Monday, February 15, 2010

Groundhog's Day Race


Location: (probably China) written in Sighisoara, Romania (8:15am on February 3)

I just wrote the decoy blog post for February 3, and it was all true, but now I will tell you the amazing story of yesterday, Ground Hog's Day, that must be kept a secret for a week.

After much discussion and phone calls and emails to embassies, my brother (who is living in China) and I decided I should surprise my family for a visit in China (they are visiting him in China). Monday night before I left Sighisoara on Wednesday, we decided it might be possible--not wise, merely possible. I had a dinner appointment, so I told my brother (via Skype) that if he could find me a flight that would work and the application for the visa, I would come back and decide after dinner. I walked to dinner telling myself that I could not even use my "voice of reason" to help me consider the matter, because I was already a fool even to consider it! The reason it was foolish was because I would have to leave that night for Bucuresti, the capital of Romania. I had never been there, and a six-hour train ride instead of sleep was not appealing to me. Yet as I prayed about it and bounced the idea off my Christian friends at dinner, it became obvious that the Lord was leading me. Buckle your seat belt!

That night at eleven o'clock, I sat down to fill out the visa application, waking up my brother in China to help me with details. Then he and a worked on purchasing plane tickets, because they were a prerequesit for getting the visa. We had problems with the Internet, and by 2:30am, we were not yet successful. Finally, with moments to spare we found one and bought it, not having time to be choosy. Then I left the apartment and literally ran through the snowy streets of Sighisoara to the train station, hoping to see a taxi on the way. Instead I found a guy working on his van, and he asked me to stop and help him open the hood, because the release lever was not working properly. After spending two precious minutes with him, I apologized and ran off, needing to make it to the train station!

As I burst into the station, I asked if my train had already left--it had not! Soon I was on a train, trying rather unsuccessfully to nap here and there! One reason I could not sleep was because I was trying not to think about that the Internet problems had kept me from packing any food! Our train arrived late due to construction on the tracks, so I was in town at 9:00am, having been told I needed to be at the embassy by 10:00 in order to rush a visa in one day. Abandoning my plans to try taking the metro, I withdrew some cash and sought a taxi, having been warned about imposter cabbies and trying to find a legitimate one from amid dozens.

Finally, I found one and fidgeted while traffic kept us from moving; however, I was pleased when we arrived at the embassy a bit before 10:00. Looking at the heavily guarded perimeter wall, I gulped and walked up to a guard to ask how to get in. He directed me to the consulate behind the embassy, so I hurried there. Once inside, someone directed me to a lady who would check my documents. After she finished with the man before me, she glanced at my papers and bluntly said, "I am sorry, you will not be able to get a visa today."

Dumbfounded (though I had half-expected it), I asked why, explaining that I had everything. She countered, telling me what I still needed, not caring that I had sacrificed my last day in Sighisoara and taken a sleepless night train to come expressly for this purpose. Is your heart beating like mine was?

Let me pause a moment. When the Internet was not working at two in the morning and this whole adventure was looming before my exhausted eyes, I almost gave up. I thought, "I will scrap everything, save myself a trip to Bucuresti, and I will go to bed. Tomorrow I will have time to prepare my luggage and say goodbyes, and nothing will be hurried or stressful." I wanted to give up. But I remembered that I had prayed about it, and that God was leading me. So I persevered.

The same thing happened again. I wanted to give up, to say "okay," and to go back to Sighisoara. And maybe you think it is my American "can-do" attitude, but the reason I did not was because I remembered that God was leading me, and I knew He had not brought me to Bucuresti to fail in this endeavor (though throughout the day I was tempted to doubt Him). I asked several obnoxious questions about exactly what was needed, dismayed to learn that some of them had to be obtained from China. Nonetheless, knowing that God can do the impossible, I asked if I could try to get the documents and come back in two or three hours. She looked at me, understood that I am crazy, and sighed. "If you can be here by 11:20 with all the required documents, it might be possible to get your visa." I looked at my watch that was shouting, "It is after 10:00 already!" and left her sitting there as I raced out the guarded entrance, looking like a bedraggled bum who just robbed a bank.

I had just over one hour, and the lady had not known of an Internet cafe anywhere. Time to break rules! In Romania, you do not hail a cab like you do in New York City, you look for one where the taxis are parked. But, I flagged down a cab and jumped in, only slightly concerned that neither did he know of any Internet cafes. This time, I did not have time to care if he was a crook or not--I just needed a ride! I told him to go ahead and drive, and I texted some friends asking for more prayer, and then I called my unexpecting roommate in Sighisoara to email my brother in China to tell him what we needed.

Again I wanted to give up--I wanted to say, "Just take me to the train station." Instead I prayed, and the cabbie and I searched and searched for anything that resembled an Internet cafe. I had my laptop with me, but I needed Internet access and a printer, as well as a copy machine. Finally, I spotted one and cried out, paid him, and jumped out, heading into an ally in search of a computer.

