Kansas City, MO - Day 11

I'm HOME! It feels so good. I've missed it.

But we left the hotel, all packed and ready, at 9:00 am with suitcases in one van and all the rest of us in the cars and vans we'd rented. When we got to the airport, we checked in and found out that our plane was delayed an hour so we got to wander the airport for about two hours. I wandered with Nick, Alex, Annie, and Eden and we had fun. At 11:45 we went through security and had to wait another hour before we actually boarded. Since we didn't check in till that morning, we had mid-B to C tickets so I ended up sitting between two strangers. Before take-off, I talked some with the man on my right. I found out that he was from Daytona, Florida and was flying out to LA for something. He has two kids, 12 and 15, who have wanted to go to Disneyland for a while and he may be taking them this summer. He himself has only been to Disneyland once and that 20 years ago, when Splash Mountain first opened. We also talked a little about the airline, Southwest, and their seating arrangements. Then I fell asleep for an hour and a half. When I woke up, I journaled about what was prayed over me and read a little of Beowulf. After that, I did devotions. The reading was in Hebrews and three verses seem to stick out to me and they all ended up connecting and from them, I have a feeling that I may be going to Virginia in the fall with Ignite. But I'll still need to pray about it. Then we landed and took a bus back to school. There was so much excitement as we neared the school. When we pulled into the parking lot, we could see Devan, Steven Beck, Steven Brunelle, and Megan all waiting for us and jumping up and down. We could hardly contain ourselves in the bus. Hugs exploded when we got off the bus. We were all so happy to be back and to see people we hadn't seen in ten days, though you'd think we hadn't seen them in years by our exuberance. All the rest of the day, we were bombarded with people who were happy to see us back. My heart was so happy to see my friends again and I had the silliest grin plastered across my face. Then all Ignite had dinner of pizza and soda together which was a lot fun.

I'd have to say that, overall, the trip to Kansas City was a success and so very valuable for me. I do not regret my decision at all to come to Ignite. But, for all the incredible experiences I had there, there is no place like home. I love you all. I'll be home home in close to 24 hours. Hold on a little longer.

Kansas City, MO - Day 10

Last full day in Kansas City. It has definitely been an eventful 10 days.

Today, I missed breakfast and went to devotions, afterwhich I hung out with Alyssa, looking at a wedding magazine. Then I braided Michelle's hair and we went to church at the River Christian Fellowship. Before the sermon started, John Wiley showed the congregation this video about God's love. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=WybvhRu9KU) It's the music video for a song called "God is Not a White Man" and basically talks about how God loves everyone and His love cannot be limited. Then the sermon proceeded to talk about the importance of Christians to love and how it is by our love that the world will recognize us. After the service, we went to the local mall and ate in the food court. Then I wandered around with Eden, Aaron, and Greg and was later joined by Alyssa and Karissa. After a while, we met up and I left with Kalli, Mary, Cynthia, and Alex to go to Walmart. Then we came back to the hotel and just lounged around till it was time to leave for the NextGen service. Once there, we had worship and Cherise spoke about what she'd learned while in Ignite and then Eden, Katy, Kristen, and Rebecca shared a little of their experiences. After the service a lot of us got prayed for by a woman named Ivy Anderson who is a member of the congregation. She, her husband, and a friend prayed prophetically over several of us. If you'd like to hear what she said over me, leave a comment and I'll share. ;) (I know, shameless plug for comments) It was kinda late when we were done so we went to Olive Garden for dinner and I sat with Eden, Nick, and Alex. We all had a great time. Then we came back and it was time for bed, as well getting ready to leave the next morning at 9:00 am.

Kansas City, MO - Day 9

Now for our free day in Kansas City.

This day was all very slow. I didn't get up till 9:00 am and we met for brunch at 11:00. We went to the Cracker Barrel and the food there is great. It's almost all homemade food and a lot of more southern style dishes. After we finished eating, we all got to shop in the little gift shop adjacent to the restaurant. That was also a lot of fun 'cause they had a lot of old-style candies and different kinds of toys and clothing. They even had the entire first season of Hogan's Heroes. Needless to say, I was impressed. Then as we were leaving there were a few snowflakes falling. I got so exciting, being from southern California the land of no snow. Afterwards, we came back to the hotel and we just hung around for a while. Then we got together to go over things that we could do. They told us that we could either go to the Internation House of Prayer or a local art museum. Afterwards, when everyone had gotten back from those places, we could either go to the mall or stay at the hotel. At first, I was gonna go to IHOP but then I decided that it would be better for me to stay at the hotel because I wanted to have some time with God. So I went up to my room and started looking for my journal. I turned on the tv 'cause I couldn't find my journal for a while and watched "Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark." During that time, I found my journal and finished writing about the events of the night before we left for Kansas City. Then I turned off the tv and talked with God for a short bit until my friend Keith Jackson called and we had a great talk. We had to end our conversation when he needed to leave to get ready for work and I needed to head down for dinner. Since the roads were too windy and icy, we stayed in the hotel for dinner. After dinner, Eden and I talked for a while and then had a skype call with Steven Beck, Megan, and Devan. It was so much fun talking with them and made me miss them all the more. Then I had to leave because of curfew and thus went to bed.

Kansas City, MO - Day 8

Finally, caught up to today. I apologize for not staying on top of my journal entries. I know some of you have been wondering how I've been as I haven't been updating as I should.

