Nicaragua2012 (Part 3)

*Post three of my Nicaragua2012 Posts.*
*This is partially for you, and partially so I have a place to write it all so I remember it. So pardon all the horrific details.*

At this point, you may be thinking, "Wait. He's already at the end! How can he have a third post??"
Well, this post is just for a few stories that I've thought of. So let the stories begin!


1. Imma start out with a good one.You may know Nathan Arndt. You probably don't. Regardless, this story is amazing. Picture this:
It's day four. It's 6:30 in the morning. I'm still in bed, half asleep and honestly I'm amazed I have any recollection of this. Riley Robbins is walking around. He cringes, and says something about the painful blister on his foot. Nathan, out of the blue, says "Hey, you want me to pray for it?" Riley says sure, so right then and there, at 6:30 in the morning, Nathan kneels down, and says a prayer of healing on Riley's foot.
Moment of honesty, I doubted. I thought, why would God spend His time, just so Riley could get out of a little pain? But later, Riley's is asked about it, and he says "I haven't felt it all day......but in a good way!"


2. This is gonna seem really shallow after that one, but whatever.
Thing is, down there, they don't get the luxury of lawnmowers, weed whackers, or anything of the sort. But they still need to keep a little bit of landscaping! So how do they do it??
Machetes.
They sent four of us guys out, to see what we could do. We couldn't. I actually thought we were doing decent! It only took like 15 swipes to get a tiny patch of weeds down! Then a Nicaraguan lady comes out to show us how it's done. With a piece of bread and a cup full of juice in one hand, she takes a Machete, and in THREE SWIPES gets what it took us twenty to get. Talk about an ego buster!

We were even less adept when they started throwing them. Yes, you read that right. They grabbed a few machetes, and started throwing them and getting them to stick into trees. I actually got the most out of any of us Americans! Which was two. But neither of them was as impressive as theirs! And they did it over...and over...and over again!



3. Obviously, there are people who live at the place we stayed. They prepared food, and cleaned our rooms while we were gone. Similar to a hotel. Except the food was FLIPPING INCREDIBLE! I would live there just for the food!!!
Anyway, one day we get back, and there are two piles of clothes in the middle of the rooms. I realize after look for a few seconds, that it is a bunch of our clothes! A few seconds later, I realize that its the stuff I already wore, and got all dirty! That's right. Those ladies, out of their own free will, hand washed all of our dirty clothes. Shirts, socks, and even underwear! I wouldn't even do that for myself!


Once again, I just wanna thank anyone who supported me, through either money or prayer! You don't know what a blessing you were!

So there you have it. That's the end. Until next year that is!

Nicaragua2012 (Part 2)

*Post two of my Nicaragua2012 Posts.*
*This is partially for you, and partially so I have a place to write it all so I remember it. So pardon all the horrific details.*


OK. So you may remember, when we left off, I had come back from the beach. The next four days were our designated "work days". I'll begin there...

If you want the most basic overview, "We built two houses."

They started lifting before I could get to the side...

For a more detailed description, I'll just write what I wrote in my journal after day 3:
"It's been a ton of fun. You never get overworked, because there's not enough work for everyone, so you can easily take breaks. But don't think it's easy! I wake up every day more tired, and super sore!
People are so helpful! Sammy spends the entire time giving herself to all the little Nicaraguan children, and also is constantly offering to bring people their waters bottles! Everyday, Tara goes out of her way to cover all of the backpacks, so the when it rains, (which it does everyday here) none of our stuff will be ruined! No other specifics, but everyone gets whatever you need, and if you need a break, they jump at the chance to get back to work!

Putting in the floor boards

At some points throughout the day, I just spend some time with the little boys. We just run, fight, growl, and tickle (Yes. I did say tickle.) Even though we aren't doing anything, they still have so much fun, and the glee on their faces is amazing to watch!
I also love watching the teenage Nicaraguans. I can't understand much of what they say, but i feel a connection. We're just a few teenage guys, out here building to help some people out!"

So there you have it. That was my play-by-play, in the midst of the action.

