New Post....

Ok, I guess I'll put something new here, but it's not going to be substantial....
Everything is going great with Work (at Marsh still) and at School (ivyTech). I was sick earlier this week so I missed working Monday-Wednesday, but I'm able to work again thankfully! Praise God that based on the test results, i do not have Hepatitis A!
If you wanna know more...Read my xanga...

TTYL

ECHO JOURNALS!

Alrighty, My journals are all now posted, i warn you it will take you a while to read them all! there's about 4,000 words! So you might space them out - dont read them all at once!

Hope you enjoy reading!

Saturday June 18, 2005 (Drive from Indy to Selma)

Kevin and I got up at about 6 a.m., pulled together the last minute details and packed everything into the car. Mom and Dad took us down to the Southside RP church where we finally arrived at about 7:20 a.m. After a quick challenge from Pastor Johnston and Mr. Hanson we got a group picture and loaded into the van and truck. We pulled out of the parking lot at about 7:45 with me driving the truck (and trailer) and Heather Baumgardner driving the 12-passenger van. Driving the truck took a little of adjusting because there’s a dead spot in the steering, but after 3 or more hours, I had pretty much got it figured out. J We drove for a good long while, probably around 3 hours before we stopped somewhere in Kentucky past Louisville for a bathroom break. After about 15 minutes we were back on the road and this time I rode in the van. Following another 2 hours or so we had another quick break and were back on the road. Again I rode in the van until we stopped for lunch at about 12:45. We stopped at the welcome center to Tennessee and got out the meat, peanut butter, and jelly for sandwiches; chips and water which constituted our lunch. After about 30 minutes we were back on the road again with Mr. Hanson driving the truck again and I rode in the van once again. At about 3 after we got gas, I got in the driver’s seat of the truck again and drove until just after 6pm when we stopped in Selma, AL at the wal-mart to eat dinner (again sandwiches like at lunch). After filling up with gas, we drove to the church which was only about 15 minutes away. We got to the church at about 7:45 and met Pastor Joseph and also Ray and Alice Joseph who were here visiting. The group played a couple games of “zoo” and “I never” before we started cycling people through the shower (those that wanted one). Lights went out at about 10pm, and at last I’m able to sleep! Boy am I tired (it’s kinda hard to sleep in the vehicles with everyone talking)!

Sabbath June 19, 2005 (At Selma RP Church)

Morning Service

Isaiah 65-66:2 “The society that could be” Pastor Ralph Joseph

Journal

After about 10 hours of sleep I got up at just before 8 a.m. I rolled up my sleeping stuff and packed up my tub then went and ate breakfast. We had cereal and Danish rolls plus OJ and bananas. After breakfast was all cleaned up, we had a time to spend with God and reading the Scripture. I also read some from the book “His way to Pray” by Wayne Spear which I have been reading for a while. Finally about 9:20 we went upstairs to be ready for Sabbath school which started at 9:30. the topic was the story of Gideon. Following a brief fellowship time we started the worship service from Isaiah. Then to the pitchin lunch GREAT food! After a couple hours we took a lovely tour through some of the important areas of the movement of the 60’s. we got back about 7 then had dinner. After many took showers, lights went out at 9.

Monday June 20, 2005

We got up at 3:45 a.m. and were packed up and on the road at 4:30 a.m. Mr. Hanson drove the truck for the first 3 hours and then we stopped in the first rest stop area in Florida for breakfast. I then drove from just before 8 until roughly 11:30. We got gas and then drove for about 30 minutes more before stopping for lunch. We ate most of the leftovers from the pitch-in at church yesterday. After less than 30 minutes, we were back on the road and then Jill drove the rest of the way. We stopped once for a bathroom break and hit the road again. At about 5:30 we got to the church we would stay at. Then we ate dinner (sandwiches again) and then had a bit of time then had devotions and bed at 9pm. Total driving time was about 13 hours counting the breaks and lunch, but we were all definitely glad to finally be there! I made a quick call home and let them know we had arrived.

Tuesday June 21, 2005

Journal

We were going to get up at about 5:45 am, however Mr. Hanson’s alarm clock did not go off. We actually got up at about 6:30 or 7. We rolled up our sleeping bags and moved them to another room; packed up our tubs and loaded them into the trailer; and got into either the van or the truck. We drove to ECHO and didn’t have much time to do our QT, but we then had breakfast. Courtney one of the interns shared about friendship and their different roles. We then sang a couple Psalms then Danny took our group on a very detailed tour of the whole place before dividing us up for our different jobs. (can’t remember what I did in the morning, but I only worked on it for just over an hour because the tour lasted till about 11 then lunch was at 12 or 12:15 depending when we stop) In the afternoon I worked with Jill and some ECHO people installing 20 solar panels on the top of a lean-to that was built. We did actually get the whole project done (even though we did work until about 6 or 6:30), to the surprise of the people we were working with. Many of the rest of the group was working on the trenching project and amazingly got it almost all dug! We had our sandwiches for dinner after showering and got to the church about 8:30 or so where Mr. Hanson did a short devo before lights out.

Sharing – Courtney (Intern)

Team unity etc…

We’re the “b” team (I got your back; we’re the body….etc)

Eph 4:16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ecc 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.

Ecc 4:10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

1Sa 14:7 And his armorbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thy heart: turn thee, behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.

Whatever you decide, I’m behind you

1Sa 20:41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 1Sa 20:42 Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.'" And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

An

5 roles as part of a team

Encourager - a friend Stacey; how can you encourage?

Coach - Uri “the Yiz,” Spiritual helper; how can you coach the teammates?

Prayer warrior “little angel” - Crystal knowing that prayer is the most important

“Bouncer” – Rosie; give suggestions to and get feedback from on any topic and they will give great advice

Carrier – Tiffany someone to help carry the burden, give the benefit of the doubt, support decisions no matter what

As applies to me:

Which of these do I show to others?

