Haley Gordon, a teammate and friend, wrote an amazing blog.  She has an amazing heart and seeks God in a way that amazes me.  I see Jesus in her and He speaks into my heart through her everytime we talk.  Here is her blog titled "Is He Enough?"

Please let Holy Spirit speak to you and ask yourself this question, "Is He Enough?"

I want him to be enough in my life...God help me let go...


If I no longer had friends to laugh and share my life with or a loving family to support and encourage me unconditionally, would I be ok with just me and God?

If I could no longer "serve" God, give back to God for His gift of salvation, or be a part of bringing souls from death to LIFE in Christ, would I be ok with just me and God?

If I had Christ alone, no titles of missionary, leader, example, mentor; take your pick for what title you see yourself as or desire to be seen as, would I be content knowing God loves me unconditionally? Would I understand in all its depth that no "good work" will earn God's favor, because the "love of God has [already] been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given [as a gift] to us" (Romans 5:5)? Do I really know that God's love has been poured into my heart, and I do not have to DO one more thing FOR God, nor have I ever had to DO anything FOR God to keep this outpouring of perfect love? I just have it!

As much as I say with my mouth that I understand, does my heart truly know and understand that God "did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over FOR us all" and that He will "freely give us all things" (Romans 8:32)? God freely gave up His son and freely gives us all things. Wow.
If I truly knew all of this; if I understood this love Christ has for me, I would be ok with just me and God.

But am I?

Can I accept just being with God, and not doing anything else that makes me feel good or feel like I somehow earned His love and favor?

I'm not sure I can truthfully answer yes to this question. I want to say ‘yes, of course I would be satisfied just being with God', but the truth is… I don't know.

These are the thoughts that have been spinning around in my head for the past 2 weeks in Cape Town, South Africa. I know my heart is to give my life completely to my daddy God. He knows that my heart says "yes" teach me Lord! So even though I do not really understand the depths of God's gift of love, His grace continues to pour over my life. That is the beauty of Christ; He shows me where I fall short and He confronts me of my sin and pride, and then invades my heart with His love, reminding me that, "He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). I do not have it all figured out. I realize almost everyday (by the grace of God) that God is immeasurably good and I Need Him. As I see my need for Him, Christ is magnified.

Slowly I am coming to realize that I do not really KNOW my Father, but it is ok. He knows me, and that makes all the difference. I pray for a "yes" in my heart towards whatever God has for me, and thank God that His grace covers ALL!

Lord, I want to be ok with just YOU and me.

And tonight He spoke to me again...He answers my prayers...

But to be honest...sometimes I wish He would just keep his mouth quiet and let me be...because sometimes He tells me things that I don't want to hear...because He wants me to change...He wants to transform me...to be more like Him...

Which is another one of my prayers...to look like Jesus more and more everyday...at the end of the day, I want to be more like Him then I was when I woke up...I want people to see Him when they look at me...

Because it is ALL about Jesus...

So to look like Jesus...that sounds good...I say it all the time...but sometimes I wonder if I fully mean that...

Because I know I would love to look like Jesus when He is walking around preaching, bringing good news, restoring sight, bringing people back from the dead, casting out demons, healing bodies...that stuff is great.

Heck yeah...I want to be that guy...

But when it comes to the Jesus that was unfairly treated, abused, beaten, bloody, suffering, carrying his cross, and then hanging on the cross...I seem to shy away from that...

And I find myself asking the question, "Do I really want to look like Jesus?"

So tonight I found myself in a little situation where I am being treated unfairly...I was upset...ticked actually...so I was trying to fight for my rights...justifying myself...thinking I am actually important...

In the middle of being upset, dinner time came,so I grabbed my plate and then went and stewed on my issue while I ate...realizing that I was ticked, I started praying about it...and I felt like I should grab the Bible, so I did...

Because it is God's word and He speaks to us through His living word...

So I opened my Bible praying that God would speak to me...and maybe help me justify my thoughts...or speak to me that I am right...and that the others are wrong...I wanted God to pat me on the back and make me feel better...

