The Love Experiment

Tonight as I was doing my laundry I began to think about the ways that Christians evangelize to the world. I see groups come down here for short-term missions trips to do construction and programs. They preach to adults, children, and hand out tracks. Then I began to think about evangelism in the United States. We have churches that people come to, and people invite their friends. College ministries give rides to drunk people and feed the homeless. Each of those things is sharing the love of God with other people. I then began to think of the people that stand in Denver or around the bars and tell people they are going to hell because they are drunk. The people that stand with signs and say that God hates sinners and how they are going to hell. There is no love in that message. The Gospel of Christ is filled with love. I then decided to try and experiment.

When people are standing in downtown Ft. Collins telling the college students they are going to hell for drinking most of the people walk by them. I decided to see what would happen if you just told people that Jesus loves them. Many times the world gets a hateful message and not one filled with love. I entered a website and began to ask the people one question. I asked, "Do you want someone to love you unconditionally?" Most people are looking for the love of parents, a spouse, or friends. We are lonely without love. I figured that this question would get some responses, and responses I did get. Some people said I was weird, others said yes and asked why, others stated that they already had that love. Some said how it would be so nice but they don't believe in an unconditional love.

I responded to each one of these people by saying something like this, "This unconditional love is the love of God. He loves you so very much and all we have to do is accept it." The responses blew me away. Very few said that they have already accepted God. Some replied that they were happy the way they were and that they didn't need any more love. They only need the love of their family and that is all this life is about. What surprised me the most was the hate that came from some people. One girl said that she was an Atheist. She claimed that I was being hateful and shoving crazy, uneducated beliefs down her throat. How am I being hateful when I am saying something so good? That is the best news!! It is His love for us that saves us! It is also God that teaches us how to truly love one another. Without accepting God's love it can be hard to love other people.

Some people have hardened their heart so much that they get angry when you talk about love; especially the love of God. How is it that we can best show the love of God to this world? Is it standing on a street corner telling people that Jesus loves them? Is it going on a website and sharing with people? Is it through church services and missions work? Or does God use each one of these ways to bring people to him? Maybe what I said to one person will plant a seed in them. I don't know what will happen. One thing I do know is that without God this life is worthless. Acts 20:24 tells us that we need to testify the good news of God's grace to the world. The Holy Spirit will touch the lives of the people. That is not our job.

New Adventures

Over the last few weeks a few new adventures and ministries have come up.  About two weeks ago we received a shipment of 6,000 Bibles and 4,000 backpacks from Biblica Publishing.  4,000 of the Bibles are sports New Testaments with testimonies from different athletes.  Albert Pujols, first baseman for the Angels, is probably the biggest baseball player to come out of the Dominican Republic. He is on the cover and his testimony inside. Now we have the task of distributing these Bibles to different churches and at different events.  Within the last few weeks we have added two more short-term teams from the US that will be coming this month.  We have a team from Florida that will be coming and doing sports camps! What a perfect way to reach children and give out sports Bibles and backpacks.  I am actually going to talk with Mitch (the missionary I am working with) right now to figure out ways we can distribute these Bibles.  Our main goal is to get God's Word into the hands of the people that need Him!

The second thing that has come up is that I have been asked to work with some kids and do baseball every Saturday.  My church has a children's ministry at an apartment complex.  They have something planned for them each weekend and now we will be starting baseball.  One of the kids came up to me yesterday and said, "Are you going to be practicing with us?" I responded, "Yes." He said, "Well what is our team name going to be?"  He ended up walking away and giving me a huge high five!  The kids here love baseball and that is such an awesome way to show the love of God.

Prayer requests are:
1) Pray for the travel and ministries of each team that is coming down this month.
2) Pray that these Bibles get into the hands of people that need God's Word.
3) Pray for strength and guidance as God continues to work in my life here and as I look toward the future.
4) Pray for this new baseball ministry that I have agreed to take in my already busy schedule.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. It means so much to me. God bless.

What is Important?

Today has really got me thinking about the important things in my life. What is important and what is not? What is important in your life? My grandma sent me an email a few months back with an interesting story. If you have a large container and fill it with golf balls is it full? Yes. Then if you put little pebbles around the golf balls is it full? Yes. Then if you put sand around the pebbles is it full? Yes. The golf balls are what is most important and the pebbles a little less, then the sand is the least important. If you fill your life with sand, or the least important things first, do you have room for the golf balls or most important things? No. If our lives only have the golf balls, are they full? Yes. So what are the golf balls in your life and are you putting them in the jar before the sand?

