Just a Little Inspiration

I'm sitting in Inman Perk Coffee on the square looking for some inspiration.  I love writing but lately I've been having trouble finding something I really want to write about.  So I glance up at the art on the wall beside me.  A dead tree filled with birds, the painting overflowing onto the picture frame.  I sip on my chai latte and feel the crisp autumn air come through the door as someone walks in.  On the opposite wall is a chalk drawing of a distorted feminine face crying and a caption that says "I only ever wanted love."  Inspiration. 

So I turn to the book of Philippians.  "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead… do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

Well I'm not having any problem thinking about what lies ahead right now.  Tomorrow begins a four day backpacking trip through the wilderness of the blue mountains in South Carolina.  There will be 40 people split into 5 groups on five different remote trails.  I am responsible for the planning and facilitation of everything.  I hope nobody dies.  After that I will be moving into my trailer home with 5 other people as an AIM CGA "House mentor".  At the same time I'll be getting everything ready to move to India, recruiting two or three more people for the India team, and helping with church planting and trailer park ministry here in GA.  Plus I need to be at 90% of my monthly fundraising goal of $1500.  And now I'm wondering where the line between "straining forward" and "anxious" is. 

But seriously, as I think about what lies ahead; all the things in my future that God is bringing, all the truth, justice, purity, loveliness, and excellence; the excitement of planting churches in India and watching Jesus transform lives and bring peace and honor to destitute places, I feel like God is with me.  And I guess even without a ridiculous story, or crazy breakthrough, or life-changing chalk art, I feel inspired. 

7.5th Annual DHMH: Olympic National Park

"You literally saved my marriage" he said as tears rolled down his face.  Everyone in the circle was crying as Dan stood up and embraced him.  It was well after sunset and a chilly wind had begun to blow down from the jagged, glacier strewn mountain peaks.  Blisters, sore knees, chafing, and paralyzing beef jerky aftermath caused most of the men to sit in awkward postures on their bear canisters or log seats.  Around the circle a small gathering of ultralight tents were shaking lightly in the wind, behind those an icy cold mountain stream gurgled over a bed of white rocks, and behind that thousand foot cliffs rose up steeply and framed a star-studded night sky.  However, none of the 12 men in the circle seemed to be aware of anything in that moment except the people standing up telling their stories. 

Michael sharing some Dan stories as night approaches 

It was the 7.5th annual Dan Hoffman Memorial Hike and this was a special year because two days after the hike ended Dan Hoffman was getting married.  This year the hike was his bachelor party.  In typical DHMH fashion we had arrived at the trailhead six hours late with way too much food and not nearly enough physical training.  Two hard-earned days later we found ourselves nestled in the appropriately named Enchanted Valley of Olympic National Forest in the northwest corner of Washington state, surrounded by redwood-sized trees draped in green moss and jungle vines.  As we sat in a circle and shared how our friend Dan Hoffman had impacted each of our lives, doubled-over laughter and legitimate tears accompanied every set of stories.  "Remember that year you worked for Starbucks and couldn't pay rent?" "Remember when you helped me propose to my wife on top of a mountain in the dark?" "Remember that time we drove around Morocco together?" "You specifically showed me what family was" "You talked me off a ledge" "You sent me peanut butter when I was trapped in the Peace Corps" "You sat up and prayed with me all night" "Dan, you realize it's not normal for twelve people to all consider you their best friend right?"  You see, this isn't just an annual hike, it's a brotherhood. 

