Sure, why not :)

[Stage Notes:: Suddenly Smiling]
[iTunes:: Marvelous Light | Passion Worship Band]

I did not know what I was going to write about, but I knew it was time to write. Then the song changed.

'Marvelous Light' is definitely one of my favorite new praise songs! Unfortunately, the first few times it was played during chapel in Mexico, the words were not being displayed. In fact, if I am not mistaken, the first time it was played was just after the power blew one night at camp. I am not sure if we blew the circuit breaker or if one of the generators decided it wanted to rest. Regardless it is a very energetic song that just makes me smile and want to start jumping around. If I wasn't at work right now, I would probably be doing just exactly that...or trying to jam along on the guitar. Keyword; trying.

I am always amazed by the way music can speak to us. Several years ago, there was a song that Riverview used to play called 'Unashamed Love' and I loved it. It is a very simple song that has surprisingly powerful words. Over the years, I have found myself singing it in various situations. When I was nervous and worried about things in Florida, I sang it to myself. When life was getting crazy at State, i sang it to myself. When I realized things were out of my control, I sang it to myself.

With everything that has been happening in the last few weeks, I was hoping that my time in Mexico would be a reprieve. I was hoping it could be a time where I would be walking closely with God again and the worries of everything would just fade away. I was hoping that a week and a half without technology would help me separate. Then it happened almost without warning. These words popped into my head...

You call on me to lay aside the worries of my day;
To quiet down my busy mind and find a hiding place.
Worthy, you are worthy...
Worthy, you are worthy...

Open up my heart and let my spirit worship you;
Open up my mouth and let a song of praise come forth.
Worthy, you are worthy...
Worthy, you are worthy...

of a child-like faith,
and of my honest praise,
and of my unashamed love.

of a holy life,
and of my sacrifice,
and of my unashamed love.

I nearly broke down a few nights later when the band out of no where, in the middle of a high energy set, started to play those same words I knew so well. I am always astounded at the variety of ways God can speak.

Coming Down the Mountain

[Stage Notes:: Just finished lunch; wondering]
[iTunes:: On the Road to Beautiful | Charlie Hall]

Have you ever hiked to the top of a mountain? I have been at the top of a couple of them and the hike is always brutal. When we hiked to the top of El Yunque in Puerto Rico, there were sections that had no trail and you had to hold onto various things to keep from sliding down the side of it. There was also this wonderful stuff called Razor Grass that kept the agony going when the trail was visible. The reality is that getting to the top of any mountain is tough, but then it happens. You round a corner, and climb up a few rocks, and......everything parts, and you have reached the peak. The view is breathtaking, and everything that it took to get there is worth it. You don't dare exhale because you are still trying to breathe in every ounce of the moment. The colors, the smells, and the breeze waft over you in a moment that lasts indefinitely. I took this picture at the top of El Yunque. If you can find the horizon, let me know.

Unfortunately, we eventually have to come back down from the mountain. We have to take our pictures, and drink in the last of the experience and move forward.

There are also figurative mountaintops in life. Some are spiritual, some are relational, and some are just seasons in life that we survived. Sometimes we don't even realize we are climbing a mountain, we just know that things are rough and as far as we can remember they always have been. That is of course until we suddenly find ourselves in a clearing and are knocked off of our feet by the grandness of what we are enduring.

Mexicali is for my probably one of the rarest types of mountains in my life. It is a spiritual, relational, and seasonal peak all wrapped in one. It will forever mark a turning point in my life, be it for better or worse I won't know for a little while yet. Just like any mountain top for me, I find myself walking back down with a brain full of questions and very few answers. Ultimately, it is the question 'why?'

Every morning in Mexico I woke up with purpose. At 6:00 in the morning, I had energy and desire to be awake. For once it was my body trying to tell me to sleep and my mind was crying out that we needed to be awake because there was much to do. My body ached from giving piggy back rides the day before and sleeping on the hard ground all night, and I couldn't wait to do it all over again. People opened their lives and their hearts to me and I did the same with them. I did not want to go to bed because it meant that whoever I was talking with had to stop telling me stories about who they are and why they were there. Every day I saw God move in huge ways.

Why can't every day be that way? A lot of people will just simply say, 'Well it just can't.' I say that we can no longer accept that response. I know there are people out there that wake up every day with purpose. I am fairly certain that Mother Theresa did! One thing I was reminded of this week is that we as Americans are not always right. We do not always have the best solution to everything. To believe otherwise is just plain ignorant.

