You mean I can't do this on my own? whaaaaat?

There are some things that I feel fully capable of doing. Actually there are too many things that I'm sure that I can execute without any help. I've lived in the US pretty much my whole life and I can find anything and go anywhere anytime that I want. I can speak to everyone and feel confident. For example, if I need a job I can go out and fill out some applications to places that I'm familiar with and land a couple interviews. I've come to realize that when neat things happen in the US, I forget that anything special happened, because so much of it was under my "control". Here in the Basque Country it's very different. I am at the mercy of my surroundings. My charisma, power, connections, and social skills are greatly diminished. I doubt my ability to do tasked deemed simple back home. It's in this realization that I find a beautiful test. My need for the Lord's guidance is ever more clear. It is obvious that I'm in over my head, and now I pray more and understand that God has to go big for things to work. It crossed my mind that it'd be neat to always feel this way, I don't know if I'm ready to pray for that yet though!

Today was spent with the youth of one of the local churches. We had a BBQ at this lighthouse that one of the church members runs. Super rad location. It was good to see old friends (from my last trip here in 2009) and talk to them why I'm here now. I'm excited to spend time with these guys and girls and listen to their lives.

Last note: the video game tournaments need locations before planning can continue. I'm looking at finding venues in three or four local towns and setting up a dozen tournaments for the next month. This is a tall order, but my God is good!

Important life choices and their relation to reason

When people hear about moving to Spain they get really excited, hey I do too! It's Europe, there's cool things to see, and they just won the World Cup. Sounds like a blast; and it's bound to be really fun but there's another side to the situation.

When there is change, there is challenge and moving to Spain introduces a lot of huge obstacles. Currently, the Basque Country's 18-25 yr olds are experiencing something close to 40% unemployment. Which, due to youth living with their parents until marriage, isn't that big of a deal for Basque youth. Still a problem though. So, it's in this arena that I bring my unskilled self and non-native language ability to the workplace. To make the proposed budget work, God has got to provide a job for me in the community. I have no idea what's in store, but He has to show up or this mission is over. I'm looking forward to seeing what He'll do.

If we look at that situation from a logical point of view, it would be unwise to make a move to Spain with such uncertain outcomes. The only way to go about such a task is to take the Bible in hand and find direction. Proverbs 3:5-6 leaps out at me:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your path.

I need the Lord to straighten this path out, because it's currently facing off of a cliff. I would like to encourage everyone who has a challenge in their lives to reflect on whether it is being observed with a biblical perspective. We can understand a situation to be hard, but all of our hearts should be trusting the Lord.

You have bills to pay, schools to choose from, relationship issues to deal with, and life decisions to make. Don't rule something out because you have leaned on your own understanding.

Basque in Grace

I’d like to thank each of you for your acts of love for me over the years. To some extent or another you’ve encouraged or influenced me as I’ve grown up and studied in bible school. You’ve kept me going strong through months of international missions and prayed consistently for me through domestic outreach. Thank you so much for the smiling faces, eager questions, and anticipation for where God is moving me next. For the past several years the Lord has been preparing me for the greatest challenge I’ve yet to face. There’s no doubt in my heart that I am led to work among the Basque people of northern Spain. This people group has a rich heritage and a unique language. These 3 million people are also considered a least-reached people group with less than 1% evangelical Christian. My objective and calling is to work among the Basque in hopes of being part of an indigenous church with a missional mindset; or a group of Basque believers who are serious about telling other people about Christ.

So I’m moving to a town in the Basque country to continue this mission. I’ll be taking language courses and looking for some work to earn enough to make a living. By the grace of God, a Chilean missionary family will be hosting me for my first year in-country. You can expect to find me in language classes three times a week, hopefully working a steady job, and in my free time catching some waves or doing some skateboarding. These are all just tools to meet Basque people and get into their lives, ultimately expecting a chance to share the story of Christ. There are already several groups of Christian workers in the area that I will be working alongside in some sort of partnership or another. There’s a body of believers, mostly from Latin and South America, who will be a local asset. All said, I won’t be alone.

After taking a bunch of evangelistically focused classes at Moody, my imagination runs wild with possible outreaches. Really they’re just new ways of doing what Christians have been doing for hundreds of years, but this is the stuff that get’s me excited. I’m also fascinated with Paul’s example of tentmaking, a term coined to signify working a secular job to support a ministry. Combining these concepts brings about such plans as a video game tournament venture, in which local youth compete against one another in the latest games. It builds relationships, earns money, provides evangelistic opportunities, and it’s a super duper fun time. Down the line, when the capital is there, I’d love to see a surf storage facility placed in the beach town. It’s another great way to meet local surfers as they come in to store their gear and get a hot shower.

The details of the future aren’t crystal clear yet. There are plenty of areas to worry over and hardship will inevitably bring discouragement, but I know that with everything that the Lord has given me I’m going to pour it into the Basque people. May the Basque people be immersed in God's grace!

Give them gaming: Tournament Mercenaries

Since 2001, video games and following Jesus have had a wonderfully unique relationship in my life. I loved playing games with my friends and when I noticed that so many of them didn't know the Lord it was evident that something had to be done. My mentor and I started hosting video game tournaments and highlighted the gospel at every event. It was super fun and gamers started thinking about spiritual things.

Jesus Christ is for everyone, but so many youth think that He's lame or not relevant. This box full of video game equipment is dedicated to Basque youth coming to a proper understanding of who Jesus is. It's my hope that these units will host many tournaments in the Basque Country and that many youth have a blast playing with them. It's my true desire that through gaming many of these youth take Jesus as their savior.

I want this to be sustainable and am looking to make it a financially profitable venture. Stay tuned to see how this venture, code named "Tournament Mercenaries" is sharing the gospel among a least-reached people group.