Entering Enchanted Valley

Day two I was hiking along with Clint, making conversation to keep my mind off of my sore feet, and I asked the question, "Why do we do this?"  Why do we abandon the shelter, running water, and toilet paper that we've worked so hard for to go out and walk on dirt paths with 40 lb (or in Clint's case 52 lb) packs?  I wasn't asking that because I was questioning the stunning beauty that surrounded me that is only available by foot.  I wasn't asking because I thought the blisters, sore feet, terrible trail food, and absence of showers detracted from rather than added to the experience.  And I wasn't asking because I thought that the risk of death or injury outweighed the sense of accomplishment.  I was asking because it was more than worth a hundred times the pain, risk, and discomfort.  What inexplicable value did I feel in my soul, so invigorating that I actually rejoiced at so low a cost?  It was the brotherhood and forced dependence, it was the overcoming of deliberate and strenuous circumstances, it was the sense of the very presence of God, it was the feeling that this is what I was made to do.  To meet once a year with men like Dan Hoffman, who had intentionally walked beside me during some of my greatest times of need, on a muddy mountain trail surrounded by forests of mythical proportions and bears of mythical existence, and once again walk beside him and share another experience impossible to forget.  To take part in the very essence of life.  The 2015 7.5th annual DHMH of Olympic National Forest; another epic success. 

Some of the guys drove thousands of miles for this week

Finally on the trail 

My morning coffee 

Probably talking about how many minutes of sleep each one got last night

This year Dan's dad Peter came. He was a trooper!

Despite being guaranteed to see a bear, we saw not a single one

Ryan and Kevin

We all snacked on wild raspberries and blueberries throughout the 35 mile hike

Thad poses for an epic shot

Capturing the peaks poking through the clouds

Starting dinner.  That big black canister is a bear can.

We actually heard two of these giant trees collapse 

Fishing break

A little mossy waterfall is on the right

glaciers

Tim gives a little perspective to this fallen tree

Wanna read last years DHMH blog? 

Interesting Facts about India

• India is the largest democracy in the world, the 7th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.
• Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world 
• India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history.
• The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
• Chess was invented in India.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
• The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.
• The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.
• The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
• Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
• India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
• The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
• Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days.
• The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India. Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.during the Vedic period.Even today, the largest used number is Terra: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).

• Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
• 2.5% of Indians claim Christianity 
• GDP per capita is $1,630 (as a point of reference in the US it is $54,600)

Source = www.KnowIndia.gov.In

How to Train for Long-Term Missions

How do you prepare to move long-term to India?  Well, it's Sunday afternoon, it is pouring rain, and I find myself sitting in the only hip coffee shop in downtown Gainesville Georgia with two empty cappuccino mugs sitting on the table in front of me.  I have been here all morning sending emails, typing specific combinations of words into my google search bar, calling various people, and now writing this blog.  Does that answer your question?  Yes.  Surprisingly, it does.

And just how does that answer your question?  Well, it tells you that I didn't attend church this morning.  Not because "not attending church" is part of my training to prepare for a place where there is no church to attend, but because I already attended church every day this week.  I worked there 9 to 5 each day, I slept there every night, worshipped with them Monday morning, and played ultimate frisbee with them on Wednesday.  Possibly the biggest part of my training is to take part in the community, or church, here at AIM headquarters.  It is important to understand the sending agencies' vision, expectations, and culture and to build relationships within the organization before I run off to India.  The way that AIM represents the diverse body of Christ as the church is exactly what I want to replicate in Hyderabad with my own team.

It also tells you that I don't have time during the work week to write a blog or research the "top ten reasons missionaries leave the field" or call my friend at EastWest Ministries to ask what kind of language training her team leader is putting her through before she leaves.  That is because my time during the work week is taken up by classes on cultural lenses and conflict resolution, discipleship meetings, and following around the CEO of AIM to get an understanding of how he runs things.  Life stays very busy here in Georgia. 

This little snippet of my life this Sunday afternoon also communicates one of my top priorities: research.  I am continually interviewing and reading about how to train a team, how to lead, how to be a missionary, what my Indian contacts' expectations are, how to be useful overseas, how to plant a church and feed hungry children and not file for bankruptcy in the process, and a myriad of other things.  There are a lot of things to think about when you are starting up a new ministry. 

So how do you prepare for long term missions?  Well let me just say it takes lots of cappuccinos. 

Church? 

