there was a time in my life where enjoying a cup of coffee usually meant that i was spending time alone sitting on my porch watching the sunrise as the only sounds that could be heard were various birds or the wind sweeping through the trees.  coffee time was not always solitary time where i would think about  the day ahead or reflect back to days gone by.  it was possible that i was spending time with a best friend of mine in the quiet corner of a starbucks just enjoying each others company.  either way, it was a quiet peaceful time where my surroundings were under my control.  sometimes i miss that cup of coffee.  however in the grand scheme of things i know that God is calling me away from that cup and at this time forcing me into greater communion and community with those around me.  being around mass amounts of people is not something that would choose every day maybe not even every other day.  this year i know that i will be experiencing that community differently than i would in the states because of the all girl situation but here in the latin american countries, we are forced into community in taxiīs, buses, microbusses (on my birthday we squeezed 23 people into 1 bus that normally holds 12-15).  everywhere you go around here it seems that your space is being taken away, your solitude is being taken away and for me, that cup of coffee is being taken away from me.  there is another way here that i way that God is teaching me about community; teaching me to embrace it.

 

Here in Puerto Barrios there is another team here, assembled from many different parts of the globe.  they are a ywam (youth with a mission) team that has about 14 different persons.  they are a great group and they are another aspect to my learning the community life that God wants me to partake in.  let me set this up for you by describing our living conditions here.  our group (team joy) is actually sleeping in a radio station which looks and operates as a house.  the girls have one room (complete with air conditioner and a door!) that all 4 share.  the other bedroom here in the radio station/house is for the owner of the station who is our contact here (paul tonetti).  that leaves yours truly without a bedroom where i can seek my solitude selfishly.  so i sleep behind a work station on a futon in the front room of the house.  for both groups, this house serves as the headquarters for food 3 times a day and is kind of a hangout spot (team joy really knows how to draw a crowd).  all this action takes place right in my room.  every morning i am awoken by people needing to get in (sometimes at 6:30) or just by the noise they produce...which can be considerable.  sometimes i wonder if they even remember that i am there!  this is how everyday goes for me.  i have laid through ywam team meetings, prayer meetings ect...  the only alone time i am afforded is when i use the bathroom or take a shower which is probably in total 30 minutes a day.  even on what would normally be quiet days, there always seems to be some pastor or other adult or child from the local community that drops by and naturally hangs out in my would be space.   my mind screams WHERE IS MY CUP OF COFFEE!!!!!!!!  then God says I HAVE TAKEN IT AWAY!!!!!!!  As he puts me through the crash course of community i know that it is for my own personal good and continued personal growth.  sometimes it is hard to see it through his lenses but it is only frustrating to see it through my own. 

Kira G. : "so zach what have you learned about women so far during your first month on an all girl team?"

zach "i have learned that they are not men!!"

 

as most of you know to this point, i am the only male on an all girl team and the first month was full of challenges to say the least.  here are a few things that i learned during our time in mexico and our debriefing period in antigua (my future home).  i learned that you cannot fully realize your role as a christian man just by hanging around christian men.  i believe that the well rounded man of faith will also have had the influences of godly women as well.  so this is where i am at as we start the second month of ministry.  one of the goals of the leaders at AIM is that these types of trips change you from the inside out.  i am in the process of discovering my real identity in Jesus; i am on the way to becoming the man that God has designed to be.  however, for that change to happen, i have to release all controls i have over self and let God and the agents of change he has put around me lead me down that narrow path.  this being said, i have come to the conclusion that the major agents of change He will use to shape me is the rest of the team, who just happen to all be women.  i am going to learn to be a christian man by allowing godly women to impact me.  i am glad that i learned that lesson quickly.  God is in the process of stripping me down completely and making me anew.  i grew up in a family that pushed independence or self depedence so the fact that i am going to have to learn from and lean on women this year is a groundbreaking revelation.  my future wife will thank tara, jess, jessie and maithili!