Who in my life demonstrates these to me? Who are the friends in my life who show each of these?

Devotions @ 9 pm – Mr. Hanson

Theme of “wholeheartedness”

Philemon

In the first 3 verses – we see Paul writing to his “sidekick, sister, and fellow soldier.” Paul was involved with and cared for people.

Why is caring for people so important in being wholehearted to God? God cares for people, who can I help build up? You can’t be wholehearted for God without being involved with other people. Think about other people first.

Wednesday June 22, 2005

Journal

Morning trenching (lots done!), afternoon weeding arboretum then “recycling” or composting dead plants from the herb “pre-sale” area.

Devotions @ 7:30 am – Mr. Hanson

Psalm 101 is the theme song (as of now)

Phm 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Phm 1:25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

In these 2 verses one word implies the act of wholeheartedness – LORD. This is acknowledging God is the master and I am the servant. My job is to satisfy the master. What does this mean? My first thought in the morning should be – “what do you want me to do today Lord”? Elder Ken Thompson is a great example of this – serving others before himself, looking out for others first.

Sharing - Rachel (Staff)

Share the Gospel in everything you do, you don’t know who is around you that isn’t a believer.

Thursday June 23, 2005

Journal

This morning I worked with Jill cutting and putting vetiver grass in the loft of the old shed. I cut tons of the grass with the gas hedge trimmer while wearing one of Rohda’s long sleeve shirts, but my legs got really cut up, oh well. Jill and I gathered and loaded the cut grass onto the trailer on the golf cart then took it to the “tool depot” area and put the grass in the loft so it could get dry and then be used in a thatching project. Once we finished cutting the amount of grass that was needed, we then then went with Courtney to get some supplies for the rabbit cage project then weeded some trees on the mountain. Then we had a delicious version of shepherds pie and some really good fruit-yoghurt-pie-stuff (Heather really can cook some good food!). After lunch, I worked on the massive trenching job mostly working with Jeff and Kevin gluing pipes together, and then burying them, which required digging out under the pipes in some areas and once the pipes were in the trench, they had to be held down and then have sand (dirt) put on top of them. There were a couple pipes that we really had to bend to make them fit in the trench due to the curves, but they all went in. We worked late until about 6:15 then cleaned tools and showered. After showers we packed up and then rode to Burger King after a vote of where to go. We ate dinner on 4 of the 5 $$ that Mr. Hanson gave us, saving the last dollar for the next meal, then packed everyone into the van except for Mr. and Jill Hanson. When we got to the church, we had 40 minutes till lights out at 9:40. I got ready for bed and of course that included some aloe, but not too much. Then to bed we went.

Devotions – Mr. Hanson 7:30 am

Philemon and Psalm 101

Onesimus was: wholehearted, half hearted, no hearted to his master. He rand from his master, met Paul and became a believer, and Paul sent him back. Not wholehearted = wholehearted (or even part hearted) for something else. Not wholehearted to God we will find all kinds of excuses to skip QT, wander in daily walk etc… Also we will not talk to as many people about Christ and His work.

Friday June 24, 2005

Journal

In the morning Kevin and I worked on a whole bunch of different stuff. We started the day by moving about a ton and a half of concrete from the trailer to the back of the red truck. We also fixed a bunch of holes in the tires on a golf cart (4 in one tire, 3 in another). Then we went and finished the thatching project on the rabbit hutch. We went to the new shop to find a cap for the rabbit hutch but didn’t find anything so we worked on some other things such as airing the trailer tires and washing off the concrete at the back of the shop. After lunch I can’t remember what I did. After work went to Ft. Meyers Beach and had a lot of fun, including racing crabs, but it started raining really hard so we got totally soaked and finally made it back to the cars and left. When we got back to the church we had a little bit of time but we went to bed shortly afterwards.

Devotions – Mr. Hanson, 7 a.m.

Philemon

Especially verse 1, also Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; it is good to have someone else to hold you up and to lift you up.

2 guys (David Hanson and James Faris) plan to go to college in junior high, they studied with their door open, had food there and had quite a ministry. They held each other up in their work. Because of them helping each other, their ministry was multiplied.

Follow their example and have people in your life holding you up, and other people to hold up.

Saturday June 25, 2005

We worked from about 9-12 and didn’t get up till about 7. we had our QT and breakfast and then we divided up for our jobs. I worked on a pile of dirt and rocks, pulling out the rocks to be used on the mountain terracing project. I can’t believe how tired my muscles and my body in general is, but we got a ton of rocks out and then we decided to break for lunch. We had leftovers and then after just a little bit we went and played soccer with Courtney and Craig (intern and newest intern), 2 Hatians, and Eric an ELSABO student. After the great game of soccer was over, we went and showered. A small group went to the beach to try to find Liz Neel’s glasses that she lost last night at the beach. The others went to the shell factory to get Brandon a hat and then everyone met at the mall. We ate dinner and I had chick-fil-a but we didn’t have too much time after that but Kevin and I found some really cute animal pillows that we bought. Then we left the mall and came back to the church, had a bit of free time, practiced our Psalms that we’ll sing tomorrow in church, and went to bed.

Sabbath June 26, 2005

Morning Service – Ephesians 2 (esp. verse 18) – “Approaching the Triune God”

Many religions have a god but they aren’t triune in nature. True religion begins and ends with Christ.

To approach the Triune God:

1. Through Christ

2. In the Spirit

3. To the Father

Summary

One God exists in three persons.

We pray knowing He hears; live each day knowing He cares.

A Christian: One who lives by faith on God.