PS. Thank you so much everyone who has begun to support me monthly!  I now have about $180 per month coming in, so I am beginning to build up to my goal of $1000 monthly.  I am going to automatically add my supporters to a prayer-request email but if anyone else would also like to partner though prayer just send me a message. Dios le bendiga!

Lessons from India (for real this time)

So about 6 months ago when I first came home from India I wrote a blog titled "What Did I Learn in India?"  I didn't really answer the question in the blog but instead talked about how I was annoyed with everyone asking me that question.  Well, now I am apologizing to my readers because it is actually very important to reflect on how the stories we live out impact our worldview and sense of personal growth.  It's a question that my mentor asked me last Thursday and so yesterday I sat down for four hours and tried to process some of the events from my time in India.  I discovered that almost every memory and story had a lesson behind it that I had already accepted as a part of my story and identity and had applied in various ways in my life without even realizing it.  I came up with about fifteen stories that imparted important life lessons.  Here are three of them. 

One of my first weeks of ministry in the slums ended in chaotic disaster.  There were two teams of volunteers, named according to the train stations where they went searching for desperate and dying people; Sealdah and Howrah.  Because there was no overall leader each team ran things their own way and had little interaction with each other.  Whoever had the most experience acted as the general leader for each team.  Our ministry was exclusive, not just any volunteer could join, and the Howrah team disapproved of one of the volunteers that the Sealdah team 'let in'.  So she called a meeting.  Neither side would budge.  Howrah demanded he leave and Sealdah insisted he stay.  There was yelling, tension, and hurt feelings on both sides.  The worst part was, the volunteer in question was also one of the meeting attendees!  As part of the solution I volunteered to switch teams.  After having worked with both sides for a while I came to enjoy both and understood why the philosophy needed to be different for each team.  Lessons learned:

1. All relationships are important.  Your coworkers are just as important as the people you are working to reach. 
2. Making an effort to walk in someone else's shoes brings reconciliation. 
3. Mission work is difficult and stressful and missionaries are normal people who need as much grace as anyone else.

Train Station

One of my favorite memories from Kolkata was of a man I approached on a train platform.  I noticed he was homeless and sat down next to him.  He didn't speak any English or Bangla so we couldn't talk but I offered him a little fried snack and he was obviously surprised and excited.  He smiled and gave me a hug, then he rummaged around in his bag for something he could give me.  He didn’t have much of anything, no changes of clothes, no food, no money.  The only thing he had a was a bit of red twisted thread.  It was dirty, knotted and ripped but it was all he owned.  He placed it in my hand and motioned that I should clean it and then turn it into an anklet.  I walked away feeling more encouraged and uplifted than if I had been given a million dollars.  That anklet is one of my favorite possessions to this day.  Lessons learned:

1. Although ministering to the poor is generally thankless and uncompensated work, the times when you are shown gratitude are worth more than all the money and recognition in the world. 
2. Sitting next to someone on the street communicates love.  It is an acknowledgement that you have time for them and that you are both of equal importance and stature. 
3. The poor have as much, if not more, to teach us as we do them. 

Train Platform

The nuns of the Missionaries of Charity taught me a lot in all aspects of life, but the most impactful part of my time with them was probably their Adoration service.  It was basically a daily prayer service an  hour and a half long in a room offering only a concrete floor to kneel on.  Most of the prayer was silent but every once in a while they would sing a hymn a-cappella.  I had to walk over a mile in hundred degree heat to get there and it was at the most inconvenient time possible but I found I could connect with God better than any church I had been to.  Lessons learned:

1. Even worship songs and the Bible can be distractions at times.
2. Being together with other people in prayer is powerful, even when there are no words spoken out loud.
3. There is something about dedicating time to God and prioritizing that time that opens communication with Him.  It might have something to do with the fact that we value things more that we sacrifice more for.

