very varied

My work lately has been rather...varied.

Last week i was preparing a sort of war games style activity morning for the guy staff here at the base- i had a blast brainstorming it up. I typed up cryptically worded "operations" for the "task forces" to accomplish- racing both the clock and the opposing team. Each "operative" have a strip of duct tape on his shirt back- a kill strip. If they were found "rogue" -away from their team or a partner- the opposing team could seize the tape and receive points. Teams first had to use gps to find their op site which was given to them only as numerical coordinates, and then on location (a pine forrest) they had to locate a specific designated ravine my friend and i had planted "mines" in. The mines were buried green plastic army men with paint dipped heads...marked by painted kabob stick antennas. Each team needed to collect their 16 mines- which had been numbered and each had a letter on them. If they placed them in numerical order (none of this was explained by the way, only cryptically eluded to by reference to "data caches" and "encrypted intel"), the letters spelled out the name of a coding system. If they googled the name of the system, they would find out how it works and decode the random letters across the bottom of their mission directives paper. Decoded, it spelled out the name of my blog. If they then went to my blog site, they would find a bonus mission: a list of photos to take, objects to obtain, etc. for bonus points. One team made it all the way through- i was so stoked! And they were thrilled, as well...to have run around a forrest dodging the enemy, using their wits...so the guys had a great morning together: mission accomplished:)

This week I am back onto projects more directly related to my work.

One of my colleagues and i have taken on the production of informational and promotional resources for our upcoming Reformation Generation summer seminar event. This week we undertook to shoot our first promo video- a creative feature outlining some of what is at the heart of the event. He filmed and did tech, while i scripted and directed. Monday and Tuesday we will edit and do audio work...by Wednesday i hope to share the published version online.

Our promo, which i call "The (other) Notebook", kept us in a dark room MacGyvering bedside lamps and other miscellaneous around a curiously suspended camera for most of Friday. I am excited to see our final result and share it with you.

And praise the Lord- we have already received our first application for the event! We are so excited to see God answering our prayers as we ask Him to stir up the hearts of the young people He wants to touch and equip through Reformation Generation. We pray that we can extend this opportunity through word of mouth and online video clips like the one we have underway.

My projects will continue to vary in the coming weeks as we continue creating videos and promotional material, but all too soon it will harden into coordinating logistics for the event. For the time being, I am enjoying the projects:)

These pics are from the "set" of The (other) Notebook, starring...well, me. Or my hands at least.

You'll understand when you see it.

whale season

Its whale season in Maui. Every year our waters are inundated with migrating humpback whales, which come to calf in the warm island waters. I was given the opportunity to go on a Whale watch boat for a couple hours with my friend Mandy and her children- it was a great time to share with her and the kids. There wasn't any awing full breaches, but we saw a mother and calf playing, some tail splashing, and lots of breathing/vapor spouts. So close you can hear the rush of their pressured breath. They even threw down a microphone when the boat engine was off so we could hear the whale's "song". Whales just sound weird. Kinda like melodic marine elephants, i guess.

Anyhow, it was a great day out. Thanks, Mandy- for sharing life.

not so much

If your local Temple of Peace was having a concert & dance for spiritual singles, would you go? My community is so weird.

Reformation Generation

I am stoked to be a part of leading a new summer seminar at the base here- I posted a twenty second promo here. If you or anyone you know is interested in the course, the base website is listed and you can contact us for more information.

Its exciting to pioneer a new venue for equipping young people to not only stand firm against the pressures of our world, but to make an impact on our world.

I know its still several months away (and that we have a lot of work to do between now and then) but i am so excited about this summer!

a short history in stone lions

Me and stone lions of the world:

Istanbul, 2004

Cambodia, 2005

Beijing, 2011

thinking of my girls

The nest is officially empty. I took my last student to the airport last night. Its a nice break to not feel subconsciously responsible for anyone for at least a few minutes...but goodness, i'll miss them! But then, i look forward to having my girls back on island- as staff at the base- soon enough. They're good ones. I was just thinking of them today and of all the fun we had together in Asia. Haha- and of the time in the capital when we were souvenir shopping and i made them wear cheap mock oriental princess headdresses up and down the street. Just wanted to share a little of the fun...

remembering faces from five thousand miles away

These photos were taken in one afternoon around T.Square in the Capital.

finish line

After several months of training and equipping in the course here in Maui, and then another few months in Asia hosting bible studies and articulating God's truth through apologetics in conversation, my team finally crossed the finish line with a graduation dinner back in Maui.

I was honored to present them as program graduates- all of them having been both diligent in their studies and effective in their outreach ministry.

I look forward to having a couple of them back with the base as staff members in the near future- i know God still desires to develop further growth in them and to continue using them to glorify His name. Its exciting to see them with vision to serve and contribute to training and equipping others through the base's different modes of discipleship/mentoring. Its a blessing to me to have my students really take hold of all they were mentored in and to go out with firm steps to multiply that fruit for the Kingdom in whichever area of life they are called to influence.

It will be a little strange not to have them around, now that we have crossed the finish line for this stretch of the race we ran together. To have some come back to serve by training others will be a comfort and joy- because i have loved them all- but also to send the others out is another joy, because i know they go forth representing the light of Christ in the darkness of our world.

And that is the real race we run, until our true finish line is reached; our steps falling in rhythm to the anthem of our God's own voice uttering a thundering and tender "Well done, good and faithful ones."