Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Return South
Jamalabad
The Breaking of The Fellowship
Gilgit
The KKH
Islamabad
Thursday, June 11, 2009
flights
adventures and stories are never any good without conflict and airports are rather dull places unless you have a challenge, and my first challenge came before i even got my ticket. my new bag was to heavy. 13 pounds to heavy to be exact, it was 63 pounds and the limit for a checked bag was 50 i needed to loose 13 pounds immediately. luckily my friend tim had room in his bag to spare, so the first thirteen pounds of clothes, mostly heavy jackets, went into Tim's bag, this turned into one of the greatest blessings during the whole trip. after that we got our tickets got on a plane and headed to san francisco.
san fran
our time in san fran was nice but short we had about 15 minutes at the airport just enough time to get to a bathroom and board the next flight to chicago.
Chicago
chicago was just as nice as san fran but in stead of having to little time we had four hours to kill. so we got lunch charged our ipods and napped, one very good thing came out of this airport, the iGo. the iGo is a battery powered universal charger. why would i need this beyond just having a cool gadget? my phone, i lost my phone charger two days before i left kona and i needed some way to charge my phone so i bought the iGo and adapters for my phone and ipod and i was set to go to london.
LONDON CALLING
i like traveling its fun especially when the plane is half empty, you can walk around, change seats, basically do what ever. i had a middle aisle seat so i missed flying into the sunset but i changed seats near the end of the flight and looked out the window. a million points of light shining out in the black night and to the right quickly filling the sky was the pale light of the sun, chasing away nights blackness and the beauty of the stars. as we flew into london we flew into the sunrise, there are no words to describe the beauty and wonder that i felt in that plane watching a sunrise in fast forward. underneath me was a field of clouds dotted with the flickering lights of what looked liked fires burning. and then i was in london. not only was i in london but i was in london for breakfast a true full english, but i didn't have the egg because they are gross. it was epic i was in the homeland of Tolkein and the adopted homeland of lewis, and my ancestral home, just soaking in the england that i could, the airport. My friends and I happened to do so much soaking that we almost missed the final check in to board our plane. there i was in an unfamiliar airport running on moving sidewalks following signs, and you might not have guessed what i was thinking, most people would say i was hoping that i wouldn't miss my flight, maybe in the back of my mind i was thinking that. no i was thinking the whole time man this is going to make a great story, and if i miss my flight it will be an even better one. we did not miss the flight instead we made it onto the nicest plane i have ever been on.
A Plane to Bahrain
I'm from seattle, so i know Boeing planes, this was not a Boeing plane, this was air bus. and of course we were in economy, but it felt like economy plus! i had my own 13 inch screen, i could watch t.v. movies and play video games! i did none of these things no i turned on my ipod and crashed hard i am not sure how long the flight was cause i don’t care i was comfortable. for the first time on a plane since we left kona, i had room to stretch my legs, plus the two seats next to me were open, it was great. we also were served a great meal. my first taste of the middle east, my appetite was wet, and i was about to get even more. Bahrain is a rich island off the coast of saudi arabia, the airport was more of a mall then anything. Mcdonalds, its a staple of the west, but it has made it to the east and so they have regional food, in the middle east they have the McArabia, its a Gyro, i have yet to try one but i really want to maybe on the way back. i had one last plane to go my final red eye.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Last Days in Kona
that few days that my parents were in kona were incredibly important for our relationship. at first i was super excited that they were there but then it dawned on me, what are we going to do? you see my parents aren’t exactly beach people, and there is not to much to do in Hawaii besides go to the beach, not to mention the other problem. i had changed so much over the past two and a half months that i wasn’t sure how to act around my parents. so the second day showed up and my dad asked me a question that was probably well deserved, seeing as i was being the worlds most awkward turtle, he asked;
“are you feeling alright?”
“ya why” i responded
“well your just really quiet, do you not want us to be here?”
