Center of Attention

Apparently, unannounced in any guide books, one of the top attractions in Delhi is a family of blonde Americans.  We had our first full day in Delhi as a day to see some of the major sites and get the lay of the land.  Due to jetlag, previous trudging, and availability, we were taken throughout the city by taxi.  Seeing sites which had histories from the 12th century, the 17th century, and the 20th - Palaces, Temples and Mosques - we found out just what Indian tourists are looking for - a photo with white strangers (the cuter the better).

Corban was the true star...

Jennifer was definitely  a big hit...

But overall it was a family afair...

But sometimes it did get a bit comical...

Lord Willing... (our India itinerary)

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  
Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 

James 4:13-15

If it is the Lord's will,
     we will be departing on Feb 16 for India.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will eat lunch in London before continuing to Delhi.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will arrive in Delhi on Feb 18 - a Wednesday.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will tour with Salaam Baalak Trust before heading to Agra Friday.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will see the Taj Mahal on Saturday, and then return to Delhi.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will worship with Christian brothers and sisters in Delhi on Sunday.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will fly to Dibrugarh, Assam, India, picked up by Pastor Steward.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will travel the 4 hours overland to his home.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will stay with Steward, his wife Nyapu and their two daughters (ages 8 & 13).
If it is the Lord's will,
     from Monday, Feb 23 to March 3 we will learn and teach.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will begin to retrace our journey on Tuesday, March 3 flying to Delhi.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will depart for London on Wednesday after one last night in Delhi.
If it is the Lord's will,
     we will have a two day vacation in London.
If it is the Lord's will,
     Jashton, Corban and Dirk will depart for Newark on Saturday, March 7.
If it is the Lord's will,
     Jennifer and Tobiah will depart for Malaga, Spain on Saturday.
If it is the Lord's will,
     they will learn of the mission work of the Walters in Spain.
If it is the Lord's will,
     they will return to London on Wednesday, March 11.
If it is the Lord's will,
     they will depart for Newark on March 12 so our family is together.
If it is the Lord's will,..

Mission Trip or Vacation?

If you go to Disney World, it is a vacation.  What about going to India for two weeks?  

There is a steady stream of groups heading out from churches in the USA on short term mission trips.  We are days away from heading out as a family on a mission trip.  So are mission trips really mission, or are they poverty tourism or some form of sanctified Christian vacation.  Few will say this out loud, but are mission trips an opportunity for; "all the vacation, none of the guilt"?

No.  I have been on many vacations and involved with many short term missions, and they are two different animals.  Yes, they are both travel, a change from normal life, but on many levels, they are opposites.

  Avoidance vs. Awareness

           Escape vs. Engagement

  Spending vs. Investing

Rejuvenation vs. Outpouring

 Getting vs. Giving

Vacation is a chance to escape "real" life, avoid problems (or e-mail), spend what you have earned on yourself, and hopefully find mental or physical rejuvenation.  Vacations are about getting, while a mission trip is about giving.  It is taking the focus off ourselves, and putting in on others; becoming aware of their challenges, engaging in their lives, investing in something much bigger than ourselves.  A mission trip is a chance to connect with what God is doing in the world.


It can get confusing.  By God's grace; when we give, we receive.  When we pour ourselves out for others, we often find rejuvenation.  When we invest in what truly matters, we receive what we don't deserve.  In teaching, helping and serving - we are taught, helped, and grow.  It isn't a vacation, but it is a very good thing.  A mission trip isn't a vacation, but it can be so good that people looking in from the outside might think it is even better - because sometimes it is.

On this trip we are holding onto our American tendencies a bit - there is vacation involved.  Which will leave a larger impression; touring the Taj Mahal or being introduced to the lives of the poor in Delhi?  Which will truly revive the soul; sharing with pastors persecuted by Hindu fanatics or spending two days touring London?  This is first and foremost a trip to serve God and further what He is doing in the world and in our lives.  I have little doubt which will leave a lasting, life changing, impression.


