Bluesky 13: Session 3

This week I got the amazing honor and privilege to leave the high school boys at camp.  The high school takes a camping and adventure trip that is a lot of fun and gives us more time to get to know them. I had a blast and was so blessed to get to be a part of some amazing God stories.  Unfortunately, I can only share with you briefly about them now.

One of the campers I also had back in 2010 and I enjoyed getting to catch up with him.  He has started following Christ since the last time I saw him!  It was amazing to see that he remembered almost everything about me: my major, where I'm from, specific things about that year at camp, and things that I said to him.  I was blessed to get to encourage him in his faith.

Another camper said that he had nothing to do with God before this week, but God opened up his heart and he experienced the presence and love of Jesus is a tangible way!  He couldn't stop talking about how he wanted to build on his relationship with God!

Another camper flew in from London just to go to camp Bluesky, which he heard about at a wedding in Pakistan!  He believed some of the right things, but it was clear to see that his faith was cold and more or less dead.  But this week, Christ set him on fire with passion for the gospel and knowing Christ!  He told me that this was the most important week of his life!

This coming week I have the smallest boys, which includes my discipler's grandson.  Pray that God will give me supernatural patience and love for them, and that I would truly find joy in the Lord at every moment.  Thank you everyone for your support, prayers, and encouraging emails!

Bluesky 13: Half-time Adventures

In order to accommodate both the American and British school systems common in Kenya, bluesky has camp for 2 weeks in June, and then 3 weeks in July, with 3 weeks in between.  In order to make the most every opportunity, the team has been experiencing and participating in various missions in Kenya.

The first ministry we worked with, called "Made in the streets" rescues teenagers from a large slum in Nairobi, teaches them about Jesus, and gives them an education.  I got to participate by going out into the slum and talking with several of the boys who were contemplating coming off the streets and accepting the opportunity given to them by the ministry.  Tragically, many of them are so addicted to glue and any other horrible drugs they can get their hands on that they choose to stay on the streets where they can barely feed themselves and will likely die from the glue.  By God's grace, this ministry does rescue many teens from the streets and gives them everything they need to have a life worth living.  Of all the ministries that I've ever participated in or observed, this one has probably shown me the greatest picture of the gospel.  I am reminded of Colosians 1:13-14 which says, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves, in who we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.". These boys and girls have been brought out of the greatest darkness I have ever seen.  What an example of the gospel!

We also spent time working with a school in Massailand, where we painted and improved some of their school and beat them in a heated game of soccer (I was goalie and had a game saving save).  After this we spent time in Kasigau, a community right next to a mountain which has almost no access to water.  We worked on several projects to help them conserve their resources and generate an economy.  We also got to hike/climb the mountain while we were there.

(Mount Kasigau in the distance)

One of the neat things about this time is how the team has bonded together during the time we have away from campers.  We have experienced highs such as watching the sunset over mount Kilimanjaro, sleeping in hammocks, trying new foods, sharing stories of God's faithfulness, and taking inside jokes to a  new level.  We have also experienced lows such as food poisoning, a car wreck that we were very blessed to all walk away from, and a 24-hour stomach bug that infected over half the team.  We spent the last two days at the beach, relaxing, and gearing up for the next three weeks of camp.  It was a great time of rest and I got to lead all the guys on the team in a Bible study on Ephesians.

(Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance)

We have just arrived back at camp after an 11 hour drive back.  Over the next few days we will reset camp and prepare for the next wave of campers.  This coming week I will be the counselor for 6 high school boys.  I don't know their backgrounds yet, but they are likely either Hindu, agnostic, or nominally Christian.  Pray for their hearts and my words.  Thank you so much for everyone who has been praying for me and encouraging me!

Bluesky 13: Session 2

This week I had a cabin of 10 4th and 5th graders from very diverse backgrounds.  On Sunday night in our cabin devotional, it was clear that only one or two of them were Christians.  Many of them had very bizzare and confused beliefs, from forms of mixed polytheism, to relativistic spirit ism. Sometimes these beliefs included some warped image of Jesus, sometimes not.  A few didn't have belief of any sort.

Despite this challenging environment, the Holy Spirit really worked to confirm His word in many of their hearts.  By Tuesday night, when I asked them again if they believed Jesus was the Son of God, 9 out of 10 of them said that he probably was.  On Wednesday night we had the cross talk and explained the gospel to them.  After this, I got to have several awesome conversations with these campers.

One of them actually balled as he explained how amazing it was for God to love him so much that he died for him.  It's amazing to be a part of revealing the depths of God's grace to others!

Another started our conversation by explaining that he thought it was nice that Christ had died for him, but he didn't think that it was necessary for his "small" sins.  I got to explain why even our smallest sins earn us eternal punishment and after some difficult questions, he saw that he too needed Jesus.  I pray that God continues to give him a more accurate revelation of himself so that this child may know him in truth.

