invisible children. read it.

listen.

if you’ve known me for a few years, you know that i am super passionate about a few things. one of those being the invisible children. in short, they are a non-profit organization that is fighting for the people of northern uganda. there has been a war there for 23 years, and it includes the leader of the rebel army kidnapping children from 5-11 years old and forcing them to fight in his army. (girls are also stolen and forced to be wives and mothers to soldiers.) …for more background of the conflict, check this 30 minute video…

the invisible children organization was started by 3 guys in 2003. since then tons has been accomplished, in part due to n 2 peaceful protests, one to end night commuting and one to return the displaced to their homes. 
(while at grace i got to take a group of students to participate in the global night commute. and while in uganda i got to visit displacement camps…)

next month, there’s another peaceful protest: the rescue. this one, clearly, is aimed at rescuing child soldiers who are still held captive in the rebel army. the approach is creative and powerful.

and we. need. you. 

in 100 cities in 9 different countries, people will gather on april 25 and wait to be rescued.
for a quick explanation of what is happening april 25, check this.  
AND GO HERE to sign up (& see other ways to get involved) 

 

my heart aches over this. i believe Jesus Christ’s does too. we. can. help.

will you?

imovie…

I’ll be the first to tell you I think a Mac can do anything, and Apple is slowly but surely taking over the world.

But all afternoon I have been trying to convert .vob files to .mov files and transfer the audio, so that I can drop it in iMovie and edit it …. 

and I’m losing my mind.

adopted?

Caught Mark’s blog this morning, and it reminded me that I did one of those ‘celebrity look a like’ things online. This is my profile…

 

Hmm… strange that all those actresses are Asian?  I wonder if my parents have something they need to tell me…

catalyst

holy smokes.
at the last moment i got a ticket to catalyst.
what an overwhelming 2 days.
i have a lot to process, and then a lot to say.

at this moment:
- i am so impressed with matt chandler, steven furtick, dave ramsey, and, obviously, andy stanley.
- i am so excited about innovative ways to generate energy
- i am so unsure about how these things will translate the conference i am currently assisting with
- i am so thankful for new contacts, and have great expectations for what will happen next

if you care about leadership or creativity, you should attend catalyst at least once.

excited?

Do you have things in your life that you just cannot HELP but get excited about?

Man. I think the older I get (mm yes I am getting up there) the more excited I get… 

Last week I had the chance to share about Operation Barnabas at CE celebrations, in Hagarstown, MD and Lancaster, PA. Now first of all, talking about Barnabas-about what we saw God do this summer, about how the ministry is still affecting change in students and churches across the country-I get worked up. I LIVE for this stuff.

But then I got to hear Ed and TK talk about the other ministries of CE - to name a couple …

Momentum : a youth conference where God is moving like crazy- for example, this year students gave $92,000 to feed starving kids and build orphanages
Urban Hope : a ministry to the people of inner city Philadelphia. We got to hear stories this year about 8 or 10 people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior through this ministry in the last year. And then MEET those people. At the celebration.

And when I hear these stories, when I see pictures, when I meet these people who are changed because of these ministries … I seriously want to stand up and do a dance. That sounds so corny and I don’t even care. God is doing outrageous things. He is changing people’s lives. He is giving freedom to people who were chained to addictions. He is giving joy to people who have lived in depression. He is opening high schoolers eyes to the world around them and giving them a burden to share life and love through the gospel.

I have heard that we shouldn’t always try to ’start a work of God. We should find out where God is working and join in.’ I’m not saying CE is not the only outlet to serve the Lord. But God is certainly working through them and blessing their ministries…

How could we NOT be excited about that? How could we NOT want to be involved with that?

I know I’m excited. Excited about what God is doing. Excited about the privilege to be involved. 

Are you?

a few months later …

sheesh. so i’m terrible at the update! i’ve thought about writing on this thing a few times and … just didn’t know what to say.

i am about to do the briefest recap of the past (almost) 3 months…

-flew harrisburg to ft wayne
-spent 5 days in winona, doing random jobs, spending q.t. with stacie, getting so excited for the summer
-drove from winona lake indiana to norwalk california in 48.5 hours. in 2 buses. with 7 hilarious leaders.
-spent a few weeks in southern california:

1. fell in LOVE with a group of leaders who sharpened and encouraged me
2. fell in LOVE with a group of students who were scared and excited and unsure of the summer
3. went to the beach. a lot.
4. felt so so so so excited about what God had for the summer. knew it would be something like i never had experienced before.

