Adventures in India Part 3: Salem and the Worship of the Westerner

It was green, and starchy and full of sauces that I didn’t know what it was.  All I know is that it tasted good like most other Indian food.  I walked outside and found myself staring at a very different part of India.  I had hardly been out of the city before and so after a 2.5 hour bus ride the country side surrounding this little gas station in the middle of nowhere was a great sight to behold.  After about 30 minutes break I got back on the bus and traveled the rest of the way to Salem.  Salem is famous for the steel that it produces for India.  They have one of the largest steal facilities.

When I arrived in Salem I descended from the bus to be met by this man I had never seen before calling me by name and arranging for a tutuk to the orphanage I was supposed to visit.  Once arriving at this orphanage I met Dr. Jake the man who started this work.  He introduced me to the staff and his family and showed me to my room.  After settling in I met this man from the UK whose name was Isaac.  He informed me all about the work at the orphanage and how things ran.

After dinner I was taken to a second orphanage site about 1.5 hours away.  Upon arriving at the orphanage, I was greeted by 108 boys who were all sitting in rows staring at me.  They started yelling welcome Uncle welcome Uncle!  They ushered me to this lone chair in front of them all.  Suddenly they started clapping and singing just for me.  I was thoroughly embarrassed by being the center of attention.  I had heard many stories about being the center of attention as a westerner or glorifying the American but it was the first time I had experienced it personally.

A traditional Indian thatched roof house

This grieved me to because I realized that there were two main factors that contributed to the creation of this problem.  First the west has set itself to demand respect and second the west is seen as a means to money to help fund the work going on.  The initial feeling is one of self-gratification and pride for being looked at as something special.  This is the danger for the westerner of working in 3 world countries.  The second danger is funding work that only puts on a show and will pander to whatever you want in order to continue to receive funds.  This type of attitude has damaged the testimony of Christianity among the Indian culture.  Many Christian works are looked on as front to money making business or puppets of the west.

The city of Salem from the orphanage

Another example of this show honor to the westerner happened to me the next day.  I went for a walk in the early morning to see the neighborhood that the orphanage was in.  I saw the women cleaning off their house entrances with water and a broom.  They then would draw different symbols to the sun god they worshiped for good luck and blessing.  On this walk, I went to the school nearby that I had been told the orphan kids went to.  They didn’t know who I was there but as soon as they saw a westerner they invited me to come up front during their opening session and introduce myself to the school.  They asked me to share with the children anything.  Then I was asked to lead the staff in a prayer time since they were a Christian school.  They had no idea who I was but I was white and a westerner so I must be a Christian and they should show me honor.  It made me sick to my stomach.  I was happy to pray for the school and to see what was going on but I didn’t deserve the “honor” that they were giving me.

Pile of Coconuts at the orphanage

Later that morning I was taken to the third orphanage site that the work owned.  At this sight there were about 1000 children that lived and went to school.  God had provided for them 40 acres with an abundant of coconut trees.  They built a dorm for the children and have several buildings used for schools.  As I walked around this beautiful property I saw the hospital they were building and the largest pile of coconuts I had ever seen.  I also went to the kitchen for the boy orphans and saw the biggest pot of rice that would feed several hundred of the children.  The exciting thing about this work is that many Muslim and Hindu children come to the schools or live at the orphanage and hear the gospel over and over again.  Many of them become believers and become workers themselves all over India and in their home villages.

I rushed back to the orphanage just in time to catch my bus back to Bangalore to leave for the States.  As I rode on that bus I thought about the many sites I had seen while I was in India.  What struck me was the massive spiritual bondage that exists in India.  In Salem, there were masks of this one god on every house because it was supposed to ward off jealousy and evil spirits.  The people segregate where they live based on the casts they were born into.  Fear and superstition run every aspect of the life the Hindu.  But I realized while the idolatry may be obvious and the bondage visibly oppressive, it is no different than life in the good old USA.  We may not have visible worship of idols; but we have many many idols of our hearts.  We worship our god of entertainment and pleasure.  We have our fear of people and bad luck.  And just like the millions of people who need Jesus in India, there are just as many people lost here in the USA.  They may not be entrenched in poverty by our standards like in India but they are entrenched in materialism and blindness of their need for God.  Often times we equate poverty with spiritual emptiness but sometimes it is the “poor” by western standards that are most content with God and the “middle class” that are the furthest away from accepting the gospel.