Evening Service – Genesis 37 – “The firstborn of God’s family”

Journal

Up at about 7:15, dressed and put away our sleeping bags into the van, and had breakfast. We then did our QT and then had about an hour to wait before the beginning of the morning service at 10:30. we had a good sermon on the trinity and then had a lunch provided by the church starting at 12. As always the food was very good and I enjoyed the fellowship with the people there. We stayed at the church after helping clean up and spent the afternoon playing duck duck goose, I never, and other games. Then we had dinner and got ready for the evening service starting at 6. We sang 2 Psalms in the middle and after the evening service we were invited over to the Bleckstrand’s house and were there till about 9:30 playing Bible schrades, eating tacos and ice cream, fellowshipping and Mr. Beckstrand gave a little talk or challenge from Prov 3:5-6 and Ps 119:105. He gave 3 questions we all will have to answer in the next 10 years (the decade of decision - ~15-~25) 1 who will we serve, 2 who will be our mate (if any), 3 what will be our mission. We then went back to the church and went to bed.

Monday June 27, 2005

Journal

Up at normal time, QT and Breakfast then participated in the weekly Monday morning staff/volunteer/intern meeting. The singing was really good. Then we divided up for Jobs I worked on the mountain taking out the logs and putting in rocks all day long. Lunch was really good and we presented Courtney with the signed soccer ball and she signed many of our books because she would be leaving Tuesday at about 7 am. When Mr. Hanson and I finished, all the logs were cut up and moved away from the mountain so we could get on to working on the rock wall for the terracing project. After work we showered and got ready to go, then went to Dr. Ju’s house and swam and ate there, leaving at about 9:30 but not many really wanted to go… back to the church about 10 and lights out at 10:15.

Devotions – Mr. Hanson – Philemon

“Love” appears in about 6 verses. We will focus on verse 9 – “Phm 1:9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you…”

We do some things out of love – cleaning our room because we want to, calling home more than once because we miss them etc…

Rom 5:7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Some do QT for only 5 minutes because that is what they have to do, others take time to reflect on their QT during the day and might even have 2 QT in a day just to have that much more time in God’s Word.

Love for God is a requirement for the person to exceed the rules. And by doing that makes them much more valuable to those they are serving.

Tuesday June 28, 2005

Journal

We got up at the normal time of about 6 and loaded into the van and got to ECHO. After our QT, Breakfast, and devotions we divided up for jobs and went to work. I worked with Mr. Hanson, Danny and Jeff and several others throughout the day on the mountain. We moved the wall out by about 2-3 feet and re-dug the trench. Jeff moved the rocks from the old trench to the new trench with the loader, otherwise I don’t think they would have moved.

Devotions – Mr. Hanson

Psalms 101, 9A, Philemon

Wholeheartedness – what is a synonym? Sincerity is one example. In the Roman times, it is a Latin word (sin and sere) meaning without wax. The pottery makers sometimes would fill in cracks on cracked pottery to make it look perfect. If it was perfect, the maker would write “sincere” on the bottom – meaning it was perfect.

Christ paid all our debt for sin, this book is an example of this (Paul paying for what Onesimus owed to Philemon).

God works in people and what he does is to make us valuable to others and to Himself.

Sharing – Stitch (intern)

Ecclesiastes.

Ecc 2:24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, Ecc 3:22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him? Ecc 5:18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Ecc 12:13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Find enjoyment in whatever you are doing. Work with a joyful heart and enjoy God, remember him in everything, for that is where you’ll find your joy.

Wednesday June 29, 2005

Journal

We got up like normal and got to ECHO and had our QTs. Several of the girls got up early and went to ECHO ahead of time and made some eggs and potatoes for us! Such a good breakfast for our last day! We divided up into a couple groups, I went to the mountain to help Jeff and Danny moving rocks and making the wall. We finished the first wall (as far as we’re going with it) and after lunch started on the second terrace! Lunch was delayed slightly because we went to cover up the fresh mortar and move the concrete so it wouldn’t get wet. The food was great (as always) and we moved back to work. This being the last night we were here, nobody really wanted to leave, it was hard. Danny even gave us a bunch of Lychees for the road! I love the experience at ECHO so much, God uses it in my life every time I’m there and this time is no exception.

Sharing – Lindsay

Poem – “grocery list”

Take notice of the little things, it will probably have a ripple effect. Our 2 weeks here have HUGE ripple effects. Think about the little things that you could do today to show others God’s love. Noticing or doing the little things can make a day much better for people.

Thursday June 30, 2005

Journal

We got up at 3:45 and were on the road by 4:30. We drove till 7:30am when we stopped for gas, but didn’t get out. Then we drove for a bunch more and finally got to Atlanta around 3 in the afternoon. We stayed at a church and then went out for dinner! Lights went out at 7:30pm because we would be getting up really early the next day.

Notes of reflection of the trip

How have I changed?

How have I grown closer to God?

How did the things I did effect others?

Has my focus changed?

Am I really wholehearted?

What do I really need to change at home?

I am being sent back to my home after a time away (Philemon 11-12), how will I implement and apply the things I have learned from Philemon and Psalm 101 into my life?

Friday July 1, 2005

Up at 1230, on the road at 1250, I slept on the floor in the van till about 5 (4 hours of sleep) and then everyone was talking. We stopped for gas and breakfast just before 7 and I drove from then till 10:20 (9:20 indiana time) when we arrived back in INDY. We got to the SS church a lot earlier than expected so mom wasn’t able to come right away. Once she picked us up we came home and unpacked and checked email and cleaned that up too…..

Been a while

Ok, so I told everyone i'm not using Blogger as my primary site anymore, and now it's been like 1.5 months since i've put anything on here at all! Oh well, if you wanna keep up with my occasional post, read my xanga at: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=bearer_of_Christ otherwise you will be left in the dark. :-)

Well if you want to see the pictures from my recent trip to ECHO, go here: http://gallery.futuredesigns.org/index.php?album=brian%2FECHO_2005%2F and you can see my pictures along with Stacey's and Kevin's! Be warned, there are almost 400 pictures in total.
I may post some of the best ones on here so you can easily see them, but that wont happen right now.

