Never-ending

All we know are beginnings and ends. Starts and finishes. Point A to point B. Building houses in the Philippines began with my training on June 2nd, and will end after a debrief on August 4th. As this summer mission comes to an end, it would be so simple and human for this experience in the Philippines to end. This idea is engrained in our very human nature, right?

The apostle Paul knew much about human nature. In Galations, he tells this to the believers: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." - Galatians 5:16-17

Applying this passage to our lives, we must fight against every part of the flesh which goes contrary to the will and word of God. One thing we must fight is our forgetfulness. As I read through the book of Exodus, I was taken away by how many times the Lord repeated himself. How every ritual and sacrifice had meaning. Passover to the Feat of Unleavened bread, so the people would not forget what God had done. Exodus 20:2 says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."

"Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.” -Exodus 24:7 Yet 12 chapters later, these are the same people who build for themselves a golden calf to worship. How easily do we forget what God has delivered us from.

This summer, the Lord has delivered me from my own chains. I now have desire to dig into the scriptures and to be mentored by a college minister while at my university. I want to learn to live out this love Jesus speaks of, a love by which people will know we are followers of Jesus Christ, not just nice people. I want to grow into being a man after God's own hear, not to be classified as a "college student." Receiving a diploma does not magically make you a man or woman. What I have learned and been taught by God, may I never forget. He has allowed this mission to change my life. Not in a crying, tear jerking emotional way, but in the very core of my being. This chapter of my life is part of the never-ending relationship I have with God. May we learn from the past, and never forget what God has done in our own lives. May we not live for the dot of this life, but for the arrow of eternity.

Dusty Feet

Ironically, on this day, I was actually able to shake the dust off of my feet. The rainy season is at its tail end, and the hot sun now beats down on the currently dry, dusty road. Because our team has finished all the available work for the 4 Habitat for Humanity houses, we are back to our first job, making hollow blocks. Because we now know what we are doing, I split the team into 2. Half working the bricks, and the other doing house to house with our translator Jai.

House to house is as simple as this - walking down the dirt street, asking anyone if they have time to hear the good news of the Bible. The responses vary greatly. Sometimes we are immediately invited in, and the Word is received, and they become brothers and sisters in Christ. Others will listen, but with every word going in one ear and out the other. The most frustrating is when a person is sitting outside, doing nothing, but says in Cebuano "I'm busy working." I wonder the multitude of excuses Jesus' disciples faced when he sent them out.

When Jesus sent out his disciples, part of the charge he gave them was this: "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town." - Matthew 10:14-15. These words rang true as we continued to walk down the street, being denied and rejected from place to place. But God did provide us with a household who was willing to listen to the good news! We will have opportunity to have another Bible Study in the house of Norma!

Jesus wasn't kidding. The passage about shaking the dust off your feet...It became reality today. What is even scarier is the reality of God's punishment upon their sin. Those who died without Christ spend eternity without Him. Jesus knew may would reject the gospel. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that lead to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only few find it.: - Matthew 7:13-14. First, may we examine our life to see if we are on the narrow road which only few find. Second, we must be faithful in sharing the message to those on the broad road, never stopping, but continually sowing seeds. And where we are rejected, shake the very dust off our feet.

Pure Heart

The ceiling leaked, the fans where noisy, and dogs kept barking from outside. In this building, the congregation of Shiloh Baptist Church met. When we come into the one room church, we quietly take our seats amongst the yard chair rows. Not an overwhelming crowd, just a steady 25 or so Filipinos. Yet in this moment, as we stood to sing, I would rather be no where else.

The praise band had asked our team to lead worship last week, so on Saturday night, Thomas and I went to the church for practice, picking out songs for the next morning. I would sing, and he would play the electric guitar which would not stay in tune. But before we came up to lead in praise, they had their customary opening song and call to worship.

Nothing majestic about the instruments, and nothing magical about the voices. But here, in the most humble of places, this song was sung:

A pure heart, that's what I long for
A heart that follows hard after thee.
A pure heart, that's what I long for
A heart that follows hard after thee.

A heart that hides your word
So that sin may not come in
A heart that's undivided
But one you rule, you reign
A heart that beats compassion,
That pleases you my Lord
A sweet aroma of worship
That rises to your throne.

And this, my friend, is the unspeakable beauty of the gospel. I have been reading though Exodus, and for the past few days, the passages where God instructs Moses about the Ark and the Tabernacle the Jews would build for the Lord. Gold, silver, jewels, and acacia wood; the most costly of items. But even with the sacrifices and the glory of the temples, God did not want their sacrifices. He wanted their heart.

Here in the Philippines, in an old, shabby building of concrete and plywood, the God of heaven and earth was meeting with us. We do not need to build beautiful buildings or hang ornaments of gold. You see, God does not care about the venue. He does not take delight in guitars or correctly colored carpet. He only wants our heart.

Provision

Accidents happen. Or so experience has taught me. When building houses in the Philippines with rebar, concrete, and 40 pound hollow block, this statement remains ever true. One of my team members, while carrying a bag of rocks, dragged the top of his foot across a hollow block. The cut was not too bad, all he needed to do was keep it clean. Unfortunately, this did not occur. Across the next few weeks, I would glance at his foot every now and again, reminding him to keep it clean with a band aide. Yet yesterday, upon waking up, the injured foot was swollen, and I knew the cut was screaming the word "infection!"

In my head, I was already trying to lay out a plan and schedule where and when we could find a private doctor's office to get antibiotics prescribed. I knew I wanted to take him to a place where nosocomial infections would not be an issue. Through all these hasty thoughts, God reminded me of a 2 new believers down the street. A few nights ago, Dexter and Abigail had become believers in Christ through a Bible study. But Abigail is no normal Filipino - she is a BSN RN, speaks English, and is certified to practice nursing in California. What better person to go to!