The place I found was good, and the guy working humored my many requests. I made contact with my brother via Skype, but one of the documents we needed was in his hotel apartment--and he was not there! He asked how long we had, and I told him, "Maybe twenty (20!) minutes!"

"Wow," he typed, and he set to work; I did the same.

The cafe did not have a copy machine, but it had a scanner, so I made copies with that. I printed off documents, occasionally getting an update from my brother. Time was ticking, and I was on the wrong side of town! The employee at the cafe did not have anything I could use to attach my photo to my application, so I racked my brain. When I later submitted it, they had no idea that the photo was attached with lip balm!!!

Finally, though people at his hotel were still trying to get into his locked room, I knew I had to leave to make the deadline. He had given me some documents I hoped would work, though not exactly what we needed. He was away from his computer in China, so I said goodbye without hearing from him, ordering him to email the remaining documents to the consulate if he obtained them. As I started to elope from the cafe, the guy stopped me, handing my my ID card that we almost left there on the scanner!

Running out the door, I stopped a startled pedestrian every few dozen meters so I could ask again where I needed to go to find a taxi. The first cabbie I found did not know where the consulate was, so I left him standing there and jumped into the next, asking if we could go fast. He nodded, but traffic did not oblige us, so I was praying again.

Arriving only a couple of minutes after 11:20, I rushed in to find the lady I had prayed for during my absence. She seemed surprised I had returned, and she began carefully going through my documents. I started to try to explain about my brother's residency card being locked in an apartment in Beijing and emailed to the consulate, but she interrupted me, so I shut up, decided I could only make matters worse. I passed her inspection, and she sent me to the window where another man was waiting, and with one minor change, he approved it and told me to come back at 12:00pm to pick it up--an half-hour. Feeling quite triumphant, I meandered outside and around the block to kill time, calling my roommate to thank him. I returned a few minutes before 12:00, only to find that the adventure was not yet over...

I was prepared to pay the sum they told me, but I was not prepared to pay it in American dollars! I was at a Chinese consulate in Romania--why American dollars? So again I was running through the streets, this time in Bucuresti, trying to find the nearest bank. I exchanged the money and ran back, having been told that I had ten minutes at the most, because they (at the consulate) close at 12:00pm. I arrived, panting, and paid the money, receiving my passport and visa in return. Left without instructions, I turned to leave, but I was halted as they ran my cash through a counterfeit-inspection machine. Not worried, I watched as all the bills passed through . . . except the last one! I had only changed the exact sum needed! I thought about panicking, but then finally remembered that I had another $5 bill with me and made the change.

As I left, so did the lady who had helped me out; she had become nicer by the minute, and was now offering to walk me to the metro station. I thought about inviting her to lunch, but I decided that I did not need to invite more adventure at the moment. Thus, I followed her directions and took the metro to the train station, bought a ticket and sandwich (my first food of the day!), and tried to board the train that would momentarily depart.

However, the conductor pointed out that I had the wrong ticket, and again I considered panicking, before I realized that I had pulled the morning ticket from my pocket, instead of the correct one. I got on the train, and a little over six uneventful hours later I arrived in Sighisoara after 7:00pm with a new friend from the train, and not any more sleep than I had when I left Bucuresti. I had been in trains over twelve hours. I was in Bucuresti exactly four hours, and in that time I was in three taxis, two metros, an internet cafe, a bank, and the Chinese consulate four times!

Time and time again, the Lord proved Himself faithful. And now I hold plane tickets and a visa to China to surprise my family there. The adventure of following Jesus continues...
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A Rose From Home

A Rose From Home

My Story (As prepared for my church congregation this spring--2009)


I have a story to tell you. I am the main character, but the story is not about me. I have traveled several parts of the world, but my adventure has been closer to home. I am twenty-six years old. My story begins like many of yours…

I grew up going to church. I had been born into a family who labeled themselves “Christian,” in a country that labels itself “Christian.” Every Sunday found me attending a worship service and Sunday school in a mainline denomination church. I served as an acolyte, attended Vacation Bible School, helped my dad count and record the offering money, sang in the youth choir, was a leader in the youth group, and occasionally served as liturgist. Baptized as an infant, I was confirmed at the age of twelve, thus becoming an “official” member of the church. Then, hurt by the church, my family left to find another.

Have you ever been hurt by the Church?

After months of searching, we settled into a very large independent church. Things were different there, and I was quickly welcomed and at home among new friends that truly had a passion for Jesus. The Word of God was taught boldly from the pulpit, and I was introduced to a missions-aware lifestyle. So it was with regret that I said goodbye only a couple of years later to move with my family to another church. I purposely remained aloof, not wanting to make new friendships before I left for college a year later. Besides, I was loosing my faith—or so I thought—and I didn’t want anyone to know. I was asking scary questions like “Is there really a God?” and, if so, “Is He the Christian God?” and “Would I be Christian if I had been born in another part of the world?”

