Thoughts of a Servant

- Monica came and picked up from home, brought to rock harbor.

- Went to LAX

- Video in the Airport

- French girl who played guitar

- Service dude who did the Jesus rap

- Got on plane and had some fun sittin next to Deb

- Got to London 11 hours later

- Left on next flight, still next to Deb haha.

- Had some cool discussions with Deb constantly visiting Jess and Em in 1st class awesomeness

- Around 7am local time, 10PM PST, we saw the most gorgeous sunrise ever as the blissful blistering red sun creeped over the spouting clouds

- Landing we got all of our luggage (except for Jess & Mitch — bags were lost), and the pills were confiscated.

­- Got to Bridges of Hope, saw the most beautiful scenery ever.  The home is amazing, very well upkeep and amazing views.  These views included table top, sleeping giant mtn., gorgeous views

- Greeted by all of the kids

- Ate some dinner

- Talked to Julius about his parents and why things happen to good people

- Led the church service at the academy with 8 songs and two devotionals by Will and Deb.

- Went to bed

I wanted to share a concern that I have.   I ran across this video today on youtube which started out as a joke from a friend because the guy has the same name as me…  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAuA7Vz2Gm8) But I began to think about it and research, this stuff is real– It is scary to think that there are those who think they can cast Demons and there are those who think they have a higher authority than God–  There are stories in the Bible about casting demons, but I have never been more scared to see such an extreme action similar to that in the video.

I have been told that we are to expect miracles and amazing things to happen, because when we open our hearts to hear the Word, nothing is impossible– but I have been concerned because that fine line between miracle and temptation can sometimes be borderline evil.  I remember the first time I heard speaking in tongue– I was blown away by it, but I was also skepticle of the fact that someone could just be composing some random collection of words– as if it were a scripted religious show.  As I believe in Matthew it says that speaking in tongue should not be done unless an interpreter is there. But this was under their breath as though it was a prayer between God and that individual.  Of course we must remember, there are so many other religions that have the same foundation of Christianity that present the information differently because of a different audience– which is amazing in itself that we all have our own learning styles.

I think I am at the point where frustration hinders my heart because I cannot understand the cultural backings of these religious teachings, and all I want to do is Love.  These cultures are completely immersed in many thousands of years of traditional references and teachings that I cannot simply understand.

I also have pure frustration that our society is so relaxed in its practices.  My friend recently got back from Egypt and other countries–  They have the call to prayer chant daily that echos throughout the cities– He boldly heard this call through his hotel window:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/coopergriggs/3528913808/

*Where we can’t even say the word God in our national anthem, or read a Bible in public, without being criticized.

This past week has been dififcult, not enough Word and too much life as a sinner–  But I am a sinner that has a mission.  I assure you, I have fallen, I will still continually fall– but I have never felt a larger call to action that that of living my life in persuit of lost souls.  I never felt more urged in mission before I got to this very line of this very email.  I never recognized the need until I began to write this email.  This message in itself is me accepting the challenge.

Right now I am sitting in front of a memorial frame I received when I went off to college that is full of meaningful notes and letters; it has pictures and notes of loved ones, friends, family, and everyone from my past.  For me to say that not all of them know Jesus hurts me deeply– But for me to say that there is still time, creates great Joy.

There have been lots of things going through my head.  I have been questioning my passion and motivation and wondering how I can direct it in positive ways to further my relationship with God.  I recently came across this book called Reflections of a Peacemaker.  I just through I would skim through the book and see what looked good.  Maybe look at the pictures–

What blew me away was his conceptual grasp on the idea of death.  He doesn’t downplay the effects of death, and he recognizes that it comes, but rather than living your life dying, you can live your life by living.

Little did I realize the effect thatthis book would have on my life.  This boy was not even 13 when he died, and he wrote the most simple, real, and most profound poetry I have ever read.  His story is amazing, his cause is truthful, and his purpose was in Love– love of life, love of existing, love of appreciation, and love of sharing.  I opened the first page of the book and could not put it down.  I can admit that it was getting harder and harder to read the poems as my eyes were becoming pools by realizing  the things that I take for granted.  Take a look at a few of his poems–

About Living (Part III) — Mattie J.T. Stepanek — 10 years old when he wrote this poem.