On Thursday night, we went to Church. The preacher was another visitor, and he had a ton of great stuff to say about worship.
Here's some of my notes:
Ephesians 2:10
       God designed us to worship Him through good works.EVERYONE WORSHIPS SOMETHING
       What do you worship?
What is worship?
       Singing?
       Praying?
       Praising?
             All three of these, but more! Worship is doing what the the Holy Spirit leads us to do, and its from
             your heart!
Whatever you do, do it for God!
Romans 3:23
Worshiping is reflecting the glory of the Master.
Love like He loved, Grace like He graced, and Forgive like He forgave.
God is most Glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him!
You have to KEEP your heart close to God.
You don't plan to fall out of love. It comes from not continually coming to Him.
Worship: an outward expression of your inner love.
Do you know Him? If not, you can't truly worship Him.
Psalm 139:14
       You will never be able to worship God if you think He made a mistake in you.


And that's the conclusion! Now on to post numero tres!

Nicaragua2012 (Part 1)

*Post one of my Nicaragua2012 Posts. For the rest of the story read the next few posts!*
*This is partially for you, and partially so I have a place to write it all so I remember it. So pardon all the horrific details.*

If you didn't know, I went to Nicaragua (in Central America) a few weeks ago!
It was an incredible experience, I learned a lot, and I will for sure be going next year!
We first got started back in January/February, when we got to know who all was going, and then we had 3 other meetings between that and the trip. I had so much help from people paying for the trip. I had to raise $2100 dollars (if you include my Chicago trip), and I got it completely paid for by peoples fabulous donations!

So the day of the trip arrives. We have our packing party, go over final details, and head home for a few hours before we leave. Some people slept, I on the other hand watch The Batman movies, and an episode of The Walking Dead. :D
Then we head back, take the 2 hour drive to Chicago, and fly from there to Miami, and then to Managua, Nicaragua. (That's fun to say!) We spend the night in a hotel there. It consists of tons of pizza, even more pool-dunking, an hour long talk with Riley and Jeffrey about awesome movies, and my headphones disappearing overnight. Then we take a smaller propeller plane (a 46-seater) to Puerta (Port) Cabezas. Surprisingly that was my favorite flight! I sat next to Austin, and played solitaire, war, and chess. And then we were there.

The night we got there, all we did was play with the kids. Me and Brennan were chasing around a little boy and girl, letting them go chasing them some more...and so on. We also sat around for a bit, and learned this weird hand pounding rhythm thingy. (I forgot that one, but I learned another one later which I remember!)

Day 2:
We went to Church this day! It was a flipping awesome experience! There were three different languages being sung, but even if they were singing in one of the other languages, I could still understand, and connect in my own. It just really showed how Jesus isn't American. He is universal. We so often think of Him as our own, and this was just awesome to see how much He did in the lives of people who wouldn't understand a word of our English bible, but have there own way of sharing the Good News. And then we got to hear a great message from our very own John Keim, in English, and translated to Spanish. Their services are long! Johny even had a short message, and the service was still two hours long! But I wouldn't have missed any of it for the world!
After church, we took all of the kids to the beach. It's Nicaragua, so of course it started raining as soon as we got there. But after the initial ten seconds of disappointment, (and after I covered Katie and I's bags with my poncho) everyone started having even more fun! Some people were playing beach-rain-soccer, others were building sand castles, and others (me) were having an all out war, dunking, throwing sand, etc. No casualties though! One little girl kept throwing sand at me, so i would scare her, or throw sand at her or something. At the end we shook hands, which I thought meant we were cool. But then she threw sand at me again!! What a jerk...haha
Gotta love those children...(but boy are they tiring!)


Well, I'd say thats a good place to end this one. You can find the next one here:

Relapse

Here's some background: for a while now, I've been dealing with stuff in my personal walk with Christ.
I touched on this in my post about Romans 7. Struggling for months, and then I go on a mission trip in Chicago. I'm positive that if I could've dealt with it before Chicago12, god could've done a lot more with me, but I was unable. Or maybe I didn't really want to. Regardless, I got back on Monday. I was sitting on the couch, on my iPod. I saw a link that piqued my interest, so I click on it. As it's loading, I feel a tug on my heart, and suddenly realize, "This is exactly what I was promising, no, vowing, to put behind me this very morning!"
I just spent a wee serving others, and I almost went back to my selfish ways less than an hour after I got back. I believe that if not for Him holding me back, I would've fallen...hard.
And so I truly owe it All to Him.

