William Carey, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Spiritual Discipline

William Carey is labeled "the Father of Modern Missions" and yet I had never heard of him. I only discovered him this last week when I led a study on a book about his life and he was an extraordinary man to say the least, because he helped transform the very fabric of Indian society during the late 18th century and early 19th century. He not only came to spread the Gospel message but he impacted the entire culture.

His example is in many ways a wonderful model for us as we strive to share the Gospel overseas, however he is certainly not the perfect human by any means. None of us are. I think the life of William Carey is a wonderful reminder of why we are in Puerto Rico and he also gives a perspective that is greater than our own.

For instance Hebrews 11 recalls many of the biblical heroes that have come before us. Then as far as missionaries are concerned, following in the footsteps of Carey were David Livingstone, Gladys Aylward, Hudson Taylor, Eric Liddel, and Jim Elliot to name a few. To think that I am "surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" is extremely humbling. I feel inadequate next to such titans of the faith and yet the reality is we all fall short of the glory of God. Thus, whether you have books written about you or your own wikipedia page or you are lost to history, none of that matters, because Christ is everything. He is the reason that people like Carey lived the way he did. We all have sinned and fallen short, but each one of us has been redeemed and that is amazing to get your head around.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith"- Hebrews 12

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Recently I have also been reading through Dietrich's Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship. Without getting into it too much, I will wholeheartedly acknowledge that I do not always understand what he is saying, but there have been numerous moments that have resonated with me. Here was one such passage:

"A little band of men, the followers of Christ, are separated from the rest of the world. The disciples are few in number and will always be few. This saying of Jesus forestalls all exaggerated hopes of success. Never let a disciple of Jesus pin his hopes on large numbers. "Few there be..." The rest of the world are many, and will always be many. But they are on the road to perdition. The only comfort for disciples have in face of this prospect is the promise of life and eternal fellowship with Jesus."

When we read this it can sound pretty bleak and in some ways it is, but the words were especially convicting to me, because I feel like on a project such as mine, a lot of weight is put into the numbers game. How many Gospel presentations have we had, how many contact cards got filled out, how many follow ups have we had, how many people have accepted Christ?

Certainly there is value in all these things, but they are utterly insignificant compared to "the promise of life and eternal fellowship with Jesus." That is what should cause us to want to meet students, so that they might also gain access to this promise. It is not about the numbers, it is about letting the Spirit work in us and through us and leaving the rest up to God.

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The final lesson I wish to talk about is the spiritual discipline of silence. As an introvert who needs alone time I found it relatively easy and necessary to spend time by myself. Solitude is not a big problem for me. However, as we practiced silence by simply doing nothing but being in the presence of God, I felt resistance and it was extremely difficult.

I realized that although I spend time in solitude, I often do not spent time in silence. I am always reading something, listening to music, or occupied in some other way. It was in this time that I could only pray and talk with the Lord where I realized my own insecurities.

During this time of silence I realized that over this project I have often felt a major inadequacy. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can become bad when I measure myself by other people and their skills and accomplishments. I realized that my spiritual life is just between me and God and the reality is, as I acknowledged before, that all of us have fallen short no matter how diligent we are reading or how skilled we are at sharing the Gospel. As a result I can have tremendous freedom knowing that I am God's and he loves me for who I am as I continue to grow in my personal understanding of Him.

Please pray that I can continue to wrestle with this and that I will have humility as I continue to share on campus with my team. All the glory be His.

First Week of Ministry

If you told me a little over a week has passed since our team arrived in Puerto Rico, it would be hard for me to believe it because so much has happened. After getting acclimated to living life together we jumped right in to our ministry.

Starting Monday we headed to Colegio (in Mayaguez) where we teamed up with the Summer Project Team from Chico. That was an immense blessing because they showed us the ropes, introduced us to their Puerto Rican friends, and went out sharing alongside of us. Again this Thursday and Friday we paired up for two final days before the Chico Team leaves, meeting more people and exchanging contacts as they pass on their ministry to us.

We have become fast friends in the few days we have known each other and so although it is exciting to see this changing of the guard, there is a bit of sadness. It is a testament to the Body of Christ and how quickly people can become united for the sake of His Kingdom.

However, I cannot dwell of this too long, because so many other things are happening at the same time.

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we went to the smaller campuses of Aguadilla and Interamericana. Despite there being fewer people to talk to, there were still many deep and life giving conversations to be had by the team, including one that resulted in a new sister in Christ!

