food for fish

Imagine this: A kind of time lapse video, with dramatic music, sometimes fast, other times slow, it�s in color, but its not �real� coloring, it�s like someone did a water color, then oil painted, its colored by humans in some way.

The video starts out overlooking a huge prairie, with mountains on all sides of it, the grass is about knee high, and is lightly blowing in the breeze. There is a guy just walking through the grass, enjoying nature. From a distance comes the sound of drums, many of them, all drumming in sync. The drumming is getting closer, soon the sound of many people marching in sync is heard. He sees them aproaching, they are all dressed in black uniforms, their faces are covered, and not an inch of skin is showing. They move at a steady pace, not slowing, and not quickening.

He soon realizes it is an army. He starts to quickly walk the other direction, then out of the edge of the forest; more appear, this time on horse back. The army is surrounding him, but they are only moving at a walking pace. The guy starts to walk faster to an opening; the army begins to move faster, he moves faster, they move faster. Soon he is at a full run, he�s trying to get away, but he has no help. The army soon surrounds him, they are silent except for the sounds of their breathing, which is heavy and deep. The leader approaches the young man. He motions to him to step closer, with seemingly no way out, he does as instructed. He feels helpless, the leader tempts the man into going with them, where he can experience all kinds of great pleasures. The man knows these pleasures will never fully satisfy him. He remembers something his father once told him �ask in my name what you need, and you will receive�. So, the young man calls out his fathers name, and asks for him to rescue him. Soon a bright light comes from the heavens, trumpets are heard, and thousands of men on white horses wearing unimaginably white uniforms race out of the heavens, in full armor, prepared for war. The black army prepares for battle.

The leader drags the man off towards the mountains. The leader of the white army, the man�s father, suddenly appears in front of their path. The young man is full of joy, but his father gives tells him to make the choice, who to go with. His body tells him to go for the pleasures, his heart wants to be with his father. The father tells the man to be strong. The man fails, he is weak, he gives in to the temptations of his body, and evil desires to have pleasure now. His father sadly, lets the leader take him away to the mountains.

From the mountains, the man falls down in despair, screams out to his father �Come rescue me, for I have forsaken you�. The white army, comes gloriously into the mountain depths. The father approaches his son and says �are you going to fight for me now?� the son says �Yes Father, honor and glory to you forever�, �Then join my army and fight�. The son becomes a solider for his own father, he fights the black army side by side of all the others of the kingdom of his father. He cries out to his father �The cry of my heart is for all the nations to be with you, for you are good, you are compassionate, you are glorious�. From that day forward, the young man fought for the kingdom of his father, distant shores and the islands saw the light as it rose on his father�s kingdom.

Take a little tour of my site, please. I have all kinds of useful information on my sidebar... Visit some of the blogs I read under "departures", or jot down my contact information, maybe make a donation if you feel lead to. Anything, I�m just letting ya'll know its there.

In other news, Alexis called me today! If you want to, you can too, take note of the phone number on the sidebar, and the times.

Prayer requests:

Pray for our ministry here to always keep in mind the effect and love we must make on others, sometimes we can get caught up in the culture issues, and forget why we are here.

Also, pray for a guy named "Piotrek" or "Peter" he isn't a Jesus freak, yet, but he's asking all kinds of questions, and coming to our meetings, he said to us "I'm looking for God", and he's talked to the Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, etc., and he really feels welcomed and encouraged in our group, and he loves that we allow him to ask questions, and really see who God's character is. He's a intellectual, he has had a hard family life, and is having a hard time with understanding that Money and Success is not what Christianity is all about, he sees America as "Christian" and therefore our "riches" are because we are "Christian" and God is blessing is... which in some cases is true, but he also knows that the USA is dishonest in a lot of its actions, and that people are very greedy sometimes, and why don't Americans take care of the rest of the world... we are Christian, so this is what we should do... He doesn't quite understand that Americans are not all Christian... and the majority are not.

We truly want to see God's kingdom expanded, and his blessing on the people of Poland. We want these people to be free of the hurts of their pasts, and the bitterness which comes from being a "second world nation", they are proud people, but only by their own will, which is makes them stubborn. This is very general though, and many of them are also, open, and really looking outside of their culture. So thanks, and i'll have more to come later this week.

God Bless!

This was taken only five min. ago! And now we have big flakes, and lots of them. But the batteries in my camera have died... and the charger unit is fried... so i'll have to go buy new batteries.

Here I am sitting at my desk, in my little abode, in Zakopane, Poland. I finally have a phone line, so I now have dial-up internet access, hopefully with DSL coming soon. I wish my friends were online, but that�s okay� I don�t really expect them to be up in the middle of the night. So here I am, writing away, because frankly I just don�t know what else to do� well� I could go read a couple of the books I have, I could talk to my roommate but he�s correcting papers or something (he�s a prof at a local college), I could sit at my desk and write on my blog� yeah that�s what I�ll do. Oh I guess I�m already doing that� sorry I forgot.

So for real now. My roommate joked how �it was nice to meet you�, because since we�ve gotten our phone line, I�ve been at the computer, but I needed to do some important things� like get Alexis cell phone working again, post my newsletter, and read all my friend�s blogs� of which I didn�t quite finish because there is too much to read on some of them, so I decided to just start from today, and I�ll keep track from now on.

Some thoughts: One � Seattle is absolutely the nicest city I know� even still after traveling all around Poland and Slovakia� there have been some cool cities, of which I�ve taken some cool pictures, of which I�ll post some today, and the rest later when we have DSL. Two � It is hard to be fed (as in being fed the word of God), when you are one of the leaders in a church, in a foreign land, where you don�t speak the language, and compared to home this place is like a planet with no atmosphere in terms of spirituality. Three � I think I�ve grown a lot since I got here, so I know I have a lot more to do. I don�t thin I�m necessarily growing more than I would have at home, but I have more time too grow here, so that�s what�s happening. Seattle is a great city, believe me.


This is our "backyard"... and that's my housemate, Chris.


Another picture of our "backyard"... it's really about a half mile away... but its close enough.


This is Wrotzlaw, a city of about 300,000, and about 5 hours away from us, to the west, nearly to Germany. That is Denise in the left-hand corner, one of the missionaries here to plant the church.


More of Wrotzlaw. We were hear to talk to some other Foursquare missionaries from Holland.


More of Wrotzlaw, I think its a cool city, but not as cool as Seattle.


And more buildings in Wortzlaw in the city square or "Rynek". I don't know if you can see it, but there is a McDonalds in the lower right-hand corner.


This is the building we hope to be our church building, it is right off the main street or center street in Zakopane. We feel pretty strongly that we will be in it, we don't knwo when, but we sure hope soon. It is a little expensive for us right now... at 40 Euros (which is slightly better than a dollar) a sq meter, and being it's 2,700 sq meters, that's a little expensive. The prices here are comparable to something in Seattle, because its a tourist city... but we hope the owner will lower the price, and possibly sell the buidling. There have been many confirmations about this building, and so we pray, and I ask you to pray... for this building.

The idea is to have the church in the middle floor, the childrens church, and other rooms in the top, and the bottom could be Christian counseling (which is unheard of here) and an internet cafe/coffee cafe. Its a vision, and a will... we know what that can do. It's a perfect location. Right now we are meeting in our place, and soon should be in another building, but it's really too small for any growth.

Hello all,

Just incase you didn't recieve the email, which I hope you did, but if you didn't please let me know, and i'll add you to the list. Click here for my first newsletter (it includes pictures!). Thanks to everyone for your prayers, and other support.

So, we finally have a phone. The number is: 011-48-18-20-14-538. Best times to call: Between 1am and 3pm pacific time. There are some good phone cards out there, like Costco's. I would love to hear your voice... please. Thanks.

Yes that�s right you are a warrior, and you, and you, and all of us who call Jesus our Lord and Savior. But you know what else Jesus is to us? Our commander, he directs us to fight the fight, yes that�s right we are at war. The enemy is here, the Earth is his territory. We are in the enemy�s territory. No I�m not just talking about Poland; I�m talking about this life. But there is good news, we are only here temporarily. Our seemingly unanswered prayers, unfulfilled promises and unfair circumstances will all be answered, fulfilled, and made fair in the next life, in heaven!

