Back From The Deep South

I am now back in America, safe and sound from all the travels. And now I'd like to fill you all in on the rest of my time in South Africa.

After spending the first week in Khayelitsha, we got on the overnight bus for a 14-hour ride to the rural region of Transkei. Arriving at our bus stop, we were then piled into the back of a truck with all our luggage and groceries for the week (Eric was literally buried in food) and set out for Gulandoda, the small village, where we were based. It wasn't until we had almost arrived at our destination that I realized we were staying at the same house where I had stayed last year - it was really fun seeing the Qotoyi family again and being incredibly blessed by their hospitality. And adding to the fun, our fifth team member, Beth, arrived while were in Gulandoda, joining us with Andiswa, a local translator who is studying social work at university in the States.

Our days in Gulandoda soon found a regular rhythm. In the mornings, we would walk "over the hill" (the all-encompassing term for distance in Transkei) to another village, where we would visit homes - meeting families, reading with them from Scripture, and praying for them. In the afternoons, a flock of kids would converge on the small hillside church, and we would hold Sunday School with songs (always with lots of dancing), crafts, and Bible stories from the life of Jesus. Then, each evening we would have a service in the church. I was struck in these services by the focus on testimony - they place great importance on proclaiming to each other how God had worked and is working in their lives.

Our most exciting moment in Transkei came unexpectedly one night when we saw a fire break out on the hill, and we soon realized it was burning the fields of the Tata we were staying with. (Tata is the Xhosa word for Father or Mister). The Tata ran out with boys and we quickly followed, grabbing blankets and sacks and dashing off toward the hill of fire, dipping our blankets in a stream as we crossed over. Following the Tata's lead, we began to beat the fire into the ground with our blankets, extinguishing it bit by bit. Stroke after stroke, praying to God to cut back the wind, slowly the ring of fire began to die. Eventually, the Tata called us in - enough - his fields were safe, and there was no more we could do, but the fire raged on, carried by the wind far across the valley.

Returning to Cape Town, we finally connected with our last team member, Andrea Romero. Together, we visited two excellent ministries which partner with African Leadership: Learn to Earn and Living Hope. Learn to Earn provides job training and job placement in Khayelitsha. In a place where unemployment is at 80%, this is a huge opportunity for ministry. As one staff member there told us, each job found affects not only the worker but also the 7 or more family members dependent on that worker for resources. Living Hope provides medical care and counseling for people with AIDS. They put a lot of effort into privacy - though South Africa has a very high percentage of people with AIDS, it is still highly stigmatized. The government subsidizes ARVs (drugs to control the effects of AIDS), but people will not take them because of the stigma attached. It was cool to see the power of God's people working in their different gifts for his Kingdom. Pursuing God's Kingdom is a varied task, and all of the ministries we encountered bring it to bear in a different way: African Leadership through evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training; Learn to Earn through job training and fighting poverty; and Living Hope through caring for the sick and dying.

The trip came to an end in a rush. Our last day, we visited one of the local high schools, where once a week, African Leadership takes over all six classes of freshman Life Skills and teaches on different character traits. We taught on Obedience, using Simon Says and the stories of Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac, and Jesus' obedience to death. After playing guitar and singing my voice out with the students during lunch hour, Eric and I hugged the team goodbye and got on a plane for the long journey home.

Overall, it was great being back in South Africa, seeing again people that I loved and the ways that God is working. It was a very different experience than last year - the two weeks went very fast, and helping to lead the team made the trip a much harder experience as I wrestled with my own prides and insecurities about that. But God was good to us, and he refreshed my desire to live for his Kingdom, to trust in his promise that I am his son, a son of the King, and he offers me the joy of participating in the work of my Father. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). I look forward to trying to live out God's Kingdom in Maryland this fall.

If you're still reading, thank you! And thank you all for your prayers and your notes! If you want to keep reading, check out the stories from the other team members at sajourneys.blogspot.com. I encourage you to keep Pastor Ohm and African Leadership in your prayers - if you would like to receive Pastor Ohm's prayer letter, let me know, and I can add you to his list. If you would like to get more involved in any of the ministries in South Africa, I encourage you to check out their websites (and feel free to send me questions): African Leadership (www.africanleadership.org.za), Learn to Earn (www.learntoearn.co.za), and Living Hope (www.livinghope.co.za).

And now, for the Kingdom!

In the Deep South, Pt. 2

Our first week here in South Africa has flown by, and now our first spell in Khayelitsha is almost over - tomorrow night we will get on an overnight bus for 12+ hour trip to Transkei, where we will spend a week in rural ministry.

For the last week, we have been busy continuing the work in Khayelitsha - successfully finishing the fence at the preschool, doing several Sunday Schools with kids in different neighborhoods, sharing testimonies at netball games and youth worship, leading Bible studies and painting one of the preschools - all the while learning to appreciate the Xhosa culture and drinking from the fire hose of Pastor Ohm's wisdom as he talks to us late into the night about living "For the Kingdom!"

We have done evangelism twice in the neighborhood of Monwabisi (where we built the fence), and it was such a joy to get to meet the people in the neighborhood, to listen as they shared bits of their stories, and to explore God's word with them. The last time we went, Carl and I ended up talking for forty-five minutes with one family, sharing stories with each other over coffee, laughing as we (two white guys) sing to them in Xhosa, and praying together and reading from Galatians and Philippians.

As you can probably tell, Carl made it in safely, and Beth and Andrea will be arriving later this week. Today, we had a great time visiting the Baptist church and sharing testimony about our experiences in Africa. We took the day to rest and enjoy the beauty of Table Mountain as it overlooks Cape Town.

Tomorrow, we'll have one more day in Khayelitsha before heading to Transkei for the next week. Please pray for us while we are in Transkei, doing evangelism, Sunday schools, and youth services (and learning to enjoy bathing from buckets and warming ourselves Xhosa-style by the fires in the middle of the huts.)

In the Deep South, Pt. 1

I have the chance to send off a quick e-mail to update you on how the trip is starting. Eric and I arrived safely on Sunday night, and on Monday we were off to Khayelitsha, joined by Simon, a German missionary who has come down to lead us around Khayelitsha (while infusing us with his passion for the Gospel and almost killing us with his crazy driving), and Beauty, our team member (and Xhosa translator!) from Khayelitsha. The first day ranged the gamut from the joyous - singing, playing games, and telling stories with children . . . to the sobering - sitting with a mama whose son had just been murdered and sharing in her deep grief. It is both a joy and a shock to be in a world so different than ours and yet to also see how the differences our bridged in our shared humanity and the power of the Gospel.