After our full days schedule, we finally walked the muddy road to their house, giving a good "Ayo!" to let them know we wanted to come in. After Abigail looked and cleaned, she confirmed it to be a soft tissue infection. When I asked her if she knew a Doctor who would prescribe the antibiotics, she looked at me with an intrigued face. "I will have Dexter go to the pharmacy and pick up a pill of the right antibiotic, so you will know what to buy." No doctors appointment, no paperwork, nothing. Because of her knowledge in the medical field, she was able to tell us exactly what we needed to buy.

I had realized this was nothing short of God's provision, but He was not done teaching me yet. I continued to pour out gratitude to Dexter and Abigail, telling them how much of a blessing they had been to us! Dexter's next words, translated by his wife, will never be forgotten. "We are brothers and sisters in the same faith. Its no problem at all."

This touched deep within my heart. You see, there are many who cry out "Lord, Lord!" There are many who will say the prayer of the gospel, but few who mean it. This statement encouraged and reassured me of Dexter's and Abigail's genuine faith in Christ. They did not just enjoy hearing Bible studies from white Americans - they got it. They truly know and understand what it means to live as Christ would. As my teammate and I walked back home dodging puddles and ditches, my heart was lifted with love. Our God truly is the the provider, sheltering us and encouraging us in a time of storm.

Superficial

Externally, everything seems right. Here in Butuan City, religion runs rampant. Over 98% of the country is Roman Catholic, and a cross on every corner bears witness to it. As you walk down the road, you can see people going through the rosary, and a devout Catholic will cross himself every time they pass a church. There are trikes with scriptures painted on the sides, and trucks have "Jesus is love" on them. My personal favorite was the semi truck which had "Jehovah Jireh" (The Lord will Provide) painted on the back. So why are we here? What is our purpose? The word of God is inscribed on the public's transportation!

We are here because the word of God is not inscribed on their hearts. Superficially, the Filipinos speak of God, salvation, and being saved from their sins. But if you ask them why they are going to go to heaven, their answer is not Christ alone. Majority will begin to speak about works. I ran into this situation last Sunday, as we did house to house ministry with a local Baptist Church. After presenting the gospel and my testimony to a woman and her family right outside her house on the street, a shop owner next door gave my translator and I free soda and crackers. As we talked to him, he was speaking the right words about salvation. But the more I prodded, the more he spoke of works. He believed if he died with an unconfessed sin, he would not be allowed into heaven. What a fearful life to live.

I felt the story of the Prodigals Son was in order. The parable is a wonderful witness tool in a place where people believe God only loves us for our works. The pastor from the baptist church walked up and proceeded to give the story of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. We did not see a change in his heart, but this we did; we preached the gospel and planted sees. This is what the Lord would have us to do.

No matter where we go, who we speak to, or what they claim to believe, we preach one message - Christ crucified. From this conviction and commitment, the Lord opened doors for a bible study last night and salvation of two souls! What started as simple questions of faith and religion has led to souls being saved for eternity. We are overjoyed to see the kingdom being built as we labor on houses. Pray for the people of Butuan, the people who know and see scripture everywhere. May they have a true relationship with Jehovah Jierah, the God who will always provide.

He is Able

It was an average day in the Philippines. My team and I had gone into Butuan City to pick up groceries for the week, and a teammate and I were standing in a hall of the store. Just two normal guys, right? Not here in the Philippines. You see, when girls (and even guys) see us, they may whisper or shout out, "Guwapo!" This means handsome. The Filipinos love white people, and even sell body lotion that will cause you to be lighter. My Scottish/Welsh decent only increases my popularity.

While we were standing in the hall, I noticed two girls who were working in a cellphone shop. They were looking our way, and they wanted each other to go and talk to us. While I attempted to glance around casually, I see one of the girls trying to push the other one out in our direction. I have never received this much attention in my life! People see us as Americans, and they want to be just like us; from the clothes they wear to the American songs they play. To them, we are kings.

Men rising into popularity is no new story at all. In the lifetime of the prophet Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar was such a man. One could say power was his right hand and prestige was his left. His kingdom expanding, his might unequivocal - or so he thought. As he walked on the roof of his palace, these prideful words escaped his mouth. "Is not his the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" Then a voice from heaven spoke the judgment over the King which Daniel had interpreted through a dream. Nebuchadnezzar 's splendor and glory was taken away from him, and he would be driven away from man, eating grass like the ox until seven times pass, and he would acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all the kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.

After all had come to pass, these words came from the most powerful man on earth.

"At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,
for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, "What have you done?"
Daniel 3:34-35

How powerful is the Lord! Even the arrogant cannot defy the glory of the Lord. But it is in verse 37 I find a warning. "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble."

Even though I am in a place where I am the popular guy, the rock star, the king, I cannot be prideful. My life has been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives within me. I am nothing more than a bond servant, a slave for the sake of Jesus. As John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." We are here in a foreign land speaking the gospel of Jesus, so His glory may be known among the nations. May I never forget this underlying truth, admits the smiles, stares, and attention. For those who walk in pride, He is able to humble.

Fixed Foundation

Rocks, mud, and sand have been our living reality the last 2 weeks. I am leading a Nehemiah construction team through Habitat for Humanity in the Philippines this summer. The work has been constant and challenging, for we build without many luxuries. The bricks we have helped make weigh 40 pounds each, and it takes nearly 800 bricks to build one house - we are building two side by side. The semi-flat bed truck of cement bags we unloaded were 80 pounds each, and the bags of rocks and sand we carry on our back weigh from 100-130 pounds. Half the time we are able to use a medium size concrete mixer, but the rest of the time, we mix by hand. Cutting 1/4 inch rebar and bending to make supports for the house has also been one of our many activities. Moving piles of rocks and sand can wear us out under the sun, but at last, the foundation is fixed.