May we not be guilty of judging spiritual need by material value.  May we see people as God sees them, and look past the surface issue to the heart.  Sometimes traveling literally half way around the world will make you realize something that should be obvious to you in the first place.  You never know, you might even learn practical skills like cutting down jackfruit or weaving in and out of traffic on a motorcycle or even the tastiness of a traffic jam!

Adventures in India Part 2: Delhi the City of the Traffic Jam

I know what a sardine feels like.  After flying Kingfisher Air they pack their economy class seats so close together that you can barely fit a flat book between your legs and the seat in front of you.  Needless to say I was more than happy to step off the plane into the familiar Delhi Airport.  It was nearly midnight so the ride from the airport to the east side of town would be a piece of cake this time of night.  It took about 45 min before I recognized the old hotel sign I had stayed at before.  I paid the taxi driver and got out of the car and walked to the nearby housing neighborhood where I was supposed to stay.  What I forgot was that they locked the gates at 12:00am so I was locked out of my host home.  So I walked to the far side of the development where  the NGO is headquartered and saw that they didn’t have spikes on the top of the gates over there so I was able to lift my luggage over the gate then squeeze my body underneath the gate when the watch man wasn’t looking.  I then walked back to the other side of the neighborhood to the house I was staying at.  Needless to say, I was glad when I walked up the stairs to see Sean opening his door and poking his head out looking down the stairs towards me.

Sean was my brother’s college roommate who I had known for several years.  So it was good the next day to spend the morning catching up on the last few years and to meet his wife and kids.  He had felt the call to work abroad when he was much younger but never had a specific direction.  He joined a company and went to orientation and met this girl Anne and shortly afterward they got married and spent 6 weeks in India!  A few years later they moved back to work full time.  Having been to India before I was simply amazed at the commitment they displayed especially right after they were married as that is not ideal location for “newlyweds”.

In the late morning we went to the NGO and had a staff meeting.  This felt like a home coming getting to see all my old friends with whom I had worked with two years before.  The work had grown and continued since I was there and it was exciting to see and hear about it.  Many of these staff members had sacrificed potential careers and family approval because they believed in the work they were doing and seeing their perseverance was such a blessing to me.  I was so happy to partake of in the evening meeting they have for university students to discuss important topics that affect them with a truthful approach.  And to see the kids from the slum that they work with and to see where they are today even compared to two years ago!

Later in the day I was able to do a study with Sean and with a volunteer from the NGO.  We sat and had a good discussion about the beginning of the world and the one who designed it.  At the end of the conversation, Sean looks at both of us and says “Hey, let’s go get a Traffic Jam”.   Now having been in Delhi before, I thought he was crazy why would I want to go get in a hot car and sit in crazy traffic risking my life and sucking in loads of dust.  It had to be one of the stupidest suggestions I had ever heard.  The other volunteer had a confused look on his face and so I know he was thinking the same thing as well.  Then Sean laughed and said we should follow him.  He took us a little ways down the street to this little juice shop and there was a sign that said traffic Jam’s served here.  Curious as to what a traffic jam was we ordered one.  After about 10 min of waiting they brought us this large cup filled with ice cream and lots of unwashed cut up fruit.  Immediately my I was wondering if I should eat it or not.  I finally decided I was only there for a couple days so even if that gave me a “traffic jam” it would be worth it!  And boy was I glad I did.  It was full of amazing tropical fruit and ice cream and in the heat it hit just the spot.

The next day was Sunday; at the morning gathering, my friend Sean was using the whole idea of the confusion over the Traffic Jam in comparison to confusion about who J.C. is.  I thought it was an excellent analogy and it made me laugh but at the same time I had to stop and ask myself do I make my explanations clear of who J.C. is and what he has done.

For lunch that afternoon I went out with a friend of mine named James Tucker or J.T for short and a few other people.  He is one of the funniest guys I have ever met.  He is full of humor and yet he is a very deep person.  Every time I get to spend time with that man I walk away feeling wiser and more educated; so needless to say, lunch was a riot as group of us talked about life in India and some of the challenges and the stories that make you laugh and want to cry at the same time.

After lunch, I went back to Sean’s house via the metro system of Delhi.  There is nothing quite like the metro of Delhi: more people than the fire inspection would allow, body odor that permeates your nostrils and the constant awareness of your pockets so that they don’t get picked. From there I took a rickshaw to a local market.  I had to test my memory and bartering skills to see if I was on my A game.  Within minutes I found the shop I was looking for.  There I was able to purchase the gifts I wanted to bring back home.  And within 20 minutes I purchased everything I was looking for.  Once I was back at Sean’s house we played a game called Settlers of Catan which is one of my favorites.  My friends from the NGO came over as well to play with us and my last night in Delhi was filled with a good time among friends.