I opened up to Luke 17:1-3—Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around your neck than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.

This speaks directly to the situation that I am in...

Then I flipped the page and read the two stories in Luke 18:1-14...and they too spoke into my situation...

I was hoping that God would have my back, but He wanted to tell me I am not perfect and that I need to change still...that He wants to mold me some more...

My situation isn't important...but the message I learned tonight is...

For a while now, I have been fighting for my rights...and I get upset when others try to get involved with what I think I am entitled to...

I started to think about Jesus...and what He did...I tried to think of when He fought for His rights...and stood up for what He was entitled to...

But the problem is...I can't find it...and I actually find that He did the opposite...He gave up all rights...when He was being persecuted, He could have argued His point and since He was sinless, would have been the one person that could have argued His point and been right...

But He didn't...

He was willingly beaten, abused, and bloodied...then He picked up His cross...He suffered...He died...

He let go of all his rights...

That doesn't make any sense to me...it is a mystery to me...it even seems crazy in a way...

But that is because it isn't supposed to make sense to this world...His kingdom is not of this world and it is a mystery...it didn't make sense to people back then...they thought He was crazy...that is why they killed Him...because He was crazy...crazy for us...

I want this mystery to be revealed to me...I want to understand this love...it is beautiful to me...I want to look like this...I want to look like Jesus...

Which means I have to want to look like all of Jesus...I can't kinda want to look like Jesus...because that is being half in and half out...or the Bible refers to it as being lukewarm and God doesn't think very highly of this...in Revelation 3:16 the Bible says because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth...I have to be all in or not...I can't just pick and choose what is easy for me...I can't just pick the easy stuff that makes me feel good and doesn't require me to be changed or transformed...If I want it, I have to want it all...the love, grace, mercy, peace, eternal life...and also the change and transformation and I have to be willing to take a beating when it isn't fair and know that there will be suffering...

And that means that sometimes when I read the Bible...it will push me to do things that are hard...things that will cause me to have to pick up my cross and suffer...

That is what the Bible is supposed to do...speak to you...give you hope...show you a different way of life...a way that will ask you to submit to God and His way...which will challenge you...but WILL transform you in the process...God's love is supposed to transform you...the cross, if you accept it or if you even try to understand it, will transform your life...it has to...that is what it is supposed to do...His living word is supposed to speak to you...straight to your heart...and it will often ask you to let go of this world and what makes sense, put all your trust in Him, then to submit, pick up your cross, and suffer for Him...

John 33:16—I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Which is why in James 1, it says to Consider that pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

He has over come all the suffering...and if we can embrace our suffering, find joy, and persevere...there is blessing in the end...life...eternal life.

Wow...and here I stand fighting this...doing the opposite of this...the opposite of what Jesus did...I spend so much time fighting for my rights...

Why do I miss this so often...there has to be a reason that He says things like...

"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." in Luke 9:23.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for another." in John 15:12-13.

"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." in Matthew 16:25.

God reveal to us why you say this...it must be important...Holy Spirit speak...

I really believe that if I want to look like Jesus...sometimes I have to suffer...

1 Peter 2:11-25--Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against you soul.  Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 
      Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority; whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.  For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of the foolish.  Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves.  Show proper respect to everyone, love your fellow believers, fear God, honor the emperor.  
      Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.  For it is commendable if you bear up under the pain of unjust suffering because you are conscious of God.  But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?  But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.  To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
     "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
     When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.  Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.  He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

We can't forget that this is what Jesus looked like...



Do I really want to be like Jesus?

Do I really want to look like Jesus?

Yes...

God help me...

