Second and Third Lunch?

Despedidos have been the theme of my past few days... and it's been a blessing, but sad at the same time.

Yesterday was SMAC in the morning, buying some food with John Mark and returning home to finish my cereal for lunch. After lunch I went to the Maust house and hung out for a bit and then off to the Coupes to hang out for a bit. They're leaving tomorrow! Please keep them in prayer... TKD was next and it was just practicing some different kicks and forms. Fun, though! Wang and I had a good Chifa dinner afterwards and I had a HUGE plate of fried rice with shrimp, beef, chicken, and pork. For 3 bucks.

The best part of the day came after Chifa, when JM and I went to Paul's house and we hung out with him and his brother. We played basketball first for a good 20-30 minutes and then soccer (pretty much every man for himself) for another 30. It was great fun with great people... Paul's brother is SO cool! Paul's the man, also, so they're just a cool family. I stuffed some pizza down afterwards (even though my stomach was feeling terribly- Chifa + basketball/soccer right after is not a good combination). We just sat and talked (in Spanish) for about 2 hours about everything... it was great fun. Watching some of Return of the King and working out finished my evening...

This morning was another solid QT in Joshua (yesterday was, too), some breakfast, and then SMAC. I was planning on doing a party for the whole two hours but also having some games... but didn't plan ahead (bad Luke). The Lord was gracious, though, and allowed me to use the creative mind He's blessed me with to make a Jeopardy-type game for the first hour that didn't totally bomb. The kids had fun, and one guy even knew what Fish and Chips was, which surprised me. The second hour also was a blank slate, but turned out to be one of the best classes ever. We did improv. In English. Oh yes... from Supermodels to Cinderella to Weight Lifters to Aliens, groups of three (plus me) would act out the scene (a la Whose Line) and try to speak some English. Some people got into it, most were pretty shy, but everyone loved it. Praise the Lord for the idea at the last minute! He is truly the Great Provider, even when I don't deserve it...

Afterwards began the food-fest for me. We had snacks and just hung out and talked for about 30 minutes. I was able to hand out some Bibles, also, and they were SO thankful for them. Praise God! Then Fanny (the head lady) provided lunch for JM, me, and the two other teachers. It was great: Chicken Cordon Bleu (again made me long for my Mom's cooking). Next, I headed over to Andrea's house to celebrate her brother's birthday and say goodbye and they insisted that I eat some lunch with them (fried chicken and french fries). It was sad to leave them all but I'm thankful for how the Lord has brought Andrea along in her journey... she's going to get involved with the youth at church now! Praise Him! I taxied over to the family Wang's staying with (although both he and Diana weren't there) and had a lovely conversation with them and a missionary family that is staying with them. They, too, insisted that I eat dinner with them: llapingachos (meat, smashed and fried potatoes, and rice). It was lovely, as well, but my stomach was nearing bursting.

I went and helped Mr. Billy move the last of their stuff to his car, watched some more of LOTR ROTK, and then went to TKD. There, we stretched and worked on some kicks that I'm really not good at. But it was fun with the guys, joking around and getting more flexible (little by little... baby steps). I left a bit early, gathered my laudry, took a shower, and headed over to the Mausts for a fun night of Apples-to-Apples! Andrew is my kinda guy... we go for the best explanation/most ridiculous story. Which is how I was able to convince him that supermodels are bright. Oh yes. After that I had a absolutely fantastic conversation with my friend Brett back in VA and also good times talking with my bro and Elise.

Please keep Abby in prayer (and my parents) as they drive back to VA tomorrow, keep Hunter and Dad in prayer as they prepare to and leave for Peru on Friday, and Mom and Elise as they hold down the fort (with Abby) while the boys are gone.

I would also ask that you pray that I will use my time wisely in the last week I have in South America... wow, it's gone by fast. Pray also that I will truly apply the lessons I've learned here in my life for the rest of my time here on earth and that I don't lose the passion the Lord's blessed me with...

A few quick Joshua lessons:

-Many times God will give us a command with leeway so that we can use the creativity and intelligence He has given us to glorify Him to the max! This is especially apparent in the story of the (successful) attack on Ai. The Lord commands him to set an ambush (8:2) and Joshua goes and makes this SWEET plan of sending 30,000 men one way to hide and another 5,000 another place, showing a false front of lack of strength to the King of Ai, drawing him and all his men away from the city, and then totally destroying it (8:4-8). Hoorah for God and the creative minds He has created!

-Another thing I found ironic in the story of Ai is that the reason they were unsuccessful the first time is because Achan did not obey the Lord's command to totally destroy Jericho (everything in it... no plunder, livestock, nothing). But after purging Israel of the sin of Achan, the Lord tells Israel that they can take the plunder and livestock from Ai when they defeat it, they just need to destroy the people and city itself (8:2). So the reason they lose the battle at first is because of the sin of taking plunder, and yet after they won the second battle against Ai, they were allowed to take whatever they wanted (plunder wise). So you could say Achan was just one battle too early... but the Lord doesn't count disobedience as early obedience. Ever.

-I also love how Joshua commanded Achan to tell the truth. Joshua 7:19- ' Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give Him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."' How convicting is that!? Wow... it's no wonder Achan told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. From my understanding, this was just a regular old Israelite who chose to take plunder at the wrong time (if only he'd waited one battle...) and disobeyed the Lord. He and everything he owned was stoned and burned and this cleansed Israel.

-And finally, when Joshua was first spying out Ai, I found quite a few interesting parts to this story. First of all, the Israelites and spies don't always go all that great together (except for Jericho... that was ok, other than them choosing to stay the night at a prostitute's place... how weird is that?). Spying out the promised land?! We all remember how that went... and now with Ai. The spies came back and said "Not all the people will have to go up against Ai..." (7:3) and this shows that the Israelites had begun to rely upon the strength of men, seeing that they would not have to use their WHOLE strength, but just a part of their strength would be sufficient. God was pretty clear that they need to always be giving their best effort for Him (for He has the whole army go during the successful battle). I also find it very interesting that God isn't mentioned saying anything about this battle until AFTER they fail. Does this mean that they didn't seek His council? Or did He purposefully withhold His council in His great foreknowledge and omniscience? Probably both...

Finally, in verse 9 of chapter 7, one of Joshua's main concerns is the name of the Lord. (vs. 9) "The Canaanites and other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?" Sure, he says "our" name first, but the main question is what will God do for His own great name? I love even more God's response to Joshua (who is face down in reverence): (vs. 10-11a) The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my convenant..." Whereas Joshua's prayer seemed to be crying out to God "Why did you let this happen?!", God comes right back and says "it's not MY fault. You have sinned against Me! This is why you lost the battle..." God reaffirms that the Israelites do not control Him... He is not like a special weapon they can use to win battles. He is the God of the Universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of the Israelites, but also the God of the rest of the people's as well, and if the Israelite's do not follow Him, He is under no obligation to continue giving them victory. We serve an Almighty God...

I probably won't be able to update for awhile, so all you loyal readers, go read more of your Bible instead of this blog the next few days :-).

May the Lord be glorified through all our lives as we seek to grow closer to Him and more and more like Him in all areas of life... may we deny ourselves daily and surrender all we are to Him for His greatest glory...

In His strength alone... (1 Peter 4:11)

Luke

Sabbath

For those of you who have yet to read my first post, I had the privilege of playing in church this morning and we played three Hillsong songs: Came to My Rescue, From the Inside Out, and Take It All! The morning began with a great QT in Joshua (never heard that one, have you?!), fruit-filled breakfast, and a shower.

Church was fantastic! I believe the Lord was blessed by the worship and church service overall... although the vocals and playing wasn't always perfect. As my friend Briana puts it, "It's a good thing the Bible says just to make a joyful noise." Praise the Lord for the blessing of being able to play music and sing for His greatest glory! After church, a few people said some very nice things to me as a good-bye party-type thing. It was such an encouragement and a blessing! May the Lord bless them as they have blessed me...

After church, I hung out at the Maust house and then we all went to Guano. On the way to Guano we saw the volcano spit out a HUGE cloud (see below). It was so sweet... the picture definitely doesn't do it justice. In Guano we went to many different shops, I met many of their friends and we ate "Cholas", or sweet bread. We also got to visit the town museum, which contains a mummy found preserved in one of the church's walls, saw a woman making a rug (so cool) and a bull fight (not a real one, just drunk guys running around a small bull trying to impress people)!

Bible Study (picture to come soon) was wonderful, as well! We sped through chapter 4 and then distributed the Bibles... they were SO thankful for them! Again, we received a "this is the best gift in the world" comment. Please do pray that they would learn a lot more from God's Word in English and Spanish! Skyping with family and friends (here's to you, KJ and Steve) and blogging was my night.

Monday morning at SMAC was fun and then JM, Andrea, and I went shopping through the town! We were able to bargain all the vendors down, the best deal going from $18 to $13. JM and I went back to his place, hung out for a bit, and then I went to the Coupes to help them move furniture out of their house! Other missionaries from their team were also there, as were two of their Ecuadorian friends (including Christian). I left for TKD after that, had a pretty good time just getting some exercise, was able to minister to Henry afterwards (please continue to pray for him... pray that the perfect love of Jesus would cast out ALL fear in his life- 1 John 4:18), and then walked to Orale to have a "despedido" (good-bye party). Many of the youth of the church, including the worship leader Luis, met to eat and just have fun together. It was a mostly Spanish evening where fun stories were shared (including a list of what I've eaten here in Ecuador) and nice things were said of me. Praise the Lord for friends here in Ecuador! May the Lord bless, lead, and guide them as they seek to grow to be more and more like Him...

