Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 6/2/2011
There have been a handful of moments in my life that I've been aware that my life was about to change forever. I remember the day I got my acceptance letter to Moody, the day I accepted a position at a church in Connecticut as a youth pastor, the day I stepped onto a plane to head out on the World Race...I knew in those moments that everything would never be the same. Everything was different.
In the last few weeks, Ashli and I have had a few of those defining moments. And in the midst of them, we've known they were the types of things that change a person forever. It was just over a year ago we got engaged. We wanted God to take us wherever He wanted us and do with us whatever He would.
For a year now, that's been the town of Normal Illinois. And life has been normal. We've worked at jobs we both enjoy, with a staff we both love...but we've kept praying that God would do with us what He wanted, when He wanted.
On April 29th, Ash and I found out our first kid is on the way. I've had the priveliedge of listening to it's heart beat...a strong 150 beats per minute. I've seen it grow through ultrasounds, and come December 31st...or so we're told...the Brown family will be three people instead of 2.
Looking at the ultrasound video hurled responsibility upon my shoulders like I've never felt before. I knew that life would never be the same, and I couldn't imagine ever wanting it to be the same again.
But then things got crazy, once again. I got a call from a church that asked us to be their youth pastor. This wouldn't be that out of the ordinary, but the church is different. This church is in Malaysia...in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Come August, Ash and I, and our unborn baby, will move half way around the world to step into a role we believe the Lord has prepared for us. 
The church is an English speaking, international fellowship that we're so excited to become a part of. We have a lot to wrap up in Normal, but we're excited that God made His voice heard and called us to partner with this church in Malaysia.
We'll be setting up a new website with blogs for both Ashli and I, as well as other information, links, etc...so I'll post that here once it's ready. But until then, be praying for us. A list of prayer requests is below:
Thanks y'all...you are loved!
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1. Pray for our child. Pray about what the Lord is already preparing them for. Let us know if you believe God is speaking something over him (or her).
2. Pray that we get a work visa. For a lot of reasons, it'll just make our lives a lot easier.
3. Praise that we don't need to raise any funds for this job...we'll be fully supported by the church!
4. Pray for the ministry we're a part of here, as we wrap up and hand off the baton, pray we do that well and with integrity.
5. Pray for Ash as she finishes up the first trimester, deals with morning sickness, etc.
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 4/11/2010
Psalm 63
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for
you, my body longs for you, in a dry and
weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and
your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify
you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will
lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will
praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the
night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the
earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for
jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will
praise him, while the
mouths of liars will be silenced.
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david wrote psalm 63 when he was in the desert of judah. i havent been taken out into the desert - even though that seems like the place God really woo's his children throughout the bible and teaches them an awful lot - but i have put ten thousand miles on my car in the last eight or nine weeks. God's not picky, he'll take those hours too.
as i drove last night, i was impressed more than ever before to FEAR the Lord. i've heard dozens of sermons preached about fear of the Lord being "awe" of God or "reverence" for who He is. with all due respect, i dont know that people who teach that have ever experienced walking in the fear of the Lord. there is no other expression, apart from that simple phrase, 'fear of the Lord' that does it justice. it's an awareness of His holiness coupled with an understanding of my sinfulness. it's a desire for nothing more than everything david wrote above, while realizing how many other fickle and trivial things we desire and are pulled towards.
driving home from michigan last night - which is a story for another blog - allowed the Lord to speak into my heart. i'm in a pretty fantastic relationship with the girl i'm going to marry. but the thing that makes me so confident of that is because she pushes me toward God, which in turn, draws me closer to her. she doesn't pull me toward herself, she meets me at the feet of Jesus. the scariest part of that relationship is that because of her, i have a stronger desire for personal holiness than ever before. its scary because it asks me to let God have his way - even if it costs me everything but Him. she is helping me understand grace in new ways, especially how grace is found in real love. true love. love deals with the mess because on the other side of that chaos is hope.