Have you ever asked yourself unsettling questions about what you believe?

So I headed into college under a cloud of confusion that only worsened for the next two years. Though I didn’t know what I believed anymore, I continued to go to church every Sunday, and to help lead worship in chapel. Most importantly, even during this questioning, I continued my morning habit of daily study of the Bible. I had begun at age twelve, reading at first a chapter per day, then ten minutes each morning, then an half-hour, and so on. So, only by the grace of the very God I doubted, I remained anchored in His Word and in His community, though I felt like a fake most of the time. Since then I have learned that “fake” is the worst insult the world can give us; that is why the label of “hypocrite” is so offensive.

Have you ever felt like a fake?

Six weeks with missionaries in South Africa followed by a year in France began to teach me what life with God is all about. I began rebuilding my faith, this time it belonged to me, in contrast to me borrowing the faith of my parents, church, or anyone else. In my parent’s basement in 2003, on either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, I invited Jesus to live in me; perhaps I had done so before, but I didn’t recall—but since 2003, I have never forgotten that moment. Unfortunately, nothing changed. I continued to do my best to act like a Christian, as I had done for so long.

Have you ever found yourself “doing your best” to be a good person, or to act like a Christian?

Though I did not realize it at the time, I was quenching the Spirit, even though I had welcomed Him into my life. During the next few years, the LORD continued to nurture me, and slowly things began to change. Several tough months in Idaho birthed my prayer-life. I spent three years being humbled in a job that was my informal seminary training. In 2007, a short stint in Mexico helped me to see things as they were, and not long afterward, I was baptized by immersion. No baptism of any kind can save a lost soul—only Jesus can do that. However, this baptism was an important covenant between me and God, symbolizing not only my death and resurrection with Jesus and my public profession of faith, but it also my life change, the beginning of my bearing fruit. “For each tree is known by its own fruit…”according to Luke 6:44. During the past year and a half, the LORD has provided me with an informal pastoral internship in my church, teaching me every aspect of discipleship. Simultaneously, I have been studying unceasing prayer and worship. I am now very different than I was five years ago.

In the Book of Acts (which tells the story of the earliest years of the Church) every time a person decided to follow Christ, two things took place—though not always in the same order. Each person experienced a life change, which I call the “baptism of repentance,” as well as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which I call the “baptism of the Spirit.” Looking back, I realize that the Holy Spirit was living in me in 2003, but it wasn’t until I surrendered everything to God, as represented by my immersion, that I allowed the Spirit to have His way in me and transform my life. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)”

Have you invited Jesus to live in you? Have you allowed the Spirit to transform your life?

I tell you this story for two reasons. First, I tell this story in order to boast in the LORD! May God our Father get all praise and glory forever! Second, I tell this story because it is relevant to you. Likely you have heard that I am leaving the country: I have let my light shine before you; please let your light shine within the Church, too! This congregation is in revival, and as each of you allows the Spirit to revive you, the entire Church will be revived and utterly transformed, to the glory of the Most High God. And for His glory is the reason He created us; the reason He sent His only Son to reveal Himself to us; the reason He became Sin for us and died for us on the cross—while we were still sinners; and the reason that He conquered death and offered us eternal life with Him.

It will cost you a lot—in fact, it will cost you everything, your very life. But if you have never surrendered your life to Christ Jesus, if you have never invited Him to send His Spirit into you and to transform your life, then do it right now. Just let go of everything to which you are desperately clinging; stop trying to do it yourself! This is the very reason you are still breathing in this physical life—God has been delaying His judgment of this sinful world because He is waiting for you—2 Peter 3:9 says He wants none to perish!

If you have already invited the Spirit into your life, then live like it! Bear fruit! Anyone and everyone who meets you or knows you or sees you or hears you should know immediately and clearly that Jesus the Christ lives in you and loves them! That is how stark the contrast should be between your life and the world around you!

Have you immersed yourself in God’s Word and in prayer in the last twenty-four hours?

If you call yourself a follower of Christ, then there is no excuse for not communing with Him daily! Anchor yourself in the Word! God has revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Bible is a complete and accurate record of that revelation. And prayer is humbly letting Him love us. Let Him love you! God doesn’t need us, but He wants us! God doesn’t need us to live for Him—He wants to live in and through us! Let us love and fellowship with one another, even when you disagree! Pray for each other—the names in the church directory are a great place to start! Church, we are not only the Body of Christ, but we are the Bride of Christ. We have allowed ourselves to get bedraggled and stained—now let us stand to the glory of God! Let’s let Him purify us, restore us, and love us!

My dear Brothers and Sisters, if you have ever once been blessed by God our Father at work in me, then I urge you, please, take seriously His desire to love and work in you, beyond anything you can ask or imagine! I have told you the beginning of my story—may it end in glory to the Father, in the Name of Jesus, by way of His Spirit.

Now, what is your story?