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.

My Killer Workout

Hey everyone,

It's been quite a while since I last posted on my physical progress.  Overall, I'm slowly but surely getting better on a muscular/endurance level.  Strangely, I've been more sore the last couple of weeks when I wake up in the morning.  As it was getting better and better after the New Year, I just assumed it would continue to improve to the point that I was no longer even noticing back pain.

Wrong.

These past couple of weeks I've been waking up in the morning feeling similarly stiff and sore to late November/early December.  That being said, I've been working out a bit in the morning since getting home from Africa.  Maybe that has something to do with it.  It doesn't seem like there would be a direct translation to a few minutes on the elyptical, but maybe there is.

Speaking of the elyptical......wow, am I out of shape.  Before my injury, I was in decent shape (for me).  I could hop on the elyptical and knock out 30 minutes on a pretty high level without thinking twice.  I'd fit it into my morning workout, and move along to some other weight-based exercises.

After getting home from Africa, I hopped onto the elyptical for 3 minutes and I was absolutely winded, and my legs were wobbling.  That's right, THREE MINUTES.  No, I didn't miss a zero there.  But oh, it must be on a high level, you think.  Yeah.  How about level none?  Is that a pretty high level?  You know, the level where you don't even plug the machine in at all.  Just hop on without any resistance at all....that level.  Yep, that's me....and I was totally out of breath after that one set of 180 seconds.

In the last two weeks, I've worked up to 5 minutes with less winding.  And yep, still on zero.  Wow, does it take the body a lot of time to recover.

Thankfully, I am slowly getting better...almost literally one step at a time.

From a nerve standpoint, I'm not seeing much improvement right now.....ever since my last blog post about it, I haven't had a noticeable difference.  I still get good nerve sensation now and again, which is great, but I'm not peeing freely yet, so to speak. 

Anyway, that's my new killer 3 minute work out.   

Thanks again for your prayer, and I'll update you soon!

Mandela's Impact on South Africa and the World

Everyone's heard of Nelson Mandela, right?

I certainly had before my trip last week to South Africa, and I knew he led their country to freedom through the apartheid era of South African history.

While this is indeed true, I really had no idea what a significant and literal impact Nelson Mandela had on all of South Africa and the people that live there.

Since I was traveling half way around the world to learn about Africa, life, and what God is up to there, I figured I should probably learn a thing or two about South Africa's most iconic figure, Nelson Mandela.

As a youngster growing up in the 1980's, I knew that apartheid was something that was happening in South Africa, and it wasn't good.  There was a guy named Nelson Mandela, and he became famous when apartheid ended.

After spending a week between Johannesburg and Cape Town, I now understand this:

Nelson Mandela single-handedly kept South Africa out of civil war, and he saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of South Africans that would have been killed if he had given the go-ahead to use physical force in the resistance effort during the apartheid era.

Not only that, but he set the precedent that I could visibly see and understand from South Africans of all ethnicities that they have chosen peace and reconcilation instead of violence and hatred.

Outside Cape Town, where PPM will be serving

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison in South Africa, simply for (peacefully) opposing apartheid rule in South Africa.  As the world began to take notice of the cruel, authoritarian rule that was being imposed on South African blacks and coloureds (their terms for Africans and mixed race minorities), more and more people were thrown into prison simply for disagreeing with the government.

South Africa had become a pressure cooker in the 1980's, as many countries had imposed sanctions on South Africa for continuing to legally people differently based on the color of their skin.  Blacks and coloureds couldn't hold jobs above a certain level.  They weren't allowed a quality education.  So on and so forth.  The white minority, only holding 10% of the population, had decided that everyone else in South Africa was inferior, and they had decided that they need to impose apartheid rule to continue controlling the country.

As the world took notice and people wanted to riot, Nelson Mandela sat in prison.  And as the son of a tribal representative and mediator, he knew that communication, patience, and love would eventually win out.  So he sat in his cell and told the 40 million black and coloured South Africans that they needed to protest peacefully.  And to wait.

Many wanted to take up arms and fight.  A bloodbath would have ensued, and maybe the black and coloureds would have won, but it would have cost thousands of lives.  The whites controlled the government and the military, so there's no saying for certain who would have won that battle.  What we do know is that South Africa would have become a war zone.

Nelson Mandela's prison cell (2 meters x 3 meters)

Instead, Nelson Mandela kept the peace while sitting in prison for 27 years.  And when apartheid finally fell, there was cheering and shouts of joy, not bullets flying through the air.

During my visit to Robben Island (Mandela's island prison off the coast of Cape Town), I learned that not only did Mandela save thousands of lives at the time.......he made an indelible impact on the outlook of South Africans today.

I've had the opportunity to travel to many countries, and never in my life have a seen and heard so many people speak of their choice to move forward in peace and reconciliation with their brothers and sisters.  Person after person, when I asked them about what they learned from the apartheid era, told me that they learned to choose peace and reconciliation.....that they will get over the past, and they will heal.  They choose peace.  They choose love.

Nelson Mandela didn't just prevent a war in South Africa.  He created a legacy of peace and understanding that will carry the South African people forward as a beautiful example to the world.  His impact will last for the rest of our history on this planet.

Thank you, Nelson Mandela.

View of Cape Town from Robben Island

South Africa

The past week has been a busy one....this is the first time since my injury that I’ve left the state of Minnesota.  And it wasn’t just a hop to another city in another state.  It was a hop over a big pond and a couple of continents.

