To Love is to CAPTURE!

What exactly does it look like to take my thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ?  How do I do this?  I just heard a message at my church, LCBC, that helps illustrate.  

The message today was about how followers of Christ are called to be His disciples.  As disciples, we are to listen to the words He preached in the Bible and apply them to our lives.  The most important thing He taught us is to simply love Him and others.  

No always so simple, right?  I mean, I can pretend to love others by my outward appearance (a forced smile, an begrudging handshake, fake eyes of empathy) but my inward thoughts tell my true attitude toward them.

How can I love others if I don’t think loving thoughts about them?  

My thoughts are particularly unloving of people, groups, communities, brands,  organizations, and leaders who think and act differently then I do.  I feel justified to measure my thoughts and actions against theirs in a grandiose display of how great I am and how terrible they are.  

Jesus has a message for people like me:  

Matthew 7

New International Version (NIV)

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

This is an example of how I will CAPTURE my thoughts and make them obedient to Christ.  When my thoughts move to judge someone, I’ll CAPTURE them and ask, “Is this thought showing love toward them?  Do I want someone judging me the way I am judging them?  Am I seeing their perspective clearly enough to accurately judge their words or actions?”  If the answer to any of these questions is NO, I must completely demolish that thought and instead replace it with one that is loving.  

To do this is to honor the discipleship of Christ in my life.    

A New Year, A New Resolution

Thus begins a New Year and with it a new resolution.  I’ve made the infamous “New Years Resolution” at the beginning of just about every year I’ve been alive, and like most of us, have completely chucked it no later then first week in February.

This year will be different.  This year I am sticking with this resolution all the way to Dec. 31.  “How,” you may ask?  By loosing all the promises I’ve made for massive and widespread self-improvement and just focusing on one word.  

The My One Word experiment was started by the church I attended while living in North Carolina (Port City Community Church) and has manifest into book with the same title.  A lot of people have adopted this practice and it’s changed their lives.  I’ve attempted the My One Word resolution probably 5 times now and have failed to follow through with all of them.  Fortunately, my success rate will be much better this time around!

Part of the reason I’ve tanked on my word in the past is I didn’t know how to effectively engage in the process.  The book “My One Word” is a valuable tool to help the reader walk through the resolution process, one step at a time.  I am excited about the book, the process, and the promise that God will use my word over the course of 2013 to transform my life.  

My one word for the year is CAPTURE.  I’ve chosen this from a verse in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 10:5.  It says,

 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 

I generally have a negative attitude toward life.  My mind often wanders toward thoughts which are pessimistic, judgmental, and hurtful toward others.  Everything in my life is effected by thoughts, most importantly the condition of my heart.  Protecting my heart must be a top priority and the negative thoughts must to be stopped now.  

To CAPTURE is to “gain by force” or “take control over.”  I resolve this year to aggressively take hold of my thoughts and bring them against the commands, knowledge, and sovereignty of Christ.  If they are opposed to Him, I will ask for His strength to destroy them.  By doing this, I pray God will teach me to capture my negative thoughts before they enter my heart, and replace them with the goodness of His.  

To find out more about My One Word, check out: 

http://myoneword.org/

Germany - Summer 2012

Guten Tag!
I realize this recap is about 2 months past due, but I wanted to write it anyway.  It is much shorter then the one I wrote for Haiti last year, but no less important.  

This past summer, four adult leaders and 15 high schooler traveled to Cologne, Germany to teach english, lead activities, and deliver the Message of the Gospel to German campers.  

These photos represent my most significant moments of the trip, and reveal the purposes for which I believe God sent us.  

We held the camp at a small retreat center in the Eifel, a national park in western Germany.  The park offered many recreational activities and opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.  I was amazed how similar this region was to the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania.  No wonder so many German families came to settle here!

My campers!  From left - Christopher, Erik, and Carl.  I was the only adult leader who shared a room with campers, as the rest were supervised by our high schoolers.  I was responsible for these kids because they were the rowdiest!  Good kids, but VERY energetic!  When in our room, they mostly spoke German.  This was strange for me because I usually had no idea what they were saying.  When asked, they told me they were talking about sports or Transformers!  Topics of utmost importance for middle schoolers!