Well today, I was a part of group that went to a prison in the capitol of Missouri, Jefferson City. The rest of the team consisted of James, Nick, Alex, Josh, Michelle, Karissa, Renee, Maria, Krista, and Andy Holtberg. The group of inmates we were going to minister to were men who are to be released in the next year or so and volunteer to go into an 18-month faith-based program where they're taught about Christianity and discipled . . . seemed a lot like Ignite, which Andy pointed out as a moot point with the inmates. We met at 6:45 am and drove for two hours, with two stops at Starbucks and the gas station. We finally arrived at the prison at 9:30. However, a problem arose when I realized that I needed photo ID to get into the prison and had left said ID in my hotel room. But we walked up to the gate and asked if I'd be allowed in without my ID and they said no. So Krista and Alex walked me back to the van and then went back to join the rest of the group. I admit I was very upset that I didn't get to go along. I cried for a few minutes, just letting myself vent. Then I started asking why I was crying and I realized that I didn't really know. It could have been self-pity, self-condemnation, or something else. But I told myself to stop wallowing in how sad my situation was and actually start to think about others. So I began to pray, first for the men who would be ministered to and then for each my fellow team members individually. I spoke my prayer aloud because there was nobody around to bother and there is a certain power and finality that comes when things are spoken out loud. Once I finished praying for the last person I fell immediately to sleep. It's almost as if my part was done so I put to sleep so that time wouldn't seem to drag on for me while I waited. I woke up shortly before everyone arrived. They were all so happy to see me and asked if I had been ok. They were all so kind and considerate of me and I really appreciated it. Then I got to hear about how things went inside the prison. Apparently, there were a lot of safety measures taken and then they were led into a room that acted like a chapel with a guitar and microphones. So they worshipped with three songs and Michelle and James spoke. Since there was still time left, Renee, Karissa, Alex, and Krista spoke as well. In the last 10 minutes, they broke into groups of five and told each other their dreams and passions and then prayed. But I was especially encouraged when Maria told me that they could tell that I was praying for them. I haven't learned yet what exactly that means but it really touched me that what I was doing alone in the van actually made a difference for the team. Then we went to a local restaurant called the Prison Brewery and had an excellent lunch. After that, we saw the capitol building (very impressive looking) and then drove back to the hotel. The rides in the car were so much fun and were a great time just being with people I hadn't normally hung out with. Once we got back to the hotel, I talked with Eden since we hadn't reallys seen each other for two days. It may seem silly but once you've lived with someone and gotten used to seeing them on a daily basis for almost four months, it's very strange not to see them for two days. But anyways, we went to Panera Bread again for dinner and returned to the hotel where I now sit typing this update.

I hope this finds you all well and safe and I can't wait to see you all again soon.

Kansas City, MO - Day 7

Day number 7 in the Kansas City countdown. Over half-way done with the trip.

This day began very early . . . 6:00 am. Yep, that's right. I got up at 6:00 so I could have breakfast before we had to leave at 6:45. This time we went to Hope Faith Ministries (http://www.hopefaithministries.org/), an organization that feeds and clothes the homeless of Kansas City. They have only been around for about three years but have grown tremendously and existed by total faith of their director Desiree. We were led by Andy Holtberg, one of the members of staff (and coincidentally a former pastor from my church). He guided through the building they had just bought that would serve as their new facility providing not only food and clothing but also other resources to help the homeless find jobs and provide for basic health needs. It was a truly impressive vision that they had. Then we were split into two groups, one of which that would go to their old facility and one that would stay at the new one. I was a part of the group that went to the old facility. Once there, we were met by Drey, one of the staff members, who split us into groups to help pass out food or sort clothing. Michelle, Aaron, and I were taken to work in the kitchen helping Leeland with distributing food. In the kitchen, we put an assortment of breakfast food on a plate and handed it to those who had given us a ticket proving that they had been allowed to eat. We had so much fun back there and were very sorry when we were taken downstairs to help with clothes. It ended up being a time for the group of us just to hang out and socialize with a little bit of work of making emergency clothing bags for some of the homeless eating up above us. Then we came out to eat lunch with the other half of the group from the new facility, where they had been sorting clothes for the new wardrobe sections of the building, and sat with the homeless who were eating lunch as well. I didn't end up talking much with the people around me but it was amazing at just how many people had been served by this one small kitchen. After lunch, we all gathered outside and Sean asked some of us to stay help with the rest of the lunch hour. I ended up a part of that group and got to go back to the kitchen to work with Michelle and Leeland. We had a great time just talking with the other volunteers there and serving the homeless who came by. Once the facility closed after lunch, we came back to the hotel where we chilled until dinner time. For dinner, we went to a barbeque restaurant called Jack Stack. I ended up talking mostly with Eden, Zach, and Katie Sottile. It was a ton of fun. I ordered a chicken kabob and at one point took a bite and pulled a whole chunk of chicken off . . . with the majority of it hanging out of my mouth. It was really funny. Then we all came back where we did devotions with our roommates and then went to sleep.

Kansas City, MO - Day 6

Here's the update for my day. Hope you enjoy it.

Today, like the the two days before, began with devotions, breakfast, and the drive to the River of Refuge. The first part of my day was spent tearing out more sheetrock from one of the smaller rooms. I got to kick down one of the walls. That made me feel so accomplished. But anyways, the rest of the day I undid screws from the various beams that formed the rooms. It was very tedious work but important and valuable. I've discovered that if I don't have people near me, I can work absolutely silently, no singing. That was quite the revelation to myself. An exciting note is that I stepped on a screw and had to take it out with a screwdriver. Towards the end of the day, we had everyone pitch in sweeping, picking up pieces of sheet rock, shoveling debris into trashcans to be dumped in the dumpster. Then a group of us were taken outside to pick up the trash that hadn't quite made it into the dumpster. At first, we had to wait because there were people still dumping trash. At one point, one of the trashcans was pitched into the dumpster so Josh, Renee, Nick, and I climbed into the dumpster to get it out. Since then, Nick has sometimes called me Mulan because I had scale the side of the dumpster since it was so much taller than me. Then we picked up the bigger pieces of trash and tried to rake the smaller ones onto shovels to be thrown in. But after finishing work for the day (and consequently for the rest of the trip) at the River of Refuge, I have a new-found respect for construction workers. They have to put with so much that was wearing us out after three days. Many people were complaining of coughs and itchiness from fiberglass. It was crazy amounts of work and we were all glad for it to be done. We then came back to the hotel and lounged about. But a surprise waited for us at the hotel: Mike Larkin had arrived from California with Josh and Summer Smith, a couple from North Carolina who are interested in helping with Ignite once it moves to Virginia next year. Then we went out to eat at Red Robin where I ended up sitting at a two-person table with Eden. We had a great time just talking and laughing. Then we came back to the hotel where we all went to bed early because we had a very early day the next morning.

