Back Home

Things are just about back to normal. I have been home for exactly a week and feel like I haven't slowed down. Macie still whines when I don't play with her, there never seems to be food in the cupboard, and gas prices seem to be rising.

Things are getting back to normal at church too! Last friday was our first Friday night youth group of the new year! It was fun to play games again, I think we took 5 weeks off if you count the two weeks of christmas skit practice.

We also had our first Arizona Mission Trip meeting on Sunday. It looks like we will be taking 10 students this summer to work with the Navajo Native Americans. I'm really excited and I think most of the students are too. It's different this year because about half of our students went last year so they kind of know what to expect. I'll keep you updated as we get closer to leaving. We have much planning and fundraising to do!

It was nice to meet with everyone at church on Sunday. Even though I only missed one week, I missed being able to worship with everyone.

Finally, tonight is our first "Man Club" of 2009. I feel like we haven't met together in forever! I am excited to hangout tonight, have our root beer floats, and study the Bible.

Anyways, its good to be home and get back in the swing of things.

Travel Adventures pt. 4

I haven't updated in a couple days, mainly because not much has happened.



Tomorrow, after a brief class in the morning, I will began the drive home! I'm pretty excited to finally come home, I feel like I have been gone forever.



The class I am currently in is called, "Urban Church Planting." Urban means city. Honestly, I have never really thought about planting a church in the city. I have always liked big cities. I have even said I would like to live in a downtown area for a year or two...but not for a long time.



But, this class has been challenging. Did you know that worldwide there is now more people who live in the city than outside the city. This means there are more urban people than suburban or country people. Yet, in nearly ever major city in America, if you were to plot all the churches on a map, you would end up with what looks like a donut. There simply is not many churches in the downtown area. For example, there is about 1 million people moving to the city each week in the world. How do we expect to reach all those people if there aren't a lot of churches in those cities? Well, it goes to show that we need churches in the city.



Anyways, there are a lot of thoughts running through my head right now...and I'm not sure if means much of anything..but maybe it does.



So, I guess next time I write I will hopefully be safely back at home in Salem!

Travel Adventures pt.3

This isn't as much of an adventure as it is a thought.

Yesterday morning, I got up a little bit earlier to go into town and get some Starbucks to start the day. Like normal, I ordered myself a white chocolate mocha and returned to school for my all day class. In the middle of class I noticed something that was written on my Starbucks cup. I guess they put quotes on many of their cups....I just don't usually pay attention. However, this time I did. Here is what it said, it was spoken by a guy named James Brown who is a sportscaster for FOX Sports.

"I have faith. Faith in our wondrous capacity for hope and good, love and trust, healing and forgiveness. Faith in the blessing of our infinite faith in the blessing of our infinite ability to wonder, question, pray, feel, think and learn. I have faith. Faith in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit."

At first glance, it almost feels heart warming. But, as smooth and feel-goody as it may be, he is placing his faith in the wrong thing.

He says twice that he has faith. But I question what it is he is putting his faith in. He ends by saying that his faith is "in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit."

Does anyone else find that interesting?

Does anyone else find that revealing?

It reveals a wrong understanding of life. I believe that the "human spirit" is something that is incredible. God created us with an incredible ability to wonder, question, pray, feel, think and learn. It is incredible because we were created in the nature of God. The problem lies in putting your faith in the human spirit. It is a failure to put your faith in the God who gives you the ability to love and do good. It is a a failure to put your faith in the God who is our hope and healer.

You see, he is missing the point. He is placing his faith in something that was created, rather than the creater.

Everyone puts their faith in something. I know you do.

People put their faith in education, relationships, jobs, money, and prestige assuming that all these things will bring fulfillment.

Others put their faith in love, hope, and joy without recognizing that God alone is love, gives hope, and provides joy.

Faith is a tough subject to understand. Yet, we all have it. What do you put your faith in? My faith is not found on a Starbucks cup but is written on the sunset, seen in mountains, and painted on the stars in the sky. My faith is in the creator of the universe.

Travel Adventures pt.2

I have finally made it to the last day of my first class! By tonight I will have complete four days of all day classes. Class starts at 8:30 and ends at 5:30 each day. So each day seems to drag on forever! However, I'm taking a class called missions, which has been pretty interesting. I have a lot of thoughts running through my head, but I'll write later with those thoughts.

For now, I'll tell you about my night, last night. I did something I have never done before. Immediately after class, I went with three of my friends down to the Golden Gate Bridge. Our plan was to park and walk across the bridge. So, as the sun was just about to disappear over the bay, we began our journey. It was absolutely freezing. It was a pretty cool experience...but a little scary. Like I have said before, I don't like heights. Turns out, the Golden Gate Bridge is pretty high up.

