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AZ 2018: Wednesday

As we head into the middle of the week, it’s evident that today’s VBS ran a lot smoother compared to previous days. Our relationships with the Navajo are growing exponentially - all glory to God. While not every Navajo has accepted Christ, our members are once again reminded that our duty is to plant the seed of Christ and allow God to do the harvesting. Pray that God will continue to foster our relationships between the Navajo and HSMT members.

Further in the evening, our team went out on a prayer drive. Most members claim it to be an “eye opening experience” as we stopped at different locations and prayed at a chapel, softball field, Faith’s (the local missionary) house, Twin Mesa Bible Church, and Rocky Ridge boarding school. Pray that there will be a revival of the gospel throughout the reservation.  

We ended the night with notes and messages written by our loved ones back at home - thank you :)

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AZ 2018: Tuesday

VBS was well attended once again.  As we build relationships, we are beginning to take out kids, one at a time, to counsel them. During these times, we get to see where they’re at in their faith.  Every kid has unique responses and life experiences, so pray that our team will be prepared to respond in a proper way and ultimately have fruitful and glorifying conversations with the Navajo.

Today we also had the opportunity to hang out with the Navajo at a local community center.  We played basketball, football, and played on the playground.  We will be doing the same Thursday night, so pray that as we interact with the Navajo outside the VBS that we will have more opportunities to share about God and for everything we do to still glorify God.

Later in the evening, a team member started to feel ill. Pray that God would heal him quickly so he may continue being a light to the children. Pray also for the health of everyone on the team, that we would remain well to continue working for the Lord.

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AZ 2018: Monday

VBS was well attended in our youngest and oldest classes (infant/pre & teens) and a little less in our Kindergarten through 5th grade classes.  Building relationships is a very important aspect of our work, so pray that we will have consistent attendance throughout the remainder of the week.  Also pray as each class continues to prepare lessons, memory verses, games, and crafts, that each aspect of the VBS will be able to engage the children in a way that displays God’s love.

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AZ 2018: Sunday

a belated post

Today we attended church service with the Navajo.  We sang songs and then listened to a couple of Navajos share their testimonies before our own Alyssa Chow and Justin Quach shared too.  After, we listened to a message out of Philippians 3.  Then we began canvasing, where we drove all across the surrounding area to invite the Navajo to attend our VBS and Friday afternoon potluck. We also began setting up our VBS classrooms by arranging all the tarps, tables, chairs, and classroom materials. We concluded the evening with our annual hamburger cook off, where the Teens class was declared the winner by one of the Navajo judges.  Continue praying for our VBS preparations.

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AZ 2018: Saturday

a belated post

Everyone made it safely onto the reservation-Praise the Lord!  There was significant rain as we drove, so thank God for protecting all of our drivers. We’re all settled in for the week.  Pray that our preparations for the VBS week will align with God’s will.

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THANK YOU!

Thank you, everyone, for your support this week!  We could not have made it through the week without your prayers covering us throughout our trip.  Praise God for all that has happened this week and for what is to come on the Navajo Reservation!

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We left Twin Mesa Bible Church around 10am (Rez time) and headed to Pinon, a nearby area where many attend school and/or run errands.  Similar to our prayer tour on Wednesday, we hear many of our kids mentioning Pinon but most of us aren’t able to imagine what it looks like.  Before heading to Flagstaff, we stopped to pray over 4 locations: Basha’s (grocery store), a local church, Pinon High School, and the Pinon welcome sign.  Many pass through Pinon and we hope and pray that those that come through / live in Pinon would come to know Christ.

We’re staying in the Indian Bible College dorms in Flagstaff and will be heading out early in the morning.  Please pray for us (safety, protection, alertness) as we make the drive back to LA!

See you all soon!

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Day 5: Last day

As each day passes by, the kids get more and more comfortable with us and it’s on the last day where we all chase the kids for a final good bye.  Thankfully, our time with the kids and their families is a little extended by way of our annual potluck lunch and praise night later in the evening.  For the potluck, families always bring their own ziploc bags or containers to pack in as much fried rice to take home -- it’s always a hit!

