Week 1

I think it’s about time I post my first blog update. For those of you who don’t know my whole team (about 25) met up in Georgia in July for a one-week training camp! This was an incredible experience for me and pretty much everyone there.  For a broad overview we basically spent some good time just learning about God and biblical concepts and doing various team building exercises and other fun things. Out of the team of about 25 there are only 6 guys. We bonded so quickly that we pretty much became brothers by the end of the first 24 hours we were there.  Actually the entire team pretty much became family by the end of the week. I really can’t think of any rational explanation for this except it was God’s will and his loving presence that pulled our hearts together.
 
Besides all the incredible times I got to spend with my brothers and my new family enjoying set challenges or neat multi-cultural simulations the best part of this training camp for me was learning more about the Holy Spirit and seeing Him at work in and around me. It was during the first 3 days of the trip that I learned about Him the most. Actually just a week before camp I felt like God was trying to get me to press in and to learn more about the Spirit. I told my friend, Adam just that and he lent me a book to read called “Forgotten God” by Francis Chan. From the book I learned the 101s about the Spirit, but it wasn’t until training camp that I fully understood just how “forgotten” the Spirit truly was in my life.
 
I believe God’s put it on my heart to save the crazy experiences I witnessed for more personal conversation, but I’m totally open to share with anyone who contacts me to learn more! But what I do want to you all to know now is that God showed me that He is a whole lot bigger more alive than we’ve ever imagined. Next time you read through the miracles in the gospels and/or Acts don’t let skepticism or cultural differences prevent you from really listening in and learning from them. Remember that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow and the Holy Spirit you read about doing crazy miraculous things is the same Holy Spirit inside of every one of us who have accepted Christ into our hearts. In the words of my good friend, Carl Larson, “there is no JV Spirit”. Pray or ponder about what this might mean for you.
 
Lastly, I just want say thank you so so much to everyone who’s invested in my trip. I’ve been amazed at how so many people have come through for me and for God’s calling to generosity. I’ve officially met the costs set by the organization, but I am still trying to raise a little more for some gear I’ll be living off of. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I leave for Launch in just about 3 weeks now. Then I’m off to Honduras.