There are a billion people who don't think that India is a vacation, it is their life.  We look forward to being used by God in the daily lives of real people whom God loves dearly.  As we do so, we know we will be more blessed than any blessing we could possibly give.

A Strange Birthday Present....

What do you get for someone for their 60-somethingeth's birthday?  Especially if that someone is a man.  Yes, buying presents for men can be a real challenge, so if they say, "I would like a...." You jump all over it.

18 months ago my father-in-law put it out there - for my birthday I would like you to drive to JFK Airport, pick up someone you have never met, and take him to New Haven, CT.  Not exactly buying a power tool or new socks - but at least we didn't have to guess what he wanted.  And really, the airport is less than 150 miles away - if you are a crow.  If you are bound to this earth by gravity it is a trip through the Bronx, Queens, bridges, tolls, potholes and the whole reality what makes New York City.

Get in the car kids - to end the summer of 2013 we are heading to an airport (we did visit the awesome Bronx Zoo in the rain on the way by).  With 8 hours inside the car, our 12 hour trip came to an end, and once again we gained more than we gave.  For now we knew Pastor Steward who had just arrived in the USA for the first time in his life for a nine month sabbatical program hosted in New Haven.  We had the privilege to be his welcoming committee.

Steward's first burger ever
his questions, don't the have smaller?

With our outgoing son Corban by his side as we worked our way through the traffic, we got to know this amazing man whom Jen's dad had met in the farthest northeast corner of India.  We heard about what he is doing, about his two girls, the program he was going to be part of, and throughout it all his heart for God shined through.  We sat in awe as we heard how much he does with so little - but that is for another time.

Eight months later we were able to host him in our home in Delmar, NY, introduce him to the congregation we had just begun to serve in Castleton, and continue to build our relationship.  Shortly after our time together he would be returning to his work in India, reuniting with his family after nine months, and he wondered if we would ever come for a visit....

I knew we would be traveling somewhere as a family - until that moment India had not been on the list.  It didn't seem likely, we had so many options (see last post) so I gave a noncommittal "maybe." Over the past nine months that maybe has changed to a yes, and on February 16 we are scheduled to depart for India.  I have a little hunch that the 12 hours we traveled while meeting Pastor Steward for the first time will seem like nothing compared to what lies ahead...

Our next reunion will be in Dibrugarh

Where would you go?

If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?  
Right now someplace warm and sunny sounds nice, but putting aside the seasonal realities of living in upstate New York, the world is a big place.

My family was asked this in a very real way one year ago.  The opportunity to take a family trip anywhere in the world: Where would we go?  There was only one stipulation - it couldn't be all about us.  Take a trip anywhere in the world; where you can help, encourage and do good.  A trip where the eyes of our children would be opened to what God is doing in the world and see first hand what it means to live in service to God.  More than a vacation, a trip with purpose.

Well, that didn't really narrow it down too much.  God is active everywhere in the world, and there are endless opportunities to to good.  What we could or could not call "a mission trip" provided almost no guidance - we needed something better to guide us.

We started with relationships.
From our time in Bolivia, involvement with churches, and family connections we had a great list to consider.

Mongolia  - Helping launch small businesses while reaching out with the news of Jesus with the Sucheys.
Spain - Connecting with the media based outreach to both southern Spain and northern Africa with the Walters.
Ethiopia -  It would  be great to reconnect with our friends the Fehls who started as missionaries in the bush, and now coordinate great ministries of health and education from the capital.
Cambodia - Rescuing children from sex-slavery, fear and poverty, and giving them hope and life with Judy.
Bolivia - Continuing our relationships with friends and ministries in South America where there is so much need and opportunity.
Kenya - We have sponsored a child in northern Kenya for close to a decade, we could visit him and participate in the work of Food for the Hungry again.
Or Niger, Nicaragua, Japan, Panama, Hungary, or Mexico were we have loose connections with ministries and or missionaries.

Well, in February we leave on our trip to: none of the above.  

