The Great Feast (Boston 6)

This was the last, full day. It was a Sunday, and we saw a few people that we met throughout the week at Redeemer Fellowship! Molly's friend who had gotten saved earlier in the week, Jimmy, attended and brought his brother with him! They were both homeless and took the bus to get in Watertown.

 Roswell wanted to take some of the homeless people in Harvard Square that we built relationships with out to eat. We all wanted to do the same thing. And not just take them out to eat at McDonalds, or something that they can easily get for themselves. We all wanted to take them to one of the best restaurants in that area, a Mongolian place called Fire & Ice. It's a lot similar to Genghis Grill, and if you know me even the slightest bit, you'd understand how excited I was to eat at that place. Taking our friends to Fire & Ice would be the second chance our team had to eat there. 

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Luke 14:12-24

He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

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As we walked out of the tunnel & entered the Pit one last time, it felt really weird. We all split up and tried to find the person that we wanted to take to dinner. I had talked to so many different people out there, that it was hard to follow up with them. So personally, I didn't have anyone in mind to take. 

A few girls on our team found Richie, who had chopped all of her hair off. They asked her if she had wanted a full meal, and she turned it away, several times. Jimmy and his brother were joining us. Also, this really young kid came along as well. 

Travis had just met an old man in Starbucks named Ronnie. He could barely walk on his own because of problems he had in his knees. Roswell, Travis, and a few others prayed over him at Starbucks, and then they tried to help him get to Fire & Ice to eat with us all. Sadly, even with help, Ronnie couldn't make that walk. So those helping him turned around and sat Ronnie on a ledge in the Pit. At this time we prayed for him. We prayed for his knees, his illnesses, his life, his family. We prayed that God would work wonders in his life. He was a great man, and he believed in Jesus. He loved the prayer and everything we stood for. Soon, he had to get on his bus and leave to get back home, so to make sure he got to the bus safely, Travis walked him to his stop.

Soon after the majority of the group headed to Fire & Ice, we asked Richie if she would come with us or not. She finally said yes and accepted the blessing! We all walked to Fire & Ice together, and I wish I could have gotten footage of it. It was amazingly beautiful. Not because of anything our team did, but how raw this action was. Have you ever taken a homeless person out to dinner at a nice restaurant? We received all types of looks as we walked through the door.

You know why we received all of those looks? It is because of how the world is & the way our communities look at different people. To the waiters and hosts and city people and tourists it seemed that we walked with a bunch of thieves. They labeled our friends as homeless nomads and homosexuals. They identified our friends as orphans and good-for-nothings. You know why our world is this way? It's because, as a whole, we are so far away from Jesus.

Jesus hang out with tax collectors and defended prostitutes, and they rolled with him because he offered them something very different than what the pharisees and the rest of the world offered. And that was love. Not just the phrase, I love you or the love that we have when we are in a relationship with someone. This love is bigger than that. This love meets us in the bars, the streets, the ship channels, the hoods, and the trap houses. This love meets us on the east sides, the south sides, the 3rd wards, the 9th wards, the Quincy Markets, and the Pits. This type of love is the love that gives life to the lifeless places all around the world. 

I will tell you the truth, to this day I can still feel the burden for the lost that God placed on my shoulders. I'm sure anyone who went on that trip can tell you that. I've said it before, but I will say it again for the last time, most of the things that happened on this trip are not in these blog posts. God did way too much that it can't all be written, just as John says at the end of his written gospel. However, the story does not end here, this is only a wake up call to my sleeping ears.

Love doesn't just sit on a couch and love doesn't complain. Love does things. Love moves. And in terms of Jesus, we see that love comes down. Jesus, who was at the right hand of the throne of God, stepped off of the throne, to come and save us. He came to meet Bob the train hopper. He came to hug Jani the alcoholic. He came to sit with Jester the hippie and love on Richie, the homosexual. He offers the bread of life to Allison the waitress and tells Ronnie the crippled to get up and walk. He weeps with Dwayne the liar and dies for Kenneth, the husband. 

I encourage you, to see for yourself what love can do. And if your not doing much, your not loving much. 

(special thanks to everyone who supported me on this trip through wisdom, finances, and most importantly, prayer. Please continue to pray for my walk, and obedience to Jesus. )

Boston Pride (Boston 5)

The first time we went to Quincy Market, we noticed a banner hanging on a building that read, "Boston Pride Week." There were many different colors surrounding the words, so we knew what it meant. That Friday was the start of a week long celebration of gay pride. Roswell, and all of us for that matter, knew that we needed to go back to Quincy Market that weekend. So we did.

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If you read the last post about Boston, you'd understand the burden I have for these people. As we started to head to Quincy Market that day, we were very silent and in prayer. We got off of the subway and for some reason Chelsea and Jerica stayed back because they felt like they needed to wait at the subway. Roswell, our team leader, stayed with them as the rest of us continued to make the trip to Quincy Market without them. He sent Matt and I a text telling us that we were in charge. I had no idea what that meant, but we attempted to stay organized and focus.

When we arrived in Quincy Market we saw all of the decorations, balloons, and booths set up for Pride Week. What really caught our attention was a stage that wasn't there three days before, with a guitarist singing some catchy tunes. We prayed together and split into our teams, with the exception of those who weren't with us.