God I need you now...I don't know what to do...I feel lost...I have been brought up in a place that tells me that I am entitled to my rights...and to fight for my rights...but you modeled something different...you let go of your rights...you suffered...for us...all of us...just because your kingdom works in a different way...by the way of love...and your love changed the world...I want to be like you...I want to be able to let go of my rights...I need to be able to let go of my rights...because it isn't about me...I am not important...it is about you, and I want people to see you in me...God I can't change the hearts of men, but you can...help us all to see you...God I pray that you would change our hearts, because we desperately need it...more than we know...God break out hearts for you...give us a hunger for you...God speak to us...God you answer my prayers over and over...and I thank you...I love that you answer me in a way that brings transformation in my life and my heart...but God I ask for more than that...I ask that you would open all of our hearts...helps us to learn to submit and let go of our rights...God...I find it so interesting that we represent you with a cross...a symbol of how you suffered for us...for how much you love us...I wear one around my neck everyday, and I don't really think much about it...it is easy for me to just put a cross on my neck and think I am doing this right...In Ephesians 5:1, you call us to imitate you...not just put a cross on my neck and call myself a Christian...you ask us to give up our rights, even if we are right or justified...and you ask us to do it just because...because it isn't about being right...it is about life...about you...about your kingdom...and you modeled it for me...God help me walk this...I feel weak...but you say in your word (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in you weakness."God I ask for you grace to be able to do this...your direction...I pray that you will be able to move...may your power change all of our hearts...God I want to be more like you...teach me to let go...to submit...let me be an example...use me God...God strip me of my pride...humble me...You must become greater, I must become less...

And if you are reading this...I would love it you would keep me in your prayers...pray that I will have the heart of God...so that I will be able to act out of love...not to prove my point...pray that I would see others the way God sees them...pray that I won't be bitter towards people...that I would come under them in love...pray that I would have grace for others...and that I would embrace them...because I honestly don't want to right now...pray that God would give me strength to persevere and finish the race that is before me...

Faith...

Holy Spirit...this is big...I ask that you would open our ears to hear your voice...open our eyes to see...help us to understand you more...speak to us...

God is so good...so good and so faithful...He has a perfect plan for each and every one of our lives...

This year in the plan for me, God has decided to just rock my world...I have been rocked over and over...God rocks me in so many ways, one of which is that He answers all my prayers...

Isn't that awesome...God is good...

But the hard part of this for me is that He usually doesn't do it in way I want him to...in fact, it usually happens in some backwards and often extremely frustrating way...

But I have learned a lot...like when you pray big prayers...you better be ready for what is coming...for example...I like to pray that I will be stripped of things in my life...God doesn't just say "abracadabra" and "poof" and then I am stripped without feeling anything...this prayer usually leads me to a place of trial and pain and it usually hurts and requires me to submit to him...

Which, in my opinion, is the best thing that can happen...

That might sound weird to you, but that is how it has been going for me...and I love it and embrace it...that is how God has worked in my life over and over...

And honestly, I don't want a short cut...I don't want God to take it easy on me...I don't want any free lessons...I want to earn the lessons He has for me so that they sink in and stick...I need the pain to teach me...the pain brings me to my knees at the foot of the cross crying out to Him...and He comes to me...He comforts me...He saves me...He brings me back to life...

Or I should say a better life...more of what He wants life to look like for me...

And this process has happened over and over to me...and I am getting closer and closer to Him...PRAISE GOD!!!

He is drawing me in...but I am still so far away...

THANK GOD FOR GRACE...AMAZING GRACE...

Wow...this stuff gives me chills...

So I am learning a little bit about how God works...and I really do mean a LITTLE BIT...my God is huge and I can never even begin to think I am understanding something...
 
Anywho...I was having a little solitude time the other day...and as I sat there I realized that I have been holding back from God...on purpose...because I am scared...scared but in a healthy way...it is the fear of the Lord...because I know He is in control...and He can do anything...

Knowing that He is so powerful and knowing that He is in control has lead me to say to my teammates, "Be careful what you pray for." 

Forgive me Jesus...

Because my God answers prayers...you pray...He answers...that is just how it works...

If you take the fact that He is powerful and in control and mix that with the fact that He doesn't just wave a magic wand and "poof" things change...I have found myself getting a little nervous when it comes to certain prayers...I have said to people that I don't want to pray for more faith...because that means I am going to have to change...which is scary for most of us, and me too...and that change will probably come about through God bringing a trial of some sort my way and I will need to submit to Him...put my faith in Him...