Our third team member, Panayiota, arrived safe this morning after flight difficulties, and we embarked on a day of building a fence for one of the preschools to make it safer for the kids. It was a day of a lot of digging and sore muscles and trying to find the perfect mixture of cement and sand, but fun for the chance to use the strength of our bodies to serve these people. The kids in the neighborhood even joined us in the work - before long, none of us were able to find shovels because all the kids were busy excavating small caverns. In the evening, we were able to meet with a Bible study from one of the soccer teams - sharing bits of testimony and Scripture and seeing how sports can be used as an avenue to share the Gospel. Chris, the Khayelitsha local who coordinates the soccer ministry, shared his testimony tonight and then presented the Gospel to the guys, a number responded with interest - it is encouraging to see the soccer team the relationship for these things to be talked about and for continuing discipleship to occur.

Here's a quick rundown of some stuff we'll be up to in the coming two weeks, so that you can keep us in your prayers :)

• Carl, our fourth team mate, arrives tomorrow morning after delays from canceled flights.
• Tomorrow we'll be finishing the fence and doing evangelism in the neighborhood.
• Thursday we get to serve at soup kitchen for poor elderly men and women.
• On Friday we'll be playing soccer with Rainbow Sports Ministries
• On Saturday we'll be teaching in the Sunday schools
• Saturday afternoon, we get to take part in youth worship night - this is the first of many to come as the youth start school again and are fresh off of a great camp with a team from Toronto (for those of you who read these e-mails last summer, I was with the Toronto team last year when they did the first camp. They came back and did two more this year with great fruit.)
• On Sunday, we have been invited to share at a white Baptist church in Cape Town, the home church of one of African Leadership's board members. This is huge! It is the first time that a local white church has invited African Leadership in, wanting to get involved with their ministry. Please pray for this time!
• On Monday, we'll head to Transkei, the rural Xhosa homeland in Eastern Cape. We will spend about a week there, doing mainly evangelism and children's/youth programs. Beth (teammate #5!) arrives the day after we leave, and she will be coming Beauty to meet us in Transkei.
• Afterward, we will be back in Khayelitsha for a few days, the whole team united at last! (Andrea Romero, our sixth and final teammate, arrives while we are off in Transkei.) In this time, we'll also have the chance to see two other ministries: Learn to Earn, a ministry in Khayelitsha that provides job training, and Living Hope, a clinic which serves AIDS patients.

Not sure how often the e-mails will happen, but thank your for your prayers and notes! I look forward to telling you more in the near future!

For the Kingdom!

To the Deep South! (South Africa that is)

Tomorrow morning, I will be boarding the plane to head back to South Africa! The last few days have gotten me excited for the trip as more of the final details have come together. We will be spending the first week in the township of Khayelitsha, working with African Leadership's sports leagues, Sunday schools, preschools, and high school ministry. Then on July 23, we will head 12+ hours away to Transkei, the rural Xhosa homeland in the Eastern Cape for a week of ministry there. Afterward we will be back for a few more days in Khayelitsha (although many of the others will be staying longer). In this time, we will also get to visit an AIDS clinic called Living Hope.

Even though we've been talking about it for months, it feels like the trip is suddenly here. I don't feel totally prepared - I'm not sure I ever really have - but I'm excited to see how God uses this trip to work both in and through our team. I was deeply encouraged by the sermon this past Sunday, looking at Ephesians 2-3 and all the reasons that Paul has to "kneel before the Father:" God's grace bringing us from death to life, our new purpose of doing the good works that God has prepared for us, being part of the Body with the saints, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to name a few. I want these promises to sink in ever deeper so that I can pray for the South African church what Paul prays for the Ephesians:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

For those who want a glimpse of the places we'll be visiting, I have posted pictures from last summer. Please also check out our team blog at sajourneys.blogspot.com.

Return to South Africa

My time at Stanford is quickly coming to an end. For the past four years, God has blessed me with rich fellowship and has matured me as I have struggled to grow as a Christian in a secular environment. On June 17, I will graduate from Stanford and move on to the next chapter of life. That chapter will start in the fall, when I will begin a nine month fellowship with the Trinity Forum Academy in Maryland (www.ttf.org/academy), living and studying in a community as we wrestle with how our worldview impacts all aspects of life.

Before that adventure begins, I have the joy of returning to South Africa. Last summer, I spent five weeks in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa (near Cape Town), working with Pastor Young Ohm and the ministries of African Leadership, a non-profit organization working throughout the continent of Africa. I was thrown into the midst of the various ministries there and challenged deeply to see all of life as living, as they say at African Leadership, "For the Kingdom!"

This summer, I have the opportunity to lead a team of five other students from Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Stanford back to Khayelitsha, so that they can enter into the work of God's kingdom in South Africa and see firsthand how in Christ, the old barriers of race, class, and nationality are overcome. My hope is that this experience will challenge them to live "For the Kingdom" in all areas of life.

Khayelitsha was established during the days of apartheid as a black settlement, and is now the largest township in the Cape Town area (~a million people) with a population that is primarily from the Xhosa people. Though apartheid is officially over, the township still faces serious issues with great poverty and crime. Pastor Ohm has been in Khayelitsha since 1996 working to share God's love through all sorts of ministries: preschools, sports ministry, high school ministry, Sunday schools, business development, and a school of theology for training pastors.

I will be with the team in South Africa for two and a half weeks (July 14-August 2), living at the African Leadership mission house and working with Pastor Ohm in Khayelitsha. We will be participating in an array of ministries in Khayelitsha: helping with the Sunday schools where over 1000 children come to hear the Gospel; working with sports leagues and high school ministries; encouraging the local churches and joining with them in evangelism; and serving the ministries through physical labor. We will also be traveling to the rural region of Transkei to take part in church-planting and evangelism.

If you are interested in learning more about these ministries you can check out the African Leadership website (www.africanleadership.org) and Pastor Ohm's website (www.africanleadership.org.za). I look forward to sharing stories of what God does.

Now, as they say at African Leadership, For the Kingdom!

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." – Galatians 3:26-28

South African Dispatch - Final Thoughts

I want to leave you with a few final thoughts from South Africa after I’ve had a bit of time to mull things over . . .

