The Lord Disciplines the One He Loves
To put it bluntly, I need to remember that if I do not use discipline in my parenting/shepherding I am stupid [Proverbs 12:1]. Eliphaz tells Job it’s important [Job 5:17], David recognized it is important [Psalm 94:12], and Paul realized that without it he can be disqualified from the prize [1 Corinthians 9:27].
Being disciplined is tough, but it comes easier when it we embrace it. The typical example that comes to mind when thinking about discipline is how a father, after his child has disobeyed him, disciplines his child. A usual response by the father, before he disciplines his child, is, “This is going to hurt me than it is going to hurt you.” When we are children, this sounds like the most absurd thing to say, but now I see this through several different ways.
First, my friend and new father Jeff Borton. Last Wednesday after small group, Mike and I went over to Jeff’s house to hang out for a while and I saw a personal example of how a father, who loves his children so much, will love them enough to discipline them so that they learn to be more mindful of their actions and how they impact others. Although tears may be shed one moment because of discipline, laughs of joy are shared the next because love is what binds them together.
Second, my father. My dad did not have to discipline me too much as a child because I tried my best not to hurt him, but those times he did I saw his authority loud and clear. I did not ever like his discipline, but now that I am getting older and seeing how difficult it feels at times to discipline someone you love, I have SO much respect and admiration for him to discipline me when I needed it.
Lastly, our Father. I do not ever want to sin more so that God’s grace has to abound more. God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die for me. His grace should overshadow any fears I have about His discipline. The truth of the matter is that His discipline is love. I am actually an illegitamate son if I do not go through discipline [Hebrews 12:8]. To be disciplined is to be loved because, “The Lord disciplines the one he loves” [Hebrews 12:5].
It Does Not Insist On Its Own Way
With most weddings, maybe not nowadays because of the constant hurriedness or lack of focus that it is an establishing of a covenant with Jehovah, 1 Corinthians 13 is read to give insight into what love is.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Contextually, Paul is writing to explain each gift that a member of the body of Jesus has is specifically chosen.
“But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” - 1 Corinthians 12:18
Love is a multi-faceted part of life. It is God [1 John 4:16]. Using it for God, your neighbor and yourself is necessary for all laws to depend on [Matthew 22:37-40] and it will also give you eternal life [Luke 10:27-28].
I want to concentrate on Paul’s statement that love, “…does not insist on its own way.” A classic book on love and how to effectively use it is Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages. He explains how people give and receive love. It’s very insightful for those who want to know how their love intake/outtake is measured [Take the quiz - The Five Love Languages].
One disturbing trend these days is the constantly inflating rate of divorces in the United States, or for that matter all over the world. I hear different things about how people leave marriages because of “irreconcilable differences,” but it ultimately comes down to truly understanding how to love. If God commands His people to be holy just like He is holy [1 Peter 1:16], and God is love [1 John 4:16], and love covers a multitude of sins [1 Peter 4:8], and God blessed us with the cost to pay the price of sin by death through Jesus [Romans 6:23], then love should at the very least help marriages patch up what are supposedly “irreconcilable” differences.
Although ideally the covenant promise made to God in His name should trump any desire to divorce, we as people need to remember that people have love and can give love. Maybe it will not be in the exact way you want it, but it is given.
The relationship that I have with my dad is a powerful example in my life. My dad and I are two very different guys. He is the most amazing man I have ever known. His work ethic and heart to always do right even when people are not right to you is something I hope to instill in my life and in my future family. He learned how to protect and provide for our family through being a father way too soon, in some eyes. My grandpa, dad’s dad, passed away at a very early age in my dad’s life. So quickly, my dad had to help lead the family. This was a time of character building for my dad but at the same time it might have become a solidifying time in some of the ways he perceived love. He had to deal with working multiple jobs to provide for himself and the family, without the strength of a father behind him. Several people stepped into his life to be a father figure, namely my Uncle Bob Burkeholder, but still, he was not grandpa. With those scars in my dad’s life, he learned to love through providing and sacrificing.
A couple of the “Love Languages” Mr. Chapman explains deal with gift giving and acts of service. That’s my dad. Yet to contrast, that’s not how I receive love. I receive it through quality time with people and personal touch. So growing up, to my untrained and downright selfish mind, I thought my dad didn’t love me as much as I wanted him to. I knew he loved me, but not to the depths that he actually does.