 

i am also learning firsthand that the provision of God is always enough.  i spoke to that truth in my first blog but that was more looking around and seeing what was around me and not so much looking at myself.  i will give you an example of what has happened so far.  the other male on the team has to leave the squad for circumstances that were out of his hand, but this was by the hand of God so that my potential in Him will be realized.  His provision called for 4 woman and not 4 woman and 1 man and it is perfect.  i connect with God through 2 major facets- music and His beauty in nature.  naturally my ipod (mp3 music player) breaks but he provided another one.  the other thing i have been stripped of is money.  through a mixup at the bank, i received my last paycheck the day i left though i was expecting one two weeks later which would have given me enough for the year.  so basically i am broke with 10 months to go.  however, i know that God will provide and that his provision will be enough and perfect.  soon after i learned of my situation,  i met a missionary in a coffee shop in antigua who bought my breakfast without my knowledge, then someone brought me lunch, then i received the ipod, and tara s. father who was not supposed to be in town just happened to be in antigua and took us all to dinner.  God{s provision for that day was complete and just what i needed.  i have a feeling that  the year will look like that.  there is something about living on this type of faith that makes life exciting for me.  anyways, that is all i have for now but i will leave you with some prayer requests.

 

1.  that our team truly has turned the page and rounded the corner and this month will prove that

2.  that we are dropping seeds that God will grow

3.  Godīs provision for my finances (if i raise enough then i can be reimbursed for personal expenditures so give!!  you are partnering and aiding the spread of the truth!)

so that has pretty much been our week.  working with kids a little and praying tons while wandering the streets of arroyo.  this week has been a tough one for our team as we are still learning the different styles of ministry, continuing to grow as a team as we break down barriers.  i gave a short message on the ride from arroyo today talking about ephesians 4.  you prayer warriors out there can pray that we model our own body of Christ after this chapter.  i think we all feel better about our team after finishing the week strong.  we will head back out there for 1 more week tomorrow.  after that we will head to puerto barrio, guatamala where we will be working with an american contact for a month. 

one thing that i have learned is that no matter where you live or how rich or poor you are, Godīs promise to provide all we need has been evident during my stay in the village.  i have gotten used to sharing the land in arroyo with wandering pigs, turkeys, roosters and chickens, ducks, cats, dogs...ect.  i have gotten used to roosters crowing and dogs barking all through the night.  i have gotten used to sleeping in a tent on a hard concrete pad.  i have gotten used to washing my clothes by hand in a sink or a river and taking bucket showers with cold water.  in all this i know that Godīs provision is enough.  i know that americans have been blessed but have way more than is necessary but that at the same time are wasteful of the excess that have been given.  i love the archaic way of life down here, it is simple and cheap which is right up my alley.  God is working on me and i am excited about how much more i will resemble Jesus next summer when i get back to the states.  anyways my time on the computer is coming to and end and i have no idea when i will get back on a computer.  i will tell you a few notable firsts.

sorry to all my peeps out there who have been waiting on pins and needles for an update.  i have been out in a remote village called arroyo palenque for the last week and this is my first time back in the city where technology is available.  but be patient, the whole year will be a lot like this. 

 

i will attempt to compress and cover an entire week of ministry into one blog.  we learned on saturday that our team of 5 would be leaving palenque to take Jesus to the countryside.  so monday morning at 7 am we took off from our "home" in palenque and drove an hour through the mountains until we arrived at our small village of arroyo palenque.  we are partnered up with a local pastor and essentially compromising with him how to be most effective in the community.  no one day has been the same.  let me back up for a moment and tell you about the indigenous of arroyo and a little bit about the surrounding countryside outside of palenque.  the countryside is filled with some 212 different villages.  by in large, these villages dont speak spanish which makes things difficult.  there are 5 different dialects in the villages with the most common one being a dialect called chol which is spoken by some 150 of the villages.  fortunately for us, our pastor speaks a good deal of spanish.  these people are mostly mayan descendents and where the catholic religion is not prevalent, ancient mayan religions passed down are still practiced.  the catholic "faith" does have a pretty strong influence in our village, but this faith is one that is powerless, passionless, Jesusless and therefore lacking the true power of God to change lives and hearts while making Jesus the spotlight of life. 

