the church property who might not have even known we existed. It's not hard to be smothered by LDS culture here and start to think Mormonism is the only religion that has a presence.
It's has also afforded us some ministry opportunities just from getting to talk to people. One man we spoke to was very interested in Lakeside and wanted to know what we had going on, which got the both of us pretty pumped up. Last night was a sort of final push to fill up the time slots we had left, so we took the youth out and split 'em up into groups to go out into the neighborhoods. One group had six people sign up in only a 45 minute span, which is more than Siera and I ever got in our 2 1/2 hour long walks!
I went out with a guy who helps with the youth named Roger, and although we didn't get any sign ups God gave us a chance to be there for a woman in need. Before we knocked, we could see the woman through the window and she looked distressed, enough so that we considered passing it over. We did though, and the lady told us that donating blood had already been on their entire families mind even though none of them were eligible. As it turns out, her brother Marc had been in a bad car accident just days before, one that was bad enough that Roger and I had heard about it. He had lost over 3 1/2 pints of blood and one of his arms. Crazy to think that one of these tragic accidents could involve someone you meet, that they aren't just a scene on the side of the road that slows down your lane of traffic. We were just about to pray with the lady when her brother actually called her and she had to go, but we promised to pray for Marc on our own time.
I really want the blood drive to be a success and for it to afford us some ministry opportunities and chances to make new friends. I'm signed up to donate for the first time, and even though sitting here right now it doesn't make me all that worried, staring at that huge fat needle that's about to go into my arm may rattle me a bit in a couple days :) If I could trouble you with a prayer request for myself, I keep having little personal issues come up that are making me lose my focus. Things from the past that won't seem to go away are getting me now and again, and honestly I'd really just love it to stop. I want to be in the here and now where my full attention is needed and it sure seems to be taking a lot of effort.
Hope yall are having a summer worth remembering in YOUR mission fields, and I wish everyone the best.
Faith, hope, and mercy be with you in abundance.
It's has also afforded us some ministry opportunities just from getting to talk to people. One man we spoke to was very interested in Lakeside and wanted to know what we had going on, which got the both of us pretty pumped up. Last night was a sort of final push to fill up the time slots we had left, so we took the youth out and split 'em up into groups to go out into the neighborhoods. One group had six people sign up in only a 45 minute span, which is more than Siera and I ever got in our 2 1/2 hour long walks!
I went out with a guy who helps with the youth named Roger, and although we didn't get any sign ups God gave us a chance to be there for a woman in need. Before we knocked, we could see the woman through the window and she looked distressed, enough so that we considered passing it over. We did though, and the lady told us that donating blood had already been on their entire families mind even though none of them were eligible. As it turns out, her brother Marc had been in a bad car accident just days before, one that was bad enough that Roger and I had heard about it. He had lost over 3 1/2 pints of blood and one of his arms. Crazy to think that one of these tragic accidents could involve someone you meet, that they aren't just a scene on the side of the road that slows down your lane of traffic. We were just about to pray with the lady when her brother actually called her and she had to go, but we promised to pray for Marc on our own time.
I really want the blood drive to be a success and for it to afford us some ministry opportunities and chances to make new friends. I'm signed up to donate for the first time, and even though sitting here right now it doesn't make me all that worried, staring at that huge fat needle that's about to go into my arm may rattle me a bit in a couple days :) If I could trouble you with a prayer request for myself, I keep having little personal issues come up that are making me lose my focus. Things from the past that won't seem to go away are getting me now and again, and honestly I'd really just love it to stop. I want to be in the here and now where my full attention is needed and it sure seems to be taking a lot of effort.
Hope yall are having a summer worth remembering in YOUR mission fields, and I wish everyone the best.
Faith, hope, and mercy be with you in abundance.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Prayer Request
As I promised before, this something I would really ask yall to pray for because it's a serious situation that's arisen here at Lakeside.
The pastor Derek Jones has four children, the eldest of which is Matt. Those of you that were here over spring break will remember Matt's wife Becky and their daughter Ansley. When Becky was pregnant with Ansley she went into early labor around 22 weeks, but eventually delivered her safely at 27 weeks. Now pregnant with their second child, which I mistakenly said was a girl before but is actually a boy, Becky went into labor very early at only 17 weeks. Doctors say a viable delivery can only be expected after a minimum of 24 weeks and even that can be difficult. Becky underwent cervical stitching to prevent early delivery, but they're afraid they might have to be removed. She's on muscle relaxing medication to help with the contractions. They baby is now at 20 weeks, and the couple is hoping and praying that they can go as long as 30 weeks.
