More Plot Developments than an episode of "24", a Recap of Summer Missions... Part II.

Do you want to know what is NOT fun for an traveling team of 7 student and 1 professor? An 8 hour layover in the Chicago International Airport. Just trust me on this one.

Disclaimer: Please don't show this blog to my English 101 professor, Mr. Gogan. I haven't had to take his class since freshman year, but I know he would judge me for all of my erratic, grammatical, sins.

So back to the story, yes, we had an 8 hour layover in Chicago. No, we did not leave the airport. However it provided good sleeping time since we left our university to head to the airport at 4:00 am.

Our next flight was destined for Frankfurt and then to Shamasbad International Airport in Hyderabad, India. I'm feeling good. Over half the team is sleeping, the other India team had the same itinerary so would get to travel with them (they were a ministry team, and we loved them very much), and I have my old TL's satchel bag which I have affectionately named, "The Jungle Bag". The rest of my team has called it a glorified fanny pack but what do they know? Its a jungle bag. God has done amazing things in our team in just one week and I'm loving it. Of course, I'm sure God will have much more to do in the personal lives of the team and myself, but amen, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Honestly though, I felt exhausted already. Sophomore year had been a difficult one. I'm always in this Kung Fu fight with one of my biggest flaws, which is getting over excited about anything and signing myself up to do everything. My fall semester I was a chaplain, an ATL, the news editor for the Oracle (campus newspaper), a student worker, and taking 18 hours, and maintaining a social life. Yeah, I almost died. Not really, but I felt like it. Spring semester was much better after I quit my job at the Oracle, but still the only commitment I let go of. Then BAM! Finals. BAM! Seniors graduate. BAM! Ropes Course. BAM! Then next thing I know I'm boarding a flight to Frankfurt and still trying to get my bearings. This is where that whole depending on Jesus thing kicks in.

I guess all this exhaustion makes me extra clumsy.

Ever since I was a little boy my mom told me I was a bull in a China closet. Now I'm no graceful, little, butterfly but I did not necessarily agree with such an outrageous accusation. Notice that I wrote, "did". The flight from Frankfurt to India was average and calm. Comfy seats? Check. Seat belts buckled? Check. Tasty airline food? Check. Huge German women flight attendants? Check. Getting some shut eye? Check. Elderly woman falling over backwards and having a seizure right next to me? Check. Wait.....

All my life, quirky little adventures have followed me wherever I go. Hilarious circumstances as well. Also some not so hilarious circumstances. I just always have strange experiences. I get handed my deck of cards and I attempt to play them the best I can. However, I seem to end up with injuring myself and on more rare occasions, other people.

Elderly European women falls over backwards, begins having a seizure, in the middle of the walkway. I don't know if this is a European thing, or mode of thinking, but in America, we help people when they are having seizures. On this plane, everyone just stared. I think that occurence was more unsettling than the old woman having a seizure. Now I'm no medical expert but dang it I was going to do something. I stand up, ready for action. Unfortunately I'm in the middle seat. The elderly Indian woman that was sitting next to me was asleep and completely blocking my way to the woman. What happened next was a blur. Facing her, I step over her legs in one great step with my left leg. I then try to swing my right leg over her head to exit the row, but because I'm convinced that God wants something to laugh at, I instead roundhouse kicked her in the face. Hard.

Chuck Norris would have been proud.

This woman looks like her face just got hit by a train. Wow. What a way to wake up. I say I'm sorry and then turn to seizure lady. By the time I bend down and try to grab her legs one of my team members Abby, is already with her and holding her head as this elderly woman starts to throw up. Abby had taken a first aid course and I felt a stab of pride knowing that my team member and I are the only people out of a plane of 300 that tried to help this woman. Score for ORU.

Eventually these huge German flight attendants run toward us screaming, "MOOVE!! GETS OUT OF ZEE VAY!!" I'm tempted to scream out "FLUGEN HAFLEN FLEEGEN LAUFEN", right back at them just to be difficult, but instead I obey. No lie, those women were a little scary.