Another child was a very devout Jew, raised in Israel, fluent in Hebrew, and very knowledgable of the Torah.  All week, as we talked often about trusting Jesus, he would constantly ask, "What if you trust in God, but not in Jesus?" During our conversation, we talked more about who Jesus was and what his purpose was.  We also talked about how he would ultimately have to choose what to believe separately from his parents.  He told me that understood this, and though he didn't have the strength to do this yet, he might one day come to believe in Jesus.  As he continues to come to camp over the years, he will be given the opportunity to take this step!

Another boy came in saying that he used to believe in God, but now he believed in science.  Since I study a heavy science field and I could talked with him a lot about the science topics he was interested in, he knew he could trust me as I explained how science couldn't take the place of God.  In our continuing conversations, he asked a lot of questions and I did my best to answer them.  I shared with him Jeremiah 29:13, which says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." I promised him that if he would seek God with all his heart, that he would find Him, and told him how God demonstrated this in my life.  He said that he didn't care how long it took, but he would do this with all his heart!

Lastly, I talked with my camper from Session 1, who was in a different cabin this week.  On the first night of camp on session 1, he told me that he was sure that he was headed to hell.  On that Wednesday night, we talked about Romans 10:9 which says, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that Gid raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  He told me that though he believed that God raised Jesus from the dead, he was not able to die to himself in order to confess Christ as Lord and that it would take more time.  At the end of session 2, he told me that he was ready to confess Christ as Lord!

In the coming three weeks, the team will be spending a bit of time in Nairobi, a few weeks in Massailand, and a few days in Mombassa before coming back to camp.  Pray that we can accomplish God's purpose for us during this time and bring hope to people who desperately need it.

Bluesky 13: Session 1

This week, I got to be a counselor for some 7th and 8th grade boys.  The first night the campers opened up about where they were with the Lord.  Although they all came from Christian or semi-Christian backgrounds, several of them admitted that they were living in sin and acknowledged their separation from God.  Some said they knew they would go to hell if they died now.

As their counsellor, I felt that this was an awesome start to the week since it is impossible to understand the gospel without understanding our own sinfulness.  As the week progressed, we talked more about the goodness, holiness, and value of God. We even talked a bit about His wrath.  Then on Wednesday, we talked about the cross, and what it means in the context of our own treacherous actions.  The Holy Spirit truly worked through His word.

Several boys said that they understood  the gospel for the first time, and one boy accepted Christ for the first time!!!  Another boy repented from some of the sin in his life. Several prayed to be filled with the Spirit.  One of the boys told me that he finally understood the the best thing he could do with his life was glorify God for God's sake alone rather than his own sake!  The Holy Spirit revealed to him the truth of Mark 8:35.

(me and my campers from Session 1)

The week has also been neat because I have gotten a chance (during my very limited free time) to reflect and see how much I've grown in three years.  I can notice in my patience and wisdom in dealing with kids as well as my confidence in sharing the gospel.  It makes me thankful for those who have built me up and for the Holy Spirit's work in me.

This coming week I will have 4th and 5th graders mostly from the international school of Kenya. Many of them will be children of businessmen and diplomats from around the world.  Most have probably never heard the gospel.  Pray for me and for their hearts, that they me understand the love of God and that they may find life in Jesus.

Kenya 13: Week 1

Hello everyone!

I thought I would give everyone an update on how my trip to Kenya is going and how you can be praying for me.  For those of you who did not know, I am spending 10 weeks of my summer in Kenya volunteering as a camp counsellor and doing various short term projects.  

My trip began on May 23, and I will be back on August 1.  Today was the last day of staff training and tomorrow will be the first day of camp.  

This past week has been filled with training, team building, and fellowship between counselors.

(me and a fellow counsellor, John Allen from Texas)

This has really been a blessing to me, as I went into this trip not knowing any of my fellow team members beforehand.  We've prayed together, learned together, and spiritually and emotionally prepared ourselves and each other for camp.

This coming week, starting tomorrow, I will have a cabin of 8th grade boys.  Most of them will be missionary kids or kids with strong Christian parents.  However, many of them will not have made their faith their own.  Also, many of them struggle with their cultural identity.  They don't completely fit in in Kenya, but they also don't fit in in the US or wherever they are from.

Pray that they will experience the weight of the gospel and be challenged to follow Christ for themselves.  Pray also that I may be able to love them well and speak what they need to hear.  Pray throughout the summer that my heart would be continually transformed into that of a servant.   Thank you. God bless!

(view from the camp's rock climbing site)

The Holy Spirit's Anointing

What I am about to tell you is a really crazy story.  I don't know how to explain it, quantify it, or reason with it, and none of that matters to me.  What does matter is that it happened.

10/23/2011 (around 10:30 PM)

Seventeen months ago (to the day) I began praying for the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit to manifest itself in my life.  Today that prayer was answered.

On that day, May 23, 2010, the day traditionally celebrated as Pentecost and the day before I began my mission trip to Kenya I was given a divine appointment from God with a man who had been anointed by the Holy Spirit and inspired me to give serious consideration to the possibility of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible and a direct encounter with the Holy Spirit to become a part of my life.  Ever since then, my desire and prayer for these gifts have increased.  I have come away disappointed many times after asking God to anoint me with the Spirit but I was persistent and unwilling to give up on the idea that what was possible in the early church should be possible for me today.  Many of those times I thought that I had just neglected sanctification too much in my life and that is why God had not given me the experiences I had asked for.  But today, it happened.