If I do that, endure the pain...and submit...I will change, and have more faith...(I just want to point out that this isn't a formula...or a however-many step process to have faith, just my experience)

If I pray for faith...faith that will move mountains, He will say ok...

And then something to the effect of...

Kyl e, I love you...

Remember this...ok?

Remember that I love you...

Now...you have no idea what you said yes to, but trust me...I need you to really put your faith in me...I am going to put you into a place to strengthen your faith...

Now in my mind...eek...that can mean anything...

But it for sure means that it will cost me...nothing is free...right?

God offers us everything for nothing...for free...but the crazy thing is that it actually costs us everything...

Such a weird concept...but it is amazing...

Does that make sense...

Think about this for a second...

It is free, but it will cost you everything...

Wow...so deep...

Now that will look different depending on God's plan for us...

We all face different trials...for some people I know, their family or friends have gotten sick...

God asks you in that time, "Do you have faith?"

For others, they might lose their job...

God asks you, "Do you have faith?"

To others, it may seem like their whole world is falling apart...

And God will ask you in that time, "Do you still have faith?"

Do you have faith in Him that He will get you through it...

Do you believe that He is bigger than any problems life can throw at you...

He tests our faith...He says, "Ok, you want it...trust me...put your faith in me.  You said you want faith...have faith....I AM GOOD!  I HAVE A PLAN FOR YOU!  DO YOU BELIEVE THIS!  HAVE FAITH!"

I realized that I was holding back...I repented...and I prayed for faith...faith that would move mountains...

God use me...transform my mind...

For the first time in my life...I prayed for faith...which if you understand the even a small piece of this statement...if you understand the responsibility that comes with it, and you will know that I am completely out of my mind...

And I love it...PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Later that night, something amazing happened...We were having dinner with the Rutta family here in Botswana and afterward we were praying.   Musa, the amazing servant of God we are staying with, was praying for them...when he finished he came to me to pray for me...and when I say pray I mean PRAY...with some serious authority...I have never experienced authority like this in the states...something hit me...like a ton of bricks...he prayed for faith...something no one has ever prayed over me before...

It rocked me...God heard me...He is working...this is what He does...PRAISE THE LORD!!

All this on the same day I said yes...said yes to faith...I want it...I want it all...

And I know He will answer me...

The next day...we were at church, and after experiencing the presence of God like I never have before during worship, Musa was preaching...and I hadn't said a word to him yet...he gave his message...on Faith...

God you are amazing...

Faith...

This is a term that I have heard over and over...and never really understood...maybe there are others out there like me...

Faith...

Faith...

Faith...

It hit me...

Faith...

Hebrews 11:1--Now faith is being sure of what you hope for, and certain of what we do not see.

I have heard this verse before and read it a bunch of times...probably just kept reading without thinking twice...actually I thought it was good and I highlighted it and moved on...maybe you can relate...I dont know...

But what does that mean...

Faith is being sure...

That means without a doubt...it means 100% certain...it means I believe it...I know it...

Of what you hope for...

That means for something I want...but the key thing to see is that it isn't referring to now...it is referring to something to come...something in the future...

When I put that together...

Being sure of what you hope for...

That means I am 100% certain, or I believe in my heart without a doubt that something is going to happen in the future...wow!!!

Please take a second to see how big this is...

Faith...

Wow...that is huge you guys...

That means that you need to expect God to do something...wow...

I know that might not sit well with some of us...to expect things from God...but for example...do you expect eternal life...to you believe without a doubt that you will have eternal life...that is His promise...

Do you believe it...

Do you have faith in that promise...

Do you expect it...

The bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:7--We live by faith, not by sight.

What?!

That is right...we need to live like this...in a constant state of expectation...expecting God to do things...living by what we hope God will do, and with a 100% certainty that He will do it...

Not living by what we see...that doesn't make sense to me...it even seems irrational, a little on the crazy side, and for sure extreme...