Another piece of useless trivia, it's been over a year since i started my Blog here! It's gone by pretty fast!

Anyway, TTYL

And another one

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One Closer pic

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Heres one picture of the ring that Kevin made for me on Tuesday morning. THANKS Kevin!!

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And a close up...

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Its a bit ago, but heres a Pic of the roses we got for mom for Mother's day.

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Remember the Iris pictures i posted a while back....well these are the other kind...again if you want a few, let me know, they're free!

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This is just the flowers that i got to plant: (going clockwise starting at the bottom) Gerbera Daisy, Lobelia, Salvia, Marigolds.

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Here's a closeup of the Gerbera Daisy

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Here's all the stuff i got today to plant! Tomatoes, Green Peppers and some flowers.

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Evening service notes; Pastor Johnston

Matthew 28:16-20, 2 Corinthians 13:11-14

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ….be with you all. Amen.”

There’s so much in these verses, we can’t really even begin to scratch the surface of the meaning of it

Verse 11 – the first big idea in this passage - The benediction shows up all through the whole New Testament and is a thing that was always an important part of the worship of God.

Even Moses was commanded to issue benedictions

At the conclusion of a letter to the church in the NT there’s always a blessing.

Verse 14 – the second big idea in this text – the Trinity.

The OT constantly insists that there is only one God. But in the NT there’s 3 distinct entities that are specifically named or shown to us.

Perhaps the most graphic example of this happening is in the Gospel of John.

John 14 is probably the best example of Jesus explaining the coming of the Holy Spirit.

How do we explain that there is only one God but in 3 persons?

The thought of the Trinity is perhaps the most difficult thing a human mind has to try to comprehend

There are 3 people that are co-existent, but only 1 God.

In the Works of Jesus and the reality in the New Testament is summed up in the existence of, and the attempt to understand, the Trinity

Verse 14 - The third big idea – The grace of God

Grace: we must be saved by grace, live by grace, labor by grace

The human heart wants, yearns, tries…to come up with a good reason for why God would save each of us….beyond the grace of God, but that’s the only way of salvation.

Grace is unmerited – there’s nothing I can do to earn it.

Ponder the grace of God in calling me to faith in Jesus Christ

But didn’t I do something in my childhood that makes me eligible to receive the salvation of Jesus?

No, in each of us it was His grace, and only that.

2 Cor 6:1 - not receiving the Grace in vain – Am I living for myself or by the Grace of God?

Am I living trusting God’s grace? Or is it just my human will?

Philippians 1:6 – God will bring the work in you to completion

Our culture encourages us, even in the Christian church, to live by our determination, our human drive. But we don’t hear about walking in Grace.

You can’t serve without God’s grace working in your heart.

2 Corinthians 12:?, 1 Corinthians 15:? – our labor must be by the grace of God, and then you’ll see marvelous results.

Have you ever taken your “to do list” and made it into your prayer list?

What God will ask me to do is way beyond what I am able to do.

Am I saved by my works? Or have I been saved by God’s grace?

Slave of besetting sins? Or trusting in God’s grace to overcome?

Laboring by the grace of God? Or exhausted by sheer self effort?

Don’t live in pride, self will, rebellion….submit to God’s grace.

And another one (I won't bore you with posting 10 very similiar pictures, so these are only the best few)

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I took a couple really cool cloud pictures: This one Kevin helpfully placed himself in, but its the best one and its messed up now...

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And a couple more Iris flowers. Oh if anyone reading this wants some...I have hundreds (well it seems like it anyway) too many so you can have all you want for FREE!

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If you've never seen an Iris flower....here's what they look like.

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Here's the whole tree, it's getting kinda scrawny looking though

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Many years our/my Magnolia tree has a hard time blooming well, this year was the exception.

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A few pics:

These are a couple pictures showing the "huge" pile of mulch and the progress of the project of spreading it all out.
*I took the pictures a couple days ago so they are slightly out-dated* :-)

Anyhow, I'm off to get some sleep, even though I'm not super tired, but if I don't go to bed, I will never want to get up tomorrow!

The blocks I put in front of the barn

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a daffodil

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This area is now mulched

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Where I put some of the mulch on Thursday

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everything in the driveway

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2 cubic yards of soil

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5 cubic yards of mulch

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Updates...

I hate to break the horrible news.....I think I'm on the verge of being converted to Xanga!

So for a while, my main site will be Xanga. Check it out at:www.xanga.com/bearer_of_christ

But as for the update part - things are going great right now. Everything's pretty much just like normal, working about 30 hours a week and the rest of the time is at home working on different stuff.

Due to the wonderful weather recently I've been doing a bit of stuff in the yard cleaning it up etc. Today I went and got 2 cu. yds. of dirt and 3 cu. yds. of mulch and I'm going to get 2 more cu. yds. of mulch tomorrow morning. Thankfully I had some help, Jaci volunteered to come along and was a great help, even if she could barely move the dirt or mulch! :-) Thanks again! Now I have my work cut out for me for about the next month - spreading around all the dirt and mulch! Oh well.

I'm off to bed...Catch you all later.

Men's Retreat

I'm not even going to try to tell all about it because I should be in bed right now....anyway....
Me and my dad and brother went to a conference that was from 7pm Friday the 18th to about 3pm Saturday the 19th. It was a time of great fellowship, some basketball, volleyball and plenty of snacks. Andrew Quigley from Scotland gave 3 wonderful talks about disciple making. It's our responsibility as Christians to be fruitful, but we have no way to be fruitful if we're not abiding in Christ. The most practical application he suggested is to grow in our relationship with God by Reading the word, Praying, Loving God and others, and Obeying God. I was very deeply challenged by each of the talks to live much more of a solid Christan walk, basing all my strength in the foundation of Jesus Christ, My Savior.
If you are bored and want to read all 2,500 words worth of notes I too, I posted them on my xanga site.
Well, I'm off to bed.