 

back to our week.  the church we are supporting has 4 services every week including sunday, monday, wednesday and friday.  while our group has had a major role in these services, we have also spent time with families in arroyo who are in  real need of prayer.  what this has consisted of has been primarily families our persons that are physically sick.  we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit but during my church life in america i have not dealt with laying hands on sick people and praying for healing.  this is important for the family we are staying with as they have witnessed many miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit.  we have prayed for people with bodily pains, blind individuals, a woman with some ovary issues and a man that i believe is demon possessed.  we have been in intense prayer in this manner for rather long stretches of time and even walked around 4 miles one way to a village to pray for some people.  the spiritual heaviness has been hard at times and it makes more difficult to handle when we have little down time to process, grow as a team and rest.  we are learning that we have to fight for time as a team to continue the grow as a team.  this current pace will be hard for some of us to maintain and we understand that.  anyways, i should probably cut this one off and maybe i will start another one for the sake of brevity.

i am sure that all of my blog subscribers have been awaiting to hear my initial report from the first leg of my amazing journey.  we arrived safely here monday after taking a flight from dallas to miami to mexico city to cancun.  i have flown more times in the last few days that i have all previous times combined in my life and am becoming quite the expert at air travel.  from cancun we hoped on a bus at 9 pm on sunday and drove through the night until we reached our destination at about 3 pm yesterday.  all that travel was followed by the greatest shower in recorded history (i pretty much had to peel my clothes off my body).  so anyways we are here.  i am typing this blog from an internet cafe in downtown palenque after eating authentic chicken mole at a restaurant here.  i hope you guys are not expecting anything deep and theological!

 

i have gathered a few facts while i have been here.  the city is about 80,000 strong in population but these are not mostly hispanics.  the state of chiapas (googlemap that bad boy) is still comprised primarily indigenous indians.  in palenque alone there are at least 5 different dialects that are spoken and in many cases this does not include spanish.  this city is surrounded by mountains and not far from here are ancient mayan ruins which we will visit in a few days (pics will follow)  i am spending the day with my team as we are beginning the process of getting to know one another and figure out as a team how we can be most impactful in advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  i am the only male on this team but have 4 amazing women that i will get to share this journey with.  pray that i can find my niche within this team.  i honestly have no idea in what ways i will be affected by not having a male companion, but i dont want to supress my true self and shrink into the background.  i want to be the man that God created me to be and i know that He had his purposes in placing me on this team. 

 

you guys also need to get on skype which you can download on the internet at skype.com  this is amazing service and it costs nothing.  this will be the main way of contacting me (however seldom) while i am traveling the globe.  anyways here some things you guys can prayer for:

 

1. team bonding, camraderie

2. identity in Christ and his role for me

3. the rest of my funds come in

4. hearts receptive to the working of the Holy Spirit

 

I know that God has big things in store for me personally and us as a team.  anyways, sorry i dont have much to share, but we are only a few days in.  more to come!

   today is start of the biggest event of my life (to this point).  in a few short hours i will hop on a plane in dallas, fly to miami and by tomorrow night i will be in mexico.  there is nothing that i have accomplished in life that will have more of a lasting impact on me personally and spiritually than this adventure that i am about to embark on.  i could go on and on about all the nostalgic thoughts and ranging emotions that have been dominating my head for a few days now but as hard as it has been to organize my thoughts i dont dare to attempt that.  anyways, i want to thank all of you who have supported me fiancially and in prayer.  i feel like i just won an oscar and now is the time that i have to thank all the folks who have helped me along the way.  there are the men that i consider mentors: lee epstein (youth pastor in texas, head pastor in arkansas and now mission pastor) who has beat into my head over and over again the truth of letting your light shine before men as well as nurturing and fostering this passion i have for mission work and making Jesus famous.  there is len lenon who has taught and showed me what selfless but passionate service for Jesus truly looks like.  there are my parents who might think i am a little bit crazy for endeavoring to do this but nonetheless understand my calling and the necessity of being obedient to Christ.  there is a great friend called flick who gave me a chance to discover my passion for missions as well as being the one who put me in contact with A.I.M. about 5 years ago.  God had a plan for me and the seeds were planted that summer.  there is my grandmother, who was the spiritual head of our family and demanded my brother and I spend the weekends with her so that we would get exposed to the Truth and aided in my feet getting planted on the narrow path.  chris hill was and is a great advisor and has been a good friend for almost 20 years now.  i thank ben messner for his passion and intensity who led my first aim trip 5 years ago in chicago (that trip also changed the lives of several of our students).  i could go on and on but i will cut it off now. 