What stands out most strongly is African Leadership’s motto, “For the Kingdom!” This is something we repeated, discussed, meditated on, struggled to live out . . . It applies not just to prayer or aspects of “ministry” but to waking up, sharing a meal, going to work - Christianity is about the holistic. For this reason, Pastor Ohm urged us to say it to ourselves when we woke up, when greeted each other, etc. - and as I reminded myself of it continually, I felt the idea begin to work its way into my heart and upset my very motivations - it’s THE Kingdom, not my kingdom we’re living for; I have no one to impress or please save the King himself, God; every person I meet is important when seen through eyes of Jesus; for that matter, even the most mundane activities are opportunities to worship God and live for his Kingdom - it gives a thrill to living. The Kingdom is what Jesus first preached wandering through the countryside of Israel, and its mysteries have occupied much of my thought this summer.

Beyond that, my mind is filled with a whole mess of impressions . . .

• the little kids, smiling in the streets of Khayelitsha. Children are everywhere - this is why the Sunday School ministry is so important.
• the African worship - feeling the room shake as the high schoolers on retreat sang the Xhosa songs - getting that small glimpse of what worship in heaven may be like
• the high schoolers, reveling at being poured into for a weekend; loving God and craving mentors and discipleship
• warmly welcomed into the churches and into people’s homes and lives - a living picture of Gal. 3:28
• echos of the past - talking to Chris (who runs the soccer ministry) - still struggling with bitterness from years of injustice under apartheid - learning to forgive
• Pastor Ohm’s joy - there’s no place in the world he’d rather be besides the mission field

Like any piece of life, it’s impossible to reduce five weeks of life to a few thoughts. I’ve posted a bunch of pictures from the trip that you can see here.

If you are interested in learning more about the ministries, I encourage you to visit Pastor Ohm’s website (www.africanleadership.org.za) and Larry Warren’s website (www.africanleadership.org). If you are interested in visiting South Africa yourself or supporting these ministries, let me know and I’ll help you in that direction.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! It’s been a blessing to hear how you’ve prayed for me and also to hear how these testimonies have been an encouragement for you. Please continue to keep South Africa and Khayelitsha and African Leadership in your prayers. And please continue to pray for me, as I enter my senior year at Stanford and also consider how God will use me for his Kingdom both at home and abroad in the future.

Again, many thanks to you all!

For the Kingdom!

South African Dispatch, Pt. 4

After 34 hours and 16 minutes in transit, I made it all the way from Khayelitsha to LA. Adam and Jenn are happily married, and I’m back in Nashville for a few weeks, designing websites, recovering from being a bit sick, and reflecting on my time in South Africa. But before I share with you my impressions from the experience as a whole, I want to tell you about my last week there - it was probably the best yet.

We were joined by a team of seven from Toronto, and while I was only with them for six days, I was greatly blessed and encouraged by them as we prayed, worked, and ministered together. As usual, the team experienced a whole array of activities - playing on the kids at the preschool; praying and dreaming about the future of the retreat center; picnicking at the beautiful vineyard just 5 minutes drive from Khayelitsha’s tin homes; digging through rock and debris to level the field for a netball court in the Harare district. The last was especially fun, because a bunch of kids from the community came out to join us, and soon none of us were left holding shovels as they joyfully attacked the job.

What the Toronto team got to do that was unique was to go into the high schools. For the first four weeks that I was in Khayelitsha, the schools were closed for winter holidays, but now they were beginning again. Angie, one of the girls from Toronto, had lived in South Africa for 9 months and had done some work in the high schools, and the team wanted to focus their efforts here. The first day, we were turned away from one school but allowed into the second to visit the Christian club. There we got to worship with them and encourage them from the Word and personal testimony.

The second day was even better. We arrived at another school, not really knowing what to expect but hoping to visit a couple classrooms. The principal welcomed us in and told us about the school. Then he invited us to speak in 7 classrooms at once (yes, 7). By God’s providence we had fourteen people, just enough to send two to each classroom. Angie and I were whisked off to a classroom full of tenth graders where we spoke about identity. To start, we asked them to finish the sentence “I am . . .” with something besides their name. The ice was quickly broken as one boy exclaimed “I am beautiful!” As Angie and I shared from our own stories and from the Bible, some kids nodded along while others cracked jokes. Afterward, one of the boys had some really good questions about the nature of prayer and transformation. Each pair had a different experience - one girl, after speaking to a rowdy bunch of eighth graders, was suddenly met with a piercing question: “Is God punishing South Africa with AIDS?” One of the guys, speaking to another wild eighth grade class, had a boy who decided to accept Christ. This is an incredible open door in Khayelitsha - what we did would never have been allowed in the States.

That weekend, we took 45 Christian student leaders from 10 of Khayelitsha’s 19 high schools on a retreat to teach on leadership. On Friday night there was a talk on God’s purposes, and on Saturday there were talks on leadership qualities and spiritual gifts. But even more than teaching, it was so good to bring all the kids together for fellowship and worship. Every service, the meeting room would be shaken by the chords of African song. Different students took turns leading different songs - they even let us teach them some songs in English. At night in the bunk room, the guys began to share their testimonies with each other, and afterward we all prayed together, praising and thanking God for bringing us all together.

I feel like I’m continually trying to learn how to let God be strong in my weakness, advancing just inches at a time only to thrown back a foot as I turn to my own devices. At the retreat, God gave me another lesson. By Saturday afternoon I was totally beat, exhausted from little sleep and trying to lead discussion across a language barrier, and as I entered lunch I was praying for God to somehow work through me. Then right as lunch ended, another counselor asked me to take lunch to a boy who hadn’t come because he’d been hurt by comments made by some other boys. Back at the cabin, I found two hurting boys instead of one - one struggling with his identity as a Christian despite continued tendency to sin, the other carrying deep wounds from growing up without a father - or rather from having a father who avoided him and wanted nothing to do with him. I had just shared in my testimony the night before about learning what it means to be God’s son, and God let me use this to encourage them with his promises - that they are God’s sons, and God is the perfect Father who will never fail them. I was so amazed how God had answered my prayer!

This was the story of the weekend - God working in weakness. Through failed (and successful) games, changed plans, language barriers, injuries, exhaustion - God worked. I watched him break the hearts of my team as they poured prayers for the kids. I listened to the kids share testimony of how God had worked in them in just the two brief days of the retreat. The kids have such a fire for a God, but also such a need for mentoring and encouragement - the work is still just beginning.

After the retreat, my time in Khayelitsha quickly came to a close. I had a couple days to get my things in order and say my goodbyes, and then the five weeks in South Africa were gone in the blink of an eye.