The Bible is Wrong

Okay, so the title might be a bit misleading. I still believe the bible. But I'm beginning to believe it differently. You may know I am in a biology class at school, which means we learn about evolution, and a bit of the big bang theory. Now, a  year ago I would've said that both were wrong without a second thought. However, I've also been talking, no, debating Christianity in things called "communities" on an app I got. (Shout out to all mis amigos out there!) Both of these combined got me thinking.
There is a lot of evidence out there for both Evolution and the Big Bang theory. Obviously, without a time machine, we can't say for sure. It would be like trying to prove that there isn't any God. You can't ever say for sure. But anyway, My point is, these theories are looking less and less like theories, and more like fact.
So here is my theory. God created nature right? So he created the laws of nature. So it's only logical that he would follow His own laws, right? The Hebrew word for day, "yom", can also mean an age, not just a twenty four hour day. Therefore the six "days" of creation could be...oh I don't know....4.5 billion years? So picture this:
God makes an atom. Then He explodes it. BOOM. Big Bang. He then causes a chain reaction that starts creating stars, and galaxies. He keeps it going, and eventually brings into being one specific planet. (Which He's been planning to use all along.) Then He mixes all the right molecules together to make DNA and RNA and all that fun stuff, which, long story short, creates life. After that, over billions of years he (with His own hand) uses evolution to form what he had in mind all along. And when humanity is ready, He gives us the final part of "His image". A soul. I believe the rest of the story is written down somewhere....


Keep in mind this is just a theory. It has it's flaws. But it currently makes sense to me, so say something about it to rip it into shreds.
Thanks!
 Adios.

1 Peter 3

*NOTE: This was written as part of the weekly bible readings for the GSM Nicaragua mission trip. So when I refer to "this trip," that's what I mean.*


This one is an interesting one. It starts by telling women to submit to their husbands. (4 sexist jokes just went through your head...shame on you...) It also says men should honor their wives. Then it talks about suffering even though, and sometimes because, you are doing something good!
If you didn't guess, this one is by Peter also. And boy is it relevant today. Peter tells wives to submit, so that their husbands "may be won over by their behavior." If that happened, along with men treating their wives with respect, so much fewer marriages would be lost! And, Christians around the world are persecuted just because they share Jesus! And it may not be as drastic in high school, but the more you stand up for Jesus in high school, the more others try to knock you down.
This one seems like it wouldn't be very applicable for this trip, but in fact it's the opposite! We may not be married, but there are guys and girls going on this trip. Girls, I'm sorry, but as Peter says, you are the "weaker partner." I'm not being sexist, but most guys are stronger than most girls. (Example: Hulk vs. Black Widow.) but guys aren't perfect, by a long shot. Girls, for one, actually admit to having feelings...(yeah, I went there.) as for suffering, it's gonna be hard work, and people here will question why you're even going on this trip. I mean really, who spends $1600 to spend a week of their summer helping people in Nicaragua? Oh, that's right, God's children do. Boom...roasted.


Get it? Roasted? Because its hot in Nicaragua??

Oh bad puns...

1 Peter 2

*NOTE: This was written as part of the weekly bible readings for the GSM Nicaragua mission trip. So when I refer to "this trip," that's what I mean.*

Also, that last one was supposed to be about 1 Peter 1, and that's what I made the title....but I read/wrote about 1 James 1.....oops.

Anyways, without further adieu, 1 Peter 2:

So. Summary. Let's see, first he talks about how we are a chosen people, and thought we will be rejected by men, we should still abstain from sin, "so that they may see your good works and glorify God" (v.2) He then goes on to say that we should submit to our 'masters' and authorities, (both kind and cruel) because it is commendable to God.
Peter was an interesting fellow. He had his dumb moments, but writing this definitely wasn't one of them. He realizes that we are going to have authorities in our lives, (be it teachers, parents, or bosses), and some of them won't be very nice, and may not even have our best interests in mind. But God wants us to endure submit, because it gives us love and patience, and it could show them Christ's love!
This section also has a lot to do with our trip. You are going to disagree with someone on this trip, and your response will have an impact on others on the team. It's up to you to decide whether that impact is positive or negative. Another connection is that we were all chosen for this trip by God and the leaders. God put something in each of our hearts to make us put in an application. (Because no one would fill out that much of an application for fun...just saying.) And I don't know how many (or if any) applications got rejected, but I do know that the leaders put a lot of time and prayer into who to accept. So each of us will have a specific part to play, and it's up to you to fulfill yours...