Kansas City, MO - Day 5

Sorry for the delay. Here is day 5 of my trip to Kansas City, Missouri.

The day began with breakfast and devotions. Then we headed out to the River of Refuge. This time I helped take out ceiling bars, you knows those metal bars that hold the cardboard tiles. I was paired with Annie 'cause it took about two people per room, one to get the bars and the other to hold the ladder and take the bars from the other person. In one of the rooms, Annie and I were trying to get one bar down and the entire ceiling bar network came down . . . except that one bar we were initially trying to get. But overall it was a lot of fun and I got to spend some time with Annie that I hadn't done before. Then we got to do some real demolition work. We started tearing down walls. That was so much fun. That is, until all the dust began swirling and insulation with fiberglass started coming out. But it was a great experience. It was incredible to see the amount of work that we could do when we all worked together. By the end of the day, the rooms that I had helped to remove ceiling bars from had been demolished of walls and room divisions and was one giant room. It was a beautiful sight to actually see physical evidence of our presence. A funny side note: during our lunch break John Wiley took a group of us to see the autopsy and operating rooms. It was so much fun with our group, especially since several of the girls are easily scared and the guys took advantage of that. Great time and not something that your average Joe would do. Also, while we were doing our demolition work, one of the homeless families came with CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) to be shown where they will be moving into. It was a single mom with a little girl and a little boy and the mom has had to prostitute herself to earn enough money to support her two kids and pay the rent. When the reporter asked how the woman felt knowing that we, total strangers from California, were doing this for her, she began crying and said that she hadn't known that such love had even existed. It was truly touching moment. But the footage they shot and interviews they took will be shown on the 700 Club during the entire month of January. This is incredible exposure for not only the River of Refuge but for Ignite as well. After leaving the River of Refuge, we came back to the hotel and crashed. We all just took things easy. My roommates and I watched tv and talked. Then we all met up to go to On the Border (a mexican restaurant here in the midwest and east coast) for dinner. We had a great time just talking about what we'd done and life in general. Then we came back and went to bed knowing that even more work with sheetrock and fiberglass lay ahead.

Kansas City, MO - Day 4

Day 4 update of my time in Kansas City.

This morning was much earlier than any of the others, having devotions at 7:20 am. After that, I ate breakfast and then we headed out to the River of Refuge. The River of Refuge (http://www.riverofrefuge.com/) is an outreach of the River Christian Fellowship for the working poor to be a place of shelter so that they can earn money to actually buy a home themselves. The building itself was once a hospital but has been abandoned for 10 years, at least until John Wiley and his church bought it. It is an incredible story of faith of how they were able to convince the board to sell the building to them for $1 million and miraculously raised $60,000, the down payment, in 60 days with the last $8,000 coming in at 10 minutes before the contract was to be signed giving ownership of the building to the River Christian Fellowship. Now they are doing demolition and reconstruction of the building to make it into living quarters for families, offices, and, one of my favorite parts, future dorms for an Ignite campus in 2012. Upon arriving, we were given a talk by John Wiley on how they got the building and how their church is merely doing what it can with the means it has. They work on the building with as much as their money will allow them and they are saving as much of the original building as they can. So then we were introduced to the "foreman" for our work, Ron, and he then guided us in a basic outline of what we'd be doing. After that, we got hard hats, gloves, and glasses and split into our missions teams to await assignments. Two teams tore up carpet and another team took down ceiling tiles. My team was split in two with half of us rolling up the carpet and throwing it down to the dumpter while the other half, the group I was with, was to unroll the carpet so that it laid flat in the dumpster thus allowing for mor stuff to be put in. However, before we went to the dumpster, my half group (Colleen, Bobby, Maria, and Alyssa) followed Kevin, one of the men from the River, to down a pitch dark hallway with a very noisy cart to get plywood to put up against the windows so that they wouldn't get broken when the carpet was thrown down. It was a lot fun in that hallways but pretty spooky as well. The first three hours with the dumpster passed quickly enough. Our work wasn't hard and we had fun. After a while, the carpet was getting really hard to pull up so we were called in to take a break and then we got to help pull up carpet. It was really energizing. I never knew how tightly carpet was glued to the floor or that it could come off in two pieces. But I felt so accomplished after pulling up a piece. Then we went to lunch and we learned about the rest of our day. (I won't spoil that for you just yet and let you read it as I did it.) Then we went back to work. This time I spent a lot of time pulling down wallpaper. Then I started gathering up trash and throwing it out into the dumpster. I threw away wallpaper, carpet, wooden edging, and rubber baseboards. Then I helped take down rods in the ceiling and door frames took them to a back room where they were holding all the stuff they wanted to re-use. Then I sat around for a little while with other people and we got to put a few holes in walls that would be demolished. It felt so good. Then we were thanked for our help and came back to the hotel for about an hour before we left for dinner at Panera Bread. So we left for Panera and had a great time just hanging out and eating. Then we went to the International House of Prayer a.k.a. IHOP (http://www.ihop.org/). It has been open for 11 years and has 24-7 worship and prayer. People from all over the world come to pray and worship there and the worship team switches every two hours. Each two-hour session there is a different emphasis that changes the influence of the worship. We only got to spend an hour there and it went by way too quickly. Krista said that we will probably be able to go back again before the trip is over. I really hope so. It was so inspiring to see people, knowing they're from all over the world, all in one place worshipping the same God. I hope that everyone gets a change to go there in their lifetime. Now I'm back at the hotel and will go to my room, relax, and get some sleep before tomorrow's full day comes.

I pray that the Lord will keep you safe and that you would feel the immensity of His love for you.

Kansas City, MO - Day 3

On to day three of Ignite Fall Mission Trip 2010.

