One of the biggest highlights of my recent trip home was the news that my sister and her husband will be having a baby! I'm gonna be an uncle! It's just a bummer that I live so far away and won't be able to see my niece/nephew very often.

Congratulations Gennie and Jeff!

Sorry, it's a little late...

So I haven't had anything new on my blog in over a month. Oops. The last half of July I was consumed with running a Mission Exposure weekend and a ten day Mission Adventures trip. Both went well, although, to be honest, because we were so busy preparing for Mission Adventures, we just kind of threw together the Mission Exposure. It wasn't bad, but sure could have been much better, if I had more time, more staff, more organization, and more excuses. I always feel honored when God uses me to reach into and affect the lives of others. He's good like that.

And for the past three weeks I have been on vacation...how glorious! I drove with Jen (girlfriend) up to visit her family in Michigan, and then from there to Minnesota to visit my family. It was a fun and relaxing trip. It was good to spend time with her family and get to know them a little bit, and to see where she grew up. And I had a great time at home, spending time with my family and friends. I got to see people that I haven't seen in a long time and don't see as often as I'd like.

Now I'm back in Ozark, ready to get back to work. We are now preparing for our first ever School of Biblical Studies, which starts in less than a month, and we already have 8 students for it! It's good to be back, and now that I'm done vacationing, I'll try and keep my blog cabin a little more updated.

Peaceful Awareness

"Excuse me. Hi, my name is Josh and I live just down the road at the Youth With A Mission property. I hate to bother you, but we had a young girl run away this afternoon, and I was wondering if you had seen her, or if maybe she came to your house, asking to use the phone or something?"

"No, I'm sorry, I haven't seen anybody. Why did she run away?"

This was me having a conversation last month with one of my neighbors. Back in July, we hosted a youth group from Ohio for a mission trip. One of the teenagers, a young girl, felt very uncomfortable with much of our program, and really, with what God was wanting to do in her life. So after days of disagreements, anger, and mounting tension, she had enough and ran away. I was in my office, completely clueless, when this all happened. I found out at least 30 minutes later. What, she ran away!? You would think that at this moment I would be shocked, and freaking out as the weight of the responsibility, liability and danger of such a predicament came bearing down on me like an F16 fighter jet. What if she got lost in the woods, bitten by a poisonous snake, and we had to call out search teams? Or worse yet, what if some grimy man found her walking alone down the road, and forced her into his vehicle and raped her?

Yeah, the what if's buzzed around in my head, and I experienced some worry, but an overwhelming peace filled me, a peace that only comes when you know that a situation is completely out of your control. I knew God had this girl right where He wanted her. She reached the breaking point and now God could finally get through in the midst of her desperation. Only He could come through and meet her right where she was at. On the inside, I was smiling, because I knew God was doing a beautiful work in His precious daughter.

After a couple hours of searching through the woods, the fields, down the roads, and the neighbors' houses, we came up empty, until Jen spotted her out the office window. The youth leader went out to her and graciously brought her back, in tears. And she asked all of us to pray for her. We prayed with her for nearly an hour, a time when she received Christ's freedom and healing touch. I'm thankful for the work God did in that girl's life that day, that week, and I thank Him for the peace He gave me, understanding that He held the whole situation in His enormous, strong, and gentle hand.