I hope this does not fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes I guess in this medium). I hope this is not clich� or stale. I pray that everyone who reads these words will be enlightened, and empowered, because Jesus Christ has all authority. We are planned for God�s pleasure, God wants us to be in an intimate relationship with him, he has entrusted us with everything here on earth, and have it be little or a lot in the world�s eyes. We must take care of what God has trusted us with. 1 Corinthians 4:2 says: Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. God has put us in charge, of our lives, and everything in it is his, we must be faithful in taking care of those things. Worship is not music, worship is what we give glory and honor to. Music is just a part of worship, but if that is the only time you worship, then something is missing, and you probably can feel that. We must give glory and honor to God in our WHOLE lives.

It feels good to be wanted right? It feels good to be praised? Why? Because God made us that way, we are made in the image of God, God wants to be praised and wanted. He wants us to worship him in everything. Musical worship is awesome, I find myself the closest to God when I�m singing to God, but ever since I heard about having a �lifestyle of worship�, my life has been much fuller, more enjoyable and I am closer to God than ever before.

Where is this fire coming from? Well three books, �The Purpose Driven Life� by Rick Warren, �Wild at Heart� by John Eldredge, and God�s word � The Bible. In the last week I�ve read the gospels of Mark and John, and the book of Acts. And of course the Holy fire of God is burning like a blow-torch. A lot of this I already knew, but I didn�t have a way to put it into words, and I realized that I had let the enemy take my doubts, and my confidence away, Satan didn�t take my salvation but he took my ability to extend the kingdom. No longer will that happen; I am joining the front lines, I am a warrior, and Jesus Christ is my commander. I love God, and I love people, and I will do my best to be God�s servant, and to serve the needs of other people.

This is my message for the young adults on Saturday. Sorry for the strange formatting, I copy and pasted it from word.

1. How do you picture life?
a. Is life like a game of cards, you have to play what is dealt to you�?
b. Is life like a carousel going up and down, and sometimes just around and around�?
c. Or is life like a ten-speed bicycle, with gears we never use.

2. During worship think of your life metaphor, picture, be prepared to share it with the group.

3. Each one of you; tell me what picture or metaphor comes into your mind when asked; how do you picture your life?

4. When I was asked this question, I really couldn�t think of a picture or metaphor�
a. Then I got a picture of a mountain
i. You can stand at the bottom, and look up at it in all its glory, or in its intimidating might.
ii. You can choose to climb up it
1. You can attack it from different sides
2. You can stop and decide to camp out only part way
3. You can push your self to the top and see what view it has to offer
4. You can explore all parts of the mountain, and see what it has to offer
iii. You can choose to come down
1. Either slowly or quickly.
2. Sometimes you will fall, and someone will catch you, sometimes you�ll catch yourself, and sometimes you fall and hit rock bottom
iv. Or you can choose to stay at the bottom and wonder what the mountain has to offer, and be stuck always wondering. But if you decide to climb, you need the right equipment to get their safely.

5. What do you think God�s picture or metaphor is of our lives?
a. God�s word says our life on Earth is
i. a test,
ii. a trust,
iii. and a temporary assignment

6. Life is a test: What kind of test do you think God is talking about?
i. My faith has been tested through problems, problems with needs like; money, car, job, school, and questions like: What am I going to do with the rest of my life?
ii. My hope has been tested through how I handle my wants like: a dream job, a nice car, clothes, a nice house, good friends, good family life, and good things.
iii. My love has been tested through people, how I treat them, how I create relationships, and how I maintain those relationships

b. Sometimes God will draw away, you won�t feel close to him, although most of the time it is because we have drawn ourselves away from God. But when God draws away from us is testing to see where our hearts are, is our heart with God or with other things of this world. For instance in 2 Chronicles 32:31 God with drew himself from King Hezekiah, a very wealthy, respected king, who became deathly ill, he prayed to God for healing, and was healed, but became over-proud and self centered, he repented and changed. When the Babylonian�s came to ask of all the wonders happening in Hezekiah�s kingdom, God withdrew himself to test Hezekiah�s heart, unfortunately Hezekiah claimed all the wonder for himself, and not for God.

7. Life is a trust: What has God entrusted to us in our lives?
a. Our time on Earth
b. Our relationships
c. All of our resources and provisions
d. Everything we enjoy, or have is to be treated as a trust that God has placed in our hands.

e. How are we suppose to treat the things we�ve been entrusted?
i. God�s word in 1 Corinthians 4:2 says: Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust.
ii. Someone read Mathew 25:14-30
iii. Someone else read Mathew 25:21
1. What else besides the money did the master entrust to each servant and what did he expect on his return? What were his instructions to the servants?
a. He trusted each servant to invest their hard work into what he had given them.
2. How does this story apply to our lives?
a. God entrusts sometimes a lot, sometimes a little to each of us, but we must work hard at taking care and improving those things he has trusted us to take care of, it is all his to begin with.

8. Life is a temporary assignment�
a. Why do you think we are here on Earth?
b. What is the purpose of life?
c. Why does it seem like God�s promises are unfulfilled, he leaves prayers unanswered, and we end up in unfair circumstances?
i. Because we are not meant to be here, forever.
ii. We are only part way through our climb, or through our story.
iii. This life, Earth, and everything in it is not the end of the story � It is all temporary, the story of your climb, of your life, does not end here.
iv. Our lives are meant to continue on to heaven for eternity, forever.
1. Where the unfulfilled promises are fulfilled
2. Where the unanswered prayers are answered
3. Where the unfair circumstances, are made fair

d. We, you, and I will never be completely satisfied here on Earth and in this life. A fish is not satisfied on land, it was meant to swim in the water. An eagle can not be satisfied if it not allowed to fly. We, you, and I will never be satisfied on Earth, because were meant to live for so much more.

9. For our present troubles are quite small and won�t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don�t look at the trouble we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. [2nd Corinthians 4:17-18]

10. God is testing and trusting us with this temporary assignment to see our hearts. Not if we are only good to others, or the number of good deeds we can/will do. He wants us to be genuinely real in our love with him.

This life is the tip of the ice burg; of something MUCH better and greater then we can even imagine; let�s give and show God our trust and love for him.

So, I finished day three of �The Purpose Driven Life� today. I finished it at about 4:30pm, and now its 9:20pm. You know what I�ve been doing since? Finding my focus, the focus of my life�

I called my parents and talked to my mom for the first time since I arrived, it was good, but we got cut off because my phone card ran out. I then checked my email, which included a couple of emails to Alexis, my parents, and Joel who is taking over CRU at Cascadia this year.

Then I sat down in our living room, with my bible and journal, and started to read, first the last few chapters of Mathew, and then I read the entire gospel of Mark, which I�ve never read all the way through before. God gave me my focus, it may seem obvious to some, or even clich�, but I need to focus on being with sinners, the sick people. This all roots from this passage I read:

The Pharisees ask Jesus� disciples � Why does he eat with such scum? Jesus hears them and replies: �Healthy people don�t need a doctor � sick people do. I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.� [Mark 2:17]

I see three points here: first, I need to go to the sick people and dine with them, simply make relationships with people who do not know Christ. Second, spending time only with healthy people won�t do anything to further God�s kingdom, they already know Christ. Thirdly, if a person or people do not think they need God, or �religion� I can�t do anything, and I shouldn�t get frustrated over it. Jesus called sinners, the people who knew they needed help and were not �good enough�, that is my focus.

Helllo all. I should be getting a DSL line sometime next week, so that is great news... but as I have learned the key word is "should". I will post a lot more regularly once I get online at home. Last Monday was Alexis and I's 3 month... its hard to believe... we both forgot... but that's okay. I'm going to call her tomorrow... I've been able to call her about once a week, but next week w/ the DSL line i'm also getting a phone, so that's more good news. We are finally getting into a regular schedule around here, and I start next week "teaching" conversational English at a local language school, hopefully this will be a time to get to know some of the young locals, and possibly make some relationships and invite some of them to our church meetings. Anyway, I hope everything is going great for everyone back home, and I promise to have more details in the coming weeks. Lova ya all.

Well� I have a big update finally� still no permanent internet connection, but that�s okay�. I should have it in a month or so. God is so good. Some of these may not actually be finished� but I�ll just leave them that way for now. Feel free to browse through them and take a look, comment, whatever. Thanks for your support� of which financial support is still needed� I�ll have a detailed report soon. Thanks!