Drew Martin, my roommate and ever so dear friend had been sharing recently an example of the power of God in his life that had completely destroyed lust in his life.  This is amazing gift and manifestation of the Holy Spirit in and of itself, but it fails to compare with what it would result in.  I have recently begun to experience a far stronger hatred for lust than normal, but so often I had failed to over come it through prayer or will.  I saw the work God had done in Drew's life and wanted it for myself, so that I could be purer and more holy and more pleasing to God.  I knew that some gifts of the spirit are passed on by the laying on of hands, so today when we were together in the apartment after watching the Princess Bride at Lauren's I asked Drew if he would come into my room, lay his hands on me, and pray that God would give me the same gift of complete freedom from lust.  What followed was indescribable.  I will try to describe it anyway.

Around a minute into his prayer the Holy Spirit came into the room.  I don't mean to suggest that He wasn't there before, but I do mean to say that came into the room giving us an experience of his holiness, love, and power in far greater magnitude and quality that either of us have ever dreamed of experiencing.  As He entered, I began breathing very deeply and trembling, paralyzed at His presence.  Drew felt the same and began to acknowledge the Spirit in the room in his prayer.  He was praying much louder than at first and couldn't control it.  Soon I began to feel Drew's hands on my back become hotter and hotter.  I thought that if God wanted to, he could use those hands to melt into me and kill me.  Even more impressive than the sensations was the overwhelming feeling of simultaneous joy and fear at His presence.  I now understand by experience the fear people had from angels and how joy and fear can be felt so easily together in the presence of God.  The entire event was amazing and crazy.  We were being anointed by the Holy Spirit.  I must say that this baptism was much cooler than the one with water.  After about 10-15 minutes the Spirit settled down on me though Drew continued to experience it for around 5 more minutes.  We then sat together marveling at the beauty and terror of God's presence and the amazing gift we had been given.  Then we read a few passages of Scripture that speak of the Holy Spirit and its gifts and power.  We have truly experienced the power of God and will never be the same.  This is one of the most important things that has ever happened to me.  I will not forget it.

This all sounds crazy.  The most amazing part of it was not that God can reveal himself to people, but that He chose to reveal Himself to me.  I'm just a kid who splashes around in spiritual puddles far more than I dig deep wells in God's love.  However,  I am so thankful and truly blessed.

What is even greater than this, based on the scriptures and stories of other people's encounters I am led to believe that this may only be the beginning.  God will probably manifest His power in us in other ways soon.  I am excited and eagerly anticipate seeing what God will do next.  I am His lowly servant, I pray that He will use me.

The Choice Has Been Made

Christianity really is different.

Sometimes I wonder how I stumbled into as close a relationship with You as I have (not that it's anything impressive for my sake).  It often seems like a lot of trouble.  It'll feel like You're stretching me too far for my own good.  Sometimes it even feels like I have no business trying to do what I'm trying to do.  After all, it is hard to imagine that I could really make a difference in Your enormous plans.

Plus it causes me stress and even grief on a daily basis.  It's the enemy's world out there and living in it with other people living in it while still trying not to be of it often seems like a worthless pursuit.  On top of all the other pressures of being a student and a person I'm supposed to be an example and a light to my peers? It's not always the easiest thing to be motivated to do.

Also, being in the presence of sin does a lot to a person whether they're actually tempted by it or not.  I remember being a freshman and seeing the difference between the presence of sin on campus and at home and the difference wore on me daily.  Just because I spend less time in the presence of this sort of sin does not exempt me from living in this world and being constantly more aware of the sin inside and outside of me.

Not to mention that some of the primary (though ill-founded) reasons I began to take Christianity seriously in the first place no longer exist.  And much of my motivation to be found deeper in You still remains suspect. Whether it be Christian friendships, religious pride, or even the enjoyment of having theological discussions, all present a temptation for me to feign my relationship with You, sometimes without my own awareness of doing so.


But You Lord, have a plan for all of this.  Even though I fall, fail, miss the point, and am unable to purify my own mind, You love me.  You have placed infinite worth on my life by paying for it an infinite price.  Nothing in all creation can change this love You have for me.  Thank You.

When I look back on my life I hope that I can say truthfully that I did everything for one reason alone: because I love You so much and because You loved me first and died to save me.

Certainly nothing else is worth it.


But with my pathetic human wisdom and my pathetic human commitment I lose focus so quickly and cannot see the true worth of Your love.  I end up subconsciously falling back on insufficient reasons.  I have no doubt that in Your sight it is as some sort of idolatry or hypocrisy.

Change my heart and make it all about You.  Then it becomes truly worth it.

The choice has been made.

There is no looking back.

I have stepped over the line.

I will not let up,

back up,

give up,

or shut up.

My focus is clear.

My path straight.

My God reliable.

I am a disciple of Christ.

May I be able to claim these words.