Pulling Together

Pulling together is such a feel-good idea; and yet, there can be a somewhat painful process which needs to occur for it to be done. Its a process in which you must rid yourself of pride and indifference, and gain the willingness to sacrifice yourself and prefer others. Pulling together has really been the theme of what the time here in Kona has been to this point. There are so many things which need pulling together. In the last 6 weeks, 20 people have been working together to do something we have never done before: to create a publication. This has required us to come together, bringing our photos and stories and deciding what needs to be included. It has been a difficult process selecting only one story per person and writing it in a simple way which will be precise and yet concise at the same time. This time has been ridden with difficult decisions that have needed made. Choosing the overall look of the book, the topics of focus, and the message we want to send. We have all had to make sacrifices about our ideas for what we had envisioned and really come together and pray and see what is God's focus for us at this time.

I too have been on a personal journey of seeking what God's focus is for me for the months after finishing the publication. Currently I'm praying about traveling in Australia for 3 months to speak out publicly about these injustices and get the word out about how people can practically make a difference. I have been taken captive by the friends I have made around the world. Despite their desperate situations and their undeniable and very present physical needs, they have shared with me. They have shared their food: showing me what it means to serve, and their joy - teaching me what it means to truly be grateful, and they have also shared with me their stories and their felt needs. God has laid it heavily upon my heart that these experiences are not mine to hold on to, but to speak out about. The people who were so hospitable to me deserve their stories to be told. I am their voice, crying out, and God says He will hear the cry of the poor and the needy. (Psalm 72:12-14)

Back to Business

So I've been back in Kona, Hawaii a little over a week now. I would like to simply fill in the details of what my life here entails and what I will be accomplishing during this time.

Even though I was only apart from them for around 10 days, it was a sweet reunion with all my friends from the track. Sometime during the last 10 months of traveling and living together we have become more like a family and community than a class. I think the relationships we have formed during this time will last and continue to shape our lives after the course has completed, just like the relationships with have made with the people of each of the nations we have been immersed in this past year.

In the last week our class has been planning and conceptualizing what our publication will look like, and also how we can make it in the most concise and effective way. We have really hit the ground running here and the goal is to have a finished product ready for print in the next 6 weeks.

There are a number of different issues which have touched each of our hearts during our travels
and will shape our hearts for years to come. We are trying to impart that same change which occurred in our lives to others through this publication, and the speaking tours which we will embark on in January.

As I begin to look back again over all of the pictures from my journey, and think of the people I have met, I really realize how much I have learned this year and how much I have been changed.

On my way back to Kona!

So, its 3:40 am and I just recently got in to Charlotte Airport. My flight from Philly was delayed from 8pm until about 10:45. Actually the flight I was assigned to was canceled and I was transferred onto another flight. #333. Anyway it worked out, just had to wait around a lot longer and stand in a long SLOW moving line in order to get my boarding pass switched over to the new flight. My transit flight from Atlanta I made really just in time, I only had to wait about 10 minutes in order to board. When I got on the flight I realized I didn't have a seat number however, because I was put on a holding list. So I just kinda wandered to the back of the plane and found an empty seat two rows from the very back. So I put my camera bag in the overhead compartment and sat down. I was one of the last people to board the plane so I figured it wouldn't be a problem. There was even an empty seat between myself and the man I decided to sit with. He was in the window seat and I had the isle. Well not but a minute later two Indian guys also board the plane and walk directly to the seats in that row. One of course was the seat I was occupying. So then I got up and told the stewardess that My ticket hadn't been assigned a seat number and asked whether she could assign me to an empty seat. (which there weren't many left, but I was certain there were some that were available.) She looks at a list of names she has and tells me that my name is not on the list and that I would have to remain standing in the very rear of the aircraft (where the stewardesses normally sit until she found out whether I could have a seat or not since my name was not on the security checklist of names and seats. After a couple minutes, all of which I spent silently praying that God would bless me with A Seat, any seat, she waves me to the front of the plane. She apologized to me for the inconvenience and showed me to my First Class seat! It was a pretty nice deal. Except.... my camera bag was still in the overhead compartment in the very back of the plane and all the spaces in the front were already filled. Even though it was only a 45 minute flight, it felt pretty awesome to ride in first class. So when we landed I simply had to patiently wait in my comfy first class seat for everyone to de-board the plane in order to retrieve my camera bag. And really with all the waiting I had already done, it was quite alright with me. As I was settling down into my seat God reminded me of the story Jesus told in Luke 14. "...don’t sit down at the place of honor in case someone more important than you was invited by him. 9Then the host who invited both of you would come to you and say, ‘Give this person your place.’ In disgrace, you would have to take the place of least honor. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher,’ and you will be honored in the presence of all who eat with you. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.” Perhaps it is a little corny, but I thought it was cool how relevant it was at the time and how it was really a spiritual blessing, rather than a physical coincidence.

Anyway cool story I thought. God is good, and I felt like his little kid that he wanted to spoil, even for just a short flight. And also the whole time I've had this strange confidence that I wouldn't miss any of my flights. I feel like I'm right where God wants me to be right now, and He's ultimately in control so He'll get me where He wants me to be. Its a really good feeling to have, that I'm where God wants me. Like I said it brings a kind of strange confidence even with uncertainties. Although it is a fleeting feeling, its nice to come across every once in a while along the way. So, everything has been going smoothly to this point, and really now its just less of a wait for me here in Charlotte. I'll be able to catch some better sleep on the plane on the way out to Phoenix anyway, I won't have to worry about waking up in time for anything.

So today is the end of my traveling, for at least the next six months. I have been all over the world and have seen God at work in many ways and in every place. From Africa to Asia to Europe to South America. I have learned and experience many things on this trip which I will never forget. One thing I have learned is that there is one God, and He is the same just God to the entire world. There are many characteristics of God the He has placed in the different cultures, each revealing its own form of that character. However, there are also the fallacies of man which have pervaded all cultures as well. Every people group and culture has its own story, its own take on the world, how it came to be, the nature of "God", and the nature of men. These things shape their "worldview." These patterns of thought then form the basis for values, and a societies values effect their everyday actions. When these things are out of an alignment with the Biblical truth, there begins to be corrosions in these societies. I have been burdened now with the responsibility of communicating to the world the things I have seen, how they fall into line with this pattern, and what we as the church are responsible for doing in order to see transformation in these societies. There is a lot to be sorted out to be presented in an orderly and concise fashion, but this is a labor of love that God has given me the blessed opportunity to take part in. Thank you so much for your support in what I am doing, I hope to be a much better communicator over the next few months, and continuing on for the rest of my life as I continue to carry out the work the Lord lays on my heart.