I’m not sure how that ended but we ended up going to get shave ice and it got even more awkward there. so we are all three waiting in line when my dad gets a call i asked my mom who it was, because my dads face gave the classic tell tell signs of receiving bad news, she said it was my sister and that grandma had just died. my dads mom was dead, his parents were now both gone, and he was receiving this news from his daughter, in hawaii, while in line for an afternoon desert. well if that didn't just push the afternoon into to hyperdrive awkward mode I'm not sure what could. i called my brother, to let him know what was up. now don't get me wrong i loved my grandma, she was my grandma, but i didn't really know her, we never spent much time with her. after that my dad, who has been to kona before wanted to show my mom the places he had been, so we went for a drive. what do you say to your dad when his mom just died? “hey cheer up dad at least it wasn’t you?” no you say “I’m sorry” just like the rest of the world and you sit in the back of the car enjoying the silence and tension, feeling like a moron because you just said the least comforting thing in the entire universe. seriously how is I’m sorry supposed to make things better in any way shape or form? it doesn’t instead it just makes you feel a little better because you just said some thing that sounds consoling. but thats a rant back to the story.
so my parents don't think i want them there, we have nothing really to do and my grandma just died, this was officially the most awkward moment of my entire life to date and i hope that it never gets topped. so we drive to waikaloa and after having a snow cone the size of my head and hearing bad news i needed to pee so we stopped at a gas station and i went in and asked jesus a simple question, “jesus what do i do?” “ask your dad how he is doing with me.” he replied. i was incredulous but thats what i heard, so i got back in the car and just to be consistent with the rest of the day i asked my dad how him and God were, but i did it in an entirely awkward fashion. but to my surprise it wasn’t another awkward moment, my dad totally opened up and all of a sudden all the awkwardness and not knowing how to act around my parents, everything, just fell way. the rest of the night was great we got dinner and talked about Jesus and what he was doing in my life and what he was doing in their lives and in our family’s life. the rest of the couple days were great and made getting to pakistan possible.
when my parents got to kona i needed over $2,300 dollars, for this trip. but due to adding errors it was significantly less, and as most of you know i got the money i needed. not only did i get the money i need but I got a surplus of over $1,300 dollars with that i was able to help my roommate pay for his trip to iraq. but not only that i was able to get an ipod, now i know what your going to say, “alex the money we donated was for you to go to pakistan, and your work there, not for you to get an ipod.” well rest assured that this was a hard decision to make and that your money is being put to good use. not only did my money come in but God also blessed me with a $300 dollar hiking bag, a few nights before i started to pack i went into my room and next to my bed was a massive hiking pack with a note on top that said “for alex” to this day i do not know who gave it to me, but if your reading this thank you it is being put to good use.
the rest of my time in kona was spent getting ready to leave the place that i have grown so fond of and so attached to, and the people that i love and hold so dearly. sadly all good things must come to an end. my bag was packed the rest of my stuff was in storage and my room was clean. it was time. the goodbyes began and to my surprise the goodbyes came with tears, i knew that i loved my friends but i had no idea how much they loved me. now i am not so silly as to think that all the tears were falling solely on my account, my whole school was leaving. we said our goodbyes, got into the vans and went to the airport as the sun sank into the western ocean, waking up the other side of the world that i would soon be in. we got to the airport and then said one of the hardest goodbyes, we had to say goodbye to each other, our school was breaking up to go to five distinctly different places. then we went to the check in.
the longest journey yet
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Big Fish and Big Dreams
God is begining to put a vission for the future in my heart. part of me wants to stay in YWAM and continue on this adventure in missions. thats a missleading statement, i will continue in missions. but i am not sure if that means i will be with YWAM or not. now as to this vision i see the church rising once again from the ashes. maybe your the average american church goer and you belive that the church is doing fine, if thats the case this is really going to hurt: she isnt. the church is a shatered weak hardly recognizable wisp of smoke, compared to what she is supposed to be. now i know what your asking, alex what are you talking about we go to church and feel good isnt that what its about? well yes it is, if you dont ever read your bible. you see the church in the bible is completly diffrent from the church of today, and i am not talking about your sound systems, i am talking about people being healed miraculesly. i am talking about a church model where we ask God for his plans instead of making plans and asking God to bless them. im talking about a church where we spend more money on missions then on the potluck. you see God wants to move in BIG WAYS. you might be thinking thats nice alex but God doesnt do that anymore. he doesnt? what bible are you reading? doesnt the bible say that God is the same yesterday today and tomorow (Heb 13:8) cause if it does oh and it does then that means that God still does miracels and he still speaks to us through prophetic words. when did we decicde that it was ok to stop using the bible to guide us? when did we decide to ignore the great commision? when did we decide it would be better to not offend some one and let them go to hell? cause you know what thats what we have decided.
i know that getting upset about this is not going to change things. you see God is coming back for his bride, the church, and she needs to get ready and God is going to do it. i just want to be part of it. ok so maybe you dissagree with what i said thats fine tell me about it, but first ask God if there is more to him that he wants to show to you. ask him "God can this fullness that Jesus talked about (jn 10:10) be more full?"