Ending our VBS week with praise night is always a blessing.  Through prayer and worship, we’re able to really reflect on the week and how great God is.  This year, we also got to hear from one of the young adults that attended VBS who shared about how God transformed his life.  God is doing amazing things on the Navajo Reservation and we are so excited to be a part of it!

Please ask anyone on the team about our trip and how we saw God at work!

Coming to Arizona for the first time, I wasn’t too sure of what to expect when working with the infant-pre class. I didn’t know what was going to happen during the VBS, but all I knew was that many, if not all, of the children wouldn’t be able to understand much of what was going on. However, God has shown me how he is able to work through the little kids because throughout the trip, some of the children were able to understand the lessons and had an understanding of what was being taught.

God has stretched me throughout the trip by testing my physical abilities with the children. Throughout the trip, there were many younger children who needed to be looked out for and needed to be carried. However, no matter how much the children cried and ran off to their family members, God has been able to show me that as a counselor to them, I am able to plant the seed that will continue to grow in their life.

Courtney W. (High School Senior, First Timer)

Coming back to Arizona I expected a lot from myself, especially this year because I was going to be alone. But I continuously prayed & asked for prayer to be busy but not overwhelmed. He answered my prayer either when something needed to be fixed or help someone. But an amazing blessing was when he sent Uncle Radley to help me multiple times. Without his help I probably wouldn’t have gotten things done correctly. Another blessing he gave me was a chance to get to know Uncle Radley while doing pickups in an AC car. Also giving me the rest I needed to power through the tiring day.

God stretched me by making sure I got the job done correctly. For example I did a poor job on the showers which Frank didn’t like. With the help of Uncle Radley I was able to tear down & rebuild the showers properly. God made sure I wasn’t slacking off so he always had something new to work on even at times I really didn’t want to do. The girl’s outhouse was infested with a lot tiny gnats which wasn’t pleasant to kill. Those tiny bugs covered me like an angry hive of bees & at times bit me. But with enough patience and leg shaking I killed off most of them. I swore I kill a hundred another two hundred showed up. But no matter the challenge I was able to complete it with His help. I’m grateful where God has placed me, just by serving others or Him makes me feel good.

Austin Q. (College Sophomore, Returner)

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Day 4: Time Together

As the week goes on, we continue to have newcomers attend VBS!  Today, we had a total of 88 people and had one-on-one chats with 19 people.  Our one-on-one’s are usually with different people each day.  Although many are familiar with the bible stories and the Gospel after attending our VBS annually and attending other VBS’ in the area throughout the summer, a life that follows Jesus on the Rez is a tough thing to do.  Our prayer and hope is that our kids take the Gospel seriously and that the Holy Spirit moves them to be a disciple of Christ.

After dinner, we all headed to the Chapter House, which was one of our prayer stops yesterday.  The Chapter house has an outdoor basketball court and a playground and allows us to spend more time with our VBS kids by either playing them in basketball or with them on the playground.   It’s also a great time to sit together to catch up or get to know one another better.  Similar to Tuesday when we went to the softball field, we love spending time with the families outside of VBS!

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I have been working with the infant-pre class this year. Coming to Arizona, I didn’t know what to expect while working with infants and toddlers. I knew that a lot of them would barely be able to understand much of what we teach during VBS. However, God showed me that this was not the case and that the kids were able to respond to a lot of the questions that we asked them.

God has stretched me physically by taking care of the infant preschool class. It is a lot of work to run after the children, some of them wanting to be carried around everywhere. However no matter how many times they cry and no matter how many times they want to run away, being a counselor for the children was eye opening to how great God’s love is for all his people.

Wesley M. (High School Sophomore, First Timer)

This year, one of the main reasons why I decided to go back to the Rez was to redeem myself for not being there for my kids/teens during the year. Because of this, I was super discouraged when the Navajos that I came for were either not there or not receptive of my intentionality with them. By Wednesday, I became even more discouraged when a girl in my small group left me during a one-on-one. I began to resent and doubt why God would call me back if He’s not going to use me.

