buen día, costa rica! cómo estás?

Well, tomorrow I'm heading to Costa Rica for about a week. I've decided not to bring my laptop on this trip (which will be good!), so unless I happen to stumble upon a computer with internet down there, I will not be posting updates while I'm there.

I'm really excited about this trip. I've never been to Costa Rica before, although I have heard it is very beautiful. In many ways I wish I could say I'm heading to Honduras this summer, but pharmacy rotations will prevent that from happening. But it's ok! I'm just so grateful for the individuals, and ultimately God, for allowing me to serve those who are struggling to survive through illness. I'll be heading down with a small team of doctors, pharmacists, dentists, and nurses to help treat illness many Americans would recognize, as well as many they won't (parasites being a big one that is rare in the US). The only real details I know at this point is that we will spend 2 or 3 days on this island...I know we take a ferry from the mainland to a fishing boat, and then take the fishing boat the rest of the way. Oughta be a good time! :)

This is my fourth time to leave the country, and there's always a slight feeling of reservation before I leave. You know, you're leaving the comforts of American society, the benefits of clean water, food, and hot showers; cars with automatic transmission (still need to learn stick shift some day); the ability to flush toilet paper down the toilet; air conditioning; etc., etc. You get the picture. Thankfully, for each trip I've made, this feeling has lessened considerably. I have no doubt that God will provide everything I need down there, therefore I can help give people the things they need. Another reason this comes easier for me now is that I beginning to see less and less Costa Rica, Honduras, America--I'm beginning to see people and places for what they are: creations of God, with all people made in the image of Yahweh. I don't know if I'll ever get to point where I can take the word "beginning" out of that sentence, but at least it's a start.

I have heard a lot of people say over the years, when discussing foreign missions, that it's not for everybody, that there is a lot of need here in the United States. I agree, yet disagree. Venturing outside of America's borders to serve others might not be for everybody, but it's not because I say so. I believe God calls you to do what He needs you to do...you just have to have an open heart to take a chance and trust in Him. I do feel, however, that everyone should visit a place where people suffer from the absence of the things they need, even if just once (I hope not just once, though!). I'm sure you could find places like that in a few places around the States, but I guarantee you the level of suffering there and the level of suffering you see in a dump in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is drastically different.

Venturing out into the world to serve others also starts the process of breaking down the walls of nationality. We as Americans are fed patriotism for our entire lives, and after only a few years, it can affect our perception of America's place in the world--we just need to drop that and realize when we decide to put on Christ, our allegiance is no longer given to [insert your country here], but to Christ and the life (the normal life) he calls us to live. The phrase we've heard a lot in the media is that we need to turn America back to God. I'm sure the meaning behind that can have a variety of meanings, but this is my opinion of what I'm hearing in that phrase: "we have lost our moral standards as Americans and we need to stop our sinning and become 'real' Americans again". Like I said, that's my opinion. But I will suggest we need to worry less about the moral state of the nation and telling others how to live their life (just as you have chosen how to live yours) and instead, focus more of finding ways to change the state of the church. It's not very hard to see how we have failed as the church in living the way Jesus teaches us. Look at the church buildings we have, look at the disproportionate amount we who live in America have compared to the rest of the world...we have waaaayyy beyond excess, while so many people (with many being our own brothers and sisters in Christ!) having next to nothing that they need, and look at the amount of time we spend worrying about how we "do worship" on Sundays and/or Wednesdays rather than living lives full of worship to God in serving others every day of the week as he charged us to do through Jesus.

Ok...well I guess I digressed from Costa Rica a little bit, but my mind tends to fly all over anyway, so I'll warn you that will probably happen a good bit. However, a lot of these ideas are interconnected in my mind.

Well, I look forward to sharing with you what's going on in Costa Rica and how God is working to transform his people and steadily bring His Kingdom of love and mercy, bit by bit, down to earth.

Cuidaté y Dios te bendiga!

what is a normal life?

This is largely a post explaining the blog title and my purpose in doing this. "Trying to live a normal life" is a paraphrase of something said by one of the people who live and work with WeWillGo Ministries in downtown Jackson, MS (http://wewillgo.org/). The idea is that we, as a people, generally want to live a normal life. However, when we look at what society tells us is a "normal life" and then when we look how Jesus calls us how to live, we should begin to feel some discomfort. I think most people who declare that they follow Christ will say that we need to follow the example of how Jesus lived--but that's it...words are spoken, but relatively little action is taken. I'm guilty of it...it's easy to say something that we've heard all our lives, because this is the way it's been taught to us from our society, church and blood families, friends, etc.

The fact is, the life Jesus tells and shows us how to live is actually quite the polar opposite from how society (of course, my perspective is coming from an American perspective) teaches us how to live. I mean, how Jesus tells us what a normal life should look like should be a pretty flawless example, right? Especially if we call Him the Lord of our lives. Just a few differences in how these two types of normal lives look include:

• fully relying on one's self to succeed (America) vs. fully relying on God for all of your needs (Matthew 5:25-34)
  
• saving up to establish financial security and a relaxing retirement (America) vs. giving up everything to serve others who literally have next to nothing in such a way that every person's needs are met (Acts 2:44-46)
  
• retaliate against those who do you wrong...whether personally or nationally (America) vs. loving your enemies (not just your neighbor), even if they go so far as to take your own life (this may make some of you uncomfortable, but Saul was a Zealot, a Jewish extremist who terrorized early Christians, yet Jesus, who renamed him Paul, chose him to be the one who would help bring the good news to the rest of the world...can you think of any people we call extremists today??) Violence only breeds more violence, from what I've seen. (Matthew 5:43-48, Acts 8:1-3, Acts 9)
  

Well, I'm sure I there's a much better way to summarize what the title of this blog means to me...it actually means many, many more things to me, but what I really want you to get from this is that if you are going to call Jesus your Lord...if I am going to call Him my Lord...we have got to re-evaluate what that "normal" life should look like compared to the life our society and upbringing teaches us. I promise you, there are a LOT of differences...I only listed three. I in no way profess that my life is any kind of an example of this life Jesus talks about...I'm only beginning to discover this amazing way of kingdom life that Jesus shares with us, and I am trying to allow Jesus to show me how I can participate in it. I am a screw-up and a failure in many ways, yet I know that despite the innumerable flaws you and I have, the Holy Spirit can overcome those and do the impossible through us.

This blog is an avenue for me and you to share our perspectives on this life Jesus calls us to live--a life that should be considered normal to us. I welcome any stories you have concerning people in whom you've seen Jesus (ask yourself, "where did I see Jesus today?") or moments where you've seen the Spirit working in communities or events. Moments where I see the Spirit working through individuals and groups of people get me excited! I hope it does the same for you, too. :)