Off to South Dakota

I cannot believe that I have been in North Dakota for almost two weeks now. The time has gone by so fast. I guess that is a good sign that I have not been bored. I wondered how much empty time I would have, and as it turns out I've had about zero.
Before I left Alaska I read a paper about deputation in which a preacher said (in large bold letters) that deputation will be the hardest thing you ever do. Now, I know that I have not been "on deputation" (I still feel weird saying that) for very long, but I don't know how this could be so hard. I can understand that with a wife and family it would be more difficult, but come on. Some people spend their whole lives waiting for a chance to travel around the US. I not only get to travel around the US (or a small part of it) but I get to meet all kinds of incredible people. If there is one thing that is difficult it is meeting people who you wish you could stay with longer, but know that you have to move on. There are so many people already in Grand Forks that I consider true friends. Pastor Custer had to leave on Saturday, so I didn't get to spend tons of time with him, but the little time I did I enjoyed greatly. I hope I will get to see him again before I leave. I was out in Larimore all day on Sunday with Pastor Shaffer (that is the church the Taylor's came from), and had a marvelous time. He let me take all of Sunday school hour to do my presentation, and it went very well. After the services I went to brother Shaffer's house. I had an awesome time getting to know him and his family, or part of it, only his daughter, Cherith (which I thought was a very cool name) still lives with them. Oh and I got to meet brother Silcox and his wife...I felt like I got wisdom just listening to them; it was really neat.
Last Tuesday I drove down to Fargo and met the Langes and the Paulsons and dinner with them and another family from the church in Fargo. Brother Lange had just come back from Thailand. I also got to meet Mark's family (Mark is the guy I stayed with in Chicago) and hopefully will get to spend friday evening with them. Monday, Memorial Day, the church in grand forks had a big picnic at one of the parks. I wish I could accurately describe how awesome it is to meet so many great people. And then to be told that I have been a blessing to them, when they have been such a blessing to me...well it is humbling to say the least.
I go to Fargo on Saturday and from there to Sioux Falls. I found a bus that will take me there for 55 bucks, which is cheaper than the gas it would cost to drive (gas is 3.25 here).
Thanks to everyone who has emailed, called, or left comments...I appreciate it.
Until next time
Sorry I don't have any pictures...

NOTE: Since this website is public domain from now I am not going to be including any specific details about the Middle East. Most notably peoples real names, city names, locations, or dates. Not that it is dangerous now, but it could be in the future, and it is a good habit to get used to. So, please don't include any "sensitive" information in the comments you post.

On the road again

Hey everyone, as promised I am going to start updating my blog again. I am currently sitting in the Seattle/Tacoma airport. You all won’t see this until sometime later, because the wireless internet is not free here, and there is no way that I am going to pay eight dollars for internet. I only have a three hour layover here in Seattle, then I fly to St Paul where I have a five hour layover there, then finally over to Grand Forks.

I had a wonderful time down in Ninilchik. It was really great to see the mission work, and be able to share about the middle east with them. As well as just spending time with them. I was able to spend a bit of time with the Lamberts. They are great friends, and I love them very much. They have been so instrumental in my Christian life. Aside from my pastor Ron was the first person to congratulate me after I was saved. He was also the first person I talked to about being called to the ministry. I’ll miss them…

I also got to spend quite a bit of time with my sister. Not as much as I wanted to, because she had to work, but we were able to spend at least a little time. Plus, she let me take care of Devynn (my niece) while she was at work. She is a beautiful little girl and she has an incredible smile (apparently George girls get all the pretty genes and the boys get…nothing). She is over 7 months old now, is 18 pounds, has two teeth, and is pretty close to walking. The next time I see her she will be walking and probably talking (which she does already, just not in a language I understand…a phenomena which I am pretty used to by now).

Most of my short time there was spent with my mommy. She only had to work one of the days. We didn’t do anything special per say, but we didn’t need to; just spending time with her was special. We went to the beach and walked for a while with Devynn. The beach was really nice and it made me realize that I miss the ocean…and commercial fishing on it. I guess no matter how far a fisherman is taken from the ocean part of it never leaves him. I got to see a couple of old friends from high school. One of the meetings was completely unexpected, but incredibly delightful. I was really glad to be able to see people who I grew up with; it really puts things in perspective. Jacob Klapak was one of the friends I saw. He and his wife are running the Boardwalk restaurant for the summer.

Other than that not a lot happened. I spent a lot of time thinking, wondering how many more times I will get to see the little town I grew up in or the people I grew up with. My mom said she never expected me to be the one to leave, she always thought I would come back and live near home…I thought so too, but God has a way of changing lives. And I would have it no other way. I would give a thousand lives for Christ as long as I might serve him and further His kingdom. I think right now I am too excited to be sad. The incredible possibilities that lie ahead of me spur me on to an almost dream like state at times. I expect God to do a great work in the Middle East, and it is my greatest desire and privilege to be a tool in accomplishing that. God forbid that I would ever doubt His great plan by allowing my zeal, passion, or hope to fade. If we do not dream, then who will. If we do not yearn and believe that God is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” then we ought not call Him the Almighty.

It will be interesting getting to the states and visiting churches. I am excited about that too. I only hope that I can relate the burden and the vision that God has given me to the churches.

I uploaded a couple of pictures of my niece, mom, and sister. I guess you could say these are the women in my life.

Until next time…