Good grief, time goes way too fast!

I've been home already almost 2 weeks! I can't believe it. And yet, I still haven't written any more about my awesome trip. What is up with that anyway? Sure I have a decent excuse - I've been very busy - but who cares right?
So anyway, I'll give a little more detail right now. Eventually, I hope to be able to post all the journals I wrote while I was there, but that means that I have to type them all in first!

Saturday February 26, I left for the airport at about 5:45 am. The flight was scheduled to leave at about 7:45 but did not actually leave until about 9:15, but that didn't matter to me since we had about 9 hours worth of layover in Miami before the next flight. Finally it was time to get on the plane to Managua, Nicaragua. We arrived there at about 9 pm local time, only one hour before what it is here. We collected all the bags and loaded on the bus, going to our home for the week - La Quinta. After a few announcements and the like, we went to find our bed for the night.

Sunday February 27^th we unpacked our group bags and sorted out all the clothes we had brought down to donate. Next we went to see a few things in Managua. We went to a really high hill from which we were able to look over almost all of Managua. That was really neat! Then we drove around a little bit and stopped by a really old cathedral built in the early 1700s. Last, we went to Oscar’s church and had a tour of the place by Cecil. I can’t believe how much it’s changed since the last time I was here! WOW! Eventually it was time to go to church there. It was good, but as always, I can’t understand Spanish so it didn’t make a whole lot of sense. I am going to learn Spanish and be fluent someday!

Monday, February 28^th, and Tuesday, March 1, were both work days. We went to Belcezar’s church which is about 20 minutes away. The first day we cleaned up the whole area where the first floor would be. We also poured some concrete guidelines so that we would be able to pour all the rest of the concrete on Tuesday, which we did. So the first floor was done and the second was not ready for us to pour just yet. One of these 2 days, I met a couple girls (Luisa 11, and Marie 8) who attend school there at Belcezar’s and yet they live about 30 minutes away. They were so much fun to play with and they have the cutest smiles! Maria is sponsored to attend school already, but Luisa was not, so I decided to start sponsoring her. Every day after that, they were eagerly awaiting our lunch break so we could play and try to converse in my pathetic Spanish. I had everyone on the group making fun of me because I was taking hour or two lunch breaks because of playing with the girls, but it was worth every bit of it!

Wednesday, March 2^nd, we took off from work! The morning we spent at Los Bracilles, a city about 45 minutes away, where there is another church and school which NRN (Nicaragua Resource Network) supports. What we did was to take each of the 6 grades from the school individually and have them rotate through a series of about 3 games and then gave them a prize at the end. That was a lot of fun! Following lunch most of the group, plus some Nicaraguans supported by members of the group, went to a mountain. We rode a series of about 17 sections of “Zip-Line” all the way down the mountain. The views were spectacular, especially at the top of the mountain where we could see for miles!

Thursday, March 3^rd and Friday, March 4^th were our other main 2 work days. Between those two days, we poured all the rest of the concrete – both on the second floor and also the front entryway. That was a lot of hard work, praise the Lord we were able to accomplish all of it! Let me give you a reality check…we were mixing all the concrete in piles on the ground, by hand mind you. To lift it to the second floor – we had no crane or elevator or anything fancy like that. The method was, fill a 5 gallon bucked about 1/3 with concrete and then hand it to someone who would lift it up to someone on a table who would lift it to the person up top who would pull it up and then get ready for the next one. The buckets would then be dumped by several others who were also on top. Eventually the buckets would be tossed back down to begin their rotation all over again. This was not easy work! The floors both look absolutely wonderful and I can’t wait to go back again to see what the finished product will look like!

Saturday, March 5^th, we had no work to do since we had finished it all, so we took the day off! Many went to Hogar De Fe which is a children’s home out in Los Bracilles. I went with 4 others to see the volcanoes at Masaya. I had seen them before but never had I seen all that we got to explore. The craters are absolutely huge and none of the 50 or so pictures that I took even begins to show its size! Of course I didn’t expect to be there as long as we were, so I decided not to use sunscreen – very bad idea there! After looking around for about 2 hours, we headed back and decided to stop and get some lunch at Pizza Hut due to the time. When we got back to La Quinta everyone was just about ready to leave for the market. For the afternoon we were able to wonder the market and get whatever it was we wanted to bring home with us. I got some t-shirts, a couple hammocks, a machete and a few other things for my siblings. (I know, I’m a nice brother ) We had to be back to La Quinta and be ready to leave at 5:30 for church so our time was cut short but I got everything I needed. Tonight, the last night, we went to Belcezar’s church for the service (oh, I don’t think I mentioned it – they have a church service every night except Monday night and over the week we went to 3 different churches that are supported by NRN). After the service was over I couldn’t believe it, but Balbino, Javier and Belcer Jr. were all there! Those 3 are friends I made on my first and second trips. I was able to talk with them for a while trying to catch up with each other. Between my wimpy Spanish and their attempts at English we were actually able to understand each other pretty well! We exchanged our e-mail addresses so hopefully we’ll be able to keep up with each other. I really didn’t want to leave but I didn’t get the choice, so we were whisked away back to La Quinta. The night was spent with packing because we were leaving the next day and more fellowship like every night.

Sunday, March 6^th, at last the day had come to leave for home, but I couldn’t believe it was over already, I could have stayed for another week or two easily! I love it down there soo much and I know the more I go there, the more of my heart stays there when I leave. It’s hard being there for only a week at a time, but that is all that worked out this time. I’m very thankful that God worked it out so I could go and see everyone down there! We left on the plane and came back to Miami and eventually Indianapolis, arriving about 9:15 pm. So that’s the trip! It’s over.

