Almost There

By the time you read this, my next support letter should be ready for printing. Better extraordinarily late than never...? You be the judge.

This has been one of those weeks that seemed really busy until I looked back on it. Perhaps I did too much thinking about the future and that made things seem busy. Or maybe I just don't have the stamina for work that I once did, especially now that I don't have a regular work schedule. Anyway, it seemed like a busy week, but it probably wasn't.

Mandi and I are looking forward to our trip to Thailand. We are also looking into a fun idea which will help us connect to you in person. We have been throwing around the idea of traveling around the country to places where we know people, and putting on house parties to share our vision for missions with small groups in a warm and familiar setting. I have just begun recording my first album, and by the time we would start these house parties, I would be able to perform a number of the songs as a part of the gathering. Honestly, I love the idea of community and missions, bringing together like-minded people around the idea of the great commission. Realistically, if we were able to act on this idea, it wouldn't happen until August, maybe September. If you like this idea or would be interested in hosting one of these in your home, anywhere in the country, please let me know via comment or the email address toward the top of the screen.

So feel free to wait beside your mailbox for my new letter, unless I don't have your address. Please, if you want a letter, make sure I have your current information. Thanks.

Weekly, schmeekly

Man, I've already set myself up for failure with this whole regularity in blogging thing... Better slightly late than never, though, I suppose.

So the big news from this week is that I bought tickets to Thailand! This is just for a survey trip, check the place out, meet a bunch of people, see if it all really clicks with me. There is a retreat for all the Pioneers people in the region scheduled for the time I'll be there, so this should be a great time to really connect with a lot of folks. And here is the very best piece of news: Mandi is coming along! I asked her to think about coming along on this trip even though things didn't look monetarily, but God came through in the way of a nice tax return, and within the week I had purchased TWO tickets (at a great price, I might add.) This whole decision had blessing written all over it, and I'm stoked about it. If ever there were a good test of our relationship, flying and lay-overing for 28 hours should get nerves frazzled and let our true colors out. Could be interesting! (Do I smell a reality TV series? If so, we can exaggerate every reaction and emotion to make for better television. Let me know if you have funding for something like that...)

I now have 130 people in my Facebook prayer group, which is awesome. I didn't know how many people would be in to joining another group, but there was a significant response, which is great. So again if you're a Facebooker, click here to join my group.

It's been a busy week, and this week is going to be busy as well. However, I'm still hoping to get a fresh letter sent out for your reading enjoyment. Again, if you think you might have been left off the mailing list, please send me an email at the address at the top of the screen.

This week pray with me that the prayer and financial partners I need will keep coming in. Recessions don't affect God's work because He has infinite resources. Also pray that I remember that He's in charge and not me.

Thanks for praying. Cheers.

Practical Points

I have this goal to update my blog every Monday morning. So far I'm only about 12 hours late for this week, but next week I'll be on top of it. Hopefully.

Last Thursday I had a great talk with my Pioneers people, asking for advice on a few key items. Probably three or four months ago I reached a point where I had exhausted my list of connections that could help me build my support team. It was around that time that I met Mandi, and surprise of all surprises, I got a little distracted. (And with good reason, methinks.) So I got some suggestions regarding what to do next, which I'm hoping to implement as soon as possible.

First, I need to increase my list of prayer-supporters. Now, unfortunately, I've been horrible with communication, so those people on my email-list haven't been receiving updates at all, so there may be some of you on my list who've never received anything from me, aside from my very first letter back in July. I'm planning to get an update email and letter out within the week, so if you're already in my database, you're good to go. However, I suspect it's going to take a couple weeks to really see who's on the list and who I've forgotten. If you don't hear from me in the next couple weeks, please contact me so I can get you onboard.

For my Facebook-addicted friends, I've started a Facebook group for those interested in walking alongside me in prayer. Within the first three days I have almost 120 members in my group, which is fantastic. If you're interested in joining the group, please click here. I plan to update that page every Monday as well, and while much of the same information will be displayed on the Facebook page and this blog, it is certainly worth checking out. If you don't have a Facebook account you can still check the page, but you will not receive word of updates or be able to participate in discussions. Check it out.