Well...I need to be honest...that is the God I know...an absolute wild man, He can't be controlled...He is untamable...He doesn't work the way we think He should...He is so extreme...and I love it!!

This is big...Holy spirit open our hearts to you...open our ears to hear you...speak to us...

We have to live in a constant state of expectation...expecting things we can't see...

To men, this is foolishness...to God...well...He calls it Faith...and it pleases Him...

And we have to live like this...if we want to please God...

That is right...WE HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS...

Hebrews 11:6--And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone that comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Wow...

AND WITHOUT FAITH, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD.

This should send chills down your spine...

If we don't have faith, we can't please God...If we don't live in a place where we dream big...hope for amazing things in the future...and expect him to do it...with a 100% certainty...we can't please God...

Wow...that strikes a chord with me...in fact...I bothers me...actually, it offends me a little...

Which I am learning that only God can offend...

It is what He does it when He needs to teach us something...

God teach me...teach us...

I was thinking about this...and I was thinking about why I go to church...maybe you can ask yourself these same questions...it is up to you...

Why do I go to church?

Is it because it is Sunday and it is time to go through the motions...or to feel good...or to see my friends...or what is it?

Why do we want to come before God?

Do we hope for something when we come before God? 

What do we expect Him to do?

Are we coming without faith...without expecting Him to do something...if we do, it doesn't please him...

We need to go before him...in faith...being sure of what you hope for...being sure of the future...that is his gift to us...eternity with him...we have to come before him expecting something...anything...

For Him to speak to you...

Maybe to feel His presence...

Maybe to just be in His presence...

Maybe to have an encounter with the living God...

Maybe for Him to give you a word...

Or for Him to heal you...

Or for Him to bring peace and comfort...

We really need to sit and pray about this before we go to church...and figure out what we want...we need to expect something...we have to come expecting our awesome personal God to do something in our lives...

Otherwise why go...we are just wasting our time...aren't we?

He rewards those who earnestly seek Him...

Wow...

If you seek Him...really and truly seek Him...He will reward you...

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock the door will be opened.  Matthew 7:7-8

God...wow...you leave me speechless...

And we can find joy in taking a step of faith...because "I have plans to prosper you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

We need to believe these scriptures...have faith in them...they are huge...this is real...the word of God...

Do you believe it...

You don't have to...we have that choice...to step out and say my God is this great...or we can say He isn't...

What do you want to believe...

Do you have faith...

Do you want faith...all you have to do is ask...

Ask and you will receive...

Ask for faith...

We have to have faith...

We have to be sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see...

Wow...

Which also means that we don't give up...we seek it out until it comes to pass...you wrestle with God like Jacob did...

Otherwise, do you really believe...100% means you don't give in when times are tough...when your faith is being tested...

Remember the Bible says in James 1:2-4 that the testing of our faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The testing of our faith...

Do we really believe...will we stick it out...are we 100% certain...will we give up when it gets hard...

Perseverance...

Wow...

Beautiful...and so essential...

Faith...all we have to do is ask...

We just have to say yes...yes to the mystery of God...

Lord...I want faith...faith that will move mountains...I know it will cost me...I don't know what it will cost...but I say yes to you...I say yes to your mystery...God draw me in...open my heart to believe...to believe your words...to have faith...God I ask that you would give me dreams...big dreams for my life...God I want to hope big things...and believe them with 100% certainty...God give me faith...give me the passion and desire to get on my face and cry out to you until you answer...God shape my heart...Thank you Jesus...for you are faithful...

Oh...I came across an amazing verse...1 Corinthians 2:9--What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived, these things God has prepared for those who love him...

Can you believe that...

Will you believe that...

God has prepared things for us beyond any of our wildest dreams...Dream big...

Have Faith...

God is good...all the time...