So the day began with breakfast and devotion with our ministry teams. Then we went to the River Christian Fellowship for church. It was a very small congragation. We doubled the size of the group. A little history on the church: the church started nine years ago as a Bible study in John Wiley's living room and has grown since then to a lovely building and two service (www.rivercentral.org). The worship was energetic and heartfelt and John Wiley's sermon was inspiring. The church is going through the book of 1 John and were currently doing s1 John 3:4-10. The majority of the message was based on 1 John 3:4, talking about sin and overwhelming love. It seemed to be an expanded version of what he had been telling our Ignite group. After the service, we went to a local mall and spent an hour or so there. I wandered around with Eden and we had a lot of fun. There was a double-decker carousel but neither of us had money to spend for a ticket. *sigh* Some things will never be, I suppose. But, anyways, we then went back to the hotel and hung out there for about two hours when we went back to River Christian Fellowship for their NextGen service. It was good in its own right. The worship was well-done and the speaker had a good message, short but good. Then one of the ladies of the church said that she and others would be available for prayer for the rest of the night. So several Igniters got prayed for and the rest of us just hung out and waited. Then we went to Denny's for dinner, which was a lot of fun except for the fact that one of the girls' order got lost and had to be re-ordered. But overall, it was a good day.

That caches us up to tonight. So goodnight everyone who is reading this. More will come soon.

Kansas City, MO - Day 2

I'm sorry for the short delay. I hope I didn't keep you in too much suspense.

We started the day with devotions in our ministry teams and then left to go to the Inner City River Church, a church plant of the River Christian Fellowship church, in Kansas City. We met up with John Wiley and the pastor of the Inner City River. They explained to us the history of the church and the way that it operates. Inner City River, as said before, began as a church plant from River Christian Fellowship with people who had a heart for the inner city. River Christian Fellowship bought a whole block on 24th Street but gave the church planters one condition. They were not allowed to hold services for a whole year. They were to go out and just love the community. This process took a year and a half during which they partnered with the International House of Prayer (IHOP), providing a room for prayer, and Hope City, a ministry that fed anyone that needed food. Also, kids of the community would go to the Inner City River as a safe place before and after school. Thus was the history of the church when we arrived and they had only started to have evangelistic outreaches to build the church body. So our job was to go out and hand out flyers with information about the church in the surrounding community. We were split into our ministry teams and sent down the two streets on either side of the church with one team on each side of the street. We were told to stay fairly close together as this was a rougher part of town. Now, I admit, I was kinda scared. I have never been in a "rough" part of town and my imagination was having a hay day. So off we went for the next few hours to deliver information door-to-door. Our team went up to each door in threes with a guy in each threesome. At first, I was really scared to go up to the door but as we went on, it got easier and easier and I began to enjoy it. It really helped that we were told to only give them the packet, let them know that if they needed anything to call the church, and leave. So there was a lot pressure that I had been imagining that never really occurred. We had a great time. Then we came back to the church where they served us lunch and thanked us for our help. We then left and went back to the hotel where most of us, including myself, took a nap for the next few hours.

Then we went to the River Christian Fellowship for dinner and a movie. One thing I forgot to mention was the importance that John Wiley stressed on loving those in front of us. He used the story of Lazarus and the rich man as the example. His take on it was that God loved the rich man so much that He sent Lazarus to him so that the rich man could learn to love. But each day, the rich man stepped over Lazarus, ignoring the opportunity to help someone and be the hands and feet of God. That is something that John Wiley has really impressed upon us while we've been here. Love, love, love. Always love people. But anyways, they gave us pizza and salad and candy and then we went into their auditorium for the movie. Before the movie, we watched a video that had been taken of us that day and also one of John Wiley on the 700 Club, describing what his church is doing and how he was called to it. Well, I guess I should actually tell you what that is since I haven't as of yet. John Wiley and his church help those called the working poor. They still have jobs but are unable to afford housing and thus live in pay-by-the-week motels. He and his church provide food for these families and are currently in the process of providing them with homes and other ways to save them from the endless cycle of earning money to pay the rent and nothing left over to try to save for a real home. I'll get into a little more detail on this at a later time. But after the interview, we watched the film "The Ultimate Gift." It was a very touching movie and I highly recommend it. Then we all went back to the hotel and got ready for bed. Eden and I had a skype call with our friend Steven Beck and then I went back to my room and went to sleep.

Thus went day 2 in Kansas City.

Kansas City, MO - Day 1

Friends, Family, Countrymen! Lend me your ears as I journal here of my time in Kansas City, Missouri.

So we left Life Pacific College at 8 PST yesterday morning. It was bittersweet because three of our fellow Igniters were not able to come with us but we were all really excited about the trip. Then we got to LAX airport and everything went smoothly so we ended up sitting around, talking and hanging out, for two hours before we boarded. I did my devotions during that time and talked with friends. Once on board the plane, I sat with Eden and Nick and we all had a good time. We all slept at some point during the flight and watching the sunset and looking down at the city at night was simply breathtaking. We landed and met up with Cherise's family and then followed them to baggage claim. Once everyone had they're bags, we loaded them into one of the vans brought to transport us to the hotel. Since we're such a big group, we were split amongst two vans and three rental cars. Those of us in the rental cars, myself included, had to stay at the airport for a while longer so as to get the cars. The other people in my car were Krista (our driver), Colleen, Eden, and Ashley. It was a lot of fun 'cause Krista wasn't used to driving a big car and took her time as she drove. Then on our way to the hotel, we missed the on-ramp to the freeway we needed to take and were about to turn around when we got a text from Sean saying that we were gonna go straight to the restaurant. So we got ourselves back on track and went to the restaurant. The restaurant was called Gates and they had terrific barbeque. Now, I don't usually like barbeque but this was very tasty. At the end of the meal, Sean introduced us to John Wiley, Cherise's dad, who we would be with for about the next week. Pastor Riley thanked us for coming and gave us a general description of what we would be doing. Then we all piled back into the cars and vans and came back to the hotel where everyone finished checking in and getting settled into hotel rooms. I am rooming with Kristen (my roommate), Becca, and Cynthia. Then I called my family and had a very nice long talk with my mom. Once that ended, I went to bed around 11 CST. And that was day 1 of Ignite mission trip 2010 to Kansas City.