Clay. Caleb, and I sat down for a bit and watched the show. We were all reminding each other how to not just look for someone to look for someone, how to let God lead you to it. After a while, the guitarist walked off of stage and a guy stepped on that applauded the act. He then talked about what Boston Pride week was and then continued to teach us how to salsa dance. Caleb looked at me and said that he kinda wanted to join in, and I went with him. The moves were so awkward, and on top of that when the guy asked us to partner up, he told the hesitant heterosexuals that it was okay to be paired up with the same sex. I laughed really hard in my mind, but I had to really get over the fact that my partner would be Caleb. Stop laughing at me. I guess that was what it truly meant when Paul wrote I become all things to all men in 1 Corinthians 9.

After just sitting around not knowing how to tackle ministry to homosexuals, Roswell, Chelsea, & Jerica finally showed up. We got a bite to eat and then tried to figure out a game plan. Roswell felt that we should do cardboard signs.

We were in this restaurant called Wagamama that was in Quincy Market where we started on the signs. One read Spiritual Cleansing, which I thought was kind of weird. The others said Want Prayer?, God is Love 1 John 4:19, & You Are Loved by God. 

Roswell split the entire group into two, and we stood on two separate ends of Quincy Market. My side stood near the display, stage, band, & balloons. I had the sign that said God is Love. Not everyone had a sign, so those who didn't paired up with those who did. Chelsea stood with me and Roswell was also very close, along with Travis and Molly a five yards away.

The signs did what they were made to do: get the attention of people, gay or not. We received many looks and comments from people who thought that we were protesting. They are used to Christians attending these types of celebrations and using signs to condemn them. However, this is not what we went there to do. For us, the signs were an avenue to tell them about the unconditional love Christ has for us all. But doing that and still disagreeing with homosexuals on God's purpose for man and women would be tricky. We didn't want to offend, but we would not compromise.

A waitress that worked outside at a nearby bar stared at me from a distance. Matter of fact she stared me straight in the eyes. Chelsea kept asking me if I had wanted to take a break from holding the sign, but I said no. Then when the waitress got my attention, she took the sign away from me, knowing that I needed to talk to this woman. I went over and she asked me what did I stand for. I've never gotten asked that before, so I just replied, Jesus. And I kept going. I told her that I believe that John 3:16 tells us that God loves the whole world. It says it plain in text, in every version. There should be no debate in that. I also told her that I believe that we all sin and disobey God. Finally I said that God loves us anyways, so He sent Jesus to die the death we should have died, and everyone who believes is redeemed by God.

Allison's homosexual. She was about my height with spiky brunette hair. She then asked me what was up with our signs, because she was used of Christians protesting at events such as these. And I replied to her that we are just trying to share the love that was shared with us, we weren't there to judge. She began to smile, and it was a great avenue to continue to talk to her about Jesus. Soon, her boss told her that they were beginning to become busy, but she told me thank you as she had to leave. I really hope something happened to her that day that changed her life.

Then there was a group of children in red jackets walking around the event. I had dreadlocks, with a dark shirt on, and it was 95 degrees. It felt as if the sun was walking distance, and this group had on red jackets. They reminded me of my fraternity. They were from California, Orange County to be more specific. It was a Jr. High taking a trip to Boston and their leader, who's name is Ezekiel,  led them. We met Ezekiel, and he was an awesome man of God. He is a believer and he believes that his kids will do great things for the kingdom. There were probably 30 children total, and we all got to pray with them. It was a beautiful scene.

Later on, after we all had gotten severely tired from the sun, we met a man named Kenneth, who was drawn to us. At this time, I was with Caleb H, Sarah, & Molly. We talked to Kenneth for a very long time.  Kenneth had just moved to Boston from Alabama, with his husband. He attended a Christian college, where he had met his husband, Ashley. There are no typos at all in this paragraph.

Kenneth told us that he was Christian, and he asked us about what we were doing out at Boston Pride week. We told him the same thing we told everyone else, to spread the love of Jesus. He commended us, and he explained that the reason why he left Alabama was because of how people treated homosexuals. Luckily, the question about whether or not homosexuality is a sin, was never brought up. So, we tried to encourage Kenneth, without entertaining homosexuality, but still making sure he understands we love him. It was a lot harder than it sounds. We thought that the best way for us to go deeper with Kenneth was to invite him to Redeemer Fellowship, the church we were staying at in Watertown. He gladly accepted, and we got to pray over his life with him. He didn't attend the weekend that we were there, however, I hope that when he does attend, God gives him the clarity to understand sin and I hope God gives the church the backbone to love this man despite it.

I can't possibly type everything that happened or all of the people we had talked to that day or any other day for that matter. It would take too long and fill up space. All I'm saying is that God moved, and Boston Pride was the most challenging, bite-your-tongue, unconditional love I have ever showed to people. And it wasn't me. It wasn't my politics, or religion games that showed up that day or any other day in Boston. It was Jesus. And Jesus loves gay people.

