ME Update 1

My eyes are beginning to open to something so much bigger than anything you can experience on American soil. It is really hard to talk about what I want to say because of problems that come from "closed" regions, but I promise I'll have plenty to say when I get home.

I can give you a few snippets though!

The quote of the trip:
Muhammed *with Arabic accent*: You ever poop in the desert?
Kyle: ...No.
Muhammed: You should try it.
That guy is probably the funniest Arab guy I will ever meet.

The drive to the LA airport was stupid scary! The guy drove like he was half asleep or something. I think he was on some kinda of drugs. He definitely didn't know how to stay in one lane.
Driving in round abouts with 3+ lanes and little to no regard for the one or two traffic laws in place is even scarier....I thought Asians were bad drivers! They drive like experts compared to Indians.

I've never seen a chandelier bigger than the one in the Grand Mosque. The place is absolutely gorgeous.

I'm kind of bummed I haven't been able to use the squatty potty yet. My colon ran into a little problem with the food for a few days. :/ Needless to say, the Imodium has done it's job and my cheeks haven't seen porcelan for awhile.

Off roading in the desert is pretty exciting. It comes in two ways:
1. Get stuck in a Sadan in the middle of the night.
This one is fun! You get to see a man in a Dishdashda named
Muhammed running around in a panic not knowing what to do while
the Amreecas push the car out of the sand.
2. Get stuck in an Explorer during the day.
This one is fun too because Arab's on quads get to laugh at you and steal
your SUV for a good ten minutes while you are stuck in the back seat. Not to
mention he drives off after asking the owner if he was Amreecan. After hearing
a "yes", replies "Goerge Bush." Then precedes to floor it through the dunes at scary
speeds. Nevertheless....amazing!

This is all I have time for now. But don't worry mom, I think I have gotten used to the food so I shouldn't be sick anymore (yes...I did get a little sick). I should be able to update in a week or so. We are flying to a vacation spot of the region tomorrow so it should be amazing!

P.S. Sorry I didn't call before I went offroading, mom. But I think you'll understand.

Prayers Wanted!

I'm leaving for the Middle East and I would love your prayers for my team and me!

I'll try to be updating this blog once a week or so...

Uh Oh

I'm getting ready to go to the Middle East next week and I stumbled upon this from George Otis Jr.'s book The Last of the Giants: Lifting the Veil on Islam and the End Times

"Should the Church in politically or socially trying circumstances remain covert to avoid potential eradication by forces hostile to Christianity? Or would more open confrontation with prevailing spiritual ignorance and deprivation--even if it produced Christian martyrs- -be more likely to lead to evangelistic breakthroughs? Islamic fundamentalists claim that their spiritual revolution is fueled by the blood of martyrs. Is it conceivable that Christianity's failure to thrive in the Muslim world is due to the notable absence of Christian martyrs? And can the Muslim community take seriously the claims of a Church in hiding? . . .The question is not whether it is wise at times to keep worship and witness discreet, but rather how long this may continue before we are guilty of "hiding our light under a bushel. . . . The record shows that from Jerusalem and Damascus to Ephesus and Rome, the apostles were beaten, stoned, conspired against and imprisoned for their witness. Invitations were rare, and never the basis for their missions."

The part of the ME where I'm going is a pretty safe place to be. Probably safer than LA. But still...makes me think a little bit. 

Suffering

I was reading this book called the Bible (pretty good, I recommend it). But in 1 Corinthians 15 it talks about Jesus rising from the dead, along with the eye witnesses that saw Jesus after He had been killed.

One verse struck me in the passage. Verse 14 says, "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."

I have been asked the question before, "If Christianity is proved wrong, what will you do?" I had no idea how to answer a question like this. I always gave the holy/faithful (some what faking) answer of "that's never gonna to happen". 

But Paul is essentially answering that question here in v 14. He says that it is futile the way he has lived! Why would somebody want to go through the hardships of being a Christian when they could spend the easy life of being a non-believer? And if you are thinking to yourself that your life wouldn't change but the one day a week you go to church, maybe you should think more about what it means to be a Christian.

Being a Christian is tough! We don't get to understand the meaning of tough here in America. We can easily live two lives and put on a facade infront of our "brothers and sisters". Maybe we should all live in the Persecuted Church area for awhile and see what happens to our faith. 

Would you still be a Christian if somebody was beating you upside the head with a bat? Would you still believe if you witnessed your loved one's getting dragged out into the street and beaten? Would you still cry out to God when you have lived in solitary confinement for years? 

Christians in America don't have to deal with the hardships like our Asian brethren. But even without the persecution, what would change about your life if Christianity was nothing more than an SNL skit? 

Why didn't the emergent cross the road?

I found this on Dr. Mooney's blog.

10. Because he did not want to be labeled.

9. Because he was not absolutely certain that he could cross since in order to get to the other side, you would have to go half way, and in order to go half way, you would have to go half way to half way, and in order to go half way to the half way, you would have to go half way, ad infinitum.

8. Because it was not a labyrinth shaped road.

7. Because only arrogant people cross roads.

6. The liquor store was on his side.

5. Because they didn't ordain women or homosexuals to street preaching on the other side.

4. Becuase everyone crosses the road, it must be wrong.

3. Because to cross the road you have to go West.

2. Because it was a one-way street.

1. Because he did not want to be acccused of J-Mac-ing.

Here we go!

Hello blogworld! I am now an official blogger. This apparently is where all of my important thoughts are supposed to appear. I'll try not to disappoint those who think I have interesting things going on up there. And if you are one of those people...you must be really dull. 

I know the blogworld is filled with postmodernity (ie. coffee, long talks that don't generally have a direction, and the philisophical idea that we cannot reach absolute truth). So it seems that I, more of a traditionalist, am venturing into the realm of black rimmed glasses and talks about how cool the new u2 album is. But I think that most of my posts are going to be about loving God and His Word. So innevitably, I will post things that bloggers care about...like beating poverty and loving people. I won't talk about global warming so much...but I love the Earth nonetheless. Why do you have to be green and democrat to love the Earth anyways?

Well, I'm off to go find some funny Youtube videos because that's one part of blogging, right?