Our ministry work had seemed to follow a similar course. When we first arrived in Butuan City, we had to buy supplies, adjust to the time change, and figure out what we were doing. Even as the team leader, I was not overly informed about our activities or opportunities for ministry. We would attempt to go into the neighborhood and engage the people, but with no true success. The little children could finish the bible verses we started, and trying to share Christ after a basketball game did not work the way I envisioned it. Our first Bible Study was nothing less than what I would call a train wreck, and it seemed we could do nothing right. All this time I was fighting within my mind, beginning to wonder if I was even capable of leading this team in the ministry.

We continued to fight exhaustion from our long days, and as much as I tried to encourage with God's truth about our purpose here, my stress and anxiety began to rise up again. It was now Sunday night, and I knew we had to try house to house again. Even if we were only going to lead one person to salvation, disciple one Christian, or just sow seeds without seeing the harvest, I knew we had to be faithful in proclaiming the word. My father had sent me a passage from Isiah 40 which I read over our 3 house to house teams before we went out. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on winds like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. "

The result of our obedience? We were allowed to partake in the harvest! There were 3 salvations that night, and we also found a person of peace of whom we will continue to study the Bible with him and his entire family until God leads him to salvation! We are now moving towards setting up consistent bible studies with people of peace for the hopes of salvation, and discipleship for the new believers in Christ. After we all came back, rejoicing in the Lord and sharing of our different stories, we sang a song, then lifted up our hearts to God in prayer. In 1 John 1, the author writes "We write this to make our joy complete." And that night, our joy was complete and overflowing.

Now when we wake up, we have hope. The Lord has shattered any doubt in my mind, and He has shown his eternal faithfulness, even when my faith is about to run out. Although the beginning labor was strenuous and at times discouraging, the Lord has laid a foundation for the ministry here in this Habitat Community. He is our shelter, our rock, and our firm foundation here in the storm. He is our fixed foundation. In Him, we shall never be moved.

Disillusion

Well, my online identity use to be safe. You see, today is our first day to walk around the city of Butuan, getting to know the stores and markets of our area. We are here as part of Nehemiah Teams, serving with Habitat for Humanity, building houses for the poor and impoverished. I am leading four amazing Christian guys, and we are learning how to live and grow in community daily. We are together sending updates and messages to family and friends of our safe arrival.

As I look around the Philippino internet cafe, my faith in cyber security quickly begins to plummet. You see, the name "internet cafe" implies a ground floor store with windows, light, and coffee. I'v never been so wrong in my life. The OS is windows 2000, the CPU is older than my childhood bicycle, and I have to abusively pound the space bar to separate every word I type. How often my expectations and preconceived notions are erroneous. How often I delude myself.

Coming to the Philippines, I thought I knew what poverty was. I thought I had an idea of how other people live in these places in the world, of their struggles and lack of things. In this I was wrong. After having an amazing lunch for mere dollars, we were taken by car to the Habitat House we would live in during our stay. When we got off the "highway", we drove down a dirt road in the rain. One of our supervisors called it "chocolate milk" because of the abundance of potholes filled with mud. Rundown shacks had been turned into small shops, people watched us as we drove in the rain. We were told it cost 6 pesos to travel from our house to the highway, which we gladly agreed to pay in order to bypass the wasteland of dirt and mud. "Why not? Its pocket change," one teammate said.

I looked to my right, seeing a man trying to walk where the water had not yet wasted the road. To my left, a woman walked off the road holding the hand of her small daughter, fighting the rain with nothing more than an umbrella. Then it hit me. Our pocket change is their privilege. When you make less than $2 a day, you learn to go without. And many times, its more than a car ride they go without. Whether food or clean water, people live without the very things we find common. My heart still falls heavy.

How can I live then? I have been blessed beyond reason, because of what, my birth? How do I live responsibly as a rich man? For we all are you see. Do not fool yourself as I had. We have the ability to make change, the ability to show people who Jesus is. But how? If I gave away everything I owned, I would not even be a drop in a bucket. I know I am not the first Christian to ever have these questions, nor am I the last. I know there is no simple answer, and I know each person may have a different answer.

But what I do know is this - God has opened my eyes to show me my previous blindness. This summer, through prayer, the word, and seeking God, I hope to find my role in living faithfully for God in this world, being a rich man. May my eyes not be blind with privilege. May I delude myself no longer.

Off we go!

The letters have been sent, the Lord has provided, and tomorrow I will find myself on an airplane to Atlanta for 5 days of training. Where did all the time go? What am I getting myself into? There are many questions in my mind. As my nerves, anxiety, fears, or whatever they are begin to rise in me, I cannot settle my spirit. As if I have ever been able to do so. But this is no new knowledge.

While listening to Matt Chandler, pastor of the Village Church in Austin, I was reminded this one fact: I am not awesome. For everything I can do, for every accomplishment I have achieved, I am not awesome. I really cannot fix my own problems.

The Greeks have known this from the very beginning. In Greek mythology, when the gods created man, they instilled in them a special knowledge: knowledge of their death. I do not mean the idea that "you will die," but the very year, month, date, and time of their death. From the story, man became so dismayed at this information, he folded into himself and did nothing. Man knew his limits and bounds. Now there was a Titan named Prometheus, who became close to the creatures known as man. Opposing Zeus and the other gods, Prometheus gave man three gifts. First was taking away the knowledge of mans mortality. The writers penned "Prometheus caused blind hopes to live in the hearts of men." He gave man the blind desire to overcome and be more than man could possibly be, and the last gift Prometheus gave man was fire. This is technology, to make food, weapons, and a way to correct the world around me. A way to fix what was wrong. This was all behinds Zeus' back.