In the evenings, after the pastor gave his message, we would go to our rooms for group reflection.  These discussions were interesting because Christopher and Carl were believers, but Erik was not.  He kept quiet during these times, and later told me he wanted nothing to do with God.  I prayed for Erik and hoped he would consider the life Christ offers to all of us.  At the end of camp, all the campers received Bibles.  I watched Erik as he received his, and was surprised by his reaction.  He opened it and began pouring over the pages.  He did this longer then anyone else.  I’m not sure what he felt in that moment, but it gave me hope he would continue to open his Bible after he left camp.  I hope for him still.  

This was our english class.  The camp offered three levels of english, with our group being the most advanced.  Our high schoolers instructed, while two missionaries and myself advised.  Teaching the advanced class was difficult.  None of us (aside from the missionaries) had ever taught english before.  If the material was too easy, the campers would lose focus and begin goofing off.  If too difficult, they would do anything to lead us off topic.  Despite the difficulty, our students rose to the challenge.  They showed such great maturity, I sometimes forgot they were still in high school!  One of our main goals was to empower our students to be leaders, teachers, and friends to the German campers.  I am proud to say they excelled in these roles, and more. 

The camp leadership team after our farewell dinner in Cologne!  

As sports activity leader, I though we would spend the majority of our time playing ultimate frisbee, soccer, or classic camp games like capture the flag.  We played a few of these (except soccer, to my surprise we didn’t play at all), but our favorite game ended up being none other then the American Pastime...baseball!  

I never though I would connect with German kids while playing baseball, a game not commonly played in their country.  I’m not exactly sure, but I think it all started with someone randomly slugging tennis balls.  One camper saw this and wanted to give it a try.  One turned into several, and the next thing we knew we had enough players for two full teams.  A couple batting practices later, the campers were excited for an actual game, which we played at the end of the week.  

On a beautiful, 60 degree July evening in western Germany, two teams of fledgling German and American ballplayers took to the field.  Our stadium was little more then an overgrown soccer field, but to us it might as well been Camden Yards.  There were two gloves to share between both teams and we used tennis balls as baseballs.  For reasons I couldn’t fully comprehend, three of my teammates played third base while I was the only one in the outfield!  Townspeople passing by must have though we were crazy!  Of corse, none of that mattered.  Through baseball, God made a way for us to transcend barriers of age, gender, ability, language, nationality, and ideology.  We could all just have fun, be ourselves, and play the game. All was right with the world!

Thank you for taking time to read this story.  I had a wonderful experience and consider myself blessed to have taken part in it.  If you would like to view more pics from our trip, check out my photo site at:
http://eyethehorizon.shutterfly.com/

  

BONUS MATERIAL!!!
As a side project, I though it would be fun to track the real time status of the leaders throughout the trip.  Here we are at the:

BEGINNING

MIDDLE

END

Chus!

Adam Reed

A New Day, A New Faith

Continued from "In Winter, Don't Retreat...Attack!"


Photo's by Matt Parks and Dean Hershey

"Now what?" I asked myself.


"The Winter Attack got me fired up for missions, but I'm still not sure if I want to apply.  I mean, leading high school students who help the poor is an awesome thing, and I would be honored to do it again.  My issue is the cost.  Not so much the dollar amount (as I've been blessed with some incredible supporters), but time.  I invested so much in the trip last year and don't know if I'm willing to do it again this year.  I'm feeling like I just need a season off."


I took a couple days vacation after the Winter Attack to relax and consider my options.  The time off was refreshing.  I had a chance to pray, spend time outside, and discuss my decision with friends and family.  I concluded that despite being a bit tired, I would again throw my hat in the mission ring.  


My next question was, "Deeper or Broader?"  Sure Haiti was amazing, but there are Eight other trips I could apply for.  


The Ireland mission is new this year and at the top of almost everyone's list.  


