My Weapon

Ever had one of those days when pretty much everything that could go wrong does? Today was one of those days. I would write about it all, but looking back a line from a psalm comes to mind that persuades me in a different direction.

May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands -Psalm 149:6

Did you catch that? Our praise can be a weapon in the never ending spiritual battles we encounter. So even amidst the chaos I will choose to praise my King and use it as my double edged sword against my ever prowling enemy rather than complain about all that went wrong...Praise be to God for a blessed day and for everything that went right! =)

Walking Blindly

Okay, so admittedly things are becoming a bit more routine around here as I approach week 6, so it is becoming more challenging to find ways to be out of my comfort zone. Even though things have become more routine, I do have a story to share with ya'll that really exemplifies what stepping out of your comfort zone looks like.

So last week, at the end of the working week (Thursday) we went out to another poverty stricken area that we serve called the Cadereyta. That was my second visit, and the past visit all I did was do construction type work in the church there. The goal for this day, however, was purely to do an outreach of food, clothing and other random things we obtained throughout the past month. So when we arrived, the captain for the day asked me to walk through the town and invite people to said outreach. Now, at this point I was pretty confident in my Spanish, BUT having never passed through the town in the slightest, I was immediatley nervous. Nonetheless, I stepped up and walked blindly though this town doing something I had NEVER done before, invite complete strangers to an outreach IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE. Every other time this kind of opportunity arises, there is usually a leader of some sort from the town that leads us through and helps out a ton. No luck this time, haha.

So despite my anxieties it ended up going really well, as I recruited some of the little boys to help me (funny story, I asked one of them to invite a specific house, and he told me "I don't know them, that would be embarassing." It's hard enough for the Mexicans to do it haha). The coolest thing that happened, and what I think is such an image of how God rewards us when we step out is that one of the gentlemen I spoke with ended up inviting me, and one other group member in to chat. Sadly I forget his name, but nonetheless it was just SUCH a blessing to meet him, his wife and five children and just chat about life a little bit. He spoke a little bit of English which was nice, and by the end he even offered us a coke. The best thing though, while I did enjoy this a lot, is that I know that the lady that was with me, Judy, who spoke no Spanish, absolutely loved it. I can't imagine she ever thought that she would end up in a complete strangers home in a very impoverished part of Mexico chatting it up. It actually ended up being the highlight of her week. I was just so glad that I could be an instrument for God in that way, and it was just so cool to see the hand of God deliver on such a step out of both of our comfort zones.

I will write more pretty soon. Love you all!

Race Day!

Okay, so I did it! All 10 Km and no walking at all. I kind of can't believe it. I kept waking up last night thinking to myself, "What are you doing? You hate running! Why would you EVER run for like an hour?"

So if you haven't seen my facebook update, I finished all 6.2 miles in 55 minutes and roughly 30 seconds. That averages out to just a hair under 9 minute miles. For not really training at all I am pretty pleased with the result.

Just to entertain ya'll I'm gonna give you a quick timeline of the day/race.

6:00 - Wake up, stumble around in the dark.
6:15 - Pound a banana and Nature Valley bar.
6:20 - Say goodbye to one of the staff members returning to states =(
6:30 - Get in the car with a bunch of Mexicans and listen to my iPod. I chose chill music. I wanted to have relaxed muscles haha. The hardcore music was post race.
7:15 - Arrive at Parque Fundidora.
7:20 - See the start line packed with racers. I got wicked nervous at this point.
7:25 - Acted like I was stretching, but knew that it wasn't doing me any good since I didn't warm up at all.
7:30 - Start! (This was super anti-climactic. It's like this big count down, but unless you're in front you kind of just stroll up to the start line.
7:30 - 7:40 - Still had the nervous pee feeling, and my body was practically screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
7:55 - My body is finally warmed up. I lengthened my stride and took off. It felt awesome to be passing people all over the place.
8:15 - I'm like 3 Km away from the finish. My body started to hurt.
8:25 - Went numb when I started "sprinting" to the finish. Pretty sure I forgot to breathe for about 100m. I just about puked.
8:30 - Get handed my wooden medal and a bunch of food/drink items.
8:30 - 9 - Act like I'm stretching but I'm really just eating that food that I just got.
9-10:30 Leave, eat a ton of delicious tacos, shower, and head to church.
11:00-12:00 - Church. I don't have a clue what was said in the sermon. I do remember singing Te doy gloria (I give you glory). It's such a great worship song.
12:00-3ish - Sleep, and I mean hardcore sleep. I drooled.
3:00-4:00 - Pool recovery time =)
4:00-5:00 - Sleep
5:00-Now - Skype and blog time...

So to sum up the race itself, I started super slow, ran fast, crashed, and finished hard =) Thanks for all your encouraging comments! I want my bike back. Hasta Luego.