Zeus later looked down upon the earth and became enraged when he saw that man had fire. He took Prometheus and explained to him because man lacks foreknowledge, because man could not see all that is, man would cause himself more problems in this state than the previous. So Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock, and sent buzzards to eat his liver, which grew back every day.

Greek mythology is awesome at identifying the problems, but is not able to offer any solutions. The Greeks were trying to explain how mankind understands mortality, yet we do not feel the weight of it. We don't think we are going to die today. Or this week. Or honestly, this year. We act like gods, because we do not think about how our actions today can make a mess of tomorrow.

Every problem we try to fix, we create another problem. From technologies we feed our time into, from antibiotic use leading to more resistant strains, and even the use and abuse of nuclear energy, man has created more problems trying to fix what is wrong. The greeks are saying we are not the answer. Our Bible says the same thing. "All mankind stands as a mere breath." We know this is true. None of us could give us the name of our great great great grandfather. Even if we showed you his picture. And thats our family. And that will also be you in the blink of an eye.

We are a millisecond in the span of history. We are so limited in our scope, we don't know whats going on at our house, our car, our work, or even whats happening behind us. But most of the time, we forget this, because our culture tells us we are great, mighty, and must grasp the power within. Don't believe me? Walk into a book store. Self-helps books. When did we start becoming such great repairers? When did we become fixers? We only try to numb our problems for a second.

I am not awesome. And this is the foundation of our joy. We must go outside ourselves to something else who has the time and scope to fix out problems. Romans 8 - "the mind set in the flesh is death. The mind set on the spirit is life and peace." A grid of moral behaviors leads to death. Christ's life is the fulfillment of the law. His crucifixion pulls off the wrath, and the resurrection is the washing clean of us before the Lord.

No matter what problem I go though, I cannot fix it. I need someone who can transcend my weaknesses. This is only found in the body of Christ. May this remain in my heart and mind this summer in the Philippines, as the Creator continues to fix and mould me. Only the Lord can settle my spirit.

Uncreative

It has been very busy. We have been leading group from Texas Super Summer, which comprises of 123 high school age teenagers. Hence why I have not blogged for so long! But have no fear! Awesome things are still continuing to happen here, even when I do not have time to contrive a clever blog. God has used the students in great ways, and has reveled Himself through various means. From real life people to the tale of Toy Story 3, our Father has taught us through many means. Even in these times were we are at the end of our rope, we still wake up and lead our teams, because in our weaknesses, He is stronger. I hope to write a few more stories become I come back, which is sadly, soon. Continue to pray for the people of Japan, that they might personally know their maker.

The Better Dessert

It was similar to I-Hop, with a Japanese Country twist: Their main and most famous dishes were omelets. Its a Thursday night, and sitting across the table from me is a very unlikely contact. He is a high class professional businessman in Shibuya, Tokyo. The company he works for is an immense pharmaceutical giant in the world of medicine, and here he is, sitting across from me.

The beginning of our relationship is how many should start, but countless times never do. I am at Starbucks, drinking my overpriced Japanese coffee, when out of the corner of my eye, I see him holding a piece of paper with Kongi and English. This was my segway for conversation. As we began to talk, I soon found out he would travel to New York, Chicago, and LA to close deals for his company. You do not send a low level businessmen to represent your company in America. He was so delighted to talk and interested in my story that he offered to take me to dinner in the future.

We connected at this local Japanese casual restaurant, and it is here the mystery of the Gospel was presented to him. As we dove into the topic of religions, I knew my work was cut out for me. Most Japanese do not believe in a religion, but most believe there are 8 million gods, and everything around you is a god. Not to limit the amount of gods, for the 8 stands for infinity. This man believed somewhere along these lines. So then, after intently listening to his thoughts and views, I begin to layout a case for Christ.

We discuss a multitude of topics, from the historical accuracy of the Bible, the nature of God, and the differences between Christianity and all other worldly religions. But as I found through personal experience, numbers of manuscripts and theological philosophy will not fully capture the image of Christ to those who are lost. The most personal and powerful story of the Gospel is not found in an academic book or in statistics - it is found in us. The story of how Jesus’ good news saved and changed us.

This story comes from the heart. As I began to pour out my life of how Christ changed me, I could see true understanding in his eyes. My friend was not bored with the story. I quoted the end of the beatitudes in Matthew were Jesus calls us to be salt and light in the world, to let our light so shine before men that they will see our works and glorify our God who is in heaven. I told him how I want my life to be different.

This was the sticking point to move into a metaphor of how I wanted my life to be. I heard this example many years ago, and through the years, it has flowed into the context of my conversation. But never before as perfect as this.

“Imagine I am eating a dessert,” I said. “Its just so good, the cream, the chocolate, the little nuts that tie the flavor together...This is perfect.” (Cue waiter, walking to table beside us with breathtaking dessert.) “But wait, look at that dessert over there. It makes mine look like nothing! Look at the precision, the creativity, the flavors, the art. After looking at it, I feel like mine is missing something. I wish I could have that something which makes it different. I want the better dessert.”

God’s perfect timing spurred me on to drive home the point. When people see my life, I want them to see me as the better dessert. I want them to look at their life and say, “What does he have that I don’t?” In this world of darkness and despair, in this world of seeker and sinners, every person is looking for something to fulfill their life. As the believers in Antioch whom first were called Christians, may we be salt to a tasteless life, may we be light to the dark places, and in a world searching for something more, may we be the better dessert.

