Udpate From South Africa

Hey Everyone!

Thanks so much to all of you who have kept me in your thoughts and prayers over the past few weeks. Taking the step into full-time missions has been something on my heart for several years now, but I must admit that when the time came to go, it was a big leap of faith and one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. As I arrived here the first night, we were driving down the 7-mile dirt road driveway back to the training center, stopping occasionally as jackals ran across the road, and I remember thinking, “What in the world have I gotten myself into?!” More than three weeks later, all of those initial fears are gone, as I have built many solid relationships here, have been welcomed into the community, and have truly seen God move daily.

I am a part of a community of some 45-50 young people who are being trained to come alongside the local church in Africa and plant disciple-making movements of youth. We are living in a dorm-like situation. I am living in a room with three other guys: Praise (from Malawi), Sabin (Congo Brazzaville), and Sampson (Zambia). Other trainees here come from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland, and of course, myself from the US. Needless to say, I am getting quite the cross-cultural experience!

The training is pretty intense. Our first three days here, we went out into the bush, with very few supplies, used machetes to cut down trees and build shelters, and basically just tried to survive! It was a pretty neat experience, and a good bonding time for everyone. For the last couple weeks now, we have been back on Driefontein Farm, where the J-Life training center is located. It is a really beautiful place—several thousand acres of mountains, rivers, lakes, and wildlife. Guys go hunting here a lot, and last week we killed a wild boar...and then ate him for dinner! We joked about how we were eating “Pumba” from the Lion King!

So far our training here has included things like spiritual gifts, personality tests, leadership and vision, and the DNA of disciple-making movements. It has been really powerful to plow through some of these topics together as a community. More than anything else, however, the core of the training revolves around our own spiritual health and maturity. We are held accountable to spend time alone with God daily, we pray together corporately, we are memorizing Scripture together, all in an attempt to be a holy community, set apart for God. The discipline has been great for me.

On top of spiritual “boot camp,” we are in physical training as well. I run daily with the guys here, which is pretty intense over the hills and mountains on the farm. We are also at a high elevation, over 7000 feet above see level (higher than Denver), so I am just now getting used to the thin air. So far my longest run has been just over 6 miles, but I am working towards a half marathon by April. I also swim across one of the lakes almost every day, with my longest swim being about half a mile so far. It feels great getting back into physical shape. It’s summer here, and the weather is blazing hot, somewhere in the mid-90s most days, so a daily swim is almost a necessity!

I received a great piece of advice before I left from my friend and former mentor, Karl Black, who said, “If you are able to see yourself as a learner, you will grow immensely over the next year.” I have truly tried to take those words to heart in my time here. While I have more formal education and ministry experience than most of these guys, I am still able to learn so much from them—from their cultural backgrounds, from their life experiences, and from their hearts and passion for the Lord. I truly am learning so much every day and growing in my understanding of other people, as well as in my relationship with the Lord.

Here are some ways that you can be praying for me:

-that I would continue to develop deep relationships with the guys here
-that I would stay focused on my relationship with God above all else
-that I would remain free from homesickness
-that God would continue to reveal His plans for my future, and that I would have the courage to follow His leading

Thanks again to all of you who are praying! I could not be here if it weren’t for your love and support! Please know that I am praying for all of you as well!

Alive in Africa,

MaxAC

2 Weeks Later...

Well, I've been here for about 15 days now. I apologize for not keeping you all more up to date, but the internet here is terrible, and my access is limited. I just wanted to briefly let you all know that 1) I am still alive! and 2) I absolutely love it here! As I got on the plane two weeks ago, alone and quite unsure of what my immediate future held, I remember thinking, "What am I getting myself into?" Leaving my comfort zone of family, friends, home, security was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I look back now only two weeks later and see all of the things I would have missed out on had I stayed. The community here at J-Life is incredible, and God is working in all of our lives here. There are about 45 young men and women going through the training here, from all different backgrounds and 10 different countries. It is such a diverse group of people coming together under one vision: creating disciple-making movements in the youth of Africa. I have made many new and close friends here in such a short time. I am picking up on several new languages: Afrikaans, Zulu, Swahili, and French to name a few. God is moving in my life, as I am seeing a greater picture of His Kingdom and devoting myself to Him more each day. Please, keep praying for me as I continue to seek God's will for my future. He is definitely giving me a heart for Africa, and we will see where that leads! I miss you all, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers, Mates.

