Back from Louisiana........

Ok let's face it=I have been back from Louisiana for a little over a week now but it has been a hectic week of sharing what God did on the trip, fixing up the Jeep, and resting.

I think that it will take me a while to truly grasp all of the lessons that God taught me during this week. It was an amazing time of hard work, humbling reminders, and basking in God's presence. If you want to take a look at some pics from my trip to Louisiana or the rest of my 'Summer 06' adventure, click on my picture above!

We arrived in Baton Rouge on Saturday night so that we could go to worship on Sunday as well as have the day to recover from the 12 hour van ride from Abilene to Baton Rouge. The church we were partnering with-Fellowship Church in Prarieville, LA-was about 20 min away from our hotel and it was amazing to worship these people and see their heart for ministry and to feel God's presence in the room. It was a very moving service.

Monday brought about our first day on the jobsite and the beginning of what would have been problems for anyone other than GOD. Rain and overall wet weather in Louisiana (it was unbelievably humid and in the high 90's all week!) had led to the concrete slab not even being poured before we showed up. We walked on site to see the concrete crew pouring the slab. We were informed that this was not a problem=we would just build all of the walls on the ground and then lift them into place-keep in mind that this is a 15,000 square foot facility!

I walked around for a little bit not really knowing what to do, only knowing that I wanted to find a way to serve. (It is good to note here that the main theme from this trip is that the most important thing in serving God is to just be AVAILABLE!) I ended up latching on with a guy and his two sons-the Chaffins: Lawrence, and Spencer and Matt. We began to pound together the walls and I ended up helping to carry a lot of the heavy supports for the windows, doorways, and corner. I didn't find out until about 3/4 of way through the day that the reason these guys looked like they knew what they were doing is because they did=Lawrence builds houses and Matt and Spencer had been roofing for him all summer. They killed me on the first day. I ended up having some medical issues (too personal to mention here) and ended up taking Tuesday morning off.

When I returned to the worksite on Tuesday afternoon, I was really frustrated because I really believed that my attitude was one of just wanting to serve and I couldn't understand what God was trying to teach me as I watched others work. In my mind I could see things that I knew I could help with but had to accept the reality that physically I couldn't. In this time of humbling, I got my teaching lesson in the form of four guys who were working in the Wood Shop-Jon, Roy, Dewey, and Derek. None of these guys had ever worked in the Wood Shop before-they walked on to the site and found a way to serve. It didn't matter to them where they were serving or if they were even recognized for doing it. People needed boards cut to attach to the structure and they met that need-keep in mind that 3 of these guys are in their 70's! I was able to work along side and learn from these Godly men. I count myself honored to have served with them. I cannot wait to see them again next year wherever ChurchBuilders goes to serve next year.

I challenge each of you that reads this to pray about ways to serve-whether that be in the communities that you live OR by accompanying me to ChurchBuilders next year. Texas ChurchBuilders goes to serve the third week in July and has done so for every year for the last 30+ years. I hope to see you all there next year!!!

Back to Abilene.....

Tomorrow I make my way back down to Abilene. I was talking with my brother Joe on the way back from seeing Pirates of the Caribbean and I was thinking about how much is uncertain during this next year and how much potential for change is on the wind. It's also amazing to me how my time off so far has seemed both short and long all at the same time. When I think of going back to Abilene, it seems like its been forever since I have been there but it also feels like my time here in the Midwest has flown by. It has been an amazing summer-one that I will treasure always for the experiences as well as for some of the things that I learned about myself.

To recap: during my time at home, I got to watch my brother Joe finally marry the girl of his dreams; I have spent time with friends at White's; friends who used to work at White's; been to an amazing Student Development conference where I not only got fired up for ministry but also put to rest some old demons from my past; I got to party with Jeremy, the Indians, and Toad the Wet Sprocket in Indy; I was able to spend time with brothers Ben and Andy and take a day trip with my dad that many wish for in traveling to the Field of Dreams and then on to the Mississippi River Museum. I came home from time up north with my dad to find out that I will soon get to begin the new adventure of being an uncle sometime around Thanksgiving=Thanksgiving indeed!!!

During my time away from Texas, both my staff and my reality for this next year have changed but I know that somehow this is going to be a year to remember in terms of opportunities for growth and new experiences. I look ahead to it all with anticipation but cannot help but feel the butterflies of uncertainty as I say goodbye to my family in Iowa.

Goodbye Iowa...........................Hello Abilene!!!

Are the Pacers the new Knicks?!?

Today the Indiana Pacers completed the Ron Artest saga by getting nothing in return for his services. Peja Stoakovic agreed verbally to a tender offer from the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.

WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE TEAMS IN INDIANA?!?

Indiana and Indianapolis have a rich history of putting together respectable, contending teams who fight for post season berths every year and give their fans hope that they will put all of the pieces together and bring a title to a proud, but title-starved state. This off-season, Indy has lost Edgerrin James AND Peja AND Ron Artest. It's funny and a little sad that the only way that the Pacers can hope to salvage any of this mess is to go after a player that they sent packing a couple of years ago: Al Harrington. Right now Indy has some attitude issues-they do not seem to understand the reality of today's sports market: the DOLLAR still reigns supreme.

IN CLOSING:

We need to take a moment of silence for the city of Detroit who were just shocked in their arrogance as Ben Wallace signed with the Chicago Bulls!!!

And now that that moment of stupidity is over-You HAVE TO take your hats off to the Bulls and the Hornets! Chicago is getting Ben Wallace-Shipping out malcontent Tyson Chandler and getting PJ Brown and JR Smith-and they are probably not done yet.
The Hornets just signed Peja, are getting Chandler AND signed Bobby Jackson (ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLAYERS!!!) away from Memphis to a 3 year deal=all in the span of 3 days!!!! The Hornets have Byron Scott as coach and the best up and coming guard in the league in Chris Paul! WATCH OUT!!

Take heart Indiana......................At least...................You have the Pacemates!!!