LIONHEARTED LANDLOPER

10-11-18 The air is hot and thick. People on mopeds weave through traffic. I know it’s on the other side of the continent, but it’s already bringing back so many memories from South Africa. We were greeted at the airport by some buskers who serenaded us until they realized we weren’t going to give them money. We rode a bus to WAAST where Mary Ballenger talked to us and we ate pizza, salad, and fruit. The pizza had barely any cheese on it and tasted like hamburger meat. They have good pineapple. There was also some kind of melon. I am staying in house #95. ... It feels so good to be here. Even though I’m tired, sweaty, and my stomach hurts — experiences like this are like a breath of fresh air for the soul. I have finals due this week and it feels impossible. I have no idea how I am going to do it. But I will, and I’m happy and God has created such incredibly diverse beauty to fill this earth with. 10-12-18 I woke up at 6:00 AM, took a shower, and got dressed for the day. I h

        Recently , I had the opportunity to spend eight days in Lomé, Togo, serving at the West Africa Advanced School of Theology (or WAAST). First of all, Togo is a beautiful country full of beautiful people. Even the dirt is my favorite color. All the plants thrive and there are shells on the ground when you’re not even on the beach. There’s lizards of all sizes and colors and more shades of green than you probably realize exist. Everyone wears vibrant patterns and big smiles. The people and vehicles flow down streets in a way that can either look like chaos or the most impressive feat you’ve ever witnessed (depending on your mood). But the most beautiful thing is how quickly the kingdom of God is advancing in that country. Every single church tries to plant at least one more church a year. The alter calls are consistently bringing life-change. The Christian community is marked by unity, kindness, encouragement, and passion. We met missionaries who had been in ministry for decades.

       I have had two experiences with very generous anonymous individuals. 1. Someone bought me real Chacos — my size and favorite color. Like, brand new Chacos. What on earth? Why? Suddenly I felt so encouraged. Yes, God provides for our needs — but He also goes above and beyond just because he loves us. I felt like someone could see me and truly cared. 2. Someone paid the remainder of what I owed to go to Togo. That was a lot of money.  This reassured me that I really am doing what God wants me to do. I’ve never seen generosity so extreme before, and it really touched me. Why would they do this? Why for me? I struggle to pay for all my school and necessities already, so raising money for this trip seemed unlikely. Yet here I am today having been totally and unimaginably provided for. I have no idea who these people are or what compelled them to be so incredibly kind to me, but I feel so blessed. I want to say thank you.         To the individual who bought me Chacos:        

       The doctor casually walked into the room, sat in a chair, and looked at my mom.        “So, your scan looked pretty good.” He said without much thought.        “What?”        “Your scan. The MRI. It looked pretty good. I was actually pleased with how it turned out.”        “What do you mean?”         “You know how there were all those spots and stuff in your brain? Like, they’re almost gone now. Barely even visible.” He explained. The lack of emotion in his demeanor was so incredibly unsettling that none of us thought we were hearing him right.        What does this mean? None of us know.  But something has helped my mom improve substantially and (at this point) the cancer has pretty much stopped progressing entirely. The doctor said it’s not a permanent fix — cancer will be back eventually. He said he didn’t know if that would be a month or a couple years. He said she probably has a lot of permanent damage and may never be able to move her left side or improve much mor

“Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people.” - Robert D. Lupton ***        A lot of times, people have a certain mindset regarding mission trips. "I'm going to save people," they think to themselves, "I'm going to change the world." But, in reality, you're not.  Long-term missionaries spend years building relationships and working among people in order to learn their culture and earn respect. Spending two weeks in a country you know little about does not make you a hero nor will it spark some major revival. Do not go if you think you are going to "fix" their country or do something they cannot do for themselves.        Whatever it is that we are going to do, there are people already in the country who could do it just as good (and probably better) for cheaper than the price of our plane tickets to even get there. More problems arise when people show up

For context, read my previous posts: Hospitals -&- Thanksgiving ,  Hospitals -&- Christmas . ***         The day started out normal. A good day, actually. A fun day; a school day. I showed up to school at 9:00 AM, per usual. It was one of the first days with sunshine and blue skies in a while. I found Jaren wandering the hallways of the church in his big camo slippers. I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk and we ended up pretending to be spies and dramatically running, rolling, and hiding around corners. We found Tracie and asked her to be a spy with us. After maybe 10 minutes of sprinting past doorways and "spying" on innocent bystanders, we discovered that the baptismal pool was open, warm, and unoccupied.        "We should all three put on our swimsuits and sneak into the baptismal pool when no one is looking" Jaren suggested.        And although we all knew he was originally joking, it somehow seemed quite plausible. We even drove home, gr

This is a paper I recently worked on in my English class. The topic was one very close to my heart, and I found my research to be very fascinating. I think every Christian should be aware of this issue and have an idea on where they stand. This paper attempts to present the ideas at either end of the controversy without taking either side. ~***~ Insider Movements        Among Christian missionaries today, there is a topic that has caused much controversy. This is the issue of insider movements. The term refers to “. . . any movement to faith in Christ that remains integrated with or inside its natural community” (Higgins, 2009, p. 75). Specifically, a group of people within a highly religious culture who, although confessing faith in Christ, still identify with their original religion. Most commonly, this refers to the occurrence among Muslim people groups. The issue is regarding syncretism and heresy — how much of Christianity as it is today is necessary to be saved? An