Honey, did you pack the gun?

I'd just come back home from one of my frequent trips abroad, and as usual, there were plenty of emails and phone calls to catch up on from being gone.  As I was combing through them, a few stuck out to me, so I addressed them first.

The first phone call I needed to return was from a person that was very interested in serving in a Latin American country that shall remain nameless.  I'll just tell you that this country is south of the USA and north of Argentina.  Anyway, the person's primary discussion point is the danger that exists in the country they feel called to serve.

The discussion ensued like this:

Person:  "We've seen the travel warnings, and we really feel called to serve in ______, but what I really need to know is this: what are your plans for when they attack you?"

Me: "For when they attack us?"

Person: "Yes.  What's your contingency plan for that?"

Me: "For when they attack us."

Person: "Yes."

Me: "For when who attacks us?"

Person: "The locals.  We know there's a lot of Americans being attacked down there.  That's why there are travel warnings telling us not to go. Are we going to be armed?  I know a lot of American people and companies that travel around in armored vehicles."

Me: "Ah, yes.  For when they attack us.  You're wondering if our christian mission team is going to be armed for when the locals attack us.  The short answer is no, we're not armed, but I think this could lead to a much larger discussion."

After working through the logical reasons we're not armed, including the fact that none of PPM's thousands of people serving with us have ever been harmed, and that our friendships and parnerships with the local communities actually put us in a position where the local community is looking out for us rather than trying to attack us, the person was satisfied with why we are not packing heat on our mission trips.

This is just one of many examples we come across of people driven by a real fear of the unknown and it certainly ties to a lack of overall experience in knowing and understanding people from other parts of the world.  That's the part of it that I have no problem with at all, because that's what we feel called to do at PPM:  Be the bridge between cultures.  Break down barriers.  Cut through the perception until we reach reality.

Here's the problem I have with questions and scenarios such as this:

Exactly where did we get the idea that power through physical strength and potential for violence is part of God's plan for loving people into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ?

If we agree that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, and He is the ultimate example of how to live a life dedicated to our creator, then he's the ultimate example of how to live our lives.

In example after example of dealing with people, Christ simply pointed out truth and loved.... and if people didn't listen, then he moved on.  And the crowds and the followers multiplied like crazy.  It wasn't because he forced his will on people or protected himself with weapons.  Quite the contrary.  In fact, as many of us know, the night he was betrayed, Peter cut off a man's ear in defense of Jesus, and Jesus reprimanded Peter and put the man's ear back on his head (John 18:11).

All this to say, the question of "will we be armed when the locals attack us" presents a much larger opportunity for discussion to me.  I believe that many of us are programmed in our own minds to operate out of self-preservation, which is ultimately fear.  But that's another blog for another day.

We have over a thousand of people serving all over Central America and the Caribbean this month.  Please keep them in your prayers as they boldly go and serve where God has called them.

(follow our current teams here: http://www.prayingpelicanmissions.org/journals.cfm)

And remember, all our mission teams are weapon free.

PPM'ers in Haiti with bricks, not guns

Poopin' My Pants

We had arrived home less than 48 hours earlier, and Gina and I were all set for our first few relaxing moments of time together.  The past two weeks we'd been in Mexico as a family, and there's nothing I love more than spending time with my wife and children, but there's no "we time" for Gina and I when we're traveling as a family.  That's part we give up when going on family vacation.

Our plane landed in Minneapolis just before midnight on Thursday night, so we ended up getting home to Duluth just a shade before 4 AM on Friday.  After a few fitful hours of sleep and the sun shining through our windows, Gina and I were up and at 'em semi early on Friday.  While Gina went to work cleaning, doing laundry, putting travel items away, and managing overtired children, I went to work for the better part of a full day.  I love to get into work, reconnect with folks, and find out what needs immediate attention right when I get home from traveling.  If I don't, it nags at my mind until it gets done.  Once I know what's going on, then I'm free to rest a bit physically and mentally.

So Friday rolls by like a regular work day, and Saturday we spend most of the day sluggishly getting a few things done at home.  Gina is due to volunteer in the nursery at church, and our older two kids (slightly to our surprise) are voluntarily excited to go to church with her on Saturday night as well.  I stay home with our youngest, as we're both in the middle of long naps that afternoon/evening.

Gina and the kids get home, and we find out that one of their Grandma's is going to have them and our niece over for a sleepover on Saturday night!  Woohoo!  Elijah always goes to bed at a decent time, so Gina and I can see what's on the horizon:  a couple of hours to ourselves to do whatever we feel like doing!  Ah, so nice.

I put Elijah to sleep as Gina is picking up the house, and when we're all set to finally relax, it's only 10 PM (I had to catch a bit of playoff college hockey before our "we" time).

Anyway, we decide to watch a movie from OnDemand on our TV.  We choose a movie called "Crazy, Stupid Love," and just as we're beginning, I feel it.

Gas pains.  Right in my abdomen.  Pretty strong.

So I go to the bathroom to see what I can push out......nothing.