In the interest of space (and having a few more days to reflect), I’ll send out my final reflections in another e-mail a bit later. But I want to urge you to pray for the high schools in South Africa - pray that students would really know God, pray that God will provide mentors and leaders for them, and pray that God will heal the old wounds and give them hope for the future.

South African Dispatch, Pt. 3

The time in South Africa is flying by - I’m almost down to my last week! The days have continued to be filled, hanging out in Khayelitsha, praising God in song, playing with kids, doing various odd jobs - we finished tiling and grouting the bathroom at the retreat center, and we are very proud of our beautiful creation. On Sunday we we went for the second time to Pastor Yeza’s church in Site C, one of the regions of Khayelitsha. It was so good to be there again worshiping with that congregation. One of the mamas let me look on at her Xhosa hymnal and actually complimented my pronunciation - it made my day!

This past weekend we traveled to the city of Port Elizabeth for a graduation of pastors. Back in Khayelitsha, our home base of operations is the African Theological College, a small school which trains pastors in an intensive two-year program. This is where Pastor Ohm’s ministry is most closely connected to the larger organization African Leadership led by Larry Warren which focuses especially on equipping pastors. Unlike in the States, most pastors in Africa do not have the chance to study at a seminary before entering ministry - like Apollos of old, they simply preach what they know with great fervor. African Leadership works to train these pastors, especially focusing on teaching them how to study the Bible.

This is why African Theological College was established. However, for the many pastors who live far away and cannot come to Khayelitsha to study, something else was needed, so satellite schools were set up all over southern Africa. We traveled to Port Elizabeth to take part in a graduation for one of these satellite schools. Pastor Ohm and a couple other pastors who traveled with us spoke some word of encouragement to the seven graduates. Joey and I sang “Be Thou My Vision” as a blessing over them. It was really special to be a part of such a significant day for those pastors.

Things are about to pick up rapidly. A team from Canada arrives today, and Joey and I will be working with them to do ministry in the high schools, which just recommenced this week after winter holidays (yeah Southern Hemisphere!). This weekend, we’ll be taking student leaders from Christian clubs at the high schools on a retreat for discipleship and training. While I am at the retreat, Joey will be traveling with Seyeun to Transkei to finish work on the clinic and later to do ministry with the Canadian team as I did with the team from Seattle. After the retreat, I will have just a couple days to wrap things up here, and then my time in South Africa will be over as I return to the States to celebrate the marriage of Adam and Jenn.

South African Dispatch, Pt. 2

The time here in Cape Town is passing quickly. Joey arrived last Sunday and has been my partner-in-crime in Khayelitsha. After a day of sightseeing at the beautiful Cape Point, the team from Seattle said their farewells. They were soon followed by two other guys at the mission house, Steve and Jeremy, leaving just me, Joey, Solomon, and Seyeun (two longer-term missionaries). The great benefit in it all is that between the various departures and visiting pastors, we’ve enjoyed three Korean feasts in the last week :) In Khayelitsha, we’ve gotten to see all different pieces of the ministry. Doing manual labor at the African Theological College and the retreat center, I’ve learned such practical skills as brick-laying and tiling - I feel like quite the handyman.

We’ve also gotten to be a part of the Rainbow Sports Ministry, which ministers to Khayelitsha youth through soccer and netball (a game resembling basketball). Last Wednesday, we went with Solomon to play in a small 3-on-3 soccer tournament he had organized for the kids in one of the neighborhoods. Joey shared his testimony, and we entered a team of our own that made it to the semi-finals. Soccer provides a great way to start relationships and expose the youth to the Gospel - it was cool to be a part of it in this neighborhood where it is just in its initial stage of contact.

African Leadership’s biggest ministry in Khayelitsha is the Sunday Schools. Every Saturday and Sunday morning, all over Khayelitsha, committed teachers meet with as many as 70 eager kids, ages ranging from 4-16. They sing songs, play games, teach Bible stories, and just love the kids. I got a glimpse of the impact of this as I saw a flock of kids run up to assault Joey with hugs as he came to help teach them - this is an amazing chance to show these children the love of Christ. I’ve gotten to be a part of 5 Sunday schools now, and each has been an adventure and a joy.

It is such a joy to see God’s Kingdom in other cultures - to be welcomed into churches where they boldly sing in Xhosa, to visit a Chinese house church and hear their passion for Khayelitsha, to meet Korean pastors who have come to see the work God is doing through Pastor Ohm - the Gospel and the Kingdom are not bounded by lines of nationality, culture, and race. I’ve been continually coming back to Galatians 3:26-28: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

In Christ we have a new identity as children of God that breaks down all other boundaries - this is what lets me, a white guy from America, worship joyfully with my brothers and sisters in South Africa! I’m reminded of something Pastor Ohm said: in Heaven, people from every tribe and nation will be worshiping God together. As servants living for God’s Kingdom here on earth, this is something we need to be practicing!

The time here so far has been especially encouraging coming out of a spring where I was feeling more distant from God. It is forcing me to really dig into the Gospel and the incredibly good news that it is - news worth sharing and rejoicing over. I was especially encouraged last Sunday as we did door-to-door evangelism near one of the churches in Khayelitsha. One of the last homes we visited was a Christian family whose son had been at Sunday School that morning - the big hug he gave me as I came in totally made my day! I decided to encourage them with a passage from Ephesians (1:15-23) - it ended up being a great encouragement for me as well, and I urge you to dive into it yourselves - it exults over the fact that God’s power working in us is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead - this is pretty amazing to think about!

South African Dispatch, Pt. 1

My time in South Africa has begun in a blur. After some long flights, I arrived in Cape Town last Thursday evening to be met by Pastor Ohm at the airport. One of the first things he told me was that my travels were not quite over - at 5 am Friday morning, we would be embarking on a 12 hour road trip to Transkei, homeland of the Xhosa people. I spent the evening riding around with Pastor Ohm, learning more about his ministry and seeing the African Thelogical Seminary and one of the Sunday Schools in Khayelitsha. I also met a short-term team of Korean Americans from Seattle that I’m working with these first couple weeks. I had to laugh when my first meal in Africa was short ribs and kimchee eaten with chopsticks with Korean conversation flowing across the table.

Bright and early the next morning, we left for Transkei. A flat tire and finally a dead car turned it into a 17 hour journey, but we all made it in one piece. Transkei is a beautiful land of rolling golden plains running up to mountains, where the Xhosa people have kept their sheep, goats, and oxen for hundreds of years. It is closely connected to Khayelitsha in that many people in Khayelitsha have moved there from Transkei to find work. Pastor Ohm has been working there to share Gospel and plant churches for several years.

