I saw Animals.

So I finally did it. I went on safari in Africa. It is trendy for mission teams to have a day off to do touristy things and Thrive sets up a one night, 2 game drive trip to a game reserve north of Jo-berg that is pretty sweet. Thrive trip just went and we got to join them.

I saw rhinos (uber cool), elephants, (took a long time to find them but cool), lions (not so cool because they hid in grass far away), african buffalo (funny because of the way the baby got milk from its mom), giraffes (cool), and many other cool animals.

One funny anecdote from the trip was there is a morning gamedrive at 630AM. We got up at 5:30 and since there was a coffee maker I had some coffee (Matt, the other intern with me had some tea) at 5:45 our game driver showed up with more hot water and tea so Matt and I had yet another hot beverage. We then hopped on a game drive landrover for the next 3 hours. For a while it was ok but by the last hour Matt and I were more than a bit uncomfortable. When we saw animals we didn't just get excited we almost let it go right in the car!

Needless to say, when we got back to the lodge we jumped out and booked it to the nearest urinal. I won't describe what happened in the bathroom but lets just say it was a nigh spiritual experience.

Oh did I mention the buffets? They are amazing. We had a dinner and a breakfast one and both were superb. If you have the means I highly recommend an African safari.

So now its back to work but it was a delightful 2 day mini-break. Peace

On Rest

So lately I being thinking about rest. Let's see if I can articulate my thoughts in a meaningful way.

The main question I have is where is the balance between doing the work you have and taking the time you need to rest?

Being here there is a lot to do. Generally Monday through Friday I am up by 8AM at the latest and I work or have things to do all day till dinner and sometimes after. I don't usually go to bed later than 11 or midnight but it is often a long day.

Obviously missions work is work and there are hard things and things that take a long time. But sometimes I feel like as Christians and missionaries we have to work that much harder. Isn't God calling us to more than the standard 9-5 job? But isn't also important to get the rest you need so burnout doesn't occur? I am here because many people have supported me with prayer and money. If I am lazy I am not just being stupid I am letting down my supporters in a way. Where's the line?

I'll be honest I sleep a lot. I was a distance runner in college and making sure I had enough energy for practice was paramount. I slept more than most of my classmates. I don't sleep as much as college but I'm always aware of how I'm feeling. If I need a nap I'll take it (time-permitting).

I bring this up because this weekend I get to go on safari for a couple days. Its going to be fun and given that over the last few weeks I have bound in the ballpark of about 6,000 curriculum for Thrive with 5 other interns I think I deserve it but thoughts do nag at times. Its almost like "I need to do more, before I can relax."

In conclusion I think God has me here to learn, grow and work. I have been doing all three. I can only do the work God has set before me no more, no less. If I don't get rest I will do the work in a sub-par way and everything here is based on excellence. May I encourage you to do the work set before you today. When you are done, take a nap, watch TV, chill with your family. Just do it all in the name of Jesus.

Peace and Blessings.

My Family

I feel like I have a lot of potential entries in my mind but this one came into my head this past weekend so here it is.

It's often the little things in life that are the most meaningful. I can't believe I just wrote something as cliched as that on my very own blog but I am pretty honest and it's true so there it is.
I say that because its a big deal when I get an email from my non-immediate family (that is anyone besides my parents and sisters). I love them all and even see many fairly often but e-mail just generally hasn't entered our line of communications much. The other thing is most of my non-immediate family is not christian or at least not as "dedicated" as we may look to them. The idea of possibly doing christian work/missions for my whole life is at the very least unusual to my family. After all I'm smart, I have a college degree and I work pretty hard, I should have a normal, well-paying, entry level job right now right?
Instead I am an intern in South Africa with a christian ministry not getting a steady paycheck.

But here is the thing. Even though my family may not understand what exactly I am doing (or even agree with it) they still love and support me. Getting an email from my grandma this weekend was fantastic. She informed me that she just read my blog and liked it. A email I got from my other grandma just a few months ago struck me because of the concern it portrayed. Was I eating enough? Was I healthy? Was I learning a lot?
I know that my grandmas don't agree with all or even most of my beliefs on Christianity and life. But they love me anyway. That is something I value so much because I see people here who don't have what I have always taken for granted.
My parents supported me fully in coming here. I know its hard for my mom to have me be on a continent away for a year but she did everything she always does in prepping me for anything: making sure I had all my paper work in, took me shopping and never flinched about it at all.
My parents are white, protestant and republican but I am 100 % sure that if I came home as a gay, muslim democrat they would still love me just the same.

I am not sure if that many people read this blog besides my family but I just wanted to say thank you for all you do for me and have done for me. All the Birthday cards, christmas presents, holidays together, college tuition payments, rides home from school. I wouldn't be here today without you.

I love you and miss you all and am thinking and praying for you.

Be Blessed.

