Homesickness and Facebook

This post will be different from almost all of those you have ever read on my blog. The goal for this website is to share updates on my ministry in Australia. I also enjoy writing posts that can minister to others. I was planning to write an encouraging article to put on the blog this afternoon. But that was before I got really homesick.

About an hour and a half ago I left my house and went to a local shopping center. I had to leave the house because I was overwhelmed by a feeling of loneliness and homesickness. That is strange because I have only felt homesick a few times since coming to Australia, and always got over it quickly. The fact that I talk to my parents twice a week and see them on a webcam while doing it is the reason why. But the homesickness that I felt this afternoon was stronger than ever before. And it's all because of facebook.

For those of you who don't know, facebook is a website where people put pictures and information about themselves. They will then be able to communicate with other people. If someone wants to communicate with you they send a friend request, and you must confirm it. It is a fun way to keep in touch with friends who you may be far away from.

My friends in Australia had been telling me about facebook for months so yesterday I finally signed up. The website then sent out friend requests to all the people in my e-mail address book. I honestly did not expect to end up with a large amount of friends on the website since I had just joined. Wow was I ever wrong.

Today I have eighteen friends on facebook. Included in that is friends from college, teenagers who I minstered to at a camp, along with counselors at that camp, people who I used to work with, fellow missionaries, my best friend from college, college students who I taught as Junior High teens, and friends who I have not seen in forever.

With each new friend a fresh wave of emotions came over me. And along with those emotions vivid memories. In a moment my mind was taken back to eating lunch with my friends at the party table at college. Standing in a circle of Junior High teenagers with tears in my eyes as they prayed for me. Hugging teens goodbye after a week of camp and wishing I did not have to. Suddenly more than anything else I wanted to be with my friends again.

I am trying to think of a really nice way to end this post but I can't think of one. The homesickness is gone now but the memories still linger. And while there is part of me that misses my friends there is a bigger portion that sees those memories as precious treasures from God. So I thank God for those treasures even thought it hurts sometimes to think about them.

Worth Five Months of Waiting

On January 13 I put an article on this blog that described my great desire to teach (My New Years Resolution). I had become frustrated by the fact that after being in Australia for a year I had only taught one class. This frustration soon became discouragement. And in time that discouragement led me to believe that the situation was hopeless. It got to the point where I honestly believed that nobody wanted to take classes at the Bible College where I minister.

I later saw that discouraged attitude was hindering me from being used by God. So with the new year I renewed my commitment to pursue this passion to teach God's Word in a practical way. I also began developing lesson plans on the material that I hoped to teach soon. Along with this preparation I prayed that God would give me the opportunity to teach if it was his will.

The Bible College currently sits on the property of a local Baptist Church. The other missionaries who work at the college are currently in the states on furlough,so I go by at least once a week to pick up the colleges mail. I had a chance to talk with the Churches pastor last Wednesday when I came by.

This pastor is currently teaching a class of individuals from his church using the Bible Colleges materials. About five months ago he contacted my fellow missionaries about the possibility of getting some help teaching that class. At first I got excited about this opportunity to possibly teach for the Bible College, and offered to help the pastor with his class.

After not hearing anything for three months I had pretty much given up on that teaching opportunity. Then two months ago he asked me if I would be willing to teach the class for him. My excitement once again went through the roof. Only to come crashing down since two months had passed since he mentioned that opportunity. I reminded him on several occasions that I would love to teach the remaining class sessions, but things never seemed to work out.

Last Wednesday as we sat talking he mentioned the possibility of my teaching that class. I tried to keep calm as my excitement rose because I had heard him talk about the class before. But this time he actually scheduled a night and time when the class would be held. After five months of waiting I would finally teach that class!

Last night I had the opportunity to teach a class on the Doctrine of Salvation. What amazes me is that I taught that class sixteen days after writing an article asking for prayer about this. In a little more than two weeks God answered a great prayer in my life. And being able to explain God's truth last night was well worth waiting five months for.