 

there is still work to be done.  counting my pledgers, i am closing in on $10,000 in my account.  i feel somewhat happy about that but there is still another $4,000 or so to raise.  i would like to go above and beyond that so that i can start to get reimbursed for personal expenses in preparing for this trip.  I hope for many of you right now that God is tugging on your heart strings and placing me in your thoughts and prayers.  by supporting me you will be ensuring that the truth of Jesus is being taken to places where his name has never been heard before.  by aiding missionaries, you are helping touch eternity and reaching out to lost souls.  there is nothing more important you can do with your finances and prayers. 

 

today is truly the first day of the rest of my life.  thanks and farewell to all the friends and family who are supporting me in this most important time of my life

 

 

 

 

   i have been a youth worker here at my church for about 6 1/2 years.  in that time i have come across some interesting kids who do weird things and make weird decisions.  for everyone that graduates to a new season of life there is another one waiting in the wings to take their place.  it is a neverending cycle.  but i love the kids; they help me mentally stave off the impact of getting older.  so where i might be 29, i am free to be much younger when i am around the kids.  i get to shed my adult clothes for a getup that would be great for playing in mud.  this last wednesday i had an encounter with a young lad that totally contradicts what i have found to be my youth experience.  my experience is that as an adult leader you have to pry long and hard at most of these kids in order to initiate conversations that delve way deeper than whoopee cushions, family guy or the latest video game on the latest system.  surface level talk grates on my nerves after a while.  anyways, back to my kid.  after every wednesday there is always a large group who go and eat at some cheap place to continue fellowship, play cards ect.....  i hate driving so i typically will hop in the car of ethan (whose parents were missionaries to africa for years).  this particular night, ethan brought a friend from school with him (former school, he starts college in the fall).  i had never laid my eyes on him much less talked about the christian life with him.  the first question he asks me is "so, when did you become a christian"?  i have known this kid for all of 3 minutes and immediately he jumps into level 5 conversation.  i have never had a student ask me my testimony, not even ones i have spent countless hours with.  i found that refreshing, but that was not the end.  i give a popcorn version of my testimony (about 4 minutes worth, though i could go on for hours in great detail recounting my story).  he follows up his question with the following statement:  "great story, i will be honest with you, i am finding pornography hard to overcome".  what just happened here??  did you really just tell me the biggest worldly struggle and how it impacts your walk with Jesus a mere 10 minutes after hearing me say this "hi, i am zach, what is your name"?  my first thought was, wow, that took guts.  my second thought  and reaction was here, these are some tactics you might want to try to help overcome a powerful addiction that i believe most men deal with (christian or otherwise).  my third thought was "this kid is really seeking accountability or he is just out in left field chasing butterflies instead of fly balls".  then i began to wonder how other christian men would have handled the situation.  i have detailed my general experience with the youth, but my general experience with christians throughout my life is how incredibly judgemental we are.  i wish that my experience with most christians would allow me to have the kind of freedom this young man felt he had with me.  he told me his struggle and did not even bat an eyelash.  down deep i am hoping that he understands true christian community; that the body is here to edify and come alongside fellow believers instead of telling us to keep quiet about our sin or point fingers, gossip and ostracize.  i hope that this young man's honest episode with me is something that he continues to live out all the days of his life. 

 

that was very refreshing for me and i hope that the lesson this student taught me is something i will put into practice much more often than i do.  i know that i am about to get the chance to practice what God taught me through this young man.