Bonding During Binding

So I have been binding books 4-7 hours a day for the past week and a half. We have over 3500 books bound with a goal of 5000 by next friday. We are making good pace.

Anyway sitting in the same room doing the same thing for hours a day can make someone a little weird. With that in mind I hope you enjoy the following jokes/ tidbits of funniness that I've come up with while binding (note: we are binding save sex curriculum).

"Why did sex cross the street? To save itself for marriage."

"What's that lassie? Sex fell down the old well? Let's go save it!"

"What are we exactly saving sex from? Has it been accosted?"

So ya this is what happens when you work for Jesus. Fun times. Be blessed.

What is it that makes Christianity so special?

A few weeks ago we had a staff meeting that led to my earlier blog about feeling spiritually refreshed. It also raised some important questions about Christianity and the nature of salvation. It forced me to think about my faith and why I am a Christian. I am pretty big on apologetics so it was a fairly fun exercise.
Here are some reasons why I think Christianity is so special and why I think it is the one true religion available on this planet.

1) Salvation Cannot be obtained.

Every other religion, every other single one promises some form of heaven if the follower does enough good things. In Islam you mush follow the 5 pillars, in Judaism you must follow the Torah, in Hinduism you must make sure your karma is in order.
With Christianity I can do nothing to earn my spot in heaven. My sin is too great for me to overcome. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, our bridge to God that forgave our sins and made us clean. Apart from God's grace and mercy I am destined to hell. Period.

2)Freedom from fear.

Knowing that you are locked into heaven the moment you are saved frees you from the fear that you might be going to hell. The Muslim and Jew and Hindu never know until the day they die if they were good enough to reach heaven. They may do good things out of love and obedience to God but they also must, at least some of the time, do things out of fear of hell. The things I do are never out of fear of hell but because I love the God who loved me so much to die for me even though I was sinner when he did so. I am free to live my life in relationship with God with confidence that I will be in heaven one day.

3) The Bible is compelling.

I respect the other books of the other major religions of the world, they are full of significance and value. But for my money there is no book on this planet that is more compelling than the Bible. Written over 1500 years in different places by different people it is remarkable how well it ties together from beginning to end. Christians generally believe it is the infallible word of God in the original autographs. I am not saying I never question anything in the text, but I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt because of how powerfully it does work together. No other story on earth is as important, significant, or amazing as the one in the Bible.

So thats a few reasons why Christianity is my thing and I believe it is valid for everyone on this planet to consider and make a decision on.

Hope this helps and enthuses.

Behind-the-scenes or on the frontlines?

This morning I started binding thousands of curricula with 5 other interns. At first glance this is obvious behind-the-scenes work for the ministry. I see no people, I talk to nobody except the other interns and I'm in the office close to 8 hours a day sitting in a chair. But I refuse to accept the premise that the work I'm doing for the next three weeks is behind-the-scenes. Here's why.

The books we are binding are Leadership Summit curricula, specifically the Save Sex book. This curriculum teaches young people in Qwa qwa about Love, Sex and Relationships. It tells them how to save sex for marriage and Biblical perspectives on the issues. It is full-color, interactive, and effective in effecting the lives of youth. In America how to teach young people about sex can be controversial, but here it is a bit simpler. Leadership Summit is already teaching in 6 or 7 schools in Qwa qwa and is making an impact. Teen pregnancy rates have dropped drastically in many of the schools where Leadership Summit has been taught for the past few years.

Every time I bind a book I'm giving a high school student a chance to learn how to make choices that will change their life. Every time I bind a book I'm helping a young person avoid AIDS. Every time I bind a book I am not behind-the-scenes, I am on the front lines of the battle to help change the continent for the better. God has priviledged me with this work. Far be it from me to say that God was wrong in putting this task before me.

Here's to an Africa that is not just a stereotype, an Africa where people are strong, healthy, Godly and completely sold out to Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Pray for Zimbabwe

I have a bunch of things I could blog about but I have been meaning to write this for weeks so here it is.

Please pray for Zimbabwe. If you have never heard of it, Zim is a country in Southern Africa that is currently in a crisis of sorts. It has been ruled for 28 years by the same man, Robert Mugabe, since independence in 1980. Mugabe is 84. You may be surprised to learn that he was just reelected to another 6 year term. Unsurprisingly the election was largely seen as a sham by most of the world.

Under his rule Zim has descended into chaos with a spiraling economy, a dwindling life expectancy and the worst inflation rate in the world. While he likes to blame the western world for his country's problems it is largely understood that his corrupt and violent policies have ruined a once prosperous and hopeful nation.

The victims in all this are the Zimbabwean people who, unless they are supporters of Mugabe, live in constant fear of beatings and retribution by the president's cronies and gangs.

Check out cnn.com or nytimes.com for background and stories on Zimbabwe and then please pray for peace for the people of Zimbabwe. While I am safe from the trouble there it is burdensome to think that only hours away from me such trouble is happening.

Thank you.