In many ways it is the Africa of imagination (minus the big animals) - most people still live in round, thatched huts; sheep, goats, and oxen wander through the fields; warmth in the winter comes from a “Xhosa heater,” a small fire made in the center of the hut; a morning shower consists of a bucket of hot water that you attempt to rub over your body with soap without freezing in the process. Two funny moments . . . in one of the huts we visited, the woman was scrubbing her floor with water and cow dung - amazingly it didn’t smell, and apparently it adds a nice polish to the floor. Later, we were visiting another hut, and the peace was suddenly shattered by a blaring cell phone ring - the Xhosa owner calmly answered her phone and then returned to our conversation - a striking juxtaposition of old and modern ways.

Our time in Transkei was spent doing a variety of things. The first day I did construction work at a clinic/church that Pastor Ohm is building in one of the villages - I mainly shoveled concrete and handed bricks to the local 22-year old master brick layer, Mkongoze Gcelu (I had fun trying to pronounce his name correctly with the click “c”). Other days we would do door-to-door evangelism (another cultural difference - this actually meshes well with Xhosa culture). Each night we would have Sunday School for the kids and a youth service, and then a normal worship service for everyone in the area. It was amazing worshiping there, singing Xhosa songs and realizing how God’s kingdom bridges such a wide cultural divide. The work in Transkei is only beginning - there is a great need for training for the leaders and for discipleship - but the seeds are being planted.

After several days in Transkei, we returned to Cape Town on Wednesday night. Yesterday, activities commenced again, now revolving around the ministry in Khayelitsha. We visited a retreat center north of Cape Town that Ohm has been establishing. It will be an amazing facility when complete, but for now it is blocked by a ghost of apartheid - the white neighbors won a law case forbidding Pastor Ohm to use the public road to bring in blacks. In the evening, Pastor David from Seattle led a teaching seminar for the Khayelitsha Sunday School teachers (I’ll write more about this ministry another time).

At this point, I am just taking in as much as possible, learning what I can and enjoying the people I get to meet. It has been great so far working with Pastor Ohm, the Seattle team, and the other folks at the mission house. I look forward to sharing more with you soon!

Summer with African Leadership in South Africa

Summer is at last coming, even for those of us on the quarter system. Last summer, many of you supported and encouraged me as I went to San Pedro, Mexico to serve with Stephen and Marcela Tolman. It was a rich experience, building relationships and learning the language and culture, and really getting a feel for how God’s kingdom is advancing in northern Mexico. This summer I have the opportunity to take part in the work of the kingdom in a totally different context. Through African Leadership, a non-profit organization working throughout the continent of Africa, I will be traveling to South Africa to live and work with Pastor Young Ohm, a Korean missionary based in Khayelitsha, a township near Capetown.

Khayelitsha, established during the days of apartheid as a black settlement, is now the largest township in the area (~ half a million people) with a population that is primarily from the Xhosa people. Though apartheid is officially over, the township still faces serious issues with great poverty and crime. Pastor Ohm has been in Khayelitsha since 1996 working to share God’s love through all sorts of ministries: daycare, sports ministry, English school, business development, and a school of theology for training pastors.

With Joey, another Stanford student, I will be spending 5 weeks living at the Africa Leadership mission house and working with Pastor Ohm in Khayelitsha. My purpose there is fairly simple: to learn what I can of the culture and the ministry going on there, and to serve the local church and Pastor Ohm however I can. Beyond that, I will be working primarily in their youth ministry which has an outreach to over 400 unchurched teenagers who are playing soccer under Christian coaches and helping with their Saturday schools where over 1000 children come to hear the gospel. Africa Leadership has a camp ministry I hope to participate in, and I may be able to work some in the Transkei homeland where most of the residents of Khayelitsha came from and AL has a church planting ministry. Many of the details of our work will be finalized as we work together with the local team and other summer interns. I am excited about this opportunity to see God’s work in a totally different culture, and also about the challenge of encountering the unique (and not so unique) hardships facing Khayelitsha.

If you are interested in learning more about these ministries you can check out the African Leadership website (www.africanleadership.org) and Pastor Ohm’s website (www.africanleadership.org.za). I look forward to sharing stories of what God does.

Now, as they say at African Leadership, For the Kingdom!

“Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him – to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.” - Romans 16:25-27

San Pedro Times, Pt. 6 - Back from the Desert

The last couple weeks in Mexico were a blur - soccer games, church services, camping trips, classes, late night hangouts. Overall it was a great way to end my time there. Our friend Candace came down to visit and we had some great times hanging out with our friends in San Pedro. We got to lead worship two nights at an evangelistic campaign, we had a late-night youth hangout at the church, and we got to go with all the youth to the plaza on a Sunday night to do dramas and worship.

The last week was a fun/sad time of finishing my time in San Pedro and saying goodbyes. I made it back to the prison to see my brothers there one last time, and Jacob, Candace, and I got to pray for each of them. Later in the week, some of the guys took me, Paul, and Candace out into the desert for farewell camping trip spent caving and climbing mountains. The Sunday before I left, I went for the last time to the church I had come to love. Marcela sang a blessing over me and invited everyone from the church to come up and their good byes. I was so blessed by the friendship that I found in that church.

Looking back on the summer as a whole, it was extremely different than the short-term trips I've taken in the past. Whereas short-term trips are typically a rush of activity and events, this summer was an experience of BEING - being immersed in Mexican culture and Spanish and beginning to feel at home in it (although there are definitely moments it feels very foreign); being in a church where for the first time I felt like I knew and loved every single person there; being a part of the Tolman family and being under the mentoring of Stephen and Marcela, seeing how in everything they do they look to advance the Kingdom. The experience was a blessing from God, and I look forward to telling you all more stories about the summer.

This fall I will be heading back to Stanford, living with several of my best friends and continuing to be involved in RUF. Then this winter I get to travel to Australia to study coral reefs and coastal ecosystems all up and down the eastern coast. I'm excited to be heading back and I look forward to seeing what opportunities God opens up through the year. Thank you for all your prayers and support through the summer. I will do my best to keep you updated on where God leads in the future through the website and e-mails.

San Pedro Times, Pt. 5

I'm down to my last two weeks in San Pedro, and the time has flown by. Paul and I had a great time in Tepic, seeing old friends and hanging out in the city. It was especially good being with Cayeros family again and the youth from their church that we had worked with last March. Coming back, we brought our good friend Olivia Stewart with us to stay in San Pedro for a week, and it was great having her up here with us.

