The Power of ONE.

There are a number of struggles I face when it comes to working within ministry. Most of those struggles are the kind that simply "come with the territory". However, there's one of those struggles that usually bothers me more than the others. That struggle of "numbers". Now, any of you that work in ministry probably know exactly what I mean when I say that. It's that idea that the success of your ministry is driven by how many people are attending. I teach College Aged Sunday School, and this time of year, because a lot of students are away at school trying to cap off yet another school year, there are fewer and fewer students in Sunday School. I struggle with that because of a few desires I have for the College Aged Ministry:

1. I want to see the College Age Ministry thrive in Columbus. In terms of this being a "college town" it's not the same as what I experienced in Lexington. That means a lot of times the turnout for things like Sunday School isn't the same. I want to see that change. I want to see a community of people coming together to intentionally study God's Word in a more intimate setting than a corporate worship service.
2. I want to invest in the lives of the College Age people in Columbus. In order to truly and effectively communicate the importance of the Gospel and to encourage a relationship with Christ I have to have a relationship with the individual. I want to invest in the College Age ministry because I want to see those that are apart of it invest in themselves by taking their faith seriously.
3. I want the College Age ministry to flourish causing a transformation of our city. As much as it surprises me that I'm going to write this next sentence... I love the city of Columbus. I know there's a desire for a lot of college students to escape Columbus, their hometown, and experience other parts of the country. I get it because I was that person. However, Columbus has been good to me post-college, and I want to those that are college age to understand the importance and the impact this city can have for the Kingdom of God.


Now, looking at those desires, I see a yearning to truly see College Age Ministry be successful in Columbus. I think it will become a success because I think there are people taking action through CCC that are going to make a difference. Those recognition of those desires this morning helped me realize an area in which I fail in ministry. I focus too much sometimes on numbers. Granted I would love to have 25, 50, 100, College Age people in Sunday School every week. But, right now, that's not the reality. In order to effective I need to be present with where the ministry is. This morning, that ministry was one guy. In fact, since I started teaching College Sunday School, this one guy is the only one I've seen consistently. I think he's missed one week the last two months (that's less than I've missed). I realized that developing a relationship with him, even just by catching up on our week and learning about his life just as important.. no no, more important than having 100 people in the class and not being able to really get to know them. Investment in the lives of others leads to relationships, relationships lead to community, community leads to impact, impact leads to "success". This morning I am thankful for that one guy. I am thankful for the opportunity to just hear about his week, but more importantly, I am thankful that he was hear. That he's willing to invest his time in being present, and that he's willing to give me feedback on how we can become more effective.

Columbus is going to see in uprising of 18-24 year olds working to spread the Kingdom through our city. Every movement, every change, every impact... starts with one person. One person choosing to show up to Sunday School when no one else is here, one person that's willing to take on a role doing both Middle School/College Age ministry and say "we can do better", one person to decide that investing in the communities that are Ivy Tech, Harrison College, and IUPUC is going to change the face of our city.

And when each one of those people come together, a revolution begins.

 In order to influence the culture, you have to infiltrate the culture. 

Pierced, Crushed, Beaten, and Whipped... for MY sin and MY rebellion

Sometimes, I sit in my desk chair and feel this strange sense of uncomfortable.

I feel like I don't belong. I don't mean I don't belong at work, or in Columbus, just in general. I have these days where my body just feels... wrong. Where my heart feels heavy and my soul feels crushed. I've written about this before, I've written about the bad days. Today didn't start out like that, but it turned into one.

Anxious. Nervous. Uncomfortable. Sad. Disillusioned. Awkward. Complacent. Unwanted.

Those are the things the enemy puts into my head. Those are the things the enemy wants me to believe, so I forget that, because of my relationship with Christ I am (or should be):

Still. Calm. Provided for. Protected. Joyful. Normal (whatever that means). Content. Wanted. Needed.

LOVED.