Here's the interesting thing, there are many places on the bridge that have a phone that says, "please use for crisis counseling." Interestingly, the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most popular places in the world to commit suicide. They say that someone jumps every two weeks! That is absolutely astonishing. I also read that people travel from all over the world just jump and die. Frequently they find abandoned rental cars in the parking lots around the bridge.

I can't help but wonder about these people. I wonder what it must have been like to make that journey from their house to the bridge. How many people did they run into that never took the time to talk with them. I don't claim to understand suicide. But it must be lonely. As lonely as one might be, the bridge is actually a busy place. there are constantly cars driving, bikers riding, and people walking across.

Maybe it's because I am in a class about missionaries but I wonder if in their lifetime anyone ever took the time to share Christ. I wonder if their life would have been different if someone had told them. Maybe someone did and they ignored it...but maybe they never heard.

Well, I don't know what to make of it...but to say it is tragic that someone would jump.

After walking the 1.6 miles across the bridge, we decided to run back. It was really cold and we were pretty hungry, so we decided to run all the way back across the bridge. It was a crazy idea and kinda funny to picture. Four of us, dressed in somewhat nice clothes, raced across the bridge...getting strange looks by everyone we passed. Finally, we made it, tired and sweaty. We got back in the car and headed back to the dorms for another night of studying.

Trip Adventures Pt. 1

I love to fly on planes. Even though I am a little scared of heights, planes don't seem to bother me. I like looking out the window, getting my free drink, and even watching the in-flight movie. It is interesting to me that so many people dread flying on planes. I ran into a few of those people yesterday.

Immediately after church, Charissa drove me from Corvallis to Portland, picking up Macie along the way. When I got out of the car, it was only slightly raining...if only it had stayed that way. I dropped off my luggage, got checked it, and found my gate with just under an hour to spare. So, I sat and listened to my new Itouch and waited to board. Then the series of unhappy people entered my life.

First, as I was sitting there, one of the flight attendants came and sat right next to me. Our plane had not arrived yet so she had to wait to get on board. As we were sitting there, another flight attendant walked up and sat next to her. This one, a guy, told the lady that the plane was over booked by 25. They both began to complain. (My first reaction was fear...what if I there is no room for me on the plane!) They were saying how terrible of a flight it was going to be if it was full. The snow that was beginning to fall didn't help. I'll admit, I didn't actually talk with them...but the next three people I did. Oh, and luckily, I got one of the last seats available!

When we were finally able to board I as given an aisle seat and sat next to a middle aged couple. I sat down next the wife and we exchanged hellos. I was one of the last people to get on board and nearly everyone of the overhead bins was full. Luckily, all I had was a small bag that I could slide under my seat. However, there was a young lady who was sitting across from me who had a really large carry-on. By the time she got to her seat, there was no where to put her bag. One of the flight attendants came by and looked above my head and found a couple small bags. He grabbed them and asked whose they were. The lady sitting next to me immediately responded and the flight attendant asked if he could move that stuff up front and put this ladies bag in there. She said yes, but was obviously upset. The young lady who had the big bag could barely lift it above her head so I jumped up and helped put it in. As I was putting it in, the lady sitting next to me said a few, not so nice words to the younger lady. I guess she was upset that her stuff had to be moved. Basically she said..."Why can't you check your bags like the rest of us civilized people" but with some extra words added. It only got worse when our flight was delayed for over an hour as we sat on the runway. The snow was coming down pretty hard. We sat patiently, but the lady continually pressed the button for the flight attendant and would always ask how much longer it would be. Well, finally we took off and she was in a much better mood.

Finally, we made it to California and I made my way to the baggage claim area. Then enters lady number 3 (I promise this is not an attack on girls...it just happens that these three people were girls). So, I'm standing there waiting for my bag to come around..but only two bags keep going around the circle. To make this long story short, I stood there for 45 minutes before any luggage started circulating! It was a little frustrating, especially late at night. While standing there for all this time there was this lady next to me. She must have been on my flight, but I didn't recognize her. After a few minutes of standing and waiting, she got a phone call which I think was from someone waiting for her in the parking lot. She was obviously upset at the delay. After hanging up she began to complain to me. Basically, at one point she told me she was about to faint because she was so tired and frustrated...luckily for me, she didn't.

Eventually, I got my bag and made it to school! What a crazy flight! But I made it and I actually enjoyed it. Like I said, I like flying. Even if some people seem to hate it. So, My adventure in Cali has begun.

Nothing particularly interesting happened today...but my goal is to blog alot about my trip. So check back tomorrow or the next day for more exciting news!