Catching up

Time really does fly. It's been a while since I've posted. Just want to say to all the people going back to school on Monday: Enjoy the year, glad I won't be joining you. Seriously, I think the best part of being graduated is seeing everyone else go back and knowing that you are done with that. I know it sounds cruel, but for those in college, you'll know what it's like soon enough.

I have been really busy over the last week. Or at least it's felt like it. Monday and Tuesday I helped people move. Monday it was some friends of mine, Luke and Andhrea Ray. In fact, if I can rustle up a couple of roommates, I might end up moving into the upstairs part of their house. They're living in the basement mother-in-law quarters. I guess if it's the Lord's will, He will provide some roommates for me. From my perspective it seems like a great situation potentially, but we'll see what God wants for me. Tuesday, I helped move most of my sister and brother-in-law's big furniture into his mom and stepdad's horse trailer and they took that back to Salmon with them. Seeing how empty their apartment is makes their move that much more of a reality. In only two weeks they'll be moving away. It doesn't seem real. It probably won't hit home until they actually move.

In the days that I haven't been moving people, I've spent a lot of time hanging out with a missionary that my church supports. His name is John Hayes and he is with Arabs for Christ. Right now he is doing the Lord's work in Lebanon and will be returning there Sept. 13. Hearing him talk it's hard to believe that he's only 21. He's done more in his life than I might do in the rest of mine. It has been really encouraging talking to him. In fact, I went out with him and another guy twice to pass out tracts and evangelize in a local park. It didn't seem to bear much fruit, but hopefully by God's grace we were able to plant some seeds that will be watered some day. Either way, I know that His word will not return void, even if that return isn't exactly what we were looking for.

That brings me to today. Early this afternoon, I went out with John and Nate and ended up talking to this guy that had set up this booth in the park and was offering free lessons in some Chinese cult meditation thing (I forget the name of the cult). We talked about a lot but one of the most serious things was when we asked him whom he served and submitted to. He basically said that he served many gods and when we asked him what their names were he told us that he would rather keep that to himself. And when we asked him what the main god was that he worshipped he gave us some weird name that I had never heard before. There were definitely some demonic forces at work in his life. It was very noticeable. We shared the gospel with him and his only response to the truth was that he honored our testimony and the conversation pretty much ended there. It was definitely a sobering encounter and one that made us turn to God in prayer for him soon after.

Today there was also a welcome home party for Ryan and Micah. Ryan returned from North Carolina where he has been working all summer and Micah got back from basic training. It was great to catch up with them. Although I won't have much time to hang out with Ryan because he was offered a great job with the company he was working for and will be going back to live in North Carolina. God definitely gave him a great opportunity to make some good money and complete his education at the same time. I'll definitely be going out to visit him some time when I have the time and money. But at least Micah is back for the next two or three years and I'll be able to hang out with him a bunch. They are both just great guys who really love the Lord and desire to glorify Him. It is really encouraging to talk to them and enjoy their fellowship again.

Anyway, this post is starting to get long. I'll try to update it a bit more frequently from now on. God bless and may you have a great Sunday.