I am sorry if you got
excited because you thought that Josh finally posted a blog. However, I
just wanted to tell everyone that I am sorry for not posting blogs lately.
I feel that I have let down people interested and our supporters in informing
your on what Tara and I have been doing. Things have been going on and
God has been moving I have just done a terrible job at putting it on
paper. So please forgive me and
extend me some grace I will work hard to get another blog up. Thank you
for all your support, patience and understanding, I know that everyone who
reads this truly cares as to what goes on where we are.
P.S. – Could please join
us in praying this Sunday at 11:00 pm here Sunday 12:00 noon on the east
coast till 4:00 pm eastern time.We praying into the issue of prostitution that is going on in the hotel
we are staying in. Praying for the
salvation of those we have come in contact with over the past week or so. Praying for the ministries in Vietnam
to begin a revival in this country.If you could join us during those times that would be great. Thanks.
Gave the wrong time it will be Sunday on the east coast. Sorry if you already prayed just do it again. Thanks
The story posted a couple of days ago had some incorrect information. The story I posted was based on info given to me by locals, but it seems that they were incorrect. So I received and email with info that should be correct or what was at lest posted in the paper. Do with it what you will but I just wanted to let everyone know that I posted the wrong information.
The burning of the man happened in Solola NOT Panajachel and it was not about a kidnapping. The kidnappings that were happening in Panajachel are not only of kids. These men were not kidnappers they were collecting a debt, which the guy said he did not owe. Later when the guys were taken to the courtroom they found out they were innocent and had gone to the Ministerio Publico before showing up in pana about the debt for 800,000 quetzals.
I
know from the beginning of this I am going to have a hard time describing the
way that I am feeling about something I witnessed today. So here it goes, I will do the best
that I can.
Tara
and I are walking back to our house from town, something that has become a
normal everyday ritual, however, today was not like the rest. As we approach the split in the road
that takes us home we are passed by men running, men on motorcycles, and the
police mixed all in between. Not
knowing what is going on we decided to follow. We reach the point where the two roads meet again and we see
that the angry mob has surrounded a car.At this point many people are yelling and screaming stuff in Spanish and
yelling to the police officers.While this is going on, multiple people begin to hit and shake the car
from side to side. Amongst all the
chaos a ringleader raises his voice and at that moment they pull two guys from
the car.
When
this began to happen I was reminded of a story that a local pastor told us a
couple of weeks ago. There were a
group of men who were involved in kidnapping some children around
Panajachel. One man involved in
this crime was caught by a mob sometime in July and was burned in the middle of
the street as symbol to the others involved. Come to find out the men pulled from the car were the other
two men involved in the kidnapping.The two men are pulled from the car and they begin to beat them and take
them down the street. When all of
a sudden part of the mob flips the car over onto its roof. I begin to look around and notice the
police are doing nothing but trying to direct traffic. It was a very odd site because it was
completely against my normal.
The
two men have been taken out of sight so Tara and I stay around a little longer
then we begin to walk back to the house when we hear some more yelling and
screaming coming from the direction of the main square. We walk to the main square and there
are hundreds of people surrounding these men beating them. The mob leader is standing on a car
asking the crowd "what should we do with these men?" The answer they screamed back was, "lynch them." In that moment my heart began to beat
fast and I felt completely helpless.All I could do was pray that God would intervene in some way. They ended up taking them in the town
hall where there are holding cells and I guess that is where they remain for
the time being.
While
this is all going on I am trapped with this thought of why is no one standing
up for these men. I understand
that they are criminals but I ask myself, "Is God's grace not for them?" Did the death of Christ only cover my
sins and not theirs? There was a
part of me that did not want to understand the grace of God because it would
have made the situation so much easier.It would have been easier to just watch like everybody else and truly
believe will all my heart that these guys are getting what they deserved. I wish it could have been that way
because then I would be able to sleep at night. I wish it could have been that way then I would be able to
sit in silence and not hear the sounds of them being beat. However, it is not that way. I am a no longer a slave to sin but I
am slave to righteousness and that makes me a slave to grace.
So as we press in together may God wreck our view
of what is normal, what is ordinary, what is safe, what is comfortable, and
what is easy. Replacing it with what is of the spirit and manifesting
itself through the gifts and the miraculous signs and wonders that
put God's love on display. As we are in the last days may we continue to
fight to put God's love on display and end each day with nothing left to give
knowing that we will be filled with the Spirit to do it all over.
The timing of these types of situations is amazing. It has been just 30 minutes since I posted the blog telling the world how I fell about my wife and I get in an argument with her. During that time I want to believe so bad that I am in the right and I fight so hard against what I know I should do and continue to do the things I hate doing. Sounds kind of familiar doesn't it?
Romans 7:15-20 – I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is the sin living in me. I know that good itself does not dwell in me that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So in a 30 minute period time I have just invalidated all the things I just said about her. I even struggled with pulling the blog down because the things I just wrote no longer seem to ring true by my actions. I still believe that they are true but if you read those words then saw my actions you would think that I was two faced. I just may be that in the sinful nature as Paul says. The funny thing is, is that I no longer have to operate in the sinful nature because I have been set free by Christ and his spirit lives in me.