Wow that was a lot longer than I had thought it would be! If you’ve gotten a chance to see my pictures already, you will by now have a pretty good idea of all that I did. If you haven’t seen them yet, make sure you do that. I know there are a lot of them, but that’s what the thumbnail view is for!
Ok, I’m headed to bed! Catch you all later!

Yes, as rumor has it...

I am home.
I got home about 10pm. The week went really well, and I'll be sure to post a little more about it at least. Going into the trip I knew it would be over too fast and now, I'd go back again in a heartbeat.
If you want, my pictures are posted and you can look at them by clicking here.
The ultra short version is that we did 2 floors of concrete that were each about 25 x 50 feet. Also I really enjoyed getting to know the other members of the group and some of the Nicaraguans.

Thanks soo much for your prayers (and comments too :-) )!
Buenos Noches!

The time is now...

I'm out of here!!
Talk to y'all later!

It's finally here

I leave at 5:30 tomorrow morning and I can't wait!
Pretty much everything is packed by now, so its just a matter of waiting till 5:30 to roll around...then I'm out of here!
Will return late on March 6th!

TTYL

Oh, there better be at least a few comments when I get back!

4 more visitors....

and I will have had 3,000 visitors to my blog since September 10th!
Thats a lot of people!

Hard to sumarize the weekend in a few short words, but I don't have time for any more than that.

Well, saturday was a lot of fun - making cakes and then going to Jaci's birthday party at her house. Lots of good food and fellowship, what more can you ask for?

Sunday - 2 very great sermons. The first on Mark 10, the second on 2 Corinthians 7 (if I had time I'd give a quick overview of each, but I don't).

Monday - I worked and had a couple exciting things happen. First a lady fell down and then I got to call 911. I hope she's alright! Also our new manager came. After work I went to Goodwill to get some clothes to use at Nicaragua and then came home. BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) was very good tonight and a very challenging lecture.

Well that's about it...and I'm out of time anyway!
TTYL

Title? Does it have to have one?

Ok, so I went to the doctor yesterday morning and he said I probably have a sinus infection. That sounds just lovely! Well, maybe not! He gave me some antibiotic for free (hey, I'll take it!) and perscribed an decongestant or something like that. Because of my insurence, I only had to pay less than $5 for the over $30 medication. This is really cool! So I'm starting to feel better and as the stuff starts to do it's job, hopefully I'll be all better in about a week...especially because I'm leaving for Nicaragua a week from tomorrow!

As far as really exciting things going on....there's not really much at all. I did get my vacation pay today for the year though, which is really nice!
Well, I'm off to go get some things done before I head to bed. TTYL

P.S. I just thought of an idea! Everyone that reads this, try to post something exciting that's going on either today or this week sometime.

I dont normaly do these things....but this one's pretty close!

You Are 22 Years Old

22 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Funny thing is that I'm 20, so it's really close!

To those of you who haven't seen my Xanga...

I've been pretty sick for the last week, and not only me but my parents and some of my siblings too! We are all to generous!
Well I basicaly didn't do anything all week except work and sleep, so I have no clue how I'm going to get everything done that I need to get done to catch up. The bug's something like a cross between the flu and a cold with maybe a few pneumonia-like symptoms thrown in there too. It's petty bad and I'll be more than happy to get rid of it any day now...
I am however as far as I can tell, on the way to getting better. I really need to be all better before I leave for Nicaragua.....(prayer item there) :-) But just being down there will help me get better anyway, so whatever.
I'm so ready to go - just 11 days and 6 hours! But I do have some packing to do before then...
Well I'm going to go get some sleep, maybe I'll feel better tomorrow.

Letter I wrote about my upcoming trip...

NICARAGUA!

Dear Family and Friends,

God has graciously opened the door once again for me to return to Nicaragua! I will be going on a one week short term missions trip with NRN, the same organization as before (winter of ’00 - ’03). Nicaragua Resource Network (NRN) is a ministry of a church in Carmel and has an ongoing relationship with three main pastors in Nicaragua. Belcezar Gonzales is one of the pastors and has a growing ministry of about 18 daughter churches. Since my last trip in February 2003, I have had the privilege to serve on the Belcezar committee. My responsibilities have included awareness of needs, decision making and support in prayer for his ministry. Belcezar is also the pastor for whom the construction projects will be done on this trip. The projects will likely include working on a parking area as well as expansion of the school.

As part of a group of about 20, I will be leaving on February 26 and returning on March 6. Your support in prayer will be an essential part of making this a successful trip. I am asking prayer for five specific things:

1. Preparation for the trip – physically as well as spiritually.
2. That God would be working in the hearts of those who we will minister to during our time there.
3. Safety, health, and team unity in travel and on the construction sites.
4. That God would be glorified in everything.
5. That I would be open to learn the things God desires to teach me.

My trips in the past have been a blessing to me and very successful. There are several things that I can attribute this to, but mostly it comes as a result of your prayers. To this end I thank you each in advance specifically for your prayers during this trip. If you feel that God puts it on your heart to help support me in this trip financially, your gift of any amount will be gratefully received. Please feel free to ask to me about this exciting opportunity that God has put before me so you know better what I will be doing. Thank you for your support financially, but most importantly, through prayer.
To God alone be the glory!

In Christ,
Brian Fulk

Work; a steal of a deal; Proverbs Study...

On Friday, I went in to work at a bright shiny early 8a.m. Honestly, I don't like getting up, but I don't really have a choice. Work went about like normal and as I was getting off, the next person came in and told me that there was a super good sale at Old Navy.