AC

Alive in South Africa!

Thanks for all of your prayers. I arrived safely in Johannesburg, South Africa about an hour ago--along with all of my luggage...praise God! I'll be waiting here, guarding my luggage for two more hours before my ride arrives.

It was very tough saying goodbye to so many of you over the last week. Between saying goodbye to the youth and friends at church on Sunday, to the goodbyes with my family Wednesday night, to my last goodbye with Adrienne at the airport Thursday morning, I have shed more than my fair share of tears this week. However, it is good to finally be here, and I am adjusting my thoughts to my purpose here, to grow and learn and expand God's kingdom in any way that He chooses to use me. Don't worry, though, I won't be forgetting all of you back home anytime soon. In fact, I would love to hear from all of you as often as possible. I may not always be able to respond quickly, depending on the availability of the Internet here, but it's important to me to hear from friends back home and share this journey with all of you.

Well, that's all for now. This could very well be my last post for a while...tomorrow we are leaving for a Survivor-esque experience out in the bush! Lions and tigers and AC, oh my!

AC Takin' it International

Well, T-minus one day before I embark on a new journey in life. In a little over 24 hours, I will be stepping on a plane headed for South Africa, not to return for nearly a year. Thus, my 24-year streak of dwelling in the U.S. comes to an abrupt end...it was a nice run while it lasted.

I couldn't be more excited about this opportunity to serve others abroad...and also nervous, terrified, and  apprehensive, to name a few other emotions that seem to be present. I'm excited to meet new people, learn new languages and cultures, experience a whole new way of living and viewing the world, and all along the way to be challenged and grown in my walk with the Lord. I'm nervous and somewhat apprehensive because I am walking into so many unknowns (also a reason why I am excited, however). And I'm quite terrified, mostly because I am going alone. I do well when I am with people, especially people I know and love. I don't do alone very well. My prayer is that I make strong connections with the African people very early in my trip so that I can avoid that sense of being on an island. 

If you have time, here are a few ways you can be praying for me this week:

• safe travel, both for myself and my luggage!
• safety upon arrival (I was just notified that I will spend a few hours alone in the airport in Johannesburg, the crime capital of the world).
• that I would make immediate connections with the African people
• strength against feelings of loneliness

Thanks so much to all who are praying! This blog will be my primary means of connecting with many of you while I am away, so please keep in touch! God bless!

Quote

"Every day, I try to live my life in such a way that I accomplish at least one thing that will outlive me and last for eternity."

-Vernon Brewer, founder and president of World Help

Sunday Night Tradition

After a brief hiatus from our Sunday night tradition, we gathered once again last night for more food (of the Chinese variety), fun, friends, and this week, some family as well. Good times. 

I'm gonna miss these people next year...

Mission: Africa

If you know me well at all, you know that I am a missionary at heart. Since my teenage years, I have had a passion for the world, for different cultures, for people groups very different than my own. I went on my first mission trip as a junior in high school. I went to Ecuador, and it was there that God began to place in my heart a calling to youth ministry. At the same time, I began to feel God stirring my heart for the nations.

That calling, over six years ago now, set my life on an incredible journey that continues to this day. Rather than devoting my life to the pursuit of riches or fame or athletic achievement--to all the things that my selfish heart had desired up until that point in my life--I chose a significantly different path. This path led me to study youth ministry for four years at Bethel College. It led me to spend countless hours in college pouring into youth in the local church. It was this calling that led me to St. Mark Missionary Church, where for nearly four years now I have been striving to make a difference in the lives of young people--to inspire them, challenge them, help them see that they are called to something bigger than themselves. Finally, it is God's heart for the nations that He has placed within me that has led me to a significantly different and new phase in my journey...

In March, I met a South-African man in Israel named John Abrahamse. He was speaking at a conference for youth workers all around the world, and he shared his vision to reach the youth of Africa. John and his wife, Lorna, started an organization out of their home called J-Life. J-Life stands for Jesus' Life. Simply put, they began practicing the principles of Christ's ministry on earth, discipling young people and teaching them to disciple other young people. In the past seven years, their ministry has grown exponentially. J-Life is now a movement that is training native men and women from over 20 different African nations to make disciples.