The women was taken to the back and was fine afterwards, she just needed a lot of rest. Later I would sneak to that section of the plane and see her hooked up to an some sort of oxygen machine. The rest of the flight was uneventful. I apologized to the Indian woman that I had kicked in the face and offered her some Ibuprofen to which she politely declined and absolved me of my violent sin.

Finally we make it to India. After being screened by health officials because of the swine flu, we were greeted by our contact Michelle, an ORU graduate who has been living in India for the past 4 years. Michelle has an incredible servants heart and we leaned on her heavily during our trip while we were still getting our bearings. She was such a blessing. Stepping outside into a mugginess that I have never before felt in my life, we begin our Indian adventure. We were driven to our guest house in a small bus. The house was beautiful. It looked very colonial, two stories, white, with an enormous courtyard in front and back surrounded by large 12ft walls. There is no A/C, for the night, which is perfectly fine with me. I do a perimeter check outside, one of my ATL duties. The courtyard has many tall trees surrounding the walls which blocks any light from the neighborhood (which is like Indian version of Suburbia). I lock the entrance gate and begin to walk the perimeter of the wall. I hear foot steps, like someone is dragging their feet on the concrete, coming toward me. I run to the front of the house to investigate. Dang. I haven't been in India for more than 2 hours and I'm going to get attacked. Perfect. Luckily I have my flashlight which my mom had bought for me. I protested the purchase of such a tiny, yet very powerful and expensive flashlight saying I didn't need it. I silently thank my mom for refusing to listen to me, as there were no lights in the neighborhood since the power had blown out over the whole block. I shine the light, ready for whatever comes. It was just a large leaf of a banana tree, scraping the top of the concret wall in the wind. Fail.

Every country has it's smell. India, for example smells like Uganda, only sweeter. For the record, Uganda smells like burning trash, at least in the cities. I'm not discounting the country's variety of smells, but seriously, they had 12 foot piles of trash which they burned, which equals, the smell of burning trash. Parts of India look like Uganda, but they clearly are not Uganda. Its almost impossible to clarify in words, because it is so much a feeling.

Our first week in Hyderabad consisted of traveling back and forth between the Joyce Meyer Ministries building where our contacts were, hearing many different lectures on Micro-Finance by the top dogs in the micro-credit enterprise. It was such a rare blessing that they chose to grace us with their time.

As we drove throughout the city I'm affected by how little I'm affected by the sights and sounds of poverty and unhappiness that I see. I never want to be numb to such truths, but I cannot have my heart broken every time I open my eyes in a poor district in this country. I still don't think it has hit me that I am in India, I hope it hits me soon.

Hyderabad is a strange mix of poverty and wealthy. As I understand it, Hyderabad is one of the more affluent, large cities in India. I see and walk through buildings that look nicer and more beautiful than any place I've ever been, yet right outside there will be a vacant lot filled with dozens of tents made out of plastic bags.

On Saturday my team headed to a Joyce Meyer feeding center located around 3 hours from the house. Joyce Meyer Ministries had implemented a huge feeding program all over.

God and I were right. Co-leading this trip is one of the hardest things I have ever done. However, the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever. Before I know it is Sunday and the team and I attend Pearl City Church. The affluent of Hyderabad attend as well as the not so affluent. It was very professional with video screens, sound systems, and comfy stadium seating. I forgot for a second I was in India, I felt moreso that I was attending Victory Church in Tulsa. Hillsong London was touring and was leading worship at this church this morning. Very cool. That night a team member and I attended their concert in an area of the city called Secunderabad. We showed up early and watched them rehearse on a huge stage. When worship started I realized I was surrounded by thousands of Indians, all worshipping God, pouring their hearts out to Him in fervency. The body heat combining with the already energy sapping heat of India is staggering. The concert was free and I'm sure many there did not know why they were. We all worship together, a huge mass of people. It was a powerful experience. Except for the certain locals who trying to scream in my ear to see what I would do, (I've gotten really good at ignoring such things) and being abandoned by our driver for about 15 minutes afterwards, it was a great night.