I have continued to visit the prison every week. One week I got teach, looking at Psalm 139 and how it shows how God is both incredibly big and also incredibly personal. We had a great time together, praying and worshiping. Afterward we got a basketball game going. None of us were especially good, but it was by far the most fun basketball game I have ever played, with Paul, Jacob, and I going at it with our brothers from the prison. I love the time I get to spend with those guys, and I am amazed at the joy that they have in Christ, even in the prison.

I am so blessed by the friendships God has given me. I have had such a great time with the youth group, doing worship and dramas in the ranches around San Pedro, jamming together in the plaza, and sitting around the property just talking until late at night. I am encouraged to see my friendships with them deepening despite the language barrier. This past week I had a great talk with a couple of the guys. It was the kind of conversation that I have wanted to have all summer, but I have not had the Spanish to do it.

San Pedro Times, Pt. 4

Hello again from San Pedro! I have been down here just over a month now, and I feel like I am really beginning to settle in. Just in the last few days, San Pedro has begun to truly feel like home to me, and I am enjoying it more each new day.

A quick update on what's been going on . . .

About a week and a half ago, I got to speak to the youth group at Templo Cristiano, the Tolmans' church. I worked from Romans 7 and 8 and also 2 Corinthians 5, first looking at how even as Christians we still deal with sin, but in Christ, it is no longer who we are - it is our enemy (Rom. 7:17,20). In Christ we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17); we have an entirely new identity. So who are we now? We are Christ's ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20) and children of God (Rom. 8:15-16). If we really believe this, there is no need to perform or gain approval from others. We are infinitely loved as God's children. It was a good experience for me working through these ideas, and I also got to pray with several of the youth afterward.

This past week, Paul has been away on a family vacation, and I have actually been quite busy here. At first it was hard having Paul gone, but as the week passed, I began to see my friendships deepen with both the Tolman family and the members of their church. And my Spanish is definitely improving a lot as well. On Tuesday, I went with Stephen as he worked with the Calor, a semi-professional soccer team that he owns. I am beginning to see the incredible power of soccer in Mexico and what an amazing tool it can be for sharing the gospel. On Thursday I actually returned to America briefly to bring a van across the border that had been donated to the Tolmans - that day was quite an adventure. Then early Friday morning the youth group and the women from the church left for a conference of sorts in Monclova, a town about halfway to the border.

This week I have begun doing morning class with Stephen. He is leading me through the Scriptures examining the nature and character of God. The Bible has more than a few things to say about who God is, and I am loving getting a richer knowledge of my God and Father. Pray that the knowledge will really sink into my heart and shape the way I live.

Paul returns tonight, and this weekend he and I will be heading to Tepic, Mexico for a week and a half. Pray that it can be a rich time of seeing old friends and that God can use us to encourage them. We will get to see the missionaries David and Teresa Cayeros and the youth group from their church, and also some old friends from another church that we grew up working with.

San Pedro Times, Pt. 3

The time in San Pedro continues to pass quickly. Last Thursday, Paul and I got to return to the prison with Jacob, a 22-year old pastor in training. Jacob visits the prison each week to encourage the Christian inmates there and lead them in worship and Bible study. It was cool to go back without a big team and to start friendships with the Christian prisoners - it'll definitely be a testing ground for my Spanish. About ten guys gathered and we sang together and Jacob taught from Hebrews 12.

Afterward we hung out and talked to the prisoners - I ended up talking to a guy named Juan who became a Christian two years ago when the team from Grace Center was there. I was with that team, and it was so encouraging for me to see fruit from a short-term trip so long ago - now, two years later, this man is still going after Christ. On Friday, I went with Jacob to do a similar thing at the rehab center. I'm hoping to get to go back with him each week.

This past weekend, Paul and I went with the youth group on a retreat to a reserve near Cuatrocienagas - a group of beautiful spring-fed lakes in the middle of the desert. It was a great time for simply being with all the youth and continuing to deepen our friendships with them. I've really enjoyed getting to know them so far. And the water felt great and the stars were amazing.

On Sunday I got to help lead worship for one of the services. It's fun to learn a bunch of new songs and to play with of talented Mexican musicians. We've spent this week primarily getting stuff taken care of for Paul to start in at Tec de Monterrey in the fall.

Hopefully I'll be returning to the prison and the rehab center with Jacob later this week. I also get to give the message at the youth service on Friday night - pray that God will give words to encourage the youth group. Then on Saturday, Paul leaves for the States for ten days, and I get some time here by myself. Pray that in that time my relationships here will deepen and my Spanish will improve as I spend more time with my Mexican friends. I'm hoping also to receive some of the teachings that Stephen gave Paul and James last year, so pray that those can be an encouragement and a challenge. This longer term trip is a bit different than the short term ones I've been on in that I'm not involved nonstop in active "ministry time" - I actually have the most relaxed schedule I've had in years. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but it's been good to have time to think, read, and simply BE in Mexico. Pray that God will use this summer as a sort of retreat for me, to build me up in Him for He has for me when I head back to the States.

San Pedro Times, Pt. 2

The team from Grace Center has left and Paul and I are now settled in to our room on the property, and we have begun a slightly more regular schedule. The time with the team from Grace Center ended well. On Friday night we visited the drug rehab center in San Pedro for a night of worship and ministry with the men there. It's some of the most enthusiastic worship I have experienced, and we got to spend a lot of time praying over all the men. I was praying with my friend Jonathan over one guy, and he told us that he was in the rehab center for suicide attempts. This was exactly what Jesus had pulled Jonathan out of, and he was able to share his story with this man and encourage him with the gospel's power - it never ceases to amaze me how God sets up divine appointments for us.

The following weekend I got pretty sick (as did many of the team), but Marcela took care of me now and I am up to full strength. After the team left on Tuesday, Paul and I moved into our new room and we began to settle in to life in San Pedro. I have started taking Spanish lessons every day with Marcela - she's a great teacher and pushes me hard (far more work than I have at Stanford), and I'm picking up more and more each day. I am also teaching music theory to Elisa Tolman and I will be teaching at the Tolmans' English school.

It's been a lot of fun to start forming relationships with the youth down here. They've welcomed me in, and I'm looking forward to seeing my friendships deepen as the summer passes and my Spanish improves. This Friday Paul and I are heading with a youth group to a town called Cuatrocienagas for a retreat, which should be a fun time with them.