It was then when I realized that God actually answered my prayer and building me up in that way. Going into Arizona, my biggest prayer request was for God to give me a giver’s mentality instead of a taker’s mentality. I did not want missions to be about myself nor to be so focused on the fruit of the trip that I forget that my ultimate purpose is for God to be glorified. I called and He answered. When I realized this, He continued to provide for me by breaking my heart for the teens in my small group. God is good.    

Kristy W. (College freshmen, Returner)

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Day 3: Praise & Pray

Praise the Lord!  With attendance at 77 today, our team was able to have one-on-one chats with 19 kids / youth spread across the classes!  Our one-on-one times with the kids are coveted opportunities to get to know the kids / youth better and to share the Gospel in a more personal setting.  What’s even more amazing is that the Spirit moved 3 individuals to accept Jesus as their Savior and 2 to re-commit their lives to God!    

Today, the team got to see more of the Rez during our prayer tour.  We went to 6 locations: Softball Field (see Day 2′s post), Rocky Ridge Boarding School, Chapter House (similar to a community center), Gospel Mission, Faith’s House (the missionary to the Navajo people), and Twin Mesa Bible Church.  Most of these sites are frequented by the families attending VBS and the team wouldn’t otherwise be able to put a “face” to the places the kids would talk about.  At each stop, the team got out of the cars to physically touch the site (by standing on the field or touching a wall of the building) to pray over the location and the people that would pass through.

We also got to learn how to make Navajo Blue Corn tamales!  It’s a mix of blue corn flour, juniper ash, water, and sugar (optional), wrapped in corn husk.  Everyone on the team got to make their own.  After boiling it for 3 hours, we all got the chance to try our very own blue corn tamales as our late night snack!

Check out how our team members have seen God working this week!

It’s a blessing for me to be serving the second and third graders again this year. I was excited to see familiar faces and meet new Navajo as well. This year God has blessed us with an average of 15 kids each day. He has given us the energy to manage the classroom and keep the kids engaged. Another blessing is that when we recap the large group lessons in class, the kids understand what was taught that day. PTL!

God has His hands upon the Navajo nation. Faith, a missionary that has been serving for the Navajo nation for 26 years shared with us the brokenness of the families here but how God has opened doors for her to minister to their needs. Another fact she mentioned was that the president of the Navajo Nation is Christian and that really encouraged me to see that God is working in this nation.

This week, God has reminded me that I must serve with a joyful heart. It’s a blessing for God to use me, a broken vessel, as a worker to fulfill his purposes. I learned that time is very precious and God wants to use me. I just have to take the initiative to speak His words.

Joann G. (High School Junior, Returner)

Coming to Arizona, I really didn’t know what to expect. I committed to come to Arizona the Thursday before the team left (the day before). After lots of prayer, I realized that God was calling me back to Arizona. Throughout the whole week, God worked through my teens small group. Before the trip, I was nervous and I didn’t really know what to expect.

Bradley W. (College freshmen, Returner)

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Day 2: Happy 4th of July!

After VBS today, the whole team went to the nearby softball field to play with some of the families that come to VBS.  It’s always fun seeing the kids / families outside of VBS to hang out with them and get to know them more personally.  The families that live around the softball field actually play softball together weekly.  

As it got darker, we invited the families back to Twin Mesa Bible Church for dinner to continue the fellowship and to celebrate July 4th with fireworks!  All in all, everyone had a great time and it’s always a blessing to be on the Rez for the 4th of July.

I’m working with the second and third graders this year.  God’s been working in them by bringing back familiar faces every day.  Furthermore, they are doing a good job of recalling all of the previous day’s lessons.  This makes it easier for them to learn all the different pieces of the gospel that we teach-Praise God!  This also helps us as teachers build relationships with them since the same kids keep coming back.  

God has stretched me this year through the full time reservation missionary Faith.  She has shared twice with us already this week about the brokenness and the pain that the Navajo experience.  God has used her to break my heart for the Navajo.  He has convicted me to not waste a single second while I have such a big opportunity out here to plant seeds and save the lost.

