Two months and Counting...

So much has happened in two months that it's kind of difficult to look back and think on all that has happened...

                - We've moved three times and finally settled on our long term home
                - We've launched a campus ministry at the local college that is aiming at uniting all of the  
                        campus ministries and gatherings for a united fellowship
                - We've had 12 college students dropped in our laps that just want to follow our lead
                - We've started a ministry to the local "Entertainment" or "Street" workers about their identity
                - We've celebrated birthdays and our first anniversary
                - We've met so many people that were strangers before, and now a huge part of our life
                - We've hosted sleepovers and late night events
                - We've just been living day to day life and learning what it means to be Filipino

In the midst of everything happening and all the changes and new faces, we're are seeing God's steady work in our life and He is actually the one providing all of these opportunities.  For example, Tara was sharing her heart with me on how she really wanted to find a way to reach out to the women in the darkest corners of the city and share with them how God can look through the darkness and see their beauty as His daughters.  A few days later, a pastor approached me about hosting a monthly meeting for the "Entertainment" workers (I still hate... despise... loathe... how about mega-loathe... that term), and giving them a positive message or counseling.  Because of my maleness, I had to turn down that offer, but luckily for the pastor, God had already prepared the perfect person for the job.

As we continue to share our lives with the people around us, it's fun to see how discipleship and the love that comes out of it can be so contagious.  We could have listed another dozen plus events that we've taken part in, but all we really did was show up and pray.  The people around us are realizing how simple it is to share an encouraging word with a stranger, or gather a group of people to play basketball and share water and stories no matter who won, or just wondering around and praying with anyone that is sick or discouraged.  Because we're all realizing that we tend to make this life more difficult than it needs to be sometimes by thinking too much.  We're more worried that people will think less of us or ridicule us, rather than think that they could be really encouraged, or our simple words or acts could change their lives.  We tend to be discouraged by what could go wrong rather than by fueled by what could go right.

One of my favorite questions to answer is when the people here ask me what seminary I went to.  This is a fairly traditional culture, so all pastors or missionaries get professional Biblical education.  When they find out this proud graduate of the public education system only spent a couple of months in "Official" Bible training my senior year of high school, it takes them off guard.  It's almost as shocking as Lebron picking my middle school basketball team to play with him or some religious rabbi calling fishermen or tax collectors or prostitutes to follow him...

We put too much stock in who we are or who we should be that we neglect and forget who we're serving.  If I was on Lebron's team, my focus wouldn't be on my mad HORSE skills, but it would be on getting him the ball anyway I could.  When we realize who we're teamed up with it takes all the spotlight and pressure off us and allows us to just be and enjoy.  I come in the power and the name of Jesus, so who cares who am I or what I've done in the past?  He chose me.  I'm on his team.  We've already won, so I can just enjoy.  It's kind of like we're up by 30 points with time winding down and the coach just told me to get off the bench and go try to score.  If I don't, oh well.  But if I do, everyone will cheer.

I'm not an "End Times" guy, but I cannot deny we're probably close.  But rather than look at it with doom and gloom, I like to look at it like the clock is winding down and the game is already wrapped up so there's nothing I can do to win or lose the game, so I'm going to take every shot I can get because I want everyone to know whose team I'm on.