New Job

I start a new job today. I am excited. So excited that I would be okay if it was my last job.

For me, this job is the completion of a journey, the continuation of a journey, and the birth of a new journey, all in one.

This life path was significantly propelled in 2005, when at a conference I heard first hand stories of God’s justice becoming a reality in extreme ways. As the founder of International Justice Mission described rescuing children from brothels and slaves from brick kiln factories, my heart came alive. I wanted my life to be given fully to God and his justice and love becoming a reality for others.

I left that conference with a fire in my heart but frustration in my mind. I was compelled but confused. And after a couple years of listening, God clearly spoke. This led to founding a nonprofit and investing in many more. I went on mission trips. I designed and hosted nonprofit websites for free. I volunteered and helped with events. Taking a project management job a year ago at a media firm, I spent as much of my free time investing in nonprofit work. My hope was that in 5 years, I would have enough business and nonprofit experience to land a management position at a nonprofit focused on addressing both physical and spiritual needs. That 5 year plan got fast tracked a couple months ago when Jeff Romack from ServLife approached me.

I’ve been a part of the ServLife community for over 8 years. I’ve led teams on trips to India and Nepal. I’ve volunteered at events. I’ve donated. I’ve attended the intimate book release of the founder. I’ve been a fan. So when the Executive Director asked me if I would be interested in chatting about joining their staff, I quickly yet tentatively said yes, let’s talk. Later that day when my wife shared her excitement, my reclined heart leaned forward.

About a month later, after much discussion and prayer, I accepted the position of Director of Operations at ServLife International. I am excited and intimidated and overwhelmed.

I would greatly appreciate your support and prayers. And I invite you to join me in what God calls us all to:

To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
(Micah 6:8b NIV)

The Invitation

God invites us.

To be loved. To come home. To sit on his lap. To be embraced. To be his child. To be understood. To be forgiven. To be challenged. To a purpose. To a mission. To an adventure. To be his ambassador. To be his hands and feet. To be persecuted. To be safe. To understand. To know. To be overwhelmed with mystery and wonder. To be compelled. To be inspired. To rest. To be. To go. To love.

High School Football

I love sports movies, which is ironic because I’m not much of an athlete. But the stories of adversity, endurance and triumph are so compelling and moving. They inspire and speak to me in a way that mere words cannot. Whether it is the naive, chatty Rudy or the quiet, resolute Vince Papali, they do not give up and they do not back down.

I only played one year of high school football, and I was terrible. Lanky, uncoordinated and inexperienced, I struggled to keep up and understand plays. I wanted to be starting quarterback but was nearly the water boy. I was the guy you wanted to lead a musical cast, not a defensive line.

Despite missing summer practices and two-a-days, not to mention my musician hands and athletic disabilities, I started on the kick off team every single game. How, you ask? I didn’t give up. Trite as that may sound, it is true. I ran hard, worked hard, and ran hard. I finished every running drill and exercise out front with the fastest guys on the team. Yeah, they could probably beat me up with one hand tied behind their back, but they couldn’t shake me on the field.

While I never won the game for my team, I found one thing I could do and did my best. You can do the same. You may find yourself outside your comfort zone, outside your vocational expertise, but you can still do your best. You can still run. You can give it everything that you have and play this role at this time in your life and do a good job. Just don’t give up.

Flagstaff

Last weekend I visited my friends Chris and Angela in Flagstaff, AZ to celebrate their church plant’s five year anniversary. They have been through much hardship in those five years, including losing founding members, financial challenges, and much more. But they are still there, and are not going anywhere. They have not given up; they have stood up.

I was reminded of Psalm 18:25 that says God is faithful to those that are faithful. As I looked around the room last Sunday morning in a coffee shop hosted church service, I saw God’s faithfulness in this church. From the couple with new child that have served in leadership for five years to the young lady that just arrived from Los Angeles. God is telling a story in this community of His faithfulness and love for all people, and it was beautiful to get to see it first hand.

It rains a lot in Flagstaff, but what is unique is that it is almost always sunny, even during the rain. It served as an appropriate metaphor for this young church. Chris and Angela, may God continue to shine through the rain and prove Himself a faithful Refuge for the brokenhearted.

Travel

I used to work for a church. When I traveled for the church it was to attend a retreat, a conference or lead an international trip.

Now I work at a business. And I recently went on my first bona fide business trip. Indianapolis to Jacksonville, FL, then Atlanta, GA, then back to Indianapolis, all in two days flat. All expenses paid. I like that last part…

I love to travel. I think it is mostly due to the 62.9% of me that is introverted. I never do more pleasure reading than when I am on a plane. And earbuds full of well chosen music can transcend any travel woes that may befall. Thus, I do not mind flight delays or screaming infants. Seriously.

We all recharge in different ways, and it is hard to prioritize things like solitude when our lives are full of work, church, family, volunteering, etc. But if we do not make it a priority to be in the rhythm of our lives, we will lose perspective, energy, motivation and even peace. Do not wait for your next business trip to sneak in a recharge. I won’t either.

Leper Hospital

We made plans to visit the leper hospital this morning, and I had forgotten what a difficult experience that is. After a difficult and hot hour-long drive, we arrived at the Little Flower Leper Hospital. Abraham greeted us and escorted us through the wards. We walked into rooms full of 20-30 people afflicted with leprosy. Many had digits missing from their hands and feet, and some, limbs missing. Their bandages were speckled with blood spots, and it looked more like a war hospital that those afflicted with an old, treatable disease.