Now I am starting to get angry and frustrated which means it is time to wrap this up. Unfortunately, during some of my travels in Europe, I came to realize that seeing the problems and questioning them does not change anything. Finding a solution to the questions is when things can be changed.

The theme of the week was "Do not conform any longer!" What happens when what we are conforming to is much bigger than we ever imagined?

Gloria a Dios!!

[Stage Notes:: Head is spinning trying to get everything done]
[iTunes:: Landmine | Train]

I am back. Actually, I got back on Saturday, but I have simple not had the energy to do anything. Despite having time together with everyone on Saturday morning for the sole purpose of reflecting on the trip, I cannot even begin to put into words how incredible the trip was. I saw God do some amazing things for our teams and in a few young people's lives. I had the most amazing Easter of my entire life by a long shot. I met so many new people and now feel like I have family in Mexicali. Bear with me as I try to figure out the best way to tell you everything that happened and share the pictures I took. I missed you all and look forward to catching up on what has happened in my absence :)

Dios le bendiga!!

Going Live

[Stage Notes:: Stir Crazy and anxious to go home]
[Music:: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own | U2 ]

Since I am going to be gone for a while, I am going to start posting things for the few reader's I have to do while I am gone. First, check out the Mexicali Trip Blog. This will be updated ever day or two while we are in Mexico, and for your information, my team name is Asi-Asi Seis.

Second, over the past few months I have been doing some photography work for Epic. Most of the work has been for the new website as well as some rather large banners that have been made and scattered around the church when you walk in. Well, all that work is finally coming to fruition because the new Epic website will be launched on Easter Sunday! Sadly, you will all get to see it a week before I can so I do not know the extent to which the pictures have been used, but I am still hopeful! The new site is http://epicchurch.com.

That's all I can think of for now :)

Ten

[Stage Notes:: Wishing time would go faster]
[Podcast:: International Justice Mission | Daily Jeezit w/ Noel]

One of my favorite days before traveling is when I can finally see what the weather forecast is for the day I arrive. It is one thing to look at the local forecast and get a rough idea of the local weather, but it is something entirely different to see the day show up in the 10-day forecast! To me it is one of the first truly tangible things about any trip I am taking. It means the planning is pretty much finished and the trip is going to be a reality.

Today I saw that the weather in San Diego will be 63 and Partly Cloudy when we arrive and that day it will be 92 and mostly sunny in Mexicali. I guess that means I need to start doing some serious thinking about packing...just not physically packing because I cannot do that any more than 24 hours away from the trip :)

Call Me El Mariachi!!

[Stage Notes:: Bored, yet is in a silly and contemplative mood. I don't know how that works either]
[iTunes:: Soy Feliz | Azusa Pacific]

Last night, we had a fundraising dinner for our Mexico trip! I do not yet know how much we raised, but we did run out of food at one point and had to go out and buy more while we entertained the crowd with songs and skits we will be performing in our vacation bible schools. The build team also talked about the house they will be building for a family of 10!!

I spent most of the dinner being a roaming musician :) About half the time it was just myself and young woman named Julie and the other half the time there were five or six of us. I would play and we would all sing, though to be honest I think we spent more time deciding where we should go next and what we should sing as opposed to actually playing the songs! Oh well, it was fun! Our set list included and was pretty much limited to:

• Soy Feliz
• Tu Nombre Levantare
• Aunque No Marche
• Yo Tengo Un Amigo
• To Tengo Gozo
• Alabare
• Jesus Yo Te Amo
• Su Bandera Sobre Mi
• Padre Te Adoro
• Este Es El Dia

The best laid plans of mice...

[Stage Notes:: People are trickling past my desk on their way out the door for the day, I on the other hand am sitting here waiting for the time to go like an over anxious school boy]
[iPod:: Minor Swing | Django Reinhardt]

This weekend did not go in any way, shape, or form like it was supposed to. It all started Friday when I got home and got The Letter. I was pissed off and confused more than anything. Naturally my parents wanted to play 20 bazillion questions about it, which anyone who knows me well knows that I need time to reflect on things before I can have a real conversation about them. Prior to reflection time, I just might take someone's head off. After dinner I spent some time ranting at God...it was very Job like rant, complete with God's response. Ouch! There is honestly nothing more frustrating than wanting to be really friggin ticked off and knowing you have absolutely no reason to be. I spent the rest of the night watching movies and flipping through old magazines.