Feel free to print this and give it to whoever would be interested�

I�ve been here for 20 days now, something should have happened by now right? Well here�s the scoop�

I arrived here on the 7th just two days shy of Alexis� birthday, I had no problems traveling halfway around the world. I really love the landscape here, although the mountains are not as high, and the rivers not as big, and the trees not as tall; God is the same. When I arrived in Krakow (pronounced Crakoof in Polish) I sat in the Airport for about 30 min waiting to be picked up by the missionaries I have joined here, at first I was little scared that I may have told them the wrong date or something, but everything was fine.

I spent two nights in my new room in Zakopane (pronounced Zok-o-pon-e) before I left for Bratislava, Slovakia for a seven day conference on the Holocaust and how that has affected Eastern and Central Europe. What I learned was that even today we need to not forget what happened here, if we do something like the Holocaust could easily happen again. People of all races and religions need to understand each other, but not hate the person for what they believe or for who they are. We should always be looking to make relationships with people outside of our �culture�, we should never seclude ourselves to the point that was have no contact with people who believe differently than us, otherwise how would Christianity ever be seen for what it truly is. Christ left us the responsibility to do as he did, and frankly we have screwed that up quite a bit, but his Grace and Mercy has also let us continue to open up to him.

So, what am I doing here? Specifically I�m working with the young adults of our church plant here, the first Foursquare church in Poland. My roommate (Chris, who is Polish) and I are going to make relationships, and be examples of men following Christ. This means that both of us will be sharing messages and our hearts with these people of our age, to show and guide them in their walks with Christ, and our own walks with Christ.

We are currently looking for a church meeting location, other than the apartment Chris and I are living in. We have three possibilities, one of which we are bidding on this coming week, but it is our third choice, but currently the most possible, and the smallest, at the most we would fit in it for the next six months. Last night we had dinner with a British guy who has had Zakopane on his heart for the last 15 years, he is hoping to start an �Alpha course� here, which is a discipleship type of program being used by protestant and catholic churches. It was a great encouragement to talk to this man, he�s a business man so he was able to tell us what we can do to maybe get the rent prices of the other sites down to something we can afford, especially since they are just empty locations which are not being used, but have to be heated which is extremely expensive around here. Please pray that we get what we have dubbed �the dream place�, it is a three story building w/ plenty of room for the ministries we would like to start. Including a caf�, Christian counseling, and of course whatever events we can plan.

Another ministry opportunity I�m starting next week is, conversational English at a local English school here in Zakopane. Its going to be a stretch for me, since I don�t speak Polish, but they do speak �enough� English, please pray that I can be effective in showing the gospel and being a light for Christ.

Please remember that I only have four months of support, which may end up being less because of some unexpected costs (like needing to buy a desk, stuff for our bathroom, the apartment deposit, and we need to get a washing machine). Chris is working for a local college, but only gets paid once a month and it doesn�t start until next week, so that means no paycheck for the next month. So if you have something left over, please send it to the address on the right! God bless.

Today we toured the Jewish district of Krakow, well what use to be the Jewish district, today it is mostly pubs and restraints with only a hint of what use to be a thriving Jewish district of Krakow. We saw some of the Synagogues, the old Jewish market and square, but in this entire district, we saw only one Jew and he was in one of the Synagogues which was closed to the public. Learning more and more about what has happened to the Jews has taught me to never take my Christian walk for granite, and certainly I shouldn�t �cheapen� it. �Never take anything for granite, always be thankful and grateful for what you have� is not a clich� to me anymore, it is what I�m going to pray for each day, and at those moments when I�ve realized I�ve forgotten who is providing this life to me.

For those who know me, tell me what I can do. What do you think I�m good at, where I excel, and where I have ability? What do you think I need to work on, what areas am I weak in, or what do I need to change?

I want to be as effective as I can be while I�m here, and to do that, I need to have a clear picture of who I am to the outsider, that would be anyone who isn�t me. I like hearing feedback, criticism, and basically I am open to anything. I believe that to be effective in ministry (which all of �us� are) we must all realize our strengths and weaknesses, and hold onto what is true and good.

I still don�t have a phone or internet access, but its getting better. Things are not as fast as they are in the states. But God is awesome, I�ve been hearing about the stories of what is happening here. Healing is starting, many of these people have a bad mentality of things just don�t get better. They go about their days, like robots, and do not understand the grace and mercy and redemption we get from Jesus Christ.

The Polish language does not have two key words, which the English language does� Accountability, which is translated �responsibility�, instead of personal responsibility to God or another person, and efficiency, it�s translated �economical� instead of �doing something in a timely manner, and/or with as little loss as possible. So, for most Poles, they do not understand that we have to be responsible for our own actions, and that God will meet us, be we must do our part.

Hopefully in the next few weeks I should have internet access and a phone. I need to remind everyone that I still need support money, I have had a few expenses which were unexpected� I first needed to buy a desk to keep my stuff in, and for a place to do my work. The conference I was on (which was expected) cost me about $600, so it would be nice to get that back. The bathroom didn�t have a shower curtain, and so we had to buy the things to set that up, which was interesting, I�ll have to take a picture and show you� PVC pipe and lots of brain storming helped. I will be posting a detailed list of my monthly costs, and if you feel the spirit moving you to support me in one area, that would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, I also needed to spot Chris for his part of the rent and deposit, so that was a rather large expense, plus I need to replenish my �home� money, which was unexpectedly depleted by travel costs. Thanks! God bless. And thanks for your prayers and support!

Today we toured Auswitz. The past few days have an experience which is going to effect me the rest of my life, in fact, I�m going to go as far as to compare it with meeting Christ for the first time. I would say that this experience has opened my eyes, to the horrible things humans can do. As the leader of this seminar has put it, you can look at the Holocaust as the �torah� of humanity, a torah is the �law� book of Judaism, it is what the Jews use for learning right and wrong, and viewing their lives. The Holocaust was a horrible event in history, but when you study it you see the horrible side of humanity and the most amazing human acts of kindness anyone could imagine, and not imagine.

As I was walking through some of the barracks of Auswitz I (there are actually three parts to Auswitz) I could sense the evil which took place, the humanity, and the death which happened. I was overwhelmed with the images which entered my mind. In a number of places I could smell an odor which was of a dark death. As I walked around I was compelled to pray, sometimes for a family which has been affected by this, other times just for the hearts of people around me to be strengthened by this event in their lives, and for this to never happen again. But I know something similar will happen again, this time to Christians, I�m ready, and prepared, and I have no fear, in fact maybe I�m crazy, but I am not afraid to endure something similar or worse. Why should I want anything less horrible, why do I deserve to be treated any better, I don�t.

UPDATE: click here for pictures.

In the United States we have had our tragedies, Pearl Harbor, September 11, Civil War, etc. Each of these events have left their mark, or scar, but as Americans we have the mentality, that it gets better, life goes on, and we will get stronger because of these tragedies. We have overcome, we will overcome, and we have hope.

In Eastern and Central Europe, they have had more than their fare share of tragedies, starting with hundreds of wars over the last 1000 years, nations and kingdoms constantly fighting and breaking apart each other, fighting even among them selves, both world wars, the holocaust, communism. No wonder these people do not see hope, are not optimistic, can�t see how to overcome anything, nor can they solve a problem because they haven�t had to, or haven�t been able to. Eastern/Central Europe has always been a conquered land and people, always being taken over by some other influence, have it be the Nazi�s, the Soviet�s or anything else, only until recently has each people group been able to claim their own, and even then, they can�t agree on it.

We (as Americans) have nothing compared to this, we (as Christians) must realize we have an endless amount of hope available through Jesus Christ. We (as Humans) need to do our best to fight against things like those mentioned above, from happening again. The atrocities which have happened in the US are horrible, and to Americans, are tragic, but at least we have the ability to overcome, and the history to know we can, other places in the world do not have that, we (Christians, and Americans, along with Western Europe and other 1st world nations) should do our best to provide the correct help to people in the same situation as Eastern and Central Europe (such as the middle-east, Africa, etc). But I believe it is the Church�s number one priority to first care for these people�

[Mathew 25:31-46]
�But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to those on the right, �Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visted me.�

�Then these righteous ones will reply, �Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?� And the king will tell them, �I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!�

�Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, �Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! For I was hungry, and you didn�t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn�t give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn�t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn�t visit me.�

�Then they will reply, �Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?� And he will answer, �I assure you, when you refused to help the last of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.� And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.�

So, I�ve been here for three and half days now (I arrived on Sunday at 8pm). In those three days I�ve learned that for the most part life isn�t too different. But there are some differences� First, driving here is not a Sunday drive, on any day. Second, Toilets work as many different ways, as there are different people, and sometimes you have to pay someone, or something to use one. Thirdly, God is in everything. Thanks for your prayers, and comments.

