Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Vegas and Zion




I just got back from a really great week. One of my best friends is a youth pastor in Santa Barbara and I had the privilege of going with him and his youth group to Las Vegas where we helped with a feed the homeless ministry and then to Zion NP for some fun and spiritual growth in God's country. For feeding the homeless, we prepared donated food and set up an area where they could eat and listen to a message about God. The 105 degree heat did not seem to matter as we worked to get ready and presented the gospel message to the 100 or so people that showed up. We had about five people that made a decision that day and our group was also very touched by the experience. We went to a local YMCA afterwards to swim and cool off. That night we went to a viewpoint above the city to pray for all of the people that have gotten deceived by the wickedness there. We left for Zion the next day. It was Sunday morning and in lieu of church we listened to a book on tape called The Martyr's Song. It was a really powerful and emotional story. It very poignantly reminds believers what is really important in this life; that this is merely a precursor to something much more wonderful. Everyone on the trip seemed to be impacted by it and I would recommend reading it. When we got to Zion I helped guide half of our group down a nearby slot-canyon. The next day we took the other half down and then all of us went to the Narrows. It was such a blessing to spend time in such a beautiful place with such great friends. God's fingerprints are defiantly all over places like Zion. It was a long drive back to Santa Barbara and one of the vans had it's alternator fail. We were able to make it almost all the way back on battery power though. It is aways hard saying goodbye at the end of a trip like this one, but this was especially difficult since I won't see most of these wonderful friends for about a year. On my three hour drive to Bakersfield I had adequate time to think about that. I thought back to The Martyr's Song. It is comforting to realize that as believers we don't have to say "goodbye" we just have to say "see you later" with the comfort that we get to spend all eternity in each other's company. For now it is time to focus on reaching out to other people. Today I reorganize and pack up for my two months in Mexico which starts tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Time

I got to spend the few days with friends. It was great. So much of our lives seem to be spent racing from one event to another. From movie to dinner to a birthday to whatever... It was refreshing to just spend time. No events or agenda but just enjoying each other's company. Today I'm up in Bakersfield tomorrow I'm off to Santa Barbara.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Day 2

Well my car is completely full and I am officially homeless. The packing up went smoothly and I was able to sell almost everything I wanted to. I really thank God for that. I would start stressing-out that there would be stuff left over at the end but I just prayed about it and He really took care of it. I have had lots of questions about my itinerary. Here it is so far: June 22-26 I will be helping with a youth trip (a good friend of mine is a youth pastor); June 28 - August 24 I will be in Mexico at the YWAM base doing whatever they most need done; September 1 to May 24 I will be in Norway at the YWAM base in ENGAVĂ…GEN. Why Norway? To work for YWAM long-term a person has to attend one of YWAM's "Discipleship Training Schools" or DTS for short. I chose this DTS because they incorporate outdoor excursions into the teaching. What will I do after that? Whatever God wants me to.

Friday, June 15, 2007

The Beginning.

Today was the last day of work. It will be so strange to not be going in there five days a week ready to solve any problem the day might pose. Ten years is a long time and you defiantly form a bond with the people you work with. Forty hours a week is more than I see my family! It hasn't had lots of time to sink-in yet. I am still packing up and getting ready for strangers to take over my house. It won't be my house of course; they paid good money for it. But I have been here six years and I have grown attached to it. It is the place I come back to after work or a long trip. It really is sort of a cocoon from the world; a small space that is all my own. It will be interesting to see what it is like to be a nomad.