I am getting older, hopefully wiser, and I see things differently. My dad loves me. He shows it differently than I show love but, nonetheless, he loves me so much. My dad is an amazing human representation of who God is. He has told me before that if anyone ever tried to harm me, he would in an instant sacrifice his life to protect me, but that powerful statement as a child has been forgotten when I would get consumed in seeing how much quality time he needed to give me by being there at my soccer games or elsewhere.
With all of that said, I urge whoever reads this to quit insisting on getting love your way all the time. Yes, your way of understanding love is important because that is how you receive love, but do not make your love the only way to show love. Relationships are dear parts of life. Please learn to understand if there is a MIScommunication because if you don’t learn now you may only MISS communication. Whether it is with a boyfriend/girlfriend, brother/sister or a father/mother, remember that, “(Love)does not insist on its own way.“
Not On Tablets of Stone
Teaching every weekend, or for that matter every moment I claim authority of knowledge in the Scriptures, it is frightening experience. For everything I teach I will be judged strictly [James 3], which is a natural consequence of what I say. When the subject matter concerns our Father, the Creator of all the heavens and of the earth, our words should be held to the highest standard.
For each word I say out of my mouth or for every letter that is read over the internet, I pray that my life is the letter that Paul describes our Corinthian brothers to be in accordance with the testimony of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” - 2 Corinthians 3:2-3
New City, New Life, New Perspective (Again)
A bit of information I was told but never believed until I arrived down in Miami was, “Down there, everything moves fast.”
Wow. It is true.
I officially moved down here August 1. I was going to live for a month out of my truck and in my friend Jeff’s house because our house wasn’t ready yet. I had two weeks to start a new high school ministry in a rented charter school in Homestead, FL. I spent 4 weeks looking for a job to start working towards health insurance (actually it only took 2 weeks but the other 2 were spent calling and calling and calling about when I would start training).
Today is November 19. I’ve been here 3 months and 19 days. It definitely does not feel like it. Many changes have happened to me, but all are apart of a plan that is bigger than anything I can even fathom of orchestrating.
When I arrived to work for Christ Fellowship, there were 2 campuses. Palmetto Bay and Homestead. Within these 3 1/2 months of being here, we have been blessed to find ourselves in 3 more campuses spread throughout the Miami-Dade area. The opportunity to minister is now up for Christ Fellowship to take on in Palmetto Bay, Homestead, West Kendall, Redland, and my new home, Downtown.
There are so many staggering statistics about the ministry I have found myself in here in Miami.
Over 50% of the residents in Miami are from out of the U.S.A.
Miami is the 2nd most unchurched city in the U.S.A., behind Seattle.
Billy Graham himself recently asked for prayer for the work of the LORD that needs to be done in Miami.
With just a couple of those factors, among many, Miami screams “Mission Field.”
My heart for missions globally has landed me in a giant, cultural melting pot of opportunity right here in the very country I was born in.
I’ve moved locations, I’ve moved focuses, I’ve been stretched and still am being stretched, all the while the LORD is just watching me follow the steps that He planned for me from the beginning.
I hope to make a short movie about the changes Miami is going through along with the unending blessings God has been giving to believers all over Miami. My words cannot adequately paint the picture of the true necessity of God’s life saving message of salvation through Jesus here in Miami.
Dr. Rick Blackwood has given several encouraging words that I want pass on to you. He reminded our staff that whatever you do, there is always someone who can do a job, but the LORD has given a specific job to us. There will be a day when I will be gone but for this time and this season in my life, the LORD of all creation has blessed me with this moment, or more Scripturally accurate, breath, to do the task He has given to me.
Wherever you are in your life, whether in school or in a career, DESIRE TO KNOW YHWH. By knowing Him, You will find your purpose.
New City, New Life, New Perspective
I just wanted to drop a quick note to give you all my information if you want to get to know some of what I am doing down here.
I’m still not in my house yet. The house is close to being done but I’m living at Jeff’s house with all of my stuff in my truck still. It’s good to be living at my friend’s house for the time being. Gotta love having no “official” home. It’ll be good though once I get in because my roommate will be my friend Jorge Canales from El Salvador. Him and I have been hanging out and getting to know what’s been going on since he’s been down here and since last time we saw each other before now.