The last couple of days I�ve been in Bratislava (I spelled it wrong earlier) at a conference on how the Holocaust effected Central/Eastern and the rest of the world, and how this effects missions in these areas. We�ve talked about many different things, from anti-Jewish rhetoric, to post-modernism which stemmed from some of the Germanic ideals. The discussions have been good, especially the discussions on tolerance, prejudice, and stereotypes. It�s cool getting a truly global view from Christians from around the world, USA, Australia, Brittan, Slovakia, and Poland. The majority of us agree on just about everything, slightly different view points, but it goes to prove how united the body of Christ and be, and it�s exciting.

A couple of prayer requests: The church here in Zakopane (the one I�ll be working with when I return from this conference) has been meeting in a hotel conference room, but in this hotel, they don�t really stick to their word (along w/ a lot of Polish organizations), apparently we pay them 200zl per use (which we use once a week for the church meetings) and with that we are suppose to get the room for 12 hours, we normally ask for it at 6:30, well this week they said we can�t use it until 7:30, even though we already paid and they know we use it at 6:30. This is a problem, so please pray for us to find a semi-permanent location where we could create our own identity.

The second prayer request would be for my friend Josh Newton�s niece, she has whooping cough and she�s only one month old, so she�s in critical care.

Here is just a quick update.

1 � Wireless internet in the airports does not work right, at least my experience thus far has been unsuccessful.

2 � If you would like to send me something here is my mailing address in Poland.
Travis Mielonen
ul. Andrzeja Struga 3/6
34-500 Zakopane
Poland

3 � Tell everybody I�m okay, I made it safely, and I�ll have some pictures posted as soon as I can.

4 � I am very excited, but at the moment I�m tired (I�m actually on the plane from Chicago to Frankfurt right now), as soon as I get an internet connection I�ll be posting this.

5 � Thanks for all of your prayers, support, and friendships� if you couldn�t go, or didn�t hear about the surprise party, it was amazing, sorry if you didn�t hear about, they tried Alexis and Matt are amazing.

6 � I have lot more to say, but I�ll wait when I get the time to actually think straight, which might be a while.

If you are going to send us/me any packages please send them via Air mail, and when you "declare" what is in it, put general contents (IE, if it is CDs and other "valuables" put "Information packets" or something more general than specific"), otherwise it may be stolen, and if it goes surface it could take up to 4 or more months! Thanks!

Just a quick update...

I'm in Wratsclaw, Poland which is about 5 hours northwest of Zakopane. Pray for wisdome and guidance as we meet with other church leaders. I should have regular access to the internet in two weeks. God is good, all the time.

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the delays... but have no fear the internet is here... but at a cost, so i'm afraid this is going to be short. I have quite a few "offline" entries I will post, but they will have to wait until I have an internet connection at my place... right now i'm using the "pastors" computer and internet/phone line, which is costly... and I just checked my email and it took almost an hour for 24 messages to read and respond... Anyway I love you all... keep the Poles in your prayers... more to come soon (I hope). God bless. Tell Alexis I love her!

Hello everybody, these posts are not going to be the clean kind that your use to. I'm not using word to write this, and probably won't for a while. Anyway, i'm in Bratslava, Slovakia for a conference, the town i'm actually living in is Zakopane, Poland, which is about five hours away from here. The apartment i'm living in is great, it has two large rooms, a nice sized bathroom (w/o a shower curtin, this is normal here), and a very small kitchen, when I can i'll post pictures. My roommate is awesome, his name is Chris (when translated to English). On Monday they offically named the first foursquare church here, and it is "Tree of life" foursquare, the idea or picture is Christ is the roots of our lives, and so on... in english the picture is easier, but for the Polish its not as easy. Life here is negative, and the majority of Pole's don't understand the hope which Christ gives, because they've never had that before. Please pray for God's awesome power and might in the lives here.

If you have any questions just post them in the comments section. I'll be happy to respond. I think that's it for now, it's a little crazy around here, thanks!

So, I left Seattle yesterday at 2:00pm, it was bitter sweet, bitter because I really am going to miss all of my friends, and of course Alexis. I would have lost it and balled right there in the airport but, I�m a man, and men don�t do that in public� right�. Anyway� the sweet part is I�m so excited to do work for the Lord!

I called Alexis from the terminal at Seattle, she had just gotten home, and I could tell she had just gotten done crying. Then I called her in Chicago, and just an hour or so ago, I called her from here in Frankfurt, and it cost me something like 16 euros� and it was 5am in Seattle� woops. Anyway, she�s doing great, and she�s excited to hear what is happening with me. God is good, and I think I like the traveling life.

The culture here isn�t too different from the states, except that the majority of the people actually speak two languages, and most of them speak English. I�ve noticed some people starring at me, apparently I�m an obvious American, oh well. I don�t mind all the drinking that people are doing, but I do mind all the smoking areas, there�s one to the right of me right now, and it stinks, I tried to get out of the way, but this is the closest electrical outlet I could find, and i'm sitting on the floor because there are no chairs near the electrical outlets... i'll post a picture when I can. The internet access in all of the airports has been horrible, Frankfurt has internet terminals, but the lines are ridiculous, and the wireless internet at all of these airports has issues, major issues. So, right now I�m typing this in Word, and hopefully the connection will stay alive long enough to post. As soon as I�m settled in Zakopane I�ll upload some pictures. Oh yeah, that reminds me, if you want to snail mail me anything here is my address.

Travis Mielonen
ul. Andrzeja Struga 3/6
34-500 Zakopane
Poland

So, that�s about it. God bless, and lets pray the customs people like me in Krakow, I found out in Seattle that if I�m planning on staying more than 3 months I need to get a visa, well� I don�t have one, so they added reservations to my tickets for me to have the �chance� to leave Poland within the three months. Anyway, god bless again, and I�ll be posting soon again, I hope.

And just a little FYI: I don't know when i'll update again... it may be over a week, becuase i'll be doing some missionary touring and conferences for the next 8 days...

Okay i'm going to post this really fast, while this stupid wireless internet is working, it keeps quitting on me.

So, the paradigm in which I live right now is shifting. A year ago I was going to two churches, because I didn�t have the guts to �leave� the other one, yet I wanted a place with people my age, but I was serving in the other church. Today, I am attending one church, but in a week, I�ll be half way around the world, worshipping in yet a different group of people. One year ago, I would have thought this was never going to happen, me a missionary? I don�t have any bible school background (yet), and I certainly didn�t (at the time) have any kind of real ministry background, but over the past year I was co-leading Campus Crusade for Christ, and learned a lot about ministry with young adults. Plus I�ve been actively involved with my young adults group at church, so here I am now� less than a week before I leave, the paradigm is certainly different that last year. Now I feel confident, now I feel like I�m knowledgeable, now I know I am at least equipped for ministry as best I can be. I know I will have hard times, I know I will screw up, and I know I�ll be frustrated. But with the power of Christ, I will be okay, I just need to depend and lean on him. Thank you for your prayers, and I will be praying for all of you.

You�ve got to check this place out, especially if you have a laptop with a wireless adapter � Free internet! Yes that�s right free, although you should probably buy a drink so you can always have this place around. Check it out� I�m here right now with Alexis, and she likes it, and I like it, so life is happy� there are a couple of locations, shorelines is the closest to the �mill creek� sphere of influence. Who wants to go to the fair today? I�m going later with a big group, give me a call. See ya later!