Overall, God has opened my eyes to all the blessings that he lavishes upon me and take for granted.  I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the Navajo children.  My prayer is that as we prepare for tomorrow, our focus would be on sharing God’s love and shining His light into their lives.

Matthew W. (High School Junior, Returner)

Hello! My name is Wendy and I just finished my second year of college. This is my first time serving as a small group leader for the teens class for HSMT’s Arizona trip. Going into this missions trip, I felt quite anxious since I had never worked with Navajo teens before. The last time I came to Arizona, I was a teacher for the K-1 class so I thought it was a pretty big jump going from K-1 to teens, but God quelled my worries and he was faithful in providing for my small group.

I saw God work through my small group. On Monday, the people in my small group were pretty shy and unwilling to open up to me, but God really worked in their hearts today and helped them be more willing to participate and share about themselves within our small group.

The teens class’ overall theme for VBS this week is Fighting The Good Fight. The messages were centered on the story of Job and today’s theme was Fighting Against Despair/Loss. God really stretched me today when I had to share my testimony about the loss of my mother. It was difficult and I got really emotional, but it was worth it because I knew it was what God wanted me to do. Many of the Navajos experience grief and despair, similar to the despair that I experienced when I lost my mom. With my testimony, I wanted to convey to them how God is our refuge and comforter through the difficult times in our lives. He is God and we can have hope and put our trust in him. Later on, one of the Navajos came up to me and told me that they really liked what I shared then God gave me the opportunity to counsel them when they confided in me about the personal losses in their life. I think God really utilized my brokenness and experiences to reach out to the Navajos and I just feel so blessed to be a part of God’s work. I will continually be praying that the Navajos will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and that God will carry them through all the hardship they face.

Wendy C. (College freshmen, Returner)

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Day 1: VBS

We were wakened by a beautiful sunny morning.  Our day quickly kicked off with devo’s and breakfast before we were off to pick up kids for VBS.  (Most of the kids that attend VBS are picked up and dropped off by yours truly.  Part of the team drives out to all the kids’ homes to bring them to VBS while the rest of HSMT sets up for VBS and greets those that arrive early).

VBS runs from 10a-12p.  The kids are always full of energy and a joy to meet & be together.  Today seemed to run pretty smoothly, maybe because the kids are getting used to us.  In total, we had 70 attendees on our first day of VBS!

Throughout the week, we’ll be sharing personal testimonies about what God is doing and how God is stretching our team members.  Check out our first two below!

Today was the first day of VBS, so I got to see the children today for the first time. I went to pick up the children this morning and it was great seeing how excited the kids were about VBS. I can see God working through the children, opening their eyes and making them eager to learn about him. I work in the infant-pre class and the children follow by example. God has stretched me to go outside of my comfort zone by maybe singing louder, exaggerating the hand motions to the songs, and dancing all crazy just to hype the kids up. So far, I’m enjoying my experience at AZ and I hope to see more of God working through all the children and working through me.

Samantha C. (High school freshmen & AZ first timer)

This would be my fourth year going to Arizona with HSMT and my first as a collegian, but it might have already been more meaningful for me to be a part of this trip than the years past. I have “naturally” acquired expectations and certain understandings from being part of the teens class in previous years, yet somehow I always doubt myself as I’m preparing my heart for the trip. But God always responds with grace and blessing through various aspects whether it be the girls in my small group, how the days turn out, journal correspondence with my small group, and even other unexpected details of the week.

Though only the first day of VBS has passed, I have already received all those things and more. But by far the most impactful moment for me was hearing about the needs of the Navajo and moreover, their desperate need for Jesus as a nation. It wasn’t my first time having my eyes opened to the constant hardship and suffering yet in the moments of sharing today, my heart felt a deep and genuine burden for these people, maybe even one of the closest things to the breaking of my human heart. And in our time of prayer for this nation, I prayed and desired to know these people and be a missionary to them through love and to believe that God would draw them out of darkness and near to Him. That is my challenge for this less-than-enough week spent in Arizona and throughout the days beyond: to continue to learn God’s heart for His people and to love them the way He does.

