Haiti Bound

I've been enjoying a full weekend with family in Vicksburg.  My youngest niece from Atlanta is here (her birthday was a few days ago) and my Dad has a birthday next week... and of course, this is Memorial Day weekend.  Pretty much all the immediate family except one nephew is here.  All the rug-rats are here too (I have 6 great-nephews and 2 great-nieces all under age 9)!  It's been fun.

And...I guess it's my going-away party too.  I'm leaving.  On a jet plane.  Don't know when I'll be back again.... the John Denver tune breaks down at this point because in fact, I don't "hate" to go.  I'm ready to go.  And I do know when I'll be back again (Lord willing) because I have a return ticket for the end of August.

I'm headed to Haiti first thing tomorrow morning.  After a circuitous route from Jackson, MS to Charlotte, NC to Miami, FL...I should arrive in Port Au Prince, Haiti tomorrow afternoon.  I'll be there 3 months serving with my friends from Adventures in Missions.

We have a full summer ahead.  Mostly, I'll live in a rented house (formerly a small hotel) with a weekly-variable number of other AIM Staff.  My work will probably focus primarily on pastoring and supporting the staff.  Together we will host and serve upwards of 800 volunteers throughout the summer.  Hey?  Want to come to Haiti...you can join a team or come as in individual...not just with a group from your church!

Want to know more?  Check out these resources:

Adventures in Missions-Haiti
Adventures in Missions- Haiti/Blog
Church to Church on Facebook-
Seth Barnes' blog about Church to Church-

In short- part of the big-picture vision AIM has for serving in Haiti is for Haitian Pastors to Spiritually Re-Father the Nation in the wake of the massive earthquake that shook Haiti's physical and spiritual foundations. Now it's time to rebuild- physically and spiritually.  Your Church could be a huge part of that re-building process.  It's not about an American church dumping cash in Haiti- it's about real partnership where long-term Discipleship is more important than anything we can build with hammers and nails.

Is that something you want to be a part of?

Top Character Strengths....

My sweet friend Thuy got this from her sister- a free survey that ranks your character strengths.  You can check yours out at this site:  http://www.viasurvey.org/Account/Register/

Here's mine:

Your Top Character Strength

Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith
You have strong and coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe. You know where you fit in the larger scheme. Your beliefs shape your actions and are a source of comfort to you.

Your Second Character Strength

Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness
You are an honest person, not only by speaking the truth but by living your life in a genuine and authentic way. You are down to earth and without pretense; you are a "real" person.

Your Third Character Strength

Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness
Thinking things through and examining them from all sides are important aspects of who you are. You do not jump to conclusions, and you rely only on solid evidence to make your decisions. You are able to change your mind.

Your Fourth Character Strength

Citizenship, teamwork, and loyalty
You excel as a member of a group. You are a loyal and dedicated teammate, you always do your share, and you work hard for the success of your group.

Your Fifth Character Strength

Forgiveness and mercy
You forgive those who have done you wrong. You always give people a second chance. Your guiding principle is mercy and not revenge.

Character Strength #6

Modesty and humility
You do not seek the spotlight, preferring to let your accomplishments speak for themselves. You do not regard yourself as special, and others recognize and value your modesty.

Character Strength #7

Perspective (wisdom)
Although you may not think of yourself as wise, your friends hold this view of you. They value your perspective on matters and turn to you for advice. You have a way of looking at the world that makes sense to others and to yourself.

Character Strength #8

Fairness, equity, and justice
Treating all people fairly is one of your abiding principles. You do not let your personal feelings bias your decisions about other people. You give everyone a chance.

Character Strength #9

Leadership
You excel at the tasks of leadership: encouraging a group to get things done and preserving harmony within the group by making everyone feel included. You do a good job organizing activities and seeing that they happen.

Character Strength #10

Kindness and generosity
You are kind and generous to others, and you are never too busy to do a favor. You enjoy doing good deeds for others, even if you do not know them well.

Character Strength #11

Bravery and valor
You are a courageous person who does not shrink from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain. You speak up for what is right even if there is opposition. You act on your convictions.

Character Strength #12

Curiosity and interest in the world
You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery.

Character Strength #13

Social intelligence
You are aware of the motives and feelings of other people. You know what to do to fit in to different social situations, and you know what to do to put others at ease.

Character Strength #14

Capacity to love and be loved
You value close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you.

Character Strength #15

Industry, diligence, and perseverance
You work hard to finish what you start. No matter the project, you "get it out the door" in timely fashion. You do not get distracted when you work, and you take satisfaction in completing tasks.

Character Strength #16

Appreciation of beauty and excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

Character Strength #17

Creativity, ingenuity, and originality
Thinking of new ways to do things is a crucial part of who you are. You are never content with doing something the conventional way if a better way is possible.

Character Strength #18

Love of learning
You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn.

Character Strength #19

Caution, prudence, and discretion
You are a careful person, and your choices are consistently prudent ones. You do not say or do things that you might later regret.

Character Strength #20

Gratitude
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

Character Strength #21

Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness
You expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control.

Character Strength #22

Self-control and self-regulation
You self-consciously regulate what you feel and what you do. You are a disciplined person. You are in control of your appetites and your emotions, not vice versa.

Character Strength #23

Zest, enthusiasm, and energy
Regardless of what you do, you approach it with excitement and energy. You never do anything halfway or halfheartedly. For you, life is an adventure.

Character Strength #24

Humor and playfulness
You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people is important to you. You try to see the light side of all situations.