Tonight I had the privilege of talking with my friend Cat in Australia and now I'm heading to bed... how's that for concise?

Lessons in Joshua (Lord willing) coming soon...

In His strength alone...

Luke

The Super-Cool Church Band.

God's majesty displayed through a mushroom cloud from the volcano Tungurahua.

God's Blessings...

John Mark and I headed out bright and early (after a nice reading of the battle of Jericho) on Friday morning for our final investigation. We hopped on a bus to Bayushig and both fell asleep on the way there. We awoke when the bus stopped and people got out to look/change buses, but neither of us cared too much, so we both kept drifting in and out of sleeping. When we finally woke up for good, we found ourselves in a town we were not planning on going to, Calshi. After encountering a semi-sober guy that was the brother of the president of the town (or something like that), we walked 20 minutes to the next town, Matus. We took a bus that had a fare of (I love it!) 7.5 cents each to the next town, Bayushig, and then walked to Penipe. There we ate our lunch and JM made the first of many good decisions: instead of blindly hopping on a bus about to leave (because the woman in town told us that was when a bus was supposed to arrive), he went over near the bus, checked with some of the locals, and then waited for the correct bus that took us to Puela. This town was hit hard by the volcanic eruption a few years ago. Apparently there were 2000 residents before the eruption, but now there were only 1200, and most of them didn't sleep in the town but would work the land during the day and then go back to a safer town. We got to hang out with some sweet kids (Jaime, Miguel, and Johnny) for a bit, then caught the bus to the beginning of the road to San Jose de Chazo.

Now this day's theme was favor from God in the bus system. A few weeks ago we waited 3+ hours for buses in one day, but today we didn't wait very much at all (Puela being the longest wait: 45 minutes). Within 5 minutes of the bus dropping us off at the beginning of the road to SJ de Ch, and after we turned down a 15 dollar ride to the town from Penipe, we caught a "camioneta" already heading towards Chazo and rode in the back from only ONE DOLLAR for both of us! Praise You, Father! When we arrived, we tasted the local bread and then waited no longer than 30 minutes for the last bus going out of the town to take us to our next town, La Providencia. In this town, we seriously contemplated staying the night until, wouldn't you know, a bus was just leaving the town in the direction we needed it! God blew us away... like usual :-). We got off a Cubijies, took a bus to Quimiag (where the public bathrooms are literally public: urinals on the side of a wall at the edge of a park), and took another bus to San Gerardo. This was the last town of the trip and JM and I both agreed we wanted to build a fire and cook some food before we were done with these investigations. So we bought some bread, eggs, and potatoes to cook and started to look for some firewood. We were threatened by a guy I couldn't really understand very well about picking wood up off the ground, but eventually ran into a place where an intoxicated man helped us find a good place. After being blessed with more firewood (scraps from a pile), some other people came and helped us get the fire started and our food cooking.

Ladies, here's another time where I encourage you to look at JM when looking for that special someone in life. If you want a rugged, outdoorsy, mountain man, I'm not your guy. We carved out the inside of the potatoes and dropped the egg yoke inside of them to cook. JM got his first try no problem, and while I had the bigger potato (more room for the yoke), it took me three eggs (the first two spilled out and the third almost did, too, but we caught it) to finally get mine to kind-of work. His came out beautifully... mine, crispy. I supplemented this wonderful outdoorsy meal with some fruit, a granola bar, and a nutrigrain bar. Nothing like outdoor cooking!

We caught a taxi home, chilled at the Maust house, and then I returned home and ended up watching the first 2 hours of LOTR Two Towers before heading to bed. I would say this was our best investigation trip ever in the sense that we got a ton done in a small amount of time and the Lord really encouraged my heart throughout the trip. I felt like JM and I were more compatible and encouraging than any other trip to each other. All of this is totally in the Lord's strength and by His grace... Hallelujah!

Saturday was much less eventful, but still very fun and exciting! I slept in a bit, had a great QT in Joshua 6 (studying the fall of Jericho), watched more of LOTR TT, and put down some food. I headed over to the Coupes to shoot off a quick e-mail and ended up staying for lunch! Luis, the guy that I help with English most Mondays and Wednesdays, called and invited me to soccer. I happily agreed! We took a van outside of Riobamba (with Luis and four friends) and then began playing on a nice, green field. There were a few difficulties in these games: first of all, there were only six of us, and with goalies, it was 2-on-2 on a decent sized field, and second of all, we were playing around 9,500 feet above sea level. Even for the Ecuadorians, after sprinting down the field once or twice in a row, you had to just stop and focus on breathing. It was that ridiculous... but SO much fun! My team won the first game, 5-3, lost the second, 5-1 (embarrassing), lost the third (tie breaker) 8-6, and then when other guys showed up to play, our group of friends got to play together and we won that game 9-7. I was not a very good goalie... but I was blessed with a good amount of goals throughout the day, which is more than I can say for all three years of rec league soccer in middle school. Yup, that's right... rec league soccer: 0 goals. God was teaching me humility... and still is. Please keep these guys (Brian, Andy, Sebastian, and Sebastian's older brother) in prayer, along with Luis...

Buying good, low-priced fruit for the last time (possibly) for a while went by quickly and then I caught a bus to band practice. I'm excited as tomorrow we get to play three Hillsong United songs: From the Inside Out, Take It All, and Came to My Rescue! And I get to worship the Lord with my vocals as well as playing the guitar on a few of them! So, if you read this before 12 PM EST, please send up a prayer that the Lord really blesses our time of worship as we seek to honor Him through leading the church tomorrow morning. After practice I walked to the Coupes, helped them do away with some left-overs (by storing them in my stomach), and chatted and skyped with family and friends! Praise the Lord for these wonderful past two days!

One main thing I learned from Joshua (and Dad also shared with me he learned) is that faith many times requires action. The priests with the ark of the covenant led the way around the walls, but there was also an armed guard in front and behind them. Although Joshua had faith that the Lord would protect His sacred ark, he was trying to be wise with what the Lord had provided by ordering protection for such a sacred item. Many times in our lives, the Lord will provide opportunities for us to grow our faith, but many times they will also require action. We can't take what the Lord has given us, "bury it in the ground" and have faith that it will grow! We must invest it... (Matthew 25:14-30) Are there things in your life the Lord has provided you with that you may not be using in the most efficient way?

Praise the Lord for the blessing of being able to encourage friends... oh, to be used by You, oh Lord, is overwhelming...

In His strength alone...

Luke

Where to, John Mark? Remember ladies... on facebook it's JohnMark Maust. No space in between his first two names...

One of the things that blows my mind about these mountains is how, even on this steepest of mountains (which this is not), crop is still grown on a great portion of the mountain side. It's not only dangerous for them, but they'll bring their animals up there, too!

The boys (below) insisted I take a picture of this church.

The GQ models... from left: Jaime, Johnny, and Miguel. Pray for them...

"If I'm out of my mind, it's You!"

Craziness has been a theme to the last few days... and super-sweet QTs in Joshua!

I'll try and be more concise... Wednesday was a day I tried to film myself through out the day to give a picture of what a somewhat average day in my life here in Riobamba looks like... but it was anything but average. The day began with a cycling competition on the main road, so I was unable to catch a bus (and I was running late to class. Great...) and had to take a taxi. Once there, I had a great time asking crazy questions to the kids, like "who is your favorite super hero", "if you had three wishes, what would you wish for?" and "if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?" They really enjoy the questions and have fun answering them, so I enjoy those hours very much! John Mark then did a good job with a song, "What If", for the second hour. We left and I headed over to Wang's house for teaching and lunch. The internet was down for the day, so we tried to go to a "Cabina" (a small place where you can make calls or access internet) but the internet was down there, too. Apparently Riobamba was without internet (confirmed by the Coupes and Mausts), and it has been without internet for up to two weeks before! Crazy!

After reading a bit in Matthew 2 in English with Wang (please keep praying), I learned some new Spanish phrases from Diana and taught her some things in English, as well. The "day after tomorrow" is "pasado mañana" in Spanish, which literally means "past Monday" (and not past like last week, but past as in the future... if that makes any sense at all. It took me quite a few minutes to figure it out, but just think about it). Next was a lovely lunch, "encebollada", with the family. Encebollada is a fish and onion type soup. Not two of my favorite things ever, but I really enjoyed the soup! I also learned a lot about the area the Father serves in... he does a lot of medical work for people who can't afford or can't reach good hospitals (ie in the communities without much technology). Please pray for that ministry as he and his wife both serve in fantastic ways! They also need a lot of financial help, so if you know anyone with money lying around, let me know ;-).