Charmaine Y. (College freshmen & AZ veteran)

PRAYER REQUESTS

VBS: For boldness to share the Gospel with those that come to our VBS and for energy to keep up with the kids (they love running around and being chased!).  Also for good weather since we’re outdoors and it’s pretttty hot this week.

PROTECTION: For physical and spiritual protection while we’re out here.  Physically, so people don’t get hurt and are fully able to serve this week.  Spiritually, against any of Satan’s attacks against the church, individual team members, or even locals attending our VBS.

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First full day

A little belated, but I wanted to provide some brief insight on what our Sunday looked like for those who may be unfamiliar with our annual Arizona trip.

1. Church Service: Similar to FCBC when we have combined services, Twin Mesa Bible Church’s service is in English and Navajo.  This year, Chelsia W., Kayley K., and Tiffany L. helped lead the congregation in a few worship songs and Charmaine Y. and Tony G. shared briefly about why they came on this mission trip.  

2. Navajo Tacos: A team favorite and highlight that MUST be mentioned.  The family prepares our Sunday lunch, consisting of frybread (YUM), beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, and cheese.  You don’t know what you’re missing out on!

3. Canvassing: The whole team hops into our fleet of cars and we fan out across surrounding area to invite the locals to our VBS.  Canvassing is a fun time for the team to get an idea of the area we’re in and to see how beautiful it is here.

4. Camp site set up: We use the afternoon to set up our VBS classrooms and the rest of our camp site (like setting up our tarp-walled, hose enabled showers which are way more advanced that what we did when I was in high school) to settle in even more!

5. Cookout: Every year, the team breaks up into smaller groups to cook our own food over a fire pit.  This year, the high schoolers were divided up by VBS class to further bond as a team amd practice unity.  It’s definitely an interesting time as team members work together to figure out how to cook their dinner...maybe for the first time!

6. Class Prep: All VBS classes get together to do any last minute prep for our lessons, games, crafts, and memory verse activities for the next day or even the week!  We also spend time in prayer to spiritually prepare ourselves and to pray over the kids that will be coming to VBS!

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We made it!

THANK YOU to everyone who came to our prayer send off this morning!  Especially for coming as early as 5am and sticking around despite our delayed start.  We really do appreciate your time and sacrifice to wake up SO early and make the commute to church!  We are also very very grateful for your prayer support.

We also want to extend our thanks to the many individuals that joined the team today, solely to help drive us to our destination.  Thank you for waking up early and sacrificing your entire day just to be on the road with us.  By God’s provision, you helped get us here safely and timely.

Praise God for a smooth travel day to the Navajo Reservation!  We left church a little before 7am this morning and arrived at Twin Mesa Bible Church around 7pm, Rez time (6pm PST).  (Our fleet consisted of 11 vehicles, traveling from LA to the Rez and carrying team members and supplies!)  Our team quickly assembled to set up camp -- tents went up, cargo vans were unloaded, and dinner was served.  Now, most, if not all, of the team is asleep in their tents -- I can hear them softly (or loudly) snoring away after a long day of travel!

We would love for you to continue prayerfully supporting us!  We are all here by God’s perfect timing and we are powerless without Christ.  Specifically, you can pray for:

ENERGY - Our team consists of a mix of first timers and veterans to the Rez.  Pray that everyone will adjust quickly to our environment as we are living in tents in the desert and will largely be doing everything outdoors.  (We’re expecting temperatures in the 90′s).  Also pray that we will have restful sleep each night to be able to keep up with kids attending VBS.

HEARTS - Pray that our hearts would be overfilled with God’s love to shower upon the kids & families that attend our VBS to the point that we genuinely and joyfully share the Gospel with them.  Pray that the kids & families that attend would have open hearts to the Spirit’s prompting.

RAIN - Our group has a reputation of “bringing” rain with us when we come.  The Rez is so so dry during the summer that any rain helps cool down temperatures, hydrates the land, and provides a supply of water for the people.  When it rains, it’s an opportunity to point to and testify that Christ is answering our prayers for the rain!

