A Conversation with God About the Weather

The following is a post from a previous blog of mine, "Cookies for Breakfast", that I no longer write for because reasons. The reasons are not that important, and to be honest, I'm still not a hundred percent sure why I quit it. I just know that at the time, it was the right thing to do.

And now I have this blog! "Chris The Missionary" is a much more structured and much more focused blog than Cookies could have ever hoped to be, but at the same time, some of my most favorite things I've ever written are on there. So I've decided that whenever I want to post something here, but don't feel like writing anything, I'll just steal one of my posts from there.

This was written after working on a stressfully humid day, and I was reminded of it today when I was at work today and it was stressfully humid. I went and reread it and had a good chuckle, and decided to re-post it here. You're welcome!

"Faith Apart From Works Is Dead":

I am going to be very upfront about this: If your faith isn't prompting you to do something for the Kingdom of God, I'd encourage you to reexamine what you believe. If you believe that there is a God out there who sent His only Son to die the most horrific death imaginable so that you could be with Him in His perfect presence for all eternity, and that doesn't prompt you to do anything out of gratitude and humility for Him...do you really believe any of that?

I believe that is what James meant when he said, "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." If you are not moved to do good works out of an overflow of love, then you may not have the same faith that the Bible talks about.

Let me tell you a story from my life about how some folks looking to do a little good - picking up trash - showed God's love more than anything I've yet seen in my life.

Why I'm Not Writing An Update About My Trip To Italy

I've put this off for long enough. For various reasons, I've failed to write an update about my mission trip to Italy on my blog about being a missionary. It's something I've been struggling with writing since the day I got back from Italy. 

I've started to write a post about outreach numerous times. I started an update hours after landing back in the U.S. as I was doing my laundry, but that draft got deleted pretty quickly. I went through many ideas and drafts before just quitting in frustration a few weeks ago. I haven't touched my blog since then, but after doing a lot of processing the past few days, I feel this has to be said. So, without further ado...

Why I'm Not Writing An Update About My Trip To Italy

(Sorry)

This trip, and my DTS as a whole, was such an absolutely massive part of my life so far, that there is no way to do the whole experience justice in a single blog post. Quite frankly, I feel that it is not within my writing abilities to do justice to just how impactful this trip was to me on an emotional and spiritual level.

Yes, Italy is amazing. I could go on and on about the beauty of the land and it's culture. I could talk about all the awesome things we saw God do (and we did see Him do amazing things). Most of my fellow missionaries would say I should focus on those things here, because that's what people want to hear about. But that would be disastrously one sided. Let me see if I can explain to you why I can't write a glowing piece all about how awesome my time was.

"Why?": A Post About Death and Hope

I promise at some point soon I will make a post regarding my DTS Outreach. But not today. Today I have something a little different to share.

I attended a beautiful funeral service today for a teacher of mine from high school, Matt Stefan, who passed away quite suddenly a week ago in his early 40's. My sophomore year of high school, he fueled in me a passion for apologetics, for a practical defense of my faith. My faith is as solid as it is today largely because of his influence, and I thank God for placing him in my life at the time that He did.

During the sermon, the pastor brought up the age old question: "Why? Why him? Why now? Why, why WHY???" We don't understand, because it doesn't make sense. During times of grief, people always feel deep down in their gut when something like this happens is an overwhelming sense of, "It wasn't supposed to be this way. This wasn't supposed to happen!" There's a feeling that the circumstances occurring are fundamentally wrong, in a way that runs deeper than just our own sadness.

A Busy Few Weeks

Wow. It's been almost a month since I posted, and MORE then a month since I've done an actual update. I apologize. But look! A baby!

This is Tiny. Tiny forgives me for taking so long, and you should as well. 

In the past few weeks I have made some amazing friendships, and learned a lot of amazing things. But more importantly, I have taken a LOT of pictures. The main reason I didn't post two weeks ago is that my computer simply would not upload pictures. I only recently found out that it was running slow because of the huge volume of pictures (and some videos), so when I let it run for half an hour they all suddenly appeared on my computer!

Magic.