(...to be continued)

Burdened (Boston 4)

Throughout the week we helped Redeemer Fellowship (the church we stayed at) with a little church promotion. The 14 of us had the servant task of hanging flyers on doors. The goal at the end of the week was to hit every door in the city of Watertown. I thought it would be a very easy task at first, however, as the week moved on, it began to be the most tiring job ever. We arrived in Boston when it was 45 degrees, and by the time we started door hangers it was in the upper 90's. I had a tan...and I'm black.

We went to many different sites in Boston. One of the places we had gone was Quincy Market. Quincy Market was another place where we had a chance to minister with our small teams. Someone caught Clay's attention, and he left without us. Caleb and I were walking and praying for someone to talk to, but in my head I just didn't think that we would find anyone. Quincy Market was a tourist attraction mainly, a place to shop and find cool Boston gear. We literally asked God to bring someone to us; someone who would literally get our attention first and that would be the sign that we needed. Something else I learned in Boston was that praying in full faith changes things. Not. Kidding. At. All.

As we walked past these two hustlers we slowed down a bit. I'm sure both of us knew that one of them were going to ask us to help him out.

Dwayne was his name. His friend left to go to another place. I know that through talking about Boston in the past few posts I've talked about some wacky people, myself included. Dwayne was a piece of work. He was a couple of inches shorter than me, bald, & had a harlem-ish accent (yes, we were in Boston. I know the difference). He told us a bit about his story before we could even say anything. He told us that he was fresh out of jail and for community service he needed to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club. Caleb and I knew that it was illegitimate from the second he showed us the contribution list. It only had two names on it and it looked like a copy of the original. No matter how crazy his story was, or if he was lying, God gave us this opportunity to talk about Jesus. So we took it.

Caleb had cash on him. He told Dwayne that he would give $5 to the "Boys and Girls Club" if he would just listen to us for a minute. So we just started to ask Dwayne about his life and then he started talking about God. He told us that God makes mistakes.

Just to pause for a second for everyone who is reading this (if anyone reads this anymore, I'm pretty sure I use this blog to talk to myself), God does not make mistakes.

Caleb and I looked at each other. We knew that we had to speak into that false perception. Dwayne continued with his explanation of why God makes mistakes. He said that when anything happens in the world such as bombings, natural disasters, and wars, that God is just trying to cover up His mistakes. Dwayne continued saying that he should have been a mistake, and that he didn't understand why God hadn't taken him away yet. We tried to talk to  Dwayne, but nothing got through to him. He wouldn't let us finish what we were saying and he even interrupted us when we tried to pray for him the first time.

After about 15 minutes of trying to hold a conversation, Dwayne finally asked for his $5 from Caleb. By this time, Clay showed up after a conversation with another guy and we asked him if we could pray for him before we leave, and he said of course. Dwayne did this thing where he prayed with his arms out wide. When we tried to pray in a huddle he made sure that we all had our hands up. Caleb began to pray for Dwayne.

All of a sudden this girl walks up to us as we are praying, drunk as a skunk. I never understood that metaphor but, it rhymes, so there it is. She asked us what we were doing. We told her that we were praying for our friend Dwayne, and she asked if she could join us. We knew that she was joking, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be prayed for as well. Joni joined in, basically mocking us at first. A few seconds later, Caleb started praying for her.

Joni's friends were pretty plastered as well, but they seemed to be better off than her. They asked Joni to keep walking and at one point attempted to pull her away. Joni literally changed. I felt her hand grip Clay's shoulder as her friends tried to pull her away. She went from making fun of us to actually receiving the prayers we spoke to God for her. Her whole countenance changed, and after the prayer we could see that even her eyes changed. I noticed that she had a cross hanging off of her necklace (though half the world has one). She looked at us and thanked us sincerely. She walked off, and after Dwayne got his money, he gave us a bro hug and left as well to get a few more dollars for the night.

God literally brought two people to our attention. So much that they approached us before we could get to them. My faith grew about 2 stories taller that night as God continued to bring people to us. If I were to list every person we met, it would take the rest of the summer. 

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Two nights after that, we went back to Harvard Square. For myself and many others, it was the craziest night of the trip. I met a 15 year old that live in the Pit (talked about in the last blog post). I met a girl heavily addicted to self harm, with cuts all over her body. I met a heroin addict. However, none of that compared to the next person I will blog about. 

Clay and I sat with this man who walked away when he found something better to do. Before he left his friend came by, and we introduced ourselves to her. She was very reserved at first, but she talked. She said, with a tone of uncertainty in her voice, that her name was Richard. She told us to call her Richie. We probably hang with Richie for an hour.

Here's her story: First of all, she's 19 years old, on her own. She is from New York, and she left her parents to live in Boston, where things aren't looking too hot for her. She grew up in a religious home where her dad was very strict. She was whooped a lot by her father along with her siblings. All of her life she felt that she was supposed to be a boy. She finally told her parents and they couldn't believe it. Basically an outcast of her own family, she left home in pursuit of happiness. A life where she would not be judged and loved for who she is.

I got to understand how she felt, not because I've gone through that personally, but someone near to my heart has: my own sister.

