"Speak words we can all understand!"
In high school, I took three years of Spanish and was pretty mediocre at it. I’m sure many of you could relate to that. I was taught a bunch of grammar rules which I barely studied. I was made to speak words that I mostly forgot after high school. I almost never used it outside of class, except for the odd sign or two around town which I could actually read. Bottom line: I didn’t care a whit about Spanish, and I never planned on using it. So, obviously, I didn’t learn it! Not enough to get by with it, that’s for certain. When I eventually found out that the Lord purposed for me to be in the… Read more
This Month in...Switzerland!
Hey everyone, welcome to another update from Spain! This month of July has been really a huge blessing and been an incredible learning experience for me! Earlier this month, I went to a conference in Switzerland! I spent a week there with all of my organization's missionaries from around Europe, and it was such an amazing and incredible time. For me, it was a time that I would describe as restful more than anything, where I was able to rest from regular work, and just spend time worshiping the Lord. It was also just incredibly encouraging to be able to hear the stories of God's… Read moreA Very Different Country
"It was a very different country from any they had yet seen." (Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 'The Island of the Voices.') There aren't any invisible monopods in this new country of mine, but it is still different than anywhere I have been before. Nearly every time I see a flower I stop to look at it or snap a picture to google later. So many plants I don't recognize! I've lived in a tropical Southeast Asian climate, the Southern California desert, and the conifer wonderland of the States' Pacific Northwest---I've even been to the Australian bush! But here there are still new things to see. One… Read more
“A perfect house…Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness.”
I grew up in one home. I mean, my family literally never moved after I was born. We didn’t travel a whole lot—at least not far. The furthest I traveled with my family was only a few states over. I commuted to university too, so from birth to about 21 years old, I was only really familiar with one place. Home was very easily defined for me. Of course, God directed my life such that I am now in the Middle East—not my plan, see testimony in another blog post—but I say all that to mean that I had a pretty comfortable and stable understanding of what home meant. Upon arriving in my ministry… Read moreThe Importance of One's Mother Tongue
Before my move overseas, I understood that learning Greek would be an important part of ministry and the mundanities of life in Greece. I knew that I would need it to navigate public transport, get the correct groceries at the grocery store, and simply order a coffee. Even more so, I know I would need it to be successful in reaching the people I’m ministering to in my church community, my neighborhood, and the brothels. What I did not know or anticipate is the level of connection that comes with learning someone’s mother tongue. I just recently returned from a short visit back to the States,… Read moreLearning to Dwell Well
These last few weeks, I’ve found myself deep in the book of Psalms, particularly going back to Psalm 91 time and time again. The Psalm focuses on dwelling and this idea of making the Lord the foundation of our dwelling as believers. According to the Webster Dictionary, the term "dwell" refers to living in a particular place. As I've been settling more and more into life and routine in Athens—as I've been establishing a sense of dwelling in this city—I find myself returning to one question: "Am I dwelling in the presence and refuge of the Lord as intentionally as I'm dwelling here?" It's a… Read more
Looking into the "Wardrobe"
"Lucy felt a little frightened, but she felt very inquisitive and excited as well." (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, 'Lucy looks into a Wardrobe") I've been in my new home less than a week! My experience so far has been very "same, same, but different." We drive on the same side of the road in my city as in the US. I found my shampoo brand! I can shop at a big grocery store. I can book a place to stay on air bnb. I can use google maps to get where I need to go. There are also many things that are different and new. Uber and taxi are cheap here, walking is common, there is no… Read more
"Mordor, Gandalf, is it left or right?"
I finally hit the field this month! Hooray! My wife and I have touched down in the Middle East and are searching for an apartment to live in. We've been in country for less than a week, all told (with staff trainings taking up about half of the month this month). That time has been spent primarily walking around town with teammates so that we know where everyone lives, staying awake so that our sleep schedules can figure out what is normal (nap is death!), and trying to eat "normal" (American) food so that our bodies have to deal with as few changes as possible. We have had our hand held… Read more
“I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.”
Lately my life has been rather…intense. (You know with the moving of my life to another country thing and all). I usually write with some point in mind, but for this blog post, I simply find that the pressures of this month take up so much space all I can do is talk about that. So this month, I just want to share the reality that my wife and I are facing at this exact moment. We currently have a lot of schoolwork/homework. Ironic, huh? We graduated a year ago, yet our homework load hasn’t ended. Training–apparently for the mission field like any other–is mostly reading and then… Read more