These days come in the strangest of ways. Sometimes I wake up feeling that way. Sometimes, it happens in the middle of a conversation. It's never planned, or predicted. It just happens. I used to get really angry about the bad days. Which, in reality, only made the bad days worse. Then I realized that every once in a while the bad days are something I should find comfort in, because I realized this morning... those feelings, that attack from the enemy, is because he desires to make me distant from Christ. Because the enemy doesn't like the relationship I have with Christ. The bad days come, because I'm doing something right. They make me cry out to God while I'm hurting, and they strengthen my relationship with my Creator because each and every time... He answers my cries. Whether that's by a whisper or a whiplash. He answers. 

Today He answered. He answered with a passage from His Word, that made me realize the things that get me down, that bring on the bad days... are nothing compared to the sacrifice He made for me. 

"But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all" Isaiah 53:5-6

Even though my heart rate increases, and my body feels out of place, and my thoughts are sad and running wild... these is one constant. Christ died on the Cross, for my salvation, He took on my sin, my rebellion so that I could be whole and healed. Regardless of how many times I stray, and how many times the enemy is able to bring on one of the bad days... My Savior is constant. My Savior loves me. My Savior died for me. and My Savior fights for me daily.

Grace and Peace

Impoverished Beauty

Thursday Morning.

It's been a week since we left Moldova, and at this point I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything that happened while we were there. Throughout this last week, on a number of occasions, I have tried to paint a picture of the beauty of Chisinau while also driving home the heart-wrenching poverty that is experienced and faced there on a daily basis. I consider myself a wordsmith when it comes to formulating my thoughts through the keystrokes of my hands. Therefore, I felt that the best way to try and convey the beauty in what I experienced was to write about it.

Here goes nothing.

From the moment I stepped off the airplane I was captivated and intrigued to experience everything. I knew there would be moments that seemed slightly uncomfortable, which happens anytime you experience a new culture. I had prayed that these moments be few and far between on the flight from Munich to Chisinau. Not because I don't believe that things are taught in uncomfortable moments, but because I didn't want any one moment to distract me from experiencing everything there was to experience. Walking through the airport, culture shock started to set in right way. Everything from the bathrooms to the language being spoken was different. Yet, all so exciting. After experiencing a rather... awkward... bathroom experience, I'll admit I was a little nervous about getting through the airport and getting to our hostel. As usual, God used something very small to remind me that this place, these people, they weren't so different from myself... that reminder, as funny as it is, came in the form of a cardboard box. The first thing I saw after walking out of the Wash Closet was a cardboard box, on a chair, that read "James Beam, Clermont Kentucky". It made everyone on the team laugh, and I think it took a little of the uncertainty away, long enough for the excitement of what was to come to settle in for the next 10 days.

The city of Chisinau is almost indescribable. It's this place where, everything, from the rolling hills outside the city to the poverty within the busy streets is absolutely beautiful. Now, let me explain what I mean when I describe poverty as beautiful. Don't get me wrong, the poverty of Moldova breaks my heart, and urges me to want to do more for the Moldovan people. Yet, there's a simplicity in the way they live because of the poverty. There's a happiness about the people despite their poverty and there's joy in my heart because of the pride that was shown through personal appearance. These people literally dressed for success every day, no matter whether they were going to church or work, they wore their best clothes. It was as though they were saying to the economy (if it were a tangible thing) "Despite the lack of stability you provide, we are going to be proud of what we have and who we are". That was one of my favorite things about Moldova. The happiness and simplicity I experienced and saw in the faces of the Moldovan people is something similar to what I had experience in Africa and Jamaica... the difference was, it wasn't a product of ignorance to what they didn't have. I believe the Moldovan people are fully aware of the poverty they face, however, instead of allowing it to destroy them, they embrace what they have and make the most of it. Oh how the world would be different if more people viewed things that way. In our culture it's always about "more, more, more" or "new, new, new". I'm guilty of it as well. In fact, this week, on two different occasions I was tempted to spend money on frivolous things. New clothes because they were on sale, even though the clothes I have are more than enough. Or a new golf club because it's spring, even though it probably wouldn't improve my game THAT much. I'm not saying that spending money is entirely a bad thing... and I'm not going to try and be an extremist and say that I'm not going to buy anything new. I just learned while in Moldova, that I need to be more sound in my financial decisions, that sometimes, I need to take pride in what I have... and stop trying to find more.