Another new idea is much more participatory for all of you. I'm interested in gathering people together to build community around missions (specifically mine, but others are more than welcome to partner with me in this. In fact, I would encourage it.) I've been thinking it would be great to gather people together for some fun, perhaps a time of free worship, and I could share some Pioneers media with the group, explaining what I will be doing with Pioneers. What I need are people interested in hosting a gathering in their home, and suggestions for ways we can make this an enjoyable experience. This could be a chance to bring people together in a unique and God-honoring way. Think about it.

Also, if you have a connection with a church body who would be willing to hear about my Pioneers work, I could really use the connection. I would love to present at your church, but if I'm not able to be there, I can get you any presentation tools you might need to present on my behalf. Obviously I would love to present in person, but sometimes it just won't work out in an ideal fashion. Let me know if you have a connection.

And as always please be praying that the support I need will come in, and that I will be patient in the meanwhile. Stay in touch by commenting or emailing me at the address in the picture at the top of the page. (Trying to avoid printing the address to avoid those sneaky spammers.) Thanks so much, and God bless!

Back on track!

Good day to you all!

So I recently had to do some serious thinking and praying about where my life is going right now. From last April until late November I had no doubt whatsoever that I was supposed to raise prayer and financial support in order to go overseas and make videos about what God is doing through Pioneers. There were no distractions, and my vision was singular. Then God decided to have a little fun with me and introduce me to an incredible girl named Mandi. Up until November I didn't have anyone but myself to think about, which has often seemed like an advantage to me. Being single gives you certain freedoms of movement, certain freedoms of lifestyle. However, at the introduction of my significant other, I was forced to add another variable (albeit a very cute and important variable) to my life's equation. So instead of responding to the challenge of new perspective, I kind of dropped off the face of the earth, neither moving forward nor backward toward my goal of working with Pioneers.

A little more than a week ago I realized that this doesn't have to be an either/or process, but God, in His infinite wisdom, is quite capable of orchestrating whatever He thinks is best. I'm convinced He still wants me to pursue work with Pioneers, and in light of that I'd like to announce that I'm back on track! I've definitely neglected those of you who have pledged support, and for that I apologize. I know I've said it before, but I plan to have a new letter out soon with current stats and prayer requests. I also had some magnets printed up with my pretty mug on them so you can put it on your fridge and remember the guy who has so unjustly neglected you all. Believe me, I love all of you with Christ's brotherly love, and look forward to communicating more frequently as I pursue the ideas and people God has placed in my life. And please feel free at any point to give me a verbal or textual slap upside the head if I ever drop off the edge again.

A wonderful girl and a silly video. That is all.

Hey everybody. Sorry I've been ausente for so long. I've been a little distracted. And by "little," I mean "largely." And by "distracted" I mean "negligent." I don't usually talk about my relationships on my blog, but there's a certain special someone these days. "She's great" is the understatement of the century, but unfortunately you're not going to get me to post a whole lot more than that on here right now. I'm open about my own life's journey, but not as open with relationship stuff on here. Too impersonal. Anyway, it's a good thing. And by "it's" I mean "she's." And by "good thing" I mean "incredible blessing." So I made her a special video while she's away. I'm posting it here for your viewing (albeit quasi-voyeuristic viewing) enjoyment. That is all.

Musicophilia

So I have a book recommendation for y'all. At your earliest convenience, run down to the nearest book store and buy Musicophilia - Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. The author is a neurologist whose fascination with the brain is immediately evident, as is his knack for making clinical studies accessible and enjoyable to read. This book is filled with tales of fascinating disorders, obsessions, and cures all related to music. Seriously folks, this is nearly 400 pages of incredible stories. I find it really interesting that the author, without any religious practice, makes all these incredible points about the wonders of the human brain, when there is so much evidence that this is all the workings of a creative God. If you're interested in the brain and music, this one will be a fascinating read.

On a related note, I've been thinking about the effect music has on my own life, especially when it comes to its ability to alter moods. I know of a lot of people who use music as a reflection of their mood: sad music for sad times, happy music for happy times, indifferent music for indifferent times (okay, maybe not that one... mostly because I'm trying to think of what would be considered indifferent music, and I can't.) I, on the other hand, use music like medication, especially when it comes to my own depression. Music has enough power in my life to change the way I think and react, to the point where if I play sad music for sad times, I think I would feel worse than before. However, I'm not sure I would play sad music all that often when I'm happy, so it's not an exact science. Anyway, I'm curious what you guys think. So I'm going to see if I can't get one of those polls put on the side of my page. We'll see if it works.

Cheers.

