Home Again!

Hey All,

The Team!

I have made it home!  I realizes I did not update this during my stay in Thailand, but that was mainly due to how much we did there and the lack of being in places with internet.  As you could see from the last update we were on the go constantly.

Highlights:

*Meeting Pong:  Pong is a man who is currently in charge of evangelistic  ministries in Northern Thailand.  He took two hours out of his day to tell his life story which involved being a General in the Army, being in the CIA, in Prison for 5 years, solitary confinement for 2 and half, being clinically dead for a day and half receiving visions from the Lord and coming back to life, losing his family, his job, his house, and the Lord reconstructing his life to be fruitful for his Kingdom. He still spends many nights in prison for spreading the good news and preaches to the inmates.  I praise God to see him working in big ways through Pong.

*Meeting Orphan Kids:  We spend some days taking the orphan kids (aged 8 – 17 approx.) out to the beach, eating pizza, and playing sports.  It was amazing to be part of the orphan ministry.  It is an orphanage unlike any other in thailand.  The houses are nicer than many in North America and it is around 6 kids to a mom in each separate house.  The Kids are a joy to be around and have a passion in loving God and loving others.  There is a sense of loving community that, in all my travels, I have found very few places.

Going to the Buddhist temple in Bankok

*English Camp:  We put on an english camp with about 30 kids in attendance.  It was loads of fun and the kids were able to learn much about us, God, and the english language.  My station was to teach the kids a worship song called Sing, sing, sing.  I sung it 17 times that day.  I hope to not to see it for a long time 🙂 …

One of the missionary’s kids named Chase.

Overall the trip was an amazing way to get connected to what God has been doing in thailand.  We connected with many missionaries, local ministries, and Thai people.  Thank-you to all who supported me on this trip.  It was a great way to finish off my BA in intercultural studies.  I now will be working for the next two months before I head off to Guatemala with the South Delta Baptist Church team.  I’ll keep you posted on the details.

Blessings!

Ending off Well

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My time here is coming to a close.  It is interesting how fast it is coming.  I think now it is only 3 weeks.  I come back on the 13^th of June.  I still have 2 weeks of debrief left in Abbotsford.  It is an interesting feeling having to come to an end of knowing a bunch of people for seven months.  There is somewhat an ignorance of the ending time.  It is kind of like the ignorance of death.  We just keep going because what really can we do.  Do we sit and focus daily upon the fact we are going to die?  Hopefully not…  But the same with my time coming to and end.  Unlike death, I know the exact date it is coming.  I will be leaving and will have a whole bunch of awkward moments with people.  Some people I will never see again.  With some I may cross paths with again.  I say goodbye and then… do the awkward wait…  Usually it is followed by some comment that tries to cut through the awkwardness, but usually is just adds to it because it is not something you would ever normally say.  I think I am getting too good at this whole awkward goodbye thing.  Here is a little summary of my goodbyes:

I’ve had to do it first when I left Tsawwassen to do my year of the Quest program at CBC.  Then I had to do it at the end of quest.  Then I had to do it at the end of my Africa trip as well.  Then I went home for two months, then had to say goodbye because I was off to the Trek program.  Then after training for two months with a bunch, we had to say goodbye.  Then after my time in Germany I had to say goodbye being sure that I would never see many of them again.  Then, back for debrief to say goodbye for good to the other teams that were in other parts of the world.  Then is was back home for two month until I again left and said goodbye to go back to CBC.  Then half way through the year at CBC, I said goodbye to all and went to Jerusalem.  After four months I had to say goodbye to those in Jerusalem.  Then it was straight to Malibu without really seeing anyone at home.  Then after another 4 months at Malibu camp I had to say goodbye.  Then I spent the next 6 months between to worlds.  One working in Tsawwassen and the other in Ellensberg in which I would eventually say goodbye to both.  Then it was off to Toronto for training again.  I got to meet a big group of people but as well said goodbye with my team to Germany again.  After a month again in Germany seeing people I never thought I would have seen again, I had to say goodbye to all again.  I went back to Toronto to say goodbye for good to the other teams that were in other parts of the world.  Then it was back home for a small time until I said goodbye again to all and went off to do Trek for the second time.  Same goodbye thing happened after the first two months with all the other teams.  And now what is to come, but another goodbye after seven months of living in Mexico.