My position is the new high school student group director at Christ Fellowship’s new Homestead campus. The church started another campus and we just launched the new high school student ministry, Revolution Ministries. Jeff is my boss for Revolution because he is in charge of all campuses concerning Revolution. My responsibilities for my job at Christ Fellowship are:
1. Assisting Jeff in writing his messages
2. Assisting in local missions projects
3. Small group leader for 10th grade boys every Wednesday night
4. Revolution Homestead Student Director
a. Coordinating Setup/Tear down for weekend services
b. Coordinating small groups for Revolution Homestead
c. Coordinating “First Priority” Bible clubs in the Homestead area high schools
d. Writing and speaking messages for the weekend services
e. Logging and creating a template for the launch of the new Kendall campus Revolution ministries.
f. Anything else I can come up with to strengthen the program
With all that said, I have been REALLY busy. Between learning the whole Revolution process at the Palmetto Bay campus and then driving 30 minutes to Homestead on weekends to formulate how we will be launching the new Revolution, it’s been muy loco, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The people are great and I know that this is where I’m supposed to be by God’s grace.
Here are some websites and address information for my position:
Christ Fellowship Website
Christ Fellowship Palmetto Bay Campus Visitor’s Website – My office location
Christ Fellowship Homestead Campus Visitor’s Website – My service campus
The Church Members’ Website
Revolution High School Ministries – The high school website
My office address:
Tommy Parke
Revolution Ministries
8900 SW 168th ST
Miami, FL 33157
My house address:
Tommy Parke
16435 SW 90th AVE
Miami, FL 33157
That’s just a quick overview of what’s been going on but I help it gives you an idea of how busy but how blessed I am to be here. If you’re ever down here and need somewhere to come, my house and the church are here for you. Take care and God bless.
Called To Serve: Arusha, Tanzania
In about 12 hours, a team from Oak Grove Baptist Church will be heading to Arusha, Tanzania, to work with Called to Serve Ministries by serving Jerife Sanctuary Church, witnessing to the Masai tribe of Tanzania, helping lead worship at Mount Meru University, and also ministering to the orphan children at the “Samaritan Village.” We are humbled at the chance to serve in these many capacities, but the children at the “Samaritan Village” are of special concern to me.
Due to the over crowding and lack of facilities, the “Samaritan Village” is an orphanage where the children have been found left in dumpsters because parents have left them there to hopefully live among the children at the orphanage.
I am not quite exactly sure how this opportunity will culminate, but nonetheless God has given us this opportunity and I ask that you pray for us to fully minister in each of these positions.
Hopefully we will be able to keep you updated with our progress. I have made a group at Facebook.com to post pictures and also keep people informed of our mission,
Tanzania Missions Team Facebook Group
If you would like to join, please do. Also, here is the website to the ministry that we are working with,
Called to Serve
Thank you again for all of your prayers and continued support for this team and I hope to finally have some time to regroup and share many of the great things I have learned not only from this upcoming opportunity, but from my recent mission in El Salvador. Thank you so much. God bless you all.
El Salvador Missions Trip, June 22-29/Dusty Perrot
At 5am I’ll be at the Lynchburg Regional Airport to be heading off to San Salvador, El Salvador. We will be working with the Tabernaculo Evangelico Wesleyano to help take care of many homeless women and children while sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I wanted to leave a website for you to check out if you want to stay updated on our mission:
Brentwood Global Outreach El Salvador Missions Blog
Hopefully we will be able to update this frequently, but if not, we will have much information when we return.
I would be remiss to not mention a very important event that has happened. My friend, Dusty Perrot, has died in Afghanistan while serving in U.S. Army. It’s hard to understand how much it hurts to lose such a great person who has impacted me in my life, but more importantly to pray for how much hurt his family is going through. I ask that if you read this, please pray for Dusty’s mom, dad, sister, and all who are close to him that are grieving. He was a great friend, especially for me through my elementary school years, but he was more importantly a grandson, a son, a brother and an uncle.
As much as it hurts that you are gone, I am so thankful for the time God blessed me to be your friend. You helped foster so many important parts of my life that have helped produce the person I am today. You and I did many things together. We played many sports, hung out quite a lot as kids, traveled to fun places, and you were an amazing friend and protector to me. Thank you for the times we shared and for the memories I will keep. I miss you, love you, and I pray that your life may continue to impact and challenge me as God continues to walk me closer to you.