I learned a lot about myself, compassion for others, ministry, missions, and investment in others. The wheels are turning now, and I'm looking for new ways to invest in the lives of the next generation. I realize that we don't need to spend time teaching our youth how to be the best at a sport, an instrument, and art, or in business. We need to invest in their lives and teach them how to be the best version of themselves. How to take pride in what they have, and how to be in community with others. Each new generation has an opportunity to change the World... and it's the current generation's job to prepare them to do so. This last year God has been teaching me so much about community and relationships. This trip to Moldova, was God's way of reinforcing everything He's been teaching me. Being intentional about being relational takes on a whole new meaning after seeing how the Moldovan people, and the WMF Staff live amongst and with each other. The staff helped me see that living in community is the ONLY way to truly experience Heaven on Earth. That even in a country as impoverished as Moldova, when a community of believers lives together as one, with one common purpose, the poverty the face... is nothing shy of beautiful.


Grace and Peace

An Angel in Moldova

Wow.... where do I begin.

I intended to update my blog more regularly but everything has been a whirlwind, especially the last 3 days. I'm going to do my best to hit the highs and lows of this trip thus far... and I'll fill in details when I return to the States and have a real computer. Basically we traveled all day on Monday (3/18) nothing too crazy happened during travel, which was a good thing. We arrived in Chisinau on Tuesday (3/19) came to the hostel and checked in, went to the mall for a quick snack and caught up on some rest. Wednesday we had a Romanian lesson and then headed to the Internat to help with La Via. I loved the first day there... the kids were just so open and welcoming to us being there, it was great. Thursday we spent the whole day at the school, studying the Poor in Scripture and working with the kids. Friday, we went to a Moldovan "history" museum. It was really cool to see some of the tools,  weapons, clothes, etc. that made up the Moldovan culture. That afternoon we just played with the kids, and worked on building some form of relationship with them. Saturday we went to a village,  our experience deserves it's own post, so more on that later. I really want to focus on Sunday through today right this moment, because it's what is just causing my heart to break and God is restoring me slowly but surely. Sunday morning we went to a local Orthodox Church to worship for about an hour (a service usually lasts 4 hours). The worship was unlike anything else I had ever experienced. Very structured, and ritualistic. It intrigued me so much. That doesn't mean I necessarily enjoyed the way it was done, but I enjoyed experiencing something new. Here's where things start to pull on the heart strings...

After service, we met with a staff member at the school, who attends the Orthodox Church. She was so open and honest with us about her opinions of the church, the history of the church, etc. It was heartwarming to hear about her journey through faith, and her relationship with God. She is the epitome of a Proverbs 31 woman, and it shows in the way she serves others, mothers her children, and cares for all of us. Throughout this conversation she mentioned a family that the church was raising money for. This family of 8 had recently had a house fire... and lost everything. That's when the reality of the poverty in this country set in for me personally. I couldn't stop thinking about this family. I prayed for them right then and right there. I know what it's like to lose everything... but I don't know what it's like when "everything" is barely enough to survive on. When everything is most likely family heirlooms from clothes, to furniture to jewelry. When your neighbors and family can't afford to help because everyone is suffering from the poverty, when there is no insurance to cover your home or the contents... when all you have is the Church and your faith in God to rely on. The thoughts of this absolutely broke me... It took everything I had to hold things together. This same feeling stayed in the pit of my stomach until Monday evening. Don't get me wrong, there were bright spots throughout those days... but I'll talk about that more later. Then Monday evening came, and I got back to my room to wind down, check Facebook, the news, and read my Bible. That's when my heart was broken yet again...