Check back throughout the week for more updates!  We will strive to post every couple days, if not more frequently.

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FCBC HSMT AZ Mission Trip: July 1-9, 2017 Twin Mesa Bible Church, Navajo Reservation (Northern Arizona)

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Compelled

We’re a week away from AZ! Can you believe it?! It’s crazy to see the year go by, and tp now engage in a week of doing God’s work. Whenever I think of missions I cannot help but recall my first time hearing about missions and my first missionary. It was around my junior high years as a wee lad in Uncle Leighton Fong’’s Sunday School class when I heard the story of Jim Elliot (one of my spiritual heroes). Jim Elliot was a missionary from America to Ecuador who took 4 other men to reach the Waodani people. At the time the Waodani were an unreached tribe known for their violence against outsiders. As Elliot’s team landed in their plane and walked onto the tribe’s land, they were speared to death. That shocked me. Why would Uncle Leighton tell me this story? Was being a missionary merely being a martyr? Well, the story continues. After hearing about the death of her husband and his team, Elisabeth Elliot, Jim’s wife, decided to round up others to visit the Waodani. These were the very people that murdered her husband, yet she felt compelled to go to them and share Christ. Because of her efforts to forgive, it started a movement within the Waodani tribe. The gospel was not merely made known throughout the Waodani, but to other indigenous tribes in the area. I’ll never forget this quote by Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot had this sense of eternity on his mind. He gave his life up which he could not keep, to share the gospel in hopes that this tribe would gain eternal life which they could not lose. How crazy is that?! He was so compelled and motivated by looking towards eternity that he lost site of the temporal.

 1 Corinthians 9:16, is our theme verse for this HSMT year and Paul makes it clear that he is compelled to preach. Why is he compelled to preach? Paul elaborates upon financial gain in a couple of verses, and how he rejects receiving a living from his preaching (v.14,18) although he does have the right to. So Paul makes this case, that he is not motivated or compelled by money. But in fact he is compelled to preach, by Christ and the gospel message itself. He understands that is something he must do. The very gospel that changed and affected His life cannot be kept to himself but must be shared with others. His participation in sharing the gospel is a reward in itself. So as many have gone before us such as Paul, Elisabeth and Jim Elliot, who were compelled to share Christ, are you?  

  16 For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! - 1 Corinthians 9:16  

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Serving With Jesus

For many of us, the more we serve, the more we put into the various ministries we’re a part of, the more we spend our waking hours worrying about how well things are doing; the more we find ourselves getting burned out, exhausted, and ready to call it quits. But we persevere, because our service is what’s expected of us, right?

Some of us even take on more responsibilities than we can reasonably manage at the moment, and we often say “It’s okay, because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And if that’s happening, that’s probably the ultimate form of service.

But sometimes, it’s still a bit too much, and we find ourselves tired after a day of church, or a night of fellowship, or a prep meeting for an event. If, in Matthew 11, we hear “Come to me, all you who are wear and burdened, and I will give you rest,” why do we sometimes feel like we could’ve gotten more rest if we’d just taken an extra hour of sleep instead of waking up to serve?

All of these ideas and questions have been bouncing in my head for a few months now, and I’m finally starting to see why I find Sundays to be the most tiring day of the week. It’s mostly because I’m often trying to serve without Jesus.

Consider the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10. Martha was indeed loyal and vigilant in her perceived service, preparing meals and everything else Jesus and his followers would need. But Jesus rebukes her when she asks for help. “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Or, consider the disciples in Mark 9, who couldn’t cast out a demon, even though they were the closest to Jesus, his first followers, the people who thought they ought to be able to cast out at least a single spirit. The 9 disciples who did not go up with Jesus to pray had tried everything they could; they probably used their best gifts, skills, efforts, and talents, and none of that was enough. Jesus’ answer? “This kind can only come out by prayer.”

The common thread between these two stories is that those who were frustrated or unable to serve properly were relying on themselves. It was by their power that the work was being done, right? And Jesus would be there to witness it, and maybe smile and tell them “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Well, that’s not what God asks of us, and it’s not what Jesus did in those scenarios.