Anyway, what's happened in my life? We had a time from Madison, Wisconsin for a month. They were a part of the Bible School of the Nations (BSN), and we were part of their outreach. We also had the Fall DTS (8 girls, no guys) come back from their outreach in Thailand and India. They were here for a week, and I miss them. They rocked!

As with last time, I'm just going to post some (read: a lot of) pictures, and describe what's happening in them.

Here we go!

A Cool Revelation About God I Had Tonight

I had a cool revelation of God's character tonight regarding His love of creativity. There can be no actual infinite constructs in the universe he created, so He COULD have created literally everything (every single permutation of every object and idea, coexisting in reality at once...whoa) in the beginning, and just let us spend our lives enjoying it. Every possible combination of atoms, simultaneously, in one massive universe.

However, He soooo wanted us to enjoy the ability to create that He left the majority of possible realities open to us. So instead of creating every single possible poem Himself, He let us INVENT poetry, and all it's different styles and every kind of poem possible within each style. Instead of painting every single possible painting Himself, He let us INVENT painting, and He let us paint whatever we wanted, no matter how sucky it would end up being. Instead of coding every single computer program for us in every single possible coding language, He let us INVENT coding and computers and all the possibilities that brings.

Sorry I'm Late...

Two weeks (or three, I can't even tell) went really fast. I've done so much, but I have so little time to cover it all, because I've got even more to do now. Ugh.

I don't think I have once left the building, even just to cross the street for a can of Coke, without seeing someone do drugs or someone who is on drugs. Even some the pigeons here are addicts. We call them "crack pigeons", because they are addicted to crack. They find it in the cracks (ha) of the sidewalk, and since they're so tiny, they're instantly hooked. You can tell them apart from healthy pigeons because of how skinny and mangy they are, and they fly crooked.

Anyway, sorry, that pigeon thing was a bit of a tangent. What I was trying to get at is how totally trashy the place is. However, it isn't scary like a lot of people might think it would be. It's kind of sketchy after dark, but during the day it's fine. Just about everyone in the neighborhood is super friendly, and those who aren't don't bother us too much.

In class I've learned so much. Since my last post we've gone through a week on the character and nature of God, a week of how to hear God's voice, and this past week we learned about placing our identities in Christ and not in things of this world. I intend to blog posts about at least half of our study topics. Right now I'm working on one about the character and nature of God, but I'm almost always super busy, and when I'm not busy, I try to do stuff with my friends.

Friends.

Speaking of friends, I've made so many. Like, just a ton. Beyond the DTS students and staff, there's a ton of other staff members in the different outreach ministries that we run out of the base, and I'm slowly becoming good friends with all of them. Then there's the kids at the kids club I'm helping out at. Some of the 6th grade girls have gotten it into their heads that my name is Keven (with an e, not an i. That's important for some reason). All the kids there know I play air hockey. Some of the seventh grade boys actually kicked my butt at it. I'm also starting to develop relationships with some elderly Italian folks at an Italian community center my outreach group volunteers at every other Thursday.

Actually, let me back up and describe my outreach group. The 11 different DTS students have been plugged into different city outreach programs. Mine is North Beach Connect, and as far as I know, it's the only ministry we have that doesn't operate out of the Tenderloin. There's five of us in the group, plus the two leaders, Jen and Markus (pronounced "Mar-Koos", not "Mar-cuss". He's German. Some people call him "Koos-Koos, and he loves it.).

The North Beach neighborhood, or Little Italy, is extremely wealthy, but full of lonely people. There's only one active church for the neighborhood of 20,000 people, St. Peter and Paul's cathedral, which owns the kids club we volunteer at. The place is full of loneliness, especially among the elderly retirees, which is why we go to the Italian community center, where lots of them gather for bingo and knitting and other old people things. It's good fun.

Another big part of our North Beach ministry is prayer walks. If you've never done one, it's pretty simple. You walk around a specific part of a city and pray over particular spots, or over a certain evil that plagues an area. In North Beach, we pray over things like loneliness, complacency, and substance abuse. We pray for the safety of the kids in the area, because it's the neighborhood in SF with the most children (Fun Fact: There's 3 times more dogs in SF than children). We pray that more churches would start up in the area, and that Christians in the area would be activated into doing outreach themselves in their own neighborhood.