Little joys...

Earlier this year I discovered the joy of smoking a pipe. There are so many activities that at one point in my life had seemed sinful, though there is certainly no Biblical law or decree to support that feeling. For instance, consuming alcohol in moderation is not in itself sinful. Using something like that for the purpose of getting drunk is definitely spoken about in the good book, but even Jesus made water into wine, and wine is what Jesus used to represent his own blood. So, along those lines, smoking a pipe was something that made me uncomfortable simply because it was unknown, untested in my own life. However, when I was invited by some friends at church to go smoke pipes and hang out, I thought I would give it a shot, if only to be social, something I’m not always good at. I really enjoyed it. There was a whole world of complexities, near-artistry in smoking pipes that I had never heard of, nor encountered. It was intriguing, and above all, enjoyable. I hung out with those same people several times afterward, enjoying myself more each time.

Being indoctrinated into this new culture, I began noticing pipe smoking more and more in every day life. Such famous minds as Albert Einstein and the Inklings, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien among them, were avid pipe smokers. Participating in this activity is relaxing and a great way to pass the time with others, usually accompanied by good conversation. It’s also a great catalyst for thought, and a great tool to help me focus on reading scripture. In fact, I’ll sit for a couple of hours reading my Bible with my pipe in hand, something I’ve always had a hard time doing. The pipe I own is a Peterson, their line being that it’s “the thinking man’s pipe,” and as cheesy as sounds, I’ve found it to be true. Sure thinking doesn’t require hot smoke, but I’ve actually found that I do some of my best thinking with it. There’s just something to it, though if hard pressed, I’m not sure I could truly articulate what it is. Perhaps having something to occupy my fidgety brain helps to focus it on more important matters. I know for many people, doodling can help a person focus on a speaker, perhaps on a Sunday morning as the preacher pours himself into his congregation. Focus can be a rare commodity at times, so anything to bring comprehension to an easily distractible mind is a good thing. This is how I feel about smoking my pipe.

I’m not endorsing tobacco, as some people have a history of nicotine addiction or any number of other vices associated with smoking. But I do enjoy it now and again. And now that I’ve been properly condemned by those against smoking of all sorts, I will take a bow and leave in peace with my thinking man’s pipe resting on the table.

Cheers.

The day's flotsam...

Here are a couple of random bits from the day. I found them amusing, so I expect you to as well.

The last couple of days I've been inside way too much, and not just indoors, I've been in my bedroom the better part of the last 48 hours. So in an effort to counteract the atrophied muscles and bedsores, I decided to go on a long bike ride. I hadn't ridden my bike long distance for a month or two, a travesty when the weather has been perfectly conducive to biking. I was probably 3 miles into my 17 mile ride when I saw an incredible sight. As I approached a busy intersection I saw a fellow biker of sorts, though he was of the leather-clad variety. This guy was decked out in leather: jacket, pants, boots, even a leather dew-rag-looking-thing on his sans helmet head. Dark sunglasses and a handlebar mustache completed this biker-stereotype of a man, an awesome sight to behold. But what really completed the whole ensemble, of course, was the bike. Or should I say scooter. Yes, this bad dude was riding a Vespa. I waited until I was sure he couldn't see me before I laughed out loud. It takes guts to ride a gutless bike.

After another 5 miles or so, I had something completely different and funny happen. I got to a point in the ride where I needed to spit. This can be tricky while riding a bike, because if you don't time it right, you're looking at a face full of expectorate, which is just as gross as it sounds. So I was preparing to launch, getting everything in its place, and fired... and at the exact moment the spit was leaving my mouth, I caught a huge disgusting whiff of dead animal, and in reaction lowered my head, spitting all over my leg. And as I rode past the putrid deer carcass, I couldn't help but laugh. Fantastic timing.

One last thing. On the side of this page I have a couple video clips posted, three of which are from my trip to Kenya a couple years ago. I posted these videos for the sole reason of being able to show friends and family where my sister Daylan lived and worked. One thing some of you know, is that Daylan and I tend to make jokes a lot. So in the video we make mention of things like driving on the wrong side of the road, knowing full well that there is no such thing. I hadn't even though that anyone would take our jokes about Americans seriously. People have gotten seriously upset, to the point that they feel obligated to set us straight via comment on the video. I got another comment this afternoon, more angry words directed at someone they've never met, and never will. It's hilarious that our flippant funny comments were taken so seriously. And all from a video I never really meant to be watched more than a dozen times. (It's at over 3000 hits now.) Good stuff. Well, bad stuff, but it's kind of funny.

