Disabled, Defeated, but Still Sharing

Honestly, the last few days have been kinda rough. We´re in Santiago de Chocorvos, and I have a pulled quad and bruised calf from the game(s) yesterday, I only played in the first one. We lost both games and more than a couple of us got hurt. The reason was we were playing on a field made of gravel that also had some huge rocks in it, also the referees didn´t help ;) It was really difficult to play because of my leg and the ¨field.¨ ha The best part of the day and only thing that mattered was definitely sharing the Gospel after. Today was mainly a day of relaxation, and tomorrow we head back down to Ica for the weekend. It´ll be good to get some food other than rice ;) Please continue praying for the furthering of God´s Kingdom and now for my wounds. I´m pretty sure I´m going to have to sit out the next game and maybe more, but who knows God might completely heal me or I might just take a couple ibuprofen before. ha Thanks and God bless :)

Cordova and Back

We´re back in Ica now for the night. It was decided that it would be best for us to stay at the Baptist seminary here for the night and head to Santiago tomorrow, so we are :) Cordova was great! We played 2 games and shared the Gospel with all who watched and played after the 2nd one. The high school team tied us 3-3, and we beat the town team 1-0. It doesn´t really matter as far as ministry goes, but I figured my dad and cousin Mason might want to know ;) I also pulled my right quad in the second game, but I´ll be ok. Being in Cordova gave me a ton of time to just chill with God. I´m currently reading through all the Epistles (just finished Phillipians) and a book called Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll. The book´s been great so far. You should check it or anything else you can find at the library or from Pastor Tim Mom :) I actually think you´ll like and agree with this guy. He´s got quotes about his book from at least 3 or 4 Southern Baptist staff members from various seminaries on the cover and beginning pages. ha So anyways, I´m learning a lot and believe that God is doing great things here. Please continue in prayer.

Matucana... Lima (Lunch)... Alis... Ica

Well, I spent the next 2 days sick in Matucana and didn´t really do much. The team we were scheduled to play there also didn´t show. We then headed for Alis, which is roughly 10 hrs from Matucana. On our way to Alis we stopped and ate Papa John´s again in Miraflores. It was great ;) Once in Alis, our ministry actually went how it was supposed to. We chilled and played sports with kids for a couple days then had our game. We won the game 2-1, but the important part was when we got to share the story of Nicodemus with the village after. We told them the story and then just hung out and spent time building relationships. It was really fun. O yea, and we also got beat in volleyball by some tiny high school girls. lol They were seriously amazing. We usually have a lot of free time, so I´m getting to read my Bible a ton. This is great because during school I never have enough time to focus just on God´s Word.

Our purpose in a village is basically to use our soccer abilities to play a game and then share the gospel through a story. And also through this to introduce the village missionaries that are already there on a larger scale than they might have previously been. All the missionaries have been really cool thus far. Alis was overall just awesome, except for the part where Matt and I lost a soccer ball down the river and chased it for over an hour. ha

Right now we´re in a place called Ica waiting to board a bus to head to Cordova, Santiago de (something), and then Quitoarma. I´m not sure when I can update this again, but I´ll try :)

God bless and please continue praying.

San Pedro... Miraflores (Lima)... Matucana

Hola! Well, we spent from last Saturday til this Wednesday in San Pedro de Casta. The bus ride there was 3 hrs long. It´s a mountain village with an altitude of about 11,000 ft. We trained up there, and almost everyone got sick except myself and a couple others. The first night was definitely the most difficult because there was some sort of 24 hr Catholic fiesta. It was great though because my friends Matt, Cal, and myself stayed up while talking about God and praying.
Catholicism has a strong hold on many of the people in Peru and Latin America. Our job as Evangelical Christians is to unteach much of the unbiblical and crappy traditions they have learned and to reveal Christ´s truth in places where none have even heard of Jesus Christo. Catholicism is a relgion, Christianity is a relationship.