After lunch I shared a taxi (jumped out early) with Wang, walked across town, and caught a bus back to the Coupes house. The internet magically fixed while I was there (thanks, God!), I was able to check some quick e-mails, get some important skype calls done and head off to TKD! This is when the real madness began to unfold... I was wearing my athletic pants (for TKD, like usual) and they were a bit extra full today. I was running late again (because of the important calls- they truly needed to get done, and thanks be to God, they did), so I had to take the first taxi that would pick me up, which happened to be an unregistered, probably un-official taxi. Somewhere between getting out of the car and walking into TKD class, a space of about 30 meters, my wallet fell out of my pocket. It could be with the taxi driver, someone picked it up, or it's lying all by it's lonesome somewhere in Riobamba. Regardless... it's not with me. Time to freak out? Neh... God's in control, and that's what I've known and rested in from the first second I discovered it missing. But it would be nice to have back :-). In the past 36 hours, I've called all the necessary banks and have had a ton of help from both missionary families that I'm close with here in Riobamba, so please pray that the Lord would bless them ten fold for the blessing they've been to me. So that has been a big chunk of the last two days... but by the glorious grace of God, it's all gonna be alright! Please do pray for the person with my wallet, too... may the Lord use this to bring this person to Him.

Also, to add insult to injury, after TKD class I discovered that someone took one of my socks. Just ONE of my socks. I ask, why not take both?! Those who do laundry know it's one of the worst feelings to come out with one extra sock... and that's what I'm faced with for the rest of my life. I actually would have rather them take both socks... haha.

In TKD, I actually discovered something I'm sort-of approaching being good at! They were going through the line doing a jump-kick (I don't know the correct English, Spanish, or Corean name. Forgive me), and they had to actually get on a chair and raise the pad up really high for some of us. I was able to still kick almost every high pad, much to the "ooohs" and "ahhs" of the other students. It was a ton of fun! So those vertical jump programs came somewhat in handy after all... although I'm still a few cms from dunking 10 ft. All in God's timing... so it was nice to finally be kinda good at something in TKD... haha. All the glory to God! Also, flexibility seems to be improving...

After class, Henry and I talked some more (continue praying- he's really growing. You can meet him by watching below!), I took the bus back to my house, grabbed some grub, and spent a bit of time at the Maust house searching for the "Two Towers" (which was found today), and then skyped the night away with my family, Wachovia, and Entrust. Fun fun fun!

This morning I had the blessing of sleeping in! Praise the Lord! Afterwards, I ate some food, had another sick quiet time in Joshua, and edited the video below. I went and met with Milton (you may remember him from my Sunday morning of basketball) for an hour and just talked life with him. I tried to share the Gospel with words a few times, but he wasn't super-receptive. He's very content in his Catholic faith... he's been married twice, and unfortunately, the second wife lives 2 hours away and, because they're both teachers (on different class schedules), they don't ever see each other. He used to be a great basketball player and we talked a lot about that. He invited me over anytime, because he lives alone (kids in the States), and really seems to enjoy company. Please pray that the Lord will show Him that there IS a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). The same prayer for Henry, as although he doesn't desire companions, he needs them.

After Milton, I chilled at the Maust house, getting more necessary bank/skype stuff done (also having a lovely conversation with Mi Padre), and then went once more to TKD. I waited around outside to see if the person would come back and try to find me there (for I have no address in my wallet for here in Riobamba. Heck, I don't even KNOW my address here in Riobamba). He didn't, I went up to TKD, did some more flying kicks (oh yeah), and then we put on pads and started kicking each other. I was pretty bad at this and accidentally kicked my partner outside of the pads a few times (he returned the favor). It was great fun, and we got to spar one-on-one at the end of class. I didn't get totally destroyed, but actually held my own, by God's glorious grace! We went back and forth, blocking and kicking, and Wang reminded me that I'm not very flexible. Haha...

After class, more good talking with Henry (and Alex, my sparring partner, joined us tonight). I forgot to mention that we learned how to say "my name is" in Corean last night. I'll write it phonetically: "Nay- Irrum- Oon (name) In-Me-Da". The "Inmida" part is for respect, and the first part is for when you're with friends. Pretty sweet!

Tonight was dinner at mi casa, watching most of Batman Begins (oh man... SUCH a good movie) and working out. Chillin' with the Coupes has occupied the rest of my night, which is where I am now. They have been such a blessing to me, so please pray (as I asked above) that God would truly bless their return to the States for 10 months. Their furlough begins a week from today, and while they're excited, I know packing up is taking a lot of time and energy. Yet they continue to welcome me into their home...

For those of you (most of the United States) who have already seen The Dark Knight, I look forward to joining your club as soon as I can. Mmmm...

Joshua?! Oh yes... GREAT stuff.

Joshua 3:5 reads "Joshua told the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.'"

WOW! Can you imagine the excitement that must have gone through that camp that day?! To know that the Lord is going to do something amazing "tomorrow"... wow. But we must understand that the Lord is constantly doing amazing things in our lives, as well! I fear that we too often focus on the parting of the Red Sea and Jordan River parts of our lives, considering them amazing, and forget about the "amazing" manna the Lord provides. The Israelites had this every day until they began to eat of the "produce of Canaan" (5:12). There's a reason that the Lord doesn't give us miracles of the Red Sea magnitude every day: we'd get bored. We would begin to take it for granted, just as we've probably taken the "manna" the Lord provides each and every day for granted. So I encourage you to look at your lives, realize what the Lord is blessing you with on a daily basis (the blessing of breath, of freedom in Him, of His word at your finger tips, etc) and thank Him for that manna. Jesus recognized its importance by putting it in the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6: "Give us this day, our daily bread..." (vs 11). So should we recognize it's importance and not only pray for it, as Jesus instructs, but also be thankful for it, and let God know that we're thankful for it!

Joshua 5:13-15 reads:

"Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?'
'Neither,' he replied, 'but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.' Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, 'What message does my Lord have for his servant?'
The commander of the Lord's army replied, 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so."

Yes, yes, and YES! I LOVE this passage... First of all, the courage of Joshua. When the "man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in hand" appeared before Joshua, he didn't back down, surrender, or show any fear in his words, but coolly replied "Are you for us or for our enemies?" His confidence was truly in the Lord... this is also evident, for while he was super-brave and courageous when it was just a man with a sword in front of him, as soon as the man said "I'm of the Lord", he fell to the ground "facedown... in reverence." He knows where his courage lies and where to show respect.

Secondly, the answer to Joshua's question blows me away. The Lord was very clear that He cannot be claimed with one army or another. Although He did shine favor on the Israelites while they were following Him (and forgave them when they're not), He let Joshua know that He was not permanently for one side or another. He was not "for (the Israelites) or for (their) enemies". I think this applies in our lives, as well... we are not in charge of God, He is in charge of us. We cannot tell Him to "go left, go right, attack", but He decides what's best for us. If the Lord had said "I'm for you guys" to Joshua, the Israelites could have become cocky and figured that the Lord was like another soldier in the army (albeit a very powerful one). They would have lost thankfulness and respect, and God would have lost glory. But God knew this, which is why He responded through the angel as He did. We serve an AWESOME, OMNISCIENT God!

And finally, Joshua was humbled. Put in his place by God. Just in case he was getting any kind of big head being the leader of the Israelites (appointed by God, merely a servant doing his duty), God reminds him who is REALLY in charge of the army. "But as commander of the army of the Lord I now come." I love Joshua's humble response, too: "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" He did not forget his place and come back with 'wait, wait, wait... I'm the commander of the Israelites, God's chosen people, so wouldn't I technically have that title?' Nope! Joshua, coming on the heels of the "most humble man on the earth" (Moses- Numbers 12:3), had learned a lot from watching his predecessor. Oh, Lord... may I embrace this humility in my life, find my courage in You alone, and know that You alone are in charge of my life...

I love You, Jesus.

Please keep in prayer patience, humility, and dying-to-myself.

Thanks for your prayers.

Luke

A day in my life usually takes 24 hours, so I did my best to condense it and got it to 9 1/2 minutes. Please enjoy! Praise the Lord for the breath He gives us to praise His glorious Name (Psalm 150:6) and live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24)!

I am not flexible.

Good evening...

Today was another blessed day! Praise the Lord... woke up this morning, read some of the Word while I ate cereal, then headed off to SMAC. At SMAC I had the students create a story (about Estuardo, the soccer player). I discovered this guy was from England, had a sister (no brothers), liked apples, used the million dollars a rich relative left him to buy a new car, gifts for his teammates, and a mansion. I had fun interjecting a few details here and there and then, at the end, attempting to translate everything they had written (to the delight of all the students... it's fun when the tables have turned and I'm the one that doesn't know everything that they do). John Mark then taught on idioms for the second hour and did a great job of getting the students involved and enjoying it!

Afterwards, I spent time with Wang (haha I discovered yesterday that's how you spell his name correctly) and we ate "Chifa" (Chinese) while watching tennis. I also presented Diana with an Spanish-English Bible and I've decided that I was very spoiled with Henry's response to his Bible because Diana was thankful, but just a mere "thank you" was all she said. Please pray that the Lord uses the Bible to bring her closer to Him, for she already knows Him and is a sister in the faith :-).

After that I headed back to my house, finished studying Joshua 4, took a short nap then had a great time of prayer. We all need those times every once in a while, where we just put ourselves before the Lord, say "this time is TOTALLY yours", surrender our lives once again (I need to do that daily), and pray for everything/one we can think of... I love it. I edited the Chimborazo video (see below), spent a bit of time at the Maust house and then headed off to TKD!