Near the end of my time in Kolkata

It is never too late to process an experience.  I am finding that just taking a few hours to sit down and write out experiences and then asking "what did I learn from that experience?" can be almost as impactful as the experience itself.  It helps you understand yourself better and have some wisdom to share with other people as well. I highly recommend it. 

2495 Miles from Arizona to Georgia

Slowly my dream started breaking down.  Someone with a deep southern draw was yelling at the top of their lungs "Heeeeeyyy!!"  I began to wake up and slowly my surroundings and circumstances came back to me.  I remembered that I was on a road trip from Arizona to Georgia.  Then I remembered pulling off the highway to camp next to my car on a random dirt road.  Then came back the memory of the longhorn bull that charged me and the two wild boars fighting that woke me up.  I realized it was late in the morning and the sun was glaring off my sleeping bag.  The sound of a giant diesel pickup truck invaded my senses along with the smell of dust and cow dung.  "HEEEYYYYY!! You aluave?!!"  I sat up quickly and shouted in no particular direction with the cheeriest voice possible "Oh hey!  I hope you don't mind me crashing here for the night!  I was just passing through!"  My eyes couldn't focus on anything yet but I could vaguely make out the outline of an old cowboy standing 10 yards off with his hands at his hips like he was in a wild west shoot-out.  "You ain't sposed to be here!  That's the LAW!"  "Oh yeah, sorry about that, I -"  "You better git goin then!"  I'm not sure why but I yelled "thanks!" as I scrambled out of my sleeping bag and stuffed it into my car.  I stomped on the gas and high-tailed it out of there.  What a crazy night. 

The ill fated campsite

A roadrunner and an infantry of bugs decided to destroy my foglight 

Breakfast!

Two hours later I had a cup of coffee in the cup-holder, the cruise control was set at 82, my teeth were bushed, my eyes were clear, and I had calmed down enough to laugh out loud in my car every time I replayed the scene over again in my mind.  This had been a great trip so far.  The first day I had got to have brunch with my good friend Katie James in Tucson, met a guy named Blake who had driven his scooter all the way from South Carolina to be a part of a church in Tempe AZ but had subsequently been kicked out because he "couldn't possibly have a right relationship with God if he believed the earth was flat", peered into Juarez from a taco food truck, and somehow made it all the way to Big Bend National Park by 1 AM. 

Lunch

Pulling over to watch the sun set

Big Bend had been everything I was expecting and more.  Jack rabbits, deer, wild boar, and even black bears made their presence known.  Empty roads wound for hundreds of miles through forested mountain ranges and parched desert.  A hot sun beat down through deep blue skies on the swift blue waters of the Rio Grande as it cut its way through thousand-foot canyons and sandy marshes.  I hiked three trails, saw a group of immigrants swimming across from Mexico, and powered through 40 mph curves at 85.  Well worth every minute of the 400 mile southern detour. 

Is that a 3 or an 8? 

The Beautiful Rio Grande

Illegal Immigrants?

Yep.

Up in the mountains of Big Bend National Park

An 8000 foot summit in the Chisos Mountains

Camping

Now the scenery was gradually starting to look more like the east coast and less like the Southwest.  Tall
trees lined interstate 20 as it undulated over green rolling hills.  Once I hit Dallas the last of the cactus disappeared.  I was going to miss the jagged peaks and brilliant sunsets of the desert but for now my eyes were feasting on all this green. 

A remnant of the Civil War on the banks of the Mississippi

It was a little surreal being in downtown Dallas with white men in business suits maneuvering hastily around skyscrapers and sidewalk cafes after having spent three days driving through barren wasteland.  I hung my camera unashamedly from my neck and gaped at the crazy sculptures and Ferraris. 

Bizarre sculpture #1

Bizarre sculpture #2

lunch

After an amazing time talking and laughing with my good friend Sarah Wholgemut over margaritas and ceviche tacos in Plano I hit the road again.  Back on the blacktop with familiar songs blaring over my radio, I set the cruise control and propped my knee up on my leather seat.  I had lost track at this point just how many days I had been doing this.  Life drifted past the window and it seemed more appropriate to admire the sun setting in my rearview mirror than try to count how many times it had gone down or had yet to come up before I reached my destination.  Tonight I was going to get a motel room.   