On May 20th we traveled 3 hours away by bus to a place called Chandrakal, a beautiful orphanage for HIV/Aids positive children. My heart broke for them because though they had such a horrible disease, their joy was so evident. They did not let it bring them down and they were eager to have fun with us as their visitors. Dang. How many times have let myself fall into the depths of self-pity and numbing apathy just because certain situations became "difficult"? I felt pathetic, yet encouraged. These beautiful children have true strength. The team worked great together that day, putting on performances, singing songs, and playing games with them. We ate lunch with them and played an interesting board game called "Charems" with them afterward.

If I'm not careful I fall into thinking such thoughts of defeat. David, you are a naive idealist. What good do you think you are actually doing? For them? For God? For His Kingdom? You come into this hospital and sing songs and play with them. Wow. Great job. Anyone can do that. You will leave, move on with your blessed Western life and these children will still be here. With illness. Your team's presence is so trivial. Even if these kids weren't sick, who cares? You sang songs and played games for one afternoon. No difference is made with that.

I can't believe that. I'm no doctor, I cannot fix these children. I'm not rich, I cannot give them the life of material and physical comfort that so many desire (though they are very blessed and taken care of in this place). I'm a junior in college. Right now, at this point in time, all I can do is go. All I can say is Lord send me. And if singing songs and playing board games on the floor for an afternoon is all I can do right now, then dammit, I'm going to do that.

These children have a blessed life though. As far as I understand it Joyce Meyer Ministries helped put this beautiful home together, and they have loving people to take care of them.

We make the journey to the hospital across the street and pray for people. All I can do is pray that God moves, for them. For every person that reached out to me. I trust God. He is more than enough.

Part 3 is coming soon.

More plot developments than an episode of 24.... Recap of Summer Missions Part I

Wow.

Holy crap.

It has been a very long time since I have posted on this mug. I'm ok with that because I like to pretend I have a life.

Its funny that I'm rediscovering this blogspot at the same time of last summer, 2008. Post missions. Too much time on my hands. So I search the web, hungry for new, petty, social networking sites because there is nothing else to do. Don't judge me.

So tiny confession. I never actually went to Honduras. Funny story actually. Right before the financial deadline my TL decided that she wasn't supposed to lead the team. She was doing what she felt was right and the Lord had different things for her, and I applaud her decision. This happened around February of this year...

So my team of 4 girls and I did our best to survive the day of missions financial reckoning, the 50% deadline. Thank the Lord, a mysterious donor donated to the International Development region in the missions dept. so the teams only have to raise half of the money. Judgment day comes and goes and we have 1 casualty (aka one of the girls finances fell through and she couldn't come. Disclaimer: no one actually died). So now it is me the ATL, no TL, and 3 girls who are thinking they are going to Honduras to learn about micro-finance. Little did we know...

The department in a rush of efficiency madness merges my team with Team Costa Rica Business. A wonderful woman is leading that team as well, someone who became one of my best friends, Kortney. Her ATL is made the TL of a business trip to Africa and I become Kortney's ATL. Already a lot of changes. In the middle of these events, Kortney and I had a meeting with the person who was in charge of our trip. We weren't going to Honduras anymore. We would still be doing micro-finance and learning about it to our hearts content, yet in another country.

Confession time, when I heard this I was more excited than I should have been. I didn't really want to go to Honduras, wait I take that back, I did. Just not exactly too excited to go to one of the most visited countries by missions teams from churches and schools in the world. My heart is for countries that people do not normally go to (the adventurer/discoverer in me is talking right now). So I'm like, hit that missions random button! Lets go somewhere new! Now time for the infamous reality check. This trip is no way about me and what I want in the least. It's about God's kingdom, and His will, for us and for that country. Also, most of my team members heart's might as well have been buried in that Latin American soil. When we told the team that Team Honduras would be joining with Team Costa Rica, and on top of that, we would not be going to would not be going to EITHER countries, we were met with many expressions. Most of them were faces that said, "Are you joking me?" One person other than me was excited about the change. Good for you one person. I'm rooting there right alongside you.