Suddenly this outcast became a member of my family. I was able to ask and tell Richie everything I have ever wanted to say to my sister. Before I asked anything, I told her that I believe in Jesus. I felt like it was important that I said that before I told her anything else. After that, I got to tell her how much Jesus loves her and what His love for all of us led Him to do on that cross. I also told her that no matter how messed up she thought she was, that Jesus still loves her. I had a chance to tell her a bit about my sister, and how much I love her. She told us that she knew we were sincere and caring, not like other religious people who go out to the pit with their "Turn or Burn" signs. Clay and I just continued to encourage her until he left to meet another friend that he met the night before last.

As I continued to hang with Richie, I really wanted to ask her something I never had the guts to ask my own sister. "If the right man came along, would you marry him?"

She stopped for a bit, and looked me square in the eyes. "Yes," she said. "If the right one came and treated me right."

I couldn't tell you how happy I was to hear that. This girl was homosexual, yet she still had a deep desire for a man. Due to all the crap men have done in her life, she began to be turned off by them. Every person has a story, it's very rare that you wake up one day and decide to act a certain way of like your own gender.

Richie began to get really thirsty and I told her we could go to CVS to get a drink. She laughed and said, "I'm not allowed in there." I'm guessing she stole something and was banned from the store. Her favorite drink was Brisk Lemon Iced Tea, so I went to the store and got it. By the time I had returned, someone had given Richie a bottle of alcohol in a brown bag.

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Trying to not pay attention to the alcohol, I gave her what she originally wanted, her Iced Tea. She was super appreciative of it. Around that time, a random show started that featured some guy with long dreadlocks. His show name is Snap Boogie. He knew how to draw a crowd. He would pick on Asians and hot girls. It was funny at first, but it probably took 15 minutes before he ever did anything. We all went over to watch Snap Boogie, and Richie came along, nearly done with her bottle of alcohol.

After the show was over, I knew I needed to talk to someone else. Richie was too drunk and would never stay on subject, and there were times where she would tell me how cute I am. So to avoid that awkwardness, I stepped into another awkward situation. I found Molly ministering to a homeless man, and a few hundred feet away approaching swiftly, I saw a drunken Jester, followed by his gang, making a b-line for Molly, who had her bible open in front of this poor man. If you don't remember Jester, I talked about him in the post, Hippie Love.

I knew that he would try to ruin what God was doing in that man's life by interrupting Molly, so I stepped to him and he recognized me. We conversed for a few minutes, but nothing special. He told me that he was hanging out with his friends and they wanted to get a drink, so he went with them and had a bit too much. He walked off after those few minutes and went to see other people, praise God. Afterwards, Molly got up off of the ground and told us that the man had just committed his life to Christ.

"What?!?"  The idea of that happening in that moment was insane to me, I didn't have a clue that was going on. We then went to Starbucks to get the man something to eat, along with Caleb H. When I first met Caleb, he was very quiet. However when we would minister, God used his ability to converse a whole lot on the trip. I hope he sees this so he can know that, if he didn't already.

We went to Starbucks and got him something to eat, then I left Molly and Caleb with the man who had just gave his life to Jesus. His name is Jimmy, and he had long, black hair like a rock star.

As I walked back into the pit, Sarah told me that there was a girl who was taking her clothes off and warned me not to look over that way. As I walked trying to find someone else to talk to, I see a half naked, drunken Richie swinging her jacket in the air. I couldn't believe it.

There was a man Travis talked to who was about to fall over a ledge because he was so drunk. Roswell was  talking to this teenager who lives in the streets and was totally turned off by Christianity. Caleb P was chasing around a little girl who's mother didn't keep up with her. Chelsea and Alfonso were talking to a girl who was born with boy organs, and they didn't know what they could say to her. I stepped back and my shoulders got really heavy. I could feel the hurt in the atmosphere. I wanted to cry but, for some reason I couldn't.

After being flirted with, lied to, and smoked out of the pit, before we left I was able to chill with a guy named Geoffrey. He was very sincere and open with me, and he wanted prayer. He told me that it seemed like all of his friends were dying lately. After I prayed for him, I went to the first guy I had met that night and tried to finish up a conversation with him, then finally asked him if he wanted prayer for anything. He looked at me and said, "Yeah right," and took off on his bike. I don't know why, but I was really hurt by the look he gave me. Not that it looked like he meant any harm, but that it seemed like he knew that prayer wouldn't do anything for him. 

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We all left the Pit that night brokenhearted. I had never seen all of us this quiet before, and I knew that each one of us were thinking something. We prayed, and left around 1 or 2 in the morning to go back to Watertown. 

That night we felt a small fraction of what God feels for His creation.

(...to be continued)

Hippie Love (Boston 3)

Soon after I saw Bob leave, my attention was drawn to another guy. He was dressed like a two year old girl that was about to hit the hay. He was white, with blonde hair. He had dreadlocks in a mohawk with the sides of his hair buzzed off. Bottle caps were in his hair, and he wore a zebra onesie that was halfway zipped down in the front. The most horrible part of all of this was that he didn't wear anything else under the zebra suit. Dude was naked.

As he walked around, we quickly saw that he was the most well-known, popular guy that hang out in the pit. His name is Jester. He is a hippie. I told me that, too. I couldn't make a story up like this, even if I wanted too.

