Skip to main content

Halfway There

Well the first leg of our journey was a success. I currently am sitting in the Amsterdam Airport awaiting to board our flight to Cape Town. This flight from Boston to Amsterdam was fun because I got to experience my first ever in-flight meal, and it was delicious! I also was able to watch movies on the video screen in front of me, so I got three in on the 6 1/2 hour flight, The Descendants, 30 Minutes or Less, and The Artist. The Descendants was a great movie and I highly suggest that.

As I sit here writing this, there is a gentleman over by the large windows here in the terminal which overlook the runway, and he is currently going through the traditional Islamic practice of prayer, consisting of the kneeling then standing and recitation of the prayer, all while facing Mecca. As I watch him do this, I have two major thoughts running through my head. First, a deep sense of respect and awe for the commitment he exhibits to his faith and the rituals that go with it. No matter what Christians want to say or think about people of other faiths, I think there is something we can all take away from their commitment, and no reservations about displaying and discussing their faith. Second, he serves as a reminder to me of why I am coming on this mission trip... that there are people in the world who need to know about the love and grace that Jesus Christ brings.

Our journey is not complete, as we are currently in a three hour layover for a flight that will take us 10 and half hours to Cape Town, South Africa. I am still excited about our mission, the work we will do, and the people we will serve. That is my long-term vision for this trip, but full disclosure, my main focus right now is to get somewhere I can get some sleep!

A big thank you to all of you that are keeping myself and the rest of our team in prayer, it is greatly appreciated. I hope to update you all on our progress once we reach Cape Town.

Be Blessed!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

FBC Monroe Students Head North, eh! (Day 1)

Today our team of 8 high school students and 3 adult chaperones from First Baptist, Monroe departed for a week of serving alongside residents of Chateauguay, Quebec Canada. We have been looking forward to this experience for quite awhile. For all of the students, it is their first experience with an international missonal encounter, heck for three quarters of our team, it was their first time flying.             Our trip began with multiple headaches at the Charlotte airport, as there was difficulty with obtaining boarding passes through the airline, and misdirection from security about which “check-in” line we were authorized to enter. Then when we got to Philadelphia for our connecting flight, it ended up being delayed by 2.5 hours. All of the irritations aside, it provided time for our team to gel in light of the unique experiences, and give us a good “first day’ story.          ...

Mount of Beatitudes & Golan Heights: Day 1 in Israel

Today begin our official visiting of sites and locations around Israel. We started the day with a delicious breakfast before boarding our bus at 8 AM to head to our first stop, the Mount of Beatitudes. This is the site traditionally believed to be the location where Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). The site currently has a Catholic church on it surrounded by beautiful gardens and places of reflection, that are run by a group of nuns. When we arrived, the group gathered and was led in a time of devotion by Nathan Morton, a CUDS student and pastor of Burgaw Baptist Church in Burgaw, NC. It was a wonderful reminder of what it means to be the salt and light of the earth, as Nathan read this memorable passage on the very site it is traditionally believed to have been delivered by Jesus.  Nathan sharing from Matt 5 on Mount of Beatitudes Church at Beatitudes Me with the Mount of Beatitudes and the Sea of Galilee in the back...

Boy Scouts of America & the SBC: My Adolescent Pillars

The annual Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) finished up last night in Houston, TX and one of the major news stories coming out of the convention is the resolution passed regarding the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) [read full resolution and press release by Baptist Press here ]. Essentially, the resolution expresses the disappointment by the denomination in both the leadership and decision made by the national Scouting board in regards to allowing all boys to participate in the organization despite their sexual orientation. What it does not do is tell churches to dissolve their relationships with BSA troops/packs (because then they would cease to be Baptist, you know the whole local church autonomy thing is KIND of a big part of the Baptist denomination), but instead encourages them to funnel support into the Royal Ambassadors (the SBC equivalent of an organization to the BSA). For those of you who may not know, I am an Eagle Scout, and a proud one at that. My family and I were a part ...