Meeting Follow Up

I want to thank all of you for praying about my visa meeting last Thursday. Nothing was really decided in that meeting because the solicitor (lawyer) we met with wants to see all of our financial records first. So in a few weeks we will be sending him financial records from Baptist Mid Missions home office in Ohio, BMM Australia, and the Bible College where I work. He will receive my personal financial records as well. The plan is to show the finances as a whole (BMM International, BMM Australia, Victoria Baptist Bible College) instead of just Baptist Mid Missions Australia.

Another thing that we discussed is how to get future missionaries permanent residency visas. The Solicitor told us that there is a way which could possibly accomplish this. We would need to prove that Baptist Mid Missions Australia is a subsidiary of Baptist Mid Missions in Ohio. The home office has enough funds to cover the visa's financial requirements. So future families would be able to gain permanent residency on the basis of BMM Internationals funds.

While this plan is not guaranteed to work I am praying that God would allow it to. It is very important that future missionaries are able to have permanent status in Australia. Also we have a family that should be arriving in the next two years as full time missionaries. Please pray that with the solicitors help we will be able to gain the proper visa's for them.

While nothing was decided regarding me in Thursdays meeting, it became obvious that gaining a permanent visa for myself will be a fight. In the solicitors opinion I would not be allowed to take the new plan of action because I have already applied once for a P.R. Visa through the normal channels. What decides whether or not I receive a visa has everything to do with finances.

Because of recent immigration laws the government of Australia asks that individuals be paid by companies in Australia. This of course is an issue for me because I receive my salary from the United States. The laws also demand that those who apply for a permanent visa have a very high yearly salary. This is to make sure that we do not end up living off of the government which I totally understand.

The bottom line to this whole situation is quite simple. If the Immigration department decides to take in account the financial status of BMM International in the states as well as BMM Australia I will probably get my visa. If not then according to the solicitor I am “doomed” (which wasn't too encouraging). A part of me wanted to just give up on getting a permanent visa. But by the time I got home God had changed my mind. So I am going to send all the financial records I have to the solicitor, and pray that God's will would be done.

Please pray that this plan for obtaining permanent residency visas for new missionaries would work. That is actually why I decided to meet with solicitor in the first place. It was my hope that by gaining a visa I would become a precedent for other missionaries. Also pray that God's will would be done in my visa process. I am perfectly happy to continue renewing my two year religious workers visa while here in Australia. But it would be nice to become a permanent resident.

A Big Meeting

As many of you know I encountered some trouble obtaining a permanent residency visa before coming to Australia. My application for that visa actually ended up being rejected by the immigration department. A few years ago an Australian business brought in workers who where severely underpaid. These workers ended up depending upon government financial help because they did not have the resources to live on their own.

As a result of this the immigration department passed a law that asked for more than $40,000 of guaranteed annual income. They also asked for the first three years income up front. Of course I could not produce the $120,000.00 for a permanent visa. So at this time I am working with a religious workers visa that will be renewed every two years. The big difference between a two year visa and permanent residency is that I am not part of the Australian national health care program. And since I have health insurance in the U.S. The P.R. Visa situation did not really bother me.

Every March the missionaries in Australia have a annual business meeting. Last March the permanent residency issue was brought up. There is a way to possibly gain one without paying the first three years income up front. It involves asking a solicitor (lawyer) to write a letter requesting a permanent residency visa for the individual. I am honestly not sure how the letter is written or how the entire situation works. There is no guarantee that it will gain a visa at all, but it has worked for at least one pastor in our area.

A motion was made at the business meeting to contact a solicitor and have a letter written requesting a P.R. Visa for me. Everybody at the table was excited about the idea and voted to have it done except for one. I wasn't crazy about the idea at all, and may have voted against it if I was allowed to (first year missionaries don't vote). I didn't feel that my not having a permanent visa was such a problem. After all the only difference between me and the other missionaries was that they had health care in Australia. I must admit that I was also a little bit embarrassed that they were making such a big deal about me.

