In times of Trial

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earth quake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all of the prison doors blew open, and everyone's chains came loose." Acts 16:25-26

Sometimes in our trials we beg God to deliver us from our situation, with the focus being on ourselves and our well being. God, however, already knows our situation and what we need better than we do. When we don't know how to go before Him in these times, we need to remember who He is and respond to that, because He doesn't change like our shifting circumstances. Always praise God for who he is, not just for that which can change in an instant. With praise and worship to God comes freedom in the most trying times.

"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:7-8

Finding Freedom

"So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him...
Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell... and the chains fell off Peter's wrists." Acts 12 5-7

A picture I got when reading this is that of an unbeliever imprisoned, and the importance of our intercession for them. It was not what Peter was praying, but the prayers of the ones who cared about him that God answered. Like an unbeliever sleeping, bound in chains, we must intercede for them to be free. They may be incapacitated and unaware of their captivity, but we must earnestly plead with God for their freedom so that He will deliver them.

Another important revelation that was shared with me by a friend is the power of a Godly person. Peter was a man of God. He was viewed as a convicted felon and was more dangerous than the worst of them. He was kept in a prison cell, bound in chains, two guards on either side of him and a guard at the door. This guy was dangerous!! And after all of that security he still managed to escape. This is a man who doesn't need weapons or physical strength to prevail, it's the spiritual forces that guard him that the world is powerless to defend against. And the same God who rescued Peter is the God who will deliver us.

Psalm 91
" If you say,' the Lord is my refuge'
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels
concerning you to guard you in all your ways."

If we truly live this out, we will be unstoppable. We will no longer fear the dangerous places or situations that once kept us at bay; for those are often the places of greatest potential for advancing the kingdom of God. Imagine if we no longer feared death. We would become far more dangerous than any threat this world has to pose.

Finding the Balance

I'm realizing more and more that I'm in a season of preparation. I came here expecting to simply go and do, but things aren't happening that quickly. As with anywhere you go, you have to soak into the environment. It's been a culture shock for me in the sense that I'm used to having so many obligations and commitments that I never had to decide how to spend my day, someone else has always done that for me! Here, however, I haven't acquired those obligations that used to dictate so much of my time; I'm having to learn how to manage it myself. What I'm discovering is that in doing this, there is a lot of freedom, but there's also a lot of room for mismanagement. Many times, I get discouraged, feeling like I should be conquering some notable task, making some kind of colossal difference in the world, but instead, I find myself going to bed yet one more time without having done anything like that. Darn you addicting Disney movies!
It didn't take long to realize I needed to remedy this situation, but coming up with the solution is not as easy as it may seem. What I realized is how big of a role inspiration plays in the self-motivated world. When commitments aren't telling me what to do, inspiration has to. The problem is when there is no inspiration, I tend to avoid doing anything that doesn't sound like fun. If you've ever been in that predicament, you know that discipline goes out the window and boredom sets in fast. So in solving this quandary, I decided to compartmentalize one day at a time and fill it with a certain amount of mental stimulation (learning, filling up) and an amount of charity (teaching, pouring out). Both sides must be present and balanced.
For the charity aspect, I'm working on making it a life style. It can't be just an event or a task during the day, it must become a mindset that thinks outwardly, eyes that look for need and arms that are willing to reach out and meet it. One step I'm taking in this field is by building relationships with people in town and around the community. The nice thing about living on a small island is that you tend to see a lot of people that you recognize. My first step is to meet those people. If I were to meet 5 people every time I went into town, I would know half the island in no time. That's where the ministry begins for me. Without relationships, it's nearly impossible to make any kind of long term impact in someone's life.

As for the mental stimulation part, I find that the more I learn, the more inspired I get to keep learning. It's just the digging in that takes some patience. Reading, in and of itself, is a great mental exercise, but studying subjects that interest you can be so rewarding when you're not under the pressure of school. Go figure!
Right now, I'm studying from several books of the bible, both Old and New Testaments, a music book on Afro-Cuban drumming styles, a book on singing, a devotional book, and a novel, as well as Spanish and Kriol language books. Just little by little, I try to study as if I were taking a course in that particular subject.
Living in this new environment has so much to teach me. I've learned so much from the people who have lived here forever, just by watching them and talking to them, they'll show me all kinds of new things. Everything from fishing, to cooking, to music styles, and languages, it's all so fascinating to me. Living on an island where most people have little money, and a lot of time and natural resources, results in some crazy ingenuity. I love learning their quirky ways of doing things. It's an interesting way of learning, and as I discover, the world becomes my school!
Oh, and it's amazing what difference it makes to get up early! the sun rises at 5:30 and if you're not up by then, you're burning day light! as a wise friend Matt Bell would say.

Yet another update

I've kind of taken up the hobby of taking pictures. I see so much of God's artwork that and I can't help but immortalize it in my camera! sort of. Just an update, I have gotten a little bit more adapted to life in Belize. I've been going to a Spanish speaking church and helping out the two drummers for their praise team. I'm more or less of a mentor to them I guess. I met with a guy who owns a christian radio station on the island and he really wants some volunteers to work at the station. Live Djs and such. I'm not sure if that's where I'm called yet or not, but I would love to help wherever God wants to use me. There are so many seekers here and many people are almost there, they just don't have anyone to walk with them and disciple them. Until now! We definitely have our work cut out for us. God will do awesome things in San Pedro!

Everything under heaven

"The LORD said to Job: 'Can you pull in Leviathon with a fishhook
or tie down its tongue with a rope?
Can you put a cord through its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
Will it keep begging you for mercy?
Will it speak to you with gentle
words?'"
"... No one is fierce enough to rouse it.
Who then is able to stand against me?
Who has a claim against me that I must
pay?
Everything under heaven belongs
to me."
Job 41:1-3,10-11

Saw this little guy in the lagoon along the way to go fishing last night. When I got off of my bike to take pictures he came up on to the land because he thought I was going to feed him. Or he was wanting to eat me! I'm not sure, but I didn't want to stick around for that.

Fishing this morning

This morning was fairly adventurous. We got up with the sunrise at 5:30 to go spear fishing. We finally bought a spear to maximize our efficiency yesterday. It was raining as we traveled along the mud roads on our bikes. We were ready to catch our food for the first time out of necessity rather than just for fun. As we got to our favorite dock, it stopped raining. We swam around a little bit and eventually found where the larger fish congregate. Slowly learning what works and what doesn't, we eventually got a few black snapper. We saw all kinds of crazy marine life, stingrays, starfish, lots of colorful fish, some dolphins swam by, it was awesome.
A few of the local guys were on the same dock and showed me how to catch a barracuda. They showed me how to throw in our sardine net, put a lively one on the hook, through the mouth, then cast it behind the barracuda, slowly pulling it past him. The baros hang out in really shallow water and the water is crystal clear, so we could see when it was checking out the bait. It didn't show much interest unless the sardine was moving. Eventually he went for it though and I caught him! That was exciting.
Later, we fished behind Jeff's apartment in the lake (the conventional way for the most part), and we caught a ton of little snapper. We learned the cheapest and easiest way to fish is by winding the line around a glass coke bottle, then casting off the end of that. No fishing rod is necessary! We had fish tacos for dinner!

The water