For me, the best part so far has been simply being around the Tolman family. They are a family that lives solely to see the kingdom of God advance and has incredible faith in God's provision after having to rely wholly on him for years. Yet they're also very real people who love joking with each other, and Paul and I have a great time hanging out with them.

I was reading recently John's vision of the multitude in white robes in Revelation 7. This scene always gets my heart pumping faster - this is the end we long for and are ultimately moving toward - the fulfillment of God's blessing to Abraham that the whole earth should be blessed! I pray God is keeping you well and that you can live in light of the end of the story.

In San Pedro

Thanks for your prayers so far - we have arrived safely in San Pedro and are beginning ministry here. Paul and I had a great time on the road-trip - we passed through the border fairly easily. We actually got stopped twice to unload the car for inspection, but by God's grace both were fairly painless - the guys were friendly and only made us take a couple things out of the trunk before waving us on. The drive through the Mexican desert was beautiful, and a bit of an adventure - we encountered dust storms, rain, and even hail.

I am loving being in San Pedro, and Paul and I are beginning to settle in. I am enjoying getting to know the Tolman family - I am so blessed to get to spend the summer under them. Paul has also been introducing me to his Mexican friends, and I am beginning to form friendships with the believers down here. My Spanish is slowly improving, and it should get a jump start as I start intense classes with Marcela Tolman next week.

Right now, the youth team from Grace Center is here, and I am loving getting to know them and minister with them. On Wednesday and again today we went into the prison to meet with the prisoners and do worship, teaching, testimonies, and prayer. God has granted us a lot of favor in the prison - they have let us go through without a search, and today they actually let us take a video camera in - one of the guards even helped film. I also got to meet some of the Christian prisoners whom Paul and James discipled while they were living in San Pedro - I am looking forward to getting to know better these men of God in the coming months.

On Wednesday night we had a church service here at the Tolman's church. It was a rich time of worship and prayer - it's always amazing to see how God crosses cultures. Aaron, the youth pastor at Grace, spoke on Galatians 3 and the temptation to try to master our sin and change ourselves, forgetting that it is wholly God's power that brought us to where we are, and it is wholly God's power that will continue to change us. One of my prayers for this summer is that I would more deeply grasp the wonder of God's grace, and God is wasting no time in addressing this with me.

Yesterday we traveled to Monclova, a town three hours away from San Pedro where Stephen has begun to mentor the pastor. We had a great meal with the church there, and we ended up spending much of the day walking through the town in the heat (107 degrees), inviting people to a presentation that never actually came together. And yet in God's crazy economy, the day was a success - as James reminded us, Jesus does not demand results, he calls us to serve. And simply our presence there and our willingness to be out in the heat was a huge encouragement for the pastor and the church there. That night, we had a great service where we got to encourage and pray for the church there, and we left that congregation incredibly blessed.

The Journey Begins

Tomorrow morning, Paul and I begin our trek to San Pedro. We'll stop one night in Dallas and then drive into San Pedro on Monday for a total driving time of about 24 hours. Pray for God's traveling mercies and for an easy passage at the border. We've got the car packed pretty tight and we're hoping to not have to totally unload it!

This first week a team of 60 high schoolers from Grace Center will be down doing ministry, and the Tolmans' daughter Elisa is having her big quinciañera (fifteenth birthday) party - altogether an exciting week. Pray that Paul and I can settle in the midst of the craziness and that we can see God do some cool stuff as the summer kicks off.

Prayer for Northern Ireland

I am writing to call you to prayer. Tomorrow I get on a plane with nine other college students and three leaders to go to Newcastle, Northern Ireland. For 11 days we will be staying at Murlough House (run by John Moxen and Project Evangelism) and working with Newcastle Presbyterian Church, hanging out and encouraging their youth group and working with them to put on a summer camp for the kids in the town. The camp, called PHAT Camp (Praise Him All Together), will bring kids ages 12-18 from all different backgrounds together to have fun together and learn from the Word of God. Each morning we will gather with some of the youth from Newcastle for worship at Murlough and to be taught by John Moxen. Then in the afternoon we will do a group activity with all the kids (capture the flag, hiking, ultimate, etc.). Finally, each evening we will have a Speakeasy, a camp night with worship, skits, testimonies, and preaching from the Word, followed by small groups with the kids.

This will be my second year in a row to go to Northern Ireland. Last year God lavished his blessings on our time, giving supernatural unity between us and the Irish, allowing us to form really strong friendships with our brothers and sisters over there. God also broke hearts, revealing sin and bringing people to the feet of Jesus. Over the past year, growth has continued. The youth group from Newcastle Presbyterian Church has become closely allied with a Baptist church in the area, and kids from both will be coming to the camp as well as kids from the Church of Ireland. I am so excited to return to my friends in Northern Ireland and to encourage them and be encouraged by them, and I am expectant of a new work that God will do this year. Some of the youth have been doing really well over the past year, while others have been away from the church. We are praying that God will bring back those who have been away so that they can be encouraged by the faithful ones and also play their part in Christ’s body. One of our main purposes this trip is to encourage the youth to be committed to the church as a whole, for this is the true body of Christ. We are staying for two weekends this year, which means we will not just do the camp and leave. Instead the kids will be coming out of the camp into the church.

We need your prayers during this time. Satan will be looking to block God’s work, and we desperately need a prayer covering. Here are some requests:

1. For supernatural unity within our team and between us and the Irish Christians
2. That we can deeply encourage each other through fellowship and worshiping together
3. That God will fill us all with a desire to pursue him and to be connected to his body, the church
4. That God will draw in youth who have been away from the church
5. That God will increase unity between the different churches
6. That I will let go of my desire for control and rest in God’s strength
7. That God will fill be to overflowing with a genuine love for the Irish people

Thank you for your prayers. I look forward to telling you all about the trip. (And for those of you in Northern Ireland reading this, I look forward to seeing you very soon.)

Tales from the First Quarter at Stanford

Well, I am in my last week of my first Stanford quarter. Strange to think I'll soon have an entire quarter of college under my belt. The past week has been a great encouragement as I have seen God answer prayer and also reveal many new things to pray for. I now want to give you a glimpse of what is happening out here so that you can both praise God with me for the answered prayers and also commit to God with me the situations and opportunities that are coming up. This will likely read something like a journal entry, as I am still in the midst of everything which I am describing.

