Knowing the Way

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Time with Alfred

Location: Back at Camp (outside Grenoble, France) a little before supper on the 29th of July.

Alfred (my heavy pack) and I made it through the hike and back safe and sound. We climbed and descended thousands of vertical feet, lost and gained several degrees of temperature, and basically roughed it with 25 other people for a couple of days. I should have many pictures (once I see what my blind camera captured), and I hope to post more soon. For now, I'm back in the swing of washing dishes and the like. I did take a moment to shower and shave, though after a couple of days on the trail, simply a clean pair of underwear felt good like a hot shower!

Please continue to pray for us as we have had more physical problems. One young man did not go on the hike because of a migraine, one girl had flu-like symptoms, and another had severe stomach pain and had to return early from the hike.

Thanks for your prayers! God was doing amazing things during the hike, and He continues to glorify His name here at camp!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Hitting the Trail

Location: Still outside Grenoble, France; 7:30 am on July 27.

Things are still going well, and we are headed into the mountains for a two-day hike, beginning in a few hours. Yesterday morning's talk went very well, and last night we had James Bond night, which was pretty neat--costumes and bombs to disarm, etc. I need to make sure to find some sleep because I have been cutting corners a little, but otherwise, everything is excellent. People are healing from their injuries and sicknesses, though we learned that S. is back in the hospital in Texas with a lot of pain; thanks for your prayers.

Remember N. the Grill-Meister? And remember my sudden trial-by-fire upon arrival in Nancy to grill for several guests. Two nights ago, I was the Grill-Meister again, grilling on a wood flame for 45 people!

Wish you were here! Thanks for joining me virtually, I hope to upload pictures when I can! Get ready for the hike!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

This is What's Up

Location: Same room, same camp, still outside of Grenoble, France (almost 11:00pm on July 25).

Sorry, it is very difficult for me to find time to update the blog or return emails right now. We went on an amazing hike in the Alps yesterday, and I hope to tell about it and post the photos soon. But for now, I am preparing to speak again tomorrow.

Thanks to you who have been praying for me; my last talk (on Luke 14) went very well, and I had a super response as person after person engaged me for more dialogue later in the day. Because of that, I have been asked to speak again tomorrow, and I will probably speak on 1 Timothy 2. Please pray for me. The last talk was successful because I let the Holy Spirit do it; may the same be true tomorrow, that God our Father might be glorified! Again, I have to fit in my full work load in addition to preparation and speaking; thankfully, I have a great team who tries to help me out!

Also, please pray against anything coming against us at the camp to distract us from the Lord's design for this time. S., I assume, is safely home in the care of her mother. However, since then, we had one young man sprain his ankle, and today another young man broke his collar bone. I am bothered by back pain, which is the first time in a long time for those of you who know that on-going struggle. Yes, I am doing everything I can to take care of it, but leaning over a sink is taking its toll.

Thank you for your prayers! Camp is going well, and God is powerfully at work here. The conversations we are having are amazing! May you, too, go deeper this week, as you think about your life and how it fits into the world around you!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Praying and Riding a Bull

Location: Barn bedroom at camp near Grenoble, France, nearing midnight on July the 23rd.

Tonight was "Western Night." If you had asked me what I would be doing in Europe this summer, I would have told you that I did not know. But never would I have guessed that I would be doing the Texas Two-Step or the Boot Scoot 'n' Boogie! But sure enought, we did tonight; and yes, I did ride the "bull" (the barrel pictured above--sorry I do not have a photo of me on it!).

But before I go to bed, a couple of quick things regarding prayer.

First, please keep me in prayer. I will be speaking tomorrow, which means I have to juggle my normal work, prepare a message, and speak with a translator (because it is awkward to translate for oneself). Please pray for me as custodian and dishwasher becomes preacher for twenty-minutes on less than twenty-four hour notice.

Second, I wanted to update you on S. Our Texas belle is returning home tomorrow for a couple of weeks, only a little earlier than planned. God-willing, she will be back here soon. Thanks for your prayers; she seemed quite a bit better this evening after a full day of rest and nursing from vigilant friends.

Okay, I need some sleep. Life is good here; I hope that you, too, are seeing many blessings!

Mountains, Hate, and Prayer

Location: Camp outside of Grenoble France, in a little room I found trying to find a quiet corner on July 23, a little before 8:00am.

It will soon be breakfast time, and my work will begin. Often I have to help set up breakfast, but today others are doing it. My day will include washing dishes for all three meals, cleaning bathrooms, any other service chores necessary, laundry, watering flowers, and when I have some free time, joining in the activities with the campers in order that they may have the best camp possible. My day begins when the rooster wakes me up, and only ends when the next day is about to start. There are four of us on the service team, and three of us share the sleeping quarters.

Tucked in the Alps, this camp is beautiful. Build on very old ruins outside of an athletic vacation town, the temperatures are comfortable and the weather varies nicely. The camp facilities are what you would expect from a camp, but with more than adequate space and resources, thanks to a God who provides. I think this camp has been here some thirty or fourty years, maybe longer. You can look out over the mountains, listen to the creek, or enjoy the wind blowing in the trees.

