Brother_James's Xanga

Going Home

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 08:59:29 GMT

Well i am in Londond. Sitting in the airport, excited to get home. Africa was good, no it was awesome. I loved it and i know when i come back, whenever that is, i will have that "special" feeling. I don't have much to say. I've changed... I am stoked to get home. Everyone should go out travelling, especially if you are still young like me. God is good, if you dont know him you should. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me. I have fully recovered from malaria and am feeling great. Home will be good... But I will have to travelling again sometime soon. Do not ever become cynical. Do not judge. Do not demand respect. Be filled with joy in every circumstance. Love everyone, for they all deserve. (as much as you do) Cling to the hope you have in Christ, for many times that will seem to be all you have. Be peaceful. Patiently endure through everything. Give people your full attention and "your" time.(but it really isnt your time at all, you have the privlege of living in it) Be bold and not afraid of the Good News. Whistle. Dance. Sing. Smile. Shake hands. Hug people. Whatever you learn, use it to do good for others. Always give and. Dont look at others to fulfill your personal desires. Enjoy where you are. Many things are relative so dont be ignorant of your surrondings.

May God be glorified. May you feel his love and understand how great a sacfrice Jesus took. But how great a reward it is to him for us to turn to God and love him.

Merry Christmas!

This is the end of my blog... it is retiring...

My final week

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:47:09 GMT

Well for my final week I had malaria. Started on the Sunday, just feeling a little funny. My stomach kinda in pain but nothing really bad. So when I got home I lay down and read a book. But when I got up, i made it to the bathroom, then halfway back, I just laid on the courtyard side walk for a bit. Where my friend inticed me with candy so that he could take my temperature. It was arond 103 f. Not bad. So I headed back to bed with some asprin and passed out. The next few days consisted of high fevers, sore back muscles, headaches, convulsing shivers, sweat fest's and delusional dreams. But thanks to Mrs. Jones, who gave a pack of malaria pills to Steph, and thanks to Steph for handing them down to me. I am on the up and up.

I am really excited to go home and I am looking forward to the weekend as well. I am traveling to cape coast with some of my friends and just taking it slow.

Then monday I'm flying home. Crazy!

Pray that I will have a full recovery and that I will have energy to do what I need to do.

Where did that take me and where do I go now?

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 12:41:16 GMT

Well, I 've been sitting at this computer, writing emails, reading articles and getting lost in my thoughts (while my internet time passes by). What did I learn from this trip? Where did it lead me? What do I expect when I get home? Where do I go next.

I've been thinking about the 9-5, school, money, home and God. I come back to this urge for adventure and travel. To go where not many dare to go, to share Gods love to those who haven't tasted it first hand. To be bitten by snakes and not harmed. To stand before authorities and testify. To give up my all, so that Thee All, will be known and glorified. Seeing all that he has done for me is this too much to give?

I look and wonder if my adventure urges are just selfish ambitions and maybe I should "settle down". People think that God's will is always against what they want and always for what they can't stand.(which for me is to "settle down", anytime soon) Not everyone wants to go into the unknown. Not everyone thirsts for adventure. Not everyone has a love for randomness and chaos.

Me, I want to go. I want to travel. But I want it to be for God. Do what I can, when I can do it. I am young, I am single and I healthy. Why not? Go where others can't for them. Allow others to work through me and be the parts of the body they are supposed to be.

So I dont know what I am going to do. But I pray when "it" comes, that I will have the courage to step out and do it. I was fearing the future of the unknown. But now I am stoked. If I love God, follow him and love others with all that I am. Why not?

Africa? East Europe? Canada? Middle East? Asia?...

Carpenter? Musician? Student? Missionary? Pastor?

The options are limitless. All so tempting! Can I do them all? All at the same time? I have to keep reminding myself that I am only 21. But life is so short! And I dont know when it will end!

I pray that it is all not in vanity. That it wont all be in vain. That it will be done with passion and urgency, with percission and accuracy, with love and patients, with holiness and honour, with pure joy and endurance and with faith and hope! With God as my head, with others as better then myself and with me as servant.

So I sit here...

And I tell you to go, to do and to be!

To my dear loved ones, I hope to see you all soon and may God, my God and I hope your God, give you what you truly need. (i hope that all of you who read this feel as a loved one, and if not, lets get to know eachother)

Peace be with you all!

Send more workers out into the fields Lord! May your will be done! God, you are amazing and I just ask to know your love more and more and to have glimpses of your glory!

Qoute

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:35:21 GMT

Hell is not populated mainly by passoinate rebels but by nice, bland, indifferent, respecable people who simply never gave a damn. -Christianity for the modern pagan, Peter Kreeft

A quicky

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:37:27 GMT

So, I'm helping teach, tutor and do whatever else in the chaos. Which is a school, under PCO (population caring organization),the organization I am with. (www.populationcaring.org)

I am also going to Peace Cell meetings once and a while and just listening. On thursday i am going to their micro-loan project meeting and hopefully, during my stay, see the actual projects. Also visiting an art school, a counselling center and whoever invites me in.