Picos y Valles

As I sit here to write this blog post, it feels as if it is the first time in a while I’ve had a chance to just stop and catch my breath. This past week was just a whirlwind of terribly efficient chaos. I look back at what so many dearly refer to as “McCollum week” and am just so grateful for how Mr. McCollum has partnered with this ministry, sharing the love of Christ through everything from soccer camps to handing out gospel tracts with sweet pictures for the children. During this exciting week I had the privilege of leading another bible study, only this time I had 6 soon to be high school seniors who are still very much seeking out God and His will for their lives. What I had an opportunity to discuss with them and with several others is exactly what I wish to share with you all.

One day I felt God leading me to ditch the pre-pared study for a more radical approach. I decided to stop dancing around by asking shallow questions and just asked these guys about what it is they struggle with in their faith. I got a lot of great answers which I won’t share here, but regardless one of the answers steered us into a discussion about the differences between faith at home and Mexico. It really got me thinking about a lot of different things, especially the “peaks and valleys.” Something I learned about this week is that there are so many people who look to missions trips for their spiritual high, and depend on it. They almost count on it to pluck them out of the hole that they have dug for themselves. Now how can that even slightly be okay? I mean I admit that I have been there before, but what is so different about Mexico and serving orphans that would make it something we should rely on to “pick us up in our faith?” ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The God that empowers those in missions is the same God that empowers us at home. Allow me to take a look at the American life for a moment and point out just what I pointed out to these young men.

1) One of the guys said something along the lines of “Oh, it is just so easy to focus on Christ when you are serving orphans/those who are just in a place of so much need. You are constantly reminded of what you are doing and how God is present.”

Hmmm…to that I say “there aren’t needs like that surrounding you at home?” I mean, yes, you aren’t venturing into impoverished areas every day, or loving on the orphan child but let’s think about this on a different level. The impoverishment in America isn’t necessarily in the lacking of physical things. It lies deep within people, where so much anxiety, depression and hurt reside. There are hurting people all around you every day; all you have to do is ask God to open your eyes to it and break your heart for what breaks His. He will certainly show you. Be ready.

2) “It’s just so easy to focus on God here. We have set quiet times and are surrounded by Christians. It’s so much easier to be a Christian here.”

Okay, so you have set quiet times…it’s just a terrible statement that points out how much discipline we often lack. There is, and always should be time for God each day. All you have to do is get yourself in the routine. I bet if you find a time, and devote yourself to using it for 3 weeks the habit will stick. Dealing with the other part, I will admit that there is some truth to the statement, but at the same time should you not be encountering like-minded Christians (or at least be seeking them out) as you endeavor to bring light to the dark places? By no means are you alone…I mean at the very least the best way to deal with that struggle is to fellowship in the church setting. Again, it becomes more of a discipline thing…No one ever said being a Christian was a cakewalk.

Okay…so those may not be the kindest words in the world, but if you are feeling convicted you may want to ask God why you have that conviction in the first place and hear Him out. Stop rationalizing your excuses. The devil is the King of lies and doesn’t want you to stop rationalizing.

Anyways, so outside of getting a little fired up about those things and pointing out some ways that faith in the US and faith in Mexico are not all that different, I just want to draw a picture of faith that came to me; a picture that illustrates the peaks and valleys we all experience. Take a look at my poorly hand-drawn diagram.



So diagram A is a faith that is dependent on experience, not on a relationship…it is a faith that waits to go on a missions trip, or attend a Christian camp or go to church on Sundays just to “get our spiritual high.” All too often do I see people do this only to return home and bounce right back into the same problems they had before. Where is the growth? It is nowhere to be found, or at the very best is marginal. This is a stagnant Christian…

Diagram B is a relationship with Christ. It is of a person who truly abides in Christ and experience’s His joy and shelter regardless of the trial. It is this person that grows. It is the person that sees a problem, seeks to align themselves in their problem with Christ and totally rely on Him. It is these that by persevering produce a crop in their own lives, and more importantly, in the lives of others. (Luke 8:15, if you read this notice how it implies that perseverance is necessary. We don't just reap crops by doing nothing).

So most likely after all that I’ve said I have stirred one emotion or another. If you are defensive, and thinking to yourself, “What does he know? It is SO hard to come back to the states. God just isn’t as present.” or "He's just on a spiritual high right now, just wait until he gets back." Let me tell you something that is incredible, even awe-inspiring. When you confess that Jesus is Lord and that He died on the cross for your sins, His Holy Spirit rushes into your heart, and goes with you wherever you are. This Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Comfort, Truth, Wisdom, and many more things. How awesome is it that God gifted us with that!? I can tell you very honestly that God is absolutely with you EVERYWHERE and through EVERYTHING, and that all too many have fallen to the lie that God does not speak to us, and does not care about our hearts. He does, period. He loves you more than you can even understand. I encourage you to diligently seek this out in your life, and ask God the hard questions about your faith. Dig in. Get out of your comfort zone, and let God take you higher than you have ever been before. He is always with you and He never changes. What a promise…So to conclude...this is the kind of faith I want, and that I want others to have. I fully intend to pursue it for myself and can only hope others follow me. Please keep me accountable.