After a quick night and a 3am ride to the airport I found my way back to Bangalore and a city south of it called Salem.

Adventures in India Part 1: Bangalore the City of Bible Colleges

India! I knew that smell walking off the plane.  How could I forget the smell of the Indian air?  It is the smell of enchantment, spices, dust and heat.  Instantly, a thousand memories flooded my mind when the aroma of the Indian air reached my nostrils.  Once more I found myself walking off a plane weary from 20 plus hours of travel, yet I was so excited that I wanted to take it all in.  I walked up the off ramp and into the airport, all the while praying that my luggage made it with me.  Happiness filled my heart to see the grey roller come around on the belt.  Having grabbed it and passed through customs I found myself faced with the daunting task of finding a taxi who would not take two arms and a leg to pay for the ride.  My friend Nathaniel had told me to take the taxis with the hard tops as they go by meter.  I walked out of the airport to see 50 taxi drivers all who wanted to “help” me.  I walked down the row getting my bearings.  I saw one guy who looked like he had a metered taxi.  He approached me and said yes he was and off we went.

The ride to Nathaniel’s house was an hour and a half long.  Once there the driver tried to force me to pay 1.5 times the amount cause of some phony story.  He also said it was not metered but prepaid.  Thankfully Nathaniel’s wife Robin was there to help.  I ended up paying like 5 dollars more than normal but better than the 20 he wanted me to pay.  Laughing, I reminded myself welcome to India and be aggressive and firm or be taken for a ride.

Nathaniel and Robin’s family was lovely; they had three cute kids who immediately wanted Uncle Joe to play with them and read to them.  I did this with pleasure and in return it helped me stay up to fight jet leg.

The next day, I went to the seminary that Nathaniel teaches at.  There I sat in on classes attended a chapel and met all the professors.  I was informed of the challenges that this work faces.  Because Indian culture is so achievement driven seminary is simply a means to a degree.  This degree in turn is a key to study abroad get more degrees to come back and start your own Bible School.  This perpetual cycle has created many Bible colleges but the level of teaching is barely high school level.  Sadly, many students don’t see the practical side of the learning but rather keep it in the academic level.  This is driven by the idolatrous view of education and low value placed on pastoring.  Thus there are many Bible schools but few churches.  These wonderful professors I met are trying desperately to change that and I was highly impressed with their heart and their vision.

That evening we went to see an Indian that one of our participants at YMI will be working with.  But in order to get there I had to take a hour long ride on the back of a motorcycle.  What a thrill!  The streets of India have cars, motorcycles, buses, people, animals, bikes, and tutuks on them!  We were constantly weaving and stopping and honking all the way there.  Since we showed up early we had time to stop and drink a tender coconut and eat the partially formed coconut meat.  The meeting went well and the work there is going to be fantastic.  I can’t wait to hear what God is going to do.

A statue of the monkey god the Hindu's worship in Bangalore

The following day I was getting ready to leave for the airport to head north to Delhi, but a few hours before I left I was informed via email that my flight had been canceled.  I learned that the airline I booked it on had just fallen into financial problems and they were cutting back on flights.  So I had to call with the help of Nathaniel to get on the later flight.  I was really disappointed as I was supposed to meet a worker there and lead a Bible study that next night but I knew that God was in control.

I soon found out why God let it happen.  I took the bus to the airport the next day and sat down; always keeping two eyes on my stuff to make sure that someone wasn’t going to try to swipe it.  Across from me sat this young guy who started talking to me.  This was common for people to talk to me and ask me where I was from as not many white people are seen in that part of the city.  I knew that he was a Muslim because his whole family said good bye and they were all in Muslim dress.  We talked the whole hour and a half about ourselves our work and about culture and our religions.  It was a great conversation and at the end of it, I gave him my email.  I don’t know where that will lead but I pray that someday I will see him in heaven.  I don’t know how much a difference that conversation will make but I believe that is why I had to change flights.  Once again the sovereignty of God is clearly seen.

I enjoyed a north Indian meal in the airport and sat down and waited for my flight for a couple hours.  But I was content as there was a cricket match going on between India and Bangladesh.  India seemed like it was dominating the game so I was quite happy when I got on my flight.  Later I found out that they ended up losing and letting Bangladesh back into the game.   As I boarded the plane, I was looking forward to what awaited me in Delhi.