As I tried to convey in my last letter, I was blown away by seeing God answer prayer when I first came out here as God placed me into a community of both strong Christian friendship and evangelistic opportunity. It feels like wherever I go God is paving the way for me. From that beginning, the great struggle became stagnation as the busyness began to take over and time with God became more of a struggle and the divine appointments seemed to be few and far between. As November came, the question I was asking God was "What next?---It seems like you have prepared this place for me and you have made it better and transition for seamless than I would have ever expected. Why? What are you calling me to here?" As I was praying tonight with a couple guys, I realized that over the past week God has begun to answer this question . . .

Last week I had the opportunity to have lunch with a friend of mine who is a relatively new Christian and is now really struggling with why God has him here both at Stanford and on earth. Stanford is a place where you are surrounded with people who can do everything you do, only better. Why did God make me, if for everything I can do, someone else can do it better? This is the question that is haunting him. Further, the dorm he lives in does not have Christian community, and he is continually drilled by people wanting to know his answer as a Christian to all of life's toughest problems. He trusts there are answers out there, but as such a new Christian he simply does not know them yet. I had the chance to simply listen to him, and to pray with him and encourage him. Please pray that God will reveal his purposes to him and that he can know he is loved as God's son. Pray also that God will show me how to love him and will also help me to share with him some of the answers to those questions which have been so helpful to read.

At a random lunch conversation later last week, I got another chance to talk to a guy from my dorm who is an atheist/agnostic, but loves to talk about philosophy and religion and seems to actually be interested in finding the truth. Earlier this quarter, he was struck by the way that what I believed actually affected the way that I lived and through that God opened the door for conversations about God and Christianity. (It was a great encouragement to see that the idea of living out the gospel actually has real meaning!) He loves philosophy and is taking a philosophy seminar right now. One of the greatest ways I have found to interact with him is simply to listen to what is going on in the seminar and hearing what he is excited about and what stance he is taking in the papers. Sometimes I get the opportunity to share my own views with him. (Worldview Analysis has been extremely helpful for this. While I am an utter novice at philosophy compared to him, I am convinced fully that Christianity is the soundest philosophy to live by, and I have some ideas about how to go about showing that.) I think just the fact that I listen to him has made hum excited to come talk to me about the new developments in the class. So last week over lunch, he began to tell me about his final paper for the philosophy class. It dealt with whether universal ethics exist and whether morality could be applied to beliefs. After hearing about the take he was taking in the paper, I was able to share my view of it--that there is a universal sense of morality and that there were right and wrong beliefs. God gave me the clarity to share it with him in a way that he acknowledged made sense to him, although he didn't necessarily agree with it. Cut ahead to this Sunday. This past Sunday night, Testimony, the Christian a cappella group that I am in, put on our Christmas show. It went very well-we had a packed out house and a lot of fun performing for everyone. Near the end of the show, Tina, our director, shared her amazing testimony about how God had restored wholeness to her in the midst of life's brokenness. Walking down the aisle after the show, I ran into him--he had come for the show. He loved being at the show and getting to see me perform. It was a great answer not only to my prayers but also to many other people's prayers that he came to the show--please pray that the message Tina shared will hit is heart. Pray that God will show him that his intellect does not stand between him and God, but that our God is God of both the mind and the heart.

Every Sunday night I meet with my friends Mickey and Ryan (and anyone else we can get to join us) to pray for Cedro, our dorm, and for all that is coming up in the next week. This past Sunday we were joined by another guy from our dorm. He was interested to see how we went about praying, and he shared with us that he came from a Unitarian Universalist Christian Church which basically believed that the most important thing was to be on a "religious path"--it did not matter which path. His particular church chose the Christian path. He wanted to hear our views on this. I was able to respond to this idea (thanks to Wilson's and Delvaux's teachings) and to share with him what we believe. It was a great encouragement because it was my first opportunity to straight out share the gospel with someone, and God helped me to do it both boldly and gently. He told us that he very much wanted a relationship with Jesus but he couldn't reconcile the fact that God could send people to hell. After we spent some time in prayer I took him back to my room and read with him through the Apologetics lecture on Heaven and Hell, looking at what the Bible reveals about them. He said that the ideas presented made sense and he was open to having me pray for him. Please pray that God will reveal himself to him and that he will know the truth that can set him free. Pray also that God will show me how to continue to witness to him, as he is not one of my close friends.

Another major request--one of the guys in my dorm has been struggling, as many people do at Stanford, with feeling like he cannot cut it here. This feeling has affected him to such a degree that he has run away twice in the past month, leaving cryptic text messages for my roommate, one of his best friends, and some other people. Both time he was able to be stopped at the San Jose train station and brought back to school, and both times it seems like when he returns the conflict is resolved--he seems to know that he is loved and wanted here. Yet this weekend he went off again, this time not making contact until he was all the way in Chicago. Friends of his have been able to convince him to come back and he is currently on his way back here. Please pray that he can know he is loved, not only by all of us here but by him Maker. Pray that God will show me specifically how to love him, and pray that he can find grounding for his significance in the one true source. The struggle to "cut it" is not a huge struggle for me, and I can easily forget how much it affects other people. Events like these remind me just how serious this struggle is for so many people, especially here at Stanford. Please pray that God can break apart this mindset that so dominates this campus.

We have a God who answers prayers, as he has shown by answering my prayer that he will show me what is next. God is showing me the ripeness of this place for Him. Please cover me and Stanford in your prayers. Pray that God will work in the hearts of the students and faculty here and will capture these amazing minds for his kingdom. I desperately want the covering of your prayers as I finish out this week and again when I go back in January. I hope my testimonies of how I have seen God answer prayers so far will be an encouragement to you.

Some Final Random Musings . . .

I have survived my first final here at Stanford, Math 51, and I think I did quite well on it. The last few weeks it has finally clicked and I am beginning to "see" it--you know what I mean. It's helped that recently I have been able to teach it to other people who are struggling with the concepts. Over the next few days I will tackle Chem and English. I have begun to read a book called Joy Unspeakable by Martin Lloyd-Jones which deals with the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit. It has been a great encouragement to see how the moving of the Spirit can come together with sound Biblical doctrine. I am only a little ways into it, but I am looking forward to what else I will learn. On Saturday I leave early in the morning with Testimony to drive up to the upper reaches of America as we go on tour to Bellingham, WA and Vancouver, Canada. It should be a whole lot of fun. I will be heading back to Nashville on Dec. 20, and I look forward to seeing many of you as I am home over Christmas.

I pray that this letter finds all of you well, and I pray that each you is seeing God work in the place that He has you. Let me know how I can be praying for you as well.