I wanted to live
To be
One hundred and one
Years old.
But that is no
Longer my goal.
When I die,
I die.
I cannot predict.
I cannot control.
I cannot change
What is to be,
What is what it is
And will be
What it will be.
I wanted to live
To be,
And not die.
But,
While I’m alive,
I live
To the fullest.
I treasure each sunrise.
I remember each sunset.
I dance every dance and
I sing every song and
I celebrate every moment.
I wanted to live
To be.
And,
i am spending my time
On earth before death
Living,
Rather than dying,
And not wasting a moment
Of the precious gifts
Of time and
Of life and
Of being, for now.

On Growing Up

The Gift of a Name

We have two routines that we will be performing at the 2009 LA Salsa Congress. Working fast and hard on these has been fun! Its go time!

There is nothing like a good visit with friends and doing a little salsa!  The 2009 LA Salsa Congress is where its at!  Everyone there is just an amazing at Salsa.

I recently received a letter from my child, Mereset, in Ethiopia.  These letters are always humbling and reminds you of the importance of your “stuff.”  Every letter I receive always mentions that the fmaily health and wellness is in good condition.  I have been struggling to remind myself how blessed I am to have what I have.  It is also a major struggel to spend money on things that don’t show investment value.  That is just coming from the business side of me, but its true!  I am going to try and make it a priority to display affection and realize that I and we are blessed beyond belief, and we should give back accordingly.   So my tribute to you Mereset, thank you for your kind words– at such a young age you can change the mind of many.

We met together as a team for the first time today.  It is an awesome group of people who will do great things for the Lord.  It is amazing how the right collection of people join together to accomplish tasks.  We spent some time today just gathering information about the trip, what it is we will be doing and how we will serve. you can check out the Organizational Blog here:

http://rockharborafrica2009.blogspot.com/

I was told that the country we are going to is the country that speaks in clicks!  I am stoked to find out how to speak some words.  It is a language called isiXhosa.  I am also going to try and pick up musical instruments as the culture is very large on communcation through music.   It should be very very fun, but also a very beneficial experience for everyone.  I hope that we can connect with the community, as in it will carry from one team to the next.

We discussed Exodus 33:15-16 which says

“Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.  How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?  What else will distinguish me and your peopel from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:14-16)

This is a powerful statement showing that we cannot go with just our services– If we go without service, our services will be meaningless.  We must go with service and the Word of God.  This is the only way change will happen.  We have been prepared with armor, and we must enter the battle field with Love.

I must say that I am very excited about this upcoming trip.  This is my first post about the south africa trip.  I will try and keep you as informed as possible.

Rock Harbor has its sights set on international missions as a part of reaching out.  It is always cool to serve in your community, but there is so much going on in this world.  I know that the US is having major financial difficulties, and thats a horrible thing, but there are families across the globe that cannot even feed themselves every day.  It is definately an eye-opener to see such a poverty stricken situation, and it changes your heart.

I am also very excited to say that I will have the awesome opportunity to spend my 21st birthday serving the Lord in South Africa.  I believe that it will be a great experience as it is my tithe to give something very important to me, such as my birthday, to the services of Love.  As the bible puts it in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.”

I pray that I could put in words the feelings that God has put on my heart.

I pray that I could share the passion I feel for the word.

I pray I will continue to let God speak through me and use me.

I pray for the children who idol false prophets.

I pray for the missionaries around the world that are being persecuted for even just the mentioning of Jesus.

I pray for the missionaries that have been forgotten or forced into isolation.

I pray for the hundreds of thousand of people each day that die without knowing the Good News

I pray for every one child that suffers from human trafficking.

I pray for every homeless individual who suffers from stereotypes and stubborn beliefs.

I pray for the every individual that wants to know happiness but can only find pain.

I pray for those who seek in pleasure and dwell in suffering that they will come to know the fulfillment of our awesome God.

I pray for the churches that believe in false rituals and exegetic scriptures.

I pray that God will use me to talk with these people, to spend time with these people, to understand and embrace these people– And through love, display Jesus’ gift of salvation.

I have been praying that I can feel sorrow for those who don’t know Jesus– That I would feel the urgency to take my brothers place so that they may go to Heaven instead, and that they would come to know the love of Jesus.

There is a pull in my heart– We talk of a transformation, but this is different– It is more of an ongoing transformation into something great.  You can feel it moving and it gives you such JOY in Jesus, but the sorrow for those who do not know Jesus.

Oh this was awesome!  We did some thriller in Orange County!  Maki, Rory and I took the class on monday morning and performed it Saturday morning on little sleep and lots of makup .  It was the bomb.  We even made it into the paper.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/dance-year-people-2206699-world-event

Definately worth it  Happy Halloween!  And happy 25th anniversary to MJ’s major hit.