i've always been around people who struggled with 'not being good enough.' at the same time, i was always praised as being a great model. i had the opposite problem, i always was 'good enough.' or at least that's the message i heard. "i hope my kids turn out just like you," or "you are just gifted in the exact ways we need here," or a million other things. i guess the question i was left asking was 'good enough for what?' the unfortunate answer is that i was good enough for people not to see my junk, and for me to not have to deal with it. don't get me wrong - encouragement is good, unless it's devoid of exhortation and accountability. where i needed to be challenged to grow into new giftings, or raise the bar so those children would walk in a deeper level of holiness, i was complacent and content.
but i have a holy discontent today. paul tells us that we're supposed to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. God has been speaking a lot to me, reminding me that obedience to His Spirit isn't an option. i often want to protect my image or what God has blessed me with up to this point, but that's pride and that's idolatry. the only way to do that is to quench the spirit, ignoring his promptings. and if i want anything other than Him, or let anything become more important than Him in my decisions, that's a really scary thing. i love that david prayed 'God, YOU are my God.' nothing else held that place in His life.
i accepted his righteousness years ago, but in freely accepting that, i also accepted his sanctification, which costs me everything. it means that the liar in me needs to be exposed so it can be killed. it means the impurity needs to be revealed so it can be cleansed. it means my tongue needs the coal that touched isaiah's lips. it means that light needs to be shined into the dark places. because freedom exists there. and gaining freedom through obedience isn't manipulating God to action, it's accepting and trusting his promises. its positioning my heart in a place where God can bestow the blessing and inheritance he intends to give to his children squarely upon me.
even though i've been worked over by God a lot this last year, God has more refining to do to prepare me for the call He is increasingly revealing in my life. i'm not yet made into the man who is ready to marry this girl, but God is actively making me into that man today so i will be ready. but that means exposing more junk. that means i need to die. if i'm dead and not worried about my image - and can really claim meekness - God's going to give me an over abundance of himself. so i choose that today...
"failure didnt start with me. failure wont end with me. it's a transit
point, not a final destination." victor saad
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 10/17/2009
(this is a blog i wrote in the ukraine about four months ago. i havent changed anything, and it's been sitting, waiting to be posted. so here it is, way late...and an update on where i am today will follow in just a bit)
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some of Satan's best deception isn't found in his lies, it's in the way we hear the truth he tells us. and example is in genesis 3:5. Satan tells man, "God knows that when you eat of the tree, your eyes will be opened, and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil." It's true. their eyes were opened. they did understand good AND evil from that point. but the sad reality is that before that, they knew good...and God protected them from evil. the only thing new Satan brought to the conversation was evil...but he packaged it real nice, disguised in truth.
for a few days i've been thinking about that passage in relation to the stronghold of lust and comparison or image found here in ukraine. lust is taking the good thing God created known as love, and giving us a cheaper way to arrive at the feelings or pleasure or joy or hope found in it...but coming on it's tails is a slew of evil. hurt. depression. insecurity. broken relationships. and the list goes on and on.
talking with a friend who had an unfortunate run in with a man a few weeks back, he explained that this country has been tormented by American men coming to ukraine for sex tourism. he explained how the pursuit of "no strings" satisfaction has led to a broken country, to bitterness, and to women who have had their value stolen.
and when women find their value through their pursuit by men...especially men desiring little more than to use them, it's no wonder the girls on our teams are struggling with image in this atmosphere as well. we've defined beauty so poorly. men were created in the garden to define beauty through the woman God has designed them to commit to for a lifetime. one's wife should be their standard of beauty. we've defined love so incorrectly. we've been told to guard love, to not awaken it until it so desires. but instead we flirt with our heart and our emotions and our passions, often crossing lines we have no business toeing in the first place.
so i ask where lust stems from? satan is using a variety of root issues - be it insecurity in who we are supposed to become as men, be it past rejection by women and an inability to find acceptance thru Christ, a false understanding of beauty, misdirected affection or an unanswered cry for affection, or numerous other roots - and has led us to a dangerous outlet. almost every man i've ever met struggles with lust in some degree. for some it's as simple as noticing a beautiful woman on the street and letting his eyes gaze at her a second too long. for others, it goes as far as pornography, masturbation, or even engaging with others in their sin.
but that's what makes it such a tricky sin. the root is different for each guy
i dont have all the answers, but i love that in the same chapter that man fell, God was already active in redeeming them. I heard a man say recently, "before we fell in Adam, we were redeemed in Christ. mankind has never been without redemption." in genesis 3:22 it says, "Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever- therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken."