At Martial Arts I had a good time with Henry, practicing spinning roundhouse kicks (which I am ridiculously bad at) and stretching. We also did more of the test-practicing that I have really enjoyed! Afterwards, Henry and I talked about what he read last night (James and Proverbs) and he really seems to be learning! Praise the Lord! I love his eagerness... oh Lord, may I have the same joy and eager heart to dive into Your Word each and every day. He also shared with me he feels bad because he can't pay me back, but I reminded him that the best way he can pay me back is by reading his Bible every day and living for Jesus! Please do keep him in your continued prayers, and pray that I am able to bless him in other ways, too...

Next was dinner at Orale with the Coupes! We had a great time, they thoroughly enjoyed it (they'd never been there) and it was just a blast! Food, friends, fun conversation, freedom, faith, fallacy, folly, fickle... ok, enough with "f" words. Ha.

Now I'm sitting here having just finished a conversation with Dad and Hunter! Praise the Lord for wonderful family members... please keep them in prayer as they are preparing to head to Peru on August 1st to evangelize for 10 days! I'm STOKED for them...

I also received a sad call from Andrea. She told me that they didn't give her the visa she needs to go to the States. Apparently (the Coupes told me) it is VERY difficult to get a visa for Ecuadorians because the government believes they will leave the country and never come back. I'm just sad for her because I know she was really looking forward to being an au pair... please pray that the God of all comfort is present in her heart these next few days...

We worship You... Hallelujah Hallelujah We worship You... for who You are... You are Good!

In His strength alone...

Luke

This one's a good bit longer than usual, so get comfortable, pop some popcorn, and enjoy the phenomenal impromptu acting talents of Bill Coupe (with me as his very minor co-star).

The Best Gift in Life...

What a day! Praise the Lord...

This morning I awoke a little later than I wanted to, but skimmed Joshua 3 and ate cereal for the first time in a while. I threw some stuff together and jogged to the Coupes... no SMAC this morning, I went to CHIMBORAZO.

Yes, the same mountain you have seen in my pictures... the same mountain (due to a bulge in the earth) that is the highest point from the center of the earth... that Chimborazo. We drove to another missionary family's house, picked up some college and high school students, and then drove to the mountain! 'Twas a lovely drive, otra vez (again), and as we began to ascend the base of the mountain to the "first refuge", I could feel the air getting thinner, even in the car! We got out of the car and then began to ascend the mountain to the second refuge...

My first reaction (and I, unfortunately, said it out loud) was, "is that it?" It looked pretty close from where we began, but it actually was about a km and a half away. Your depth perception is shot when you're that high... actually, it might not be just the altitude, but probably a mix of that, the sun's heat and reflection off the snow, and just the majesty of the mountain. For instance, one of the guys on the team, Steve, and I both wanted to climb higher than the second refuge (after we made it to the first one gasping for air) and spotted a sweet looking rock pretty high up that looked doable. But then we noticed some people that were about 100 meters away from the rock... and they were smaller than ants. From where we were standing. At the second refuge. We both just dropped our jaws at the tiny size of the people from where we were standing. It was basically a reality check, so we chose another big rock formation to climb to. About 7 of us went up there, and it was a VERY beautiful view... it was super sweet, too, because we took turns reading Psalm 96 verse-by-verse on top of the world (literally). The craziest thing, too, was that when we were on top of that cliff, we realized how far we still had to go. Although from the bottom it looked pretty high up, once you reach it, you find yourself still lacking a ton... hmmm... I feel an analogy coming on.

My walk with Jesus is the same way. Every time I think I've done something really sweet for him (made it to that rock formation), He reminds me that I still have a ton to go. I'm SO thankful for His mercy and grace in this... Steve and I agreed that if we were to be generous to ourselves and put our faith in mountain terms, getting to perfection and Jesus is two Chimborazos and a Mount Everest stacked on top of each other, and we're still at the base.

I was invited by Mr. Billy (thanks!) and had a great time making videos with him... stay tuned.

We returned home (on the way, we evaded people that wanted to make us pay for hiking Chimborazo, but they're not real, government people, so we drove right through their pathetic 'blockade' at the bottom of the mountain) and I had a fantastic time in Joshua and just with Jesus in general. More on that later...

I headed over to the Coupes to hang out, skyped with my fam for a bit, contacted World Vision (please be praying... I'm trying to get to see the child I support, Juan Edison, the day before I leave), and then left to get together with Luis. We had a bit of miscommunication, but finally met in "Mercado Santa Rosa" and I presented him with his very own Spanish-English New Testament (plus Psalms and Proverbs). He was very thankful and we had a good time reading through some of it. We stopped at 5 so I could go to TKD. The class was basically going over what we need to do to do to ascend to the next level of belt. Since I'm only going to be here for another few weeks and you need to purchase an entire uniform to level up, I'm not going to do it, but I'm enjoying learning the different defenses, attacks, etc.

After class, I took Henry aside and presented him with his New Testament. He was literally speechless... after a bit, he called it the "best gift in life". He then opened up to me a little about his life: He started out by saying his heart had been hardened because, three years ago, he was in a car accident and spent 11 1/2 months in the hospital. That's right... Eleven and a Half months. And while he was in there, NO ONE came to help him. Not his friends, not his girlfriend, not even his family. God really changed him and he resolved to be a better person than his friends and family had been to him, but he still set himself apart from everyone around him. He still lives by himself and doesn't reach out to people. He told me he doesn't feel like he can trust them because of what happened with all of his "friends". But he also said that he has forgiven them, and that is the "secret to life": forgiveness. I encouraged him that Jesus tells us to love our brothers, so he should reach out more, but also sympathized with him. He told me that I am the first person he has told these feelings to, because I have a "good heart". I replied that the only good I have in my heart is because Jesus lives there... thanks, Jesus. He promised to read the Bible everyday and I helped give him some instruction... it's people like him I'm going to miss here in Ecuador. Oh Lord, may you send other people to help disciple him and grow him into the man of God you want him to be...

The night finished having a wonderful dinner (thanks, Mrs. Coupe!) of pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans, and skyping with family and friends.

Joshua thoughts for the day:
-I'm convicted about my time management... I need to be a better steward of that and of my body in general (what I eat, how long I stay up, etc). Please pray this for me...

-The Israelites spent three days camped at the Jordan River (which was at it's "flood stage") before the Lord performed the miracle. I feel like this is God prepping their hearts, for they were just sitting there staring at this very full river, probably thinking "how are we ever going to get across?" and then God just lays the miracle on them. THAT is the God we serve... who does things that are inconceivable to us...

-The way the Israelites are commanded not to come within "1000 yards" of the ark of the covenant. What reverence and fear of God! Why has this been lost after so many years? Why don't we consider it a PHENOMENAL blessing to have the Word of the Lord at our hands to read, memorize, and live out each and every day! How many thousands of people in the past would have given everything they owned for a Bible! May we live with the same reverence and fear of God that the Israelites had... remember, He is our King as well as our Father.

-I'm also just struck at the humility Joshua must have had. The Bible says: "And the Lord said to Joshua, 'Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of Israel, so that they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.'" Joshua has just been told that God will exalt him in the eyes of the Israelites, God's chosen people, and yet He still seeks to give God all the glory in everything. This is where I believe Satan fell... he took the glory for himself instead of giving it to God. But Joshua (and Moses before him) chose the holy road, giving God all the glory... oh Lord, may I discover, without ever realizing it, this humility so that I may glorify You in this area of my life.

The Lord also blessed my heart and reminded me of how great He is. If such a majestic mountain, Chimborazo, does not even come close to scratching the surface of the majesty of our God, I can't WAIT for Heaven...

Thanks for all your prayers. Please pray for Andrea as she goes for her visa tomorrow...

In His strength alone...

Luke

The Hike.

He's cool, he's hip, he's Mr. Bill Coupe.

The view from our highest point of the day (16,000 feet above sea level). We were really not that far up the mountain. That's how big it is.

Enjoying God's creation...

...and thanking and worshiping Him for it.

Hospitality...

That was definitely the theme of this weekend... hospitality.

Thursday consisted of driving to "Salinas", a town famous for their cheese and chocolate, with the Maust family (minus Andrew). The two hour or so drive consisted of some beautiful sights (Chimborazo, especially) and also some very barren wastelands (or so they appeared- above the tree level). Once in Salinas, we walked down a large hill to the chocolate factory! It was quite interesting... a small building at the bottom of a hill in a small town, and they export to Italy and Japan! Their truffles were fantastic and they also had a unique "chocolate with aji" candy bite. Aji is a very hot and spicy powder, so mixing that with chocolate proved to be interesting, to say the least. We had lunch at a small restaurant that served fish. As you can see, although it will probably be a bit difficult because of the stream, I was served (and bit into) the head. Mmmm...