Check out there website (when it goes back online): http://www.hotwirecoffee.com/

Well, I know I have, and if you associate with other humans in any manner, at some time you�ve been disappointed. My problem is when I put expectations on people, ones which I never really tell them, nor do I do anything which will actually have them meet those expectations. Nope instead I expect things to happen like magic, as if what I�m hoping they will do is being broadcast from my brain or something. So last night, I had this expectation at my �going away party�, I really wanted to talk about God, and get into some deep meaningful conversation, but I never prompted anything in that direction because I never found the right time, plus I was distracted by the fact everyone was at my place, so I had to be the host. Long and short of the story is, I was disappointed I really want some prayer time, some good conversation and have last night be an uplifting night of real down to earth Christian fellowship, instead what I got was disappointment, and it�s all my fault. I have nothing against those who came, I am very happy that all of them came, and I�m glad to see them, it just wasn�t what I wanted� so I guess I was being selfish, and instead of seizing the moment, I just sat there expecting something to come from nothing. Once again, I�m not mad at anyone, not even my self, just frustrated at myself for not doing what I wanted.

Today I had lunch with an old friend, granted he�s four years younger than me, which makes him 17, but in all the years we�ve known each other (about five, and four of those as good friends) the age difference has never been more than a little joke. Plus, this particular friend of mine, is a foot taller than me, at 6�6� he sort of towers over me, but once again, just small jokes have been the outcome of that. His name is Ross, and he is one of the most important people in my life. He�s the son of my first pastor, so he�s a �pastor�s kid� or �PK�, but he�s not anything like the stereo type, not at all. I�ve had hundreds of good conversations with him, from stupid guy things, family things, church stuff, people, prayer, and God. I�ve seen him grow both spiritually and physically, when I met him, he was shorter than me, and I may have only grown an inch or two since I�ve known him.

I realized today, that God has blessed me with some of the most amazing people, his parents have taught me, and guided me over the past few years, and he has shown me what it is to be searching. Of course as any good friends have, we have argued, been mad at each other, and have cried over each other. Today, we talked, although it was not a happy talk, since I�m leaving soon, we reminisced, and he told me what was up in his life, and his family�s, and I shared all about mine too. We are both heading into the unknown, and I pray for the very best of protection, wisdom, and guidance for Ross, and his family. Thank you God for Ross, I am very proud of him.

And I�m asking for all of you who know Ross, and those who don�t, keep the Gomes� in your prayers, ask for God�s wisdom in their lives, and intercession of his power to protect them, Don, Heidi, and Ross all need protection from the enemy right now. Pray for Heidi, she had surgery last year for cervical cancer, and with that they did a full hysterectomy, which has caused a chemical unbalance and her emotions are being effected, pray for healing, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

In Jesus� name,


So be it.

See part of the city i'm going to live in... Isn't it "cute". It's called Zakopane (pronouced "Zako pon").

That is how I feel right now, I�m learning to breathe, into a relationship that is. Yesterday Alexis and I were in the car heading to my place, where we eventually had dinner with Josh and Erin (which was totally rad, but I don�t have the time to give details). Well we were sharing about our days and such, and I was telling her about the guy which is taking my place at work. He�s a good guy, has good skills, and I think will be a good replacement. Anyway, I was telling her how I had hoped (and prayed) my replacement would be Christian, but that didn�t (or maybe hasn�t) happened. At one point I was quoting something he said about his wife�s commute from Seattle (they live in Carnation, about 30 miles east of Seattle) and he said his wife liked to complain but he used slightly more colorful language that that, referring to her as speaking like a female dog. Well, I chose to quote word for word what he said, thinking to just quote isn�t really anything. Well this was the first time Alexis has her me curse, even though it was �just� quoting, it didn�t sit to well with her. At first I really didn�t see anything wrong, I wasn�t convicted of anything, and I really didn�t understand. But she said �Why use it at all, you can get the same point across w/o using that word�, she had a point. So, after a while of going and back and fourth in my mind, I came to this conclusion: If it isn�t uplifting and encouraging to those around me, it shouldn�t be said. Much like what Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 8 and choosing to eat food offered to idols. I must realize that what I think is okay, is sometimes not okay to others, and I shouldn�t argue those things, unless it is against scripture. So, I continue to learn, more and more.

That is how I should be living my life right now, sometimes I am, but a find myself thinking and dreaming of the future, quite often. I need to set my sights on the realities of heaven, yet I also need to do what needs to be done here on Earth. I have four days left of working for the school district, and eleven days until I leave for Poland. I need to slow down, make a (another) list, and just get life going.

For some reason I feel the need to post the lyrics from one of my favorite praise songs�

What to say Lord?
It's You who gave me life and I
Can't explain just how
Much You mean to me now
That You have saved me Lord
I give all that I am to You
That everyday I can
Be a light that shines Your name

Everyday Lord I'll
Learn to stand upon Your Word
And I pray
That I might come to know You more
That You would guide me
In every single step I take
That everyday I can
Be Your light unto the world

Everyday it's You I'll live for
Everyday I'll follow after You
Everyday I'll walk with You my Lord

It's You I live for, everyday
It's You I live for, everyday
It's You I live for, everyday

This song reminds me to just take one day at a time, but to remember the overall picture of everyday living for Christ.

What to do�

1. Find my proof of insurance so I can prove to the Duvall PD that I have insurance (I was pulled over last Friday, and couldn�t find the current insurance card)
2. Get new License plates (that�s what I was originally pulled over for, no ticket on either account)
3. Go to AAA and get my international drivers license
4. Go to Kinko�s and get some passport photos for my youth traveler�s ID
5. Pray, Pray, Pray, Read the bible, Read the bible, Read the bible

Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.
[Colossians 4:5-6]

Wow, what a statement. One which I�ve been working on for a long time, when you�re full of passion about something, but young in that passion sometimes you can offend people, although your intention is not to. I�ve been asking God to help me in this area, for a long time now God has shown me, that by being gracious I am more effective. People want to be respected; you must have trust with a person before you can effective with them. This is a broken world, where too many people (including Christians, and a lot of the time by Christians) have been hurt, torn down, shot down, and rejected by the words of others. I know that I am still a piece of work, especially in the area of communication with �pre-believers�. My time in Poland is going to stretch me beyond the limits, I�m going to have times where I doubt myself, I�m going to have times where I�m losing my mind, I�m going have times where I just want to give up. I know I can be especially discouraged when I don�t see fruit, when I don�t see the �signs�. I need to have faith that whatever I do, as long as it is for the lord, and my real intentions are to work for God, then all will be fine.

Well last night was one of the first �good byes� I had to do� John and Jen are leaving tomorrow for Multnomah Bible College; today they are spending time with their families, so I won�t be able to see them. So instead, last night we hung out, went to Seattle�s pacific place, walked around, and the girls (Jen and Alexis) tried on some very nice formal dresses, that was fun. While John and I were sitting in the waiting room for them to change, John saw a box of something, either cookies or chocolates; we were in Nordstrom�s so, so it could have been. Well he walks over to see what�s in this box labeled �Bravo� and it looks like some kind of cookie box. I tell him �watch out�, because I knew it could have been anything�. And it was� John peeked in, and his face turned bright red � it was the funniest thing I�ve seen him do in a while. So what was in the box? Let�s just say, women�s �breast enhancers�.

But later that night, when it was time to go home (after going to TGI Friday�s, and then watching �ever after�, which is a great movie) I let John drive my car to Jen�s house for one of the last times (for a while), and we said our �see ya laters�. Alexis and I began to drive off, and I just lost it. It was so hard, I could say anything with out tearing up, and crying. I really love John and Jen, they have been an awesome blessing in my life. I started to reminisce about Campus Crusade, my time with John at Ocean Shores, and all the other times I�ve spent with John and lately with Jen � God has something huge in store for them.

Father God bless John and Jen while they are away at Bible College, may they grow closer and closer to you, the mighty God of the universe, give them the strength and will to do what is right for you, and protect them from evil desires, and evil its self. In your Son, Jesus� name, Amen.

I have a lot to talk about, but not much time to talk about it. I know it�s been over a week since I last posted, which I think is a record. I�ve just found myself being caught up in life, one which is taking off in new directions. I had a work week from Satan himself, everything that could go wrong did, and to make it worse, all at the end of my regular day, so I had to work extra long each day this week, but my supervisor was nice enough to let me off early today. I haven�t had the time or the energy to do my quiet times, ride my bike, or anything else I actually get good joy out of. I saw matt once in the last two weeks, for about an hour. But I did make sure to get my fellowship time in, and my time with Alexis. Some may think its more important for me to get my bible reading time in, then anything else, but for me, it�s time with other Christians where I can discuss things, and figure it all out (which of course will never happen).