Pray for my friend, as I connect him with a missionary who lives here, he will continue to have a thirst and desire to know the one and true God of the Bible.

Supernatural

Birds eat worms. Or so they have for as long as I could remember. I was going to meet T, my contact from Hosei University in the afternoon to go to a breakdancing club competition, so I stayed close to home and was doing park ministry in Kichijogi. We had shepherded the group to the park, and dispersed to start-up conversations through frisbees or other means. And yes, I do mean any other means.

As I sat down to read more of "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel, the person on the bench next to me moved. Great, I thought, another person running for their life. I looked down on the ground to find a worm willowing in the mud. There were birds over by the pond - this could be fun! The little 10 year-old child came out in me, and with mud crusted fingers, I walked my prize over to a group of greedy and clamorous pigeons. I threw the worm onto the ground, waiting for the immediate demise of the poor worm, but to my surprise, the birds did not even notice it. They continued to jump around, not even acknowledging the miraculous gift I bestowed on them. The early bird gets the worm, right? Birds eat worms, right? But not these! These were the birds who did not eat worms.

I had a quiet audience of one sitting on a nearby bench, quietly smirking and internally laughing as he read the distraught in my face and actions. He pointed to the pond and said, "The fish." Inside the pond, there are fish bigger than your cat. So I threw the worm, who only thought he has escaped fate, into the pond, to be eaten by the abnormal size fish. Since he was the initiator of the conversation, I sat down beside him, and we began to talk.

Talk we did, but communication came easier than it should of. This poor fellow, currently a young businessman, spoke as much English as I do Spanish. For those of you who know me, thats not much at all. But God had used ancient work in this mans life - He knew of Christ and of the Sesisho, or the Bible. I thank God for "The Passion," for by this movie, the Japanese people actually know of the story of Christ. Talk about background information taking coming to life!

He knew of the cross, and made the gesture of a nail going into the wrist of his hand. As I gave him the Gospel of John in Japanese, I would find verses in my English Bible and would have him look it up in his own language. He was open to learning more, so I pulled out our bi-lingual Steps to Peace with God tracts. He heard the gospel and was able to read it in his own language.

He understood. One of the last verses we use is Revelation 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and lets me in, I will come and eat with him, and he with me." We then ask the person, "Where is Jesus knocking? Where is the door?" He answered with the gesture of his heart. Many Japanese do not understand this very fact.

He did not become a Christian, but wanted to learn more of the Bible. I told him I would find a Japanese Christian who he could talk to and teach more of the Bible. For this I am glad, because many people push for salvations on a mission trip so they can check the box and move on with their life. I do not want this for the people I invest in - becoming a Christian is a big deal. It is not a prayer you simply pray. Becoming a Christian will change every day after for eternity. Praise God the people I have ministered to do not want to so blindly place their faith in God. Our God does not want a blind love. But that is a different story.

Supernatural means superseding the normality of nature. The birds who would not eat worms was a supernatural event. Even in the smallest ways, God uses supernatural events so the ordinary may experience the extraordinary love He freely gives. As we are commanded, make use of every opportunity. Especially the supernatural ones.

Pray for the contacts I have here! Sonya (J-girl) and I had dinner with N, my woman of peace from the begenning of the trip. It was amazing! She has so much love in her, but it is misplaced. She went to a Baptist church while living in the states and has had SO many God moments in her life. What a powerful testimony of divine appointments she will have will God calls her to Himself!

Pray for S, a man from Laos whom I was able to pour into. A case for Christ was laid down, and the gospel was presented. He too wanted God very badly, but He wanted his decision to have value to it. Praise Jesus for that. I am going to call him tomorrow to set up a time to meet and study the bible more.

Pray for T, my contact from Hosei University who took me to a club for breakdancers, not a university breakdancing club. Talk about translation error. But our relationship increased from time spent together, and pray God would give me wisdom in how/when to share the gospel with him.

Pray for T, the business man I spoke of from the park. Pray I will find the right Japanese Christian to connect with him!

Pray for H, a co-mamager of marketing at a huge international pharmaceutical company. God let me meet him at Starbucks, and we have dinner on Thursday night. May I be able to connect him with a fluent Japanese missionary who works with business men and professional baseball players here.

Pray for Y, a contact with great english pronunciation but lacking vocabulary. He learned english from music, and was very interested in Bible and wanted me to teach him. Pray I will be able to stay in contact for him, and so he will not fall off of the map.

Pray for T, a Japanese Olympic trampolinist who will be competing in Canada this week for the Canada Cup. He is interested in hanging out with me, and was interested in the Bible. Pray for times and opportunities for when he returns.

Pray for A, an American fluent in Japanese who works here. Pray I would be able to meet with him and pour the love of God into him.

Pray for Y and M, two contacts who were good ground but have totally fallen off of the map. Have not heard from them in weeks, which is sad. Pray that if I am to connect with them, God would do so.

Finally, pray for Me. Literally, pray for Dan. It is hard to juggle all these people and relationships. Sometimes I feel like I am cheating on a friend as I try to maintain these relationships all over Tokyo. It would be so easy to shut-down and do nothing. But living a life of purpose comes at a cost. Sometimes we walk into the harvest of another, and other times we sow what we will not reap. We in Japan are sowers, and take joy in being sowers. But the life of a sower is difficult - we must continually look at our life and work through heaven's eyes. Not always an easy thing for us as humans to do. Pray God would use me, and ignite me to further love these people.

Thankyou for your time in reading and for your prayers. Prayer is the number one goal and weapon of the mission in Japan - something you can help us in, even 7,000 miles away. Grace and peace be with you from our Lord Jesus.

