Wednesday, 13 February 2008

• Gettin' Excited about God's Plans

  Man, that last entry was pretty depressing, so here’s one about all the uplifting stuff that’s been going on.  Before I continue, though, I beseech you to leave comments so I know people are actually reading these and so you can tell me what you think/how you’ve been doing lately.  You can always email me as well at samorse723@yahoo.com.

             Well okay.  As you can tell from my video I went bungee jumping, and Man!  It was AWESOME!  It was pretty expensive ($65) and it was pretty scary (I mean, who knows where they got that cord!).  You walk out to the edge and look down, and just when you start to get second thoughts the Master Jumper starts counting down from 5 and when the moment comes, you just do it and I tell you what!  There’s no feeling like it when you’re bouncing around in that valley with a ton of adrenaline coursing through your arteries and all your blood saturating your head!  The whole rest of the day I could still almost feel myself flying through the air, and let me tell ya, it was nice! 

   

  CAMINO ESPIRITUAL

             Then I thought, “What a perfect analogy for the Christian life!”  It’s not cheap (Jesus asks you to give up a lot) and people will think you’re nuts for doing it, but man oh man, once you take that first step, you’re in for the ride of a life time!  There’s nothing like it!  There’s always the question of whether or not God will actually be there for you when you put yourself on the line, just like you never know how strong that bungee cord is.  However, the Bible is a history full of stories of how God came through against all odds when people put everything on the line! 

             I did two Bible studies where I talked about God’s crazy plans.  In Matthew 14 Jesus feeds the 5,000.  Just imagine the disciples when Jesus tells them to start passing out the bread and fish.  I mean, I’ve been to a fair number of pizza buffets and it’s always kinda scary trying to get a piece when the line is empty and they’re just bringing out a fresh, hot, juicy, large pepperoni; it’s like feeding time in the piranha tank.  The disciples were probably looking around for the quickest escape route after they each passed out their half of a fish and a few slices of bread!  That’s hardly enough for one hungry/potentially grumpy Israelite let alone the other 5,000+.   Then to the disciples amazement they feed everyone and they have 12 basketfulls left over.

             Then there’s the famous story of Gideon.  He works his way up from seeing God spontaneously combusting his sacrifice to cutting down an Asherah pole by night to rallying the troops of Israel to leaving out two fleeces for God to having of force of 32,000 men.  He knows God is with him, then God starts stacking the odds and leaves him with only 300 people.  Now there was another time when 300 men took on a large portion of the armies of the Eastern Peoples, but those were 300 men who ate, drank and breathed battle.  The unifying characteristic of Gideon’s men was that they all lapped up water like dogs!  But then God reveals to Gideon a Midianite soldier’s dream of a loaf of bread toppling over a tent.  Gideon goes on to defeat the entire Midianite force with trumpets, torches, jars, and a relatively minimal amount of fighting.

             Then in Jeremiah 29:11 God tells us that He has plans for us.  Plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.  Unfortunately he does not say that he’ll tell us exactly what those plans are ahead of time.  Just like the disciples, Gideon and my crazy friends and I that went bungee jumping, we have to get in position, wait for the Master’s orders and take that leap of faith when the time comes!

  We’ve been studying the deep cultural, political and economic problems that lead to poverty, how there’s so much injustice and corruption in the world that it will make you sick.  Well Jesus cared deeply about orphans, widows and the poor, and if he can do everything else, why can’t he put an end to poverty?  He can, but I think he wants to give us a chance to help, and then stack the odds against us until there’s no way we could stand a chance at success without his divine power!  The Master is counting down, and if someone’s willing to take that first step...

   

  The more I’m out here the more I want to be a medical missionary.  I’m thinking that if I could provide some basic health needs and help some poor people get off to a good start, it could change their lives.  Maybe even have some teachers come be missionaries with me and get those people on the track to a better future.  Or I could partner with someone to start a children’s hostel (like my uncle Bobby Morse has out in Thailand) to bring kids from villages, where there are no nearby schools, into the city to attend a public school there.  Perhaps even get some of my Business Major buddies from Milligan to come teach them a thing or two about starting their own businesses.  Then along the way I could share my faith in Jesus, or if they’re already Christians, disciple them into stronger Christians and help them start reaching out to other locals.  All the while writing songs on the guitar and composing large-scale orchestral works...

   

  I’ve also been reading the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge.  (Awesome book, by the way.  I highly recommend it!)  It’s basically a book about how to be a man of God who’s not some proper, well-mannered, safe, nice guy, but a dangerous, wild man who seeks adventure with God, loves him deeply and takes leaps of faith for him all his life, and then offers his strength to the woman of his dreams and brings her into his adventure some day.  Between that book and being here speaking Spanish and soaking in this culture, some part of me just feels at home!

  Then I started taking cold showers here just to make my stay feel more hardcore!

  Then just the other day I found my Thailand DVD on my computer!

  Then after I go to Nicaragua I bet I’ll really be fired up!

  Basically, what I’m trying to say is that my heart is calling me out to some rugged missionary frontier where all I’ve got is my Bible and the promise that God is with me all the way!  I tell you what!  The only bad part is that there are about 8 to 10 years between now and the earliest I could do that if you factor in Med School and Residency!  However, I know God is going to teach me A LOT between now and then and I know he has a plan for me! 

   

  I don’t know, maybe none of it will go like that, but you never know...

   

  EL IDIOMA

             I’m getting to the point where I can just shoot off what I’m thinking and people understand it!  I’m also getting better at being able to decipher others when they’re talking like an auctioneer.  It’s actually sort of fun to speak Spanish now.

   

  OTHER STUFF

  • My mamá still piles on the food!
  • I took another Gringo Break this last weekend to go to Vulcán Arenal, ride some horses and do some ziplining through the canopy! 
  • This guy wanted to shine my shoes, so I agreed.  Then he told me how he had a wife and three kids.  He was running out of polish, and asked if I could get him some more.  I did and I got him some cans of tuna salad.  That was cool, cause I was helping him do his job and not just giving out money.  Then he told me how one of his sons wanted to be a doctor, and I just thought about how blessed  I am to actually have to chance to become one!  God has definitely blessed me and I'm going to use his blessings to his glory!
  • Another time I was with some of the girls from the program and we fed a homeless man.  He kept asking for money in addition to the food, but we said no, and he got mad and left without finishing his hot chocolate.  Jesus never said everyone was gonna respond 100% cheerfully. 

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