Today my idea about the situation has totally changed. That's why this Thursday I am going with two other missionaries to meet with a solicitor. What changed my mind? I now realize that the permanent residency situation is not just about me. The new immigration laws will affect every other missionary that comes to Australia. There are financial implications of these laws as well, such as paying taxes and retirement. While I as a bachelor can live comfortably with these financial restrictions, families with children may not.

Please pray as I prepare for this meeting. I will be leaving for it at 2:30 on Thursday (10:30 Wednesday night). Right now we plan to begin the process of having my letter written at this meeting. Pray that if it is God's Will the letter would obtain my permanent visa. This would allow me to become a precedent for missionaries coming in the future. And if you think about it pray that I will let people make a big deal about my problems if they want to.

The Smokers and Skaters

Yesterday I finished a very interesting book that talked about youth work being “cross cultural ministry”.1 It points out that today's post modern youth have their own language, music, style of dress, belief system, and philosophy about life among other things. All of these characteristics make up an actual youth culture Therefore anyone working with youth must enter into their culture and share the Gospel in a way that they can understand.

While I found what the book talked about very interesting, I had a hard time paying attention to it. Recently I started doing a lot of my reading at local coffee shops or shopping centers. Yesterday as I read about our need to enter the culture of the youth around us dozens of unsaved teens walked by me. Young people who probably did not know Christ as their Savior.

I watched as eight teens gathered outside about five hundred yards from where I sat to smoke cigarettes (because it made them look cool). Directly over my shoulder where six or seven teenage boys all dressed in clothes that made them look like rap artists (because it was cool). As I watched these smokers and skaters I realized that we as Christians must come to them with the Gospel. Because they definitely are not coming to us.

For months now I have been asking God to give me a ministry where I live in Melton. And I believe that yesterday God showed me that ministry. To bring his Gospel to the unsaved youth in my community. Find that out is the easy part, but how to go about doing it is the real problem.

I could go out and sit with those kids who smoke every day. But that would just scare them all off or make them feel uncomfortable. And besides I don't smoke because it is an unhealthy practice. Yet if I don't go to be with them, then how will I ever be able to minister to those young people? The answer is by trusting God.

If I force myself into the “culture” of these young people I will be rejected. But if I develop a relationship with them slowly, over time they will invite me in to their world. This kind of ministry can take months but the results are worth it. Today I went back to the same spot where I saw all of those teenagers yesterday. And I prayed that God would allow me to connect (start a relationship with) some of those teens. I believe that he will give me that opportunity if I am faithful to him.

I am not the kind of person who approaches people who he does not really know. And trying to start relationships with teenagers who have little respect for authority or God scares me. But I can't get past the fact that God wants me to do more than just read about ministering to unsaved young people. He desires for me to actually do it.

He wants me to slowly become a part of their lives over time. To develop a deep relationship with them that is filled with love and acceptance. To open my house to those young people and let them come over all the time (while also looking into purchasing a home security system). God wants me to start teaching his truth in a way that makes sense to them. He wants me to be a moral compass that points that in the right direction.

I am definitely not ready to do all of those things yet. But I can leave the comfort of my home and study within five hundred yards of those teens who need Christ. And look forward to the day when I can come closer.

1Walt Mueller, Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture, Intervarsity Press, 2006

My New Years Resolution

I have never been much or new years resolutions. They are usually totally forgotten by February or March. So I never make them at all, except for this year. I have one new years resolution that is very important to me. That is not to give up on my dream of teaching Doctrinal truth as part of Victoria Baptist Bible College.

I have had a passion to teach deep spiritual truth in a way that is practical for some time. That dream comes from the wonderful story found in Nehemiah chapter eight. It refers to the spiritual rebuilding of Israel that came after the physical rebuilding of it's walls. The Jews had been scattered abroad and some had forgotten God's law while others had never heard it.