"Share the Gospel with the Irish kids at film festivals and other youth events?" I mused.  "I'm in!  Besides, I should go to a county other then Haiti to check out what's going on in other mission fields." 


I didn't want to make the final call without more time in prayer and reflection with those closest to me.  The Ireland trip would be awesome, but returning to Haiti would allow me to experience their culture on a deeper level.  Plus it will be an entirely different mission.  Last year we stayed at a church compound outside Port-au-Prince and took "day trips" to the serving locations.  This year we will go into the mountains and live among the people in a village.  This is definitely what front line missions are all about: dirt, bugs, questionable water quality, and living side-by-side the people you are serving. 


I was allured by the challenge and submitted my application for Haiti.  


Remember Jonathan, our VBS MC in Haiti?

Turns out he was our guest speaker for the Winter Attack!  I had a great time reconnecting with him and talking about what opportunities might await us in Haiti.  Truth is, this mission was my first choice all along.  Deep down I knew I wanted to go below the surface and live with the poor in their community.  Jonathan even taught me a few Creole phrases to get me started!

So here I am, once again ready to put in the hard work required to face the challenges we will meet in Haiti!  


But something was wrong.  Something was weighing on my shoulders that I could not ignore.  I was pumped for the mission, but still feeling quite exhausted from an almost two year, non-stop serving/ volunteering marathon.  My short vacay after the Attack was helpful, but not enough.  


Feeling overwhelmed by the weight of an epic third world mission, I prayed to God in my journal:

2-9-12

655AM

Mount Joy, PA

My Apt

I am tired.  I have been tired for many years.  I need more then a vacation, I need a season of rest.  I would not be disappointed if I was not chosen for Haiti.  From my perspective I feel I am tailor made for that trip.  It is good experience and an amazing opportunity to go deeper into a culture, but I wouldn’t mind a regional trip at all.  I always choose the toughest assignment.  As a result, I get burned out.  I don’t want to cop out.  I am proud, and more worried about my image then I should be, but I wouldn’t mind if I wasn’t selected for this trip.  If I am needed somewhere else, I wouldn’t mind going.  Please take this cup from me, but if it is Your will, I will go.  I don’t feel right about withdrawing, but if I’m knocked out, I’d be OK. 

It's the ultimate dilemma.  I want to experience the grittiness of a front line third world mission.  I want my faith, strength, and resolve to be tested in this difficult environment.  I want to connect with our students and Haitians on a deeper level, and use my gifts to better their lives.  But I'm tired.  I'm tired of volunteering the majority of my summers to plan for events.  Prior to last summer, I spent the previous 4 summers as an event planner and camp counselor for a camp for kids with rheumatic diseases, Camp JRA.  All of that time spent was more then worth it, but I still needed a break.  I want to go somewhere, but  don't want to sacrifice for all of the pre trip work.  I just want to show up somewhere and do it!


Unfortunately, I didn't see myself getting a break.  Like I wrote, "I am tailored for Haiti."  I experienced the insanity of the airport, participated in the difficult mission work, programmed VBS, can speak some Creole, and am comfortable in primitive living conditions.  Not only that, but I am willing to learn more Creole, teach it to our students and leaders, and program VBS all over again.  It is a new year and a new trip.  My faith in Christ has to be new every day.  He provided for me in so many ways on the mission last year and had to trust he would do it again.  I am ready to fully engage in every way I possibly can.  How could I not be selected for this trip?


Wednesday, February 15, our youth pastor John sat down next to me at the Circl3 (youth group) leader meeting.  


"Hey Adam!  So, um, were not sending you to Haiti!"


"Really!?" I said with a half-disappointed, half-excited tone.  


"Yeah.  Only a small group is going and we want to send people from the church's Lancaster City campus.  Haiti is their long term mission focus and we are trying to strengthen relationships between people there and our partners in the Haitian community." 


"OK." I said.  (Hadn't considered that!)


John continued, "We had so many students apply for missions that we needed to add a 10th trip.  This new one will be at an English camp in Germany and we need someone "sporty" to engage kids in athletic activities.  We though you would be perfect for that!"