Updates, new and old connections

Hey everybody!

So I have to say that having a computer of my own has been great. I've had a couple opportunities to use it for Keynote (Apple's far-superior Powerpoint-like program) presentations, and has performed beautifully. Today I got the opportunity to present my Pioneers information at my dad's church here in Bend, OR. It's just been one of those things where scheduling didn't work in my favor, and months went by before being able to share with the church body. Feedback said that the presentation went well, which is good because it seemed like it went well from my perspective. (Ever take a test in school and think you did really well only to discover you completely bombed it? I've had enough of those happen to give me a tiny twinge of fear when things seem to have gone well. You just never know. I had a handful of conversations with people about my upcoming Pioneers duties, and gave out 7 or 8 support letters. I need to work on being a bit more aggressive in giving out and requesting information from people. Someday I'll get there.

Last weekend I got the opportunity to lead worship at the Evangelical Free Church's Northwest District Pastors and Wives Conference (I wanted to abbreviate it to EFCNWDPWC, but it never caught on) held in Sunriver, about 25 minutes from Bend. There was a lot of work getting 5 sets of music together, and then the problems involved with half of your band living 3 hours away in Portland. But, despite all the complications, things went relatively smoothly. Actually, this was the first major worship event I've led in a long time, and a good reminder that I do indeed enjoy leading worship. I got the opportunity to share a little about my Pioneers work at that event as well, and hopefully God will work in people's hearts, reminding them that despite the crappy economic times, there are people out there working toward full-time ministry. It's just been great to have a couple weeks in a row where there was at least opportunity to increase support numbers.

And actually, now that I think of it, two weeks before that conference last weekend, I got to give an update to my home church in Portland during the Sunday service. I made a couple of very important connections that Sunday, which is both unexpected and fantastic. As a result of one of the new connections, I may at some point in the future have the opportunity to lead worship at a church in Hong Kong. I'm not going to count on that working out, but the prospect is exciting. The other connection is with a person in a nearly identical life situation, also heading towards missions, a new and valuable friend.

My work has gotten more regular, and I've even had a couple chances to substitute as an Educational Assistant in the district here in Bend. This last time substituting involved a pretty incredible happenstance, something that rarely if ever happens to me. So I got a call just before 7am that there was an opening for a sub in an all-Autistic classroom at a nearby school. So I showed up and was being shown the ropes when in walks a little girl that I could have sworn I knew. However, knowing I'm now in Central Oregon, I know that I hardly know anyone, let alone random child walking through the classroom door. So I kind of blew off that sort of weird deja vu feeling and went on with my business. A couple of minutes later in walks one of the classroom teachers, and I get the same feeling, like I knew who she was, but couldn't figure out for the life of me who she was. I went back to orienting myself to the room, and the little passes by again, staring at me like she knew me, and then she left the room. Then it hit me: I knew this kid from the school I used to work at up in Alaska more than 2 years ago. I even remembered her name, and asked the other assistants if I had the right name. I did, and as it turned out, the teacher was her mother, and I knew her from the afterschool program at my old school, because she would pick up her kid every day from the program. I re-established that connection with the mom (and the girl once school was over for the day) and she let me know that her daughter, even a year after I had left Alaska, had still talked about me and how much she enjoyed me as a staff member. So now I have a top-notch connection with someone in the district, and I can only imagine that I'm at the top of their substitute list, or at least close to the top. Anyway, this was one of the strangest connections I've had in a long time. What are the odds, really?

Hi Everybody!

Sorry for being so inconsistent with blogs recently. I've been both busy and lazy, a frequently fatal combination.

Just thought I would let everyone know that I was finally able to replace my stolen computer. Unfortunately my computer needs are relatively specific, so I couldn't easily replace it with the amount of money I already had. I want to give a special shout-out to my dad for letting me use his laptop while I was between computers. I'm up and running again, and it's really great.

So those of you on my prayer/support team can expect a special email or letter in the mail soon, and those of you who haven't committed, please do. I have forms all ready to mail and email out. I'm in real need of prayer partners, so if you're interested in that, I'll send you the form and then Pioneers can help me keep track of my team-members.

So thank God for a new computer. You will be seeing more of me on the interweb again.