What's Been Happening

Hello everybody!

I don't know if anybody is still reading my blog (not that I knew that anyone was before but that's beside the point), especially since I haven't posted in three months. But, for anyone out there in the cyber world who is actually reading this, here is my update.

For the last three months, I have been enrolled in the Ignite program (getignited.org), housed on the lovely campus of Life Pacific College. It is a discipleship program created to help young people discover who they are to be and what they are to while giving them a collegiate atmosphere and hands-on serving. Now that that has turned into some kind of campaign slogan, let's see if I can explain this in a way that actually sounds like me. I am here with 34 other people and we do practically everything together. We take freshman level Bible college classes together with our own Ignite professors and go on ministry outreaches in the area. We are split into four ministry teams, which are the people we do the outreaches with. The kinds of outreaches we do are the DreamCenter in LA, LA Mission, The Oasis (hang-out and Bible study for teens in Hollywood gangs and other teens), church clean-up, Foursquare Missions Press, Pick-and-Pray (picking up trash and praying where the team chooses to go), and THINK Together (afterschool program at a local elementary school). Every other Sunday we serve at a church in the kids department. I was at Christian Assembly in Eagle Rock helping out with the toddlers and pre-schoolers. The week that we weren't serving, we were visiting other kinds of churches. We visited the Spanish church La Iglesia en el Camino, the black church Faithful Central, the newly planted (as in 2 years ago) Warehouse church, and the local church CCV. I have made so many new friends and have learned so much in last few months. I have never once regretted my decision to come.

This Friday we leave for our mission trip to Kansas City, Missouri. We'll be working River Christian Fellowship church with an inner city church they have as well as the River of Refuge, a home for the working poor and future campus for Ignite in 2012. We will also be working with an outreach to the homeless and a group of us (including myself) will be going to do worship at a prison. It should be lots of fun, especially at the River of Refuge where we'll be doing deconstruction work . . . in 30 degree weather! Pray that none of us freeze. :)

But I have missed all my old friends from school and church. So I apologize to all my friends who I have not kept in touch with as much as I would have liked. Do not think that I have forgotten you. I want to keep our friendship if at all possible. So I hope to see you all sometime during Christmas break. I miss you all.

Ahhh . . . Family

My family just got back recently from vacation and I've discovered that family is a wonderful thing. Especially extended family. I mean, there are so many stories when you expand outside your own family's experiences. Part of the reason for our vacation was to visit relatives on the east coast in South and North Carolina. I got to meet so many relatives who had previously been merely names and now have not only a face but also personality. Also, we discovered much about family long gone. For a while now, I've been interested in geneologies and thus did a lot of inputting with our family in the Carolinas. Families are never as simple as they might seem like they'd be. There are always surprises, both good and bad, waiting to be found, if you should so choose to look. I hope to do a lot of looking and finding out as much as I can about the blood that runs through my veins. Right now, I'm going to need to content myself with researching my Caucasian side, which will be a great adventure. So far, I've been able to trace us, through direct lineage, back to 1632 with an Englishman who landed at Jamestown. I can't wait to find out what else I learn about myself and family history.

One Reason I Love George MacDonald

I have discovered a new love in the form of George MacDonald. As of now, I have read The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, The Light Princess, The Giant's Heart, The Golden Key, Phantastes, and Lilith and have heard a dramatized version of At the Back of the North Wind. In my own humble opinion, he's an absolute genius. He seamlessly blends theological and philosophical ideas with wonderful fantasy. And he has an increadible ability with words. Take this quote I found in Lilith.

What a hell of horror, I thought, to wander alone, a bare existence never going out of itself, never widening its life in another life, but, bound with the cords of its poor peculiarities, lying an eternal prisoner in the dungeon of its own being!

Is that not only beautiful but brilliant. Mr. MacDonald so magically captures the horrors of what life would be if it were not for interaction with others, what a terror it would be if we did not share with others. Ahhh, George MacDonald, you have made my life so much better. And thank you, my dear friends (if any of you are reading this) for all the time that you have spent with me, pouring yourselves into my meager life. I pray that God blesses you all for your sacrifices for me.

Something from Wheatstone

While at Wheastone this past week, I wrote a poem. I am not a very good poet and am usually a formally structured one when I do write. So this is quite different from what I've ever done. If there are any critiques that you would like to give, please feel free to share them. Well, time to tak the plunge

Night descends and stars shine
People wander in
Words are said and thoughts expressed
A circle of community forms

Thinking. Sharing. Sharpening.
Ideas become more and more refined
Energies feed one another
And the clock ticks

The dialectic flourishes
Thoughts are pared and expanded
But today is now tomorrow
And day is dawning

Paradise Lost

Doom has come. What was forbidden has been taken. Now judgement must follow. The world is darkened by the entrance of sin. God descends in the company of angels to pronounce his sentence on the first of mankind. For their trespass, they are exiled from paradise forever. Raising his hand, God points the way for their exodus. Eve falls limply to the ground, having realized too late the consequences of her actions. She weeps and covers her face with her hand. With the other hand, Eve grasps her husband's forearm for comfort and support. But he offers none. Rather, Adam pulls himself inward as if he were still trying to hide what he'd done. He runs his fingers through his hair, coming to grips with the magnitude of his sin. His eyes gaze forward never straying to look at wither his wife or his maker. He simply looks straight ahead daring anyone to try to tell him of any good that had come of his disobedience. Up above, God waits for his beloved creation to leave his presence. Though He does not want them to go, He must send them out for His holiness and perfections cannot abide the presence of sin. So He, with will and face set sternly, commands man's removal from paradise. Yet in His mind, He already has a plan for their redemption. One of the angels waits at the right hand of his maker bearing a a flaming sword. He gazes upon the Creator till he should be commanded to guard the entrance to paradise so as to save man from further destruction. Still another angel, this one on God's left, stares at his maker in astonishment. It is known throughout creation that man is God's beloved of all He had made. Yet now He is banishing them from the home He had given them. Below God is the last angel of His retinue. Underneath and almost supporting the Creator, he looks upon the most unfortunate of all creation. These creatures, made in the very image of God himself, are a wonderment to the rest of creation. This last angel's look is one of neither sorrow nor gladness but of the most sincere curiosity and puzzlement of man's ability to reject Almighty God. Below both God and man is the ruiner of all. The once bright and morning star is now a dark, creeping thing. He flees the presence of God and goes into the underbrush. His eyes burn an unearthly red, full of malice and fury and hunger. Hungry for the next victim of destruction. As he escapes, his arms seem ready at any time to smite and grasp and drag with him anyone into the darkness in which he must dwell all his days. His serpent guise lies at his feet, discarded so that he may put on another. Even the earth feels the effects of what has just taken place. The sky goes grey and clouds cover the sun. All of Eden is falling into darkness. The only remmnant of hte former Eden is that above the first of mankind. The last of the sun's perfect rays shine gently upon the banished figures, giving them their last of paradise

