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| I have been up for 20 hrs now (except for two short 20 min naps) and have arrived safely in California.
I leave for China on Monday at 1:30 pm PST.
I'm sorry that I didn't get to say goodbye to all of you, but I love all of you and really appreciate you.
Thanks for the prayers,
Davey
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| T minus 8 days and 7 hours until I make the jump out of Ohio. Many emotions have hit me these last few weeks. Everything from excitement over finding my placement, Northeast China (very cold and desolate), and disappointment at not being is a warmer place, lol. However, I have become very welcoming of where he has placed me and what my working environment will look like. I will be at a Foreign Language Institute, where some 6,000 students will be studying everything from English to Russian to Korean to Spanish. Personally, I will have about 120-130 students and be teaching 16 hours a week at the University level. Apart from that I will be spending time with the students outside of class, during recreation and meals and other times, and holding office hours another 24 hours a week. So, my schedule has already filled up, and I haven't even made it to California yet for preliminary training.
The people I am teamed with seem to be great so far. There are five others on the team, including the team leader, with half girls and half guys which is nice. We each have an apartment to ourselves, fully stocked with western things so we can live somewhat like we do here, and our apartments are all next to each other.
There must have been a reason I like the cold weather because with a 7 month winter and temps below -40 degrees Fahrenheit I would go insane if I didn't.
Thank you for praying for me and if there is anything that I can do for you or with you, please let me know, I leave in 9 days.
God bless you and keep you,
Chinese Dave
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| As heat melts plastic, may the hearts of those whom we intersect melt into fertile soil for the seed to be planted. Be with us Father and go before us as we live out our days. Bring to our knowledge your divine appointments and help us to make the most of those opportunities by stepping aside and letting the Spirit work in the conversation. Let my mouth be yours, my mind be yours and my spirit always thirst for more of you and less of me. "I need thee every hour."
Thank you for victory, past, present, and future; that you fight for us like Micah says. I am filled with utter amazement at the thought of your grace that covers the very depths of my sin. I am doubly yours and hope to continue down the path of righteousness, being justified by the redeeming grace conferred upon me by your Love. Less of me and more of you!
Amen.
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| Tonight I watched Saving Private Ryan, probably for the hundredth time. Definitely in my top 5 movies of all time. Very emotional and stirring... and it did that tonight again. After Bible study tonight (we looked at prayer and the importance of listening when praying) I just felt that the past month have been a waste. I haven't really DONE anything and for what? Waiting for God to do what He does best and pull me out of another bind. But SPR (the movie) reminded me that I'm at War. Not just some battle for my soul or a war for the safety of Americans, but THE War. The War that's being waged here on Earth, physically and spiritually, for the eternal lives of humanity. This isn't some moral issue that we're dealing with... trying to help the poor, feed the hungry, and do things that make us appear "GOOD". I'm not saying that these are bad things, for Jesus Christ did them continuously. I pray that I would find the desire and drive to do such things for the sake of people's souls.
Back to what I was saying. We're at War, whether you know it/believe it or not. Let me show you what I'm thankful for. And I will set this up by saying this is from the Old Testament and Elisha, the prophet, was being chased so the king of Aram could kill him because Elisha was telling the king of Israel the position of the Aramean army by prophesy from God. We pick up the story where Elisha and his companion are trapped in a city, Dothan, surrounded by the army of the king of Aram:
Then he [the king of Aram] sent horses and chariots and a strong force there [Dothan]. They went by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next
morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh,
my lord [Elisha], what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his [the servant's] eyes so he may see." Then the LORD
opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of
horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike
these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as
Elisha had asked. Elisha
told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me,
and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to
Samaria [the capital of the king of Israel where the army of Israel was waiting]. - 2 Kings 6:14-19
This is the favorite story of my Youth Minister when I was growing up, and is one of mine now. We see that this War contains more than just you and I, or just the angels and demons. I can't wait to be blown away by the majesty of God in Heaven if it looks at mighty as "hills full of horses and chariots of fire". God is infinitely better than this. You and I are in this War, and you have a choice to be on the winning side with Christ, or the losing side with Satan and Sin. This is the time where we prepare and wage battle with sin and all kinds of greed and lust that takes us by the ear and leads us where we don't want to go. We must, MUST be prepared and follow in Christ's footsteps, taking His attitude and humbling ourselves to become servants (Phil 2:5,7).
How does one know if they are on the winning side? You must know Christ and accept Him as your savior. What does that mean? I means that you must realize that what you have been doing the last so many years of your life have not been enough, will never be enough. This word, SIN, originally meant to be "off the mark" or not perfect. So, we are not perfect? NO, we have been selfish, whether that was because we did what we wanted because it made us feel good or because it made us look good. It has been about us, when it's really about God and Jesus Christ. We have not been perfect, we have been "SINning". However, Jesus Christ never sinned/was perfect. And He took the punishment on the cross for us not being perfect. Accepting this as truth and confessing with our mouth what we believe in our heart, that Jesus Christ is God and He is the only way we can get to Heaven is the ONLY way we can be sure we're on the winning side. Please make this choice and let me or someone else know about it so that we can help equip you in this war we're apart of.
Jesus, thank You for safety and security, knowing that even if I'm killed, which is a horrible thing, I will only be going to a better place with You. To Your Name be all glory, honor, and praise because of who You Are (the verb 'to be' - ask me about it) and what You have done for me. Thank You! Hallelujah!
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