That was not the point in writing this blog. I decided to write this blog to ask this question. Are you going to stick up for the important things in your life? If you said at first that God and your family are the most important things (golf balls), are you going to defend those things? Are you going to let someone talk bad about your family or God and not do anything about it? Will it roll off your back, or are you going to say that it offends you and give an explanation of your beliefs? I hope that you can recognize the important things in your life. The things that are essential for living. Without God in my life I would have no purpose. He is the reason why I am here in the Dominican Republic, and the reason why I want to be a pastor and teach youth. Youth need to be able to identify the important things in their life. What seems important in Jr. high and high school is popularity, grades, boyfriend, girlfriend, alcohol, sports, and the list could go on. I had a conversation with my students today because I found a note being passed around the class with a vote about who is better between two students. That is what is most important to them; being in the cool group of friends or being the best.

When the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest at the last supper, Jesus had something to say. He said that the servant is better than the one at the table. Luke 22:27 says, "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one is is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves." That is a very hard way to live, very hard. Now I am getting off track. All that to say, the story from my grandma says that the important things are God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Is that what should be first in our lives? If that should be first, is it? If you believe those things should be first and someone criticizes you for that belief, will you defend it? There will always be people saying that we are wrong or bad. I want to be able to stick up for what is right even when it is the hardest. Do you feel the same?

My Carnival Experience

Today after church I was taking a nap when Paul, Mitch and Debbie's son, came in the room and told me I was going to carnival with him. He is here for the week doing some video stuff and wanted some footage of carnival. It is a dangerous place with pick-pocketers and other stuff, so he wanted another person with him for safety. I agreed to go since I have been wanting to see what this town has been doing the last month. I have heard many stories but that is never the same as experiencing it for yourself.

When you arrive at carnival you have to walk through what they call "caves" in order to get to the main streets. The caves are filled with people to the point where you can barely walk through. There is a picture of one of the many caved throughout the town.  Carnival takes up almost the entire downtown area. Most of the side streets that enter downtown have a cave blocking the street.

Once you exit the cave you are on the main streets where there are many people dressed up in demon costumes. They parade around in different groups where they are all dressed alike. There were around 5 or 8 demons in each group. Each one of the demons has a foam stuffed ball connected to a rope. You can see the black ball that this one is holding. They are made of foam, but they are packed so tight that it becomes hard. As they walk down the street they will find people that are not watching and hit them as hard as they can. They pretty much march around the streets beating people with these things. I got hit a couple times, but one time left my backside hurting for about five minutes. The rest of my time there I was constantly checking behind me.

The craziest thing about carnival was the feeling. All month I was at Unidos por El where there was a feeling of love and peace. You could feel the presence of God in that place. As soon as I arrived at carnival I felt hate, confusion, and a presence of the Devil. It was one of the weirdest feelings I have ever felt. I became sick to my stomach for about an hour after. I don't think I have ever prayed so hard in my life. It was the constant feeling that I was going to be hit, hurt, or get something stolen.

This experience has showed me even more clearly that God is a loving God. He desires that we live a life of love and peace with others. When we are living a life like Christ we are not out to hurt other people but the complete opposite. He came to heal and forgive! We serve such an amazing God and I pray that he breaks Satan's hold over this city. This month was one that I will never forget.

Thank you all for the prayers and support while I have been here. If it wasn't for many of you I would not be having the opportunity to minister and serve Christ in this town. I want to thank you all so so much for this opportunity. God bless you all!!

United for Him!

The month of February is a busy time here in La Vega. All of the people are celebrating Carnival; which is a time of drinking, drugs, sex, violence, and demons. Every weekend in the month of February they dress up in demon costumes and parade around the town, and every night they have concerts and parties. There are many streets throughout the city that have been completely blocked off for different stages and clubs to meet.

Mitch Martinez has been working alongside some other Christian brothers here in La Vega the past few years to create a Christian alternative. We are having the event Unidos Por El (United for Him). Last year there were a couple thousand youth that came to the event and this year we hope it is bigger. The event will be held every Saturday and Sunday in the month of February. There are around 30 Christian artists that will be coming to perform. The event will be broadcasted on national TV and on the internet at latinmedia.org. The 4th video shows a little bit of carnival and United for Him. It will begin at 6pm EST on Saturdays and 3:30 EST on sundays. Here are some videos showing last years event. http://vimeo.com/35863310

I know that God is going to do some amazing things at this event, but we need your prayers throughout the month. We have Biblica Publishing donating 6,000 Bibles, but still need to raise the shipping cost. We are praying that these Bibles can make it here before the event is over. We also hope to reach as many youth in the city as possible. If they are at United for Him then they will not be at the other parties. Pray that God will move in this city and that lives would be touched. Prayer is also needed for the safety of everyone involved. I had to visit the hospital yesterday to receive over 30 stitches in my leg from a speaker that fell. Pray that no one else gets hurt this month. The last thing to pray for is that this event is very expensive. We have raised about 1/4 of the cost. Showing the event on live national TV, building the stage, buying speakers, paying artists, and other costs is very expensive. Pray that God will continue to provide for us. I will keep you all updated.