God understood that he had given us a good thing. he also knew that we now had sin, that we now had evil. so instead of allowing us to live in sin forever, by reaching out for that tree of life, he graciously kicked us out of the garden to receive redemption. i think in the area of lust, God is asking to give us a swift kick in the pants, as an act of grace. he's asking us to understand that there's redemption from the knowledge of evil. we dont need to know anything but the good, now that Christ conquered sin and death on the cross.
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 10/15/2009
so i know i promised a blog on the stronghold of lust and image...and it's still being worked on. but here's a quick thought from an experience the other day.
about three days ago, i went with four other world racers to an orphanage right on the russian border. it's an orphanage for special cases, mainly handicapped, mentally disabled, or invalid children. it was an incredible experience to walk into the center and see children who had often been rejected, children who couldn't be cared for, and children who really had nothing.
we walked around playing with the children. we played volleyball with some that were able to run around, played in smaller rooms at the end of the wing of the orphanage with those who couldn't. all the while, we hugged them, gave them piggy back rides, and stroked their hair.
in another wing of the orphanage were several rooms full of beds that had the extremely crippled children who couldn't communicate at all, with the lone exception of smiles. our team of five went in and prayed over these children, rubbing their shaved heads and rubbing their arms, even holding their hands if they'd let us.
we were going to go a second day, but we got an early morning call that one of the children had passed away the night of our first visit. i don't know exactly which child it was, but as i sat and prayed about the situation, grieving the loss of a child i don't really know, the Lord left me with a really calming thought.
at some point that day, i had shown that child love through touch. i have to believe that the Lord used that single act to show love to a child that probably doesn't get a lot of love and attention. There's a part of my heart that knows the Lord used my touch to communicate His love to that child. and before that child was held forever in the arms of Yhwh God, He chose to use me to hold that child.
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 10/7/2009
"The tragedy
is not that things are broken.
The tragedy is that they are not mended
again."
Alan Paton in Cry the Beloved Country
Let me take
you back with me two years. A woman came into my office at the church where I
served as the youth pastor. In our conversation, she shared with me a vision
her husband had had, a vision where a spirit hung over the church. As he prayed
into the vision, the Lord revealed to him that the spirit was a spirit of will
that the Lord wouldn't force himself through, that revival could come to our
church, but that this spirit hung there, and we had to choose to deal with it and rid it first.
Immediately,
that first paragraph might offend or startle some. I mentioned visions -
assuming the Lord still speaks to His children today, and in ways besides, but
never contrary to, His Word. I mentioned spirits - assuming there is a war in
the heavens, and also assuming we walk through life almost completely oblivious to this war. I also
mentioned that the spirit looming in Groton had to be dealt with. We like to pretend we can be
the solution to our own problems, or that they are just normal issues people
need to 'get over.' We'd rather err to that side than "over-spiritualizing" life. But there in lies the problem, everything is spiritual.
We have
learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural
and expected thing.
-AW Tozer
In my next
blog I'm going to talk specifically about a spirit hanging over Ukraine, the spirit of (lust / image) but I
wanted to first explain the power I've come to believe that spirits have. It's funny,
because only to Americans does the concept of spirits need explanation.
Africans completely believe in and understand a spiritual world. Often times,
they take it too far and worship the spirits. Asians take the opposite extreme of fear, and often try to appease the spirits they know to exist. I used the word
'know,' because it's a matter-of-fact knowledge. Haiti was well aware of the
power of witch doctors, and even in Europe, there's an understanding of a
spiritual world.
The book of
Ephesians gives a very interesting name to Satan; it calls him the Ruler of the
Kingdom of the Air. It's not a secret that Adam handed over the keys of
authority in the world to Satan in the Garden. Christ, when crucified,
descended into hell to reclaim that stolen authority, and like prophesied in Genesis
3, stomped on Satan's head so hard that he bruised his heel. Christ has the authority in this World, it is his Kingdom, and we need to be better at claiming it back for Him.