1 James 1

*NOTE: This was written as part of the weekly bible readings for the GSM Nicaragua mission trip. So when I refer to "this trip," that's what I mean.*

To sum this chapter up, it begins by talking about how facing trials and temptations will make us better and closer to God. Then it goes on to say how dumb it is to read God's word and not do what it says. (not in those exact words...)
James wrote this. He's Jesus's bro by the way. I think he wrote this because people back then struggled with the same things we do today. Lust, greed, etc. And the Word has ways to deal with these "trials and temptations."
This chapter tells us a few things. One, God won't send temptation on us. Our own desires tempt us, but God will help us through that temptation. Two, we can't fight it on our own. That's probably why I give in so much; I try to defeat temptation on my own. Finally, this trip is gonna be full of trials. But we should "consider it pure joy," because if we let it, it'll bring us closer to God and each other.

Romans 7:16-25 (MSG)

I just wanna talk about something I've been dealing with for a while, and will probably be dealing with until the day I die. We've been going over this at GSM, and it's pretty well summed up by Paul in Romans 7.

What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

In my head, I think: 'I would never do anything like that, it's so wrong!' But then I find myself doing those very things!! Obviously I need to delve into God's word more, to get a better hold on what's right and wrong!

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

What is up with me?! I want to live full out for Christ Jesus, but for some reason right as I decide to live for him, I go and sin again! Why can I not live completely for Him?

It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I really do want to live for Him!! My heart is committed to Him! But some part of my heart waits til I get alone with my thoughts, with no one to keep me accountable, and pounces, and I'm caught.

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

Anyone? Obviously I'm never gonna be able to stop on my own; I've been trying that for far too long, with far too few results. And talking to another person helps, but it doesn't take it all away, it just lessens it. I need supernatural help!!!

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

God I need You! If not for Your Son Jesus, I would have no hope of fighting these demons! I need to somehow align ALL of my heart to yours! I need You LORD.

To Be or Not to Be....Single

If you're reading this, you probably know I am single. I have been for about....forever or so. Some people think it's strange. Others have told me I'm not allowed to date until college...
Anyway, I wanna share my thoughts on this whole relationship craze.

I think 90% of high school relationships should never happen. (Middle school: 99%, Elementary: 100%) I do not think that just because a girl is pretty, you should date her. If he/she hasn't met your family, it's not time yet. If you met a month ago, definitely not. I'm just saying, get to know him/her first! I personally am not going to date anyone I'm not already friends with. As of now, I'm not willing to risk any of my friendships for a dating experience that I know won't last.

Another thing, if you've been together for three weeks, its not love. Unless you would be willing to marry them right now, it's not love.

1 Corinthians 7:32-35: I'm not gonna write it all out, but basically it says that married (or dating) people will focus on making their partner happy, while single folks can focus on God.
1 Corinthians 7:8: If you were just in a relationship, and it didn't work out, you don't need to get in another just to make you feel better! Give it time!
2 Corinthians 6:14: Don't date non-Christians!! You don't have to be mean about it, just lead them to Christ! Really, if you care about them, you should care about their eternal soul...
Oh, and 99.9% of the time, "missionary dating" is a lie.

Look, I'm not saying we all need to swear off dating, I'm saying you should think!

Horror Film

Everyone loves a good apocalypse movie! I mean natural disasters, alien invasions, zombies, that stuff is cool! It's so science fiction that almost no one imagines it actually happening. I mean really. A cure for cancer that turns 99% of the world into zombies? A meteo threatening to wipe out earth? Yeah right. But you know what i think the scariest movies are? Demon films. Especially for Christians. Because demons exist.
How many times have aliens fought against humanity? Or Cowboys? Or the Fantastic Four? Never, never, and....never. Jesus incountered at least 20, maybe 50 possessed people in his ministry. That's one person, three years, and that many Demons?

