Summer of 08 --Nepal, Uganda, and Costa Rica

Changes

2008-07-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

So you may have noticed that the title of this blog has changed...I was asked to go to Costa Rica at the last moment instead of India. Sometimes when a big changes take place they can take a little getting used to, but in this particular instance I immediately had a great peace about the whole situation. So off to costa rica I went. Unfortunitly there is a lack of internet in this wonderful little coutry...so most of the updates will have to be after then trip....but so far its been great.

2008-06-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

Pretty cool stuff here in Uganda.
A teenage boy name Johnson came up to me and was asking about my family. During my testimony when I talked about not growing up with a father, he then asked about my mother. I told him I still had her in my life. His response was about how lucky I was. He had lost both his mother and father to aids. In my mind the term broken families was begining to be redefined.

The People of northern Uganda's lives had been torn apart by a rebel force called the LRA (Lords resistence army). If you have seen the documentary ¨Invisible Children¨ then you already have been exposed to the horrific abuses Joseph Koney has subjected these people too. Its some of the most disheartening scenes I have ever witnessed as chilren openly beat other smaller children...its as though by fear they had been trained that violence was their only means of survival.

So the camel didnt smile at me....but the hippo did!!!

2008-06-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

I think he liked me

Now in Uganda

2008-06-11T23:20:00.001-07:00

Taking the message of the cross to Uganda.
It felt like it took a week of travel to get to Uganda, but in fact it took only a lil over 50 hours(yes thats a lot). Today was the first day of ministry for our team and it was incredible...we saw about 60 people commit their lives to Christ as well as countless others make a commitment to sexual abstinence. I had two remarkable moments occur - the story went like this....
We have all seen the pictures of starving African children on TV. Uganda like most of Africa has been beaten down by war after war after war, leaving the nation hungry not only for food but also love. Today i asked a group of around 40 or 50 students how many students knew someone personally who had died from aids...every hand was raised. I assumed maybe they mis-understood the question, so I claried "so all of you have had someone who was very very close to you die from aids?" Still every hand remained raised and in that moment I realized the message of sexual purity we were bring was not only a good idea, but it was life and death...

moment # 2 There is an idea we have stumbled across that seems to be a key to the hearts of the young people. Its the term "sugerdaddy." As soon as we utter this word we have the absolute attention of every female within earshot. In Uganda the children in many cases cannot afford to pay their school fees, and are forced to find "alternative means." The young girls find wealthy older men who pay for their schooling in exchange for being their sexual slave. Today a friend of mine was talking to 6 girls who dared ask who of the most vonerable questions I have ever heard uttered in a group setting. "How then shall we..err those girls pay for schooling?" All the sudden an abstract example came to life before our very eyes.

When Children Pray....

2008-06-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God" Mark 10:14

We were asked to make a quick stop by an orphanage and we really only had about 30 minutes to spare. There was a transportation strike looming we were more than worried about the possibility become stranded an hour outside of the city. Thankfully we stopped, because all of my travels (nearly 20 nations) had not prepared me for what we were about to see.

They were all known as street children, about half of them had been completely illiterate. Previously their ambition was just to survive the week, but they had been rescued and now by the power of God their dream was to be a part of the rescuing. The pastor asked if before we leave the children could pray for us (usually it was the other way around but hey maybe a cute photo opp). I expected the children to quietly fold their hands and recite a nice memorized prayer, but instead was astonished as they broke up into small groups and each placed their hands on our heads. These meek little voices unleashed passionate prayers almost at a shouting level. I admit i am by nature a little bit of a realist, and I suspected that they were merely imitating what they had seen others do. If i know one thing about children its that they ALWAYS look around when they are bored or doing something out of habit (much to my surprise I was the only one with my eyes open --yeah i am a punk) I felt probably much like disciples felt when Jesus chastised them in the verse above...very stupid. At that moment the Spirit of God flooded into that room. The type of feel it, touch it, taste it presence that even the most spiritually dead people are aware of. Never had I seen God respond in such a tangible way to the prayers of child.

Humbled I left....hoping my prayers too could touch the heart of God in such a way as this.

cutest kids ever

2008-06-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Just a short clip of a smile that is sure to make you smile

Through her eyes

2008-06-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

We've all the seen the the type of movie where a guy and a girl seem irresistibly drawn to each other in the midst of a crowded room. Its as if their hearts and fates are somehow intertwined before their gazes ever meet. Destiny? Fate? Love at first sight?

I offer a different take on this same idea as I met the girl of my dreams .....
It was crowded maybe 60-70 people and the room a little larger than my living room, but i saw her almost immediately--her smile, her bright eyes -- i waited patiently for her gaze to meet mine.
It was an orphanage for victims of sex trafficking. The ages ranging from 5 or 6 to the middle upper teens, but the vast majority couldn't have been old enough for middle school yet. She was 11, her name was Urmila and she had already been living in the safety of the orphanage for nearly 2 years. Before that...a different story. I learned the children who were held captive in the brothels of northern Indian were forced to perform sexual acts no child should ever be exposed to in the neighborhood of 5-15 times a day. It broke my heart to look into these lovely little eyes, knowing the horrors of her past had ended only two years prior to our meeting. How could she even trust me, a westerner whom she had never met, when it was westerners that had often been her abusers such a short time earlier. I found my answer just a few moments later, even now it tough for my eyes to remain completely dry as I remember our conversation. We had journeyed through all our pleasantries and one question stands out. "Urmila what do you want to be when you grow up?" Her reply "A missionary.... because a lot of people need help." Her eyes for the first time revealed the pain of her past. Her heart was broken, for she knew better than I could ever know how bad her peopled needed Jesus. God as a Saviour was not enough they needed God as a FATHER. My heart had melted...

I wanted to remember her eyes, her smile, and even more her joy so I put a short clip taken from my cell phone camera....i just wanted you to see my first encounter with love at first site.

yes its a cell phone camera
yes i said nothing cool
but my hope is that you can remember the tens of thousands of Nepali girls who are still being enslaved in Northern India brothels.....they need a Saviour, they need a Father, they need our prayers
special thanks still needs to go to our 6 year old camera girl

want to know what her "flavorite" song was? Then comment

If I write will anyone read? Well I talk and no one listens but that hasn't stopped me yet, so here goes

2008-06-03T00:46:00.000-07:00

I admit...I was semi forced into creating this blog, but honestly I like the idea of typing instead of writing anyway, and to be sure blogging is a much more manly activity than journaling. This Summer I will be in three nations Nepal, Uganda, and India. Whats in store?? Only God knows, but my prayer is for it to be big. Not Big as in a number with many zero's behind it, but big as in LASTING....something that will affect lives, and nations for years to come. Next Blogs subject will be Nepal and more specifically the Gospel through the eyes of a Child.