Wow…so much has happened in the last few weeks…we were very busy in Swaziland…some of the things that happened are…

-I got baptized on Good Friday…Praise God!
-I went on a safari and saw 4 of the big 5…only missed the leopard.
-Helped start a church on Easter in Nsoko.
-Slept in a campground next to lions…woke up to roaring every night…awesome!
-Got to go in the lion cage to feed them…half a donkey…so cool…
-Cut open a wound on my toe to discover eggs…that's right, I am a mommy!  J
-Finished the best book…Adam's Return by Richard Rohr…read it!
-Got to go hunting and shot 2 warthogs…my brother Tyler Black shot the other 2.



-The guys almost got worked by a cow…but we ended up taming the beast after a 10 km walk/drag to where we started the church…what an adventure…we all have cuts and bruises…but the cow, well…he tasted good…haha…World Race Men 1-Cow 0.

Right now we are in South Africa…we are still trying to figure out where we are going next…pray that God will lead us in that…

Life is good…God is great…He is doing amazing things here in Africa…It is really amazing to see and be a part of it…thanks for all you support…

Love you all!!

I will update you when I get a chance again…until then take care and God Bless You!

Before the World Race, I read a book…The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claibourne.  It was very influential in my life…one of the things God used to lead me to the World Race.  It is a book that I highly recommend to a lot of people…in fact, you should pick up a copy of it if you haven't read it already.
 
One of the things that amazed me about the book was the way he described community…he paints an amazing picture of what it looks like when you choose to live your life in the footsteps of Jesus…people just helping, serving, and loving on each other…it is just beautiful.  You will understand when you read it.

I always wondered what it would be like to live the way he describes in the book and I never really experienced it in my life…until I got to the Philippines.

 When we first showed up in Manila, we were with our whole September squad for debriefing.  After a few days, the other teams left for their new ministry sites.

The day after everyone left, we woke up, had breakfast, and waited to see what we were going to be doing that month. Then Jeff Long (our amazing ministry contact and host) showed up and Danny and I went on a walk with him and Dave (an awesome guy that was helping Jeff and his ministry for awhile…I miss you Dave).

We walked up the street and Jeff began to tell us the story of a four year old boy named AJ.

AJ lived with his family, over twenty people, in a house made of scraps of wood and metal that they had picked up throughout the years.  The house they lived in was…maybe, just maybe, a fifth of the size of the house I grew up in with my parents and two sisters.

During the rainy season, their house did an ok job of keeping the rain off of them…they only had a few places where water came in through the roof.  The main issue with rain was that it would come in at ground level and flood rooms where they slept and since they don't all have beds some of them have to sleep in the puddles.

The area they live in isn't very safe.  A few years back, one of the older girls witnessed a stabbing in front of their house.  When it became known that she saw the stabbing and that she was going to testify against the guy, they came back to the house and murdered her before she went to court.

All of this is pretty bad stuff, but they were a lot better off than most of the people in this squatter neighborhood.  For those of you that don't know a squatter village is a place where homeless folks decide to build little shacks on the property of others… creating their own little village…but even though they have a nice little village, they live in fear of their houses being torn down…because every so often the owners of the property will give the families a two week notice to pack up and move because they will be coming through with a bulldozer to clear off their property.

But none of this has much to do with AJ…now I only know a little bit about AJ's story, but what I know is sad…

I hear that AJ was a happy four year old…full of life.  But we never got to meet AJ because he died a few weeks before we got there…he died because he got bit by a mosquito and got Denghe Fever.

As we walked up the street with Jeff, he talked about how mosquitoes need standing water to make new little mosquitoes.  We came over the a hill, about a five minute walk from out house, we saw all the standing water…only it wasn't standing water…it was standing sewage water…This whole street was covered in sewage water…for about 100 yards.  The hillside alongside the road had eroded down onto the street and now this street the size of a wide sidewalk.



The street was covered with dirt, garbage, and sewage…and it just reeked…this mosquito breeding ground was right in front of AJ's house as well as a handful of others.

When it rained, there would be huge pools of water and sewage and the only way the pools would disappear was by evaporating.  There was no other way for the pools to empty out because they were dammed up by the dirt and garbage.