And now, pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

Tonita be photo bombing at the food pantry. Crazy Brit. 

Redwoods! 

More redwoods!

Happy belated Chinese New Year. It's the year of the horse. I know that because my church is in Chinatown and the whole congregation is Chinese other than Ben and I.

Here's a view of St. Peter and Paul's cathedral from the Italian Community Center. 

 

Kids club! Ain't they just the cutest?

Trees by the ocean. 

Look familiar?

Here's the entrance to the bay. There were ships of all shapes and sizes. 

Air temp was just under 40 degrees. The water was significantly colder. I should know. Ben and I brought each brought our trunks, changed on the way down to the beach, and ran in. I can honestly say I've never been colder in my entire life. I would never do it again, but I don't regret it either. 

A few of us took a cable car across the city to the wharf for an In-and-Out burger, and took it back. I rode on the outside of it on the way there, and my hands nearly froze.

Superbowl!!! I was rooting for the Seahawks because my DTS leader Josh was, and I wanted him to bee happy. 

Sara, losing at air hockey to a fourth grader. 

Anne Marie (left) is having a hard time remember how to smile.

We took Alessandro, our speaker for the week from Italy, to North Beach with us. Here he is, looking out over the neighborhood.

 And that way lies Chinatown!

I've seen quite a few red Vespas. They're very popular.

 That tower is at the top of Telegraph Hill. In the old days, people would run up to see if any ships were sailing in with letters or telegraphs. Hence the name. 

 Just a garbage can. Nothing else. 

Okay, now for a bunch of pictures of this one little area in North Beach. This whole city is full of hidden gems like this. There's these steps going up the side of this super steep hill that count as a road, and little wooden walkways that intersect that are the side streets. It's hard to explain, so I'll just show you. Jen and Markus live at the top, and our train to their house dropped us off at the bottom. If we would have taken a bus, we never would have found it. It's so beautiful!

Okay, I'm done. Here it is.

Oh! Wait! There's parrots. Wild parrots. There was oodles and oodles of them the first time we went up. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but they're bright green and make annoying noises.

Okay, here we go...

Even though I've got hundreds of pictures, I've still seen very little of the city. So much of our time is ministry, or going TO a place where we do ministry. In the mornings we have class, in the afternoon we have ministry, and in the evening we often have intercessory prayer or something else as a group. I hope now you understand why my weekly blogging idea isn't panning out. But I will continue to try, because I miss my friends and family back home and this is a way to connect with you all.

Another way you guys could connect with me is through letters and/or care packages! One girl, Tess, has already gotten three care packages full of sweets and treats and goodies. Don't let her beat me! Send me snacks!

Seriously though, one of the biggest challenges here is to not spend money. The staff keeps encouraging us to explore the city and tells us about all the best restaurants and coffee shops. There's a corner store right across from our base with 16 oz cans of Coke for a dollar, and it's so easy to just run across and grab one. 

As I finish this post I'm in a super swanky coffee shop, and to use the WiFi I of course had to buy something. Since I HATE coffee and tea, I got a glass bottle off Coke. It was 2.25.

Please help me not spend money. Send me snacks (I crave Cheez-its) and, if possible, drinks (Juice boxes?). But even just a letter telling me that you're thinking about me would be wonderful.

I don't mean to sound whiny, I promise. I really need nothing but a support money and prayer right now, and I won't need any more money for awhile (and if you make out your check to YWAM SF and mail it to me to give to them, I can't spend it on caffeine!)

Anyway, I gotta go. I've been nursing this last sip of Coke for about half an hour, and besides, I think my friends are ready to leave.

God's Blessings,

Chris

 

Where to Begin???

The gang's (almost) all here.

"Do you see a big guy with a big beard?" Steve said over the phone.

"Nope. Which way are you?" I replied. I was standing at the San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 2, door 9, where I'd been directed to go by Steve, one of the base directors. I'd flown into Terminal 1, and it'd taken me 20 minutes to get to what I thought was the correct spot

"Never mind, that's not you then." He replied. "Wait a minute. Which level are you on?"

"There more than one level?" I replied.

"Look up."