Instead, our service must be done with complete reliance on God. Through prayer, quiet quality time with God, and Bible reading, we’re supposed to depend on God making things happen, because nothing happens without Him.

How often do you find yourself in this place? Have you ever said that you’re serving so much, that you’ve had difficulty carving out a quiet time in your daily schedule? Or have you heard your friends say that they’re tired of what they’re doing on a weekly basis? As the author of Serving Without Sinking asks, “Do you need Jesus? Do you pray before you serve? If something had to give, which would it be?”

At a more urgent level, are we going into this missions trip with a focus on ourselves serving, or are we focusing on serving (and relying on) Jesus? As the weeks before we leave drop into the frighteningly low numbers, I hope we all spend the proper time aligning ourselves with God’s will, and that we will stop relying on our own strength. Commit some time before every act of service you do, asking for guidance and the strength to do what needs to be done.

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The Desert Experience

So in my Sunday school class we have been talking about the spritual deserts in our life.  So we have been sharing our testimony about how we faced them.  So I guess for me one of the lowest part of my life was when my dad passed away.  I remember being in the hospital super down and depressed when I got the news that my day was dying.  At that point he was only 64 years old.  I was sad, angry and felt hopeless.  It was hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that my dad was dying.  One week later my dad passed away.  I remember sitting in my room with the lights off thinking why did God have to take away my dad.  But lucky I kept getting calls from my friends and small group members supporting me. I share this story because in everyones life we go through highs and lows.  We question God about why we are in these situations.  We get sad, lonely and even angry.  But we have to think what can we learn through these situations.  For me I learned that God is always there for you no matter what.  That can in ways of friends and family that called me and visited me when I wanted to be left alone. I don't know where you guys are right now in your life but if you are in a desert place.  I don't want you to go through it alone.  You have people around you that will be willing to support you.   http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/christian-trends/how-to-survive-your-spiritual-desert.html

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Preparation or Procrastination?

I’ve never been a good at preparing for things. I’ve already shared in a message about how I’m a terrible packer—leaving it for the last moment thinking I don’t need to bring “anything,” which ultimately leads to me bringing just about everything. 

In fact, I distinctly remember talking with Spencer when I was in college about how I’m naturally reactive—and not proactive as one who was more successful at life would be—and it being something I felt I really needed to change. Much of that explains why I’ve always struggled applying myself in school, planning for the future, and even in my service for God at times. And while I’ve made progress in the area, unfortunately, much of that mentality still remains. 

And so when I read about how much Hudson Taylor thought about his coming trip to China, the realizations he had, and the discipline he displayed in following through with God’s convictions in his heart, I found it extremely challenging. Taylor felt God calling him to do something, and so he did it. Big or small, he followed through in preparation for his bigger calling yet to come. 

And while he admits constantly that each step of the way was a struggle, the fact that he DID it stood out to me. He did it, whereas I routinely put things off until I HAVE to do it. Or sometimes I’ll NEVER even get around to it. How shameful of me when I compare my approach to God’s calling to his.

Going along with our theme this year, Hudson Taylor was a man who was compelled by Christ. You can see it in everything he said and in the way he conducted his life even before going to China. And if this is what it looks like to be compelled by Christ, and Paul is an example of what it looks like to be compelled by Christ, what does my life say about my relationship with Him?

Am I honestly compelled in my life by Christ, or the need to make enough money for my next vacation? Am I compelled by Christ, or by the adrenaline rush? Am I compelled by Christ, or by fear?

This week’s homework opportunity is related to this question: what does it mean to be compelled? I hope you take an opportunity as I have to reexamine your life in an honest way, whatever the answers may be as a result of it, and spend some time to refocus on God and what he may be calling you to do. 

Maybe it’s to reach your friends before the year ends, or serve someone/somewhere, or maybe it’s to prepare for Arizona even though it’s two months away. Whatever the case may be, spend some time in thought and prayer about it, and DO it.

-Kevin