But Satan is still at
work trying to stay the Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For
we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Every
country we've gone into, we've prayed into and understood the spiritual
strongholds in certain areas. As we arrive, there is almost always a spirit that looms over our squad in an entire
country, in a specific city, or even in a specific home that begins to affect us. It affects us until we are able to recognize
that Christ regained all authority, until we ask for him to send His Spirit, and let him
regain the dominion in that area.
For
example, below is a list of countries we've been to, followed by spiritual
strongholds. These are subtle (or not so subtle) ways Satan is trying to rob
Christ of his inheritance and his Bride.
DR - spirit
of lust, spirit of laziness, of fear and of frustration
HAITI - a
spirit of laziness, of witchcraft, of confusion, and of worthlessness
CAMBODIA - a
spirit of anger, of betrayal, of loneliness, and of doubt
THAILAND - a
spirit of lust, of worthlessness, of fear, of rejection, and of depression
MALAYSIA - a
spirit of control, of pride and of displacement
MOZAMBIQUE -
a spirit of laziness, and of confusion
BOTSWANA - a
spirit of alcoholism, and of distrust
SOUTH
AFRICA - a spirit of anger, of greed, of fear, and of hatred
ROMANIA - a
spirit of unforgiveness, of insecurity, of pride, and of rebellion
UKRAINE - a
spirit of lust, of distraction or busyness, and of bitterness
These
spirits are very real, and very dangerous. And I challenge you to pray into
what spirits might be subtly stealing you away from being the person the Lord
needs you to be where you are. Maybe it's a spirit of control that's so common
in America - a need to know everything and be the one making the decisions. Maybe it's a spirit of religion - clinging too tightly to legalism or tradition
to cling to Christ and die upon His cross with Him. Maybe it's a spirit of
comparison, or a spirit of anger.
In those
moments, I challenge you to pray that the God of all peace, the God who
promised to send us the Spirit of Christ, would send His Spirit to us. Where a
spirit of lust is prevalent, usher in his Spirit of Purity. Where a spirit of
hatred is prevalent, pray in His Spirit of Love. Where a spirit of greed is
prevalent, pray into the present His Spirit of Generosity.
I write this because it's a reality our team is currently fighting. Its a reality that we're winning, partly because we recognize our authority in Christ, and because we are aware of Satan's schemes. 2 Corinthians 2 says, speaking of specifically of unforgiveness, but in a principle that i believe applies more broadly, "if we know the devil's schemes, he wont outwit us..."
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 9/19/2009
i got an email yesterday from a man i respect more than most. in it, he mentioned briefly "i can't recall a night this year my children haven't prayed for you by name."
does that give you chills? it fills my eyes with tears of both joy and unworthiness at the same time. Joy because i know that God's answering those prayers. unworthiness because someone, especially children, are investing their time and emotion into my life. there's no bigger investment, and they offer it to me so freely. since the first month of this race, God's been teaching me a lot about His Kingdom. He's been teaching me that exposing my weakness is the only way to be free from it, that the best way to handle someone abusing grace is to show more grace, that the way to become great is to get low and serve, and that God doesn't do math - He goes after the individual heart...
in January in the DR i watched children leading worship. they knew love and they knew how to meet with God. in haiti the kids sang with more passion than i'd ever seen. they understood worship. in cambodia the kids sang and danced, and a 16 year old boy had given up a lot of his father's blessing to teach students about Christ. he understood sacrifice. In malaysia, the homeless kids didn't know what they didn't have, they lived simply and were content. in mozambique, the kids had a pure inquisitiveness to them. they knew enough to seek answers to the questions - to pursue truth. in jo'burg, the street kids knew that community was the right way to live, and that honesty - no matter how painful - is right. and here in romania, the kids want to be loved. period.
i guess kids get Christ. kids understand His Kingdom. they understand trust. they understand love. they understand grace. but somewhere we become more 'civilized.' we lose the passion, the innocence and the purity we once had - which is a shame because it's the pure in heart who will see God (jesus' words, not mine).
so to those two kids...thank you. i love you and i miss you. God's got a kingdom that belongs to ones like you. never stop living for the King!