I don’t recount it to complain.  It id just interesting to look back at the past four years and think of all the people that I met and will never seen again if not in heaven.  Needless to say, I’m getting pretty experienced in this hello and goodbye thing.  It is kind of sad because I don’t really get sad anymore.

I continue to hold on to thanking the Lord for all that he has brought including this time in Mexico.  It has been a different life than I had expected, but looking back at the hard times and the good times it see his hand at work.

I’m looking forward to see all of you who are reading this once again.  I hope we can meet up soon enough.

Blessings to all

PS – the pictures are some of the thing that we have been doing (Ministry in other parts of Guadalajara, in other parts of Mexico, and our times spent here doing thing for the Matthew Centre.

Sheep and Goats

I was reading my bible today and this impacted me a lot.  Sometimes I get frustrated with serving and wonder why I continue to pursue a life focused upon seeking the Lord’s kingdom when everyone tells me we are all going to heaven if we say Jesus’ name in a prayer once.

The Sheep and the Goats

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Missionary Quotes

I was just looking up some quotes for an assignment and was quite inspired by some.  Though I would share them with you guys:

“Not called!” did you say? “Not heard the call,” I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him  whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.    – William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army

“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.”
  – J. Hudson Taylor

“The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner.” 
  – William Cameron Townsend

“Here am I. Send me.”  – Isaiah

“Had I cared for the comments of people, I should never have been a missionary.”   – C.T. Studd

“Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give.”  – David Livingstone

“The more obstacles you have, the more opportunities there are for God to do something.”  – Clarence W. Jones

“Christians don’t tell lies they just go to church and sing them”  – A.W. Tozer

“Today Christians spend more money on dog food then missions” 
 – Leonard Ravenhill

“Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring” 
 – Jesus

“The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.”    – Mike Stachura

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”     – John Piper

“I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God; first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”     – J. Hudson Taylor

“Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you are alive, it isn’t.”     – Richard Bach

“When God’s finger points, God’s hand will open the door.”     – Clarence Jones

My business is to witness for Christ. I make shoes just to pay my expenses”              – William Carey

“Whom God would use greatly He will hurt deeply.”     – A.W. Tozer

“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:34, 35).            – Jesus Christ

Campo Real Week

Me and Bailey (Dog of James and Alyssa Wiest)

This week has been an amazing week of being in a great young and growing community of believers.  We, as the team of Hadime, were living in Campo Real – a community near the outskirts of Guadalajara.  Though it may sound like it is some trailer park, it actually is a middle class nicely laid out closed community complete with parks of green grass, fountains, and funny outdoor workout things that just seem to be there more for encouraging people to do something active rather then them actually being active using the random and sometimes hard to figure out how to use machines.

Some of the youth from Campo Real and Teri using the comp

Currently there are two missionaries in the area from MB Mission: Alfredo Beltran and his family and James Wiest and his wife Alyssa.  Alfredo has started many churches in the past; including the one I usually attend here in central Guadalajara.  They have been in the area for the past few years, but just recently started planting a new church.  The services are currently in the stage of being outdoors under some coverings put in the park with some picnic tables and a few extra foldable chairs.

Reyna with a side of Alfonzo and a bit of James in the far background

Being there made for an amazing opportunity to learn how a church of a few months functions and continues to press toward.  We attended community groups, put on games in the parks, prayed for people of the church, and went door to door asking people if they had prayer requests (I did it in Spanish!).  Though we did not pray for them on the spot we received a good summary of what the struggles and desires of the people of the area are they we the church may continue to pray and support.  We also helped one guy from the church at his work.  He has many issues with his workers being in conflict at his work so we went to work and be an example.  Not to say we are always the best examples of a team, but with a team of missionaries versus a team of bus mechanics there are many differences to be notices.  We were able to pray for the place and for some of the guys there in hopes of the Lord beginning a work within the hearts of some of the guys.