Growing up, I had both sets of grandparents and two sets of great-grandparents. Aside from blood, I had a lot of older people I considered to be family. Warren Broady was one of those people. His daughter Amy, has always been my big sister... and her daugthers are my beloved nieces. I got word from Mom on Monday night that Warren had passed away. My heart was absolutely in shambles. Not only had I been mourning for a family I didn't know, that lost their home, but now I was mourning the loss of someone I loved. I was overwhelmed to say the least. I sat on the stairs of our Hostel crying, shaking, and praying for The Great Comforter to give me peace. God is so good. He brought peace to me through my conversation with my Mom, with Amy and with two other people who I consider two of my best friends. Lucky for me, one of those people is here in Moldova. The leader of our trip came out in the hall and talked to me... she didn't try to sugar coat it, she didn't say any of the cliche things we often say in difficult situations, she simply said "This really sucks, I'm sorry, and I'm here for you if you need me". I am so thankful for Amanda and her heart. The second was from Hayli Goode aka Hammie. I sent her a text shortly after I found out, and her responses were exactly what I needed to find peace in the situation. God used Hayli and her words to calm my heart, and I truly believe that is the only reason I slept at all last night. Thank you dear friends and family for helping me through yet another difficult situation.

As you can imagine, I awoke with a still burdened spirit. I wasn't sure how to react to everything that had happened the last few days. I knew that today had the potential of just adding to the burden. Today we visited a tuburculosis hospital. This hospital is where children would be sent for 6 months, after their TB had become dormant... just to be certain. We were told a lot of these kids didn't have families, and were from orphanages and that it would be incredibly sad and hard to deal with. Wow does God work in awesome ways. Today was such a blessing. The kids were excited to play with us, to do crafts with us, and just spend time with us. I was overjoyed. The smiles on those kids faces made the very sketchy 3 hour Maxi-Taxi ride completely worthwhile. One kid in particular for me. I have a strong connection with one of the boys at La Via, but other than that... I haven't really felt drawn to any child besides D. However, we walked into the room at the hospital, and I was looking at all the children, taking in everything around me, when one little girl smiled at me. She was precious beyond words. If I had to guess, I would say she was in 4th grade. She was so funny. As we were playing games, I could tell some of the older, bigger kids were kind of pushing her out, and she felt like she wasn't involved. I couldn't have that, so I made sure she got to play. When we started doing the craft, I taught her what to do and she picked up on it instantly. So, I moved on to help some boys that didn't quite understand. That's when I watched out of the corner of my eye as she started to mess up on purpose, so I would have to come back and help her again. It was adorable and heart-warming. She made me feel incredibly special, which helped take the pain I had been feeling away. She finished her Eye of God craft with a huge smile, and proudly showed it to me... about 12 times. She wanted to do another one, but we didn't have the materials...so I allowed her to finish mine for me. I then turned it into a necklace (which I then had to do to hers as well) She was excited that she could wear it around her neck... as I was walking out of the room, I passed the one I made to her and told her she could keep it. She had the biggest grin on her face... and it warmed my heart that something as small as popsicle sticks and yarn could make a little girls day. As we were leaving she followed us down to the lobby, she waited there, not saying a word, until we walked out the doors. As we were walking to the bus stop to leave, I turned back to take one more look at the hospital... and there she was, standing just outside the door, smiling and waving goodbye. She waved from inside the door until I was out of sight, and maybe even longer. She doesn't know this... but she made my day. She was an angel sent by God to lift my spirits today, and I will never forget her, or that precious smile.

The last three days have been a rollercoaster of emotions. And despite the pain of loss, and the joy of a child's smile.. the one constant has been God's soveriegnty. I am thankful, and overwhelmed by the love of my Heavenly Father for me, His son. We have one more full day here... and it's not going to be anywhere near long enough. Leaving this place will be hard, and pieces of my heart will always remain here with my Angel, La Via, the children, the staff, and the culture.

Noapte Buna

Grace and Peace,

B

6 days...

6 days.