We stood there for the next 15 minutes or so and talked about the situation.  When we looked up the hill we could see a handful of houses and coming from each of them we could see the streams of sewage coming from each one down the hillside to the road where we were standing.

As we stood there in the crap, literally, a few kids came running over barefoot…some to stare at us…some were just playing…others came to wave and say "Hello."



I sat there and looked at the situation…because that is what it was to me…a situation…so impersonal. 

Within a half hour, our four brains had come up with a plan to try to help out.  Our plan was to remove all of the dirt, garbage, and sewage.  Then we were going to build some type of retaining wall to keep the road clean in the future.  After that we were going to put in a couple of outhouses and a septic system for all the people that lived on this hillside.

At first it kind of seemed unreal to me that we were going to try to do this…I had never really done anything like this…and I really had no idea where to even start a project like this.

As we were getting ready to walk back down to the house we were staying at…I kept thinking about how I wanted to tell my team about what we had seen.  I wanted to tell them about our plan to try to help.  I was looking forward to coming back in the future to try to help.

But then Jeff said, "Shovels, we need shovels."

About 3o minutes later, Danny, Dave, and I were staring at the mountain of dirt, sewage, and garbage.  We had our shovels and one massive pry bar in hand, we picked a side to start, and we started chipping away.



We worked all day in that smelly muck.  Slowly as we worked, a few people came out to help us…a few of the men, but also some women and children. 

Soon after we started, we discovered that there was a curb underneath it all.  It had been buried beneath all of that muck for years. 

Since one of our goals was to build a retaining wall, we decided we could use this.  We decided to dig out behind the curb and build the retaining wall up to the curb to give it some more support beside the post were we going to build.  So we now had a new mission…uncover the curb the length of the street.

But once we uncovered the curb, we still couldn't build the retaining well yet.  There was still a mound in front of the curb that needed to be moved. As we cleared away the dirt in front of the curb and dug out behind it, some of the men came over to start working on the retaining wall.



We had a few guys that began working with us…Cardin, Sherwin, and a couple others.  Cardin was the leader of this area and Sherwin, I learned later, was AJ's uncle.  We worked side by side.  They spoke some English, so we would do our best to communicate with each other.  We would take turns chipping away at the dirt and shoveling. 

And for the first few days, it was just us…busting our butts in the heat and in the rain.  But slowly some others came to join in.  Some women and young kids would come over and grab a shovel and start shoveling.

About the time our backs were ready to give out, one of the people working with us said he had a friend with a front end loader…and that he would be able to bring it by to help move the dirt.  So for about an hour one day we got to take a rest and watch the front end loader move the larger piles of dirt…which helped so much, but still didn't take care of all the dirt.



Jeff also knew some people with a truck and we borrowed the truck to move dirt and garbage down the street, which we later used for planting flowers in front of the house we were staying at.

And we just kept plugging away…chipping dirt away, shoveling…and after about 2 weeks all the dirt, garbage, and sewage was gone from in front of the curb.

During this time, I started to get to know Sherwin and his family really well. We would talk and laugh.  I would chase his nieces, nephews, and kids around.  His mom invited me over to eat a couple meals with them.   I went to church with them and held his daughters on my lap.  They started calling me Tito Kyle, which is like Uncle Kyle.  I would stop by to challenge Sherwin's younger brother to chess games every couple days.  It was just really cool to get to know them.



After all the dirt was gone, we started working on the retaining wall.  We would mix all the cement by hand.  Often times, the women and kids would jump in and keep mixing it for us while we laid the block to make the wall.



As we worked on the wall, we decided to do a few other things to help the people out in the area.  We noticed that the people that had to walk up to their houses had to walk on steep muddy paths.  So in one section, a couple of the guys put in a set of steps up to the top of the hill for a few families…while we worked on another section.

We also got to know some of the other families in the area.  Every day we would take a short break in the morning when Dave would buy everyone a soda.  We would sit and relax in the shade.  We were invited to sing karaoke and play a billiards-type game with some of the adults in the neighborhood.  We even got introduced to someone's pet monkey.