I woke up late on Saturday and was late getting to Velocity (the mini conference that Epic was having at Dave & Busters'). Overall, Velocity was a good time with lots of friends old and new, complete with green sprite that got spilled on me. At least it wasn't beer :) Spent the rest of the day running errands with the Gimp. Hit up borders, Salvation Army, Comp USA for their clearance sale, and a few stores at the Mall. Even found some pants at Steve & Barry's for Mexico for only $11!! Now I just need to figure out where I am coming up with t-shirts for the week.

The evening was spent with Dave and Emily at some of Emily's friends' house. We watched the State game (sad, but at the start of the season I was just going to be happy if the made the tourney and they put up a good fight). However, around 10:30 the night pretty much ended. A little pathetic for St. Patty's day :( Went home and messed around with some things before heading to bed.

Sunday morning I was off to Epic for church and the drama that I only knew about half of. My mom finally wanted to come, but I had to tell her not this week. I think she was a tad confused because this is the first time I think she was serious about coming, and I have been wanting them to come check it out. However, I really had no choice but to say not this week! Why? Well, because the whole message was about Porn. Yup, that's right, we talked about PORN in church. In addition, Lisa and I did a drama about Porn. I don't care who you are, nobody wants to be in the same room as there parents when the topic of porn comes up, let alone be in church :-P.

After service, a bunch of us grabbed lunch and headed to the Mexicali meeting which ran long, but was a riot. We practiced our 'Jesus feeds the 5000' skit, complete with Cinnamon toast crunch and Swedish fish rigged in the sleeves of the Jesus robe. If you want to know, you have to come to the Dinner this Sunday and see it live! Afterwards, a few of us headed to the Gimp's ice hockey game. If you think regular ice hockey is fun to watch, you should see it played in wheelchairs! Need I say more? Finished the night off by hanging at Chelli's Chili bar.

Not a bad weekend per say, just not entirely according to plan. That's it for now since it is almost time to call Monday finished!

Taking the Tour out of Tourist

When I was a junior in high school, one of my roles in the spring musical was to be a tourist in the opening scene. There were 8 or 10 of us that wandered around the stage in two lines and took pictures. I even have a picture of the audience I took one night.

I hate being a tourist. True, I am a traveler, there really is not much debating that. I love packing up a few things and hitting the road (or the sky, rails, or open water for that matter) and leaving the norm behind me. Maybe it is the innate craving for adventure that calls me out into the unknown, or maybe it is the thirst for an understanding that can only be discovered through cultural immersion. Who knows? The only thing I really know is that the less touristy the trip the better!! Whatever the case may be, my next trip is going to be to Mexicali, Mexico at the start of April!

This trip will definitely be qualifying for less than touristy label. Why? Well because this is really a short term mission trip. In the past when I have done trips like this they have been called alternative spring breaks or something to that effect, but this one is really a mission trip. What's the difference? Well first of all, because we will be doing Vacation Bible Schools at 4 different sites. Granted, this means playing soccer, singing, doing skits, arts and crafts, and just generally playing with kids. I am really not too concerned or nervous about that. The real change is going to be the accomodations.

When I went to Puerto Rico in 2003, we were confronted by many of the cultural aspects that I assume I will be seeing in Mexico. There will be a language barrier, terrible housing, stray dogs that you don't dare go near, but in Puerto Rico, we were staying at a retreat center...Not the case on this trip. Once we cross the border, we say goodbye to the modern comforts of home. No more running water (we will have to buy all of our water for drinking and anything else) and no flushing toilets. We will be using spit holes for brushing teeth and porta-potties for you know what.

The strange thing is I am both really nervous and excited at the same time. Don't ask me why because at the moment I really haven't the foggiest clue as to why I am excited at not being able to take a shower for a week. That is just bizarre!

Well, that is about all I am going to say for now, but rest assured there will be a lot more blogging between now and then about the topic. For now, if you are the praying type, pray for our preparations and fund raising. Right now we are really short on funds and that is not a good thing, but we have faith that God will provide! If you have the burning urge to donate, or know someone who would like to, let me know and I can get you information on that!