This past Sunday Matt gave a sermon discussing how children are possessions of God and not their parents. He gave a testimony of a couple whom he and his wife are friends with, and how while they were missionaries in Africa they gave birth to a son only to see him die less than 24 hours later. The father of the boy considered his lost son to be a "seed" of faith planted in the soil of Africa, and that he "gave his life for Christ" quite literally.
Men and women, I want to pray that Matt and Becky do not have to go through the pain of that kind of sacrifice. So I ask that you keep this them in your prayers, for Becky's body to react well to the medication and for the boy to be born healthy and live a long, Jesus-glorifying life.
The pastor Derek Jones has four children, the eldest of which is Matt. Those of you that were here over spring break will remember Matt's wife Becky and their daughter Ansley. When Becky was pregnant with Ansley she went into early labor around 22 weeks, but eventually delivered her safely at 27 weeks. Now pregnant with their second child, which I mistakenly said was a girl before but is actually a boy, Becky went into labor very early at only 17 weeks. Doctors say a viable delivery can only be expected after a minimum of 24 weeks and even that can be difficult. Becky underwent cervical stitching to prevent early delivery, but they're afraid they might have to be removed. She's on muscle relaxing medication to help with the contractions. They baby is now at 20 weeks, and the couple is hoping and praying that they can go as long as 30 weeks.
This past Sunday Matt gave a sermon discussing how children are possessions of God and not their parents. He gave a testimony of a couple whom he and his wife are friends with, and how while they were missionaries in Africa they gave birth to a son only to see him die less than 24 hours later. The father of the boy considered his lost son to be a "seed" of faith planted in the soil of Africa, and that he "gave his life for Christ" quite literally.
Men and women, I want to pray that Matt and Becky do not have to go through the pain of that kind of sacrifice. So I ask that you keep this them in your prayers, for Becky's body to react well to the medication and for the boy to be born healthy and live a long, Jesus-glorifying life.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The New Routine
This past Sunday marked the first week of working at Lakeside Baptist Church. It's hard to say that it hasn't been what I expected, since I didn't fully know what to expect. That said, the first week (or half week) was slightly different then what I might have pictured. After dropping off my mom at the SLC airport on Tuesday, Siera and I had a chance to hang out with some of the youth later that night. Getting to know older kids isn't really an easy task for me, so a lot of the night was spent just walking around and listening. Lakeside actually hosts youth events for a few local churches, so their youth attendance is disproportionate to the size of the church body. While the church itself has probably around 40 or so core members, youth activities can often bring in 20 or more kids.
One really cool thing I got to see unfold was a girl who came for the first shared the tragic news of her dad needing a major surgery the next day. She was smothered with prayer on the spot and the group really took her pain as their own, which was just awesome. Shooting hoops later I had a chance to have a good conversation with the youth pastor George and got a feel for where his heart is in terms of ministry and his own life. His background is far different than mine, having been a Christian for little more than a year. I really valued his take on how to approach my future, and he challenged me to drop a lot of the assumptions I've formed about what I can do with it.
Beginning on Wednesday, the days started at 9 and end around 4 with lunch in between. Siera and I work separately; she was inside doing organization and planning, I was outside busy with maintenance and grounds-keeping. This weeks tasks were...painting doors and killing weeds! Incredibly glamorous jobs, I know. But with Derek and others busy, there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of on the property that they simply can't make a priority. God and Derek himself are pounding on my work ethic, and I've got a couple really nice redneck and sandal tan lines to show for it.
Something I hadn't accounted for was the down time at the end of the day and on the weekend. I was pretty bad this past week at not being productive when I have extra hours to myself, and that isn't a trend I want to see continue. I felt convicted going into this next week to continue trying not to make my days all about me, instead thinking of ways to serve my host family and church community when there's time to spare.
Also, adjusting to the vision and style of Lakeside has felt uncomfortable at times. College student centered Christian fellowship is what I've gotten used to these past couple years, and here it's anything but. Members of the Lakeside staff are all older than me and the church's focus is on services for families. Needless to say, the goals they have and the way things are done will take some getting used to. I felt reminded today that my role is to serve where help is needed, not to "fix" things that God's already been doing because it isn't the way I might do them.