A scribe named Ezra took it upon himself to read, explain, and interpret God's word with the help of Levites God's word (Nehemiah 8:1-8). A great revival took place as a result of this practical teaching (Nehemiah 1:9-9:3). God through that story placed within my heart a passion to teach the truth of his word in a way that is practical, but also Biblical.

During the year of 2007 I attempted to realise that dream on a few different occasions. But God did not allow me to teach a class on campus. I was able to teach a class with what is referred to as the Church Based Theological Training Program. This is a mentorship program of the college that allows an individual to teach college level classes to one student or a small group. I greatly enjoyed teaching a young man named David a class with the CTT materials.

In mid October the college principal began talking to me about running the CTT program. This was an amazing opportunity because small groups that focus on lots of discussion fits great with my vision from Nehemiah. I worked with the principal to develop a presentation to share with churches about the CTT ministry. In November after the presentation was finished I was given control of that particular ministry.

After months of waiting I had what I wanted. You think that I would immediately give all of my energy to that opportunity. But instead I didn't try to advertise the ministry. In fact I have not had one opportunity to share my burden for the CTT program! This is not because I am worthless person who quits on things easily, because I am not. Instead I was a little bit discouraged about not being able to teach up until that time. After trying to teach twice and not being able to, I didn't want to fall short a third time in the same year.

With the new year that passion in my heart to teach has returned. On Thursday I began to spend an hour each day preparing lessons using the CTT material. I am doing this completely in Faith because there is not much interest in the colleges classes right now. At the same time I have a voice in my head that tells me it is pointless to try again. But I know that God does not want me to stop just because it is hard.

Please pray for me that I would be faithful to my dream for teaching. I am not asking for students, although that is a great desire of my heart. I am simply asking for the commitment to keep on trying even when it looks hopeless. For when I have developed that kind of commitment God will bring me students. Not because I want them, but because I deserve them.

Opened Doors

Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of my leaving the United States for Australia. 2007 has flown by so quickly it hardly seems that I have been here for an entire year. But I have learned many things about the way God works in our lives. The Lord taught me this year the importance of waiting for his timing.

When I arrived in Australia on January 10, 2007 I expected to immediately become involved in missions work. But God did not give me opportunities to minister at the college I am working with. There weren't many opportunities to serve in local churches either. I was involved in a exciting youth ministry, only to leave it after six weeks. I prepared to teach three classes during second semester at the Bible College. But God did not allow me to teach any one of them.

For much of this year it seemed as if I was trying to walk through open doors of ministry. But God would always close those doors in my face. At times this was frustrating because I felt like I was doing little for the Lord in Australia. But in those discouraging times I always knew that it was God's Will for me to wait. So I focused my attention on developing relationships with Australian Christians.

Now one year later God is beginning to open up marvelous doors of opportunity for me at my local church. In 2008 I will also be running a young adults ministry that meets once a week outside of church. I will lead a small group at my local church as well. On Sundays I will be helping teach an adults Sunday school class, along with children's church, as well as develop power point presentations for the message.

I am teaching a group of teenagers from another church on Wednesday nights. I also lead and coordinate those youth services. I am currently beginning work on a strategic plan for the youth group along with other members of the leadership team. What makes this strange is that I have never had this kind of leadership position before.

I have also been given control of a distance education program that is offered by the Bible College. I am currently presenting that ministry in local baptist churches, and praying that God will provide students for me to teach. And by God's grace I will soon be teaching a class on the doctrine of Salvation.

In the year 2007 God has made me an active minister at a local church, a leader of a growing youth group, and a teacher of college level classes. Some of this has to do with the fact that I have a gift for working with teens and teaching. But my talent is not what opened those doors of opportunity. It was God. I firmly believe that he has given me these ministries because I did not force the door of opportunity open when he closed it.