"Okay." I looked up. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky.

It's like that a lot. 

"Do you see blue or grey?" Steve asked. I didn't respond right away, so he must have thought me a simpleton, and asked me more directly, "Can you see the sky?"

"Yes, I can. I'm outside door 9 like you said."

"Oh, you're on the upper level. I'll circle around and be right there!"

This whole event seemed to foreshadow my whole experience thus far. Everything is overwhelmingly big and overwhelmingly beautiful and overwhelmingly complex. As I start writing this I am procrastinating from doing my journal homework, which is one of the least complicated things about this whole experience.

My first evening was very chill. We played some icebreaker games and had a welcome dinner where the whole staff came and ate with us. There's way more people than I'd originally thought. There's 4 or 5 different ministries here, and each one had half a dozen people or more on staff, plus 11 DTS students, myself included. There's a lady from Zimbabwe, a guy and a girl from Germany, an old British couple (the old man's name is TREVOR, how British is that!?!?!?), and at least 15 more people on the base at any given time.

Plus Dietrich Boenhopper, our school "mascot". 

And then there's my class. My two roommates, Ben and Ken, are VERY different. Ben is a 20 year old Indian born Australian political science major, and Ken is a 62 year old former drug addict/gang-banger/father of two/grandfather of 4 who's life has been turned around for Christ. Both are awesome in their own ways.

Then there's a husband and wife of 8 years from Pennsylvania, who both took a year off to learn more about Christ as a couple. There's a girl from Columbia who just flew in on Wednesday night, and there's a few other girls from around the US. 

Already in one week we've done so much as a group. We've...
- Done a prayer walk around the Tenderloin (known by local San Franciscans as "The Homeless District")
- Taken a tour of Chinatown
- Served hot chocolate and handed out scarves the homeless with a group of high school students

- Went up on top of 1 of the 2 seven story Macy's and took pictures

- Learned about worship, intercessory prayer, and managing our time for more peace of mind

- Gone to different churches (I went to a Chinese Presbyterian church in Chinatown)

- Gone to the Golden Gate bridge
- Gotten our own work duties (Ben and I are in charge of trash).
- Handed out fruit, veggies, and chicken to hundreds of elderly people in one day
- Been given a book called "Free" that we'll  be going over once a week with the whole base
- Served a pancake breakfast for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- So on and so forth

After church on Sunday, the congregation insisted on taking us out to a traditional Chinese restaurant, where we were served jellyfish...

...among other things. So much food. 

Pancake breakfast for MLK Day. We had a fuse blow, so we ran out of coffee for almost 20 minutes, but other than that it ran really smoothly. 

Play cards in the park, or take care of baby? Why not both? 

Yes, I know my 'stache is crooked, and yes, I know Ben is creepy.
He's from Australia. There's something just not quite right about those folks...

 Jason displays impressive color/light bending abilities.

He's spotted me!

Ben, reaching for more lettuce. I eventually had to get inside this giant box because neither of us could reach over the side to get any more out. Sadly, I have no picture of that. 

We have different speakers come in each week to talk about different subjects. The first week was all about worship, this second week is about the character and nature of God, and each week there is one singular subject that we get excessive, in-depth teaching on. It's really fantastic.

Starting this week, we'll have inner city ministry opportunities. I find out at dinner tonight (Tuesday) what mine will be. I've prayed for one called North Beach Connect, where we go to the North Beach neighborhood (connected to Little Italy, lots off retired folks) and meet with old people in coffee shops and play games and talk with them. Many people move there from all around the country when they retire, and leave friends and family behind. We provide for them a chance to develop meaningful friendships.

There's also a children's ministry that goes along with North Beach Connect. A local church has an after school program that we'll be able to help with. I don't know what that will be like, but I do know I'm good with kids.

So, it's about time to be done. I'll hopefully have more time this week to work on my next post. I'll try to keep you all up to date with what's going on here, but in the meantime, please be praying for me. One thing I've learned already while here is to pray specifically. Don't just pray that I'll have enough money, but pray specifically that I'll get at least 1000 more dollars, which is the minimum a plane ticket to Rome might be when they book it through a travel agent.

God's blessings,
Chris