We explored more of the town after lunch and found some HUGE cheese wheels as well as soy cookies. I actually quite enjoyed the soy cookies, to my surprise! We loaded back into the truck and started back home and John Mark and I were dropped off along the way. We were soon picked up by a bus on the way to Ambato and on the bus ride, John Mark fell asleep on my left shoulder while a Quichua woman fell asleep on my right. I actually felt bad for them (especially JM), because the ride was quite bumpy and my shoulder isn't the softest pillow in the world. It didn't seem to bother him, though... we continued (through Ambato) to Pillaro which proved to be a very up-to-date town! It looked pretty sizable on the map, but it had a pharmacy, a grocery store or two, many electronics stores, and much more! JM and I inquired as to where we should stay the night (looking for a field), talked to some kids who whistled at us and yelled "mister", and then were eventually pointed in the direction of the "Bomberos" (Firemen). They sat us down, told us they were going to "trust us" for the night, and gave us a vacant room for the night. Praise God! We ventured into town, got some dinner (not my favorite food, but I survived), then headed back up to the fire station. We chatted with the three firemen on duty, Javier, Pablo, and Veronica, for an hour and a half! Topics included the price of stuff in America, politics, and camelbacks. At the end of our conversation, I had another one of my "What if I did THIS?!" moments, and what follows was captured on film and can be found below. Look for the firemen dressing me up... Needless to say, once I hit the ground I was told to "HIDE" because the boss came around. This is to explain the scene where I'm chilling in the room alone. It was really funny, because I took off the gear and came out and the chief never knew the difference. There was quite a bit of snickering, winking, and nudging (figuratively) the rest of the night and the next morning between the three firemen and us...

The night passed with good talking, reading, and working out. The morning came (after the alarm rang four times), JM and I packed up and headed out the door. We grabbed breakfast at "El Desayuno" (what an original name) that included some "empanadas with queso" (bread with cheese), a donut (not that great), and then some strawberry yogurt with corn flakes. As I ate the yogurt and corn flakes out of a small cup, I felt like the woman from the "Itsy-Bitsy Teeny-Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" Dannon commercial... you know what I'm talking about? If not, just take the title I gave it, imagine a woman eating yogurt and staring at a bikini on the wall, and you've got the whole commercial.

We hiked a lot on Friday. The first was a 4 km hike to San Miguelito, where we were offered some disgusting looking food. Let me put it to you this way: the woman was stirring her meat (which consisted of what most people don't use from a pig) with a wooden plank in a huge bowl and serving it on non-disposable kitchen ware. Think for a second how often they probably wash that stuff, add to it the lack of health value (and surplus disgusting value) the food contained and you get the meal she was serving. And people ate it.

JM and I hiked back to Pillaro, got temporarily disoriented, then hiked to Marco Espinel where we consumed lunch. I found another playground, so of course I had to indulge in a playground workout (though this one wasn't as flashy as the last one... the camera wasn't rolling!). We hiked the 5 km (mas o menos) back to Pillaro and then headed for what appeared to be an ok hike to San Andres. Appearances can be deceiving... especially when you're not looking too closely at a map. The hike was probably around 3 miles and at least 2 of them were uphill. The first hill we climbed honestly went for about 3/4 of a mile and with all of the curves in the road we were constantly hoping for a flat road around the next turn to only find more uphill. My motto was "Don't stop until the top", but JM eventually asked "What if there is no top", and I actually believed him for a bit. It went on FOREVER. Once in the town, I sat down and didn't move for about 25 minutes. We hiked (approximately) 11+ miles for the day, the majority being uphill (because we didn't hike back from San Andres). We caught a bus to Huapante, found nothing there (literally... hardly anything at all), then caught a camioneta (truck taxi) to Salceda.

In Salceda, we were pointed in the direction of a restaurant to eat named "Asadero Emanuel". We headed inside and this proved to be a very good decision. First of all, the prices were sweet! I got a steak and eggs plate (a thin, but good sized steak, two eggs, a bowl of rice, french fries, and a salad) for $3.25. Oh yes... JM noticed some tracts near the register and I saw that the owner was reading his Biblia, so we ended up talking with him about our faith (for we all share the same faith- praise be to God!). His name is Angel, he got into the restaurant business four years ago and already has two restaurants to his name! Or as he would probably say, to the Lord's precious name. He offered us a place to stay for the night and we gratefully took it. We each got our own room! That's how crazy it was! His second house consisted of a few bedrooms and a bathroom on top of his two-story restaurant (the kitchen and sinks were uptop while most of the seating and cooking chicken was downstairs). We had a wonderful conversation about Christianity and I believe we all came away very encouraged.

Saturday morning he further blessed us by serving us a breakfast of eggs (here in Ecuador most people put veggies in their eggs- no me gusta), rice, chicken, and juice. Please keep him, his family, and his business in prayer, for he truly was a blessing to JM and I! We caught a bus to Mulalillo and then waited (after gathering info) for a bus to another town....... but it didn't come for a long time. The Lord blessed us with someone waiting with us who lived in the town, so he gave us the stats and we bounced back to Salceda. From there we went to Latacunga and on to Pujilí where we consumed almuerzo (lunch). We chatted with some kiddos, caught a bus back to Latacunga, then grabbed the first bus we were able back to Riobamba. JM and I slept most of the ride, but while I was awake the last 30 minutes I read most of Nehemiah and am just blown away at how he so humbly asked things of the Lord! I especially love the verses that say:

"...I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"

The king said to me, "What is it you want?"
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it." (Nehemiah 2:2b-5)

He admits to being very much afraid, and when the king asks him what he wants he prays "to the God of heaven" before/as he answers. Many of his prayers include humbly asking the Lord to look upon His servant, Nehemiah, with favor... I desire this respect of the Lord and this true desire to serve Him in every way I can!

Once back in Riobamba, I e-mailed it up for a bit and then was thinking about going to get fruit but decided that I didn't have enough time to head out, buy fruit and still get to band practice on time, so I decided against it, continuing to seek to honor God by being on time. A few minutes later I received a call from Andrew saying that there WAS no band practice that night! Many different other little details of the story make it clear to me that I am SO thankful in the Lord's strength I was able to resist the initial temptation to go out, buy fruit, and go to band practice late for I would have missed the call and gone to an empty church. Thanks, God... all glory be to you.

But anyway, I got off the bus near the usual market I buy from (La Merced) only to find it closed. Great. So I walked around Riobamba, asking for this one market (San Alfonzo) and praying that it was still open (because Saturday is market day in Riobamba- the freshest fruit!)... I power-walked/ran across the city, asking numerous people "Donde esta el mercado San Alfonzo?" and finally discovering the place, still alive with many vendors selling fruit. Praise the Lord. And after all that searching I ended up just bought all of my fruit from the same lady/vendor. Boy did I buy fruit... 7 apples, 8 pears, 6 little bananas, 6 kiwi, 6 plums, 8 tangerines, a cantaloupe, 14 strawberries, and .50 worth of grapes. Oh, and the lady gave me four tiny peaches because I bought so much from her. How am I ever going to consume all of this?! I am looking forward to eating this fruit, especially because all of the above only cost $7.50!!! Oh, Ecuadorian fruit prices, how I shall miss thee...

The night including chatting with my parents, posting a few pics, surfing the net, heavily-delayed skyping with my friend Bryan, and then trying to find this video of Manny Ramirez making a ridiculous play against the Orioles. It was pretty sweet, but not worth the time it took to find it...

This morning I continued reading in Joshua before church (oh yes, I forgot to mention... I have begun Joshua because I *sniffle* finished 1 Peter. Praise God for all the lessons learned in 1 Peter! I am reviewing them each day and really trying to apply them to my life) and then headed off to band practice at 10 AM. I was surprised to find everyone there on time (happily) and we commenced not 10 minutes after 10! Praise God! We had a lot of fun practicing, church service went well, and I chatted with some friends after the service finished. I went back to my room and then did something I've been wanting to do for a while but never made the time... REALLY cleaned my room.

Those that know me know that I'm not a slob (thanks be to God), but here in Riobamba I have let too many crumbs just sit there, so today I got to work. I took everything off my counters and used the stuff I bought at Akí to scrub the stuff off the counters and in the bathroom. It is SO nice to have a truly clean room. I am praying that I really work hard at cleaning my heart, attitude, and life overall with the same motivation that I cleaned my room today. Oh, Father, may this be a daily effort for Your greatest glory in my life!

An afternoon with the Coupes was followed with time at Andrea's house! It was lovely, like usual, spending time with her entire family, and I had the privilege of helping her prepare for her interview on Tuesday (prayers appreciated!) for her Visa out of the country. We chatted (with her family), read the Word a bit, and had some good prayer time, as well. I caught the taxi home (well, to the Coupes) intending to go outside and play basketball, but then lost motivation and ended up playing with the baby. Good trade :-). Bible Study happened at 7 PM, and we were blessed with another great turn out! Eight people came and we discussed many deep, theological questions, such as "how does God choose people?" (Paul writes "as God's chosen people" in verse 12 of chapter 3 of Colossians) and "why is it so hard to forgive the people around us?" Praise the Lord for such a wonderful, teachable group we have on Sunday nights... I shall miss them, but am very EXCITED for the Bibles I ordered (Spanish-English New Testaments) arrived with the missionary team today! I have already been thinking about who to give them to and want to thank each and every one of you who supported me in this trip, for the Bibles were bought with the money the Lord blessed me with through you... please be praying for each and every person that is going to receive these Bibles... pray for wisdom on my part to know where to distribute them and then teachable spirits from each recipient.