I need your prayers now more than ever before dear friends. For I want to give all of myself to each one of these ministry opportunities. And it will be very easy to get burned out by doing too much. Pray that God will give me the strength to be the best minister, leader, and teacher that I possibly can be. The year 2007 has given me wonderful opportunities. I can wait to see what God does in 2008!

My Annoying Doorbell

The people who lived in my house before me had a doorbell installed. Every time someone rings it will play a different tune, and I hate it with a passion. It is probably the most annoying doorbell ever invented. It isn't so bad the first few times you hear someone ring it. But after a while it can really get on your nerves. And I have heard my doorbell ring many times.

The family next door to me has five children. Two of the youngest are a brother and sister named Ashleigh and Cory. Around July they started come over to my house every once a while to sell something for their school. These days they come by a couple of times a week to give me a flower or to say hello. But I think that they come over for much more than that.

Living next door to their house has allowed me to learn a lot about their home life. For instance I know that Ashleigh and Cory's parents yell and scream at them a lot (especially their father). And the words that they use are not the best for young children to be hearing either. Mom is at home with the kids but dad is gone most of the day. And there is a little baby in the family that takes up a lot of their mothers time. So in a lot of ways they get neglected.

Last Wednesday I was working on a video presentation that I would share with a church that night. This presentation was giving me a lot of trouble so I wasn't in a talking mood. Unfortunately Ashleigh and Cory were. They rang my doorbell repeatedly to give me flowers and tell me jokes. At first I put up with it, but then told them that I was busy. They continued to ring so I decided to ignore them. This just resulted in the doorbell being rung over and over.

The day before Ashleigh and Cory had cleaned some things out of my front yard. They asked if I would let them clean some more. Happy to get them out of my hair for a few minutes I agreed. But it wasn't ten minutes later that they started ringing the doorbell again. There is a patch of weeds in my front yard that needed to be pulled. They wanted to pull those weeds for me, but I didn't want them to do it alone. I promised to help them as soon as I ate my lunch.

A minute after I had put my hamburgers on the grill the doorbell rang again. At this point I was really getting frustrated. I had specifically told them not to ring the doorbell until I was done with my lunch! When I opened the door they pleaded with me to help pull weeds before eating my lunch. In that moment I realized that weren't looking for weeds to pull. They were looking for someone who would pay attention to them.

In a few minutes I had turned off the grill and changed my clothes. Then we spent about half an hour pulling all of the weeds out of my front yard. Later I let them inside my house and got them something to drink (they had never been in my house before). And when the job was done I took them for a ride in my car to the local grocery store, and bought some ice cream. It took about forty five minutes to do all of that, but the impact it made upon Ashleigh and Cory was immeasurable.

I still don't like my doorbell. And I am thankful that the kids next door don't ring it constantly every day. But my experience this week reminded me of how many children, teenagers, and adults desire someone to just pay attention to them.

Having A Go

I am used to spending early January traveling with my family. We will go see my mothers family in West Virginia, and then be with my brother in Lexington Virginia. Both Virginia and West Virginia are cold in late December and early January. It is almost always snowing in West Viginia over the holidays. That is why it felt so strange to go surfing last Thursday.

Three weeks ago a friend who helps with the youth group I teach talked to me about the possibility of a surfing trip. A young man who lived in another area of Australia runs a ministry where he would bring surf boards and equipment so teens can learn to surf. And he had contacted my friend about taking the youth group surfing at a nearby beach. My first response to that was, “there is is now way I am going surfing”!

I have never been surfing in my entire life. And I did not want to embarrass myself in front of teenagers by trying to surf (I do that enough already). But yet I was out there with them last Thursday. And the reason why has a lot to do with a well known Australian phrase. There are phrases in Australia that are not used in the United States. And many times those phrases teach us something about the Australian culture. One that God has used to help me understand Australians better is, “have a go”.