We are leaving to a corner of the world we were unaware of two years ago, and would not have been even a consideration if God had not introduced us to an amazing man living a faithful life.  We are heading to the edge of Assam.

to be continued....

ERC - Week 1

What if a blog was just a blog?  You know, or maybe I don't - a web log.

Emmanuel Reformed Church - Week 1

Saturday, Jan 25, Installation Service, 4:30pm.
Wonderful service, great participation, amazing reception - a God glorifying evening.

I'm so grateful for those who participated in the service, previous pastors of ERC, previous co-laborers, members of the Reformed Church of America, pastors from the area, musicians, and many brothers and sisters in Christ.  I couldn't picture a better installation for me and ERC.

What do I want to remember?  That it was a nasty cold, snowy night - but the room was still full.
Wes Van Ort took the time to thank people who had gotten us all to that night.  Linda Baker who calmly pulled it all together with me.  And this list of pastors who participated in the service.

Rev. Glenn Van Oort, ERC Pastor 1974-2000

Rev. James Brumm, Blooming Grove Reformed Church

Rev. David Corlett, Delmar Reformed Church

Rev. Abby Norton-Levering, Regional Synod Staff

Rev.  Matt Eachus, Temple Baptist Church

Rev. Rick Behan, Third Reformed Church

Rev. Amanda Nesvold, Trinity Lutheran Church

Father Gregory-Francis DesMarais, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

Rev. Roger Krutz, Professional Interim Pastor (ERC from 2001-2012)

Rev.  Adam Egan, St. Stephens Episcopal Church

Wow, I'm humbled by the fact that they all took the time to be there, and participate, and then there are the people who came, supported, prayed, and celebrated who are not named!  All in recognition of what God is doing in this little part of a very big world.

What do I want to remember?

• Put your hand to the plow and don't look back.  Guide the plow, let the church family pull it.  Again, humbling - who am I?  Break up the surface and see what God grows.
• Work with ERC like I worked with Dave Corlett.  Serve the congregation, in trust and cooperation.
• Listen to the church.  Actually the charge was for the congregation to speak to their pastor, but my part is to remember to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

Then the unforgettable reception, the food, the lighting, the sharing, the warmth of the room!  What a great evening, including that my kids wanted to be there, had a blast playing with other kids, and feeling genuinely welcome.

Then, 13 hours later it was worship service #1 - Don't get stuck, and if you are, get spiritually unstuck.
        Read the Bible and reflect on what God is saying to you and your life.  Simple but true.  I know only Christ and him crucified - the foundation.

www.ercrca.org 

You never know - unless you ask...

Two cardboard signs spelling out his plight.  I looked him in the eye, said hello, and swept past.  He was standing at a rest stop along Interstate 5 in Oregon, literally with his hat out (white hardhat to be specific).  After all the Gieser boys were done in the facilities, we headed back out to the fresh air.  I felt compelled to acknowledge his existence - I asked what was going on in his life.

Short story even shorter, a job possibility didn't work out in Oregon and he was trying to get back to Colorado.  True or not, I gave him some cash.  Life was hard and he wasn't there for fun...  But then he continued - seemingly out of nowhere with a gush of "my son is a missionary in Mexico."  To be clear, I laid no bait for this information, not even a 'God bless you', or mention of prayer.  I was just a guy who took the time to ask what was important in his life. And I learned that more than a guy in the midst of hard times, he was a proud father.

In a matter of a minute or so I learned that not only was his son a missionary in Mexico, but a Christian rap artist with a youtube hit.  "Look up Sean Cates, S-E-A-N  C-A-T-ES, you'll find him, his video 'to know you' has over a million hits."  My family was heading back to the van, so I did as well.  However, not everyone was there, so I pulled out the smartphone and started searching.

I don't do well comprehending things spelled out for me - I didn't have his son's last name in my head.  Now I was curious so I opened the door to go ask again - before I had my foot on the ground he was dropping his cardboard signs and heading my way.  We met in the middle, he gave it to me again, then we each returned to our different worlds...

Not a beggar - a proud dad.  I'm glad I asked.