Southeast Asia
I’m heading to Southeast Asia in about 6 hours but I just wanted to ask anyone who reads this or thinks about me to pray for me and the team that are going. I can’t name specifics online but briefly it’s a mission trip to spread the Word. I’ll be gone from the 9th until the 18th and I hope to share about what happened when I get back.
Great is the LORD.
My El Salvador Journal Blog
El Salvador Photos 1
El Salvador Photos 2
7/7/06
Well I woke up at 5am to finish packing and to make sure I didn’t forget anything before I left. Long morning but I got it all finished. Arrived at the church at 10:30. Vicki made me a team leader for her, Karen and Ashley. My extra bag was full of the evangelism soccer balls, tracts for the balls and other toys. Pastor Bowen prayed for us before we left. Rode the van up to Dulles which was driven by the newly weds, Michael and Tiana.
Arrived at the airport early and played on the weighing scale. All of the guys got on the scale and broke the 1,000 lbs mark. After going through security, we grabbed food (Pizza Hut was a popular choice) then played a game of UNO. We rode the tram to the plane, got on the plane and flew for about 4 hours.
I sat on the plane in seat 11B (Exit Row) next to Kaylah and Aric. Sarah, Amanda and Rebecca were in the same row. The in-flight movie was “The Legend of Bagger Vance.” Volume was horrible so Aric and I couldn’t hear it. I read 7 chapters of Sorting it Out (Rev. Kev. gave it to me to read). Listened to Mortal Treason, As Cities burn, and underOATH. Sarah brought Barney with her, a childhood toy she still sleeps with. Aric took Barney and we made it dance. She talked about Robert E. Lee’s home in desperation to get Barney back, but to no avail. Due to inclement weather, we were directed to Honduras. We stayed on the ground for about an hour.
At 8:00pm we arrived at the airport. All bags made it safely, even the guitar (the 2 year streak is over). Chepe (Team Leader), Josue (Bus Driver), Mauricio and Pamela came to the airport to greet us.
We drove to Burger King to eat. Talked a bit with Pamela about how Nick was just down there with his ministry team. Chepe’s quote, “TheyÃ�re good to work with because they don’t say much” (about their ministry to deaf people). Josue was married March 25th to Jennifer. He doesn’t see her often because she’s in the states but she is coming the next Saturday and she really wants to “make up for lost time.” The S.O.L. team asked what happened to my hair since last year I had long hair and a massive beard.
After dinner, we went to our hotel in town. It was a nice Greek-style hotel. Tyler, Aric and I stayed in the same room for the night. I jumped on the mattress to test how hard it was and that proved to be a horrible mistake. The bed was quite hard. We laid in our beds and watched an IROC race in Daytona Beach on TV.
I’m excited because tomorrow we’re supposed to be playing soccer and basketball at an area tomorrow. Should be a blast.
God is good.
7/8/06
I woke up early and walked around to find a clock so that I could know what time it was. I read 3 chapters out of Sorting it Out. Ate breakfast downstairs (buffet style/eggs with peppers and a hashbrown) at the same table with Rhonda, Ashley, and Vicki. Sara came and it was great to see her.
We got on the bus and rode to San Miguel. Listened to underOATH, Kutless and As I Lay Dying. Read some from Sorting it Out. Rammi (Indio, Amistad, Ramithorn) hit a man’s mirror off of his truck.
Finally we arrived at Iglesia Bautista Vida Abundante and I saw so many familiar faces. Anibel, Jeydi, Carlos, Otto, Janice, Felix, and more. I found out that I was staying at Anibel’s house again.
Aric, Will and I were grouped together at Anibel’s house. Will and I then went to lunch with Anibel, Jeydi and Carlos, Aric went with Jeydi’s sister’s family. We went to Campero and Anibel was tricky about getting more bread by speaking quick Spanish to ask for more when we didn’t want anymore. We talked for a while about things like favorite futbol teams (Barcelona, Brazil, Italy), jobs, how life had been for the past year, and about how much of a miracle Carlos was. His scar on his neck was from surgery that he needed to fix his breathing. He wasn’t supposed to live, but God saw otherwise. The Germany/Portugal game was on TV and it was 3-0 when we left the house to go to the church.