I don't remember how I got there, but I remember initiating conversation with him along with a girl on our team, Molly. In the beginning of the conversation, I gave him props for his dreads. I guess growing your hair into worms is worth something. Molly and I continued to engage with this guy, but every time someone passed by, they just needed to say hi to Jester or give him a hug. Jester probably gave out more "I love you's" than a Barney marathon on PBS. I remember asking him this question: what is love?

He quickly answered. He told us that God is love. "Awesome," we said. Because of that answer, we thought that he was Christian. He even told us that he was. After we talked a bit more, Molly starting bringing in some facts about Jesus. I remember her saying something about how God truly showed His love to us by sending Jesus, His Son, to die for our sins. We backed up each other pretty well however, Jester didn't completely agree with what we were saying. He soon confessed that he didn't think Jesus was a man who walked the earth.

So at this point, Molly and I are totally confused. He continued, "Yes, Jesus is not a man." Through our confusion, Molly and I attempted to justify what we knew. We explained to Jester how creation was made and sin came into the picture. Little did we know that he had a bit of "research" he had done for himself. I told him that we had a perfect relationship with God until we fell into sin, referencing the story of Adam & Eve. What started as a simple meet & greet transformed into a small debate faster than you could say #transformationtuesday.

Jester looked at us with a frown on his face and asked us if we were upset. We replied, "No, how come?" He explained that he has met Christians before who break down in front of him because they are sad that they will not see him in heaven. We quickly told him that our first goal is to love, and we were not even thinking of that at all. He told us that loving others is his goal too.

Everyone that went on the Boston trip were beasts. they all loved Jesus dearly, and so did Molly. She started explaining how Jesus saves. Which made Jester bring up a question I had never heard before, "How does Jesus save?"

There it was, time for me to tell this guy my testimony. Suddenly joy fills in my heart and I can't help but smile. I began with my background and how messed up I am. I explained how much I get wrong. Basically, before I met Jesus, I was a broken. Jester immediately stopped me when I kept saying how much I sucked. "You are NOT horrible, you're beautiful, the world is beautiful." And we tried to explain the sinfulness of man and he began to put on a very troubled face.

He asked us, "How in the world can you say a little newborn baby is sinful?"
I'll be honest, I can't even remember how or if Molly and I replied to that question. I'm sure we did, but i remember how it got to me. Later, after we spoke to Jester, Molly and I talked about how crazy that question was. Not us saying we know it all, because we don't, we just were not prepared to answer that. Then Psalm 51:5 cleared my mind.

I continued my testimony. And after i finished, he put a smile back on his face. He loved the story, but still stuck to his beliefs. Soon after he even explained how no matter what religion or god we claim, everyone will be together in heaven one day. We soon figured out that he believed in all religions. I totally forgot the name for that religion, for now we can call it etc. Molly continued to explain that what we have as Christians is not religion, it's a relationship, and finally Jester came to the conclusion that we believed in different things.

Though we believed in two different things, Jester and I agreed on something. He told us that he knows that his reason to be in Harvard Square was to love the orphans & homeless that live in it. He looked out for them and gave them hugs when he would see them. He got drunk with them and cried with them. He shared his food and went to church with them. A Muslim guy passed by and Jester literally told him that he would go to mosque with him the upcoming weekend. Everyone in the Pit, loved Jester, because Jester loved them for who they were.

When I told Jester about my testimony and how much of a sinner I am, his bad theology was actually an encouragement. He told me that everyone in the world is beautiful. To him, people alone are perfect, where most of the world sees the people of the Pit as useless. Jester saw more to them. Because of this, I think that he gets right what many of us fail to do, over and over again.

I'm not saying that Jester is a Christian, I'm just saying that he does more Christian things than actual Christians (beside getting drunk and going to mosque obviously). Jester loves these people despite themselves or their problems or their sin. Just as Jesus looked at the prostitute in John 8, Jester looked at these people. But, Jester's love wasn't genuine; He didn't know what true love is.

We smiled and told Jester that we were here to do the same thing he was doing, to love on people. At the same time, I know that my love for others isn't true love. My good deeds are just good deeds without Christ. My love will never be fully unconditional though I am constantly being sanctified. I will never love the world the way it needs to be loved, and the truth is, that Jester cannot either. That is why we need Jesus.

Love has a voice, and it's not mine. Love has a name, and it's not Mitchell. It's the red letters in The Book. It's Jesus.  1 John 4:19- We love because He first loved us.

So if you do not know that love, how can we equip ourselves to love others? Love without Jesus is just a car without an engine. It looks great, but it's really nothing. 1 Corinthians 13

After this long conversation, Molly and I had to leave with the rest of our team to head back to Watertown. Before we left, we were able to buy Jester and his friends some food and drinks from Starbucks, and they really appreciated it. We gave them hugs and were on our way, but I left with a question on my shoulders that God now asks me everyday when I make an action: Is this true love? Or is it your love?

(to be continued)

Grow & Go

For, "All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall- 1 Peter 1:24

There's a time for intense growth.

We all need it. Here's a bit of my story of the past 2 years.


I was a senior in high school, approaching graduation. I knew I wanted to go to college and get as far away from Wichita Falls as I could possibly go. So I applied to ten schools. Yes, ten. Here they are, in order: LSU, Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU, Midwestern State, Morehouse, Ole Miss, Wabash (look it up, I don't know what I was thinking), Oklahoma Baptist, Dallas Baptist, and Lubbock Christian.

