Natal, Brasil

Thank you so much for your prayers for the mission team I was a part of that went to Natal, Brasil. I can barely describe what an incredible experience it was to witness at every turn the faithfulness and power of our God. He was so good to us and used us in such uplifting, encouraging, and life-changing ways. Among the many, many things we joined Igreja Refugio da Graca (Grace Haven Church), we...

-- visited the HIV/AIDS wing at a local hospital, where we visited the patients in their rooms, talked with them, prayed with them, hugged them, and held their hands as they shared with us through translators
-- went to shantytown for a morning of service and prayer: painting faces, making animal balloons, painting nails, giving haircuts, puppet shows, games, and visiting their homes (which we would barely call shacks) to pray blessings on families
-- spent an afternoon at three different halfway houses, playing with children from infants to 18-year olds
-- hosted two mercy days in Zona Norte, the northside of Natal, in two neighborhoods, where we did a lot of the same things as we did at the shantytown (described above)
-- formed friendships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, in heart, and in soul at Refugio da Graca. I can't tell you what incredible things God is doing through his children at this place. They encouraged and challenged me and our team in so many profound ways, from expressing worship to God to praying with confidence and passion. Their worship team is so talented and God-honoring; I've never been drawn in to corporate and personal praise as I was when I was in Natal.
-- got to meet Bryan and jannet Carruth and their boys, the family Oak Hills supports in Natal. Jannet lived in Fortaleza when my parents lived there, so we knew each other, though my memory was a bit more vague since I was 1-7 years of age. But it was so enriching to reconnect with her and meet her family. She and Bryan are phenomenal ministers of Christ and I loved every second I spent with them.
-- saw God. In everything. In our service, in our play, in our worship, in our conversations, in our lodgings, in the change of plans, in the uncertainties, in the expected, in the unexpected, in the smiles, in the tears as we left. In everything.

I wrote yesterday or the day before on my other blog that I was changed. I'm still figuring that out; I'm still listening to find out what's going on in my heart. Not only am I listening for what's going on from the Natal trip, but for answers and questions that I've waited to entertain until now -- now that my traveling is done for a while and I'm staring at a couple of months waiting to find out what I'm going to be doing. I'm somewhat at a crossroads, except that there a many different paths intersecting in front of me instead of the usual two. Facing this on the heels of an incredible trip blesses me with a keen awareness of the power and joy of prayer, for which I'm so thankful. But the patience and waiting are stil required and necessary, which I'm more than ok with. I've learned to live in mystery quite well over the past year and a half, at least much better than I had previously.

What I see as a possible dilema is deciding which way to go and what to pursue. That's always been my curse, so to speak. I want to be bold and adventurous and faithful in one fell swoop. So I pray for courage to make that decision and confidence to trust God's faithfulness to me wherever I go.

I'm back in San Antonio. I returned from Natal, Brasil and wanted to post a quick note to thank you all for your prayers while I've been traveling this past month, especially during this mission trip to Natal. Wow, what an incredible time God gave to us! I think I could write a book with nothing but stories from our experiences. God is so good and so faithful. His presence was so present in all we did because he was working through us. He's awesome. I can't wait to share stories about my time there, as well as post some pictures. All in good time, though; now, I need a nap.

I'm back in San Antonio. Incredible trip. Too good for words at this point. Maybe a few pictures from Seattle with John and Sarah will suffice...

John flying into the picture


Sarah and me jumping over the skyline


An homage to Mortal Combat


What a find!


Notice I'm being attacked...

Follow this link to see pics from my road trip to Seattle. I'm in Olympia, Washington, having stopped for lunch on my way to Bothell, Washington, which is outside Seattle. It's where John and Sarah Norsworthy live, my destination on this road trip that's finishing up its seventh day. I've been incredibly blessed as I've made my way through some of the American west. I've reconnected with a lot of people I've not seen in a while. It's already been such a wonderful journey and experience and I've not even seen Sarah and John yet.

Olympia is quite a pretty city; I'm at a Starbucks across from a park. The sun in shining brightly; blue skies and white clouds fill the air above. There's a cool breeze outside and I'm glad to be in the northwest for fall. After experiencing such great weather in the Bay area, in the Portland area, and now as I near the Seattle area, it makes me consider the northwest as an option in my future. I guess I get the luxury of considering so many different possibilities...now for the responsibility of making a wise decision in where I jump. (Still no word from grad schools; I've still got another month or so until letters arrive.)

Well, my laptop battery is dying and I haven't seen an outlet in this place to get some juice, so I'm going to head on to John and Sarah's place. Ciao for now...

A quick note from a Starbucks that shares a building with a Subway off Interstate 5: Things continue to go well. Western Arizona along I-40 is gorgeous; eastern California along the same road is desert -- not as pretty, definately hotter. I'm about to head into the Bay area to Hayward. One of my cousins has a school function at 7:40 tonight, so I'm going to take my time right now in getting back on the road so that they're home when I pull up. But with traffic, it may not be until 10 that I get there. I didn't catch the sunrise this morning; it was overcast and cloudy, so the little the sun peaked through didn't do too much to the canyon's colors. But it was still worth the overnight stay and getting woken up at midnight by a park ranger telling me to move my car from the parking lot to a campground lot. I was too startled from my sleep to be scared. She was nice about it though; I'm sure I was quite a sight. (By the way, I didn't attempt any jump shots. I did set up a timed shot with my camera as I was close to an edge; that's about as dangerous as I got. I was a little embarrassed to ask a stranger to take one of those pics for me. Maybe at Redwood National Forest.)