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 9/19/2009
l  ast night was a reunion of sorts. jen and tonya, the two girls i've had to trust the most this year, grown to depend on the most this year, and fallen in love with the most this year (in a purely platonic, brotherly way) met me in Brasov. over the best four cheese pizza i've ever had, we discussed a lot of things.
the honest talk came out - talk spurred on by a month where i was able to be alone a lot and wrestle with my prayers, my thoughts, and this trip. i realized last night that i'm tired. i realized last night that 9 months is a really long time, and i'm worn out. (if i'm honest, i realized that last month too. i can remember sitting with a 20 something aged guy at a church in Jo'Burg and telling him "i'm sorry, but i've had so many 'one-day' friendships on this trip, i don't need another." the irony is that that conversation led to one of the most profound one-day friendships i've had on this race).
but the longer i'm apart from the squad, the more i recognize how much we were designed for community. having a team of people with a like heart pushes me on when i want to stop. they hold me accountable when i start heading somewhere i shouldn't. they pray for me and encourage me. they know me well enough to recognize my emotions. they give me space when i need it, but don't offer the same the times i want it but shouldn't have it. they show me grace as i show my ugly side, and that grace seems to sand away (slowly but surely) the abrasive sides of me. community like the world race is how the church should be.
i've recieved a dozen or so emails, facebook comments, skype comments, etc saying the same word, "finish strong." and i need to hear that word. it's a GOOD word. but it's hard. it's hard to cling tightly to a community that is here for only a short while longer. it's hard to engage heartily into ministries when home is on the horizon. in some ways, the first months, when home was a past event, not a future event, made it easier to be living in the present.
i had a gym teacher my freshman year of high school, mr. manz, and he used to run us like dogs. and i remember the 3 mile runs...the last 400 yds was the hardest. but it was also the point where you had to give it everything you had for that last  kick. i never had the energy to kick, but i did it anyway. and i feel like that as i type today.
what does finishing strong look like? i hope it means i pray with the same passion and fervor i have this year. i hope it means i shut up and listen more than any other time on the race so far. i hope it means i invest in the squad and the relationships all the more BECAUSE i wont be as available to them in the future. i hope it means the next few months ruin me more than any others yet.
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 9/17/2009
Nick Derington and I are rocking out Brasov Romania this month. We've been staying at the Rolling Stone Hostel, and have sort of   become the guys who don't leave...
AIM has a conference in three days that will bring about 250 World Racers, WR alumni, Pastors and their wives, and AIM Staff to a camp on the fringe of the city. Nick and I were called in to make sure that what was planned would actually happen. We were given a list of things that we needed to accomplish before the conference, hitchhiked from Viile Tecii where our teams still are, and arrived in Brasov about a week ago.
Our task list involved things like finding a conference room within budget and within walking distance of the campground, figure out whether we have enough rooms reserved and communicate our needs to the campsite in person, among other things. The most bizarre request, however, was that one of the speakers at the conference needs four old doors. Nick and I then added a phamplet to the list of things we'd accomplish...to put our own little professional touch on it.
 Everything was done as of this morning, with the exception of finding antique doors and finding a printer who could print our brochure. Every ally we walked down led to nothing - especially no doors. And no one we asked was able to give us any insight into where we could find a door. Likewise, there are lot of xerox places, but no professional printers. Art shops, photo labs and other places told Nick and me that we were out of luck and should settle to get the phamplet printed at a xerox place.
Frustrated and exhausted from our time here in the city, we decided to do the one thing that made sense today - eat. We heard of a Saorma place (basically a chicken gyro in a pita wrap twice the size of a chipotle burrito!) that we were intent on finding. We headed out in the direction of this fantastic, yet seemingly mythical restaurant, excited to EAT. about two blocks from our hostel, we came across a dumpster with a door in it. But at that exact moment, a man in a car with eight doors strapped to the roof pulled up. He didn't speak english, but after pulling him into an ally to a translator, we found out he'd hook us up with doors. we needed doors, and a door guy pulled up next to us. coincidence, or providence?
so we walked and after about a half hour of frustration, found the Saormas (pronounced SHWARMAs). Because it was just a store front, there was no seating room, so we sat out on the step of the building next door. As providence would have it, it was a professional printer...the only one in Brasov.