However, I struggle so hard sometimes to believe that about myself. I know that there is victory in Christ and in the words that Paul wrote in Romans 8. I know that I have authority over the sinful nature and the power to rebuke it. I hear the Lord speaking to me and telling me that pride is no longer apart of who you are. You do not fight against the things of this world that tell you, you must be right, but that you need to love in spite of those things just for the sake of loving that person. The funny thing is the person to which I battle with the most is the person I love the most or at least that is what I tell the world on the internet.
So I am going to press into God and relinquish my grasp on my pride (even as I write this I fell the desire to make myself sound better than I am). So as I relinquish my grasp on my pride I chose to pick up love and press into the love of the Father. I know that I am not through with this but I know that this is one step closer to stepping into the identity that Christ has for me. And in the end love wins!
On Friday the 25th of July all six guys from the squad and Seth were at hotel in Antigua have a guys night. Now of the six guys on the squad three are married and three are single. Sometime in the night someone brought up the idea of making a list of expectations of what a future spouse would look like. Already being married this brought to mind the list Tara made for herself and the things that she would expect of her future spouse. But I as I began to think further my thoughts were flooded with just how amazing my wife Tara is and it brought a huge smile to my face. So I am going to take a little time here and say some great things about the woman I love:
I cannot image what life would be like without her, she is an absolute blessing to my life and true gift from God. I think to say that I married over my head would be an understatement.
I have done nothing to deserve someone as special as she is. It is amazing to see the amount of love and compassion that is in this women and the ways in which it overflows to everyone. When I say everyone I mean everyone, she will love a stranger the same way she loves a friend. If there is anyone I know who could embody the way Christ would want us to love on another it would be her. Another characteristic that draws me to Tara is her ability to pray and intercede for people. It is truly a beautiful site to see her just worship God through her prayers. I am so thankful that I have someone in my life that could model true intercession. These are just a few things that I could say about the amazing woman of God that thought I would share with everyone who reads this thing.
I also just wanted to say to Tara that I love you and I do not have word to describe the way I fell about you and how truly amazing you are. God is going to do things through us that we could not do alone.
So it is out there on the internet the way that I feel about my wife and if any of you would like to get to know her more you can check out her blog on by clicking here.
Here is a few pictures from our 4th year anniversary date at Misol-Ha waterfall near Palenque, Mexico. Tara and I wanted to thank everyone who have been praying for our marriage. We believe that prayer is crucial part to our marital success on the world race. We also wanted to thank those who have supported our marriage financially allowing us to take the date nights.
My teammates and I have been staying in a small town called Trinidad. It is located in the southern part of Mexico in the state of Chiapas. During our time here we have been instructed to put together church services every night for the local church. Problem number one is that most of the team does not speak Spanish at all except for Johnny who has been getting us through. Problem number two is the congregation gives zero response to head pastor so imagine the response we are getting. Lets just say it is very awkward to finish speaking or doing a drama and get crickets and the gas face from the crowd. It was in one of these awkward moments that God really taught me something.
The plan for the evening was to sing a few songs in Spanish led by Stacey and Tara. Then I would read the story of Moses translated into Spanish followed by a drama. After the drama Marissa would share her testimony translated by Johnny. The songs are sung with no response. I struggle through about 10 minutes worth of Spanish reading followed by the drama and the testimony and nothing. I know they saw the strain on my face as I fought through my mispronunciation. I did the best that I could and yet their faces were saying you should have done better. In that moment I realized that I was looking for some type of response or accolade for the work that we just put in. It was a very humbling experience. God reminded me that these things we were saying were not for the people but were sweet offering to him. God was using us to scatter His Word and he would come in sew those words into the heart of the people.
This thought at first seemed so counterintuitive to way that we do things in America or at least the way I did things. Here I am putting myself out there expecting some type of response or accolade to build myself up. All this time and I had no idea I was even seeking those things. It felt good to discover that about myself because now there are fewer insecurities to get in the way of finding my true identity in Christ. My prayer is that all these little pieces of myself that I hold on to and try find significance in are brought to the surface. I want to be able to get to the end of service, a time of ministry, and even the world race and know that everything is poured out for the sake of Christ and not just a pat on the back.
Leave any agenda you might carry in the river. You don’t have room for it. Let this time expose who you truly are and let the God of the world mold and shape and carve you until there isn’t a doubt exactly what your role is in this epic story.(A little wisdom from someone with whom I trust my life)
everyday ritual, however, today was not like the rest. As we approach the split in the road
that takes us home we are passed by men running, men on motorcycles, and the
police mixed all in between. Not
knowing what is going on we decided to follow. We reach the point where the two roads meet again and we see
that the angry mob has surrounded a car.
The
two men have been taken out of sight so Tara and I stay around a little longer
then we begin to walk back to the house when we hear some more yelling and
screaming coming from the direction of the main square. We walk to the main square and there
are hundreds of people surrounding these men beating them. The mob leader is standing on a car
asking the crowd "what should we do with these men?" The answer they screamed back was, "lynch them." In that moment my heart began to beat
fast and I felt completely helpless.
While
this is all going on I am trapped with this thought of why is no one standing
up for these men. I understand
that they are criminals but I ask myself, "Is God's grace not for them?" Did the death of Christ only cover my
sins and not theirs? There was a
part of me that did not want to understand the grace of God because it would
have made the situation so much easier.