I arrived in Cape Town, South Africa with my friend and co-worker, Christopher Fry, about a week ago.  We’d felt God calling PPM to serve in Africa with increasing strength in recent years, and landed on January, 2012 as the time to get things rolling.  Christopher directs our marketing, but he had mentioned to me years ago that he’d always been very interested in serving in Africa.  As PPM has continued to grow significantly, we knew in our hearts it was just a matter of time before we began to serve and partner with the church in Africa.

After an 8 hour flight to Amsterdam  and an 11 hour flight to Cape Town, our feet were finally on African soil.  Since PPM always serves in partnership and under the authority of the local church, we always need to meet the leadership of the church where they are at…….

…….and they weren’t at Cape Town.  They were in Johannesburg.

So we went to sleep immediately after arriving in Cape Town, got up the next morning, and flew to Johannesburg, South Africa.  There we met a handful of people in leadership in the church, including the General Secretary of the Southern Africa Baptist Union, the Mission Director for the Southern Africa Baptist Union, and one of the founders of a multi-continent ministry called Luke 10 Transformation.  After a wonderful day of meeting and seeing Johannesburg, we flew back to Cape Town.

Rev Angelo and Rev Abraham

In Cape Town we met with the first pastor PPM will be partnering with (and receiving a mission team from Briarwood Church in Texas) in South Africa, a gentleman named Patrick Crowster.  Patrick and his wife lead a church called Belhar Baptist in the Belhar community of Cape Town.  Belhar has about 50,000 inhabitants and 90% unemployment.  The community suffers from not just a lack of jobs and opportunity, but from many other issues that often come hand-in-hand with a lack of employment.  Vandalism, theft, and drug use continue to rise in this community.  Lack of education for most people continues to hold them down as adults, and it breeds to some a degree a spirit of contentment with having little to hope for in life.

Belhar Church

Community of Belhar, next to church

As a response to this spirit in the community, Patrick and his wife began to research what jobs were most readily available and needing to hire within South Africa.  The greatest need for more employees was in the medical field, most specifically Nursing Assistants.  Thus, Patrick and his wife spent significant time working through the approval and certification process in South Africa, and they now are able to offer a nearly free education (and degree) for adults in the Belhar area who are interested in employment as a Nursing Assistant.  The response from the community has been overwhelming, and they are now training dozens of people from the Belhar community to become Nursing Assistants.  The job market for this position is excellent; 98% of the hundreds that have come through this training have been hired within 6 months of receiving the degree. 

Belhar Baptist is also significantly involved with a orphanage on the outskirts of Cape Town, has a youth music ministry, and is continually reaching into Belhar to show them God’s love in a practical way.

This is just one of the pastors and situations we’ve come across already in South Africa.  We’re thrilled to partner with Pastor Patrick Crowster and his community in Belhar, South Africa.  We’ve been praying for a location to begin, and this is it.  Yet, we also know this is just the beginning of what God is up to through PPM on this beautiful continent.

Christopher and I on Table Mountain

 We’ve also had the chance to see some of the beauty of Cape Town, which is indeed one of the most physically stunning places I’ve ever had the chance to visit.  South Africa is filled with challenges and struggles, but the people overall are resilient and optimistic about their future, and I’ve already learned more from them in a week than I ever imagined.

Self pic, Table Mountain

I’ll be writing more in my next blog about apartheid and the opportunity to spend time with a gentleman that, at first blush, has impacted me with his wisdom and experience more than almost anyone I have ever met…..but I’ll save that for next time.

PPM Africa begins now.  Please pray for us, and at the same time, let’s enjoy the ride. 

God is really, really good.

Burning, Leaking, Celebrating

About a week ago I was in my office at work and on the phone.  I had recently begun to feel an odd "coming and going" sensation in my bladder that I can best describe as the feeling of someone firmly pushing on the inside of my abdomen with a dead porcupine.  The pressure on my bladder felt prickly and strong for about 10 seconds, and then would go away.

This sensation was happening with more and more frequency during one specific phone call, and it got to the point where I was really sure my bladder was full and I needed to go pee.  As I finally got off the phone and started walking towards the bathroom, I felt the unmistakable tickle of something dripping down my leg.  Then again, everything is mistakable when you have nerve damage....so I didn't really trust the sensation of pee on my leg.

Then I looked down.

It appeared as though someone has spilled a full glass of water in my lap.  Yep, I peed my pants.  Big time.

I burst into the bathroom and sat down on the toilet, and a couple of additional ounces of pee trickled out involuntary.  It just came out.  You know, like a normal person.  Only I had no say over making it stop...or start again.  It just did what it pleases......like my entire bladder system has its own personality.

But, WOW!  I peed without having to push like crazy to force it out!  

So I cleaned myself up as best I could, walked back to the office and told Erin (our Duluth office manager) "sorry, this is gross but great......look at my pants.  I peed in them!  I peed my pants!  Pee came out on its own!  High five!  Also, I did wash my hands."

........................................................

The past week has been filled with some significant breakthroughs from a nerve/pee perspective.  Since that day last week, the "burning pressure with needles" sensation has become more intense and more frequent.  Through my own analysis, I've discovered that sometimes the sensation means I have to pee, and other times not.  There's not a ton of rhyme or reason to it.  That being said, at least a few times in each of the last few days I've sat down on the toilet, waited, and then a few dribbles of pee come out.  

I am so thankful.  It burns a lot (pins, needles, and fire in your genitals...enough said.).  It's a little inconvenient because I have to constantly check to see if I'm leaking and/or filling up a pad.  And it means those nerves are starting to wake up.

Thank you for your prayer.  Thank you, Lord.  I love my life.