From the house, we picked up Anibel’s brother and cousin to come play. We met back at the church and then went to the arena to play soccer and basketball. It was a youth group/church activity. We played but lost the first game to a coin toss then won the second 2-0 (the second goal didn’t count but I don’t know how since Aric was fouled then Danny scored [both plays were the same but on different sides]). Then a heavy storm came through forcing us to go to the stadium to get cover. We served pupusas and soda to everyone there. Josh and Aric had a soda chugging contest. Both threw up.
We headed back to the church, then to our home to clean up and go eat out at a nice Mexican restaurant, which was funny because Mexicans and Salvadorans don’t exactly like each other.
When we got back to the house, we looked at photos of Carlos. Carlos is a miracle. He was born only 2lbs heavy.
God is good.
7/9/06
I woke up at 6:45am and ate a breakfast of eggs and peppers, beans, sour cream, friend bananas, bread, juice, and a margarita cake (not alcoholic).
We attended the first service and showed a program of The Dance and Amanda’s testimony. Leslie came and I was glad to see her. The second service we also gave a program with The Dance and my testimony. The text for both services was Jeremiah 42. After my testimony, we went upstairs with the children to show magic tricks (Coloring book, wrag, playing card) and give out candy.
After church, we went back to the house and watched the first 65 minutes of the World Cup Final with France and Italy. Then we went to Jeydi’s sister’s house to eat lunch and watch the rest of the game. During the game, Carlos was given a bath outside with the hose and he kept playing with the hose to get everyone wet. It was quite funny. The game went into penalty kicks after Zidadine Zidane head-butted a man in the sternum for a red card. Trezeget was the only person during the PK’s to miss. Italy won 1-1 (5-4 on PK’s).
We then went to the church to meet up and walk to the nearby basketball/soccer court to play. The court was right next to the big catholic church. This game was hard though because we had to score by hitting the pole that held the basketball goal. Before it got too intense, rain came and we hopped on the bus back to the church. Back at the church, we played UNO.
The evening service had a program from us with The Family and Rhonda’s testimony. The text was Jeremiah 43 and Genesis 39. Janice and Denise sang a special before the sermon. They brought in a speaker and he was pretty funny.
After church Aric, Will, Anibel, Jeydi, Carlos and I went to the supermarket. We looked around a lot but we ended up buying pancakes, fruit and FIFA cereal. I bought socks, a razor, shaving cream and aftershave because I forgot them at home.
Later we went to Pizza Hut with Walter, Lori and Carlos (their son). Lori kept trying to get one of the waitresses, Margarita, to give Will and me a kiss. Carlos (JR) is a ladykiller.
From dinner, we went to the basketball court near the house and played soccer. One of the taxi drivers came to play also. He was on Aric’s team and I was on Walter’s team. Our team lost.
Before bed, Will and I talked and he shared with me a bit about his testimony. Pretty incredible stuff.
God is good.
7/10/06
I woke up at 6. The boys and I ate FIFA cereal. It was fun because the cereal balls turned into soccer balls once you poured milk on them. We also had a lot of fruit.
At church, we had devotion by Vicki and Ashley from Revelation 5:12. Sherry shared a verse during it from 1 Cor. 15:58. We used it as our verse we read before we left the bus.
The first school we gave a program and also played soccer with the kids a bit. We also performed at a second school.
During lunch, we played UNO. One game lasted the whole time. Thankfully, Carly helped give me the win. She was banned for the rest of the trip while I had to serve a one-day suspension. Pamela came back during lunch.
The third school we went to was a long program with lots of flies. I tore the knee open on my jeans during the program.
After the program, we went to a local court (cacha de pasaje cinco) to show the movie “The Burning Hell.” The movie in my opinion was horrible, but I sat next to Sara and Pamela so they made it bearable. It started to rain sporadically. After the movie, we gave out toys to the children.
We ate dinner at the church then came home to play soccer at the basketball court with Otto and the crew. My team ended up losing and having to almost buy the winning team each a coke.
God is good.
7/11/06
Woke up at 6:15. We ate pancakes and bread smeared with sour cream and juice. Aric was surprised by the sour cream and joked that I didn’t warn him.
We got to the church at 7:20 for devotions lead by Danny and Betsy from 2 Cor. I was extremely tired in the morning so I listened to August Burns Red to get pumped up.
The first school we went to had no electricity. During Chains Tyler told me to fall near the purple rock but I landed on the volcanic ash and cut my right arm close to my elbow. I talked with Pamela a bit and she helped me get back in the motion of having good conversations (I don’t know how I forgot to have one but I did).
