Temple Time

Picture blog.

Ok, so I got that last post off my chest. If you made it through the whole thing, go buy yourself a milk shake, on me. Well. On sojourn church. Talk to Ernie Wagoner. If you made it through the whole post Ernie Wagoner will buy you a milkshake. Email him at noknees@hardtostand.leg
Jokes.
I'm about to windmill kick y'all with pictures.
Jared and I have done a lot of things here since our last written post. A TON of traveling. Seriously, in the last 2 weeks we have traveled by:




Train




Bus




Boat




Plane




And by car, motorcycle, and our legs. I got to share my testimony at an Indonesian prison, pictured here with my translator and one of the inmates:




we went to an island called Timor and another one called Rote with a pastor and another man that works with the outreach portion of our company to prepare for a Johnson Ferry Baptist mission team that will be here in a couple months. The trip was very fruitful, as we met with many pastors and members in the community who will be lending a hand to help with the mission team when they arrive. It was cool to see the behind the scenes stuff that goes into a mission trip! oh. and it was beautiful, and we got to sleep like 100 yards from the beach and snorkel during our free time. we didnt have any electricity or running water, but we didnt even care. you can watch the video of our free time adventures here:
http://youtu.be/LjJT8NRodIE
And here are randoms from the trip.












































We still teach English class.



We went north to Salatiga to visit my missionary friends for easter (first americans we've talked to since we came here). We hang out with our indonesian friends and go eat and and sit and talk a LOT, we are continuing to learn and grow and are seriously growing more in love with Jesus every day! It's crazy to think that when you ask him to reveal himself to you and you seek him, he actually responds! Hah, we have been loving it here so much. We just do life with these people who have become our friends.



On top of our home in jogja




My friends Pete and Joy Neal that graciously invited into their home for Easter weekend (and the next few pics)




Euchre. You beautiful card game, you.




Easter morning breakfast! American breakfast! Thank you Jesus!
Oh, and last night we roasted a kilo of the rarest coffee bean in the world, Kopi Luwak, using YouTube, a gas stove, and a wok.




















I edited this so Jared's face would glow more. He couldn't have been more excited.
Guys. I am so tired. I just want to sleep. I hope enjoy this post, as scattered as it was. We do a lot here, and its really hard to recap like 3 weeks with one post. My bad. But we are still just living here and loving people, loving Jesus, and learning a ton.
Jared is preaching a sermon on the great commission this Sunday. I've read through his sermon, and I really believe that the Lord is going to use it to encourage these people to speak boldly the name of Jesus! Please pray for him as he continues to prepare, and pray that the Holy Spirit will be his mouth piece, and he will communicate exactly what the Lord wants him to say!
We love you all so much.
J^2

This one is from the heart. Sorry there's no pictures.

I know it's been a minute since we updated. Sorry. I've been waiting for inspiration because i didnt want to just list off what we've been doing and end it. I like writing with some umph in my type. Unfortunately, the amazing spiritual inspiration didnt come in the way I was hoping, but it came. It's about to get mushy and personal up in here. So...here goes.

I (James) have learned a lot these past few (almost 3) months. I've learned culture and a little language, I've learned about new religions and I now know how to navigate a motorcycle through a traffic jam without ripping anyone's mirrors off like a daggum ninja. I'm learning about what missions looks like from a new perspective, and I'm learning more every day about Jesus, who this man is, about how he feels about me, about how he feels about the 200 million muslims we live around, and what it means when Jesus calls himself the Light of the World, especially in a place where so many are immersed in darkness.

I would like to tell you all that I have faced all of these new things with resounding success and flawnessness, with patience and grace....to be perfectly honest though, more than all of these things i just listed, i feel i have learned that I am incredibly and undeniably, a broken person. If you know me, maybe you agree, maybe you disagree. Doesnt matter. I can assure you though, I am, at my core, a very broken, and very selfish individual. I was somewhat aware of this before coming on this trip with Jared, but more in a "eeeeh, I guess I could maybe work on a couple character traits here and there that im lacking in a LITTLE bit, but im not all THAT bad..." kind of way. Wrong.

Let me tell you this real quick- if you were ever curious about what your weaknesses were, go live in a foreign country with one of your best friends where it's always hot, you don't understand anyone except that friend, they are your only way of communicating to the other people around you (since you dont speak the language and they do), you share a bed, a bathroom, eat every meal together, share a motorcycle, share money, rice apparently rains down from heaven so you eat it for forever, and in the midst of this, every decision you make and all the plans you have must be decided together, in agreement with each other. All the while you are trying to focus on loving the people around you, loving Jesus, and loving each other. give that a try. You will see your weaknesses and shortcomings and insecurities bubble to the surface real quick.

I like to think of myself as someone who is generally easy to get along with and live with. I like to think of myself as having a strong backbone, a strong will, a love for people, a drive to accomplish, loyalty to those i love, thoughtful, a desire to serve, and a kind heart...of course all positive and lovely things. I think we all like to think of ourselves in a positive light, which is normal, but a taaad biased. So when I think these things about myself, and I suddenly find myself annoyed or angry or frustrated or whatever emotion you want to insert, I am SO QUICK to think that it is everyone's fault except my own. Or it's the situation or environment's fault. because I, James Torell, would never be at fault for a disagreement or frustration. It's their fault. I will accept their apology when they offer it. Thank you very much.