There's a major prayer request I'll be passing on to yall very soon concerning the health of Matt Jones' unborn baby girl. (Matt is Derek's eldest son and the leader of worship). I wanted to let yall know ahead of time, and as soon as I have all the details clear I'll pass them on to you. It's an urgent situation and prayer couldn't be needed more than it is now.
Many of yall have been checking in on me and asking how things are going, which is so great. Love you guys and the support you give, so please keep it up!
Peace, grace, and mercy be with you in abundance.
One really cool thing I got to see unfold was a girl who came for the first shared the tragic news of her dad needing a major surgery the next day. She was smothered with prayer on the spot and the group really took her pain as their own, which was just awesome. Shooting hoops later I had a chance to have a good conversation with the youth pastor George and got a feel for where his heart is in terms of ministry and his own life. His background is far different than mine, having been a Christian for little more than a year. I really valued his take on how to approach my future, and he challenged me to drop a lot of the assumptions I've formed about what I can do with it.
Beginning on Wednesday, the days started at 9 and end around 4 with lunch in between. Siera and I work separately; she was inside doing organization and planning, I was outside busy with maintenance and grounds-keeping. This weeks tasks were...painting doors and killing weeds! Incredibly glamorous jobs, I know. But with Derek and others busy, there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of on the property that they simply can't make a priority. God and Derek himself are pounding on my work ethic, and I've got a couple really nice redneck and sandal tan lines to show for it.
Something I hadn't accounted for was the down time at the end of the day and on the weekend. I was pretty bad this past week at not being productive when I have extra hours to myself, and that isn't a trend I want to see continue. I felt convicted going into this next week to continue trying not to make my days all about me, instead thinking of ways to serve my host family and church community when there's time to spare.
Also, adjusting to the vision and style of Lakeside has felt uncomfortable at times. College student centered Christian fellowship is what I've gotten used to these past couple years, and here it's anything but. Members of the Lakeside staff are all older than me and the church's focus is on services for families. Needless to say, the goals they have and the way things are done will take some getting used to. I felt reminded today that my role is to serve where help is needed, not to "fix" things that God's already been doing because it isn't the way I might do them.
There's a major prayer request I'll be passing on to yall very soon concerning the health of Matt Jones' unborn baby girl. (Matt is Derek's eldest son and the leader of worship). I wanted to let yall know ahead of time, and as soon as I have all the details clear I'll pass them on to you. It's an urgent situation and prayer couldn't be needed more than it is now.
Many of yall have been checking in on me and asking how things are going, which is so great. Love you guys and the support you give, so please keep it up!
Peace, grace, and mercy be with you in abundance.
Monday, May 31, 2010
From Texas to Utah...
After leaving from Houston this past Friday, I arrived in Syracuse today around 5:30 PM. It took my mom and I four days to finish the roughly 1500 mile drive through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and eventually Utah. We took some time along the way to sight see at Mesa Verde and Arches National Parks, which extended the trip a little bit. Tomorrow I'll drive my mom to the airport in Salt Lake City so she can fly home, and from that point until the middle of August I'll be staying here.
For those of you that don't know or just aren't sure, I'm spending the summer in Syracuse, Utah to work as an intern for Lakeside Church. Intern is the official word, but really I'm here to serve the church and community in whatever way I can. I want to be used. Mark and Tami, a couple who are members of Lakeside, have graciously opened up their home for me to stay in for the duration of the summer. Siera Hart is another student from Texas Tech who has come to be an intern for the first half of the summer. We'll both be working alongside Derek Jones, the pastor of Lakeside, to reach the predominantly Mormon people that live here.
For whatever reason you decided to follow this blog I've started, whether you've partnered with me in support, you're curious about what the mission trip will look like, or I begged you to follow so that I wouldn't be a dork with a blog that nobody reads...I just wanna say thank you and I appreciate it. Just looking at the names and faces on the side who are keeping up with it is an encouragement to me personally. I would like (fingers crossed) to post something on this site around once a week, depending of the swing things.