Afterwards we went to another school and we played a lot of soccer. We tried to score on goals that were incredibly low to the ground. The goal we were protecting was bigger than theirs and they scored 1 to beat us. During the game Tyler picked the ball up and slam dunked it, which was hilarious. Ashley was playing a “500″ style game with a really hard ball.
Our third school was a long program. Will talked with a group of boys and they all accepted Jesus into their lives. Will has been on fire and it’s great to see. Before we left I talked with Felix and Jaqi as much as I could in Spanish about what’s going on in life and stuff like that.
We went out to dinner at the Mexican restaurant again with Anibel, Jeydi and JR but with Walter, Lori, Carlos and Kenya this time. Aric tried to get Kenya to try the jalapenos and she licked one, which she did not like at all.
Once dinner was over, we went back to the house and got ready to play a soccer tournament. A lot of people from the S.O.L. team came to watch and play. We were so tired afterwards but we stayed up a bit to watch Top Gun with Spanish subtitles.
God is good.
7/12/06
Woke up at 6:15. We had sandwiches for breakfast but I gave mine to Leslie, Pamela and Sara. Amanda and Carly led devotions in the morning (Lamentations 2-3/Titus 2:78).
We traveled to La Fuente. I listened to the LU Campus Praise Band CD. The morning program was a bit hot, but during the break afterwards a girl asked about Jesus but she left before making a decision. I hope she does soon.
After the program, we painted the school. I painted the side of the school close to the open court but we were trapped by the really close fence with barbed wire at the top, which cut my neck a couple of times. Kaylah and Tyler trimmed and I rolled the white part of that wall. Tyler acted like an animal in a zoo and growled at the kids when they came by. The kids were scared and laughed at the same time. Rebecca gave it a shot also, really hilarious.
The second program at the school was good. We had more Salvadorans join in on the skits because some of us were sick. After the program, the school gave us all a sandwich and ensalada fresa as a gift. Danny was incredibly popular with giving out gifts.
We traveled back to the church for another service and I listened to Demon Hunter. The reading of text was Acts 16. Tyler preached for the service (James 2:18, Luke 13:1-9, Luke 6:43-44, Mark 11:12-26, Matthew 25:31-46).
Dinner was in the upper room at the church. Then after church, we played soccer at a really nice court because the one near our house was full. Chepe, the girls, Otto and the crew all came. During play, I kicked the ball into a creek and I was hated quite a bit for it. Right after we got it back the pastor’s son deflected it right back into the same spot so that was a nice break to not be hated as much.
Aric, Will and I are going to lead devotions in the morning.
God is good.
7/13/06
Woke up at 6:15. Ate lots of fruit for breakfast. Will (Hebrews 4:12-16), me (Acts 21), then Aric (Ezekiel 2:6-7) lead devotions. We took our group photo before we left.
We traveled to La Union. The first school was the same school last year that Josh kicked Danny in the face during the dance. I played the boy during The Family and I shot Rebecca in the head but she grabbed her stomach. A little wrong but funny since I messed up.
For lunch, we went to Pollo Campestre. Aric tried to get a shirt from the waiters but they didn’t help even though they took a liking to Aric, Tyler and Josh since they were gay. After lunch, Pamela and Leslie left then Karen and Rhonda went to a prison ministry.
We stopped by the mission that we helped support last year at their new building. Outside King’s Castle Ministry was performing.
The next school we went to was a Christian school and their English teacher was really nice.
Then we went to a park that was next to the Gulf of Mexico. From one point, you could see Nicaragua and the other you could see Honduras. Janice and I hung out on the dangerous pier for a little while. Sara and Ashley waved towards Nicaragua to say hi to Megan because she’s over there doing mission work.
The guys were playing basketball with 5 guys from the Navy. They weren’t exactly the most honest players but the guys put up a fight. During their break, I talked with them about life, death and Jesus. The guy in the white shirt and red shorts spoke the most English. Three men were receptive, the tallest was also receptive but the man in the black shirt didn’t seem interested. I really hope that they were able to get in contact with their chaplain.
We went back and did a program at the court near our house. Afterwards we gave out gifts to the children then played some soccer.
Later we ate dinner at the church. Once we were back at the house, we sat in the garage with Otto’s crew and talked.
God is good.
