Still going well

We're half-way through our time in the Dominican and it's been such an encouraging trip. The time we've spent together in conversation, in dreaming and imagining, in vision casting, and in questioning has been so good for my heart. I'm kind of like a tag-along on this trip; more than anything, Luke, Norm, and I wanted to spend time together on a trip like this to feed off what God is doing in our lives. It's been great timing for me to participate and mainly listen in on conversations. Of course, I occasionally pipe in, but I've been pretty good at listening without speaking too much. I continue to see how great our God is and I can't ask for much more than that.

Safely in DR

Luke, Norm, and I arrived in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic yesterday afternoon. We're staying in Rio San Juan, visiting with the McClouds and Wallaces. The landscape reminds me a lot of Brasil, so there's a familiar aspect to being here. We're here through Saturday. Continue to keep us in your prayers as our time here continues. God's doing some exciting things and extending his kingdom in some cool ways. I look forward to sharing some of the conversations and dreaming I've been able to listen to in the short time I've been here.

The driving is over

And I'm transitioning to travel by plane for the rest of the summer. I'm sitting at Gate 10 in the Huntsville, Alabama airport waiting to board a flight to Orlando. Luke's picking me up and we'll drive down to Norm's house (somewhere near Jupiter/West Palm Beach) and fly out of Miami tomorrow morning. The three of us are going to the Dominican Republic for a week. I'm not sure what all we'll be doing, but I'm really excited. Luke and I talked quite a bit through the spring about doing a mission trip together and this materialized a couple of weeks ago when I was in San Antonio. I had originally thought I'd spend this week in Florence, getting ready for my trips to L.A. and across the country to Disney World, but I jumped at the chance to spend time with Luke and Norm in the Dominican, especially since Luke's planning to move there sometime next spring.

I was in Oklahoma last week at Camp Zenith, which is hosted on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University. It's a church camp for high school students that I've been a part of for (now) the past seven summers. I really enjoyed being back and spending time with several youth ministers I hadn't seen in quite a while. It was also a great experience to hang out with the students, especially those from Northside who were in my youth group. I got to meet and spend time with Andy, who's now the youth minister at Northside -- he's a great guy. I think he's bringing a lot to the youth group and church and will be a blessing to the teens and their families.

As great as it was being at Zenith, there were still parts that left me frustrated. It didn't have anything to do with the people or what we were doing; it was the odd combination of God working on my heart and Satan continuing his attacks on said heart. It seemed like a tug-of-war of sorts: encouragement and insight vs. lies and guilt. Part of feeling torn may have been from a bit of a lack of sleep from some of the late nights hanging out with the ministry staff. I find that lack of sleep and tiredness doesn't leave me as spiritually sharp as I'd like to be, which I think leaves me more susceptible to those attacks.

But as God always does, he opens up a path that leads to rejuvenation and refreshement. I received a message about stopping in Fayetteville, Arkansas on my way back to Alabama in the middle of last week. One of the families that was on my parent's Brasil team lives there and another one of those families was coming in for a visit. So through sheer happenstance, a bit of luck, and Facebook, I decided to make my way there when camp ended on Friday. I arrived in the afternoon and left for Florence around 1:00 the next day. And I'm so glad I stopped by. I feel such a sense of warmth, purpose, and specialness being around the families who lived in Fortaleza with me in the early 80s. It centers me. It invokes dreams and hopes. What a blessing to have people in your life who you may not see for years but who still feel like family.

Here's a pic from breakfast yesterday.


L-R Marcos Jenks, Terry Lawson, Jenny Lawson, me, Heather Lawson, Deb Jenks (DJ took the picture)

Still going

I'm leaving tomorrow for the next stop on my summer tour. I'm spending a little bit of time in Austin with my cousins before heading on to Oklahoma for camp. I'm working on the ministry staff at Zenith, a week-long camp I've been a part of the past six summers. I'll get to see some of my youth group kids as well as a lot of youth ministers I worked with and haven't seen in a year. It will be a great time to reconnect with them, to teach, and to sing with 500 teenagers.

My time in San Antonio has been so good. In so many ways I felt like I stepped in right where I'd left, as if I hadn't. In other ways, it was obvious that I've moved on. (My visit to the Starbucks I worked at was the best example of this. I stepped behind the counter to go to the back to look at the schedule so I could find out when to visit again and see other former co-workers, only to be reprimanded/reminded that since I was no longer a Starbucks employee, I couldn't be back there. That was weird.) I've revisited so many memories in my mind as I drove around this familiar setting; some memories made me laugh and some left me a bit sad -- but it was good to sense God's faithfulness in all of them. I've been encouraged by so many people who've told me how much I've been missed; it's so enriching to feel special like that. Knowing how undeserving I am of this incredible portion of grace given me, I soak it in all the more, constantly praising God for his generosity, because it's all an outpouring of his love.

Anna and Craig are leaving today on a mission trip to Australia. Craig has made this trip with Lipscomb twice; it's the same trip that I went on in the summer of 2000. They'll be working with a great church in Brisbane. I'm really excited for both of them; it should be wonderful to experience a mission trip as a married couple for the first time. They've set up a blog to keep anyone interested updated with what they're doing. You can access it here: http://web.mac.com/craigtwright. (I'll also post this link on my sidebar.)

Will and Glenna Pearce and Mark came over last night for dinner. We had such a good time. Will was one of my roommates while I lived in San Antonio; he and Glenna have been married for a year and a half. They're an incredible couple and a source of encouragement for me. It's always refreshing and uplifting to be around them. Here are a couple of pictures from last night:


Chad, Will, Malachi, me


Will, Glenna, me

What Teachers Really Make

I forget where I read about this clip, but I found it on YouTube a bit ago and have watched it a few times already. Add this clip to Robin Williams' character in Dead Poets Society as reasons why I want to teach.

Spurs 85, Cavaliers 76

The opening tip of Game 1.


My friend Chris and I enjoying the Spurs win.

Things continue to go well as I'm here in San Antonio. The NBA Finals start tonight and the city is quite excited about winning a 4th championship. I was glad my time here overlapped with these games. I also hoped to be lucky enough to catch a game at the AT&T Center -- and that became a reality yesterday afternoon. My friend Chris called and told me he had an extra ticket if I was interested. And in the words of Napolean Dynamite, "Heck yes," I was interested. So I get to go to my first NBA Finals tonight and cheer on the Spurs against the Cleveland Cavaliers. I'm pretty confident the Spurs are going to win the series (I predict them to do so in five games), but LeBron poses a strong threat. It will definitely be interesting.

My friend Becky, who moved to Albuquerque in February, is flying in tomorrow night. She's doing traveling physical therapy and is coming in for a visit, so she and I are thinking about visiting our friends at work to rub it in that we're not working at the time. Such a responsible and friendly thing to do...

Back in San Antonio

It's been five months since I was last in San Antonio. I returned this past Friday after visiting Jacquie, Spruce, and their baby Lynlee in Houston. And it's great to be back. I'm staying in the house I lived in for almost three years while I was here. I've stayed up well past my grad school bedtime each night I've been here. And in a lot of ways, it feels like I never left.

I went to Northside yesterday morning and saw so many familiar, wonderful faces. I was so encouraged while I was there, having so many people tell me how good it was to see me and how much I'd been missed. If you've ever left a place (especially on good terms) it's so special to go back and re-connect.