After the Study I walked the five blocks back to my street talking with Luis with JM and Adriana behind us. I had a wonderful conversation with Luis and he shared with me that he might have the opportunity to go to Africa as a missionary! Please keep this in prayer for him... a night of highlighting in Henry's Bible (that will be presented to him tomorrow night) and chillin' happened tonight.

One of the really cool things I found in Joshua 1 was the overwhelming theme of "be strong and courageous" that was preached to Joshua by God (three times) and the Israelites (once). It's very interesting because the Lord tells Joshua how great He is going to bless Joshua and yet constantly is saying "be strong and courageous... do not be terrified." I believe that, due to what happened with Moses (one small tweak to a miracle made him unable to enter the Promised land) could have made Joshua tremble a bit. That was a HUGE responsibility! To lead the Israelites, God's people, at such a historic time! Right after Moses, one of the most significant characters in the history of the world, performed such fantastic miracles and was so close to God! I wouldn't blame him for being a bit frightened... but God said no. "Be strong and very courageous". Even in times of blessing, God calls us to be strong and courageous, for with great blessing comes an even greater responsibility to glorify God in EVERYTHING you do. So while God is piling on the blessings in life (and if you stop and think about it, He really is), we must be strong in the Lord's strength and courageous with His courage... "for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Amen and Amen.

In His strength (and courage) alone...

Luke

PS Please pray that I truly honor the Lord with these Bibles and do rely upon His strength and courage to go on each and every day. Also keep Henry, Andrea, Luis, the Bomberos, Angel and his family, and the many other people/things I mentioned in this novel in prayer...



Captain's Log: Part 4. Buen Provecho (this means Enjoy, but it pertains to enjoying your food... so pretend that watching this is like eating some good meal, like from Asadero Emanuel, and then I can be justified in saying 'Buen Provecho')...

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend! My camera died (great battery management, Luke) on the second day, so no kids this weekend... stories and video to come...

This picture was taken inside "Asadero Emanuel", where we were blessed with wonderful Ecuadorian hospitality. The cool part of this picture is the elevator right beside the roasting chicken... the cooking was done upstairs and sent down, then the dirty dishes were sent up to be washed. I just found this so cool...

Got questions? Answers soon to come... Stay tuned...

The beautiful view of Pillaro, Ambato (in the distance), and Chimborazo...

The cheese at Salinas. If you look beside the table, you can catch a glimpse of the real life "Big Cheese".

Chimborazo. This is above the tree level, which is why it looks like a barren desert.

Praise the Lord for a great weekend! May we all "be strong and courageous" in the Lord's strength and courage as the tests, trials and blessings come our way. Be a blessing!

"The Harvest is Plentiful..."

Wow... I am blown away by the glorious grace of our Father in Heaven. Quick recap of the day...

SMAC was fun this morning- phrasal verbs and then asking crazy questions like, if you could go on a date with a celebrity, who would you go with? If you could be really good at any hobby or sport, which would you choose? The scariest response I got was one young lady said "Paul McCartney", who is like 80... it was a lot of fun, though, and the kids all even said "awwww..." when I told them it was time to go. Praise God for a fun morning there!

I then took the bus to the right stop and made it to Wong's house only to find that he wasn't feeling up to meeting today. So I met with Diana and helped her learn English for about an hour and it was a blast! I REALLY love the family that Wong lives with (although I still don't know their apellido- last name)... please keep them all in prayer (all 6 of them) and Wong as well...

I left thinking that I was going to go with JM to teach the professors at UNACH, but Edison called and canceled again... so I had the privilege of spending the afternoon with the Coupes! I met their friend, Cristian, as well. He's a really cool guy who just graduated from high school and is already giving sermons at their church. I had the blessing of helping the family get rid of their leftovers (and they think I'm doing them a favor) and then also helping Mr. Bill and Cristian move some furniture to their storage place (in case I didn't mention it, they return to the states July 31). It was a ton of fun rolling the barrels (which is how their stuff is stored) around and joking with Cristian and Mr. Bill. We returned to have brownies and ice cream and I discovered I'd been duped by the lady at the ice cream store... she gave me cherry ice cream when I asked for Vanilla (she was very sneaky about it now that I think about it and never showed me the ice cream case up close... I was also pretty inattentive throughout the purchasing process). As Cristian put it, she probably said "Stupid Gringo, he has no idea".

I left for TKD after that and Wong was only there for the very beginning. We learned some of the basic forms and sections for the exam to "level up" a belt color (though I'm not here long enough for that. It was fun, though)... afterwards, I stuck around with Henry again and was helping him with his restaurant words and some basic English (months, days, etc) when he mentioned that he had just received a Spanish-English New Testament (in a terrible translation) the other day. I asked him a bit about his faith (Catholic) and if he reads the Bible, which he answered "yes, but I don't really understand it". CHA-CHING! I was so excited already and we were just getting started...

We started to talk about the virgin Mary and he said that "The Bible states that she has 6 kids more after Jesus, so how could she be a virgin?" (in Spanish- the whole important part of the conversation was in Spanish which is just another testament to God using a broken instrument, me and my Spanish, to accomplish glorious things for His Name). He also stated that I'm the first person he's ever met that agrees with him on this subject, which tells you something about the majority of Ecuadorians and their faith. He told me how he seeks to live a good life for God and loves talking to Jesus all the time during each day. When I asked him if he was going to heaven someday, he gave me one of the most interesting answers I've ever received: that when he died he would go to sleep until Jesus returned and then he would ascend into heaven. Apparently this is a Jehovah's witness belief (Mr. Johnny informed me)... the kicker came when I asked him if he would get to heaven because of his deeds or because of his beliefs, and he answered "deeds, because many people say 'I believe in God' but live a bad life. I am living a good life and because of that I am going to heaven..."

One of the other wonderful things was whenever I opened the Bible and had him start reading, he would read on and on and on until either the passage stopped or I stopped him! We looked at John 3:16, Matthew 7:15-23 (tree and it's fruit- I used this to help him see that just because people say they believe in God doesn't mean He will accept them into heaven), 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit), 1 Peter 3:9 (don't repay insult for insult, but with blessing), Luke 10:27 (the first and second greatest commandments) and John 14:15 ("If you love Me, you will obey what I command"). It was a glorious time pouring through the Scripture, and he kept telling me that I was "absolutely right". He also told me he always tried to live the best life he could for God and was a very peaceful, non-violent man. But after that, one of the most encouraging things I've ever been told during this type of conversation, he said (and really meant it): "I am going to start living a better life tomorrow... no! From this moment, I am going to live a better life". WOW! Praise GOD! And later in our conversation, after much explanation, I asked him again "how are you going to get to heaven? By your deeds or your beliefs (faith)?" And he answered "by my beliefs". After an hour and a half of conversation, he prayed the "prayer of salvation" and ladies and gentlemen, we have a new brother in Christ. He prayed the prayer with such strength in his voice, and this guy does everything to his fullest ability, so I know he meant it. We had another guy join us right before the prayer and pray right along, but I don't know if he really meant what he repeated... please keep him in prayer. Also, as the trials come for our new brother, Henry, please be steadfastly keeping him in prayer, that God grows him into a wonderful man of His to be a blessing to the nations! It was so wonderful to see the joy in his face and countenance and say, as we were leaving, "Dios te bendiga, hermano" (God bless you, brother).

This is what God has called us to do. This is what God has called me to do. I miss my family like crazy and can't wait to get back to my JMU friends, but I can't even begin to comprehend leaving this place. God has taught me so much and blessed me in ridiculous ways. After my conversation with Henry tonight and the prayer, I was so humbled (still am) and wanted to cry... yet also so full of the joy of the Lord. All the glory be to God... forever and ever... Amen.

Matthew 9:37-38
"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.'"

Here I am, working in the field, just doing my duty as an unworthy servant of the Lord.

Thanks, God.

Tuesdays with... Wong?

Praise God for another day of breath... I pray that I use each and every one of those breaths for His greatest glory in every facet of my life...

This morning I had a nice quiet time in 1 Peter (5:6-9)... it is a very encouraging Scripture talking about casting all your cares on Him "because He cares for you". Wow! God cares for us! Although we falter and sin and hurt His perfect glory, He still cares for us and desire for us to cast our anxieties on Him... also, verse 8 talks about being "self-controlled and alert". This is found multiple times throughout the Scriptures, but it is always good to hear again, because I know that I tend to slack off and be a bit too relaxed at times... praise the Lord for His wonderful Word.

SMAC was aight this morning. John Mark led the first hour dealing with idioms and I actually learned a new one or two (I can't remember which ones, but I think "row your own canoe" was one of them. Ask JM what it means). The second hour dealt with irregular verbs and the Lord allowed me the wonderful opportunity to put into practice a lesson He's taught me... "clothe yourselves with humility towards one another". Right before the time was up, I decided to launch "Lie vs. Lay" on the poor Ecuadorians... the worst part about it all was that I wasn't 100% sure of the correct tenses! My phenomenal Grandmother, Dona Sjogren Petty, has taught me plenty about grammar, especially this one, but it slipped my mind today... I'm sorry I failed you Gra'ma (and you too, second-grammar-teacher: Mom). I recalled that one of them had the same past tense and past participle tense, but seemed to think that "lay" sounded good for the past and past participle of "lie". For those who don't know, to lay something down is "Today I lay the book down, yesterday I laid the book down, and in the past I have laid the book down." To lie down means you're lying yourself down: "Today I lie down, yesterday I lay down, and I have lain down in the past" (this doesn't apply to lie when it means "telling a lie"). I thought it might be "lay, laid, lain" and "lie, lay, lay", for although it didn't sound 100% correct, it sounded more correct to me (at the time) than the other. John Mark disagreed, so I went to the internet to check it and sure enough, John Mark was right.