Some of the youth from our team and youth from Reto

Spiritually for me things were actually very encouraging in this time.  Perhaps it was the joy of having more youth around who have similar hobbies, or perhaps it was the joy of pursing the Lord’s kingdom in some somewhat riskier manners…  Whatever it was I have come from the week feeling refreshes spiritually and ready to get back into things here at the Matthew Centre.  Though we now only have half of a day before we are off to another part of the city to lead a 4 day mission trip of youth 15 and younger.  We have to do it all as a team.  The food, the games, the outreach, the lessons, the music…  Our team is in charge.  I am in charge of the music, games, and some devotionals in the morning.  Not that I will only be doing that, but those are my responsibilities to make sure they get done.  I’m getting more and more comfortable in singing in Spanish, and in general singing and leading worship.  In the past I have been involved in music in the church but never did I have a lot of experience leading worship with guitar and singing so it has been a good stretch for me.  The more I do it the more I realize I love to lead and sing.  Sometimes I wish I didn’t have a guitar so I could focus more on singing and leading the group, but nonetheless I am gaining experience and joy.

As I mentioned above we are now off to leading a mission trip.  I will be extremely busy for the next 4 days, but then after (if all goes well), we will have some time to relax.  And by relax I mean time to be living in the Matthew Centre where usually everyday we have lessons for 4 – 6 hours.  Hah!  Perhaps not the most relaxing, but at least we are situated and know where our beds are.  Our next month will be about evangelism.  Learning about it, reading about it, living it, and the like.  Prayer for continual health and joy would be amazing.  Our team has been together almost long enough now to start having conflict so prayer for continual unity and times of joy together among the stressful situations would be great as well.

New Places, New Faces, New Miracles

As of late we have been living in another part of Guadalajara studying and serving at another church.  The church is called Casa de Paz (House of Peace) and is only about 2 years old, but has been growing immensely and has great vision for what the Lord can do in this community.  It has been a blessing this past few days to be living in another area.  Though our team is together most of the day, we are again all sleeping in different houses.  This time I am living with a poorer family within Guadalajara.  They have little materially, but much spiritually.  It has been amazing to learn from them.  Though they do not have much extravagant words, or a list of their degrees, they have joy unlike I’ve ever seen.  The Father of the household works upwards of 13 hours a day 6 days a week at a pants making factory.  The Mother can’t work for she has to take care of their daughter who is 12 and their son who is 4 who has a form of down syndrome.  They have experienced many miracles in their family.  They had their first daughter, but could not have a second for Carolyn’s (the mother) womb with incapable of doing so… according to doctors.  One day a Christian who received a message for them came to them.  They were not Christians but nonetheless received the message with hope, for they were told that they would be having another child.  Sure enough without doctoral explanation they had another child.  This child was born without use of his legs, and was later to have no ability to speak.  3 years when by and little change except for his size.  But through connections with some friends they went to a local church where their child was prayed over.  He is now able to walk, and talk.  Though he still talks in a limited manner, and requires assistance walking up and down stairs he had miraculously developed.  He is now 4 and we are able to talk and play with his toys together.  Everyday I get to wake up and see his smile.  It is huge!  Everyday living with this family I am reminded that our Lord does miracles.  Not only with their child has the Lord blessed them, but with their house.  4 years back when Carolyn was pregnant with their son, they were having great troubles financially and were living with family.  They went from family member to family member looking for somewhere to stay for all their possessions had been taken away including their house.  This was very troubling for them for they didn’t know what they were going to do with their son that was on the way.  But in time and the Lord’s provision the Father (Raul) was able to get a job.  Step by step they made it back into a house.  The only issue was that they had no money to fill it with anything.  But the Lord is faithful.  Upon moving in, random people started coming to their house asking if they wanted whatever it was the person had.  Some came with tables.  Some came with chairs.  Some came with sofas.  Eventually the house was filled.  As we were sitting at their dinner table I looked around the room.  They told me that everything in their downstairs had just come to them.  It was not the most elegant or expensive of things, but it was totally filled.  The Lord had blessed them and continues to do so.  The joy that they have is unlike any other I have seen.  It is not that they do not struggle and have hard times, but their hearts are pure.

