I know it must be annoying when we say Mondate Upday and really it's Wednesday. Well, life happens. I will continue to call it Mondate Upday no matter what day it is, so you can at least be confident in that being consistent when all else fails.
It has been quite the past two weeks for us. For those of you who do not know, James and I had an incredible opportunity to speak with a class of graduate level Muslims who are studying "Muslim and Christian Conflict Resolutions." There were around twenty two men and women apart from James and I and if I am not mistaken this is a group that meets every once in a while to talk about issues in life. James and I walked into the room and began to shake hands with many of the students and then sat down in a semi-circled array of chairs. The topic of the day was, "American Views on Islam." We only had an hour so we began right away. They took turns asking James and I questions that ranged anywhere from, "Why are Americans so afraid of Muslims, to Are there restrictions on Muslim women in America that prevent them from practicing Islam, and Why do people link whole countries with a religion?"
The questions were good and I think, through the help of the Lord, James and I were able to answer them well. We were told beforehand not to sugarcoat anything. To be real and honest. And so we were. We gave them real answers and even when the question seemed too uncomfortable or too difficult to answer politely, we answered it. We did it in a loving way that held no prejudice or bitterness. Their questions and our answers were full of curiosity and a genuine desire to learn. Not one person spoke from a place of "my religion is better than yours." I believe they were excited to speak with us and curious to learn. We have been invited to speak with several more classes as well as an Islamic Seminary.
It has been cool to watch these doors fly open. This is nothing that James and I are doing. We are not learned scholars of Islamic studies. We have little real life experience with Muslims. And yet here we are, speaking to a class of graduate students about Jesus. About culture in America. About stereo types. And instead of turning us away and hating us, they open their doors to us. They ask us to speak more with them. The Lord is using us, weak and hard-headed Jared and James, to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Do we feel adequate? No way. Are we prepared when we walk into these meetings to speak? Nope. Is the Lord bigger than all that? Yeah, for sure. It is far more important to be obedient than to be a learned scholar who never utters a word. That's the case with us. We are weak and unlearned in many aspects of culture and Islamic studies here and to be honest we just go day to day with most of this. And yet when the time comes the Lord shows up. James and I shut up and let Him speak through us. I am encouraged and excited to see where these relationships and conversations go. At the very least it has been good for my heart (and James' too I am sure) to understand the culture and Muslims here. Here is a picture of some of the students...
James and I are currently sitting at our favorite coffee shop which overlooks the busy streets full of passing bikes, honking cars, and occasionally a man peddling a few Dutch people around on a wagon. This is a place we come to every two weeks or so to study/write/read/etc. It's also a place to get "Knock Your Socks Off Coffee" and a gourmet meal for around $5. Just thought you would want to know where we were coming from...
We just got back from a company trip to Bali yesterday. At the mention of Bali I am sure many of you just got really jealous and mad that James and I were at some beautiful beach while you were stuck inside to escape the cold weather. Well, let's not be too hasty. Bali indeed is beautiful. I would say the beaches were nice and the culture was a cool experience because Bali is predominantly Hindu. We were in Bali for 4 day. And when I say we were "in" Bali for 4 days what I really mean is that we were on a bus for 48hrs and looking at temples or lakes or whatever touristy mumbo jumbo you could think of for the other 48hrs. I can't even begin to explain the misery of being on a bus for 24hrs straight, but I will try. Imagine sitting in a fairly uncomfortable seat that barely leans back and then noticing that not even a centimeter separates you from the person next to you. Then TRY and understand why Indonesians are not fully okay with using the A/C. It makes sense right? We are on a crowded bus in a country that usually stays in the 90s sitting extremely close to someone else who is sharing with you their own body heat without you even having to ask. Then throw in some music in a language you can't understand that came from the worst decade of music that country has known and then throw in the loud cries of children who are wondering why in the world their parents would make them go through such a painful experience.
Okay, that was a bit much and I will admit I got carried away. But at least you have an idea of what the ride was like. On Sunday James and I asked if we could just skip out on the "touristy" bit of the trip and go to a beach, to which they graciously allowed. So Sunday was spent just relaxing on resort lawn chairs at the beach and swimming with giant waves that threw us around like we were rag dolls. All in all the trip was tiring. It made us both miss our friends at the place we live. They did not go and I am sad they didn't. It's crazy how much our place feels like home now and how much the people feel like family. Here are some pics from Bali...
One of the three beaches we went to hang out at.
I am not exactly sure about this island, but to my understanding it is a place where Hindus go to pray.
Some sleep on the bus and some takes pictures of people who sleep on the bus.
Just another beach.
Eating one of our favorite fruits here, Snake Fruit.
Here is James and I looking extremely touristy at a play or show or dance...I don't know what you would call it but we were there with cutoffs and we didn't even care.
Here we are again Rising Up. Go Falcons. Also, this isn't a falcon, it's a Garuda. But I felt like this was a good time to plug the Atlanta Falcons.
So now let's get real. Yeah that's what we have been "doing" now what is going on on the inside? You wanna know about all the mushy gushy lovely feeling stuff that people talk about right? Well, I am not going to talk about mushy gushy stuff cause I am not sure what that is, but here is what I am feeling at the moment...
It seems like I have lived my life in a constant state of wanting more. I work to obtain something only to realize that I actually wanted something else all along. I run and run to find that the grass is always greener somewhere else. I fill my head with thoughts like, "man if I can just get to another country I'll be more willing to pray. If I can just have this thing or that then life would be easier. My walk with the Lord would be much better as a missionary."
We have eternity written on our hearts and we waste our time with beautiful vacations, alcohol, sex, sports, and work promotions that leave us hungry and wanting for more. We have a desire for the 'next thing' always whispering in our ear telling us it is good and desirable. Always waiting. Never sleeping. Prepared for attack at any moment. It is a gaping hole that begs for goods from this world that is larger than you could imagine. John Piper says,
"We drink at broken cisterns and we eat bread which does not satisfy."
We will not escape this longing for more. We are humans and we were wired with eternity on our hearts. We feel a longing for something else. We grow restless. If we could only realize that this longing is Jesus Himself saying, "Here I am, come to me!"
I think finally I am understanding that there is nowhere I can run in this world to escape the constant hunger for temporary pleasure. I am slowly coming to a halt in my seemingly tireless charade of masking my hearts true desire, Jesus. C.S. Lewis says,
"If I find myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, then the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."
I want to live like I was made for another world, because I was. I am weary of turning and running to short comings that beat me to the ground and tire me out in my race. I burden myself with temporary pleasures and ultimately throw away the time when I first heard Jesus say that His burden is light.
I am writing this because I want to be real with you all. I want you to know things don't change just because you are on the 'mission field'. The days are filled with things that take up my schedule and rob my time with the Lord. It doesn't matter where I am or what I am doing, I HAVE to fight for time with the Lord. I have to make war against sin and idles, be attentive of things that slowly steal precious minutes of the day, and be proactive in my relationship with Jesus. We, as followers of Jesus, can't expect to get anywhere by not moving our feet. This is a race and a war, we have to run and fight.
Pray for James and I. Our goal before we left America was: To be more in love with Jesus than when we left. That is still our desire throughout all this. We are thankful for you all and love you dearly.
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