Even though I�m struggling, by losing it at work (lets just say I was growling at some servers), falling to temptation (again), not loving as much as I could, and just simply being human, I�m still seeking God, and feeling his presence. I don�t know how I would go on with out the strength Jesus gives me.

By the way, I got my new laptop, it is so awesome, and it�s going to be great having it in Poland. I also have a �big plan� I need to start planning for, so I better get going.

Some say faith is for the weak, I say faith is for the smart�

I see our lives here on Earth as a time to prove ourselves to God. But we only need to prove one thing, our love and appreciation for him. God created us because he loves relationships, who knows what else he has created, in the �past� or �future�, God�s does not work in a world limited by �time�. He created us for relationships, not just with each other but for him, he created everything, and imagine if you created everything, you would want a relationship too, just like you do with your own children. But God doesn�t want just a casual relationship, �hi Steve, what�s up? Steve says, not much. See ya later�, what would you think if your parents had that kind of relationship with you? It just isn�t good to have casual relationships with your children, and it isn�t go to have one like that with God either.

God knows what�s best, and he filled the people who sought after him with his Holy Spirit to let the rest of humanity know him by the words they would write. God�s Holy Spirit does not lie, but it is quiet, unless you get to know its voice, just like a friend on the telephone, the bible is that voice. I think �mainstream Christianity� today has a tweaked perspective of how a �Christian� life should look like, and be. There are not ten steps to living perfectly with God, there is not just one prayer which will save you from hell, there is not just any simple little thing you can do, and your life will be perfect. The Christian life is not a free shopping spree, getting everything you want. No, the Christian �life� is not very different from the �non-Christian�, people die, people hurt, people get hurt, and evil still fights us.

The Christian person is what is different, not the life. The Christian person, who continually is seeking God, by reading the bible and fellowshipping with other Christians, but realizing that the world is real, and needs Christ, is different. Not because of something they have �done�, but because he or she took a step of faith. Not knowing what would happen, they made themselves vulnerable, to everyone, and certainly to failure and humiliation. The initial trust is what most people, even people who call themselves �Christian� do not understand, and will not try. They do not want to take a risk, with out proof they will either receive something which will improve their status (weather financially, physically, sexually, or whatever), or get something they want in return. The truth is they will, but it�s not something you can see, it�s only something you feel, it�s not tangible, and it�s not going to improve any kind of status. It is unconditional love, which only God can provide. Once a person trusts in his unconditional love, then you can feel his spirit working in you, and your drive to know God better becomes stronger.

So, take a step, everyday, weather you�re Christian or not, taking a step to know God better can only improve your life, it may reduce your status here on Earth, but we must keep our sights on God, and trust him, seek him, then know him.

Today I realized, that I can't swear anymore. I just can't, I hate it. I'm not sure when this happened, I know a few years ago I made the decision to stop swearing, but I never thought it would get like this. It's not a bad thing by any means, but even when it slips in my head, I hate it. Today I was working on a server at work and things just were not going well, and I was getting really frustrated, it was getting the point where I was raising my voice at it (do remember, that no one is in the room, so if someone was watching, I'm sure it was pretty funny), and instead of saying other choice words I was just like "grrr, rar, fudge, stupid thing, and Lord fix it I quit". Well after I calmed down, and started looking up the error messages it was quickly resolved. I just though it was weird that I didn't even mutter a curse word, this is just so different from who I was just two years ago.

Today I also realized that I just really don't like working by myself, I've said this before, and I know I've mentioned it people, but I do not like being the only tech person for about 750 computers, 3000 students and 300 staff/teachers. This is not what I call fun, and I really hope that who ever they higher for my replacement is Christian, and has a lot of patience, these people need someone with patience. This reminds me, I need to call Justin and have him take a look at the application. So, now I'm off to pick up Alexis and go to dinner at her mom's house.

That's what I've been writing, crap� I know, it sounds a little harsh, I know it's not all "crap" especially the stuff to "her". But I realize it isn't interesting for anyone to read except me, and maybe the ones which are directly mentioned in the "crap". So, I'm starting something new, which is going to help out a lot when I get to Poland. I�m going to write about my day, but not like a chronological list of events of my day, but my feelings and my experiences� hopefully this is more interesting and enriching. Thanks.

Check this out. This is exciting, this is real, this is God.

"Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know where I am going and how to get there."
"No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. "We haven't any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my Father is. From now on you know him and have seen him!"
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied."
Jesus replied, "Philip, don't you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see him? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do.
"The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!
[John 14:1-14]

1 - Jesus is preparing a place for us to be with him.
2 - Jesus is the way, know him, know God, be with God forever.
3 - Even if you have doubts, the evidence is there, Jesus was and is God, you know what he did so believe because of that.
4 - If you truly believe in him, then you will do the same as Jesus and even greater, because Jesus, God, and Holy Spirit are all working for us, with us, and loving us.

Yes, that's right I love her. I love her smile, her hair, the way she gets sleepy, I love everything about her. But I love her heart the most; it is so evident that she love's God more than me, or any other human. She is everything I ever wanted, and that's a good thing. But we completely believe in not "awakening love before its time" (from the Song of Solomon), so we wait, with my time in Poland quickly approaching I know that God is going to lead us into better pastures. I know, I must remain realistic, and begin to focus on my time in Poland. I know God has chosen this timing for a reason, and I must set my sights on him before her, and before Poland, so that I may serve both and all others with the best of my abilities.

So here are my (mostly random) thoughts Alexis.

Does she love the Lord? � Yes it is evident in the way she loves children and others.

Is she supportive of the Poland mission? � Yes, in fact she's excited for me, and is very supporting.

Where does she see herself fulfilling the great commencement? � Working as an elementary school teacher, and working with children. To fulfill her namesake of "Helper of man kind"

Favorite book of the bible � Joshua

Mysterious � Yes, and this is a good thing

Random Thoughts on myself.

Am I in love with the Lord? � Yes, and if I ever show anything else, seriously let me know.

Am I ready and prepared to leave Alexis, my friends, my family and my life here for Poland � Yes, I'm excited, but truthfully a little scared about meeting new people and having them understand my love for Christ, but I know the Holy Spirit will be strong, if not more than it is here at home, because I'll be in a place where I need to depend on God.

Where do I see my self fulfilling the great commencement? � Eventually teaching high schoolers about network administration, and architecture, most students interested in this area have social skills which are not "popular", and therefore a lot of these students need Love and attention� I feel God's gift to me as a computer/network support specialist can be used to make relationships with those kinds of people � the kind I use to be, I have a connection.

Favorite book of the bible � Ever changing, but Mathew is still at the top.

Am I mysterious? � Not so much.

My goal right now for the two of us � Show God's powerful love to everyone through our relationship with each and our individual relationships with Christ.

Must be some mistake
'Cause I'm not worth the price you paid.
With every passing hour
I convince myself that you saw something in me.
But I can hear them still,
As the whispers laced with hatred fill the room.
Guess I'm wasting my time
How could you love a man like me?

Lord I need your strength
'Cause I am weak and falling to my knees.
Who is on my side?
'Cause I can't tell my friends from enemies.
Filling up with pain.
Bitterness controls the air I breathe.
What am I fighting for?
Do you have a plan for me?

Must be some mistake
'Cause I'm not worth the price you paid.
With every passing hour,
I convince myself that you saw something in me.
But I can hear them still,
As the whispers laced with hatred fill the room.
Guess I'm wasting my time
How could you love a man like me?

Must be some mistake.
'Cause I'm not worth the price you paid.

Artist: Seventh Day Slumber
Album: Picking Up The Pieces
Song: My Struggle

Now, doesn't that say it all! Those are the words I wish I could say when I say "I just can't explain it".

What do you think of the new look? I know� I finally moved away from the blue, but I'm not making any promises, I like blue. I'm going to bed now, it's late.

I have finally resized, and optimized all the pictures I took at Creation, this isn't all of them, I took over 80 pictures! These are just the ones which came out right...
Click on a picture to get a larger version.


This is most of the group, from left to right- Eric, Lauren, Me, Brandie, Gregg, and Miles. I was just learning to use my camera and so this picture had the wrong settings of "landscape" on, so things up close were blurry.


This is Ashley and Lauren (R) (not the same as the one above... no really Travis...) silly girls, hiding from the sun.