Immanuel (The Miracle Child of the family)

I think about this everyday I am there.  I am able to meet this family who is very simple in style of living.  They have little or no time to serve in the church or seek the Lord’s kingdom with great passion, but the Lord chooses to bless them.  The Lord sees his children and gives.  My view of how God is only going to help me if I do great things for his kingdom has been pushed aside.  My view of the Lord’s grace has grown greatly from being able to be with them and hear their story.  I want to learn more of our Lord because of them.  Raul, the father, told me something of great importance that he learned actually from some mormons who came to their house to help them before.  They are not mormons themselves, but learned from them that spending time thanking the Lord when you wake up, when you eat, and when you go to bed is very important.  I have began this discipline.  Sometimes I forget they I have much to be thankful for.

Lessons learned continued…

If you read my last update you will see a list of some of the things I learned while living in a village of 200 in the middle of nowhere in Mexico.  Though I am no longer in the village I still have the lessons fresh in mind.  It was an amazing experience with many opportunities of learning humility, patience, and many other things that I think need some explaining.

Lesson 6: The difference between the dirt you need to clean and the dirt you leave because it is the floor…

I was asked to sweep many times but found myself in great hesitation as I would look at the floor and wonder to what level the expected me to clean.  I could go all out and clean all the dirt, but then they would be left without a floor.  Usually what ended up happening is that one of the kids would see me cleaning too much or too little and just take over.  They wondered why I would continue to watch them.  Little did they know but I was trying to learn what the norm of cleaning dirt is.  I think I got it down by the end.

Lesson 7:  Taking a shower after working hard will make you sick…

This actually isn’t just a thing with the villages but in Mexico in general.  There is this – can I call it this –  superstition that if you do not immediately cover yourself after a shower and it is the least bit cold you will get sick.  Many a time I have been told in very immediate manners to cover my head when I come out of the shower.  The difference in the village was that I wasn’t supposed to take a shower after working.  I was supposed to wait.  I could imagine it has something to do with sweat, but nonetheless something I never thought of before.  After 4 days without showering I wanted to take my weekly shower but was told I should right then

Lesson 8: Mother goats don’t like it when you try to take their 2 day old kid away…

I should have saw it coming…

Lesson 9: You can eat a large bowl of brains and not even know it

A bowl of eggs in soup was given to me.  It was usual we had loads of eggs usually with every meal.  I started to eat this bowl of “eggs” and began thinking to myself, “this has a different taste than usual.”  But it could have easily been the soup that it was in.  Then about half was through I thought again, “These don’t look like normal eggs.”  Among my questions to myself I decided it wise not to ask what I was eating.  I just continued on eating as if it were eggs.  I convinced my mind greatly.  I thought just about never asking and never finding out if it actually wasn’t eggs.  But my curiosity just got in the way and sure enough I asked and they told me I had eaten brains.  A huge bowl of soupy brains.  If ever you wonder what you are eating, do not ask until after it helps so much.

These lessons were all part of understanding living in a different culture.  I am happy that I learned them.  Most of them were not reasons to be happy while living in them.  But looking back has made for amazing reasons for being grateful in my life.  Just as many of the things I have been living the past few years have not all been easy, but looking back I see what they have accomplished in my life.  I look forward to the moments I don’t want to be in but have no choice that I may look back on them and see what the Lord was up to.

Blessings! Until Next Time

Lessons of the Pueblo

Things have continued on here living in the town in the middle of nowhere.  A good example of what the town is like in reference to something in Canada would be like one of those small little towns that you see (if you don’t blink) and wonder who would ever live there in the midst of traveling to somewhere in the boonies to go camping.  It is very small about 200 hundred people.  Though they do have their own language…  But this update I would like to write a bit differently.  I think a list of the lessons and an explanation of them would be interesting…

1.       How to wash clothes by hand in a basin thing…

a.       I have had to learn to how to wash my clothes in a basin thing.  I´m not quite sure what to call it, but we us it for all sorts of things.  We use it to clean dishes. To drink from. To feed the farm animals.  To shower.  It´s all the same basin of water.  It has a green tinge of bacteria all around it growing.  But it works…

2.       How to eat using tortillas as utensils…

a.       They don’t usually supply utensils for eating.  The first day this presented a problem for every meal tends to be soup of some kind.  But as I watched I realized not only can tortillas be used to eat, but to bring the other food to your mouth as well.  Even soup.  Sure I am horrible at it, but at least I can get food to my mouth.