Only 6 more days until we leave for Chisinau, Moldova. Each and every day that our departure grows closer my excitement grows exponentially. As do my worries about if 6 days is enough to finish all the things I still need to do before we leave. This is the first time I've gone on a mission trip in the midst of having a full time job (the other two I was still a college student). That adds a new and somewhat stressful twist to the planning and preparation for departure. I generally only have from around 5:30 to whenever I get too tired to keep working on things to spend thinking about what I still need to do, and taking action to do those things. That makes all of this just a little more interesting... Clarity is coming though, about my purpose, my passion, missions work, the corporate business world, etc. Hopefully over the course of the next 3 weeks even more clarity will be gained in each of those areas... which leads to the point of this post. 

Prayers are still needed.

Prayers are always appreciated when traveling overseas. I have seen the power of prayer first hand and know that we will need it during our travels. There are a 6 things I would ask you to pray for specifically TODAY:

1. Personal Growth. Pray that each team member, staff member, and child will see personal growth in our own relationships with Christ. 
2. Intentional Conversations. Sometimes it's difficult to have intentional conversations with those around us about Christ, The Kingdom, and matters of faith. Pray that our team invests time in being intentional about being relational with God, with each other, and with the people of Moldova. 
3. Travel Preparations. Pray that each of our team members can get things set and covered for the time in which we will be gone, with jobs, families, and other outlying responsibilities that we can't put on pause while we are gone. (Contributed by Amanda Martin)
4. Prepared Hearts. Pray that we can go without expectation but also hearts that are prepared for the work God is going to do both in the orphanage and in our lives. 
5. Families. Pray for our families as we leave them to do the work of the Lord in another country, and pray for the families of the missionaries that are already serving in Moldova. (This includes, mothers/fathers/brothers/sisters/grandparents/children/cats... especially Bobbett, Amanda's cat, she's kind of obsessed with that cat-- don't believe me? Check Instagram. I'm laughing as I write this, so the prayers for laughter that I requested in yesterday's post are working)
6. Energy/Rest. Pray that over the next six days our team is able to rest at night despite all the things running through our minds as we prepare. Also pray that we have the energy to tie up all loose ends before we leave. 



Those are the 6 things I would ask you to pray for today. Tomorrow I'll have 5 things, then 4, then 3... and so on and so forth. I am encouraged by yours prayers, and by the peace that God has put on my heart that He is going to do great things while I am in Moldova.


Grace and Peace,

Brad aka Evergreen Tree

7 Days...

Bună Ziua!!!!

7 days.

Only 7 more days until we leave for Chisinau, Moldova. I am beyond excited. I have been counting down the days for the last two months. During that two month span God has taken care of every little worry and concern I have had about this trip, the funding, the supplies, my own preparedness to go. I am happy to announce that our entire team is fully funded to leave. I was worried about the money, but so many wonderful people (both family and friends) have donated in ways that have literally melted my heart. I raised above and beyond my personal goal and the extra money has been a HUGE blessing to our team. Along with the financial aspect, the donations of markers and games has been unbelievable, and the prayers... oh how thankful I am for your prayers. I am just completely overwhelmed by the love and generosity that this community has shown (however I am in no way surprised by it). So here's a few thoughts to begin the one week countdown:


Prayers are still needed.

Prayers are always appreciated when traveling overseas. I have seen the power of prayer first hand and know that we will need it during our travels. There are a 7 things I would ask you to pray for specifically TODAY:

1.Safe Travel (I know this goes without saying, but I'm saying it anyway)
2. Open Hearts. God is going to work in each of our lives in different ways, pray that we will be open to hearing and learning what God has for us, no matter how difficult it may be.
3. Direction. For me in particular, this trip is going to be somewhat investigative on what's next for me. I have  a decision to make in the near future and am hoping that while I am away from home I will be given some clarity.
4. Laughter and Tears. I ask that you pray for these things because I know that while we are there, some of us will need to be broken by God, only to be rebuilt in His image. While at the same time, I ask that you pray that our team not take any moment for granted, from the time we pull out of the church parking lot.
5. Impact. Pray that we have an impact in the lives of the children at La Via and the staff as well. Pray that our time there will be used to revitalize the staff and help them in whatever ways they need us too. That God will use us to really make a difference.
6. Good Health. I for one am notorious for getting sick on mission trips. I think it's generally my "role" to be the one that suffers. I pray that this time, none of us have to worry about sickness, we can be healthy throughout our stay in Chisinau.
7. Change. Pray that our hearts and lives are changed by our trip. Whether that be that it motivates us individually to explore missions more in depth, or just simply that we decide to live more selflessly and less selfishly.