Freely Falling

It never fails to happen - something always falls out of your Bible as soon as you open it. Or so is the case with me. Today marks the 37th day I have been on the mission field in Tokyo, Japan, and although the work done here has been amazing, living life here has been a challenge like none other.

I live in an underground apartment floor, split in half for girls and guys, with 27 other people. There is only one place where we can get wireless internet access, which is the winding hallway between both sides of the cave (clever name for the underground apartment floor). We eat, sleep, and do ministry with each other 24 hours a day. Few of us knew each other before we came to Japan, we range from ages 17-22, different colleges, different states, different personalities, and different walks of life. As one of the journeymen missionaries said, "Just add cameras, and you have Christian reality TV. The saddest part is I would actually want to watch it!"

Thus is the story of our lives here. But, through all the differences, we have our common thread - Christ. And what a powerful thread He is. We have had no divisions of unity or any notable strife. I say nothing notable, for the hardest challenge we face is for everyone to wash their own dishes! But pouring our hearts out to the Japanese every day, as well as walking a few to several miles every day within Tokyo, we much be careful. So our head missionary planned a 3 day retreat for us to relax in the mountains and grow as a team, for we still have work to do here.

Here we were, in the valley of the beautiful mountains, so far out (but still inside Tokyo), you have to push a button to make the train doors open. At a Christian camp focused on reaching military kids and serving MKs, we found our place of renewal. I open my Bible, and, almost on cue, I have Hope tracks and Steps to Peace tracks fall out. I annoyingly reached over to pick them up, when a though ran across my head. How ironic it was to have peace and hope fall from my Bible.

But the illustration goes much deeper, as the parables of Jesus often do. As Christians, we have Jesus who lives inside us. As John the Baptist puts it, I must decrease, so He might increase. We are in a process of dying to the old self and putting on the new self, the self which has Jesus as its very core. From John the Apostle we know Jesus is the Word - For in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. The same Word by which light, and all things were created, in the beginning. And by the hand of Paul, we are called to be imitators of Christ, imitators of the Word.

We are the Word to a lost world, a world which so desperately needs purpose. A world which needs hope. A world which needs life.

May those who open the pages of our life find peace and hope freely falling upon them; and as they kneel down to pick it up, may they lift their eyes to see the eternal giver of it all.

Conductors

It feels good to be loved. This week has been very busy and hectic, for in the cave, our under-ground apartment complex, we just added another 15 GoTokyo interns (high school age). This is a great addition, for we will be able to minister to more people here in Tokyo! But this also causes changes and additional confusion. We are in the process of training them - taking them to the mission sites, showing the train lines, and helping them figure our the winding streets of Shibuya, all while they are adjusting from being away from home, in a different time zone. Today, I was the only guy on my team, so after we arrived at our mission site in Tachikawa, I let the girls have their “girl time,” while I just walked around and inside the station.

I went to my favorite super market - it is hard to find, stuck in the basement of a building outside the south exit. They have amazing prices on everything, including chips, bread, sodas, and their best item, meat. I had bought my sodas, bread, and snacks from this store, but I could not buy meat, for Tachikawa is 45 minutes away from Shibuya (on a good day). As I saw a wonderful deal on meat, I flagged down a worker in the store, and through english and a spectacular display of charades to see if I could freeze the meat and come back later, he took me to an ice machine and said “free.” I had nothing to put ice in, but he changed that. After speaking to an employee, a nylon green freezer bad was brought out to me. The perfect solution to get my meat home safety. Even though he could not speak a word of English, even though I was (and have been) the only foreigner shopping in the store, he went out of his way to help me. I felt so humbled and loved by this.

My adventure continued to the gourmet food court of Tachikawa station. It is one of the most beautiful culinary sights I have seen in my entire life. Lines of perfectly lit food stands with every kind of Japanese food and more. I ended up at a cheese stand, were 3 employees greeted me and offered me samples they were handing out. As I looked over the selection, I began to name of cheeses I had previously had, and in simple English, tell them of Christmas traditions and my favorite kinds. I even told them I could not buy anything they had, they still talked to me and offered me samples of the different foods they possessed. Even though I was only able to share such a small part of my life with them, they made me feel loved beyond measure. I had a handful of other experiences such as these while I walked around, seeing what other Japanese would make true eye contact with me.

The Japanese, though having a cold and hard exterior, are the most warm and beautiful people once you are able to get inside. They have so much love to give. So much love, I have been blown away and been blesses beyond measure. I was humbled and thankful that God would let me come and serve people such as these.

Today was a reminder from God. Our call as Christians is to love people. Countless verses in the Bible speak of love - They will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another, abide in faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love, love your neighbor as yourself... It is a dominant theme of the Bible. While I am here, in Japan, God has called me to love people. But today, God used unbelievers to love me. And it felt so wonderful to be loved. It truly moved my emotions. Love is powerful. But the love of God is even greater. These people, who loved on me, were only loving in part. For it is only through the love of God that true love can be made whole. This is the love instilled into our very being - the love which will radiate from us, if we are willing.

Being loved today moved my emotions. But being love to the people around us - it moves people’s lives. May we be conductors of His love.

Unglamorous

I remained in my seat, sulking in a sense of disbelief. Was this really happening to me? Today is the day when Amanda, an intern I am serving with, and I will walk onto the Japanese Technological Hosei University campus. Our goal is to enter the campus without being stopped by campus police, for the IMB Missionaries who work here in Japan are always denied access due to their age, and eat lunch at the cafeteria, meeting students and beginning to cultivate relationships.