Once I dropped off the stuff I got for mom from MARSH, I went straight to Old Navy. I ended up finding 11 (7 pants, 2 shirts, 2 fleeces) things that would fit me or my brothers. The total bill? $23! That's it! Aparently the clothes from last year had to go and they were doing a good job of getting rid of them!

I came home and about 6, I took Johanna over to Steak 'n Shake because for Christmas I gave her a "coupon" for a meal with me. It was a good time of talking and the food was great.

Once we got home, I left to go to the Bible Study at the Faris home on Proverbs. It was a great study about wisdom - how we display it, and how we need to work on getting it. The study went until about 9:45 and until about 1a.m. we sat around and fellowshipped and talked, not to forget the ice cream! Great time, can't wait till the next meeting!

No more IM for this week

I have decided due to several reasons to not use any form of instant messaging for the duration of one week. I have lots of stuff I am supposed to be doing but I always can find someone who I would rather talk to than to do what I really should be doing! (sound familiar?)
I have come to the conclusion that my priorities are a little out of wack and I need to get them straightened out. Now is the time.
I know blogging can take a lot of time too, but recently I have not been posting anyway, so I will not at this point say that I won't do any posts, just no IM. If i discover I'm spending too much time there, I might cut that too....I really need to make better use of each of the precious hours that God gives me to live.

What is man's chief end? To glorify and enjoy God forever! (God is the first and highest priority, then family, school and then friends and computer use...)
Give it some thought, you might come to the same conclusion I have, even if it scares you to think what life will be without IM!

Really long!

It seems that I have arrived at that point where I have lost interest in posting regularly. I will do my best though to try to get something up every week.....

(If you don't have time to read a really long post....the most important stuff is summarized at the end)

Looking back at the recent posts, I really haven't said much since the beginning part of December! For that month, I was nearly constantly working 40 hours every single week and the only days I had off were Sundays. I went to several different concerts, one of which I was a part, the others were: The Nutcracker, an ICC concert, ISO Christmas concert, and I think that's it. I also really enjoyed the CYA formal dinner and then Christmas followed. We did things as a family and also at my Grandparents. Sometime in here I finally got my braces off after 2.5 years! New Years eve, my family went over to the Ames house down the street. That was a lot of fun, we watched a movie and at midnight we all gathered around and shared what the thing is that we were most thankful for in the last year. A few of us stayed until about 4 am talking with Jaci, it was a wonderful time!

So January for now: My dad and I talked about the possibility of going back to ALERT and it was decided for several different reasons that I am not going back to ALERT now, but there is the possibility of going back in July. Work slowed down and now I'm "only" working about 30 hours a week with usually one day off besides just Sunday. At work, I've been able to have some really good discussions with several different people about my various beliefs and the importance for them to put their trust in Christ. I even invited one of them to visit church. Sometime in the early part of the month, my car was having problems and ended up in the shop for about 2 weeks and in the meantime, I used another car. I managed to leave the lights on one day and killed the battery and it’s amazing we were even able to get it to start by jumping it. We almost had to have that car towed to the shop as well! I'm glad I have my car back now! Michael, Kevin and I went one night and we watched the movie "National Treasure." It's a great movie and I'd recommend it to anyone. One thing it emphasized was the importance of working as a team and also the danger of greed. (The soundtrack is really good too!) About the second week of January, both Mom and Dad were out of town. Mom went to MI for a funeral for her aunt with her parents. Dad was in VA for a business trip for about a week. One week later he left for Switzerland and was gone there for almost 2 weeks! (He just got home on Sunday the 23rd!)

The next big event was the CYA Winter Conference: It started on Friday the 15th and went through Monday the 17th. Ok, I don't want to bore everyone with all the details so I'll try to just give the highlights...

I was really challenged and encouraged by the 4 messages by David Reese (from Colorado) on the topic of Holiness; what it is and how to achieve it. Probably the one point that will stick with me is that as a Christian, I must always be striving to live a more holy life, even though God is the one who does the work of sanctification (holy-fi-cation) in my life.
In our free time we played things such as Taboo, Mafia, Soccer, Set and many other games.
On Saturday there were 2 workshops that I was able to go to - "Deepening our time with God" and "Answering the World's lies." Both of those were very helpful and encouraging.
The meals were absolutely wonderful! Thanks cooks!
Sunday we got to go to Kokomo RP church. The message that Mr. York gave was very convicting in the area of righteousness and zeal. For lunch we stayed at the church and had a pitch-in prepared by the church. Thanks so much for the food, it was great!
The "stump the pastors" session that afternoon was very helpful. It answered some important questions that I had on some topics.
The last message by David Reese struck very close to home - I need to learn how to reject the small voices telling me to sin and quit believing the lies of the world because God has the power to keep me from falling, I do not have to sin! The remedy is Christ himself! Personally I have no way to be holy and to obey Christ; all I need to do is believe in and be consistent with the truth.
After dinner, about 6 of us got together and sang for about an hour and a half! That was very much a highlight for me!
Later on, we stayed up and then eventually watched "Minority Report" - one of those movies you have to think about! We kept on talking and fellowshipping until the last of the group finally went to bed about 7 a.m.! That time was an awesome time that will remain in my memory for a really long time!
When I got home on Monday, I found out that one of my guinea pigs had died - Spaghetti. I was rather surprised! I suppose though animals only have a short life normally though. He is the 5-6th one I have buried.

This week since the conference:
I've done a fair amount of work and other miscellaneous stuff. On Saturday the 22nd, I had my first experience with a flat tire. I was driving home so I could get ready for work and be there on time at 5 p.m. Unfortunately, I managed to hit the pothole that I thought I had missed and the tire went flat in a real hurry! Kevin and I got out and started to get the spare tire and jack out. Very quickly we realized we were in a bit of a pickle! The spare tire was flat, and the jack was rusted shut! Thankfully Kevin had grabbed the cell phone on the way out of the house and we called Michael. He came and brought an air pump with him to fill up the spare tire. We used his jack and changed the tire, and I left for work using his car. I stopped by home very fast, changed clothes and got some dinner to take with me. In the end, I ended up about 45 minutes late for work, but it wasn't too busy thankfully! What fun.....!
Dad was able to find a replacement rim for only $30 which is a steal of a deal! So now my car's finally back to normal!