Friday, February 13, 2009
sick
God is so much more intense then we let on. i think its because we are completly comfortable that we try and nueter him and make him tame, but you see there is the problem God is not tame he never has been and he never will be. you see back home i acknowledge that God has the power to heal the sick and do cool things like that but if you tried to actualy have that happen i would be the first to say you must be outside your mind. you know whats cool? in the time that i have been in Kona i have seen countless miracules healings and been part of one. God moves in the supernatural and we need embrace that and let God out of the box called the american church. i love my church and i am sure you love yours but the jesus at my church has been castrated and is not the awesome and powerfull God of the bible.
God is indeed making me a radical beliver and i am going to come home and pray for the sick and expect God to heal them. you might be asking "but alex what if they dont get healed?" well then they dont get healed but i was called in the bible to preach the gospel and heal the sick(mark 16:15-18). if God said to do that then you know what thats what im going to do, and if someone doesnt get healed, they can ask God why he didnt heal them. because you see its God who heals people not me, if it was by my power guess what? i would not have got sick this week i would have just healed myself. done. but i did get sick and i got prayed for but i stayed sick. sometimes you get healed and sometimes you dont. i have no idea why its that why i just know that right now in my life thats how it is.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
let me tell you about my boat
i have been in hawaii for over a week now and everything is amazing first let me tell you about where i live. i live in village one building 4 room 83, i have 6 roommates and one bath room, they are from all over the country and canada, three of them are in my dts and one is on my outreach team, his name is Jordan. from my room i can get to all the important areas of the campus in less then a minute walk, to my left at the end of my building is the dts lounge, where i am writing this. 20 steps out my door is where we have our meals, they are outside because of the fact that we are in hawaii and the weather is nice alot. 19 steps from my door in the same direction is the cashier and finance offices where i check my balance, i still need that $2,190. in the other direction is the library and prayer room.
my class's are amazing and so are my class mates and staff we have bonded faster then normal and gotten closer then most, it might have something to do with the fact we are so extreme or maybe that God is moving in big ways. for example last week we were sharing our testimonies and it went from how did i get here to lets confess one to another all the sins in our past that have kept us from God. it was amazing all of us feel lighter and closer to each other and God.
let me tell you about my adventures.
last week we went to two different beaches makalevana and hapuna. makalevana was especialy fun because you have to walk down this long path but we took a wrong turn and ended up walking across a lava feild. now if you were ever wondering what frodo and sam walked across just walk across a lava feild it looked like mordor it was crazy. we didnt actualy make it to the beach but it was fun none the less, we did end up going to kua bay and had some great body surfing.
hapuna. now hapuna is a state beach with a big break close to the beach easily the face of the waves was 6ft plus. now on this day i was boogie boarding on my friend aarons board and every five minuts a set of three big waves would come in i chose the second wave. i started to paddle and the wave began to take me up and i reached the crest of the wave and i knew i had caught it. i looked over the falls, i got this, i began to head down the wave, no problem, i was becoming more and more vertical head pointed into the ground. i dont got it, over the falls. i went down faster the a fighter in a riged match and then this massive force of nature and energy fell on me. i was as usefull as a mouse in a dishwasher getting tossed and tumbeling, you have no idea where the air is or the ocean floor. my board had been ripped from my hands at the begining and the leash on my wrist was about to cut through and chop my hand off. finaly i found the ground and stood up just in time to get knocked back down by another masive wave, once again into the wash, once again i found the ground and pushed up no more waves. i pulled my board in and it had all but been ripped in half. i tell you the truth it was the best ride of my life.
roommates
so i have 6 roomates and they are all so awesome. the other day i came into my room and on my bed sitting on the pillow was a stuffed doll, she was wearing a a dress and a bonnet. it was creepy so i threw it off my bed, that night it was back. this time stareing at me from between the slats above my bed, so i pulled it out and put it on my roomates bed. the next day it was hanging by noose from the light, after that it was hung in the bathroom. it sat out side then had its throat slit and hung from the pull up bar. thats when i felt enough is enough and relized i had to rip its head off. so i did. the legs became capture the flag flags. the body is gone and the head is in the lounge. like i said i have great roommates.
Friday, January 2, 2009
im here
to be coninued...