In America there is a focus for excellence. This is a very good thing, and is one of the main reasons why we are such a prosperous nation. But this focus can also be a hindrance. For sometimes we will not attempt things that we can't excel at. Yet excellence only comes through practice and patience. The Australian view that is summed up in, “have a go” has a different focus. This focus is doing the best that you can. The Australians still desire excellence but also respect those who try even though they aren't gifted in it.

Last July I learned the true meaning of “have a go”. I was on a missions trip in Sydney, and went on a trip hunting for kangaroo. I didn't try to shoot any animals because I am not that great of a shot (city boys don't have much to shoot at for practice). Later on though I did do some target shooting with rifles. After trying to hit the target and failing miserably I got mad at myself. A few moments later one of the men told me to try hitting another target with a different gun.

I declined because I didn't want to embarrass myself any more than I already had. That was when he turned to me and said, “Australians respect a man who tries more than one who doesn't”. I ended up taking the second gun and hitting the target, after which they celebrated as if I had killed a thousand kangaroos.

I believe that in many ways God is like that. He does desire for us to give him our very best. But many times he will challenge us to do things that we don't exactly excel at, just to see if we will try. That was why I went surfing at a beach Thursday knowing full well that I would never actually stand up. Because I serve a God who simply desires a willingness to try. And then of course to try again until you get better.

The year 2008 holds many challenges for me. And it would be easy to back away from them and instead only attempt the things I can do well. But I would be turning my back on opportunities to display God's blessing, strength, wisdom in my life. So I have made a commitment to at least attempt those challenges that God brings. And I have my work cut out for me. The young man with the surfing ministry is coming back next year, and the words snow boarding where mentioned.

Are We Listening?

I love working with teenagers. I am usually more comfortable in a room full of teens than a room of adults. What I don’t always love is the rebellion that teens have against authority. Or the fact that they won’t listen to me when I ask them to do something. Or their talking to one another and looking off into space while I share a lesson I prepared. I am well aware of the fact that is the way teens act towards all authority figures and not just me. Sometimes I am tempted to confront or judge the teens I work with because they don’t treat me with respect.

I am not saying that disciplining teens and confronting their disrespect is wrong. But normally their disrespect is the just the result of a deeper need. This is seen in an article that a teenage boy put on his blog. No clue what im gonna do about anything or everything.....I wanna just disappear…Why am I so ugly?.....I look in the mirror and I wanna claw my body to shreds….So imperfect…Im sorry im sorry im sorry and I lie and I lie and I lie and im not worth it and im not good enough and all I want is someone to hold me….and for some reason everything is crashing down….I should be happy now but im not.1

The sad fact is that teenagers around the world are struggling with feelings of depression, loneliness, or worthlessness. But they don’t want anyone to see those feelings. This is where the sins such as disrespect, rebellion, and other things come in. Even more discouraging is the fact that adults are struggling with those same feelings themselves. They just cover the feelings up with more serious sins like drug addiction, or pre marital sex.

So how do we respond to teens who refuse to obey us? Discipline which makes them pay consequences for their actions is very useful. But in my eyes that should be a last resort. Otherwise we would be disciplining every teenager who didn’t listen to the lesson! Instead we should listen to what they are saying. In many cases that is what they are longing for anyways, someone who will listen.

Confrontation of a problem teenager can produce good results. But taking that same teen to McDonalds for a meal and talking about what is going on in his life will do much more. It will allow you to find what they are struggling with and help them care for that need. Yes there will be some who continue to cause trouble no matter how loving you are. But you can rest in the fact that discipline was not the first response but something that they brought upon themselves.

The same book that had the blog article tells the story of a rebellious teenage girl. She had a wonderful relationship with her mother until she turned twelve. Since that time their relationship had been terrible. She wrote a poem for her mom entitled message from daughter to mother. In it she wrote, “somehow I have lost my mouth, somehow you have lost your ears.2” The deepest desire of many teenagers is to be heard and understood. And meeting that desire will impact even the most rebellious teens.

1 Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture, pg.18, par.2, ln.1
2 Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture, pg.19, par.4, ln.9