Black Friday

Shopping to me is two steps up from death...actually, it's probably two steps down. I hate the crowds, the time it takes, the lines and most importantly...the spending. So each year I boycott Black Friday and spend time with my family. So together, we worked in our "garden" and "farm", hiked South Mountain, saw the movie "Hugo" (12 thumbs up) and then ate leftover turkey and stuffing. There were no "Black Friday" crowds or fights...well actually, I did leave one of my kids behind on the trail. There just is no room for arguing when you (and 3 of your kids) are running down a steep, rocky slope at a dead sprint...my solution...chose the kid that is annoying you the most in that moment and leave them on the side of the trail, till her mom catches up...problem solved. I probably won't win a parent of the year award but at least we were arguing with each other and not shoppers who were stealing out of my cart. Plus, by the time all of us united at the bottom all was forgotten.  

This morning I woke up and read the following article about how fistfights broke out at Walmart (that actually probably happens every day at Walmart though), shoppers were escorted out of Best Buy, people were trampled at Target and more...what is this world coming to?

Black Friday shoppers pounce on deals

I think I made the right decision to stay home and hang out with my family.

Thanksgiving?

Tomorrow I will partake in my favorite meal of the year…Thanksgiving Dinner. The menu for me is VERY important. So important that I struggle with going over to other peoples houses for this dinner (partly because of my deep rooted fear of talking to strangers and the strange anxiety that is brought on by the experience…great qualities for a pastor), I struggle the most because, what if they don’t have the proper menu…and by proper I mean, mine…the correct one. In my opinion, it is almost a sin to buy your Thanksgiving meal at Costco…go to a restaurant…not have gravy…and cranberries are disgusting.

The Thanksgiving meal to me has to be centered on Turkey…not ham. There MUST be mashed potatoes…real ones, not fake and boiled first and then put through a hand ricer…don’t know what a hand ricer is, then you don’t properly understand mashed potatoes! Stuffing is crucial, crucial because it is the go-between for the potatoes and the turkey…it just fit’s perfectly. Green Bean casserole is needed because of the fat sweats. You see, this technically is classified as a veggie dish even though it is doused with cream of chicken and mushroom soup and about 9,000 other calories. But, in between mouthfuls of gravy soaked goodness, I alternate spoonfuls with previously said veggies...which in turn slows down the sweats. 

Gravy is the piece-de-resistance. It completes everything…pulls it all in together…finishes the plate. Not gravy from a can, but the type of gravy that my mom taught me to make from the turkey drippings. If I could, I would eat my thanksgiving meal in a dog dish. After placing all my food perfectly around the bowl, I would fill it with gravy and make soup!

While the meal is important to me, I have found that over the past couple of years I’ve stopped to think about my friends from around the world who will not be eating such a meal. I think of Chief Malika in Malawi, who will go through this day as she would any other. She will work in her fields, listen to the discussions in her village, visit many of the widows, carry water on her head from the well and fall asleep after she blows out the candle in her hut. I think of Pastor Felix in the mountains of Haiti who will also spend his day in a very similar fashion. I will also think of my Mom and many others like her who are just thankful to be alive and who are fighting to get healthy.

Yes, this year the meal is very important to me, but I hope to stop and reflect on all of the change that is still needed around the world. I don’t believe in new years resolutions, but I do believe in being thankful for every and all situation and experience and will use this Thanksgiving as a time to reflect on all that I still need to do in this world…and maybe eat my first Thanksgiving meal out of a NEW shinny dog bowl filled with gravy.

Rain

It rained today. And when I say rain, I really mean it poured.

It was as if the heavens opened up, and brought every last ounce of liquid that it had been storing. As the rain started to beat down harder and harder, everyone stood in doors and windows, watching in awe. Eventually a couple of people just took off running…within seconds they were soaked. But as they ran their screams became infectious and you could tell that everyone else wanted to join in…no one did.

Storms have a way of showing us God’s great power. It’s unfortunate that too often the only way we see His power is through the intensity found in nature. I wonder what it would be like if our lives were lived out with the same beauty that is found in nature. The type of life that just rains down God’s presence because of what He has done for us. It says in Ephesians 2:10 that we are “God’s workmanship”, His art. The preceding verses say that, “Because of His great love for us, God, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead.”

The only way that I can become God’s workmanship, His beauty, His art, is if I first realize that I was once spiritually dead and now, because of His great love, the rain falls down and I know that I have been washed clean.

Piece of Work

It says in Ephesians 2:10 that we are “God’s workmanship”. I’ve always thought this passage was cool, because my entire life I’ve been called a piece of work, and because of this verse I can simply say, “Thank You!” The Greek word translated “workmanship” is poiema, which when translated into English is the word poem. It means, “that which is made, a manufactured product.” I’ve always looked at my faith and life as a work in progress, I’m by no means where I want to be, but I’m constantly trying to walk in the right direction. It helps me to think that God looks at my life as a work of art; my job is to paint and bring color to life.

How have you brought color and life to others around you today?

Know that you are a “peace of work”…God is the artist and you are the brush.

Last Thoughts

I'm sitting here in my room at Lake Malawi, watching the World Cup and thinking about the last couple of weeks. The days have flown by and it seems like so much has been packed into the past 2 weeks. Tonight we ate a buffet meal under the stars and then were entertained by a live band, dancing acrobats and then unfortunately hired Guli Wonkulu dancers. Guli Wonkulu is literally translated as "big dance", but when you've been chased by the real things in the village and understand the darkness behind the dance, there is no joy in it. I guess tonight summarizes the week well...amazing times, food, people, country and yet pockets of darkness. It's like this all over the world, I guess for me though, seeing images of darkness right in front of you can be a haunting thing.