Mission Mobilizer: Training More Youth, Reaching More Churches

I know it may be hard to believe for some of you, but I am not superman.  I have limitations.  The down side of this problem is that I can’t be in multiple places at once, which means that I can only reach so many churches.  And since my passion is to equip the church, it can be a very frustrating limitation.  If I committed to every training I could, I would burn out.  I am finally realizing that my kryptonite is over commitment.

Facing this hard reality is why I am so excited about the new YMI Mission Mobilizer position!  What is this position?  It is an individual who works for YMI abroad by contacting churches and building relationships with them and building a volunteer force in that general area.  That way they can connect with the local church and serve them in a personal way which is what YMI is all about.  This position is going to expand the capacity of YMI to train churches and set up responsible mission trips to missionaries to further their ministry.  It also means that we are helping more youth pastors in getting their youth evangelizing in their local communities and cultivating a life style of living the gospel out everyday.  It helps free up the process of training churches and customizing the training to fit their needs from bottle necking at the main office.  It gives us the flexibility to be personal and not a machine that everyone must fit in.

One of the main reasons I am excited about this model for Mission Mobilizer is that it follows the model that Paul gave Timothy about instructing others who will be able to instruct others in 2 Tim. 2:2.  It multiplies ministry and does not confine everything on one individual and their gifting.  It allows for God to use different giftings to grow ministry and to glorify Himself.  This is what makes good leadership.  Jesus trained His disciples and they changed the world.  Our goal is to empower these Mission Mobilizers to be able to impact churches in their regions and missions internationally.

If you are interested in being a Mission Mobilizer then go to our Website.  We would love to have you.

Sitting at the Feet of Faithfulness

What do you dream about?  At the end of your life what is it that you want to hear from God?  Most believers long to hear those wonderful words, “Well done you good and faithful servant.”  So how does one become a faithful servant of Jesus Christ?  One of the keys to this life that Paul tells us about is to learn and observe those who have gone before us and traveled that road we now travel (1 Cor. 10).  That is why I find one of the coolest aspects of working in missions when you get to spend time with those who have served the Lord for years and gone before you and demonstrated a life of faithfulness.  The the last two weeks I have had the privilege to help host two different missionary couples from two very different places.

The first of these missionary couples are from N. Ireland.  Actually they are both English but God called them to N. Ireland which would be like Him calling an American to go to Iraq.  They serve at a ministry called the Murlough House that works with the local churches in N. Ireland to reach the community with the gospel.  Over the last 50 years there has been a divide between the Catholics and the Protestants due to the political ideologies that each have in their history.  Unfortunately, the gospel has been neglected by many and political disputes have taken center stage.  So 50 years ago, God called John Moxen to go to N. Ireland and share the gospel.  He has faithfully done that for the last 50 years despite losing two children and a wife.  He had to leave the crowd, the clan, and take up the cross of Christ.  God has blessed that faithfulness and grown the ministry to impact dozens of churches in the east of N. Ireland.  In fact, God provided a second wife who had been widowed as well and also a historic mansion to host the ministry.  As I saw in John Jo’s life, one step in living a faithful life is the fact that we must sacrifice for the sake of Jesus and follow His commands.

The second missionary couple are from the country of Peru and are the National Directors of YMI Peru.  They have been missionaries for 19 years after God called Julio from being an electrician in Lima, Peru.  God has burdened them with a passion for the Aguaruna Indian population in the Amazon of northern Peru.  This very impoverished area has hardly any churches and no theological training for those who would like to learn.  The outreach with the gospel into the 200o Aguaruna communities is practically non-existent.  God has put this burden on Julio’s heart and YMI Peru has begun a Bible training school there and evangelism training for the Aguarunas to take the gospel to the surrounding communities.  YMI Peru has even started some hydroponic projects to help fight the malnutrition that exists among the population and especially the children.  Julio is so passionate about this work and evangelism in Peru where only 14% are believers in Jesus Christ that many churches in Lima are catching the vision to take part of this work and local outreach opportunities.  The testimony of the Serrano family make it so apparent that God takes the passion of one family to impact those that they come in contact with.  He can take that passion and infect the surrounding believers to be more burdened to share the gospel and live faithful lives.