Old Friends

At the same time Mission Project Leaders are in Gainesville, GA training for work all over the country, two squads of World Racers are training about an hour and a half from here.

A PILE of World Race Alums are helping facilitate the training.  I was really thankful to be able to see some of them and spend a few minutes with them at their training site.  They are training the June and July World Race Squads…check them out at www.adventures.org  … theywill be proclaiming the Kingdom of God all over the world.

Me and sweet BriEllyn.

And here's Bri and her precious little girl, Adelyn.

A few buds: Brian Alonzo (far left) led a Squad to Ukraine last year.

Sean Smith (4th from left) was a few months behind us on C Squad.

Dennis Ho (5th) came through Ukraine last year.

My friend Jimmy McCarty (3rd from R).

Jerry Goode- WR Leadership (far R)

My friend Tangi Holmes- a fellow Mississippi State Grad and WR Alum

My Arkansas buddy Rusty Jackson. 

And there were more...and they were all as important to me and fun to see as the ones above.  There were kids from A,B,C and I think D Squads hanging around that I knew from when I was on the Race...and there were several kids I met that traveled through Ukraine (3 Squads) last year.

So...it was a nice reunion.

Surgery without the Anesthetic

Training Camp at AIM Headquarters.  Oh, the memories! 

I’ve spent the weekend here in North Georgia with about 40 really diverse, spiritually attuned and hungry Mission Project Leaders and Staff.  The AIM DNA is alive and well.  I’ve been reminded of a lot of things- things I needed to be reminded about like:

·         my Identity in Christ.

·         the Authority Christ has delegated to me.

·         releasing sins that entangle me and surrendering them at the Cross.

·         peeling back the lies of satan about me and revealing the Truth of God about me.

This thought occurred to me earlier today: This is all good for me but it’s a heck of a lot harder than just being a good Baptist church attender.

Here’s what I mean:  I’ve been a member of one Church or another since I was a teenager.  I’ve sat under several Pastors.  I’ve been to ALL the conferences and camps- most of them were great.  I’ve heard about and learned about Identity and Authority and Surrender, etc … but I don’t know if I’ve ever been confronted with all that the way I am when I’m playing in AIM’s backyard.

Here- it’s not an academic proposition, it’s not a sermon aimed “at” me- what is it?  It’s a challenge to me to respond.  It’s an expectation that I’m going to respond.  I’m not left to walk an aisle at the end of the sermon nor am I left to ponder what I’m going to do with all this new information.  There’s space- right then and there- to deal with it.  There’s someone right then and there ready to process it with me and pray with me and pray over me.  That kind of action leads to transformation.  Information alone does not equal transformation and that’s mostly what I’ve experienced in most “church” contexts.

And it’s painful as heck and a lot harder than being a passive pew sitter.  It’s surgery without the anesthetic.  I spend part of the time wanting it and part of the time looking for a chair to hide under but you can’t hide from the Holy Spirit and in a room of 40 people experiencing the same thing, well, you can’t hide from them either. 

So you deal with it.  You confess your sins, not just to God but to somebody in the room.  You renounce the lies you’ve believed about yourself and repent- you change your mind and heart and begin to believe the truth.  You accept help from the community and you offer your hand and head and heart.  You wash feet and you get cleansed.  You experience brokenness, and healing, and community and communion and deeper faith.  And you face the realization that you may need to go through it all again tomorrow.  But the community will be there to help you do it because we weren’t designed to do it alone.

Recently Read and/or Reading

The New Testament- The Church I attended while in Kyiv promoted NT60- a challenge to read the New Testament in 60 days (works out to about 5 chapters a day) back in January and February.  I did it.  Then I did it again.  And I’m working on it again. 

Clancy- I’ve been on a Tom Clancy kick for a few months.  Actually, I’ve been on an “anything Russian/Ukrainian” spy novel kick and most of Clancy’s stuff at least touches on that.  I’ve read Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Hunt For Red October, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, and The Sum of All Fears in the last several months.  I bought most of the ones I haven’t read yet at a Thrift Store a few weeks ago for a Buck apiece.

Winds of War, Herman Wouk- Epic story leading up to World War 2.  I’ve been on a thrift store kick for a few months too and I picked up a hard-cover First Edition for a couple Bucks.

The Russia House, John Le Carre- Another Russian/British/American Spy Novel…also a thrift store find.

What The Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell- This guy connects dots better than just about anyone- it’s a book I’ve picked at for a few months.

Victory Over Darkness, Neil Anderson- I read this about once a year just to be reminded who I am.

The Mean Streets of L.A., Roger Walker- Roger is a missionary friend currently in Thailand.  I got to read the manuscript.  It’s due to be published later this year.

Adopted for Life, Dr. Russell Moore- I went to Seminary with Russ; we were both Youth Minister’s in the same town.  This is probably a good intro to the Theology of Adoption for the Church.

Radical, David Platt- Just got it today and will dig into it this week…expecting it to be better than Francis Chan’s Crazy Love (which I read last Fall).

The Starfish Manifesto, Wolfgang Simson- This is an online thing that’s floating around…it’s free.  The subtitle is “A Prophetic Roadmap for an Apostolic Journey”.

Missions Dilemma, Steve Saint- AMAZING and challenging DVD and book about the good and bad of missions.

Priceless, Tom Davis- Tom is a friend and this is his 2^nd novel (following Scared).  It’s out June 1 so I’ll have to have someone bring me a copy to Haiti.

20000 Leagues Under The Sea, Jules Verne- Another thrift store find…will go to Haiti with me.