As I said. I am, at my core, a very broken person, in dire need of Jesus.

So what's your point? Why are you sharing about your personal issues on the internet? Get a journal, man.

Easter was this past Sunday. There are so many things to focus on throughout the Easter story, and so many things surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus to learn from. This year, as i have become ever so aware of my shortcomings, the Lord has highlighted the story of Peter and his transformation to me in a very real way (stick with me, im going to tie these together, just give me a minute).

So there Peter is standing in the crowd, watching Jesus from a distance. Peter, the loyal, outspoken disciple who would just as soon jump out of a boat and walk on water as he would cut someone's ear off before he had a clue what was taking place. Peter, the disciple that you just want to sometimes say,"dude...just shut up and listen for once. stop saying stupid things." He was always the first one to jump at the chance to show his loyalty to Jesus, and he did so with complete confidence in his ability to stand firm.

He had just watched his friend, Judas, give Jesus over to be killed. My guess, based on his extremely high opinion of his own zeal and loyalty, he was probably feeling pretty good about himself that he hadnt abandoned Jesus after all the others had scattered. He had left everything behind, and for the last three years of his life he was one of Jesus' most fierce and loyal followers. He may have said dumb things a lot, but he was loyal. He would have died before he let them take Jesus away, right?

And here it comes. After all the promises that he would follow Jesus to the end...when it actually counted... denial one.....denial two.....denial three.....then he hears it. The chill that must have run up Peter's spine as he just stood there, naked in his own shame and disgust of himself. He loved Jesus so much, but he just denied him three times in a row.

In Luke, he says that there, probably just for a moment, was Jesus. His beloved Jesus, beaten, ragged, blood running down his face, body ripped apart- as Peter denied him for the 3rd time and the rooster crowed, he turned and locked eyes with Peter. I'm sure Peter couldn't help himself when he heard the rooster, he looked up at Jesus and their eyes met. Can you imagine what that must have felt like? To look right into the eyes of the one you just denied? Close your eyes and think about that for a second. What was going through Peter's mind? After all the promises, all the talk, all the confidence that he would never be the one to leave Jesus out to dry. That look must have shattered Peter. The shame, the betrayal, the utter disgust with himself that must have come with that. I can't even think of a word that can explain what that must have felt like...And what was Jesus saying to Peter in that brief exchange?

I can tell you this- I can tell you that Peter found no condemnation in his eyes, and he found no disappointment...I can tell you that what Peter found in that look was infinite love and mercy. Im sure he was searching in Jesus' eyes for what he what he thought he deserved, but instead he found compassionate forgiveness. Jesus wasnt surprised or taken off guard. He even told Peter it would happen.

Jesus was already on his way to the cross where he was going to die for the very thing that Peter had just done. Because for the joy set before him, he was about to endure the cross, so that men could be free, so we could be adopted. Because he knew what Peter was about to become, the the ROCK on which he was going to build his church. This weak, shamed-filled man, weeping in his disgust and embarrassment, was about to be raised up to be the leader of the Church. This broken man, barely a month later, filled with the Holy Spirit and with the knowledge that Jesus was alive and had conquered death, would stand before the very people who had sent Jesus to his death and proclaim with boldness and authority the name of his King, calling them to repentance to turn and follow the man they had just killed.

So I just got hit with all of this today as i started reading Acts. I was just like...how in the WORLD is this the same person?? The exact same Peter who couldn't even tell a little girl he knew Jesus, was winning 3000 souls to follow Christ in one day in the city that Jesus was just killed in, healing the lame, stood fearless in the face of those who hated Jesus, and began to build the Church.

Actually no, not the same Peter.

This Peter had seen Jesus alive. The same guy that he just buried, but Jesus was alive! He saw the empty tomb, he saw that the grave couldn't hold Jesus, and then he was filled with the Holy Spirit! Like how are you not gonna follow someone that just defeated death?? With that kind of power and knowledge and authority, with the heart of a servant and slave to Jesus, what other option did he have than to tell every single person he possibly could about him? There was nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to hold him back, and he was ready to give his life for it! Like THIS IS WHAT IM TALKIN ABOUT PEOPLE. Peter GOT IT and he didnt give a RIP about his own life after he encountered the risen Christ, the King! The only thing the disciples cared about was following in Jesus' footsteps, and every single one of them paid for it with their lives.

But I mean come on. Peter?? Simon Peter? That guy led the charge??

Jesus uses the weak. He uses the broken. He uses you. And he uses me. You can look right into his eyes, and you will find a man that doesn't condemn you, but who gave his life for you, that you can be free and have life to the fullest measure.

So. Yea. I guess that's what I wanted to say. Guys, Jesus is alive, and he is worth giving your life for. There's so many people that don't know.

Cliff Side Stories

Ravines and Updates

A New Eyeball Exercise: Reading This.

If you are wanting to exercise your eyeballs today then you have come to the right place. Maybe you are like, "Gross Jared. I don't want to think about sweaty eyes or muscles in my eyes or anything of the sort." If you weren't thinking about having muscles on your eyes then you are now. I'm not going to apologize for it.

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.

Bakso and Soto (no those are not our super hero names)