So I had the opportunity to be proud and not really say anything, or to go admit that he was right and I wrong. In the Lord's strength, I was able to tell him that he was correct and say "good job". Praise God for being strong in our weakness... for that is definitely one of my weaknesses. All glory to Him.

After SMAC, we grabbed some mid-morning ice-cream (similar to second breakfast for hobbits) and then I caught the bus on my way to Wong's house. He told me to disembark at the first light, so that's what I did... although with him being a native Corean learning Spanish and me being a Gringo learning Spanish, I believe something got "lost in translation", for I did not recognize my landing spot as I started to walk around the street corner. I called him, discovered it was the first light AFTER the Polytecnica (one of the colleges in Riobamba), and then walked with him back to his place. We talked about politics (not my strong point) and religion a bit more, then hung out in the kitchen eating peanuts and cantaloupe while lunch was prepared. Please pray for His heart as he considers himself a "half-Christian", not wanting to associate with believers due to the hypocrisy in many of their lives, yet lives with a Christian Ecuadorian family (they LOVE Hillsong United- an automatic plus with me) and his family back home is apparently Christian, as well.

I talked with the family a lot today, and it was just a very blessed feeling being able to converse 100% in Spanish and understand the vast majority of what they were saying! Praise God! Luis called me and wanted to meet, so we played basketball a bit and then sat in their tiny library. The University Libraries here are small. Tiny. Microscopic.

I took a taxi home from the University, changed clothes, and then headed off to TKD early to meet with Henry to help him with English. He works at a restaurant and was asking me questions like "How do you say, 'Welcome', 'what would you like to eat', 'juice'" and other things. It is a pleasure to help him because he's so receptive! He's also a beast at TKD. Tonight's class involved learning some sweet new kicks (bad guys, watch out) and continuing to see that my inflexibility really hurts my TKD ability. We had about 20 minutes of stretching to finish the day, and it was crazy. I don't think I've ever pushed my legs that far apart. Wow...

Chill time with Wong as we walked, bus back to my place (ice-cream pick-up on the way), walking with Laura Coupe to get some eggs for the brownies, meeting the lady I was supposed to stay with this whole time (and her husband) and talking with them (a blessing!), then showering and a quick dinner. After that, off to the Coupes for some brownies and skype with the family!

This afternoon was supposed to be my free afternoon where I could read, relax, and clean up my dirty apartment a bit (it's not messy, just dirty in some places). But God had other plans... I'm thankful that He is using me in these people's lives. Please pray that I continue in His strength alone...

Luke

PS If you have yet to, please check out my Sunday blog and read what the Lord's been teaching me. It's some really sweet stuff, and I'm so thankful.

Monday Monday...

God is SOOOO great! Praise His glorious name!

This morning John Mark and I went to SMAC and taught the song "Everlasting" by Sonicflood for the first hour. The second hour consisted of them making up a story, sentence by sentence, and repeating it. I know that the best way to learn the language is to get people to talk, so that's what they did today... the first story was about a guy named Matthew who was afraid of wolves, lived in a small town, liked to play the flute and guitar, wanted to be a singer, and died at the hands of thieves at the very end. The second story was about a "strange" fox that had five legs, three eyes, strange kids (also with three eyes), and green fur. These are my students. And I love them!

Afterwards, JM and I parted ways and I met up with Wong, the TKD instructor. We went to his casa (house) to talk in English and have lunch. The family he's living with is very nice! They have four kids, from 23 to 15ish, and some can speak decent English. Wong gave me a pirated copy of Lion King, LK 2 and LK 3 all on one DVD because it wouldn't work on his computer. Sweet. I accepted it so that I can watch the Spanish version and learn something (maybe... though I hardly ever watch movies). Disney apparently has great translation.

After talking with him, I met the oldest daughter, Diana. She spent a year in the States so knows a great deal of English but still wants to learn more. So I'm planning on helping her and any of her other siblings learn English, as well! It was fun talking to the parents during lunch and encouraging, for they said that my Spanish was very good! Praise God! All glory to Him...

I met up with Mr. Johnny and John Mark for a sort-of debrief time and it was good. Afterwards, John Mark and I walked Riobamba, buying brownie mix and dry-erase markers (for SMAC). We headed over to the TKD building and then parted ways again. Training was fun tonight! It was a lot of hard work, but the initial warm-up was really sweet... it involved leap frog, hopscotch and sprinting out of strange positions (lying on your back, sitting down, kneeling, etc). I then was pulled aside for my lack of a good kick (my inflexibility rearing it's ugly head) along with three other guys and we practiced a roundhouse kick... very difficult (the way Wong taught us). After more lessons (defense forms), we finished, and Wong and I walked across town to catch a bus back to Riobamba Norte (for me... he went to the gym). The Maust family was very kind and invited me over for dinner and waited for me to finish TKD as well! God bless them for that... it was a wonderful pot-roast meal and reminded me of my Mother's back home... my Mom makes the BEST Pot Roast in the world... it's been confirmed ;-).

After Pot Roast, I had a lovely conversation with my sister Elise, wrote a few e-mails, downloaded some hilarious "This Is Sportscenter" promo ads, and finished the night talking with Brett and KJ. Thank the Lord for such a wonderful sister and friends... may the Lord bless, lead, and guide them all for His greatest glory...

Please pray for Abby, that she finishes her last few weeks in Tennessee strong and that she continues to learn and apply... also for me, that I would be open to the Lord, listening to what He says. It's going to go by very fast, and while I truly miss my family and friends back home, I can't say I'm ready to leave or really want to...

1 Peter 5:5-6 was on my agenda this morning. "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility towards one another..." is how verse 6 starts. This really struck me, for we can fool ourselves into thinking that we're humble enough because we humble ourselves before the Lord when in reality He is calling us to humble ourselves "towards one another". In doing this, we will be humbling ourselves before Him... is there anyone in your life you need to humble yourself towards?

Christ's unworthy servant, seeking to do the duty set before him...

Luke

Caution

Much to write... not much time to write it! I apologize to my loyal readers... I have been bad at updating lately.

Wednesday consisted of SMAC in the morning, English with Wong during lunch, then spending a good amount of time just hanging out at my place and reading... John Mark just returned home from his fantastic retreat and we were supposed to teach at UNACH, but I got a call saying that we wouldn't be needed that day. So I ended up going over to the Maust house (occupied only by JM) for a bit before heading off to TKD. At Tae-Kwon-Do I continued to discover how inflexible I am but also had a blast learning some defense positions! I'm sorry I have to miss it Thursday and Friday! After the lesson, which ran REALLY late (I was supposed to meet JM at Orale around 6ish... class didn't end until 6:45), I jogged 10 blocks or so to the restaurant... if people in Riobamba didn't think I was crazy already for almost always dribbling a basketball, now they got to see me sprinting through town. After some brownie and ice cream at the Coupes (who I also ran into at KFC with Wong earlier), JM and I headed back to his place to chill for a bit. I talked with Abby on the phone, a blessing like always, then a bit of chatting with friends, watched 2 episodes of "The Office", and hit the hay.

Thursday began with another great QT in 1 Peter (scroll down for details), packing lunch, and meeting JM at his place. We took a while getting ready for the trip, checking e-mail, etc, and finally left for downtown so I could get some money and fruit for the trip. God really stretched my faith by challenging me on a few things that morning... good stuff. 1 Peter 4:7-11... check it out!

We got on a bus to Palmira, spent a bit of time there eating and then investigating, and headed off to Tíxan. In Tíxan, we hit a dead time (siesta: 1-3 PM) and so no one was really around. Seeing a sweet playground right in front of me, I made sure the free time was put to good use (see the second video below). We had a pretty lazy day overall, but in Alausi met a pretty cool guy, an author and historian, and JM had a blast talking to him about many different subjects (I followed most of the time... but was uninterested at other parts so didn't really understand it). We grabbed a bite at a "Chifa" (Chinese) restaurant and took a truck-taxi to Sibambe. Once there we set up camp, journaled and read, and called it a night.