The question I find myself asking myself is, “Am I learning anything by the lives of these faithful men or am I ignoring those who have gone before me?”  Have I learned anything when I get to sit at the feet of faithful men?  Someday will others find me a faithful man?  May God give grace to all of us to be a people faithful to walk in His way.

The catholic Church

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.- Matthew 16:18

I believe in…the holy catholic Church- The Apostle Creed

For those of you who know me, you are probably sitting there wondering why in the world did I entitle my blog like this?  And what does that have to do with the Scripture and the creed I started with.  I find that in my Evangelical circles that we often times focus on the local church and forget the importance of the universal church.  The word catholic (small c) means universal and thus simply means the entire body of believers throughout the world.  I think that the importance of this concept is sadly missed in our circles.  Don’t get me wrong, I am all about the local church as it is the expression of the universal church to the community, but I think sometimes we need to step back and realize that we are part of something bigger.

That is one thing that I love about working at YMI, I get to work with believers from all around the world.  It constantly reminds me of how universal the church is and how big and great our God is.  Rather it is talking to believer in India or meeting with Missionaries in Ireland or to corresponding with church planters in Africa, it is apparent that the Church is alive and it is growing.  When Jesus was talking to Peter, He was referring to the universal church of which every local church was apart of.  The Church leaders who wrote out the apostle creed in first few centuries of the Church recognized the importance of the global body of believers.  This has always been a crucial doctrine within the realm of Christianity.  It is what unites us and gives us closer bonds with a complete stranger who is a believer than with our closest unbelieving friend.

In this day of globalization and social networking, one would think that the Church would be more connected than ever.  Sadly, this is not the case.  The local church is feeling the need to focus on its community more and more and reaching those around them.  This is good, but it cannot come at the expense of serving the universal body of believers either.  While we must strive to impact our local communities but we should serve the universal church too.  Take your church on a missions trip to serve one of your own missionaries or a missionary in general.  It is important that every local congregation recognize the global aspect of our God.  The God that believer in Jesus worship in Uganda is the same God that believers in Jesus worship here in the USA.  This concept changed my life back when I was in high school.  Worshiping with believers in Ukraine sing a song in English while they sang it in Russian suddenly opened up my eyes to how great our God is!  It stirred up a passion to spread the gospel of this great God around the world and I have not lost this passion to this day.

I would like to end with this passage:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
(Rev 7:9-10)

This is going to be one of the most amazing parts of heaven, besides being in the presence of God Himself, the aspect of how God’s plan was so universal and cross cultural.  There will be people literally from every place on earth.  There will be all sorts of expressions of worship and cultural customs worshiping God.  There will be Evangelical, main line churches, and yes there will be some Catholics too.  This is not an excuse to be all inclusive and not take stands for truth and doctrine, but it is a reason to stop and ask, am I excluding fellow brother in Christ because we don’t agree on everything?  Maybe we need to take a look at the universal Church from our local church and work together more to share Jesus Christ with our local communities.  May the Name of Jesus be exalted forever through the Church around the world.  Amen

My Latest Ministry Letter

It has been sometime since I have sent out my update latter.  These last 5 months have been a roller coaster of craziness.  Please take 5 min and read my update letter and see what God has been doing and how He has been working through YMI and New Hope Community Church.  Joe Keith’s Ministry Update August 2011

The Cry of A Hurting Heart

Pain.  The part of life we like to ignore and avoid if possible.  We don’t like pain and we try to hide from it.  Pain comes in different forms.  Sometimes it is external and inflicted upon us; sometimes it is internal and self inflicted; and other times it is just a part of life from doing the right thing.  There is physical, mental, and emotional pain.  The physical is the one that everyone knows and it is the most common of the pain we face.  We stub our toe, smash our finger, or skin our knee.  Most of the time, this heals rather fast over time because God has made our body to heal.  Mental pain is something that we face when we are researching and learning new ideas.  Generally it shakes up our worldview and changes how we view life.

But the most painful pain we face is the emotional pain.  This pain is what causes broken hearts and scars that last for a life time.  It changes our personality and the decisions we make.  It tears apart families and friendships.  It ends relationships and it normally is caused by those closest to us. Yet there is a cure for this pain.  Listen to King David as he expresses his hope in the midst of  pain in Psalm 62:1-2,6-8

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken…He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah 

This is the secret of healing the hurting heart.  This is the medication that can be prescribed to heal our pain.  It is only when we take rest in the security of God and His person that we can be healed.  It is when we realize that our eternal security and salvation is dependent upon His nature.  No matter what happens and the pain we feel, God is the one who is in control and we can rest assured that He will work all things out for His good!  He is our impenetrable fortress and  it is here that we can let our soul find healing.  But we must meditate upon the person of God and spend time in His word and hold onto His promises.  This is where the hope comes when there seems to be no hope.  This is the comfort when we don’t understand why.  This is the healing for our soul when we are screaming out in pain.  God is on the throne and we can rest our soul in Him.