I know, Texas Tech, the school I am currently attending, is not on that list. It's because I didn't apply to Texas Tech until March, 2 months before graduation. That's because I kicked off every school on that list, one by one, and when I added Texas Tech, it seemed to be the only school I didn't have any major problem with going to. And it was also 3 hours away from home; short enough to go back when I want to and far enough so I don't have to worry about my parents all over me.

I had no expectations when I set my eyes on Tech. Rumors were that it was a party school. That and all other schools on the planet earth. So going into my freshman year, even though I was a good, moral, proclaiming Christian in High School, I just concluded that I would be at those college parties. I believed that everyone would. Boy was I wrong...

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I signed up for a camp before I went to Texas Tech. It is called Foundation Retreat, a four day retreat put on by students at Texas Tech. It was a warm welcome into the college life, and it literally set a foundation for my life. As you know, nothing can be built without a base, and the base has to be strong enough to hold every inch of what you are going to build. Foundation introduced a key principle into my life; living as a Christian.

I met friends that i am still close to this day, at that camp. After the camp, I met one of my best friends. We were both in a season of trying to figure out what it meant to live as a Christian, so God had us on the same floor in the dorms. How crazy of a plan is that? We ate together, played ball together, and even pledged on the same line in the same fraternity. Before I ever thought of pledging anything, I had a better idea. An idea that I had wanted to pull off for a very long time. I wanted to grow dreadlocks!! So my friend and I and a few others helped me out. My hair was super short, so I walked around with small, bean-like structures from my head. This is the image that most of my close friends remember about me from the first time they met me, especially my line brothers.

So we crossed into Men of God Christian Fraternity, and it was the most intense, life changing, six and a half weeks of my life. I learned how to listen, lead, serve, and love- even when it hurt. I learned how to be timely. I learned accountability. Through all this, my hair continued to grow and grow. I broke off a relationship that I held onto but knew would never work. I learned how to embrace help financially. I learned how to suffer. I learned how to lose. I learned that I am victorious. My hair still continued to grow. I learned how to pursue. I learned how to be patient. I learned how to teach. I learned how to submit. I learned how to be a man.

Before you knew it, I grew into a man that loves Jesus. 

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If I were to type every single thing that I have experienced the past two years of my life, you would get sick of my blowing up the internet. I am proof that there is a God who loves and forgives, because apart from Him, I am a complete mess.

Growing is great, but if you water a plant too much and don't give it space where it can grow, it will die. That's true with us as well. I am guilty of hoarding. These past two years I have hoarded most of everything God has taught me. I've sent the information to my head, but not my heart. It's in my brain, but not my hands. It's in my mind but not working through my feet. Being in Boston for ten days living missionally changed my perspective on a lot. What good is it to learn how to change the world, but never get around to doing it?

It's like having a formula to cure cancer and never getting around to making it, it will do no one good, and many will die in the process.

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This past Sunday, the same best friend that watched me grow all of my hair cut it all off for me. Many people do not know this, but those dreads symbolized a lot for me. The start of college, being on my own. The start of being grown. Most importantly, the start of me taking my walk with Christ. A year and 8 months of hair, completely gone. Nothing to show for it. Me cutting it all off meant something even greater. What will I do with everything God has shown me the past two years of my life? I have to put wheels on it and go.

This blog post may seem super religious to you who do not know Jesus Christ. That's okay. It's about taking my walk with Christ more seriously than I have the day before. And this:

 it's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you.

-Batman

But seriously, I can boast on how much I know for years, but if I never do anything because of my faith, I am only beating a dead horse. James, the brother of Jesus is saying the same thing I am saying:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?  

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

James 2:14-26

So now I have a decision to make. I can keep getting "filled" and flirt with Christian obesity, or I can put some hands and feet on God's love and be the only bible some will ever see. Because in the long run, its not about what pastors I listen to, how many bible studies I lead, and how many sermons I can write in a day. It's not about what I have leaned the past couple of years. It's not about me. It is about being there for the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the lost. 

So now my nearly bald head is another symbol. Growing is meaningless without going.

Bob (Boston 2)

The night before Memorial Day we blew up balloons and painted the cardboard that would make a float. It was awesome bonding time for the team, which was made up of mostly people that I had never met before. I was able to connect with everyone on one level or another, getting to know their favorite food, scriptures, sports, and movies. I was even able to share my Bane voice with them. 

The next morning came Memorial Day. We helped Redeemer Fellowship throw a carnival for the city Watertown. Every Memorial Day, the city throws a parade to celebrate the holiday. Redeemer's participation in the parade was a miracle; the city never lets the churches get involved with anything city-wide, this was the first time anything like this ever happened in a long time. It was crucial that the church have an impact through their presence. 

Everything went well! Molly, Alfonso, and I worked an inflatable obstacle course. It attracted tons of kids and even adults. I would say that one of the hardest things to do while working that was to not fall into the temptation of going through it myself, every single time. By the end of the day I had eaten 5 & a half hot dogs, drank about 8 cups of Gatorade, and witnessed about 14 kids eat it on the obstacle course. It was a great day.