These dialogues are so different than anything I have experienced before, because they are just that, dialogues. Here are students just like ourselves who are willing to talk, ask questions, and listen to us. They often have varying views of God and sometimes they are already strong believers. In many cases, it seems they are searching for something. Whether it is a desire to fill a God-shaped whole in their life or a Christian community which they are lacking.

It is an exciting time because we are beginning follow up appointments with students we met and we are trying to foster relationships with students who have already expressed interest in Cru Caribbean.

If you could please pray for Diego, Andres, Christian, Christopher, Zual, and Gustavo, who are a few of the brothers in Christ that I have met. Pray that they can continue to grow in their relationship and love for the Lord while also growing their desire to share their faith with others.

Also if you could continue to pray for boldness and humility as we share on campus that would be awesome, because no matter where we are there is always a chance that we might meet someone who desperately needs the hope that comes through Jesus Christ, but we need to step out in faith.

I look forward to telling you more about what the Lord is doing in my life soon. All for His glory.

"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." -1 Peter 3:13-15

Aguadilla

Interamericana

Flexibility

When we began this project one of our key themes was "Flexibility" and after sharing for two days and being here for just under a week this philosophy has come into play in numerous ways.

First day on campus in Mayaguez

First off, if you are unfamiliar with the Puerto Rican culture it is very much founded on relationships. That is very good when you are sharing because you get students who are willing to drop what they are doing to talk to you for 30 minutes or even an hour or two.

However, this idea of "Flexibility" can be difficult when you are trying to become acclimated to other areas of the culture.

For instance going to a store in Puerto Rico is nothing like the States. Instead of waiting a few minutes in line you might be there for an hour. Efficiency and time holds a different level of importance here.
Then there are the tropical storms that hit at a moments notice. They are wonderful and they cleanse the earth, but already we have been soaked multiple times and driving in the downpour is no easy task.
Whether is was the weather or some other factor our power was also knocked out for a day and a half! I have tasted Corn ice cream and plantain chips (Tostones). The first was good, the second not so much.

It might sound as if I am complaining, but I say all of this because it has caused all of us to embrace this culture and embrace Flexibility as a family. I would not want it any other way!

Getting soaked in the rain, losing our power and having bible study by candle light, or having no air conditioning to battle the humidity only helped to bring us closer together and in a short time I feel our team is really building a heart for this place and these people.

One last thing. Puerto Rico is a place of immense beauty covered with flora and fauna, amazing greenery, and tranquil beaches. It is humbling to acknowledge that all of this was created by the God of the Universe and we have the ability to constantly be reminded of His sovereignty whether we are on campus, driving to and from, or simply spending time as a team.

I look forward to sharing more about our conversations with students and our follow-ups. Please pray for continued Flexibility as we learn this culture, grow as a team, and strive to launch Christ-centered movements on these campuses.

Becoming Family

So our Summer Project to Puerto Rico began simply enough. Our briefing was held at a hotel near LAX. That is where I met the folks who would be my teammates, nay my family, for these upcoming 5 weeks. To be fair I know a few of these people from UCSD already (including the Priolas who are our team leaders), but then there was the other half of the team who I had never even met. Already I am amazed that God could bring a group of people so diverse as all of us together. We come from different backgrounds, schools, majors, and even stages of life, but I realize there is power in that.

We did one eye opening exercise during briefing where we had to share our personal preferences and habits. There were differences on things like being introverted or extroverted, how late we stay up on a given evening, and even what type of sodas we prefer. But in reality this all seems so trivial if you look at the bigger picture.

The most important point is that all this pales in comparison to one unifying fact. Each and everyone of us proclaims Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives. It is by His death on the cross and by his grace that we are saved. That's why we all are heading to Puerto Rico. Because however different we are, each of us has a desire to share the Gospel. We know that just as Christ loves us and gave himself as a living sacrifice for us, He did it just as much for the people of Puerto Rico. They deserve to know His love and they need to hear this message.

Thus, despite all the diversity and unique individuals that make up our team, that is exactly the point. We are all on one team, we are all one body, and we are fast becoming family, here to do God's work for His kingdom. That is not to say that it will not be messy, or discouraging, or exhausting at times, but it is the life of the family of God. There is certainly some apprehension for what is to come, but above all there is excitement to see the body of Christ in action.  All the glory be His.

"Just as the body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body--whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." ~ 1 Corinthians 12