And it still happens today! Most people scoff at exorcisms and the like, but the fact is they are very real. The one thing that I take comfort in is that most theologins agree, Christians cannot be possessed. I believe this is because we already have Christ in us. "There ain't room for the both of us here."

Just something to think about, next time you watch a horror movie for fun.

(Yes, I know that none of the movies I referenced up there were horror movies...but they would be....if they were plausible...)

I've been thinking...

This time, I'm just going to post some thoughts. It might seem completely unconnected...get over it. :)

Pain:
One of the main reasons people avoid Christianity is pain. "How could there be a loving God with so much suffering?" in Laura Story's words, "When darkness seems to win, the pain reminds us, this is not out home." in other words, God didn't intend for this world to be flawed, but every time we choose against Him, He is in pain too. And a lot of the time it hurts us or those around us.

Fakers:
Another huge turn-off for non-Christians is all the fakers. All of the people who call themselves Christians, (regardless of if they really are or not), but don't reflect Christ in any way. But it's more than that; even the Christians who are decent, if they hurt someone, that person gets "turned-off" of Christ. That is why we, as Christians, must constantly pray for the strength to do what's right.

Forgiveness:
I believe in the ultimate forgiveness of God. If you believe that God is God, and place your complete trust in Him, you will be saved, and spend eternity in Heaven, be it when you are 7 at summer camp, or on your death bed. I believe if Hitler had trusted in the One True God, he would be in heaven right now.

Homosexuality:
Being homosexual, (or Bi-) is a sin.it says so right in the bible. However, God won't ban you from heaven if you are! Any sin is equal in His sight. It's the same level as lying, cheating, murder, and rape. I'm not saying I embrace it, but I won't hate you, and God doesn't either.

These are just some of my thoughts. I won't claim that they're flawless, but they are what I believe. What are your thoughts?

Life vs. Liberty

I've thought about this for a long time. I'd really appreciate if you'd comment your thoughts also. So here goes. Abortion. Seems like its a controversial topic in every debate. I might contradict myself a bit, but bear with me.

Prolife:
I believe that you existed since conception, and even before that, in God's plan. But especially after conception. After all, "You knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13), and we are created "to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10) God was ready for us before we were a twinkle in our mother's eye. So by that way of thinking, abortion is the same as killing any other of God's workmanship, the same as killing a baby that has already been delivered.

ProLiberty:
However, I also think that people should have the right to choose. Is it fair to make a child who came about because of a rape, deal with all of the consequences? In an ideal world, that rape wouldn't happen, and parents and their children would be taken care of, and abortion would no be an issue. But this isn't that world, and it is an issue. One way to look at it is that God lets these babies come into existence, and doesn't stop people from having abortions, so why should we? Yes, I know that thinking is somewhat flawed, and we should try to convince them not to abort their child, but should it be a law? Another thought is that if you believe the child isn't "alive" yet, it's not a problem, and if you believe it is, doesn't its souls go straight to heaven when it dies? Yeah, it's like finding out a killer only murdered 20 people instead of 25.

I am proLife. If you come to me talking about having an abortion I will do everything in my power to talk you out of it. But I will not tie you down and force you to have the child. So I'm sorta proLiberty. I guess it really comes down to when the child is truly alive. What are your thoughts and beliefs?

Roots (Pt. 2)

(You should probably read yesterday's post before this...it might make a bit more sense...)

If that is the definition of evil, then good must be simply putting others before yourself. AKA giving. "For God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only Son, so that we would not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
That's a pretty big gift!! After all, "there is no greater love than this, to be willing to die, that another might live."

But you don't have to do something huge for it to be good. If it is completely for someone else, (and it lines up with His word), it will be good and pleasing to Him!!

Roots (Pt. 1)

This blog is about good and evil, so I guess eventually I've gotta get to the basics...meaning good and evil. The best definition I can think of for evil i can think of is basically thinking of yourself before others. So the root of all evil is greed. Envy is wanting what someone else has. Theft is taking what they have. Lust is wanting some one's body, and rape is taking it. It seems almost fitting that the #1 promoter of evil, Satan, was kicked out of heaven because he wanted to take Gods throne.

Yup, its short, but ill be back tomorrow with the flip side!