We walked down the rows of beds and made eye contact with those who had been sent away from their families and rejected by society. The simple act of looking them in the eye and greeting them, “Namaste,” brought a smile to many faces. In each ward we would engage this slow processional, adding hugs and hand shakes along the way. Then we would sing a worship song or two. I found myself choked up a number of times and struggled to keep from bawling in front of everyone. The music seemed to be a comfort to them, and some clapped or hummed along.

Abraham escorted us to the main office down the street where we met Brother Christa Das, who founded the hospital in 1982. He has skin of old leather and a heart of joy, and would quickly and easily break into a 4 tooth smile. On his wall were awards and a magazine from a few years back with him on the cover as India’s Man of the Year. We sat with him for about half an hour and asked questions about the hospital and his journey. He worked for 14 years in Kolkata with Mother Teresa, and shared her challenge to “preach without preaching.” His reasoning for living his life this way was quite simple. “Jesus said to care for the least of these. I believe the least of these here are lepers.”

As the team debriefed later, we concluded two things. One, that we will most likely not experience a resolution from our uncomfortable experience at the leper hospital. And two, we need to determine who the least of these in our lives are, and respond with love and sacrifice.

Make A Joyful Noise

“If you are going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”
- 1 Cor. 1:31

I’m listening to the kids singing upstairs, worshipping God and singing/yelling at the top of their lungs. It is a beautiful, joyful noise.

Today has been a good day. This morning Albert took us to their new land. I was there 4 years ago when it was only a large empty space outlined by a property wall. Today stands the first of four buildings. It will hold Albert and his family, all the children, and have space for visiting teams like us. It is a big step toward a God-dream that Albert is saying yes to. Eventually there will be buildings to house 1,000 orphans, a school and a training school for pastors. We stood on the roof and prayed that these dreams would become reality and God’s will would be done. That the opening of the front gates would be opening arms of love to all that enter. We prayed that the government would not take a portion of the land to build a new road. We prayed that it would be a place used by God.

The light of God’s love shines brightly in dark places, and this ministry is definitely a beacon of light and love here.

Traveling to the Glory of God

We have had some traveling woes. Nothing major, but some professional minors. Our hotel “right next to the airport” was 45 minutes away, decreasing our potential 6 hours of sleep to 4. The hotel had bedbugs. We think. Getting our tickets in Delhi took a long time, so we had to run to the plane during final boarding. Then we sat on the runway for over an hour. Then we flew to Kathmandu but didn’t land there, re-routed to Lucknow, fueled up there, sat for another hour, then finally landed in Kathmandu, missing our connecting flight to Simra by well over an hour. We were so late to Kathmandu that we missed our contact with our plane tickets to Simra. After a few hours we finally had tickets and flew to Simra. Getting off the plane and seeing Albert was such a relief and joy. We drove about 90 minutes to the border and waited for immigration. Traffick was thick and eventually came to a standstill. Our driver said in 15 years he had never seen traffic so bad. We had to abandon the cars and make it to the immigration office by foot. The officer eventually showed up and demanded a bribe for coming out so late. We obliged and crossed the border. Then we went to immigration in India and then came to the building where we are staying. The shower and good night of sleep was amazing and refreshing.

I’ve been pondering 1 Cor. 10:31 today, which says that we should do everything to the glory of God. Everything. Even eating and drinking. What about traveling? How do we bring God glory when we have to run to catch our flight only to have it sit on the runway for over an hour and are tired and we miss our next flight and the baby on the plane won’t stop crying… How do we travel like this to the glory of God? Perhaps it is by having extra grace. Being patient. Smiling at Mr. Grumpy Pants. Being gracious and understanding. Showing love. I think and hope those things have been more evident in our team than the opposite. It has been humbling and a reminder that we are not in control.

We need to work out these logistics for sure, but we acknowledge that more than order or control, we need God and His Spirit.

Flying to India

I brought a “travel” journal with me. The last entry was made 3 years ago while in Kolkata just before my wife and I picked up our son from the orphanage. Then no more entries in the travel journal. A ten month old will do that…

Now he is 4, and my 8-year-old daughter sits next to me as we fly to India. Carolyn is excited, and we are joined by 5 others from our church: Micah, Jordan, Arielle, Carrie N. And Carrie T. We are headed to Bihar, India where Micah will run a 5 day photography program for the kids in the orphanage. I am “leading” this trip, which means logistics, finances and pastoral care. It is a solid team and I am not worried.

Before hopping on our first flight, Arielle pulled out some “get to know you cards” and we socially jumped right in. This is going to be fun.

Heading To India

It has been three years since I was last in India, and I am anxious to go back. This time Carolyn, my 8-year-old, will be joining me, along with 5 other people from our church. The entire team is excited, and scrambling to get last minute logistics taken care of before we fly out tomorrow. The trip is for about two weeks. We’ll spend 5 days in Bihar, India, and 2 days in Kathmandu. Then the team will fly home and Carolyn and I will meet my buddy James in Delhi for 3 days. In Bihar we will be doing a photography program with children in an orphanage. Carolyn is really excited about that part. It will be good to be back in India, and I’m excited to see what God will reveal in our time there. Please pray for us and our journey.

I’ll be blogging the trip here whenever I can get access to the internet…