Greetings from Flagstaff, Arizona! I found a Starbucks in town so I could get online, get some coffee and charge my phone. It started raining on my drive 30 miles outside Flagstaff. After a brief shower of hail (the size of peanut M&Ms, I think), the precipitation turned to rain and drizzled on me as I arrived. The weather has been gorgeous for the most part. I got rained on leaving San Antonio yesterday morning, but that was only two of the 13 hours of my trip yesterday.

I stayed in Tucson, Arizona last night with my friend Clay Utley. He's a youth minister there and the son of Bruce Utley, one of the ministers at Northside. I enjoyed visiting with him and catching up, discussing the different things I've got before me in the next few months. Bruce and I have talked a lot about the similarities between Clay and myself, mostly in our thinking, theology, and way of ministry. The few times Clay and I have been able to visit have been very beneficial and encouraging for me, a time to share frustrations and joys of sharing the heart of the gospel of Christ.

My plan is to drive on to the Grand Canyon today and spend the evening there. Luke sent me his National Park pass, so I'm going to take advantage of that. I hope the rain will let up a bit by sunset so I can try to get some pictures of that while I'm here. I'll get up tomorrow at sunrise, take a few more pics and hit the road for Hayward, California. Turns out it's a shorter drive (mileage-wise) from the Grand Canyon to the Bay area than it is from San Antonio to Tucson. I'll spend Friday with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I haven't seen the Pinsons since May of 2002 after I'd graduated from Lipscomb, so it will good to hang out with them. (It's my dad's youngest sister, Marcella, her husband Earl, and their girls Katie, Melinda, and Emily.)

I left my camera in the car so I can't post any of the pictures I've taken. It may not be for another day or two until that happens. Thank you for your prayers so far. It's been great to view the incredible creativity of our God in the American west. When I talked with Luke this morning, he told me he's excited to get my reaction to the Grand Canyon; I am too. Hopefully there exist a few words to help with that. If not, oh well.

Blessings be upon you.

The whirlwind has begun and is hitting high-gear. I returned to San Antonio this afternoon after a stop in Kansas City. We had a four hour layover, which turned out to be the best layover I've had amongst my travels. Christy is from KC, so her parents, grandma, and three of her friends picked us up and took us to lunch at Tom Fooleries, which was a great place. The weather was gorgeous: blue skies, white clouds, 72 degrees with a cool breeze. (Man, I miss fall.) We arrived in San Antonio at 5:15 and I got back to my house around 10:15. Yep, breakfast in D.C, lunch in KC, and dinner in SA. And I'll soon be hitting Tucson, the Bay area in California, Portland, and Seattle.

With all that going on, please pray for continued safety in my travels, alertness as drive, and discipline to listen to what God's saying to me. I'm really excited about this road trip and the time I'm going to get to spend listening and talking with him. It's been a while since I've been able to get away in solitude like this. While driving won't provide the resting time that usually accompanies solitude, it does allow me the venue I've not taken to spend with him so exclusively. I'd appreciate your prayers for focus and patience to be at his feet, for cleansing and humility, for joy and strength from his words. In a lot of ways, my heart is very tired and needs the open roads of the west and along the Pacific coast to breathe again his breath of life.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures from DC.

The Washington Monument


World War II Memorial


Waiting at the Metro


International Spy Museum, hosted at my building


Jump Shot at Lincoln Memorial -- I may not be in a better jump shot ever

Go here to see some pics from D.C.Click on the DC Pics tab at the top of the page. Feel free to leave comments if you'd like. It's still a little drizzly here, but it's supposed to clear up today. (For some reason, I can't load pics to Blogger using Safari, the Mac internet program.) If for some very strange reason, you watch baseball this evening and it's Nationals vs. Diamondbacks, tune in for a bit; we've got tickets to the night game 20-30 rows behind home plate.

Good morning from a rainy day at the nation's capital. I arrived here yesterday afternoon with six of my friends from San Antonio. Oh, how nice it is to be away from the heat; I think it was in the 70s last night as we walked around town. We went to Old Town Alexandria for dinner. The restaurant we were headed to, based on a Top Ten book Bill brought, had apparently closed; we improvised by going to Murphy's, an Irish pub. Chad and I were glad to have fish and chips; the guys performing weren't like the ones we heard in Irish pubs, though they did sing a few familiar songs.

We're lined up to visit several of the Smithsonian museums today: American History, Natural History, and Air and Space. One of my friends who works for a Texas senator is lining up a tour of the Capitol for us in the afternoon. We're planning on visiting the monuments (like Lincoln, Washington, FDR, WW2) this evening.

Pictures forthcoming, too.