-went to churches in orange & hollywood, california; gallup, new mexico; colorado springs, colorado; dallas center, iowa; winona lake, kendallville, & goshen, indiana; marion, worthington, & new albany, ohio…

1.  was reminded of the fact that life is about the GLORY of GOD. not for anyone else. period.
2. learned about praying with expectation that God would answer and do things beyond what we can ask or imagine.
3. saw countless children, teens, adults turn their lives over to Jesus for the very first time.
4. saw students on my team learn about their gifts. learn who they really are in Jesus. learn that they are free from accusation and condemnation. learn about service. learn about love. learn about lost people. GIVE of themselves, over and over. be used mightily by the Lord.
5. continually learned about GRACE. it was extended to me, in very specific ways, by the Lord, by my leaders, by my students. i saw it extended to the leaders and students around me. began to recognize how i fall short in giving grace.
6. had.so.much.fun. so.much.fun. man. 30 incredible teenagers. 4 other outstanding leaders. people who were ridiculously hilarious, in love with Jesus, and fabulously sarcastic. ahhhh.
7. learned how to pop a clutch. on a bus. with my students pushing it. 

-made invaluable connections with pastors and churches literally all across the country.
-the best summer of barnabas i have ever had.

such an incomplete picture. yet this summer reminds me why i love the program of operation barnabas so much … and not because ‘barnabas is so great’ — but because the Lord has chosen to bless and use the program in ah-mazing ways. i believe barnabas is an experience that is like nothing else. check it out.
operation barnabas

Goggles

For the first time in my life, I own a pair of glasses that I love. That I will wear. Other than at nighttime. And that don’t have packing tape holding them together….

 

Yay.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

America here I am. I landed last night around 10 and got home around 1.30 this morning … and promptly stayed awake until 4 in the morning. Darn jetlag.

Now I’m awake, with a jetlag headache, and feeling rather displaced.

I was fine. Totally fine. Until I got to the immigration gate. And I had to say goodbye. A hug and ‘I’ll really miss you.’ … nope. Too much. Can’t do it. Instantly I was a wreck. And couldn’t get it together.

Honestly, I knew it would be hard. But not that hard. I made one of the best friends of my life in Thailand, and I hate that I have to walk away from that. I know we’re looking forward to new and exciting things, and that those things take us down different paths for now. I also know we’ll stay in touch, that it’s not the end, it’s just the beginning, blah blah blah.

Doesn’t make it less sad though.

I’m itching for Barnabas to start I suppose. Ready for a new challenge, a new adventure, and something to get my mind off of what I left behind.

All that said, I love being with my family. I love picking up the phone and calling people I haven’t been able to talk to except via computer for the past 4 months. I love sitting on the couch, eating leftovers out of the fridge, sleeping without ac blowing on me, driving. Mm America. You are good to me.

So. Call me. Unless you live in Thailand.

Games

My good friend Bobby is an aspiring filmmaker. However, since he is also currently a teacher in Thailand, he’s stuck with his co-teachers as actors.

So, we’re making a movie!

It’s fun, but it’s really weird to have a camera shoved in your face while you’re trying to act. It’s also difficult to get the timing right for two people to ‘accidentally bump into each other’ around a corner. There must be 19 shots of Shaun and I walking right past each other.

The movie is (currently) titled ‘Games’. I don’t want to spoil it for you (as I know you’re all anxiously awaiting its international release), so I won’t tell you what happens. (Besides the fact that it’s undergone 3 major re-writes already…) Hopefully I’ll return to the States with a copy in hand.

Oh Thailand, what funny opportunities you have afforded me.

wordpress, finally

so i am eons behind (yep, still have a xanga). but i finally got me one of these. once i figure out all the ins and outs i’ll write something worthwhile. til then, youth conference was good and i leave for thailand on thursday.