We also had some down time one day while waiting on supplies and we went over to the other side of the road and started moving some dirt and noticed that there was a really nice side walk under a mound of dirt.  So we removed all the dirt and cleaned up the sidewalk.  Next to the side walk we planted a bunch of flowers for them.

We also noticed that a couple other families needed a sidewalk to their house and they needed to have a drainage system for some sewage and rainwater.  So we started working on a drainage system and sidewalk for them.



We spent a few days getting the dirt all leveled, after that we started putting the concrete and drainage ditch in place.  When we finished, it looked really good.



After the retaining wall was up, we started working on the septic system.  Originally, we put it off because it was supposed to be a secret.  We didn't want to get in trouble by the guards so we put it off until we were finished with the wall.  We were planning on going in at night and digging the hole for it, but at the last minute, they gave us permission to do it so we started working on it during the day.

So we spent a couple days digging a hole about 5 feet deep and about eight feet wide through some pretty hard dirt, garbage, and fire ant hills.  (This is where I take credit for discovering the hard way that they were fire ants.)

We had the septic tank and drainage system in a few days later and we were done with that big project.



After getting to know Sherwin so well, I learned that his family of 20 was struggling.  So we brainstormed as a team and decided to get Sherwin two goats.  He named them Billy (for obvious reasons) and Shakira.

The rest of our September team came back and a bunch of us spent an afternoon cleaning up the endless garbage in the area. There were about 10 of us and about 50 kids walking the streets picking up bag after bag of garbage. 

Sherwin's mom offered to teach me how to cook this really amazing banana desert that she made me one day so I took her up on her offer.  I went up to their house one afternoon for a cooking lesson with one of my teammates, Haley.  It was really simple and so delicious.

My time in the Philippines was amazing…I got to know Sherwin and his family very well.  Sherwin and I even got matching haircuts one day for fun.



On our last night together, we went up on top of hill overlooking all of Manila.  We watched the most amazing display of fireworks that I have ever seen in my life.  New Years Eve in Manila is nuts…people launch fireworks all over the city for about 3 hours straight.  It was a great way to end the times we spent together in Manila.

I will never forget the time I spent with Sherwin and his family in the Philippines…It is amazing what can be accomplished when you keep Jesus in the center of what you are doing.



God is good…All the time…

Hello from Team Less. Sorry it's been so long since we've written. Internet was off limits during out time in China and it's taken us awhile to get back to this. Since we last wrote we've arrived in Africa, done training for a week in Swaziland and made our voyage into Mozambique.  Jackie and Lindsey also celebrated birthdays in January and February! 

Here's our latest update and some pictures for you…

Ministry and Team Activities - CF

  The past two weeks have been full of different ministry opportunities and times of learning and being filled up by God.  Last week we spent two days and two nights at the orphanage.  It was a great time of playing with the children, cooking, and at night having a time of songs, games, and a Bible story.  This week we spent three days teaching at a local church.  We each taught one or two lessons and the topics were things like  children's ministry, prayer, God's comfort, the Kingdom of Heaven, distractions, etc.  We also have spent time at this church the past two Sunday's and another local church.  This has given both Danny and Kyle the opportunity to preach to both congregations.  The days we have not been teaching at the church or at the orphanage, we have been focusing on the Elijah House Christian Counseling course we are taking on Inner Healing.  This consists of video seminars, small group discussions, and personal reflection.  We have all gained from these teachings and God is teaching us and growing us individually and as a team.  A highlight this week was Friday because it was Lindsey's birthdayJ!  We spent the day at the markets in town, went to lunch, and spent time at the beach.  It was a fun day of relaxing and being "us"

Lindsey reclaimed her pirate identity on her birthday

Coming Up- LM

Tuesday thru Friday we will be going out to the Bush in Mabouti, which is about 3hrs from Vilanculos, where we will be splitting up into three groups and teaching at three different churches.  We will also be showing the Jesus film at night and hopefully getting the chance to get to know the people who live out there. We are looking forward to spending time out there.

Jackie preaching at church