7/14/06
Woke up at 6. Rushed to breakfast at Biggest with Aric, Will, Anibel, his cousin and Kenya. We came to church but I wasn’t feeling too good during devotions.
We went to the first school and I listened to Haste the Day, Blessed by a Broken Heart, Kutless and underOATH throughout the day. The first school was very loud. That day we actually signed autographs, the first day of the trip for that.
On the way to the next school, the Salvadorans were trying their hand at doing the magic tricks in the back of the bus. At the second school, we met a guy from Seattle. He said he felt different because he liked a lot of things from the United States and not El Salvador. After the program, Will and Denise talked with a girl who was convicted about having an abortion from hearing Karen’s testimony. She accepted Jesus. Praise God.
Lunch was at Pizza Hut. We first stayed in the kids place because it was crowded. After we were seated, Aric got them to put his name on the Fiesta Puch sign. They also sang to him and gave him a balloon monkey on a limb.
The third school was the same school as last year. At the school, there were slides from the second floor to the ground. We had a lot of fun going up and down them. A couple times, we made the slide a gauntlet to go down. Aric led the kids in the “Knee Down” game, and then it evolved into follow the leader. He had so many kids following him. All during the program, there was construction going on right behind the wall. After the progam there was a girl who talked with the pastor about Jesus really wanted to know if He is real.
Afterwards we went back to the church and to the store near the church. We bought drinks and sat around downstairs. I took a shower at the church then played UNO upstairs.
Dinner was at a really nice pupusaria. Jaqi, Otto, Sara, and others tried to teach me to dance. Sara and I played basketball with sugar packets. Victor and I talked some about jobs. After eating, I went to the seesaw and Jaqi, Ashley, Sara and Victor came. Jaqi and I played on the seesaw.
On the way home Aric, Will, and I rode with Anibel, Carlos (the pastor) and his wife. Later on Otto’s crew came over and we talked for a bit.
God is good.
7/15/06
Woke up at 8. We went to Riverside for our relax day. As soon as I got there, I ran straight into the pool. It was a pretty chill day. We threw the basketball and football around while also trying to get them into the waterfall. I walked around a bit and took some photos. There was a weight room, a ping-pong room, basketball court, kids playground, pool, pool down the river, and some inflatable boats. I found Denise’s sunglasses so I wore those for a while.
For lunch, we cooked on the grills with diesel fuel (stupid? maybe.) and burnt wood for coal. We cooked meat, brought tomato salad and baked potatoes. After lunch, I slept for a bit then went and bought vanilla with strawberry cream ice cream.
We left and went to POPS for ice cream. I bought a strawberry sundae. I was pretty wound up and started dancing a lot. Tyler and I went into a knock off store and he bought a red “Diesel” hat for $5. As we were leaving, a nice storm was trying to come through.
We performed for the youth program. Right after we went to dinner at Tipos Shaddai. We all ate chicken-like lasagna. The big game that was going on that started from Aric and Sarah was “Last Day of Camp.” We rode to the church with Anibel and on the way to the church “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was on the radio and we all started belting it out.
Later Otto’s crew came to the house and we starting dancing. Albertina tried to teach me and Will to dance. We all sat down, ate pizza, and we talked about our favorite/most meaningful moments of the trip. We took the family photo.
God is good.
7/16/06
Woke up at 6. We had FIFA cereal, a sandwich and a margarita cake for breakfast. I gave my sandwich and margarita to Sara. We said our goodbyes and left around 7:30 before the first service.
We rode to Alergia and walked around to check the shops but they weren’t open yet. We then walked down the massive hill to the Cartagena restaurant and shop. We looked at the birds, clay pots and other random merchandise.
We walked back up the hill and checked out the shops, but everything was made in China. So we hung out at the local store. Aric and Tyler started off the great plastic ball roll with the Mason ball and the Bryan ball. The children actually brought the balls back and the children were given ice cream by Aric and Tyler. Aric and Chepe called it a holiday. It really took flight when Vicki bought a bag of balls and we rolled the balls down the hill for all the children down the hill to have. The children may have been called liars when they told their families that a bunch of white people were throwing balls down the hill and giving out ice cream. Before we left, we spotted the first Asian we had ever seen in El Salvador and then a Mariachi band showed up. .