During the parade, we got to see a lot of cool Army tanks, horses, and motorcycle gangs roll through. Towards the end, a van that was a part of the parade passed us with the pictures of the innocent people killed in the Marathon Bombing. In that moment we remembered how much this area was affected by the tragic event. It also reminded our team of what we were getting ourselves into. This region of the world needs God's love just as any other region does, and the church's participation in events like this that shows how much joy the love of Christ can bring a dead body. I can't express how many children and their family members appreciated all that we did at that we did for them. 

Later that night, our team worshiped in the basement of the church. Caleb P. brought his guitar along for the trip, and he led us that night. That's when I started to really understand how much our team loved God, and also, how much more He loves us. We were praying for each other, and the lost. I don't think that any of us knew what we were going to get ourselves into that next day. I think things work out a lot better that way. I'd rather have full faith that God is going to do something insane than know every little detail, and worry about what's going to happen.

The next day we left for Harvard Square. Harvard Square is an area in Boston that is owned by Harvard University. During the day it's an awesome tourist attraction. There's many restaurants and businesses. There's also many homeless people about. In Boston and most of the east coast, cost of living is very high. It's also not as easy to get a job there as it is in Texas, because Texas has so much land. We are always building something here, which always creates job opportunities. The east coast was colonized first, so just about everything there is already built up. Living among beautiful old buildings comes at a cost. Even the churches are large and beautiful. It's even more crazy to see how most of them were transformed into condos.

We entered Harvard Square at night, when the crazy stuff happens. After grabbing a bite to eat, Roswell split us into smaller teams. I had the awesome opportunity to have Clay and Caleb P. with me. We prayed behind a small concession building in the pit, then off we went.

I don't know why, but I was led a different way than Caleb and Clay. There was this guy sitting alone on the edge of the pit, facing the subway entrance. I probably stared at him awkwardly for 5 minutes before I went to chill with him. I hate awkwardness, so i didn't want to cause it. A 20 year old black guy with dreads is not your typical chill guy. So I asked God for the words to say and walked over. I asked him how his day was going and asked him his name. His name was Bob, but he wanted me to call him b.o.b... and he quickly explained, "I had the name before the rapper." 

I talked to B.O.B. for a very long time. I started off by asking him about Harvard Square, because i knew very little about it. He told me about how crazy it gets at night and also how he loves it out there. For some reason he kept looking at a digital clock that was fixated on a building hovering over Harvard Square. I asked him how long he has been out here, and he told me a year. He lives with his girlfriend and it's hard for him to find a job. Then, I asked him if he was originally from Boston, and His life story exploded into my ears. Bob was a foster child (he is 28 now). He was kicked out of many homes, ran away several different times, and when he finally got to the age where he could live on his own, he started hopping trains all over the country.

A guy passed by us in the middle of Bob's life story and asked for some weed. I was so caught off guard until I realized where I was and the fact that anything under 2 ounces of weed was legal. Bob told this guy that he didn't have any and that he hasn't seen any dealers around. Many people passed by us asking about drugs and stuff to get into. After a few more passed by, Bob asked me why I was in Boston. He said that he could tell by my southern accent that I had to be from the South. I explained to him that my friends and I came to Boston to help out Redeemer Fellowship in Watertown and to see some sights in town. Before I could say that i was a Christian, he kinda figured it out. He told me that he is a Christian, and a door opened up and I was able to talk a little bit about Jesus.

Bob and his girlfriend were going through a lot. Bob had no job and no money, and his girlfriend was not the most loving person in the world. "And she's not a Christian," Bob continued. 

At that moment I realized that Bob was going through a whole lot. Though he didn't make it easier on himself by being in the "Pit" every night, that was besides the point. He was looking for something a lot more than he knew. I prayed with Him for a bit, and then I got a chance to pray for his relationship with Jesus. Afterwards, I got to guy him a drink at Dunkin' Donuts to bring home to his girlfriend. I saw him off and gave him a hug, not knowing if I'd ever see him again.

I stepped back to where I had first met Bob that night, and sat down near the area where he sat. I looked up at the humongous digital clock that hang on the building over the pit. I realized that this was one of the few times I had ever hang out with somebody for no agenda at all. I sat not only where they sat, but I sat with them. I didn't only hear Bob's story, I felt for him. And I didn't pray to a wall, I prayed with faith.

Jesus loved people. This is true. However, He did not only love people and sat on His donkey all day. He put legs on the word. He added arms to it. And with those arms and legs He sat with tax collectors, the widows, the poor, the blind, rich, and lame. Just as Jesus meets us where we are with our sin, He met others where they were. Though some did not know God or ever witnessed God, Jesus' hands were the only hands they could feel. So He used them for His glory along with everything else He had.

As a Christian, this is something I fail at everyday. I fail at loving those who do not love the Lord. Not only do I fail, but most of the time I do not even think about it. Until I sat with Bob and everyone else in the pit, I had never understood why it was that important. I looked up at the very same clock that the drug addicts, hippies, cutters, alcoholics, & homeless used there everyday. And this is the point: Jesus saved me from the pit of my sin, and now He called me to be His ambassador. His hands, His Feet, His messenger of the good news.

People aren't going to know about Jesus until we show them with our actions.