By Great Mercy

At one time, you could hear a strange voice from the tombs near the Gerasenes. For once a madman lived there. Anyone could find him if they wished. All they needed to do was follow the man’s howlings but none dared go near him.

Before his madness, he had been known as Reuben ben-David. Though he had been raised in a faithful Jewish home, Reuben had chosen to follow the ways of their Roman oppressors. For this, he was disowned by his family and thrown from the synagogue. Rueben didn’t care though. He continued his carousing and never looked back long enough to see the grief he’d left in his wake. It was then that his life started to change. Increasingly, he began to become more and more violent, even without the usual inducement of wine. Then he started saying things totally uncharacteristic of him and kept to himself more and more. Finally, something snapped and everyone knew it. People tried to bind him with sturdy ropes but Reuben would release himself from them as if they were twine. They tried chains multiple times, praying to any and all gods that these would hold him. But the chains were as the ropes for he tore the chains and broke the shackles around his wrists and ankles. At last, he was driven from town and took up living in the tombs, finding no other refuge.

But these were not truly the actions of Reuben ben-David. His mind was not his own. He had been usurped of authority over his own body by spirits he had encouraged to enter through his wild living. If anyone had been brave enough to look into his eyes, they would have not seen the regular clear eyes of any other human being but a legion of faces leering and taunting the looker. For a few brief moments, Reuben would be himself but always knowing what was inside him. He would grab stone, which laid in plenty on the floors of the caves he inhabited, cutting himself deeply. If only he cut deep enough then these spirits would be able to leave his body and he would be free once more. At least, this was his reasoning. But the voiced that controlled him laughed at his vain efforts to release himself from his imprisonment.

“Go on then. Release us. Let us run as you blood.” And they would force him to cut himself deeper and throw him on the ground scraping his skin against the rocks. “You will never be rid of us,” they taunted. “You are ours and we will never let go.” At these times, Reuben would weep bitter tears of remorse and sorrow. So he lived his days in a delicate state between sanity and insanity, constantly going between the two as his masters permitted.

But then the day arrived when all that changed. From the mouth of his cave, Reuben saw a small boat approach. He wondered who these new visitors could be for he had seen the violent storm upon the sea, having been forced to cry aloud and wail like the wind adding his voice to the noise of the tempest. He gnawed on a piece of stone as he watched the boat gently glide onto the sandy beach. Then one of the passengers stepped out of the boat. As soon as his foot touched the ground, an unexpected surge ran through Reuben’s entire being. An unearthly scream ripped from his throat. All that he could see or feel was darkness and despair. His body, under the control of those who possessed him, rushed forward toward the man from the boat, all the time shrieking from the depth of his being. Reaching the beach, the madman fell at the other man’s feet. For the briefest of moments, Reuben’s own mind took over and he looked up into the face of the visitor. Their eyes locked for that moment and the madman’s eyes pleaded what his mouth could not. The new man understood that look given by the man at his feet. In an authoritative voice, he commanded,

“Come out of this man, you evil spirit!” Immediately, the man was thrown violently against the ground. From within him rose a rasping malicious voice, crying out in the loudest possible volume Reuben could make.

“What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” The madman cowered from Jesus in absolute terror. Jesus in turn looked severely down upon the pitiful creature before him.

“What is your name?” Then, to the horror of the disciples, a chorus of voices joined the original voice, all equally and possibly more evil than the first. As the spectators looked at the madman’s eyes, they saw his eyes begin to swarm with grotesque faces.

“My name is Legion for we are many. I beg you, Son of God, not to send us away from here.” And so they continued to beg of Jesus. Reuben’s body glanced about itself furtively, like a hunted animal looking for shelter. His eyes locked on the local herd of pigs snuffling nearby.

“Send us among the pigs,” the voices pleaded. Their body groveled at Jesus’ feet. “Allow us to go into them.”

“Go,” he said simply. With a great cry, a vast host seemed to burst from the man. All these shapes of evil fled quickly to the herd. In a mad rush, the whole herd careened down the hillside with no regard for each other or where they were headed. The whole heard, two thousand in all, charged to their deaths in the sea.

Turning back to the man formerly possessed by Legion, he lay prone on the ground like a corpse. His eyes were closed. His hair lay matted and his beard, grown long from lack of attention, sat in knots and clumped with blood. His skin not only bore innumerable scars from his vain attempts at salvation but also was burned from head to toe because its former masters had not allowed him to bear clothing of any kind. His lips were dry and cracked and dirt clung to every part of him. Jesus kneeled down beside the man and gazed down kindly into the man’s face.

“Wake-up. They’re gone,” he said gently, as one would speak to a frightened child. Slowly the former madman’s eyes opened, first one and then the other. And his eyes reflected only the image of his saviour. Taking Jesus’ proffered hand, he wobbled up to a standing position. Finally, upright, he kept a tight hold on his saviour’s hand.

“Thank you,” the man uttered at last. Jesus smiled and asked one of the disciples to get something for the released man from the boat.

“What is your name?”