It's been hard being away from the squad. 50 members of the H Squad are in Viile Tecii, and we're here preparing for them to recieve teaching and training. It's a ministry onto it's own...but it's been hard to not be with people who i'm going to part from soon. But in those moments of frustration, God brought me back in my journal to May, where i prayed that He would allow me to have a ministry to the backpackers of Penang. "We all have something in common, so talking to them should be easy..." Well, between the dozens of people who have called this hostel home, if even for a night, they've heard about our trip and about Christ. I just needed that refocus. Again, God in his favor answered my prayer, much later than i thought, and in a different context...but an answer nonetheless.
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 8/24/2009
i wrote about jimmy a few weeks ago. jimmy's homeless and lives on the street with his dog Jessica (named after the allman brothers song with the same name). saturday night, one of the girls on our team was sick, so we loaded into the rental car and drove to the gas station to buy a two-liter of ginger ale or sprite...
 just behind the gas station (they call them garages in south africa - and they call traffic lights 'robots.') jimmy was sitting against a wall, dazed. we pulled up, rolled down the windows, and he came and talked. we'd been out at a camp in the townships of the Mpumalanga Province, so we hadn't seen him in a week, so we did the small talk 'catch-up.' but i felt like i needed to invite him to church. we'd been working with a church, loved it, and asked him to come. 'well, i'll see you before you guys leave on thursday," was his response. i pretty much chalked that up as a 'probably wont see you tomorrow.'
but sure enough he beat us to the church. sure enough, jessica came with him.
i sat next to jimmy throughout the service, thinking about what he would be hearing and seeing that morning...and whether it was worship God the Father would see as pure and faultless. the gospel was the root and heart of the sermon. real christianity was preached with grace and truth.
half way through the service, the children who play on the playground outside during the service all ran into the sanctuary. you see, jessica started out there with the kids, and a half hour with 30 hands all over you is usually enough. so half way through the sermon, the pastor watched a dog, followed by a parade of kids, run into the sanctuary. the dog stayed under jimmy's chair the rest of the service, and no one in the church minded. and how could they, the gospel was taught that morning, and here was a man looking to know the Savior.
i don't know which i was more shocked by...that Jimmy showed up or that the church loved him well. i underestimated both, and i apologize for that.
it's just encouraging, because he asked really good questions after the service. he asked why this type of christianity is so different than everything he's ever seen of christianity before. jimmy is starting to see Christ, and i think he's finally to a point where he's not going to give up until he really does see Christ for who He is...
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Posted in a trip archive by Dave Brown on 8/24/2009
jumping out of a plane is a stupid idea. i don't know who the first person to do it was, but they must have been nuts. falling for 45 seconds at about 120mph towards the ground...strapped to a man who's strapped to a parachute...with maybe five minutes of training...not my most discerning moment (but one of my better moments.
but the parallels.
1. i had to trust glenn. glenn made all the moves - the jump out of the plane, the pull of the ripcord, the steering of the chute, the original flips out of the plane - and my only job was to go along with what he asked of me.
2. at one point glenn unbuckled my shoulder straps and loosened my chest strap - mid fall (but after the chute opened). it was not comfortable, and it made me real nervous. out of instinct, i grabbed my harness really tightly, only to hear glenn's laughter. "dave!" he yelled. "that harness is connected to you...not a parachute, what good does holding on to it do? let go and enjoy this, i've got ya...you're not going anywhere." but it's a lot easier to hold on to security for myself than it is to trust someone or something else.
3. it was over way too quick. our squad is battling the thought of "checking out" before our world race is over. but in that 2 minutes of falling, i tried to savor as much of what was happening as i could. the emotions, the fears, the feeling in my stomach sitting on the edge of the plane. those were good moments that i couldve missed, pretty easily. it goes back to enjoying the present and seeing what God has for me in this moment. but that moment in the present was fantastic, and worth savoring, even if it did end quickly.
this isn't a parallel, but the girls on BLING have been so good to me. they've really been a blessing to hang out with, pray with, talk with, and laugh with. i'm going to miss them, but i'm glad i could savor the month with them. i'm also glad i'll get to be with my teammates again come thursday...
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