"WOW!" I though.  "When I woke up this morning I did not know I was going to be sent to Germany!"  


"Yeah, John!" I said. "That sounds great"


I don't yet know a lot about it, but we will be teaching German kids English at a camp that offers sports and art programs.  Talk about being tailor made for something!  I love camp!  I loved being a camper as a kid and counselor as an adult.  I love working with kids, especially through the avenues of sports and art.  And I love being outside all day long!


I am a little disappointed about not being selected for Haiti, but my excitement for this new and unexpected opportunity has me thrilled.  Not only that, but look at how God responded to my prayer!  I didn't want to quit on Haiti but was feeling anxiety about going.  I wanted to go somewhere but didn't have the energy for another summer of planning programs.  Six days after my prayer, however, God's response was to send me to a camp in Germany?!  The week prior, this trip didn't even exist!  These happenings were nothing short of a miracle.  


Germany will be challenging, but not to the level of Haiti.  The living conditions should be less stressful and I don't think it will require nearly the pre trip work.  We are still waiting on a lot of the details, so I have to see what is revealed.  All I know is I have a new chance to lead our students toward a life of servanthood and introduce some German kids to the love of Christ.  I am excited all around and can't wait to see what happens.  


My next step is to connect with people who may be interested in supporting this venture.  Keep an eye on Mission Anywhere to see where this next section of trail will lead.  

More on this, Coming Soon...

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In Winter, Don't Retreat...Attack!

My first mission of the new year.  At Circl3 (the youth group with which I serve) we call it the Winter Attack.  Most youth groups go on some type of retreat during the winter, but not us.  Instead of hanging out at a retreat center or bombing down the slopes, our group goes on a day mission in Philadelphia to fight against homeless, poverty, and injustice.  We certainly enjoy retreating and relaxing but this trip is all about serving. 


The theme of this years Attack is "We are the 1%". Most of us wouldn't consider ourselves "rich" by American standards, but compared to the rest of the worlds population we are exceedingly wealthy.  This event is a chance for us to remove ourselves from our abundance and serve the afflicted and the homeless in places we wouldn't normally go.  


The weekend is full of teaching, activities, and personal reflection but the actual mission takes place on a Saturday.  

We woke to a beautiful sky at sunrise.  After a quick meal of toast and oatmeal, we were off to Philly to begin the attack.

This was the quietest bus of teenage boys EVER!  Reason:  8AM and no girls to talk to!


There were ladies on the attack, but they served at separate locations.  This army of teens filled four busses with 50 people per bus.  Ours was bound for Hunting Park while the others were dispatched to different ministries throughout the city.


We reached our battle ground,

and rendezvoused with our commander.

Leroy Fisher's personality did not fit the hard nosed, intimidating, inner city native I expected to meet.  He certainly wasn't a pushover, but his sense of humor,  positive attitude, and hospitality made us feel welcome.  


He was raised a few blocks from the park and used to play there as a boy.  As he grew older, the area surrounding the park got worse.  When Leroy returned from serving in the Marine Corps, he found the park had become a breeding ground for drug dealing, violence, and prostitution.  Sickened by the pathetic state of his childhood stomping ground, he banded together with community leaders and launched an effort to retake the park.  


I asked him if this was his full time job, and he said he is 100% volunteer at the park and works another full time job.  "This is my home," he said.  "How can you not take care of your home?"  Since initiating the restoration effort, Leroy has attracted funding from the NFL, Philadelphia Phillies, and other prominent organizations from around the city.  


Our part in this campaign was simple: pick up trash! 

The refuse we collected was not common to most parks in Lancaster County, but in Hunting it is the norm.  Drug baggies, hypodermic needles, condom wrappers, and liquor bottles were everywhere.  One of our students was taken aback at the sight of an empty baby food jar.  "It's crazy to think that someone is trying to care for a child in this environment," he said.  "Who knows how they will turn out."  