Eric and Lauren, how cute.


Ladies, and Gentlemen, Jon Johnson, I had coffee with him today.


In the center with the orange vest is Josh, he was working on staff with Creation, as was Jon (from above). If you ever get to meet this boy, consider your self blessed.


This is Kyle going crazy to Pax217, he is Carly's brother.


This is Lauren, Eric (open your eyes boy), and Brandie...


Here is Matt and Tisha, they both surprised me and showed up later in the week, also people to get to know!


Me and Tisha on the hillside.


Newsboys, as much as people are "tired" of them, I still love them. Not the greatest picture, but it was fun!


Another Newsboys picture, in between each song, one of the band members sang a verse or two of an old hym, it was beautiful.


All the people rocking out to Pax217!!! This one is for you, Alex! Wish you could've been there :)


A better picture of Pax217, on the jumbo tron.


This little guy landed on some kids soda can, and then decided to make his home on the Kid's Dad's hat, so there he stayed, and at the time of the picture he had been there for over a day, going with him wherever the hat's owner went.... it's a praying mantis for all you non-bugy type.


And now I present to you, SWITCHFOOT! They rocked, as usual, but no 24.... AGAIN!


A great picture of the Thirdday show. Which was a great show, and a great way to end Creation.


More thirdday, and God's glory is going to blind all darkness, how rad is that?


The Toby Mac show, it rocked, the entire ampitheater!


See I told you so! Even the old guys!


Tree 63 - on the fringe stage... sad times, but a great show!


A view from the hillside of the Gorge ampitheater, God's creation is magnificent!


Me on the hillside, the mainstage, and Pax217 rocki'n out. Check out the view again!


Another amazing view of the sun setting at the Gorge.


This is me trying out the delayed shutter option on my camera, now if I just had a tripod stand, it would've been great.


Worship time at Creation, one of the most amazing times of worship, 30,000 people all worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ!


More worship, God is amazing. Creation is just a hint, 1 billioninth of what God's glory is like.

I am so full of excitement right now! I am so meant to go to Poland I received a huge confirmation today, and basically yesterday too, although yesterday's wasn't much of one at the time. So let's start from the beginning (yesterday).

Yesterday at work, I had a meeting with my supervisor at 10am; we went over some projects I need to get done, and some other work related things. After all of that, we moved onto the business of me, I needed him to write a letter to excuse me from Jury duty, and then we went onto the subject of my leave of absence request for one year so I could go to Poland. Well, he didn't want to tell me this, but they (him, and the other administrators) decided to deny my request for the leave. The reason being that they felt they would not be able to higher someone of quality for a temporary position, which I understand, but the second reason was that "classified" employees (which is what I am, since I do not teach) are not normally given leaves � Thanks for leading me on, and getting my hopes up, now I have four weeks to figure out how to resign and when. I had already made the decision that I was going to resign if they denied the request, but I guess I hadn't really thought of it being a real option, so I reacted rather emotionally. But after talking to some great people, Leanne, Matt and Alexis all is okay, and I know that God is just leading me to other places. But of course it did put some scary insight into the future�

So today, I go to work, all is normal, I work on getting some of our servers back to working functionality, and I talked to Alex for a few hours while I hammered away at some problems with our middle school servers. It was a pretty good day. When I get home I realize that I haven't received the email I normally receive from the Mission Dispatch people (the people handling my support money) with an update on supporters and deposits. I email him asking him what's up� Then I go online to Washington Mutual's online banker, which is where I have my Poland Missions account. I notice that a deposit of $3,600 was made yesterday! WOW! I figure that my letters to everybody, stating that it will only take $10/month for 12 months really worked, and people just donated the entire $120 for a year. Well I get a reply from the guy at Mission Dispatch as to who donated� and to my surprise only two checks were sent for the month of July. One from my old youth pastors for $100 (which in it self is awesome!)� and one from someone I use to be in youth group with, who has already donated, who I was never all that close to, donated $3,500! Praise the lord, but $3,500, if I had something to give I would, but I don't! This is just amazing! God is amazing, and I realize that I am being blessed and guided just as I have been praying. Even though I am falling into sin, here and there, and I am far from perfect, God is still graceful and merciful! What do I do now? I'm looking for his phone number, and I'm going to type him up a special thank you letter, which I've been sending letters in the past to my supporters, but this is just unbelievable, not to mention he's a College student at Northern Arizona University!

Even with this amazing donation I still need $5400 more dollars, or 45 people to donate $10/month for the year i'm away, or $120 flat.

See also Part I and Part II

First my definition of "believe" � Believe, I know as absolute truth, with out any doubt, but because I'm human, my beliefs could change, but not without much counsel and research.

I believe God longs for us to be like him � Putting the needs and cares of others before yourself. I believe God is our perfect heavenly parent, perfect because God is unconditional. I believe we serve others because we love them, not because we want something out of what we are doing, but God does bless us for serving w/o condition. Because we love God, we love his creation, which is everything in this universe; we should go out of our way to take care of what God has given us. Don't just serve other "believers" serve the world, Jesus served the sinners, went to the poor, talked to the prostitutes, and healed those who others would not touch. Your true parent lives in heaven and created everything, so why be afraid? We have real power in Jesus Christ, the son of God and the son of humans.

Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves great wealth for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set.
And that's the way it was with us before Christ came. We were salves to the spiritual powers of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a women, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because you Gentiles have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you. [Galatians 4:1-7]

What awesome news this is! I've heard it said before "you are a child of God", but it never really clicked, that God is my parent, of course I've called him "father", of course I believed I was his creation, but to have the same love and connection as a child, now that is amazing. I don't know why it clicked today, why August 1, 2003? But I know this is another step in my relationship with God. You too are his child, he loves you like a perfect parent, unconditionally, because he truly did create you. And since we are his children, everything he has belongs to us? Everything! His grace, mercy and love, all of it is ours forever.

Live mid-market rates as of 2003.08.01 20:23:35 GMT.
900.00 PLN - Polish Dollars Poland Zlotych = 230.633 USD - US Dollars

United States Dollars
1 PLN = 0.256259 USD 1 USD = 3.90230 PLN

So, what this all means... That apartment which Chris described in my previous post, will cost only $230/month for both of us, divide that by two, and that's only $115/each/month. Wow, how crazy is that.

More emails from my soon to be roommate in Poland!

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Hi there a good couple of time zones away,
How are things going? How's the emotional struggle to leave Alexis, friends and family for Poland- any prayer there needed?
I am so excited Travis. I have just come back from a Foursquare camp in Croatia full of visions for youth leading and just overflowing with the Holy Spirit. It is going to be my first year of youth leadership so your experience and help will come in handy. It's going to be quite an experience for you culturally to be working in Poland but I am sure God will use this opportunity to help you grow and growth is always dramatic when you do something hard core for God so take courage and expect Him to work in you far beyond your imagination or expectations. Quite recently I have found a place for us (take a look at the other e-mail) and I am sure we will make some us of it for the glory of God. I also checked out your website and it was worthwhile as I got to know you pretty well it seems. How I wish I had been at Creation- I would have brought some extra yogurts :) Tell Alexis I say 'hi' and that I am really impressed she is letting you go-it just shows you Travis how much she loves and trusts the Lord. I should be there at the airport to pick you up but I don't want make any promises. Not that I don't want to be there. It's just some problems with my father that complicate my planning a bit. He's not Christian and he basically disowned me when he heard the news (he thinks I'm abandoning him for good because I have fallen into the hands of some sect). He is not speaking to me now and won't have any reasoning. He told me I wouldn't have any place to go back to if I went. Well, I am pretty sure of what God wants me to do and I am convinced that God can heal my father. I can understand him a bit as after my mother died in 1984 he was the only one to raise and there has always been only the two of us in the flat. I have a half-sister from my father's first marriage and although we have a wonderful relationship she is busy with her own life, husband and two kids and can't counterbalance the void of me when I go that well. I trust God however. He will bring healing and will cement my relationship with my father even if it hurts so much now.
Gotta go now, sorry.
God bless you and see you September 7th
your brother in Christ
Chris

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This one is to me and the other missionaries (the Ladies)