Biggest news recently:
I have now gotten my passport back (which cost almost $200! to have processed faster) and I'm officially signed up to go to Nicaragua again! I will be leaving Feb. 26th for one week; I can't wait!
Wednesday or Thursday I picked up a cold but I'm starting to get over it thankfully.
I then got my first flat tire on Saturday by hitting a pot hole. :-(

Prayer items:
Get better from my cold. (Already by now over it)
Preparations for the trip to Nicaragua.
Wise use of time.
Better prayer times.


Sorry this was so long....bonus points to anyone who reads the whole thing. :-)
God bless you all.
Signing off for the night...
~Brian~

(post started on Jan 25, not actually posted till Feb 1)

Don't worry...

I havn't totaly forgotten about posting!
I'm working on a really long one that will include a short description of December, January, the CYA Winter Conference, a little about the upcomming Nicaragua trip, getting my passport, and my experience with a flat tire on Saturday...
It will even have a short summary of the most important stuff at the bottom for those of you who can't read it all.
Well TTYL
~Brian

What an awesome conference!

I don't have time right now to do a full explanation of the whole conference, but it was a wonderful time of felloship and learning from and about God! The messages about holiness (of which I didn't get a single picture) were absolutely wonderful and were both a challenge as well as an encouragement.
I figured I would let you all know that the total 27 of my pictures are now up and you can see them by clicking right here!
TTYL
I promise I will give a more detailed description, just not today. :-)

I'm off....

...to the CYA Winter Conference. It will last through Monday, and I'm sure it will be a lot of fun!
I will plan on taking a bunch of pictures and I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes....
God Bless,
TTYL

Time for some new news!

The biggest thing is that at this point, though i'm not going back to ALERT untill maybe July, I'm signed up to go to Nicaragua at the end of February!!!
I can't wait!....the last time i was there was in February of 2003 (a very long time ago!)
One thing that immediately had to be taken care of was getting a new passport (my last one expired the end of last year). I got my pictures on Saturday and then went to the post office today. It cost me $55 for the passport application fee, $60 to expedite it so i'll have it back in time, and $57.30 for the Post office fee and the postage!! That's like a small fortune right there!!
Well Lord willing all the details will work out just perfectly and I'll have a good trip....but theres about a month i have to wait, that will seem like forever!
So, I'm working my behind off till then....Got to go!
TTYL
Leave some comments .... i'm getting lonely on here! lol

Please Pray

A friend of mine (Nathaniel Pockras) who lives in Bell Center, OH called earlier today and asked for prayer concerning his family and the ice damage.
There is a lot of ice and as a result, there are lots of trees and limbs down. They lost their power at about 10 pm on Jan 5 and aren't expecting it back on until this weekend. One of the problems is that they have no heat now, and also have a considerable amount of water in their basement. To top it all off, the family all have colds or the begining of the flu.
Pray for health, electricity, and that the damage wouldn't be too extensive.
Thanks for praying!

Time goes too fast!

I know, I used to be in the habit of updating every day...well I soon came to the realization that there are more important things in life. But I will give you a quick sentence recap of the last....say, month.
Lots of great family time, wonderful times with friends, tons of work and toss in a few misc. things here and there.
Ok, there's my summary!

One quick thing that I know many of you are wanting to know....I'm not going back to ALERT this month due to several reasons. Hopefully God will work it out for me to go in July, and I really want to go to the graduation for my unit, I cant wait to see everyone again!

Prayer items:
Johanna (my sister) is having eye surgery on Friday - successful operation and quick recovery.
Mom's trip home from Michigan tomorrow - she is there with her parents because her aunt (Grandma's sister) died this last weekend.
Dad's buisness trip - getting stuff done and working out a way to be home for Johanna's surgery.
Me - figuring out what to do this "semester", relying on God to show the path to walk, better use of the time I have.....there's so much more I could add!

Anyway, off to bed...TTYL

Have fun:

One more thing thats pretty much pointless but fun none the less! :-)

Spell Your Name

A-You can be very quiet when you have something on your mind.
B-You are always cautious when it comes to meeting new people.
C-You definitely have a partier side in you, dont be shy to show it.
D-You have trouble trusting people.
E-You are a very exciting person.
F-Everyone loves you.
G-You have excellent ways of viewing people.
H-You are not judgemental.
I-You are always smiling & making others smile.
J-Jealousy.
K-You like to try new things.
L-Love is something you deeply believe in.
M-Success comes easily to you.
N-You like to work, but you always want a break.
O-You are very open-minded.
P-You are very friendly and understanding.
Q-You are a hypocrite.
R-You are a social butterfly.
S-You are very broad-minded.
T-You have an attitude, a big one.
U-You feel like you have to equal up to people's standards.
V-You have a very good physical and looks.
W-You like your privacy.
X-You never let people tell you what to do.
Y-You cause a lot of trouble.
Z-You're always fighting with someone

B-You are always cautious when it comes to meeting new people.
R-You are a social butterfly.
I-You are always smiling & making others smile.
A-You can be very quiet when you have something on your mind.
N-You like to work, but you always want a break.

C-You definitely have a partier side in you, dont be shy to show it.
I'm not going to spell out my whole middle name (Christopher) - it's too long :-)

F-Everyone loves you.
U-You feel like you have to equal up to people's standards.
L-Love is something you deeply believe in.
K-You like to try new things.

Ok so most of those are true.....but not all of them!