If I were yall, I'd be wondering what to expect. One thing you can count on, of course, is good news! I won't hesitate to share what God's doing up/down/over here (depends where you are I guess). He's gonna work. He's a good God and He desires to draw people to Him, in the same way that He's drawn you and me. I'll keep yall updated on where we are, what we're doing, what our goals are, results we're seeing, etc. It's so awesome to get here just knowing that even before I touched down, I was loaded by prayer. Your prayers. I love Christians, ya know? Because you tell them you need prayer for something and boom, they pray. Because they love you and they love Jesus. So sweet!
That said, this isn't a happy-all-the-time forum where I let you know how great life is. More often than not, you'll check and see that I'm also telling you how I'm struggling and what angle Satan has decided take. He isn't waiting around, unfortunately. Doubt, confusion, and emotional healing have been some themes in my life lately. Moreover, my tendency to isolate myself from God when I'm going through them is a major conviction for me and I've got to improve. I don't want to hide my problems and I hope that being open about them will help me face and deal with them, with the help of brothers and sisters.
That about wraps up this intro entry. If you talked to me about this trip before I left, you probably heard me say that I view the followers of the Church of Latter Day Saints as an unreached people group just like any other across the world. I promise, I didn't choose Utah as a mission field this summer because it sounds hard or will garner attention. Instead, God chose to grow my heart for the people here over Spring Break along with the rest of my church family in Lubbock, just like He called Derek Jones to minister here years before now. To God be absolutely all the glory and praise.
Feel free to comment or whatever it is you do for these sort of things. I'd love to hear back from yall. And by all means, invite anyone you like who is interested and wants to follow this blog. I am by no means trying to be exclusive in any way.
Grace, love, and power be with you in abundance.
For those of you that don't know or just aren't sure, I'm spending the summer in Syracuse, Utah to work as an intern for Lakeside Church. Intern is the official word, but really I'm here to serve the church and community in whatever way I can. I want to be used. Mark and Tami, a couple who are members of Lakeside, have graciously opened up their home for me to stay in for the duration of the summer. Siera Hart is another student from Texas Tech who has come to be an intern for the first half of the summer. We'll both be working alongside Derek Jones, the pastor of Lakeside, to reach the predominantly Mormon people that live here.
For whatever reason you decided to follow this blog I've started, whether you've partnered with me in support, you're curious about what the mission trip will look like, or I begged you to follow so that I wouldn't be a dork with a blog that nobody reads...I just wanna say thank you and I appreciate it. Just looking at the names and faces on the side who are keeping up with it is an encouragement to me personally. I would like (fingers crossed) to post something on this site around once a week, depending of the swing things.
If I were yall, I'd be wondering what to expect. One thing you can count on, of course, is good news! I won't hesitate to share what God's doing up/down/over here (depends where you are I guess). He's gonna work. He's a good God and He desires to draw people to Him, in the same way that He's drawn you and me. I'll keep yall updated on where we are, what we're doing, what our goals are, results we're seeing, etc. It's so awesome to get here just knowing that even before I touched down, I was loaded by prayer. Your prayers. I love Christians, ya know? Because you tell them you need prayer for something and boom, they pray. Because they love you and they love Jesus. So sweet!
That said, this isn't a happy-all-the-time forum where I let you know how great life is. More often than not, you'll check and see that I'm also telling you how I'm struggling and what angle Satan has decided take. He isn't waiting around, unfortunately. Doubt, confusion, and emotional healing have been some themes in my life lately. Moreover, my tendency to isolate myself from God when I'm going through them is a major conviction for me and I've got to improve. I don't want to hide my problems and I hope that being open about them will help me face and deal with them, with the help of brothers and sisters.
That about wraps up this intro entry. If you talked to me about this trip before I left, you probably heard me say that I view the followers of the Church of Latter Day Saints as an unreached people group just like any other across the world. I promise, I didn't choose Utah as a mission field this summer because it sounds hard or will garner attention. Instead, God chose to grow my heart for the people here over Spring Break along with the rest of my church family in Lubbock, just like He called Derek Jones to minister here years before now. To God be absolutely all the glory and praise.
Feel free to comment or whatever it is you do for these sort of things. I'd love to hear back from yall. And by all means, invite anyone you like who is interested and wants to follow this blog. I am by no means trying to be exclusive in any way.
Grace, love, and power be with you in abundance.
Friday, May 28, 2010
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