Wednesday afternoon, we headed for Miraflores, Lima. We needed a little rest and recuperation before beginning out actual soccer tour of Southern Peru. In Miraflores, we stayed at a sweet hostel for backpackers with another IMB team that ministeres through creative ministry. They were great. During our two days, we ate at McDonald´s, Papa John´s, and T.G.I. Friday´s. It was amazing. You´ll never know how hard it is to eat rice at every meal until you´re in a fairly remote village and must do so. I actually missed our fatty greasy food a little. By the time we left though, I was glad to be done with the American stuff.
Lima had a black market that we had to go to because my backpack busted, as anticipated. I spent about $30 and the bag would´ve cost at least $70 back home, so good deal :) I also bought some alpaca sweaters for Shemiah. Honestly, she´s the one I miss the most. I could spend every centimo or penny I have on her. When it comes to her, there´s no limit of what I´d spend or give-up for her. Still tryin to figure out what to get my awesome parents who never gave-up on me when I have been an idiot so many times. I really couldn´t ask for better parents or family. Love and miss you all :)

Today, we arrived in Matucana. It´s about 3 hrs from Lima also. Most of us really like it here. Tomorrow is our first soccer game and first specific ministry opportunity. The game´s at 3, and we get to play in a pretty sweet little stadium. We´re all pumped and ready to be used by God on this pilot soccer evangelism trip with REAP South under the IMB. Please continue to pray for the people´s hearts here and that God will allow us to minister to them. We´re empty gloves waiting for God to fill us and put us to work through soccer ;)

In Lima

Hey, I´m in Lima right now with some friends at an internet cafe. We´ve had 2 days of orientation so far. It´s been a ton of talking, but all great info. Of course, in between sessions we just play soccer. It´s soo much fun! We´ll be here til Saturday and then we´re heading to San Pedra de la Casta (I think. ha). The altitude is 11,000 feet. It´s our high altitude training camp since we´ll be playing most matches in the Andes mountains.´

So far I´ve already made some really good friends and had a blast fellowshipping with them. God´s great!

I don´t know how much access I´ll have to the internet in the future, but I´ll update when I can :)

Thanks for praying and please continue. We have no idea what God has in store for us, but we´re ready to serve. Que Dios les bendiga (means ¨God bless¨).

Entertainment in THIS Economy

If entertainment is meant to entertain us, but our economy has fallen significantly then shouldn't the entertainment prices come down with us?

Why are ticket prices still outrageous and why are actors still making the same amount as before? What about professional athletes? Shouldn't we all be in this together?

I don't know if we should boycott the entertainment industry until some of this starts happening, but maybe we should definitely reevaluate what's important to us. Helping other or entertaining ourselves?

Also, why are there so many filthy movies coming out of Hollywood when the majority of Americans say they would like to see more family friendly things come out? Kids movies or at least child friendly movies usually seem to make more movie than all other types. Why? Because when a child goes to a movie they are usually accompanied by an adult this doesn't work vice versa for other types of movies. Stand up for what you believe in and tell the entertainers what you want. There's strength in numbers and unified the American people can have the America we want.

Trip to PERU

Andes Mountains of Peru

Well, I'm heading overseas again. I will be traveling with the International Mission Board to Peru for 2 months (May 25-Aug 2). Our group consists of about 12 students from various universities all over the U.S., and we will doing soccer evangelism. We will play in soccer tournaments and various pick-up games to share Christ's love with the people of Peru. I'm sure we will improve our soccer skills greatly through this because we all know that Americans have quite a bit to learn from the rest of the world concerning football/futbol/soccer. I'm really pumped about this opportunity to be used by God to let His light shine.

We are but humble servants begging God to use us in whatever way He would.

I will update this as much as I can from Peru so please follow and partner with me in prayer. Pray that we will be used to bring the Truth about the "eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecc. 3:11a NIV), for the people of Peru in general, the Peruvian Christians as they work to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19a NIV), and protection as we travel by plane, automobile, and foot through mountains and rivers.

"Not my will, but yours"