The first day I was here was between camps, and thus pretty much a free day. I took a long hike up a mountainside, and if I remember, I will include a photo of a ruined house or dam I found that had a large tree fallen through it. The staff are mostly young people from the United States, though we also have France and Australia and Canada and maybe some other nations represented. There are around 20 young adults here as campers working on their Engish, and they will be here for another week-and-a-half or so.

I understand that God has done some pretty neat things in this place. I must say I am not surprised, for at least two reasons. One, God is amazing, so He usually wows me! Two, I can tell that He brings big-heared, specially-gifted people to this camp, who He then uses for His glory. I am looking forward to see what He will do in the next month or two!

That said, He and I have been having intimite time together. As you know, it is very hard for me when my personal time and space is constricted, and with two roommates and a long "To Do" list, it certainly is here. But as situations get tougher, I have learned to lean more heavily upon my God, which is resulting in our time together.

It has been a pleasure to watch Him work in the situation with S.'s health, and I praise Him. However, I cannot help but think that He is teaching us more about prayer. How often do we turn to every human solution possible (doctors, pain medication, ice packs, internet research, etc.) before we ever turn to God in prayer? I am striving to go first to God, then respond with everything He gives me. Prayer is a powerful tool in a humble posture, and I have never regretted making it a priority.

I was reading this morning in the Bible's Book of Luke. In Chapter 14, there is a tough passage about what is necessary to follow Christ Jesus. He says that unless you hate your father and mother and wife and children and sister and brother, then we cannot be His disciples. I was pondering that as I read further. He goes on to say that we cannot be His disciples unless we take up our crosses and follow Him. Then He tells an anecdote about calculating resources before a building project or a battle, and He sums it all up by saying that we cannot be His disciples unless we renouce everything. Tacked onto the end is a pithy saying about salt losing its saltiness.

I do not think our God of love wants us to act hatefully toward our families. I do not think He intends for us to drag large wooden perpendiculars through the streets. I do think that He is trying to warn us that whenever we try to mix our faith with our own desires, we are bound to make ourselves miserable and unsuccessful. Like salt, our faith is only useful when it stands out in stark contrast to the things around it. Only when we let God's amazing love for us season our lives so strongly that it encompasses all familial love will we truly be able to love our families. Only when we surrender ourselves with our desires and plans and possessions will we truly be prepared to follow Jesus as He leads us.

Your surrender may not take you to a camp in the French Alps, but I hope it takes you to the foot of the cross where you can let the mercy and love of Jesus Christ wash over you. It is with that love that I am able to wash towers of dishes and loads of laundry and damp showers and oft-used toilets. It is with that love that I write to you, thanking the Lord for having made you to be part of His perfect plan, His good Creation!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Good Tired

Location: The top floor of a maybe two-hundred-year-old barn that has been converted to living quarters in a camp not far from Grenoble, France. It is too late (11:15pm) on Wednesday night.

I have a lot to write, but not the energy to do it. Hopefully I will write more tomorrow. But here are the priorities.

1. S. arrived back at camp this evening, walking gingerly after her nightmarish stay at the hospital. Evidentally she was already planning a visit home to Texas, so she hopes to head there soon, maybe even sooner if her plane ticket can get changed. She is happily on the mend, but still with occasionally great pain, as well as some sort of tube-type insert that has to be taken out in a month. More than anything, she needs rest, and maybe a good dose of her "mommy" when she returns home. Thank you for your prayers for her and her family; if she knew about them, she would certainly appreciate them!

2. Here are some pictures from camp to hold you over. I am alive and well and busy. Today we made plaster masks of each other, among other activities. For instance, we played some American football and some volleyball, as well as soccer. Though my volleyball skills were not as sharp as usual, I did well in the others, even scoring two goals in soccer! How about that, my former soccer team? You will not be surprised that I meant for the second one to be a pass! (For those of you who do not know, I am certainly no soccer player!)

3. God has been helping me a lot this week, which is nothing new, I suppose. But I am acutely aware of it as I make the adjustments to camp life with two roommates, limited outside contact, and solid days of hard work in a bilingual setting. I find myself withdrawing a bit from here and taking refuge in Him. Again, more on that later. But I am happy, and I have had a few good days since I arrived (today was our first full day of camp programming).

4. I have good internet access most of the time, but I rarely have time to get online because of my responsibilities here. If you have emailed me, thanks for your patience in response. If you try to call my cell, probably the same story, because I do not always have it on me. Just know I am enjoying a special time in the midst of the mountains of France, that I am eating well, working hard, and praying a lot for you! I will do my best to be in contact when I can.

I bless you all, and I encourage you to make today a special day, either for you or for the people around you! Celebrate the life God has given you, and use it for His glory!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Thanks, but don't stop praying!

Thanks for your prayers for S. When the surgeon went in, he had trouble finding the kidney stone because it was so tiny! I understand that they did not have to make an incision, which I suppose means they used some sort of scope. Anyway, S. was doing well at last report, and not in any more pain. She is due to come home tomorrow or the day after, assuming all continues to go well. Thank you for kneeling in the trenches, and please give thanks to God while you continue to pray for S. during her recovery.

More Prayer

Please continue to pray for S. She is going into surgery as I type. There is in fact a kidney stone, but now something has ruptured in her abdomen. Her mother is a doctor in the US and is quite concerned as you can imagine. Please pray for all involved, and may God get the glory!

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?