Pray that i will have the strength, the joy, the love and the understanding. Pray a blessing upon PCO and its staff.

Thanks!

The will

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:48:56 GMT

“Not everyone who calls out to me ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Hmm.... interesting!

FYI

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:45:13 GMT

I leave in 17 days! but we will see what God says...

Where i am at...

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:41:17 GMT

People!

Let me tell you my recent stories. So, I was in Accra on friday, just walking down the street before sundown, thinking about grabbing something to eat and then go to bed early. As I wondered down this random side-street of downtown, I see a group of "whites" come around the corner. There was a red head leading the pack and as he got closer(for i need glass) i realized who he was! "Cam?" i shout in surprise. He is a friend of mine from Peterborough. (Far Out! Tell me about it) So I end up talking with him and find out he is with this group, PCO, at the Liberian refugee camp outside of Accra. I decided to ride with them that weekend and we go to this beautiful place where a river meets the ocean. No power, beach huts, beside a beach village, fresh fish, big waves and no city noise.

They invited me to come check out the camp and stay with them for my week before my flight. So I helped Cam with teaching and tutoring at the PCO school, which is "free" for the refugee children. During this week the other volunteers kinda put out the idea for my to delay my flight and stay for a bit. I had no objections.

So, thanks to you who kept me and this in your prayers. I am flying home on the 17th of December. Sorry to those who i had made plans with in the next 2 weeks. I guess God wants me to stay in Africa still. My parents have been amazingly supportive in this and this delay. Many blessings to them and many, many thanks.( I am skipping my dads birthday, but then i miss all of the birthdays in my family for 2007. So i think of it as, me, not being prejudice.)

Alright... well i will be at the camp for the next two weeks, helping Cam at the school, as well as looking into their micro-loan project and other things. I know they are looking into how to get people back(obviously) but are trying to think up a plan. So I'll be sitting down with them and talking about all this. They are a great group, both the Liberian directors of PCO and the international volunteers.

I'll put out some more info on this organization when I have it clear in my head.

God is good all the time and gives things as they are need. I've been amazed on this trip.

Give God his worthy glory, be joyful in life, love anyone/everyone, pray, enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts, forgive and be courageous!

Prayer requests

-wisdom for me and Cam

-understanding and the ability to do what needs to be done

-a blessing poured out on my parents

-strength in every area

-boldness to love unconditionally

Prayer request

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:09:44 GMT

So short story, ran into a friend named Cam Fraiser from Peterborough. I am now at the liberian refugee camp adn i have a week left to go before i "fly home".

Now that is in qoutations because i feel like i should try to stay for 2 more weeks. It feels like i should try, there are things to do and the movements are right and good.

So please keep this is your prayers. That if i should stay, that the ticket change would be easy, hopefully free and that i will be extremely effective here.

Thankyou!

Stories to come.

My last country

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:40:44 GMT

Well it was a log bus ride, hopefully the last long bus ride i will go on for a while, but finally i am in Accra, Ghana. Everything went amusingly smooth. Well for me.

I saw a huge women getting into this argument with another man on the bus, while we were at a bus station. She was yelling, almost to the point where she couldnt control her vocals that well. Eventually she got up and did the face to face with stare down and yelling. But that was after a good 2 minutes of yelling , "Porqoui!". When of the workers ran on the bus, looked at her, looked at me and said, "She is a big women, I'm a little man." And walked off the bus. Eventually it cooled down.

Also there was these two guys causing trouble at the Ghana boarding and got kick out of the immigration office and there was lots of yelling. And the man in the office, where i was, kept yelling, "what is going on out there". All while this grumpy guy was sitting behind me because he was having problems with crossing the boarder to Togo and was previously causing some comotion in the office. I just wanted my passport stamped. Which when i eventually got to the desk, he stamped my passport with the departure stamped, realized his mistake, and wrote cancel across it. Then he stamped correctly, turned the page to my visa and stamped it with the departure stamp again... he then shook his head and took the other stamp and stamped over the departure one... (i hope that doesnt cuase problems when i go to leave)

God answered every little request i put forth yesterday. Even for a cold coke at 2 am in the morning. AWESOME.

And some really amazing converstations with the man named Christian, who was a christian. We spent some good time encouraging eachother and chatting about our future goals. He is awesome, he is going to start orphanages, probably in 5 years when he gets his French Residency and had some money and contacts. You hear stuff like that a lot, some ligit and some not. His was deffinitely ligit.

God has been expanding my faith, courage, confindents and boldness in him and in the ministry he puts me into. It has been peacefully inspiring.

My prayer is that God will guide me and that I may follow, so that I may utalize my last 2 weeks here.

Another thanks to all of you for your thoughts, prayers and concerns.