I feel like we have made a great impact in the village and I have seen how our people have been forever changed. When you "go into all the world" not only are your eyes are opened but your heart as well. I took a final picture with the chiefs but as I reflect on our time I realize that there is so much work left to do. From half a world away, I will need to be praying for them everyday and equipping those left behind to continue in the work we've started.


I'm wondering what is next. Do we bring back 100? Come back every month with smaller groups? Start a school? Send people to come for a month at a time? To be honest, I have no idea, and I'm totally ok with that because when its time to know, we'll know. The main question I've been asked on this trip is, "what are we doing later today?" my answer is always the same..."beats me" because I've learned that God sometimes has things on the agenda that i didn't know about. I was reading today in James about how our lives are but a mist and that we need to not worry about our lives because God should control our moments. There is a saying here in Malawi, "you azungu's wear all the watches but us Malawians actually have all the time". I have learned that that "our" time isn't actually "ours" but God's and we need to make sure we use it well...for Him. We came here with a certain list of agenda's but will be leaving with so much more accomplished than we ever could have imagined.









See you on your side of the world in a couple of days!

Speak love, Act love, Live Love.
Change the World!

Paul


- Posted from the other side of the world

Water and Age

I learned two things today, 1) I'm not as young as I used to be and 2) you CAN put in two wells in one day! I'm more excited about the second than the first. We spent the entire day in the village as wells were dug and fixed, a medical team saw 215 patients, our soccer team almost beat the locals (I pulled my hamstring and my groin...hence the me getting old part) and our eyes were opened in more ways than one.

Tonight I'm exhausted. It's nearly 9:30 and I've just now arrived in my room, taken a shower and sat down to reflect on the day. At 7:30 this morning the drilling company called and said that they were ready to dig, so we quickly finished up breakfast and drove out to the village as fast as we could. For the rest of the day the company drilled the new well as the locals and our team checked in on them from time to time. Finally, around 4:30 water began to shoot in the air and everyone yelled, it was a pretty amazing and fulfilling feeling. Now I've been to a lot of third world countries and very rarely do things come together like this. On one side of the village a well is spouting water, ready to have a pump installed, and on the other side a brand new pump sits where for the past 2+ years the broken one has sat dry. Later in the day, each chief took a turn pumping clean water from the new well and smiles were on all of their faces.

And now...my body is done, but my spirit is pretty full. I'm ready to go home and see my wife and kids and recover both mentally and physically. But it is in weeks like this that I know why I have been placed here on this earth. Often the paths that God leads us on are scary or confusing, but when we step into them we see Him do amazing things. Wherever you are, know that God can do more with your life if you let Him.

The last thing I did in the village was give Chief Chimpapha (the main village chief) my Live Love bracelet. I told him that sometimes we Christians talk to much and don't live out Christ's love enough. I told him that I hoped he saw Jesus in our actions and words this week and that for me Christ gives me purpose. I told him that I hoped he found the same because it's an amazing way to live. I then told him that I would be back soon, but to know that we would be praying for all of the people in his village. He smiled, thanked me and then said "Khalani Chikondi" which means "Live Love".

Speak Love, Act Love, Live Love.
Change the World.

Paul


- Posted from the other side of the world

Half way

The past couple of days have been interesting, full, crazy and good, all mixed together. The Internet has been down here for two and a half days, water is shut off randomly every day or so and the country has been without diesel for the past three days. All these things combined lead to an eventful last couple of days.


This morning we visited the local school by the village we have been working with and were welcomed by 300+ children screaming "Azungu" (white people) over and over again. We then played kickball, parachute, futbol and other activities with them. At the end of the morning we had a massive mob trying to get dum-dum's from us. I knew it would be crazy but this was a little over the top.


I picked up Chief Malika from the village to come see what we were doing. She was going to have me visit with the main chief who is over all 42 villages in the area but he was out working in one of the other villages. Tomorrow we will stop by again and I'll give him a Grove Export 10 shirt and spend time with him. We will have two futbol (soccer) games tomorrow, one in the village against the teenagers and one at the school.

Tomorrow the well company will also supposedly be showing up at the village to drill the well and fixing the broken one on the other side of the community. I was told that when they show up to dig the well the entire community gathers to watch and then 3 to 4 hours later water is shooting into the air like an oil drill. I can't wait! Hopefully, the diesel shortage won't prevent them from showing up. Last week, I knew that this was something that we were supposed to do but wasn't completely sure how we would pay for it. I really believed that we needed to take the first step of drilling the well and then trust that all of you would show up and help pay for this. I've been amazed by the emails of commitment and am really stoked to see this completed. Last year, I talked with Malika about this need and now because of almost a hundred of you we will be making this happen. There is still a need for donations, if you are interested please make checks out to Live Love http://www.whatislivelove.com

One of the students last night was bothered, he said, "we are helping this village, but what are we supposed to do about all of the other ones who are still suffering?" I told him after we put this one in, we might just have to put in another one and then another and another and another. I told him I was glad that he was bothered by what he had seen, now it was his job to go home to the States and make sure he didn't forget. When we forget or are oblivious to the world around us, "our world" becomes stale. He then asked if it ever felt hopeless to me. I didn't really understand the question and so he said that it just felt like changing the world was an impossible task. I told him that until the day we die we should do whatever we can to bring change and hope and love to all the world around us. If that means we do it one well at a time then we follow God's lead each step of the way.

Speak Love, Act Love, Live Love.
Change the World.

Paul






- Posted from the other side of the world