“My name,” the man paused for he had been under Legion’s possession for so long and so heavily that he could not for a time remember his own name. But then it began to return like a light at the end of a tunnel growing bigger and bigger. “My name . . . my name is . . . my name . . . is . . .” A smile spread across his haggard face as he fairly shouted, “Reuben! My name is Reuben son of David and Tirzah of the tribe of Gad.” Jesus smiled with him and helped him put on the clothes his disciple had brought. And Reuben began to gush forth about his family and tragic story leading up to his salvation.

As the delivered man was relating his history, a crowd began to gather having heard of the possessed man and the drowning of the herd. In turn, everyone gasped to see the former madman not only wearing clothing but also having a regular conversation.

“There he is!’ those who had been tending the pigs shouted, pointing at Jesus. “We saw him. He commanded a host of spirits to kill our pigs. And he,” they motioned to Reuben, “he released the spirits.” After this explanation of what happened, all the people begged Jesus and his followers to leave. Reuben looked at them all in dismay. Many of those in the crowd he knew, had even been friends with them. He tried to call out to them, show them the dramatic change that had been wrought in him but no one listened to him. He glanced to see what Jesus would do in response and saw him head towards the boat. Seeing that he wasn’t getting anywhere with the crowd, Reuben began to follow the disciples to the boat. As he saw Jesus getting into the boat and the other disciples starting to shove off, he realized that they were not intending to take him with them.

“Wait!” he cried. “Wait for me. Please don’t leave me behind!” They seemed to pay him no heed. How could they leave him here? “Jesus!” he shouted desperately as he neared the boat. Jesus bowed his head and looked back at the man he had saved. “Please,” asked Reuben simply. “Don’t leave me behind.”

“You can’t come with me this time,” Jesus answered gently.

“But why?” the freed man begged to know. Tears brimmed in Reuben’s clear eyes.

“I need you here,” Jesus continued. “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Then he whispered so no one but Reuben could hear. “We will meet again.” This still did not prevent the man’s brimming tears from running down his cheeks.

Reuben watched mournfully as the boat carrying his saviour sailed away. Accepting that he was gone, the crowd dispersed and returned home. Reuben remained at the shore for several minutes, thinking over everything that had happened. What kept returning to him swat the reaction the spirits to the presence of Jesus and what they called him, Son of the Most High God. Could it be? Could this man really be the son of God? In his early days, he would have denied it vehemently or protested that anyone could be the son of a god. But now, after all he’d experienced, Reuben was sure that the man who had just sailed away was truly the Son of the Most High God.

“Well then,” he thought to himself, “I had better obey his commands.” So he got up and started to ascend the hill. Glimpsing up at the top of the hill, he spotted two people who had not left with the rest of the crowd. He began to move more quickly, excited that someone at least had stayed long enough to hear what he had to say. As he got closer, he realized he knew these people very well.

“Abba! Ima!” It had been so long since he had seen them last but they were still the same. A few feet from his parents, he stopped. He looked from first his father and then to his mother. They looked at him and could barely recognize the young man who had left their home. For several moments the family stared at one another. Then Reuben ran forward and embraced his father, tears fallin in rivers down his face.

“Oh, Abba, I am so sorry. “ His father answered with a tightened grip on his son and stains where his tears fell. And so they stood arm-in-arm, father and son. Finally, Reuben turned to where his mother stood patiently, weeping at the scene she had just witnessed. The son took her in his arms and held her close as if he would never let her go again.

“Tirzah,” David said hoarsely, “our son is back from the grave.”

“It is a miracle,” she answered. Tirzah stepped back and held her son’s face with both hands. “Oh my boy, my darling son. How did this happen?”

“By the great mercy of Yahweh,” Reuben replied. “Abba, Ima, I think I’ve found the Messiah.” David and Tirzah stared in astonishment at their son’s incredible claim. Easily, their son understood their thoughts. “I know that it is difficult to explain but the man who saved me is truly the Son of God.”

“You can tell us more when we get home,” David suggested. So the threesome went back to their home and Reuben shared all of his experiences and his encounter with Jesus. Now, a voice is speaking throughout the whole area of the Gerasenes and the Decapolis of the wonders of Jesus. And that voice is the same that once howled in the tombs.

Wheatstone was right!

My family is a subscriber to WORLD magazine, a Christian magazine on various issues. One of the articles caught my eye. It's called "Against Life" by Arsenio Orteza. Though the contents of this article are depressing in nature, I found it exciting that Mr. Orteza compared artists to canaries, just like we learned at Wheatstone last summer. It fascinated me that artists are the canaries of civilization, which makes sense because when one looks at how trends are set, one can usually trace it back to artists whether it be in movies or music. When the artists begin to disappear, it may be certain that the rest of the civilization may be in danger as well. I only hope that the rest of humanity will take notice and make changes in order to save ourselves.

Suicide and lesbianism among professional musicians are nothing new, but recently there's been a seeming uptick in both.

The suicides: Vic Chesnutt (who died on Christmas Day), Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous (March 6), and Will Owsley (who financed his power-pop solo albums by performing in Amy Grant's live band, April 30). Each was male, each was from the South, each was in his mid-40s, and each was a singer-songwriter with a track record of critical if not commercial acclaim.

The "coming outers": Jennifer Knapp and Chely Wright, both in their mid- to late-30s, both known for conservative-friendly music (CCM in Knapp's case, the pro-troops "The Bumper of My SUV" in Wright's), and both free of the unflattering masculine traits often associated with lesbians.

One of the aesthetic consequences for songwriters who commit suicide or embrace homosexuality is that their lyrics tend to be regarded as mere code for suicide or homosexuality. Chesnutt's "My New Life" (from his 2009 album Skitter on Takeoff) was depressing already; as a harbinger of his self-destruction, it's unbearable. Wright's "The Bumper of My SUV" was a refreshingly non-liberal take on the War on Terror; now one listens for hints about her position on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Worse yet, fans who once turned to certain songs for solace or empathy might now hear in them little more than permission to follow their composers into sloughs of despond.