At the airport, we met Josue’s wife Jennifer. Sara, Josue, Rammi and Mauricio left. We then were helped by Pamela at the check-in counter. She made a special line for us, helped us with our overweight baggage and all the while after she was already off duty just so she could see us. Ashley, Amanda, Rebecca and Will got lost and were almost not allowed to come back in, but thankfully, the guy at the door was a Christian and let them in.
For lunch, we ate at Campero. Crazy to say the least. Before we left, we went into a couple stores to find gifts for families.
On the plane, Sarah, Rebecca, Kaylah and Amanda had the nice exit row seats. I was sitting next to Aric and Will in seat 8D but then Sarah traded with me. The beginning of the flight was annoying because there was a really loud noise right next to the wing. It was a bit freaky. The in-flight movie was “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton,” but all the channels were in Spanish so we watched it in Spanish. We rode on the plane with King’s Castle ministries. Their team was from Woodbridge, Virginia.
We played some plastic soccer ball soccer at the baggage claim. We then met up with Mr. Cooke, the Roaches, Will’s sister and friend, the Walkers, Bethanie, Mrs. Jordan and Annie.
We arrived at the church at 2 and I tried to go home but there was no key in the keybox under the truck so I spent the night at the Cooke home.
The coolest part was that I used Mr. Cooke’s phone as my alarm and to also call mom and dad in the morning but since I was so tired I didn’t journal and on the phone was the phrase:
God is good.
I Write To Make This Go Away, But It Never Will
Wake from peace.
Orders are some favorite color.
Same old, same old is their battle cry.
Why don’t we keep searching for a new flavor?
Our hearts have become a routine.
Worthy kings have broken backs for nothing.
Unless we cherish all with pride,
the lines on our face will turn into canyons of sorrow instead of hope.
They didn’t die from the cold without but they died from the cold within.
And I just can’t stop denying that our brothers are in miserable pain.
Stop short.
Lend a hand and break the chains of regularity that you lean so closely upon.
Your little Suburbia is in ruins.
Tear down all the assumptions you hold, for I guarantee they are false.
Sometimes the best feeling may be the one that kills.”
~ August Burns Red – “Your Little Suburbia Is In Ruins”
Ok. So these are the lyrics to the song playing in the background. Can’t understand them through the yelling screaming? Yeah, I love metal music. Especially Christian metal. I know it seems like a totally hypocritical concept but music is not evil in itself. The use of it can be though. I love books, poetry, song lyrics, pretty much anything written to give insight to someone’s life or perspective on truth.
I love people. People are one of the greatest gifts from God. People infect me like no other. I love people to the point of self-destruction. I value people because they are the only thing that have an eternal significance past this life. I pour myself into them because I care about them and their well-being. The most devastating part though is that no matter how hard you try to help or protect them, they have their own lives to live, written by the very hand of God. You can’t stop bad things from happening because that’s trying to be God and trying to be God is putting yourself as an idol, which last time I read in Exodus is a pretty big mistake.
Bad things happen for a reason and I believe that whole-heartedly. Last semester was a testament to that for me. It seemed like everytime I turned around, something was either happening to me, my family, or my friends. I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t handle it. I prayed, cried, fasted, prayed, cried, fasted, lost sleep, lost friends, and almost lost my sanity. The saddest times I remembered during the semester were when I was told that there was no joy left in my eyes. My eyes are my favorite part of what God gave my body because they can communicate just as strong as words, and when there’s no joy to be found in my eyes, there’s a serious problem.
I wish I could understand why bad things happen, but that would take faith completely out of of the equation with God. There are going to be times in life when God throws you curveballs that no matter how hard or close to the ball you swing, you’re never gonna hit it and you’re going to strike out. God humbles because if we always “got on base,” we’d never truly appreciate the training it took to get us into the game.
God sent Jesus to die for me. Jesus picked me to be on the team. Jesus let me get on the field. Jesus lets me take swings in the batter’s box of life. Sometimes I get beaned by the ball, sometimes I strike out, but no matter how many times I fail, God’s always there to encourage me. At times God reminds me of a baseball coach I used to have that when I’d strike out, he’d put his arm around me and tell me it’s ok after all the kids on the team made fun of me.
Yeah this is sappy. But you didn’t have to read it. Maybe you’re reading this because you need to. Maybe I wrote this because I needed to. God’s soverign in all situations and a college guy writing on a networking website is not out of His control. He planned it from the beginning, I’m just following through.