3.       How to walk all day in scorching heat up and down small mountains without passing out…

a.       We walk about 5 to 8 hour each day.  The whole area of just mountains.  Nothing is flat.  It is usually around 80 to 90 degrees everyday.  My first few days doing this I was on the verge of passing out most of the day, but I continued to raise my hands in prayer for the Lord´s help.  He supplied it.  I was dizzy every time I got up from sitting, but I made it back in one piece.

4.       How to cook cactus…

a.       You cook it just like any other green thing.

5.       How to go to the bathroom without a bathroom…

a.       I find that bringing a thing of toilet paper no matter where you are is of greatest importance.  Never forget your roll and you can take care of business anywhere. I prefer large trees to lean.  Skinny ones tend to bend and make things difficult.  As well large trees keep you hidden from the dogs that are always on the watch for one who might be leaving behind a special meal for them.  Trying to kick off dogs while going to the bathroom is not recommended in my experience.  If your rolls runs out there are even special leaves that have softness to them.  They do have a bathroom, but it doesn´t have a door, nor a seat, nor cleanliness (at least to my standard which I am working on lowering).

The lessons continue.  I will write some more the next time.  But for now I think 5 is enough.  It goes to show some of my frustrations… but as well my attitude to accept them as learning, not as something to reject.  There has been plenty of opportunity to be angry and frustrated, but I know the Lord is just teaching me patients and a new culture.

Half Time Update

This week has been much different than the weeks past.  I have been living with a family in a much different part of Mexico.  As part of our experience in Mission program that we are doing with Trevor and Joan the team is required to spend around 4 weeks living with an indigenous family in their town.  It is amazing to see how divers Mexico is even going just an hour outside of one of the cities.

For my time (it is about half way now) I am living in the town called San Isidro de Morelos.  It has another indigenous name in the name tongue of Trique, but due to the dominating culture of Spanish the name recently changed as is the main language used.  In Mexico there are thousands of variations of languages.  Here they speak Trique, but I can look across the valley and see another town where they speak a different dialect called Trique bajo (low trique).  We had a reunion with our team (everyone is living in different places, some 45 mins away from town, others 6 hours) in which 6 of them came back from Mizteco speaking towns, not one of them could speak any words to each other.  All they had learned in the first weeks is completely different in every place even though it is considered the same language.  My town speaks Trique, but all are slowly but surely making the switch to Spanish.  Most are bilingual unless they are above 50 years old.  Soon it seems the language and most parts of the indigenous culture here will be lost in the next coming generation.

I will try to get some pictures are soon as I can but at this moment it will only be in words.  I live basically in the mountains.  Really high up.  It is really hot in the day and freezing cold with huge winds in the night.  Basically every day I walk down 30 mins to where they have their fields of foods and animals.  This isn´t an ordinary walk, but a walk that is for the most part steeper or just under 45 degrees.  The day usually starts around 10 down there.  After sending out the goats for the day we go fix the water pipe.  The water pipe breaks every day, and if not, we usually go look at it and figure out how to break it so we can fix it again (a hint of my inpatients with the cultural difference of how to prioritize productivity).  After 2 or 3 hours fiddling with the water pipe we head back to the field.  Then we prep for heading out to cut wood.  We cut the wood with huge machetes and then put it on horseback.  Somewhere among that time we go looking for the goats.  Most of the time they are about an hour to 3 hour walk away (depending if we can find them).  In the past 4 days 5 new goats have been born.  I got to see one being born.  It was kind of gross… but after the mom had licked off all the liquid it was quite cute.  But then after the goats are back we head back up which usually takes an hour to hour and half depending on the horse´s compliance with how much wood we have put on him.  Then we are back for the second and final meal of the day usually consisting of eggs and some kind of green.  It could be leaves.  It could be string beans.  It could be cactus.  I never really bother with finding out, I´m just so hungry by that point that I eat whatever it is. If there isn´t church (it is every other day at 6pm) the day usually ends with a Christian show from the 1970´s that are translated into Spanish, then it is off to bed.