But today, things were not going my way. I attempted to text two of my contacts whom I had exchanged information with a few days ago, but my Japanese phone kept flashing error reports I could never hope to read. It was raining on the walk over, and both Amanda and I were without umbrellas. Once on campus, we finally bought lunch and went to sit a reasonable distance from two Japanese guys, only to watch them immediately stand up, grab their gear, and leave the area.

In my heart, I was telling God this was not the way it was suppose to happen. I was here to meet people, to be the social butterfly, not to send people away. Discourage would of taken the heart of me, but Amanda, in her wisdom, spoke the message God was trying to so desperately show me.

What if our purpose at Hosei University was different from God’s purpose? I had one goal, to meet people. But God has one purpose for us all- to be the gospel. And being the gospel is not always as glamorous as we want it to be. We could be light at the campus just by being in prayer for the people who attended, and we could pray for God to soften the hearts of those who will one day hear the good news. Even if we are not the ones who receive the harvest. God called us to this place, and our God wants obedience, not results. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians , What then is Paul? And what then is Apollos? I planted, Apollos watered, but God causes the growth.

We sat there in silence, praying for His work to be accomplished, not our own. As we were taking our trays back to the kitchen, I was stopped by a Japanese guy who wanted to talk. I did not initiate the conversation, I did not even make eye contact with him, he stopped me. And he was not the only one. By the end of the hour, I had five new contacts, all wanting to talk and hangout outside of the University. God provided people for me to begin relationships with as soon as I surrendered my will and began to seek for His. After a few cell phone pictures and many laughs, Amanda and I walked off of the campus, seeing how the not so glamorous work pleases our faithful God.

The Japanese woman who helped me get to Shibuya on my first night has finally contacted me! I will meet her for dinner on Saturday or Sunday night with one of the Journeymen, Sonya. Pray for the meeting to go well! God is faithful!

The Pursuit of Perfection

Its a compliment - really. The fat rich man, a common japanese card game, clearly portrays the culture here. This game is played with 4 or more people, and all the cards in the deck are dealt. The goal of the game is to get rid of all the cards in your hand. At the beginning, the person with the 3 of spades (3's are the lowest card) starts. He will lay down a single 3, or a pair of 3's, or if he has it, three 3's. Then going in clockwise order, the next player must lay down a higher card than the one on the table. So if a single 3 was laid down, the next person would lay down a single 4 or higher, a pair of 3's, a pair of 4's or higher, ect. If you cannot play a card (either you do not have a high enough card or the right number of cards) you say "pass." Once everyone "passes," the person who laid down the highest card then starts the entire process again. It is a game of strategy, between laying down the right cards at the right time. The first person to get rid of all of their cards by this process becomes "The fat rich man." The rest battle it out for second, third, and fourth.

Now here is the catch - The "rich fat man" will take the head of the table, and everyone will sit in order of their position. Then, after the cards are dealt, the rich fat man will take the highest 2 cards of the person in fourth place, giving them their 2 lowest cards, and the second place person will take the third person's highest card, giving them their lowest card.

This is the mentality the Japanese are born into. Those who rise to power stay in power, and those who aren't "good enough" are continually bashed into the ground. This is in all aspects of life - from academics to sports. For these reasons, the japanese students push themselves beyond all reasons. Their entire worth in life is how they can succeed, how much money they can get. But the pursuit of perfection can have drastic ends.

Japan has the highest suicide for any nation in the world. Business men who do not get the job, students who do not make it into a select school, or even those who get trampled in the rush for success all decide there is nothing more to live for. They become jumpers - throwing themselves in front of the fast moving trains. And the saddest part of all is the way the Japanese view this. The loss of a life is not disheartening to them. No, they are now late to work. There is an inconvenience. They are more worried about the stopped train system than the stop of someone's existence.

We come with a message of Hope.

Jesus.

Continue to pray as we make contacts here. I have a new contact thanks to the CBU Music team - Y. He is struggling between choosing Buddhism and Christianity. Pray God will use me to reach him for the glory of Christ.

Cilantro

I finally found meat. Because of the expensive food costs in Japan, we normally have to eat one meal a day from the cave (the place we stay). Because of some really delicious and expensive meals, we may go for a few days packing sandwiches and such. I bought what I thought was ground beef for some hamburgers, but I’m not sure what kind of meat it actually is. Maybe ground pork? None the less, the price was right, 105 yen for 100 grams. But the chicken breasts, well, not sure of that, but it was chicken, cooked nicely.

One of my other food adventures was to find the ingredients for the world famous dish, guacamole. I went to 3 different stores before I found the cheapest and best quality avocados I could find (128 yen), some, not many tomatoes (138 yen), white onions, for there are no onions on the island so it seems (198 yen), and the hardest ingredient to find, cilantro. In previous weeks I had found the garlic powder, the salt, the pepper, but nowhere could I find my precious cilantro.

I was at a speciality food store I had stumbled upon on a different trek, and thought I had seen cilantro there before. But this time, there was none anywhere. After a through search, I began to attempt communication with one of the employees, to no avail. Laugh if you must, but next time you play sharades, I want to see how you act out “cilantro.” But thankfully, there was a local who spoke wonderful English to help me. She translated for me, as we soon found out they only receive one packet of cilantro a day, and even helped me call another store close to my station to see if they would have it. This whole process took over 10 minutes, and after she finished on the phone and had bought a few things, offered to walk with me as far as her path home would take her.

She was a single mother who had a son about my age. She lived in LA for 5 years, but later came back to Tokyo. Once finding out my purpose in Japan, she was very respectful and open to conversing about religion. Shinto is her religion, and she believes because her family before her also believed. The walk was short, and we were not able to get far into the conversation. She was a very polite and nice woman, and I hope I will be able to meet her again to talk about the differences in our religions. I pray that through the adventure for finding a simple food, the Lord will continue to bring more to Himself.