One of the leaders, Chris, saw our shirts and had an idea for a slogan.  "United, the 1% can make a difference!"  So true.  At the park, we weren't in direct contact with the homeless and widows as some of our teams were, but we still impacted the city in a big way.  50 of us picked up trash for four hours.  Thats 200 man hours, or at minimum wage, $1450 in labor.  

Not only that, but residents from the community witnessed us working that entire time.  If they saw use taking an interest in keeping the park clean, hopefully they will too.  That is Leroy's vision for this project: "healthy park, healthy neighborhood."  It's amazing how one person's example can change an entire community.  


We bagged as much as we could and dropped it at the curb.  

It was such an awesome day!  Good weather,

strapping, courageous leaders,

and a great team!

After serving, we had a period of reflection at the Cathedral Basilica in center city...  

then back home toward setting sun.

The Winter Attack is more then a weekend serving trip, it is a test drive.  If our students enjoyed this experience, then how much more would they like serving somewhere for an entire week?  We discovered the answer is, "A LOT MORE!"  201 out of about 250 students applied for summer missions!  The cool part is that our students want to do more then travel.  They really want to serve others.  It's exciting to see what God has done and will continue to do with this youth group.   
  
The Winter Attack was the beginning of the road to my Haiti Experience last year, and will be a new beginning again for me this year.  Who knows where this trail will lead???

Coming soon...

" A New Day, A New Faith"

Follow me on Twitter @MissionAnywhere to receive blog post notifications and snapshots of my everyday mission experience.

  

The Journey Home

Continued from “From School Play to Broadway”

Photos by Matt Parks and Shannon Madara

As the sun rose on our last morning in Haiti, the pleasantly overcast skies we enjoyed for most of the trip vanished and made way for searing heat and humidity.  We roasted like corn in a popper as the “tap-tap” inched it’s way through the congested streets of Port-au-Prince.  

Our guides took us on a tour of the earthquake zone before delivering us to the airport.  Talk about exhausting!  It was stop and go for almost two hours on roads riddled with pot holes.  People yelled at us as we passed by and banged on the truck when we stopped.  We couldn’t look anywhere and not see the aftermath of this terrible disaster.  It was a lot to bare, especially after a tough week of serving.  

People had made homes on any piece of real estate they could find.  Beautiful public parks were converted to shabby tent cities.  

Highways were lined with shacks and other make-shift shelters.  

Their once magnificent National Cathedral was reduced to ruins.  

The Presidential Palace shared a similar fate.  Most of Haiti’s government officials died in the quake that day, leaving most of the country leaderless.  

UN peacekeepers patrolled the streets in an effort to maintain order.  

We took in as many sights as we could then headed toward the airport.   I was standing in the back holding onto an overhead railing when the truck came to a sudden and violent stop.  I felt an intense strain in my arm and shoulder muscles as my feet kicked out from under me and nearly hit the ceiling.  Most everyone else flew forward and landed in a pile on the floor.  

“What was that?” I yelled.

It felt like we smashed into the side of a building.  

“Is everyone all right?” 

I could see that people were bruised and scraped as they began to untangle themselves from the pile.  One of our students, Summer, smacked her head on the ground and suffered a concussion.  Everyone else was a bit shaken up, but OK.  Apparently a vehicle pulled out in front of us and nearly caused a collision.  If slamming on the breaks caused that big of a mess, I couldn’t imagine the mayhem of an actual accident.  

I was thankful everyone was alright, and amazed I was able to hang on!  It’s a good thing too.  Had I let go, I would have landed on the pile of people and probably caused greater injury.  One kid saw me fly up in the air and said I looked like Superman!  I’m definitely not superman and not even that strong.  It was God who allowed me to hold on.   

We pulled to the curb at the airport and began unloading.  I remembered my airport incident from the beginning of the week and had a plan ready in case of harassment.  As expected, the porters were there ready to snatch our luggage.  A couple other leaders and myself boxed out a space and handed the bags to our students individually.  The porters tried to take our luggage like before, but we were much more assertive in our refusals.  With all passengers and bags accounted for, we waived goodbye to our friends and headed back into insanity airport.  