It has been a great experience of learning a new culture.  It has been full of challenges of patients and it giving me a great example of what living in a very different culture is like.  Though they do have energy and connection to the media of the world, the mindset is still very primitive.  But it is this primitive that I am learning is not exactly primitive in the sense of being worse, but different.  The culture here is not worse, as much as native culture wants to try and It is amazing to see how divers Mexico is even going just an hour outside of one of the cities.   convince me.  But it is different.  It is different to live with less.  It is different to live with a bunch of farm animals.  It is different to have to wash my clothes by hand.  It is different to work without a great mindset of productivity in mind.  It is all different…  not worse.  I am learning this.

There is more to explain but for the time being I think that will suffice.  They have an internet place where I can pay 10 pesos for an hour of internet.  It usually is just full of a bunch of local Mexican youth playing computer games.

Blessings!

Week of Church Planting Training

It has been a hard and long week of taking classes 6 hours a day.  We travelled 13 hour to get to the city of Oaxaca and have been here now for 5 days.  This purpose was to learn from a couple here who has been studying and and planting churches in the indigenous cultures of Mexico.  We normally would wake up around 6 or 7:30 (depending if you had to do the morning chores and help with breakfast), walk to the house, eat our breakfast until 9, then walk down to the church where we would spend the next 4 hour studying.  After the first section of study, we went and ate lunch from 1 until 4 then headed back to the church to finish off our 2 more hours of study.  After studying it was off to the “downtown” of the city where we ate dinner (usually consisting of meat, flat bread, and onions with cilantro… also known as Tacos).

We made church teams up during the lessons to actually live out the things we were learning within all the students.  It was our turn to go and lead a church service.  It was an interesting task for me having to be the coordinator of sorts when not really being that confident in spanish.  I had to make up a song in spanish and sing it, I had to introduce our group and what was going on,  I had to pray and had to lead a game for hang-out time after… all in spanish.  It was a good test.

As the afternoon progressed we got through the introduction, we got through the songs, got through the sermon that Teri (the other missionary here with me from Canada), and were off to doing our prayer time and communion time.  Just as we were finishing the prayer time there came a huge bang on the door.  The door half broke down and in came 10 – 15 guys with knives and machetes screaming the God does not exist and we shouldn’t be there.  I half fell out of my chair, and actually ended up sitting on two other missionaries that were there.  They continued on pushing chairs and pulling people to the ground yelling, “who is your leader!”  We stayed silent either then the murmuring prayers of all the missionaries there.  After a few moments (that seemed as hours) of us being silent and then yelling and pushing people around our leader stood up and they took him outside where we couldn’t see him.  After a time, their main leader came back in and ask for another person.  They yelled for our leader, but no one answered so they just took the next guy closest to them.  We continued to pray…  We sat waiting for what would happen next.  The guy came over to me.  I didn’t understand his yelling at me until he grabbed my hair and pushed me face towards to ground.  He didn’t want people looking.

Three things came to my mind:

– Well if this is it, I’ve had a good go…  I’m ready…

– I’m sure glad I chose to take risks with the time I was given (for what if I were to be killed and not had lived anything I desired?)

– Lastly, My family is not going to like this…

Through my thoughts and adrenaline rush it was hard to really react to anything going on around.  But I had great peace.  Some were crying, some where comforting others, some where silent, some were praying…  But many had great peace.

5 minuets past and in comes one of the guys that was leading us.  He came in with a big smile on his face.  He told everyone to stop.  The guys with knives all stopped and began to laugh… well at least smile… It was a fake…  They didn’t tell anyone that it was…  But they brought back in the two that had taken and began to tell their testimonies to us of how they used to be drug addicts and in gangs where this was their reality.  They said it was thanks to people like us that they were out of that lifestyle living for Jesus.  They played the part well… Almost too well.  But our teachers wanted us to understand the reality of the persecuted church.  They wanted us to feel it.  For so many live that reality everyday.  Many were shaken up the rest of the day.  I was as well.

It was a good test in the end.  After my anger had past.  After my adrenaline went down I was able to reflect.  My reflections are still coming days after.  It woke me up to the reality of how little time I have.  So many times we forget we could be dead tomorrow.  Wether it be from vigilantes attacking the church or a car crash, we can be dead today.

The big question was, “What have I lived for?”

I’ll write more as I reflect more on this, but for the time being I hope this could be a help for your life as well to begin living what the Lord has put in your heart.

Blessings,

Jon