Graduated!

For those who don't know, I am officially graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in Spanish and Economics. Yes!

Currently I'm looking for work in the Seattle area. I still don't know what God has for me long term, but my tentative vision is that I'll work in the secular market for a year or two before going into full-time ministry, possibly with Campus Crusade for Christ. I can use prayer as I pursue this decision.

I'm currently living at "The Shop," a house in the U-District with guys I know from Cru. I'll be here at least for the summer. My next post will hopefully let you know what job I ended up with!

School update

So it's been a very long time since my last post, namely since I was in Venezuela! I think it's about time for an update.

I'm in my last year, second to last quarter at the University of Washington. I've finished my Spanish major and am working on a bachelor of arts in Economics. For the past several months I've been praying about, discussing, and checking out different options for after graduation. It's been sometimes frustrating because I don't seem to have a clear calling like when I was deciding to go to Venezuela. That decision seemed to be simply the natural next step. Now it's not so clear, possibly because there are many more options.

My options as I see them so far are doing another year of STINT in Venezuela, interning state-side with Campus Crusade, going on staff with Crusade, joining some other ministry, or getting a secular marketplace job. At this point I think I've decided I'm not going to do another year of STINT, and I'm leaning towards getting a secular job at least for a year or so to pay off student loans and just to check it out. People in the workplace need Jesus too!

Classes are going fine, including a guitar class that I have been enjoying a lot. You can expect my first hit-single album to release in the next couple months ;-).

I'm involved with Crusade campus ministry as a student again. We can definitely use prayer for an influx of Holy Spirit zeal to overtake us and give us all a heart to see God's mission accomplished in these last two quarters. Pray for me and classmates as we plan how to reach out and transform our dorm communities for Christ.

Signing off for now.

Some photos

Carlos Durán makes beautiful arepas.



Bryon and Pat are very good buddies.



That statue's moving!!



1 strike and you're out in vocab baseball.



"Look-out tower" Greg scans the horizon at the zoo park.

Way too long since last post

And this one isn't too long. Just wanted to let y'all know I'll be leaving Mérida on July 24th, will spend a couple days debreifing with Bryon and Emily in Margaritas, and will be back in Seattle at 9:20 pm on Saturday the 28th.

This last month ministry has mainly involved the summer project team. The past couple weeks I've been the jefe (boss) as Bryon and Emily were at CM2007 in Korea (they'll be back later today). I'll post some photos soon!

The congreso and the eyeball experience

The national congreso (conference), Solo Uno, was held at a location replete with rainy weather and approximately 3 quadrillion flies (I knew we should have opted for the basic package). Despite this, the feedback I have heard from students has all been positive. Many are now ready to trust God with another step of faith and have decided to participate in missions whether on a short term summer project or doing STINT in the future. Pray that God will give them strength and faith to follow through on their commitments!

Today I got some contact lenses. The process was less involved than I thought it would be- even getting them in and out wasn't terrible (though I didn't put them in myself). It remains to be seen whether this will be a permanent eyewear change

Poetry analysis + yes I'm coming back

An update on my decision for next year: after prayer and analysis I'm sticking to the plan of returning to study at UW until graduation (in a year or slightly longer). I'm definitely open to the possibility of coming back for another year of STINT however.

I came across an excerpt from this folk poem/song by Sidney Carter in "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Philip Yancey (recommended reading) and was intrigued enough to find the full text online:

It was on a Friday morning that they took me from the cell,
And I say they had a carpenter to crucify as well.
You can blame it on to Pilate, You can blame it on the Jews,
You can blame it on the devil, It's God I accuse.

CHORUS:
It's God they ought to crucify. instead of you and me.
I said to the carpenter, a-hanging on the tree.

You can blame it on to Adam, You can blame it on to Eve,
You can blame it on the apple, but that I can't believe.
It was God that make the devil, and the woman and the man,
And there wouldn't be an apple if it wasn't in the plan.

Now Barrabas was a killer, and they let Barrabas go.
But you are being crucified for nothing here below.
But God is up in heaven and he doesn't do a thing,
With a million angels watching, and they never move a wing.

To hell with Jehovah, to the Carpenter I said;
I wish that a carpenter had made this world instead.
Goodbye and good luck to you, our way will soon divide.
Remember me in heaven, the man you hung beside.

What sticks out to me is not the poem's accusation so much as the irony therein, especially in reference to the cross. The carpenter the narrator addresses is also, in fact, creator of the world. And it was in fact God who was crucified that day. In Yancey's words, "In an incomprehensible way, God personally experienced the cross."

The fact of "a million angels watching, and they never move a wing" is at that moment actually a miraculous display of mercy and restraint as they waited at the call of the carpenter to wreck havoc on the world and take Him off that cross. By that grace of Jesus' restraint God finished his work of redemption for the world in Christ's death in our place so we can stand justified before the Father.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,1170682,00.html for more info on the author.

5-color cycle!

As some of you may know, I'm very fond of a certain strategy card name. These are the results of profiling each team member as a card from the game.