Thanks for treating me to dinner Sarah!  Despite the fact I look homeless!

Admiring the sunset in my mirror again

I've now been in Gainesville for three days.  The rest of the 2495 miles went smoothly and I had the pleasure of staying with my cousin Ashlynn the last night.  I am now settling in to my new home and have already started training and planning for India.  I couldn't have thought up a better start to this adventure than an epic roadtrip across the south.  Thanks God for picturesque sunsets, adventures, and even Texas.  

My new home!

Vehicle: 2002 BMW 330Ci
Miles traveled: 2495
Time taken: 4 days and 6 hours
Average MPG: 29.1
Maximum speed: 130 mph
Total cost of vehicle: $4000
Total cost of gasoline: $235
Total cost of lodging: $39.99
Number of photos: 329
Number of stories I will be telling the rest of my life: 17


PS  Thank you all so much for your participation in my fundraising event!  The painting was awarded to Graciela Nobles!  I am currently at about 20% of my goal for monthly support!  If you pledged or are going to pledge any monthly donation please send me an email so that I know where I am at and can include you in my prayer requests emails.  Thanks again!

Fundraising Update + Giveaway

Hey everyone!  I am just sitting at my favorite coffee shop, Lux, right now thinking about last night's going away party.  Thank you so much everyone who was able to make it out.  I am so grateful for my community here in Phoenix.  You guys have supported me, believed in me, prayed for me, and paid for my missions endeavors, even during absences of years at a time.  It is a rare thing and I am incredibly privileged to have such good friends.

Just a little update about India: I am leaving Phoenix June 1st and heading to Georgia where I will be living at AIM headquarters, assembling a team, training, and planning for the work in India.  I plan to launch to India in January.  I have already begun working on hammering out the vision and mission, brainstorming with AIM and ICM leadership, and setting up lines of communication.  Currently our vision is to take ownership of a district within the state of Andhra Pradesh called Nalgonda.  What we don't want to happen is for our contacts in India that we are going to serve to spend more time telling us what to do and how to do it than they do running their own ministry.  Our solution is to take ownership of this district using their vision and strategies.  It is a massive challenge and full of potential.  I know that God is already at work there preparing the hearts of the people and I am excited to get going!

 In order to maximize the organization's resources and put as much of their money toward direct ministry in India, I will be responsible for raising my own living expenses from my own network of family and friends.  The total cost of my time in Georgia will be around $6000 and after that my goal is to have a base of monthly support around $1000.  This should cover flights back to the States a couple times a year as well as my everyday expenses while I am doing full time ministry.

I have two paintings that I am giving away to whomever pledges the largest monthly donation.  The largest pledge by this Friday the 29th at midnight will get their choice of two acrylic on canvas pieces.

This one is a portrait of a young street girl that I met in Kolkata.  It is gigantic.  4' by 3'

This one is a representation of my experience in Kolkata.  A crow sitting in a garbage dump, beautiful and desperate at the same time.  It is medium size 18" by 24"

My hope is that I have a core of people who feel a connection with India and the people there, who are invested in a small way to reaching the "ends of the world".  So please consider this partnership prayerfully.  I would much rather have small donations of $10 or $15 a month that stay consistent and involved than large contributions that are unsustainable.  Also smaller donations mean more people are connected and representing the church in the US to the people of Andhra Pradesh.  Thank you so much for reading this blog!

Here is the link to set up a monthly donation.  It is through AIM so it is tax deductible.

For more information about what I'm doing in India and why I'm going there please read my previous blog.  I will be using this blog to report the work in India and to stay in touch with everyone in the States so if you want please subscribe so updates will be sent to your email.  Thanks again!

-Brant