I once again led the charge, having no idea of where to go or what to do.  It was chaos.  A blob of people pushed their way down a ramp and toward a metal detector.  Some of us made it through while others were got stuck on the ramp.  Despite being clueless, I must have looked like I was in charge.  An American military dude came up to me and asked me about our flight, how many travelers we had, and what group I was with.  I gave him all the info I could and he helped us get through the line.  We got our tickets and then negotiated about five more security check points.  

***

Earlier in the week, Dylan found this random prosthetic leg in a trash pile and brought it back to the compound.  

Oddly enough, the leg became like our mascot and all who were part of the mission signed it.  This thing had to come back with us.  Seriously, how many people return from a mission trip with a souvenir prosthetic leg?  We decided that this unique weirdness was worth saving, so we stashed it in an empty suitcase and brought it along. 

Now, I usually think of God as always being serious and having no tolerance for nonsense.  There are times in the Bible when He is definitely all business, but don’t forget that God created joking and laughter and fun.  Turns out, God wanted to reveal His humorous side to Dylan and myself at the airport.  

We entered a security check point and Dylan threw the case containing the leg on the inspection table.  When opened, the look on the guys face was priceless!  I’m sure he sees all kinds of strange things at his job, but I’d bet he never opened a suitcase containing nothing other then an fake old leg!  His look went from shocked to concern to confusion.  As he slowly inspected it, he eyed Dylan as if to ask, “Why in the world do you have this?”  Dylan’s cheese eating grin let the guy know it was gag, to which he smiled, shook his head, and moved us along.  It was a hysterical moment, just what we needed after our difficult tour.     

***

All of us made it to the terminal and aboard the flight home.    

Its crazy to think that a ticket and passport allowed us access to the wealthiest, freest country in the world.  We were riding in style back to our world of abundance.  I felt grateful to have been blessed with so much, even more so since we had witnessed such poverty.  We lived with minor inconveniences for a week, but most of these people will have to fight for survival everyday for the rest of their lives.  

I never knew how clean New York City was until I visited Port-au-Prince!  That was the first thing I noticed.  Seeing the city was like opening a present on Christmas morning.  It looked so fresh and new, as if it was built that very day.  

We enjoyed an evening view of the NYC skyline as our bus cruised back to Lancaster.  I felt like I was on another planet.  “Did all that really happen?” I asked myself.  It was hard for me to imagine that such suffering and poverty existed only 3 short hours away, but it did.  Now that I have seen I will never forget.  Never forget the people in the camps or the children who craved our attention.  Never forget that I have been given so much even when I complain that I have so little.  Never forget that “God (even in the midst of unexplainable tragedy) works for the good of those who love Him...” - Romans 8:28 

***

Haiti is a beautiful country and a land of opportunity.   Opportunity to be shaped into a great nation.  Yes, a lot of Haitians still need aid and the basic necessities for life.  The problem is they are stuck in a temporary, hand to mouth society.  If they are continuously getting by on handouts, what is their incentive to change?  Haiti needs infrastructure and education.  It needs vision and investment.  It needs leadership.  The right leaders could transform Haiti into one of the greatest nations on earth.  The potential is there, but who is willing to help make this a reality?

We did what we could, for our part.  We loved some kids, gave people the gift of sight, and introduced them to the love of Christ.  Those who supported us prayerfully and financially were part of that.  They helped fulfill our mission and made a way for many lives to be changed, including mine.  For this I thank you.  

I hope you have enjoyed “The Haiti Experience.”  I’ve given my best and most accurate account of what we have seen and done on this mission.  I pray that this isn’t the end of the story, but the beginning.  The beginning of new stories and new adventures.  The beginning of a mission focused life that didn’t just exist in Haiti, but anywhere I go.  Thank you for reading and please look forward to the telling of new adventures, coming soon... 

In Christ,

Adam Reed

Follow me on Twitter @MissionAnywhere to receive blog post notifications and snapshots of my everyday mission experience.