Japan Video Update 1

double click for better viewing

Chronicles of the First

We serve a huge God. A God not built by human hands, a God who loves us, and a God who has sent us out to share His love. Here are the stories from Day 1 of being on our (my teams) part of the field. Acts 3:12 "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” May God always receive the glory. [and im having an AWESOME and FUN time here!!]

My first real day. Well, as in doing what I will be doing for the rest of the summer. We are all split into our teams of 3 (until the HS inters arrive), and today was Amanda, our student leader, day off. So Melanie and I get to hop the trains from Shibuya to our mission site at Tachikawa. It was a really good trip, even if we caught the slow metro. While in line at Shibuya, I looked behind us, and there was a girl who was looking at a folded piece of paper, and I saw english words on it. Perfect!

I was able to ask her if she was studying English, and thus start the conversation. She was going to school 7 days a week only for English. Even though she has only been learning for 3 months, her comprehension and her ability to understand was astonishing. Melanie was able to give the girl her contact information. We then eventually made it to the right station to meet our missionaries, Julia and Martin. They are an older couple who have lived in the area for 8 months, and they are amazing! We distributed Hope packets, which they could mail in for a free DVD about Christianity (which is very cool movie indeed). We then rode the tram across the town (45 minutes round trip) to pray for the city and the people. On the way back, a young Japanese guy sat by me, and we engaged in conversation. He knew nothing of Christianity, but was so interested. Even to the point where I brought out the books of Luke and Acts in English and Kongi, he excitedly said “Is that the Bible?” I was able to get his information, and left him with a Hope tract that he could fill out to send in for a Hope DVD. I was so happy for what God had done! After an awesome lunch and exploration of the station, we began 5 minute English.

This is where we hold signs which say 5 minute English, written in Kongi and English, so the Japanese can read it. We also put it is free. So we stand there, asking people who walk by if they would like to practice their English. It took awhile, for the Japanese are a shy people, but I had 3 conversations while we were doing it. First girl was flirting with me. Or so Melanie claimed. But she received a Hope track from me, so ha. I win.

The second person I talked to was an older gentlemen, who after reading the sign, asked me for the number of the university so he could become a teacher there. I explained to him how we were not from the university, but how there were 20 of us college kids around Tokyo, who were all Christian, who wanted to make Japanese friends and share our faith (the word religion is more commonly understood there, so I use it more) with the people we meet. He was a religious Buddhist who was going to a cleansing ceremony tonight, but was greatly interested in talking to be about the differences of our faith. I throughly explained to him how we would have a discussion, and not a debate. He gave me his number, and I hope to meet with him on Sunday! Pray for the conversation!

The third person I met was the best. He was a student in America for a year, and loved to practice his English. But as the conversation turned to why I was here, and eventually to Christ, this man was a clean slate. No religion, because he was too busy. Then we began to talk about why we work - to get more money. To buy things that in the end, do not make us happy. To re-cap the entire conversation would be next to impossible. But we spoke of many topics of Christianity, and I was able to give him a Hope tract (I hope to bring him a hard copy of the DVD when I go to meet him) and I gave him the gospel of John in his own language. After I had spoken of Jesus for a while, he said he has seen “The Passion.” Thank you Lord. I told him how the story was real. And he could hardly take it in. I hope to meet with him sometime soon, I have his information, and he will text or call me. Pray for him and the conversations we will have in the future!

Pray for what has already happened, what is happening, and what is to come. From ancient work to predestined appointments, God is amazing.

The Adventure

As many great men have said before me, the adventure is not in the destination, but the journey. How true a statement in our faith! Even in the most practical ways. I spent all day yesterday traveling to the mission field in Tokyo, Japan. But it was not without its bumps and glitches.

First, my plane from Minneapolis to Tokyo, which was a 12 hour flight, was delayed 4 hours on the ground. Why you might ask? Because of "a strip of aerodynamic rubber" had come loose. But this too was a blessing. The Chinese girl next to me was a believer, and she needed truth spoken into her life concerning how Jesus spoke and lived out forgiveness. Even one of the airplane stewardess was a believer who had lived in Japan for a time. I met a group of 7 Americans who were on their way to China to watch children as their parents learned more about the gospel. Would I ever see them again? Most likely not. All I could do was assure them I would see them on the other side. What an awesome day it will be.

After getting through customs (and the 4 hour delay), there were no more buses going to Shibuya, but there was a train leaving in less than 10 minutes. I had to run to a phone, let my supervisor know I landed and I was taking the last train to the station. Run down a couple flights of stairs, have a wonderful Japanese woman at the ticket machine to quickly get my ticket to the destination, run to my cart, and step inside with 15 seconds to spare before we took off. And I had no idea where or when we were going to get to Shibuya!

But our God provides. There was a young Japanese woman who came on the train right after I got on, and was sitting in the row directly across to me. She was kind enough to talk to me, and after telling me she was getting off at Shibuya too, would help me out. Then we had a purposeful conversation. She was kind enough to help me, so I wanted to know more about her. We ended up talking for around an hour, and I was able to infuse Christ into the conversation at certain points. She knew why I was here and my purpose for doing so. She is a newly graduated nurse who works no more than 10 minutes away form where we are stationed, and used the train station every day. I do not have my field phone yet, but she took down my information, and I cannot wait to bring one of the girls I'm working with to meet her again! She knows a little of the faith, but I cannot wait to see what God has in store! She was the man of peace (more so the woman of peace) for me in the time I needed it most. I praise God for what He is already doing! Even before I am moved in, God has placed opportunities and people before me. O how the journey is the adventure.