Obviously, however, the eternal consequences are the direst of all. "The man who kills himself," wrote G.K. Chesterton, "kills all men; as far as he is concerned he wipes out the world." "Homosexual activity," wrote Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), "is not a complementary union, able to transmit life; and so it thwarts the call to . . . that form of self-giving which the gospel says is the essence of Christian living."

The ordinary explanations fail. Chesnutt was wheelchair bound, Linkous was bedeviled by depression, drugs, and drink, and Owsley was a divorced father of two, but many other men in similar circumstances still choose to be rather than not to be. As for Knapp and Wright, given the circles in which their music required them to move, it's hard to imagine either woman's giving peer pressure as a reason for her public commitment to same-sex living.

In his dystopian novel The Bridge, D. Keith Mano imagined a strikingly similar scenario. The setting: New York City and its environs circa 2035. The killing of all living organisms—animal, vegetable, and mineral—has been illegal for decades. Deer, bears, and dogs run wild and, due to overpopulation, die; grass and weeds grow unchecked; insects thrive. Meanwhile, the "termination" of the "human species" has been mandated by the government because human respiration has been determined to "destroy . . . microscopic biological life."

In response, men willingly swallow suicide pills and women form lesbian communes. It's a scenario that must have seemed far-fetched when the novel appeared in 1973. It seems less far-fetched now.

An article in the May 12 Daily Telegraph says that a forthcoming UN report will declare "one-third of plant and animal species" to be "at risk of extinction" and blame the "developing world's appetite for raw materials." "If the 9 billion people predicted to be with us by 2050 were to have the same lifestyle as Americans," says a spokesman for the Convention on Biological Diversity, "we would need five planets."

Translation: Human life is bad.

Death fumes are in the air. Our singers are the canaries in the coal mine.

Tale Continued

One day when the sun shone cheerily and puffy white clouds floated aimlessly, Rowena was sitting in rapt attention as Excelsior finished his tale of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

“Just as we thought we would perish, a mighty lion appeared. His hid shone like melted gold and thunder was his roar. As quick as lightning, he sprang upon the bandits and chased them all away without ever turning to molest my fellow pilgrims and me.”

“Do you think Saint George really sent the lion?” the young child asked.

“I truly believe so, child,” he answered. “What kind of story would like me to tell you now?”

Rowena’s face scrunched in deep childish thought and then quickly brightened with an idea. “A treasure hunt,” she said gleefully. The old knight smiled at the girl’s excitement.

“A treasure hunt, you say? I think I have just the one.” Rowena settled herself for the story. “This is a story my grandmother told me when I was not much older than you. Well, before I begin, let me tell you that there is a special treasure that appears every seven years and has a rather special map that leads to it. This map will only show pieces of the map and will only expand once you’ve reached the edge of the revealed region. Now that you know this, I will begin my story.

“Many years ago a knight named Oliver came from small country town long forgotten by men. He longed to go upon some great quest but all was peaceful in his village and all the area around it. Resolved not to become idle and self-consumed, Oliver worked in his family’s carpentry shop as if he’d never been knighted. Not many days later, an old man came to the town. His clothes were thing and dirty and he carried a large walking stick carved with many intricate designs. As he walked, he limped greatly and leaned heavily on his stick. Around his waist, he wore a rope belt from which hung an assortment of talismans for, you see, he was . . .” The storyteller stopped for a dramatic pause and then ended, “a gypsy.” A little gasp followed the revelation. “Yes, a gypsy and when they saw him all the villagers rushed to their homes and locked their doors.

Beginning a Tale

In the time of knights and jousts and quests, there lived a young girl named Rowena. She was the daughter of Geoffrey the blacksmith and Clarissa the seamstress. Both Geoffrey and Clarissa were hard workers and raised their children to fear the Lord and obey His commands. Rowena was the youngest of eight children and was never in short supply of playmates. If none of her siblings could play, she'd find some of her friends from among the local children. At other times, she'd help her mother and older sisters with the sewing by fetching various things that were asked for. When she was allowed, Rowena would watch Geoffrey and his sons at work in the family smithy. But one of her favorite places to be, outside her own home, was at the home of a retired knight who had since become the village bard. His name was Excelsior. Daily, he would sit outside the entrance to his house with his lute upon his knee and entertained the children of the village with the tales of fairies and dragons and secret treasure. Rowena would spend hours listening to the old man's stories. She was his most dedicated listener.

Shakespeare and Reader's Theatre

This past year, I've been wonderfully exposed to the glories of some of Shakespeare's most famous plays. I'm very sad that it's taken me this long to finally read any Shakespeare but 'tis all in the past now. My Shakespeare class in now in rehearsal for "Much Ado About Nothing" in the reader's theatre style of acting. It is quite different from any other kind of acting I've ever done as it is more about what you say and how you say it than it is about what you're doing while you're saying it. If you want to be sinister, you can't walk in a circle 'round your victim menacingly or whisper terrible things into their ear. Rather you must make you voice express all the malicious intents that are stored in your evil heart. At first, I didn't think it would be all that hard but as we started going at it, I realized that I don't necessarily put all of what I mean, as a character, into what I say. After only two sessions, I've learned how strong the spoken word is and the magic that can be done with them.

Bit About Me

So I guess it would be best to tell you a little about myself and the plans I have for this blog. I have a dual fascination for meanings behind names and stories in any form (books, movies, radio dramas, theatre, tv shows). Both have influenced the naming of the blog. The purpose though will be story-oriented. Sometimes I'll post various things that happen in my life that I believe are either of interest to others or have been beneficial to me in some way. At other times, there will be stories from my own feeble brain. They may range from historical fiction to fantasy to fanfiction. I do not guarantee that the stories will be of any interest or excellence but they will be what they will be. Well, I suppose that's about it and I'll post again when something come up.

Venturing Out

Hello all,

I know there have been many of you who have been awaiting this fateful day, the day I got . . . a blog! Yes, I have done it. I have taken the plunge into cyberspace. So here it is. This shall be a place where I share stories out both my life and imagination. If some things are nonsensical or incoherent, I apologize ahead of time. Thus begins my time as a blogger. What have I gotten myself into?