I still got it...

I've been back three weeks now. Spoken at various meetings, shared my story with just about everyone who cares to hear, and some who dont. The first week home was the most difficult. I remember telling my team how much I missed American food and how I was going to gain 20 pounds the first week home. I had a list of over 200 things I was going to eat when I came home. One of the top things on this list was a steak... closely followed by ice cream cake and Quizno's subs.

The party that was planned for me when I got home included the ice cream cake and sub. I took small portions.... To be honest, I ate what I did out of obligation. I had lost my appetite. The next morning was Sunday church. Afterwards I found myself at Cracker Barrel where I ordered the steak. The waitress put the plate in front of me and I sat there for a few minutes poking the steak around the plate before cutting off a corner a setting it inside my mouth. It tasted amazing....but still....i had to force feed myself the rest of it.... I just couldn't eat... This continued for the whole week, I don't know why, but I just couldn't allow myself to enjoy my time here. I was so used to only having the necessities, it was difficult being able to have delicacies that make life more enjoyable....and for some, more bearable. I remember walking down the aisle of Wal-Mart and looking at all of the things that I "could" have, but didn't exactly need. It was a difficult transition, but I seem to be doing better now.

I picked up the youth leader position again alongside my best friend (or "runnin' buddy", as my pastor calls it) Marko. We have been doing a lot of praying for the youth as we prepare to lead them on a mission trip to Mexico. Last week we sat down on the bed with a blank piece of paper, asked the Lord to prepare our hearts to hear His voice, and then waited silently in expectation. We needed to know how to prepare the youth for this trip...what did He have planned for us to speak about...

I took a quick examination of the status of my heart, what had been going on in there the past few weeks, and listened to hear if God was quickening anything to my mind. All I could hear was the breathing of Marko and I as we sat there listening.

....."Prayer...this is the foundation".... I recognized His voice and a smile spread across my face. I looked up and shared with Marko what I had heard, he smile in agreement. Our meeting with the youth would be about prayer...

From there ideas and instructions trickled into our time of prayer like little puzzle pieces until we had a complete picture of what God had planned for the youth. We excitedly wrote down all that we had heard, and then moved into the other room to type the handout we had come up with. It was amazing! As I sat there going over in my head all that we had heard, I thought about how the youth would receive what we would teach them. Prayer...i remember as a youth what I thought about prayer, I remember the way I would roll my eyes when I was told we would have a meeting on prayer.... It wasn't until this point in my life that I understand the reality of what prayer is, and the power that it carries. I thought about the importance and life that comes from prayer.....then wondered....

"Why is it that the most valuable, important, intimate part of our relationship with our Father is the most neglected, misunderstood, dreaded, and 'boring' part of our life?"

Marko nodded in agreement, "You just answered your own question, it is BECAUSE it is the most valuable and intimate part of our relationship that it is the most neglected and misunderstood part of our life"

I knew what he was getting at.... prayer is one of the most dangerous tools against the kingdom of darkness, so of course the enemy is going to try to take this defense out first. As we put the meeting together, we knew it would be really foundational in preparing for this trip.

The meeting went great. Amidst the bored faces and glazed eyes, there were a few who had really listened, a few who took the teaching seriously and would follow through with the exercises we had given them for the week. I would follow along with them also as I prayed for the youth and God's favor on them throughout the week.

On Friday morning I arrived at the airport a few hours before I would have liked to wake up. I called the guy I had talked to on the phone a few days earlier, whom I had never met. He met me at the door and we got my ticket and climbed into the plane. His name was Darby, a friend of a friend who had contacted me to help him with a job opportunity that had come up in Miami. The plane took off and a few hours later we touched down in Miami. As the Miami sun beat down on my face I thought to myself "Hmm...what a wild trip this will be.... I dont even know these people!"

We climbed into a cab that drove us to Bay Harbor where we would spend the next few days. We pulled up to the million dollar house and walked in. An older lady introduced herself to me as Jamie, and shortly afterwards a man, Alex, arrived. Jamie and Alex were Buddhists, and throughout the day we could hear them chanting and ringing bells in front of this little shrine. Darby and I had been asked to come down and load up her possessions in a truck and drive it back to Nashville. For the next couple of days I watched them live their lives as Buddhists, and suffer the void that comes along with it. I had been following the specific things that we had asked to youth to pray about during the list. Our last morning there I thought back about what we had decided to pray about that day...."Pray that God gives you an opportunity to share your faith with someone". I prayed the prayer, and then asked God to help the youth with this prayer and then set off to finish off some last minute things before we left. Darby had to drive Jamie to the bank, and me and Alex would stay behind to wrap one more thing...

Alex sat down on the couch, I took a seat next to him. "So, Alex, how long have you lived in the States?" ....and so the conversation began. We talked about life in the States, life in his native country, Buddhism, his relationship with Jamie....and finally I asked him..."Has anyone ever told you about Jesus.....not the religious, outdated, oil painting Jesus on the wall of old Sunday school classes.....but the REAL Jesus?" He looked at me and said he had heard of Jesus but believed that praying to the universe and himself didn't stop him from accepting Jesus. A few minutes later my new brother was bowed in prayer, asking Jesus to change his life. WOOOHOOO!!! He began asking me questions about God and asking me to help him prayer about specific things in his life and for specific people he knew. As the door handle rattled, notifying us of Darby and Jamie's arrival, he looked at me with his moistened eyes and said "Thank you....you dont know how much I needed this" I whispered, "I think I do....." Darby and I grabbed a few last things and headed out the door. Alex hugged my neck and thanked me again. As Darby and I climbed up into the truck, Darby asked me, "What did you and Alex talk about?"

I smiled and said that we talked about his life and a few different things. "Why, whats up?"

"He looked different", he replied.

I smile and told him I had told Him about Jesus and that we had prayed together about some things. Darby said that he had noticed that his countenance had changed, and he was right. Alex was a new man! After 20 or so hours of driving, I am home again. I was able to have dinner with Esther, one of my favorite girls in the world who spent the last six months with me overseas as we drove through Atlanta.

I am excited to hear the stories of the youth as they report how God has answered their prayers this week! I'll keep you guys updated!