Those are the 7 things I would ask you to pray for today. Tomorrow I'll have 6 things, then 5, then 4... and so on and so forth. I am encouraged by yours prayers, and by the peace that God has put on my heart that He is going to do great things while I am in Moldova.


Grace and peace,

Brad (Which means Evergreen Tree in Romanian... awesome)

START

Last night, was incredible.


For those of you that know me, you probably know I'm a big fan of a select few Christian blogs. One in particular called Stuff Christians Like, is a satirical blog written by a guy named Jon Acuff. Now, I have followed SCL for probably the last 3 or 4 years. It's one of the first things I read every morning. There's humor, there's insight, there's relevance and it's written so well. Jon has also written a few books, I've read two of those books. One was called... not surprisingly... "Stuff Christians Like". The other, was called Quitter. I read Quitter while I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was exactly what I needed while on that trip. Jon's writing, his story of how he got to where he is, is one of the big reasons I have continually worked on writing this blog, and preparing the ideas for a book that I will write one day. Jon has helped me to realize that if I want to write, I just need to do it on a regular basis.

#StartNight

A couple of months ago I heard Jon was releasing a new book called Start. Then, I found out he was going to be holding an event in Franklin, TN called #StartNight. Basically, Dave Ramsey (who Jon works for) told Jon to plan his dream event... and #StartNight was born. Now, most of you know, I am a professional procrastinator. So naturally, when tickets went on sale for #StartNight, I waited until the last possible second to buy one... and wouldn't you know... they were sold out. I was distraught. However, an idea was formed in that moment... Jon loves Twitter, why not use Twitter to get his attention and get a ticket. I started a campaign, and asked everyone that follows me to retweet the following post "I'm starting a personal campaign to get a ticket to @jonacuff event #StartNight please retweet to get his attention"

And it worked.

Within about an hour Jon had messaged me and said his team was working on it. By the next day, someone from Dave Ramsey's office called me and said they had a ticket. I was in. I was so excited to have the opportunity to hear from Jon live, but I had no idea what it was going to be like. Even if I would have had expectations, they would have been completely surpassed. Last night, I drove 4 1/2 hours to Franklin, TN to attend #StartNight. It was amazing, there's no other way to describe it. Jon outlined all these ways to "Punch Fear in the Face", talked about the path we should travel on to get to "awesome" instead of walking the straight line to "average". It definitely got me thinking about what's next and helped me realize I have to START walking towards my dreams now, not once the ending is clear and concrete. You might be wondering what that looks like... well....

It Starts Now.

That's right, it starts now. The first thing I'm going to do is start taking steps to achieve my dreams of becoming a published author. I got some advice from a guy a few months back that published his first book. He said the best way to start writing a book, is to write 600 words every day. Regardless of whether they are complete crap, you never post them, etc... still write 600 words every day. So that's where I start. It starts today. Every day, from here on out, I'm going to write 600 words a day about something. I have no idea what that will look like, but God will control the path, I just have to start down it. I would love to tell you more about the book and the message behind it, but I'm not sure where it's going at this point. I just know that I can no longer use the excuse, "When God wants me to start it, I will start it"... no, God is not the one that is impeding the progress on my dreams, I am.

What about you?

What's your dream? How can you start walking towards achieving that dream right now? If you want to talk about it, hit me up. I'd love to hear about your dream, I'd love to help you start working towards it if I can. Most importantly, I'd love to pray for you. We can't achieve our dreams alone, we need each other.

It's time to START.

P.s. For those of you wondering, this blog post is 768 words long ;)

Grace and Peace