Refiner's Fire

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

So I should have anticipated lots of things to come crashing down and to go crazy right before my trip to India, but I didn't, really. So when things started to get crazy I started to freak out a little bit. Academics at my school doubting my intentions, weird things going on in my personal life, getting sick, getting behind in my schoolwork, and now the tragic events that happened recently in Mumbai. Many people have asked me if I still plan to go to India, and the answer is yes. I have prayed about this trip and I truly believe that I am supposed to go.

Inshallah, Lord willing, I will be on a plane to Newark this Tuesday evening, and then straight to Delhi. I am going to be rather limited in information I share on this blog, so please email me if you would like specifics. Please pray that I get my papers done well and in time for the trip, that my health improves, and that the university will fully support this endeavor as I thought they would all along.

Lately I have been blessed with some great fellowship with some wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ--who have challenged me to trust the Lord more fully, especially when outcomes are uncertain, to study His Word more deeply and to hide it in my heart, to love to serve and to live by faith in such a way that my steps would be impossible without God. He is my source, and life is so much harder when I don't lean completely on Him. I'll end with a passage from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "The Cost of Discipleship."

"Only the man who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly, and unresistingly lets his yoke rest upon him, finds his burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way. The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it. But for those who willingly submit, the yoke is easy, and the burden is light." (p37)

Life Update

Hello all,

My first attempt at an individual blog, I hope that it provides hours of entertainment and joy for those who read it ;-). I am in my final year of graduate school, pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree at the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University. I am studying conflict resolution (if there is such a thing) and international development. I spent the past summer ministering in Laramate, Peru, and you can learn more about that at peru08.blogspot.com. This semester has been incredible: I have met some wonderful new friends from every corner of the earth, my church is welcoming more people every week, and I've been blessed by great fellowship.

The most exciting new development in my life is the grant I just received to write a case study about some religious conflicts going on in India. I will be in India from December 2-29, and thanks to my dear friend Sandeep I will be meeting with many officials and I will have the chance to see much of the country. I will post more information on this trip soon, including an itinerary as I know many will want to pray for me, and that means so much.

I hope you enjoy my posts for this trip. I will leave in three weeks so please pray that preparations and research come together so that I can be prepared to do good work there!

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.
-Proverbs 16:3