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Hello ladies,
I hope you're enjoying your time in Germany and look forward to spending fun time in Switzerland. I was exhausted when I got back to Poland and I have some serious respect for the elan vital you both seem to have : ) The Polish group took the bus drive relatively well although there were two serious conniption fits that I had to deal with and didn't win any acclaim: "you're not my dad and you're overdoing it" I learnt before the two people finally managed to fall asleep. Ania Kozlowska was a considerable backup at that time. We got back safe and sound and rather smooth. The minibus was waiting for us when we crossed the border and it was much roomier than the one on the departure day. Everyone seemed happy to be back, although it felt sad when all those young people were talking about going home where their parents were waiting for them and find myself in a different situation. I spent two nights in Szymek's place and I literally only slept there as there was no time to sip coffee and watch TV. Having a pre-arranged appointment with "Lektor" language school and acting on the Kozlowskys' cue Weronika and I went to Zakopane to check out two potential apartments for Travis and I. The first place was the "Lektor" one and it turned out to be a two room apartment block thing with almost no kitchen facility and no central heating with a rent of 860zl. I was rather disappointed. The other offer was an utter surprise. When I pulled over and went to say hello to Ola and Ania Kozlowski, I could see some sort of excitement in their eyes. They told me that the apartment on offer was in the same house and just below their own floor. It was after I went in to check it out that I understood what they ment. The apartment has a seperate entrance and two large rooms (they're monstrous) and an extra tiny but cozy sleeping/prayer room. It is mostly furnished though some extra furniture may be needed. The kitchen and the bathroom do not lack anything and somehow even seem luxurious in my eyes. Well, the bathroom is luxurious to tell you the truth. The central heating is not in place yet (it will be in August) and it's going to be a geothermic treat (efficient and not expensive). There is basement space available to store things. There is even a small fittnes room in the basement that Alek and his ten buddies put together (a chance to evangelize some young people - plus get fit :) In the backyard you'll find a place to organize a BBQ party or play volleyball. It's within a three-minute walk to College. The rent is 900. I was supposed to declare myself by Monday as there were some other people willing to rent it out basically on the spot. It was only thanks to Ola that I had a chance to make a decision - which I did. Feeling that it was from God and trusting in His provision I said yes. I trully felt peace about that decision and got the confirmation from Ola, Ania and Weronika. The landlady wants to sign the rental contract this Saturday. Fortunately, Ola is going to take care of it. According to the deal we are renting September through July. I hope you do not mind that I made this decision without you but I strongly felt God's touch upon that place and His blessing - without it I wouldn't have gone that independent. I hope you approve of it. This place has an incredible potential and I trully believe that God will use that location as His beacon in Zakopane. I am a happy guy who sees God's blessing in so many things in his life and those blessings are so palpable. God is good and He is the most awesome Provider.
Love you and looking forward to your response.
brother in Christ
Chris

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I am so excited now... the apartment sounds great, and Chris sounds great too. His faith in the Lord sounds great, and I know i'm going to have some huge things happen in my life because of this whole trip to Poland. God is so good.

The following is all my own thoughts, of which you can agree or disagree, and please feel free to comment, I am open to what anyone has to say.

Now as some of you may have read I have dealt with homosexual lust, feelings, etc in my past, and to this day the temptation still arises. But these temptations are of a purely physical nature; I could never love or have a relationship with another male. I believe, in my case, that being sexually molested by a man caused my sex drive to be tweaked. But with the power of Christ, this is changing, as I realize that I am forgiven, for my past, and that it is not me doing the tempting, but Satan and his demons. I am a new creation, which desires to live in God's will, which is to honor and love him. Because of this decision I now have an amazing girl friend, who seeks to only honor and love God.

With all of that said, here are my thoughts on homosexuality, from my point of view, and with my experiences.

The definition of "Sin", by Travis � Any act which specifically does not honor God, or his greatest commandments, love him with all your heart, mind and soul, and love others as you love yourself (a little hard if you don't love yourself, and don't love God). IE � You put conditions on people for "loving" them, either physically or other. You put yourself before others. You put anything higher than God. With this definition, we are all sinners, we all fall short of the glory of God. We all need Jesus Christ. WE = All humans.

Homosexuality is simply two people of the same sex physically attracted to each other, and sometimes carrying that into a relationship. Heterosexuality is two people of opposite sexes physically attracted to each other, and sometimes carrying that into a relationship. In either case it is a physical attraction, which defines our "sexuality". I believe when we are born again, into the Christian life, which is loving, and follows the natural way God has made us, we will want to keep our selves holy (or become holy again through Christ). As far as I understand, animals of the same sex do not have sex with each other, this is what makes humans different than animals, because humans have a soul, which can only be fulfilled by God. When we are filled with the holy spirit, our Spirits come alive, and with that we begin to know right from wrong, even stronger than before. God created us to seek him, when we are filled with his holy spirit, we know his will, which is to: Honor and love him. Therefore, especially in my case, I could not stand it any longer, I was being burdened so heavily by this sin I was falling into, that I had to change my life, I had to get out of temptation. My burdened has since been removed, simply because I have not fallen to that sin, and I know God is honoring that, since all I want is to honor and love God.

We as Christians, must realize, that condemning, making "straight pride" shirts, banishing gays and lesbians, and living in our own little "ghetto" (more on that later), we are NOT honoring God as a body of Christ, we are infact dishonoring God. I am ashamed when I have to explain this to nonbelievers, or new believers, but the Body of Christ is only strong when we are united, not when we are split apart. The death of the church will be in loving or hating homosexuals, not homosexuality. We must love the people, and show them the freedom which comes through Christ, it may be hard, and it may be a burden to them once they receive the Holy Sprit, but it honors God. We can not honor God by what our reputation is right now, which is one of hating homosexuals, and hating others who do not follow some kind of "moral standard" sounds a lot like the Israelites law. God's law is love, and Jesus came to teach us the law of love and acceptance, so that all can have life with God forever.

In short, I believe Homosexuality is a sin, weather natural because of "original" sin, or not natural because of sexual molestation. We must live a life which honors God, and having sex with another person of the same sex, does not honor God because, it is not how God created us to populate the earth. Once we accept Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit, we recognize the joy which comes from following Christ, although we still have a choice, that is why God rocks. He wants us to truly trust and follow him, nothing is easy. Sadly some will have his Spirit and still live in sin, and not live a free life.

I have a lot more to say, and I'll be slowly putting more together, with actual verses to back up what I am saying. Until then, thanks for reading, and if you want clarification, just let me know...

So� remember the yogurt I was looking to having so desperately, whilst at Creation? NO? Well here's the story� There was this great deal on yogurt at Top Foods last week when I was shopping for my Creation food. The deal was, 10 single yogurts for like 4 bucks or something, I forget exactly how much it was now, but that is beside the point. When we get to Creation I open my awesome REI soft sided cooler, and in utter horror I discover, I've left my yogurt at home. Very sad day, Thankfully, Miles, Carly's brother's friend, had some to share, but not the 10 great flavors I was looking forward too.

Well Creation is over, and I'm at home. I remember that I have this yogurt, so I go in search of it. Thy yogurt, where art thou? Not in thine refrigerator, I go searching, and I find 10 empty yogurt containers in the garbage, another sad day. My roommate, and/or others, taking advantage of our "everything is everyone's rule", ate all my yogurt while I was gone. Oh well� no yogurt for Travis. That's okay, I'm sure I've eaten enough of his yogurt in the past� besides nothing really is ours, is it?

Pictures to follow. I had a blast at Creation Fest 2003 West. God is awesome, I had some prayers answered.

1. Am I going to be in full time ministry? � Yes, but probably not a pastor of a congregation, but as a teacher in a high school, and volunteering at Secular colleges and universities in the Seattle area � Eventually.

2. The next ten years? � Poland, then work a year while going to Seminary/bible college somewhere, then get my vocational teaching certificate so I can teach system engineering at a public high school, volunteer for Campus Crusade or some other college/young adults ministry in the Seattle area. Sometime after Poland (at least a year), get married, and after school have children.

So, with all that said. I encourage everyone to realize their own faith, don't live off of someone else's, like your parents or whoever else, fellowship with other Christians, and read your bible, and I know that's clich�, but since I've been having my "program" I have had the most amazing things revealed to me. Maybe your bored of reading your bible, get a new translation, maybe a different kind of study bible w/ footnotes which ask you questions, and is life applicable. God never stops working, so I will never stop working for him.