Many have said that the United States can be labeled a “melting pot” of cultures and people groups from all over the world.  Here in San Diego that is definitely the case as we have a huge community of people from all over the globe.  Among the internationals who make San Diego their home, many are refugees who have been forced to leave their homeland for a variety of reasons.  If you know my brother than you know that he is heavily involved in the refugee community here in San Diego especially among those from African countries.  I have met many of his new friends through soccer games, thanksgiving dinners and front yard over the line games but never had my own experience helping these people with amazing stories begin their lives in america.  That was, until today!  This morning I left my house ready to embark on a busy but good day off of running errands and getting things done when I got a phone call that changed the rest of my morning.  I was invited to the El Cajon social security office to help a refugee family from Iraq get their social security cards.  Helping this family was exciting as I got to firsthand help this family from Iraq as they work to begin their life here.  I filled out forms for a family from Baghdad who had three young boys.  After the forms were filled out and the family left the office I learned that one of the boys had major burns on his arms from an attack he suffered back home in Iraq.  It was a sad story to hear but one that will keep that boy and his family in my prayers and on my mind for days to come.

In the grand scheme of things what exactly did I do today?  Technically I filled out two forms for a family I did not know and might not ever see again.  Personally, I believe I did so much more than that for this family.  I may never know the extent of my contribution, but my prayer is that I was able to be Jesus to this family.  

i am trying my best to get in a good habit of writing in this thing every day or maybe even every other day.  scanning down the recent posts i would have to say i am doing pretty good.  writing about all sorts of stuff from camp life to life outside of camp (if that ever exists) to stuff God is teaching me.  Its been pretty exciting to write all this stuff on here.  i guess the point of telling this now is because i really have nothing to say today!

what is memorial day all about?  more than just a day off work or school, its a day to remember those who have given their lives and their safety to protect the freedoms we so often take for granted in this country.  for me memorial day serves as a time to remember those in my family who served in the second world war as well as in the current conflicts around the world.  so on this day may we all thank God for the freedoms we do enjoy.

on another note, i plan on spending this day off work (YEAH) and hanging out with family.  currently i am waiting for the rest of my family to show up to breakfast which was supposed to start at 9am.  i am the first one here outside of the parents.  we will have to wait and see who comes in next.  then its off to help a friend move before heading back to camp for a night of food, fun and fellowship with the interns and others who live in the guys and girl dorms.  sounds pretty exciting if you ask me!  

oh yeah, my post on the padres was supposed to go up yesterday while they were playing.  obviously that didn’t work!  i must say though that i am pretty stoked they pulled off the win in the 18th inning!  its about time!

i am writing this as i am watching the san diego padres almost throw another game away in this season i would already love to forget.  i have watched them blow the lead twice in this game and now its the top of the 9th and its 6-6.  we will see how long that lasts!  it wouldn’t be good to base your emotions on the padres this season.  you might end up needing professional help!

okay, its memorial day weekend and i am loving life!  (besides the padre game that is)  this last week was the last week of 6th grade camp for the season.  as much as i love 6th grade camp and how we use romans 1:20 to teach the students about the Creator through His creation, its good to be done!  not only do i get to work a “normal” or at least closer to normal work week, but summer camp 2008 is just around the corner!  

well, since i begun this post the padres blew the lead again and then caught up at 7-7.  its the top of the 10th now and hopefully they can pull it off!

it has been said that who we are when no one is looking is who we really are.  well, if that is the case then i am really bad at riding a bike!  early this morning (6:30am to be exact) i decided to ride a bike from my house down the middle of camp to cook breakfast in the kitchen.  this is a trip i have made countless times over the past 4 or more years i have been working in the kitchen.  a trip that has always been uneventful, quick and easy.  that was before this morning!  i was cruising with music in my ears and worship in my heart and then BAM!  i am sliding face first right in front of cabin number 11.  getting up i begin to brush the dirt off my sweatshirt, pants and face only to see that i was still all alone.  i had this amazingly graceful experience and no one was there to watch.  what a pity.  so, you all missed out on something graceful that hopefully will never ever happen again!  oh yeah, the reason for the crash has been labeled a mechanical error on the bike’s part.  the left pedal popped off!  i am never riding that bike again, or at least until my wounds heal and the pedal stays on!

in the spring of 2006 i had the amazing opportunity to say goodbye to professors, papers, exams, due dates, homework assignments and super late nights sitting in front of a computer tired from typing.  that opportunity came as i crossed the platform and picked up my diploma from san diego christian college.  after a long time of school, i was done!  or so i thought!  so, the professors and homework assignments are long gone but the late nights and due dates i hate to say are here to stay!  i know this is another double post day, but if you were to see my clock right now you would see that i am 26 minutes away from a new day.  yes, i am up late sitting in the office finishing up a doctrinal statement that is due in a day or two.  currently the statement is off in cyberspace somewhere, but i am still up typing away.  my body is totally not used to functioning this late at night because now that i read it, this email is in all lowercase and doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.  oh well, its late and that stuff happens when its late.

So, a milestone was reached today and unlike many of the records being broken and milestones reached, this one will not be under any speculation of steroid use!  As I was running around the kitchen trying to get done as fast as possible keeping as much food off of me and my clothes as I could, I noticed that we had passed 63,000 cycles of the dishwasher!  Isn’t that amazing!  Ok so it doesn’t sound all that exciting to you…well it should!  63,000 cycles of a dishwasher means that thousands upon thousands of dishes have been washed and sanitized in the camp kitchen.  That means that thousands upon thousands of meals have been served out our tiny kitchen.  With those meals my prayer is that thousands upon thousands of people ate our food (that’s a scary thought) and although it might not have been as good as their mother’s make, hopefully they saw Jesus through the kitchen staff.  63,000 dishwasher cycles = a lot of money and time, but the chance to show Jesus using clean dishes and good food = priceless.  Its all about being Jesus!

Ever have one of those days where you are super busy and yet at the end of it all its a great feeling because you got a lot of work done and it was stuff you really loved doing?  That’s what my Sunday was all about.  Jam packed with church services and other activities and yet at the end of it all I went to bed exhausted but energized at the same time.  The day began with an amazing morning service devoted to missions and what God is doing around the world.  I guess that set the tone for the rest of the day because missions is what I am all about.  Missions excites me and so when its talked about or shared I am excited!  So, one service down, two to go before my day was done.  The other two weren’t about missions but they were still encouraging and challenging.  In between service 2 and 3 I had the opportunity to sit in on an open house for a missionary.  It was amazing to hear stories of what God is doing around the world as He uses His people to spread His glory among the nations.  In a nutshell, that was my day!  Now its off to cook food for 6th graders!  The last week of 6th grade camp for the season!

Yes, I can indeed spell the word leader!  Isn’t it amazing what a Christian education gets you these days?  Anyways, its time for the Annual IHC LEAD Staff Retreat and once again I am here!  This is the seventh one for me and it pretty much has been the same ever since the first!  Anyways, the LEAD Staff for this summer is bigger then in past years which is pretty exciting if you ask me.  From trainings to good food to fellowship and worship its been a pretty packed but good weekend so far.  Tonight more fellowship is involved as we head off to the drive in!  I am looking forward to that!

As I sit in the trainings, I can’t help but look back and remember what I was like when I began my IHC career.  That was in 1995 so a lot has changed since that first summer.  Not only have I changed, but there were only 3 people besides me that were there my first year at IHC and were sitting in that meeting last night.  That’s pretty crazy if you ask me!  My time at IHC has been a crazy ride where I have grown a bunch physically, mentally and spiritually and today I thank God for this ministry and how He has used it to change me!