Be sure not to miss it live at latinmedia.org

My First 6 Months

I just wanted to thank everyone for the support over the last six months. I know you have been praying for me and that means so much. It has been nice to be back in Colorado the last two weeks and be with my family for the holidays. I am so excited to return to the Dominican Republic for another six months in just one week. There are many events coming up in the next stretch and I am so excited to share with you as they happen.

So much happened in my first six months it is hard to share it all. I have created a short video which I posted on youtube that shows a little bit of what has been happening in the Dominican Republic. Here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xJKHT46soI&context=C3917e81ADOEgsToPDskKP3l4B2Ep6gDJ2s0dY0OXC

Here are some of the highlights from the video:

1. With the help from people in the US we were able to construct a Haitian school where about 30 kids are now able to receive and education.

2. There is a new section under construction on the Rails church where they will have classrooms for Sunday school and an after-school program. There will also be a kitchen where they can cook for the kids.

3. Centro Manantial de Vida (Springs of Life Center) church was started and average 50 people each Sunday. I have had the opportunity to preach there once and the pastor wants me to preach again.

4. At La Vega Christian School I have helped teach English to 5th-10th graders. 

5. One Way Ministries is the youth group I started with two friends. We have about 15-30 youth that show up each Friday night. One of the nights we had 12 youth accept Christ! I have been able to preach here twice in Spanish!

6. There was a group from Unlimited Potential Ministries that put on a baseball camp. Over 400 kids came out that day and 72 accepted Christ! In January we are starting a ministry for those kids.

It has been so exciting to see God working the last six months, and I am excited to see what God has planned for the next six months. Thank you all again for your support and prayers. I hope your Christmas season has been blessed and that you have a blessed new year!

Things that may only happen in the Dominican Republic

So I have been thinking about some interesting stuff that I have only seen happen since coming to the Dominican Republic. There are some obvious things that people expect when going to another country with culture changes, but these are things someone that only comes for a week may not realize. The first thing that pops into my mind is the need to look both ways before crossing a one way street. If it is faster to go the wrong way down a street instead of driving around the block, people will do it. You never know where cars or scooters will be coming from. The second thing is slowing down when you come to a green light. There are so many people that run red lights that you actually have to be careful when approaching a green light. There have been times I have had to stop in an intersection so a car could run the light. (Be careful when driving).

One of the funniest things has to do with phone calls. Here in the DR you pay for a certain number of minutes like in the states. However, you only get charged for minutes when you make a phone call, but you don't get charged for receiving one. Many people have cell phones but never put minutes on them. They use other people's phones to make calls but can still receive calls on their phone. One common thing is to call and immediately hang up. The first few times I didn't know what was going on!! When someone does that it means that I don't have any minutes and you need to call me back. (But what if I don't want to use my minutes to call you? haha). There are times where I will call and other times where I don't. Most of the time it is from an unknown number so I'm not fast to call back. For example, I only have 60 minutes a month and most months I don't even use all of that. I usually use 30 minutes. This is because the phone calls are very short. You don't want to use up minutes with normal talk. Phone calls are only to pass information, and that only, nothing more!! Many times there is not even a hello or how are you? Your phone call is answered with "tell me." I respond, "Hello, how are you?" In response, "tell me." That isn't important information and neither is a goodbye. Once I called to order a pizza. They said, "Hello?" (No name of the restaurant or anything). I responded, "Is this Las Palmas?" "Yes, what would you like?" they responded. "I would like to order a pizza," I said. The responded, "Yes I know, what would you like?" There is no small talk and once the information is given you hang up. Many times I haven't even gotten to share my opinion about the information.

Now I find myself doing the same thing. It is interesting how we change with the culture we are living in. No, I have not made a phone call and immediately hung up, but sometimes I do end the call very soon. Now when I call the pizza place, after they say hello, I respond, "I want a medium cheese pizza, no drink, and delivered to this address. I will pay with cash." End call.