On the morn of Friday I had more fun on a plaground and then we went through town to find some breakfast and also catch the bus. The theme of this day was patience/waiting. While waiting for the first bus, the Holy Spirit stirred in my heart and I talked to a woman who was also waiting for a ride about Evangelic Christianity vs. Catholicism. We talked about Mary's virginity, personal relationships with Jesus and other things. Please keep her in prayer... I didn't get her name. We rode the bus to Huigra and had some fun with the children of the city. We talked to a few people about the details and then set out in pursuit of the pastor of one of the Evangelical churches. After being led around town for a bit, we found him and had a great conversation with him about his ministry and the church's history. The Holy Spirit again stirred in my heart and we prayed in Spanish for his ministry... this is something God is constantly teaching me, to follow through with His commands (stirrings on my heart). We took a taxi up and down and side-to-side until we arrived at Chunchi. There we had an overpriced lunch and some dessert and caught the overpriced bus to the next town, Capsol. In Capsol was a prejudiced dog (he only barked at Gringos) and about 200 people. Not a whole lot, but they had some very realistic needs and it was good that we went there. Then began the mega waiting... we thought that because it was the main highway there would be many buses passing, but it took us an hour and a half to finally catch a bus to our destination. On the way traffic stopped dead due to road work. Great... people literally got out of the bus and walked around. When we finally arrived at Gonzol (we were more or less tossed out of the bus as it passed), we were in a cloud! It was soooooo cool. Just white pretty much all around you... visibility not too great. You couldn't see more than 100 feet in front of you... We talked to some kiddos about the town and then walked back to the road in the darkness. John Mark was not hugely in favor of the idea, but I really wanted to get home Friday night because we didn't have a whole lot more to do (one more city) and I was hoping to play some sports on Saturday morning (the best time to do it). John Mark was kind enough to go along with the plan. We waited at the road... and waited... and waited. Except this time it was cold, foggy, and not many cars passed (at the early hour of 8 PM). We had a good number of people slow down and then decide that they didn't want to take us. Again... God was teaching us patience. After four buses crossed going the opposite way, we caught a bus going back to Riobamba (it was a little late to go to Guasuntos, so we hope to hit it some other time). One cheesy Wesley Snipes movie and a lot of sleep later, we got back.

Saturday morning was another sweet Quiet Time and some video editing (see below. Please). I went to the high school to play basketball later than I would have liked to, but still put in a decent game. I was able to share my faith through explaining that I don't drink because "mi cuerpo es un templo para Jesus" (my body is a temple for Jesus). They seemed receptive to what I was saying and I hope to interact with them more in the future! Please pray for Venicio, Christopher, Ivan, Andy and Marcus. After basketball I walked through town on my way to buy fruit and was stopped by some Ecuadorians wanting to film me for a school project. I agreed and had a hilarious time answering their English questions (and making up some answers, such as "what is your cell phone number"- totally made up some number). I continued, picked some stuff up at Akí, and met my friend Andrea! It was good to see her, as I hadn't for a while, and we walked and bought "bastante" (much, a lot) fruit at the market San Alfonzo. I don't know how I'll eat it all... but we'll see. We went back to her house and I had a great time reconnecting with her family! It was very encouraging as both she and her Mom said my Spanish has improved a lot... all glory to God! After that, I dropped stuff off at my house and took the Maust family out to dinner (with the money you supporters gave! Thanks!). We went to "Fogón Sport", I got another BBQ burger (although not as good as the one in Quito), got ice cream downstairs afterwards, and headed back to Riobamba Norte. I walked to the Coupe's next and had a good, encouraging conversation with my parents and brother. It was much needed... I finished the night playing "Bloons" with Hunter until a late hour in the night. Somewhere during Saturday or Wednesday, I forget, I finished watching "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring". Such a good movie...

Today I rose, had another blessed 1 Peter QT, and suited up to play basketball. Yes, on a Sunday morning. I made the decision to witness to the guys on the court instead of going to church, and the Lord blessed my time. I sought to be a witness... but it was very difficult. To put it simply, Ecuadorian basketball is much different than American. They call fouls differently (ie all the time) and whine a lot more. Playing basketball my college gym is totally different, and it was very frustrating at times. I pray that the Lord still shone through my play, though I know I could have done better. I ended up having a great conversation with Milton and Alexeis at the end of the games. We talked about Catholicism vs. Evangelic Christianity, about the virgin Mary, about faith and many other great things. Please keep them both in prayer as I hope to be talking with them more soon! After the wonderful conversation, I headed off to the stadium to watch "Olmedo", the 10th place team in Liga's division, play. They are the Riobamba team, and they're not that great. I found that out in person today. But it was fun nonetheless... I sat with the Coupe's and rode home with them. After lunch, I talked with Hunter and Dad for a while and played more Bloons. Oi. A good "pep talk" from the Coupes (a needed encouragement), a wonderful conversation with Elise (and her reaction to the second video) and her friend, and some dinner at my house later, we had Bible Study at the church. Ten people came! It was great... please continue to pray for Maria Isabella, her daughter, Celiano, Julie (new), Jackie, Evelyn, her friend (I forgot her name), Efrain, Myriam, and Jhon (new to the study) in prayer. We learned about how Jesus came and freed us from the legalism of this world but we're still called to look to things above for direction (ie follow Jesus' commands). The students learned a lot, praise God!! What a blessing... I finished the night talking with my friend Cat from Australia for a good while. It was a phenomenally blessed conversation as we were able to share what God has been teaching us and just get so EXCITED about Jesus together as brother and sister in Christ! Thank You, Jesus, for blessing me with such a great friend... everyone reading this, please continue to pray that the light of Christ shines through her to everyone around her...

Now some of the stuff I'm learning... wow. God is SO amazing.

1 Peter 4:8-9
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another with out grumbling." One of the things that sticks out to me about both of these verses is the use of "each other" and "one another". The Bible gives no conditions as to who you should and shouldn't love or be hospitable to. I was having a bit of a tough time with both these past few days, but the Lord really has taught me that we can't be selective about who we want to be hospitable to. It doesn't say "Offer hospitality to the less fortunate with out grumbling" or "to the poor" but to "one another". This means EVERYONE. If Bill Gates were to walk through your door, although you know he has plenty of money and funds to support himself (ie get a hotel, buy dinner for the state of Virginia that night, etc), you're still called to be hospitable to him. There are no conditions...

1 Peter 4:11
"If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."
I just love this verse... we're called to speak as people "speaking the very words of God" to each other. How many of us are really doing that? When we serve, we must do it in His strength... honestly I don't know how I could do it any other way. All of this so that GOD may receive all the glory in our lives. So that we cannot take any credit for anything we speak or do. All the glory to God!

1 Peter 4:16
"However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." Jesus suffered here on earth and had insults yelled at Him, so if they treat us as they did Jesus, we should rejoice! For they MUST see some faint resemblance in our "clouded mirror" of the glorious Son of God! We are mirrors, seeking to reflect Jesus to the world, but our sin clouds the mirror, like the bathroom mirror right after a hot shower. But if the people around us are treating us like they treated Him, they must see some semblance of Him in our lives. This should cause an outpouring of thanks to God, not grumbling and complaining! For it is a sign that we are on the right track with 1 John 2:6! Praise God!

1 Peter 5:2...-3
"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers... not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." This Peter writes to the elders, but I see application for everyone. When we want to encourage/convict a brother or sister, we are not called to "lord it over" them, which would entail trying to show how right you are and wrong they are, but to be an example to them. Unless we have earned the right, through much encouragement and love, to let the Lord convict them through us, we are called to be an example (and even if they are convicted through us, we still need to be an example to them).

And while I was flipping through the Scriptures I came across this verse that blew me away:

Luke 17:10
"So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants, we have only done our duty.' " WOW! This is Jesus talking, and He tells us that even when we've done EVERYTHING we were told to do (which we'll never do- successfully following through with every command Jesus gave), we're still called to say we're unworthy servants, only doing our duty. The whole idea of going "above and beyond" is totally man-made... Jesus called us to "be perfect, therefore, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." So we can never go above and beyond his goals for us. Yes, we can praise and worship God through obeying His commands, but we should never feel like we're doing God a favor or we're really doing something "extra special" for Him and expect something in return. Jesus says that even when we've accomplished EVERYTHING he told us to do, we're still to take on the attitude of an unworthy servant, only doing his duty. The example He gives just previous to this verse is of a servant that prepared dinner for his master when the master asked him. Jesus says (verse 9): "Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?" NO! The Master provides the food and the servant's housing, food, etc, and the servant is just doing his job well. So why should we expect a pat on the back from God or a reward for doing our duty?! Jesus says no...

This was really eye opening and humbling for me... even when we do something really great for God, we are still just doing our duty. We should never take a proud outlook and think WE did something really sweet, for God provided the strength, wisdom, discernment, etc. All we did was do our duty, which we fail at so often. Our "above and beyond" is still miles away from the effort Jesus desires from us day in and day out. So next time you think God owes you something or that you went "above and beyond" in serving Him, remember that that's impossible. There is no above and beyond, just servants of the Most Amazing King in the world doing their duty.

Jesus... I am so humbled by Your teaching and just everything written in Your Word. Thank You for Your grace in revealing these truths to me... may I apply them to my life, and the same for anyone who reads this... may we glorify You in every facet of our life, giving 120% of our effort to "Be perfect... just as (our) heavenly Father is perfect." I am left speechless at how Wondrous You are... I love you.

In His strength alone...

Luke

The beautiful landscape on the ride to Huigra from Sipambe.

Two young caballeros (gentlemen) from Huigra.

I wish we had these in the United States. Too many people would sue, though, for stupid injuries. And this is why Ecuador's playgrounds > United State's playgrounds.

A few niñas in Alausi.

This boy, named "Michael", was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. "Hola..."

Captain's Log, part 3. Enjoy.



If you are pregnant, have a heart condition, or are prone to faint at the sight of disgusting things, you probably shouldn't watch this video. On a side note, I promise that my parents raised me up correctly and fed me well...