Back by popular demand...

So people are asking questions and wanting to know what’s going on with me. I’m doing well. The worship set this past Sunday was good. People really enjoyed some of the songs, and my brother’s message on Romans 10 was awesome. I wish you could see some of the hand gestures he uses. I’m hoping to make at least one video podcast of Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, before I leave. That is, if I leave. Right now, things are still going as planned. I haven’t gotten any direction as to staying yet. I’m going to try and get my passport from the maximum security prison, oops, I mean the U.S. Embassy this week. I found out the hard way last week, that it’s not a good idea to take pics of the building up close, or to wear a black baseball cap, with a black t-shirt, and use a black cane. For those who don’t know, I was using a cane to compensate for a hairline fracture in my left ankle due to a sport’s injury. A lady at the front told me that they frown upon tourists who take photos, and if I wanted to apply for a passport, or visa, I would have to come back between 8-10AM. This made me wonder, what do they do for the other six hours of the day? So I left, since it was too late to get an application. Then a police officer stopped me afterwards, because of me taking pictures from before. He asked me if I was a tourist, and whether the shirt I was wearing had any meaning behind “Polo 217”. I assured him that I was a visitor, and that I got my shirt from Target for about $15, and that I was just trying to apply for a passport. After my conversation with Officer Hoser, I went away thinking, geez, with friends like this who needs enemies?

I’ve moved into one of the houses with Jericho ministries called Springhurst. My first week entailed cleaning out some “rough” refrigerators, and some cleaning/organizing of kitchen and bedrooms. Last Fri morning, I was awoken to one of the tenants who thought that 4am was a good time to change beds. My bedroom is a wide hallway/space between two rooms. I didn’t realize that I had every right to tell him to go back to bed, and that he would comply. It’s taken me awhile to realize that some guys have mental disorders here, so not every synapse is firing upstairs. Some pieces are left out, and that’s where I come in. I’ve also been falsely accused of pre-meditated murder at least three times in the last week. “Are you insisting on killing?” My response was no. “Your eyes say otherwise. Don’t forget the Bible says Thou shalt not kill. That means plants, animals, everybody…” I proceeded to look at Bob and we both shared the “weirded out” feeling that Michael left us with for a few moments. This is just one example of the paranoia that happens with schizophrenic people. I’m actually using a different name for Bob, since last week he started using, and could no longer be a part of Jericho Road. He’s in rehab right now. Please pray that God would help him turn from this addiction to drugs, and find complete restoration and healing in his life. It’s hard when you just meet someone, and you think that they’ll make it through. All they have to do is follow the rules, and chill. You’d be surprised how many people don’t make it, or just can’t do that. “But the ones that do, make it all worthwhile.” I think that’s something that Bill told me today.

Last week, I went with Steve (Campus Crusade) to witness to students at Ottawa U. Steve did more of the witnessing, because I was enthralled by his calm confidence, and ability to relate to students. I really got a polling sample of the culture up here. I’m going to call one of the guys we talked to, Merc, because his name was in French, and I’m still learning the language. Merc was studying political science and was from Gatineau. I found out that in the past, Gatineau was heavily controlled by the Catholic church, and so he saw Christ as a tyrant, or a dictator. Steve explained to him that Jesus was always confronting the Pharisees for their lack of righteousness, in doing what’s right for their people. Merc questioned the authenticity of Christ’s words, and how could one know that they are true? Steve answered quickly and cited several sources that give credibility to God’s Word, for instance archeologists, experts, etc. Merc ended our conversation because he had a class to get to. We moved on to the next person who would talk with us. His name was Daniel. The impression he got of being a Christian is religious obligation. He was trying to keep his priorities straight, school was a big priority, as well as getting a good paying job. Steve assured him that school was a great priority as well as seeking to provide for oneself. However, we as spiritual beings have other needs that have to be met. The interesting thing about both conversations is neither student was aware of what the Gospel teaches. There are strong roadblocks that prevent people from coming to Christ when they think that it removes critical thinking, or freedom of choice. They simply just don’t know what the Bible says. It was heartbreaking, and a good temperature reading for the culture. Please pray that God would break up the hard ground, so that soft hearts will receive the seed of His Word.

I had a disappointment. I got a chance to talk to the leadership team of the IV chapter at Ottawa U earlier that day. It’s amazing to see things that I’ve heard at Sonburst, and Chapter Camp already put into practice, and finding two student leaders over a group of 6 student leaders. It’s also awesome to see them devoted to creating a friendly atmosphere that brings people closer to Christ. I was talking with the staff worker for Ottawa U, Jill, and she saw my Urbana Bible. A story came to her mind, since we were talking about cultural cues. She said that one time at Urbana, all the Canadians were politely waiting for a bus to come to take them back to the hotel. When it finally did, all the Americans cut in front of them, and the Canadians didn’t make it. The Canadian students were confused. We thought they were Christians? Why would they act so rudely? Funny, huh? So, I told them my history with IV, and that I was just looking for an opening where I could be able to either lead a bible study, or perhaps some worship. However, they were already set, and that’s all that could be done. I suspect that I had misplaced expectations, but that’s okay. I think I’m going to be working with this group called “Yoked” which could use some help. We’ll see what God does on campus. I was really hoping that there would be at least one Christian club that saw a need to volunteer time at the Mission, or Jericho Road. Unfortunately, most students are too busy, or not committed enough to do something like that, even though it's literally minutes from their campus! Once again, I just have to let it go. I tried to remember how long it took me to understand God’s giant heart for the poor. I’m going to continue to pray for college students to care about the homeless not only in words, but also even more in action!


This week I’m going to Dan and Amy Schelke’s house. They have a Calvary Chapel in Perth. It’s basically a farming community with only a handful of “mom and pop” shops around. But the scenery is beautiful, and for a city kid, it’s great to feel like I’m in the great outdoors. I’ll be leading worship for them this Sunday, and I’m looking forward to what God’s going to do there, and on the way there.

The next verse pretty much sums up the rest of what’s going on…

“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.”
-John 21:25