Back to the movie.  After about 20 minutes, gas pains again.  This time I go to the bathroom and poop a little.  Enough to make the gas pains a bit better.

Back to the movie.  Feeling better at this point, we decide to get a snack and soda for the last half of the movie.  After eating my snack, I feel like I might have to go visit the bathroom again......I poop a fair amount.

Now I'm sitting on the toilet, and I'm not sure I'm done, so I just stay there.  Yep, more slight gas pains, more poop.   

And some more poop.

And more poop. 

Now I'm starting to wonder "how much poop is left inside me? I can't keep going like this forever."

Wrong.  More poop.  Sheesh.  Am I made out of poop, or what?

At this point, I'm actually feeling pretty good mentally, because just before the movie started, I was telling Gina that it seems like my nerves are acting up a bit more in the bowel/bladder area, and though it takes extra monitoring (and extra pads so I don't pee my pants too much), the extra activity always seems like a good sign....so overall, I'm glad to have made it to the bathroom without having any accidents.

Whew, finally done pooping.

Back out to the living room.  Gina has fallen asleep waiting for me.  By now it's almost 1 AM.  As she sits up to continue the movie and I'm telling her how great it is that I knew I had to poop and got to the bathroom before having any problems, I feel the back of my pants.

Crap.  There it is.  Literally.  In my pants.

Looks (and feels) like I wasn't done.

For those of you who have never pooped your pants as an adult, let me tell you that it's not a real "fun" feeling.  The only time I think it could be good is if you were sitting on hard floor for a very long time and could really use a little extra padding down there to sit on.

Otherwise, it's not great, let me tell you.  You have to go the bathroom (again), clean yourself up, and take a shower....and then analyze what just happened, and try to trace why it happened and how to prevent it.

Fatigue certainly seems to set it off, and we're trying to figure out the rest of it.  I visit the doctor again on Tuesday, so we'll have plenty to talk about.

Just remember, even if you didn't think you had a great weekend, ask yourself this question:

"Did I poop my pants this weekend?"

If you indeed did not poop your pants, be sure to count that as a check in the "good things" column.

Happy Weekend!

Mexico Travel Warning

Be careful if you are planning on going to Mexico in the near future....you might fall in love and never want to return home.

I just spent the last two weeks in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico with my family.  Yes, we did stop for a few days in the tourism-infested city of Cancun.  Then we moved on to one of our a favorite corners on planet earth...a little town called Chuburna, which is located just north of the beautiful colonial city of Merida (http://internationalliving.com/2011/06/the-top-10-colonial-cities-in-mexico/).

Myself and Elijah enjoying our morning beverages in Cancun

I'm certainly aware of all the US government-issued travel warnings regarding Mexico (and many other countries in the world) that are designed to warn US citizens to the highest degree possible of all the crime and other issues that occur abroad.  The problem with this is that we don't live in the safest country in the world, either.  Crime exists in the US as well.  Ever turned on the TV and watched the news?

If we really want to compare apples to apples, let's check out the most recent statistics available and go from there.  Nationmaster.com does an excellent job of compiling all kinds of world statistics.  I went to their site and compared the USA vs. Mexico in every measurable capacity, including crime.  There are many different ways to look at it, but at the end of the day, the US has 7 times the recorded crime that Mexico has.  One could certainly make the argument that more crime is reported in the US than in Mexico, but the US has also only 2.8 times more people than Mexico....follow the link and do your own research: http://www.nationmaster.com/compare/Mexico/United-States/Crime

Personally, I feel a little more secure and watched out for in Mexico than I do in the United States.  That's why I'm not afraid to bring my wife and three young children there, and I have no hesitation in recommending that others go there as well.  There is indeed a chance that any of us could be harmed in any corner of the world, including Mexico.  My experience is that I've been hurt more in my own back yard (see my other blog posts) than I have in other countries of the world.

Luis, our neighbor and friend in Chuburna, Mexico

My life's mission is to be the bridge between cultures, and to serve and love them as Jesus Christ served and loved the world.  Just as the apostle Paul went to all parts their known world 2,000 years ago, so are we called to go into all parts of the world (Matthew 28:19).  Every person in every corner of the world is loved just the same and just as much as all of us here in the United States.  I think sometimes we conveniently forget this simple truth, and we ignore other parts of the world because we don't want anything to get in the way of our busy, planned, and supposedly safe lives here at home.

We're fortunate in so many ways to be born in the United States, and I recognize that as I travel the world.  And yet, if you visit any other country and invest time in building relationships with people, you'll see that we have so much to learn from others.  I have the opportunity to do this for my life and career, and  I feel blessed beyond measure.  If you've been to other parts of the world and had the chance to build authentic, meaningful relationships, I know you understand what I'm saying.  If you haven't, I ask you to give it a shot and overcome the inconvenience, fear, or other obstacle that is standing in your way from going into other parts of the world.  I haven't met a single person that regrets traveling to another culture, whether it's simply personal travel or serving on a mission trip.

Let's get out there and start learning, sharing, and serving.  There's no better way to live.  And most importantly, it's a direct order from our creator.