So then the director of missions (amazing woman of God) then informed us to what country we would be traveling to. Literally she said, "Ok! Are you ready, its a little place that starts with a I and ends with an NDIA!"

India.

Awesome. No other word.

Yes, India is visited by many missions organizations and missionaries. Hey, though, we already went over this. Not my will but HIS will be done. Ok.

India.

India is one of those places that always see myself going, but later on. Meaning, let me visit and explore every inch of Africa, and then I'll make my way my way to India when I feel like it. Obviously I would be dead by the time I made my way to India, either through old age because, lets face it, DANG, Africa is a big place. Even if the Lord blessed me with "the quickness", my ability to get myself into trouble would have shown its colors during that time and I would have bit that, rich, red, African dust.

So now I get to go to India, at the ripe age of 20! Perfect. To the team, this is not so perfect. One girl said she would rather go ANYWHERE but India. Honesty rocks. However, she stuck on the team and I'm proud of the sacrifice she made.

So there. We made it past the 50% deadline. And now we were a new team. Kortney and I had the task of getting know each other and our leadership styles in two months, and somehow build a team from the ashes of fiery change.

Jesus help us.

Life goes on. Finals come and go and so does graduation. Now our first big team challenge, Ropes Course 2009.

The Missions Department makes every team go on a one week ropes right before we leave the country. Though many mission teams past and present hate this process with a hatred that could rival the devil himself, I'm glad we have it. It is hated for its stressful atmosphere, an athletics day that makes you feel like you are in bootcamp, high ropes courses that are the worst nightmare of anyone who has a mild fear of heights, low ropes exercises that can break you emotionally, and constant tiredness. Why, you ask, do you like this David? Well friend, I reply, I love it for the challenges, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. You come out of it a stronger person and I love the worship nights in which God chooses to grace us with His presence. God broke me at Ropes in a powerful way. In many ways. Leading this team was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life. So hard. One night at worship God broke me and I realized that only by leaning on Him I can get through this month.

I'm going to be honest. I hate leadership. Ok, hate is a strong word. Why? Because I'm a tiny bit selfish. I don't like the idea of being in the middle, on the center stage, and people need me directly to lead and serve them. I mean, I like the idea of leadership. If I learned one thing on this trip, it is that leadership has a price. Sometimes that price, is so much. So much that it is an impossible task. You lean and depend on Him for so much. Just to get you through the day. He is good. At ropes I just had to learn, whether it made sense or not, I was the ATL of this trip. Whether the team liked it or not, I was one of their leaders. I knew that God would get me through.

Ropes was rough for our team. We were all working through our own issues, questions, and what not. After 5 days of getting through all the challenges, the night I was waiting for had finally come. Commissioning night.

Commissioning night is when the Tl and ATL of each team pray over their team members and "commission" them. God moved so much this night and through almost every team member we prayed, and prophesied over our team members. It was beautiful. We still have to survive in India for a month together, but for now, seeing the team and all the others praying, completely sold out to the will of the Lord, few things are more beautiful than that.

Before the night is over, a girl who wasn't even involved in the missions programs stops me and pulls me aside. I knew her and have had conversations with her, but it was exactly like we were close enough that we made friendship bracelets for each other if you know what I mean. However, she stops me, and says, "David I just want you to know that I am so excited for you. You have an intense love all attacks from satan on your team are going to break. It will be love, intense love from God that does this. Intense love for the team. God is going to show His love to you in so many new ways." Wow. All I could say was thank you and then she was gone. She barely knew me, I'm pretty sure she didn't know any of my teammates. She knew nothing, including how much what she just said meant to me.

Part II on its ways friends!