(to be continued...)

More Than Luck (Boston 1)

May 25 I left for Boston with 13 others on a mission trip. It was my first mission trip, and I can say that it will not be my last. My team consisted of an awesome group of people, 90% of them I had never met before. Their names are Matt, Molly, Sarah, Jerica, Caleb P., Caleb H., Christian, Travis, Alfonso, Chelsea, Clay, Alden, & our team leader, Roswell.We woke up at 3 in the morning to get to the airport. That's about 7 hours too early for me. 2 plane rides along with an Atlanta layover later, we arrive in Boston.

On our first flight there was a man sitting in front of me that passed out. His sugar was real low and he was sweating very badly. This was my first flight on an airplane, and I wondered if this had happened all of the time. Luckily there were a few nurses on the flight that were able to help this man. While they scurried around on the plane to find water, orange juice, and sugar packets to put on his tongue, I was wondering if the man was a believer. Not because his life was on the line or anything, but because he was alone on the flight with no family, with health problems. I asked him if Roswell and I could pray for him, and he shook his tired head. "Yes," he said. Then we prayed for him. A lot of people were watching us, which was weird at first. When the man mustered enough energy to speak, he was very appreciative of the prayers.

Boston was really, really cold when we arrived. It was a very gray scene, sort of how it was at the end of Amazing Spiderman when Peter Parker shows up at Gwen Stacy's door after he missed her father's funeral. Maybe that was a bit too much, but the city seemed to not have much life.We had to purchase "T-cards" to get around the city for the week. We started on a bus, that led to the subway. And then from the subway to a bus that took us to where we were going to say for the next week and a half.

After we stepped off of the subway, I noticed that I was missing my backpack. My backpack held my Ipad, bibles, books, and headphones. Once I noticed that it was gone, I just stopped talking. I waited a bit and caught Roswell's attention (I didn't want to make a scene and be that guy who left his bag on the subway).

On the outside, I seemed very calm. On the inside, was a different story. And it didn't help that some people vocalized that finding it would be impossible. Though I was the main guy telling myself that, I attempted to make calls. Calls to the bus station. Calls to the subway station. I thought to call 911, but I don't think the situation was that severe; I'll live.After many attempts, calls, and voice messages, I sort of gave up. Roswell even said that they can try to get me a new Ipad. Hope was lost, well kind of. There was still a little amount of faith in my head that kept on telling me that I would leave Boston with my backpack.

We stayed in the basement of this church called Redeemer Fellowship in Watertown, Massachusetts. Yes, you are correct. It is the same city where they found the terrorists that bombed the Boston Marathon. The church was not too far away from the house with the bloody boat in the backyard. Though it seemed as if the region needed it, there were not that many churches in Boston. In Texas, or the south in general, we see churches on every corner. The Watertown and Boston areas were different kinds of beasts. Though the churches had beautiful buildings and what not, most of them were renovated into multi-bedroom condos. Though that sounds cool, it is really a shame to see what was happening in the Northeast.

After we settled down in the basement, we left out to grab a bite to eat as a team at a Greek restaurant down the street from the church. As we walked, I received a phone call from a Massachusetts area code number. To my surprise, it was a guy calling from the lost & found area in the subway! Earlier when I had talked to him, I gave him a description of my bag, and by God's grace, it was turned in! This was definitely a miracle.

So I had to wait until the next day to pick it up, after the church service. We got to meet a lot of nice people with awesome Bostonian accents. The worship was not like a full-on contemporary Texas church service, it was only a guitar and two other vocalists. It wasn't flashy at all. Not saying that flashy is bad but, the simplicity of the church service great. There were no lyrics running across a projector screen, there were only inserts inside of the program. There was also a nice little outline to help us follow along with the pastor, Chris.

After the service, i was able to meet this Greek family. Their son volunteered to take Alfonso and I to pick up my bag at one of the JFK Station in Boston. His name is Josh, and he talked rapidly with an accent. He's a great guy and I didn't seem like I was a burden to him or anything. He enjoyed giving me a ride to the station to pick up my bag. When we got it, everything was in there. My Ipad, study bible, the whole shebang. Once I finally had it in my hand Josh and Alfonso told me how they thought in the back of their minds that I would never find it again. "That never happens here, usually stuff like that get's stolen!" Josh repeated.

When i lost my bag, the first phrase to pop up in my head was "Everything happens for a reason." That quote is as cliche as it is true. It wasn't luck that got my bag back, it was God. I feel like that was a preparation for what was to come in the next week. As if God was saying, "Do you trust me to return this bag to you?"

The world is a dark place, but God is so great. Through my sin and mistakes and imperfections and stupidity and rejection to His love for most of my life, He still hunted me down. We deem some people as nonredeemable. We label some people as if God can not do anything in their lives. On this mission trip I knew that I was going to be challenged, but I didn't know how. Finding my bag seemed impossible, but there it was in my grasp. I'm sure this was the first of many lessons God wants to teach me, that no mission is impossible for Him. He brought light out of darkness by mere words. He can redeem a man. Better yet, he can redeem a city.

Some people call finding my bag luck, but it's always more than that. I couldn't wait to experience what the Lord wanted to show me through this trip.

(to be continued...)