If you are hurting read this Psalm and find healing.  I would also encourage your to listen to Aaron Keys song based on this Psalm called: Psalm 62  :

My LA Summer Adventures

Los Angeles: Traffic, smog, people, heat, people, diversity, and people.   These are some of the things that come to everyone’s mind when they think of the LA area.  Being the only graduate from Southern California here at YMI, it often falls to my area of responsibility to reach out in that area on behalf of YMI.  So this summer I went down there twice!  I think the smog is just about cleansed out of my lungs but after reflecting over the two trips it was worth every breath of smog I took.

On my first trip I was down in Big Bear CA training 56 youth at a Leadership Camp.  These 56 youth wanted to take part in an evangelistic outreach in the Big Bear Community.  This outreach went to three locations and ministered to preschoolers all the way to 95 year old ladies in community hospitals.  This outreach fired up these 56 youth to share the gospel.  God stretched them and used them in unbelievable ways.  They learned how to share the gospel.  They learned how to share their testimony. The youth at the camp left fired up to serve God by reaching out and sharing their faith.

The second adventure I had down there was a month later.  As a result of that camp we had a team form to go to Costa Rica this next summer.  There were 7 youth that felt the call of God to take the next step and share the gospel in Costa Rica.  So they camp to a 5 day training camp to prepare to go to Cota Rica.  It was at this camp that this team of individuals because a team.  They learned to depend on each other in the midst of their weaknesses.  They  learned how to trust God and each other despite their fears.  There was a time where one of the team members really struggled to do the trust fall, but the team rallied around them and told them that God was there with this individual.  They eventually fell and it was a huge breakthrough in their life in trusting the team and ultimately God.  It was cool to see them do ministry to over a hundred kids at the Palmdale city park event.  In spite of opposition that they faced, they shared the gospel for about 1.5 hours.

While I love WA and the beauty that exists here, you  can’t beat watching God transform lives before your very eyes.  For this reason, I would brave all the smog and traffic and people just to see God work.

Summer Blur

Where has the summer gone?  Or for that matter when is the summer coming?  It has been a terrible summer here in beautiful WA state.  But that is another issue.  The summer has gone by so fast.  I cannot believe it is already July 21.  In some ways I wonder what I have done with my summer, but in other ways I am shocked at how much has been accomplished already.

So far this summer I have been involved in training three YMI college teams that are currently on the field.  These teams are in South Korea, Brazil, and Haiti.  These teams are staying in country for 7 weeks.  This is quite the time commitment for the participants, but in the end, they see what missions work is like on a daily basis.  It helps prepare them to know what to expect if God is calling them on long term missions.  The reports from these teams has been amazing.  God is doing some amazing things in them and through them.  At times it has been difficult for them, but God has used that to mold them into something that He can use for His glory.  If you are interested in going on a college trip here is info: http://bit.ly/isl8tC

Then two weeks ago, I was in Big Bear, CA training 56 high school age individuals on how to share their faith.  They were going to a Summer camp and volunteered to give up 30 minutes of free time a day to train and go share the gospel.  There is nothing like seeing youth excited to share their faith and realizing that God can use them now to bring Him glory.  As a result of this training some of these individuals are going to go on a missions trip this next year to Costa Rica.  It is like once they get a taste of God using them, they can’t wait to taste it again.  So, I get the privilege of furthering their training and providing opportunity for them to put themselves into situations where God is using them.  Pray that God draws more youth to sign up for this training on August 3-7.

This summer I have also helped launch one of our STM teams that is in the Philippines.  They are curently there and being used God in many many ways.  Check up the updates here.  I am looking forward to debriefing them and hearing all that God is doing in their life.  Along with that, I am preparing the final details for my church’s sports camp that is happening next week.  It is our summer out reach into the community and we are anticipating 50-70 kids at this camp with at least half of them unchurched.  I am excited to see how God is going to use this to grow New Hope Community Church’s witness in the Bonney Lake area.

Wow, with only half the summer over, I can’t wait to see what God is going to do with the second half of it!