Their mission...AFRICA.

What I saw that day in Israel was a vision for bringing the kingdom of God to a whole continent. A vision for empowering oppressed people with the Good News. A vision for multiplying fully-committed disciples of Jesus. I knew that I wanted to be a part of that kind of a movement of God. 

The rest is history. I spoke with John, and he advised me to begin praying about spending a year in Africa. Over the course of the next couple months, the answer was clear.

One month from today, I leave for Africa.

Why Africa? Honestly, I had never really considered going to Africa. It's not that I was opposed to going there, but I simply had not been exposed enough to Africa to see that it just might be the place where God wanted me. My international experiences have been limited mostly to the Spanish-speaking world, as well as to the far East in places like China and India. To be completely honest, since my time in China two years ago, I had been hoping that God would send me back there, or at least to somewhere in Asia. After spending time in India this past January, I was convinced that God would call me there. However, God had different plans. My life will never be the same.

Africa...here I come!!!

Name That Band!

My friend Kara tagged me a while back in this band generator game. Here's how it works:

Band Name: Random Wikipedia Link

Album Title: Random Quote Generator (Last four words from a random quote)

Album Art: Random Flickr Picture

Here were my results:

My Band Name: Packet Switch Stream

Album Title: Quickly and Easily Tomorrow

Album Art:

We're easily the sweetest new band out there. Now let's see what bands you can randomly generate! I tag Dani, Phil, and Chad.

These are real people...

Nicomedes is 48 years old, married and has 5 children. He owns a chiperia (local bakeries specialized in preparing a traditional Paraguayan bread called chipa) located at the building where he lives. His and wife and sons are responsible for selling them out of their home while he is in charge of outside sales. For over 20 years, Mr. Nicomedes has dedicated himself to this activity. His leadership skills have made him a very respected man within his community--he has always been part of community outreach programs, and even presided over the district's commission. His main goals have been promoting growth and improvement in his community. In the past, he used to borrow an oven from the neighbors until he invested the loan amount he received from Fundacion Paraguaya to build one for himself and to purchase baking ingredients. Now, he is requesting another loan in order to purchase additional ingredients in wholesale quantity, such as starch, vegetable oil, cheese and wood. 

Kiva = Micro-Loans Made Easy

This morning I sat at my dining room table in my house in South Bend, Indiana, and simultaneously loaned money to a chipa baker named Nicodemes in Caacupe, Paraguay. And how did I accomplish this incredible task, you ask? The answer: Kiva. Kiva makes loaning money to entrepreneurs in impoverished countries as easy as the click of a mouse. Here's some more info found on their website:

What Is Kiva?

We Let You Loan to the Working Poor

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.

Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, our partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entrepreneur on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.

Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way. To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money.

This is seriously so easy! What are you waiting for?! Help someone in the impoverished world now!

MSM Fall Retreat

Getting ready to head off for the weekend on our Middle School Ministry Fall Retreat. We're trying out a new venue this year, heading over to Prairie Camp's new Retreat Center. I'll be leading worship for the retreat, and former youth pastor and current church planter Jeremy LeVan will be speaking. Looking forward to a great weekend of unplugging from all the distractions around me and diving into deeper relationships with some pretty cool middle schoolers!

Yo tengo gozo...

A few girls from my Spanish class put together this sweet video of themselves singing "Yo Tengo Gozo." These girls are really picking up on the language quickly, and I'm so proud of them! Notice the cool special effects in the video, which can only mean one thing...they are Mac users! Whoo hoo!

A Good Meal and Great Friends

Over the past couple months, I've gotten the chance to try my hand at cooking more than a few times. Now for those of you majoring in AC to the Max trivia, you might recall that I'm not exactly Emeril. However, in recent months I have become what I would consider quite proficient in making Chinese food. So, Sunday night after our high school ministry, Adrienne and I cooked up a storm: Jasmine rice with Thai Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce, stir fry chicken, szechuan chicken, and chopped onions, garlic, and green peppers. If I can say so myself, it made for quite a tasty meal, and what made it even better was sharing it "family style" with a great group of friends.

ND-Pitt

I had the misfortune of witnessing Notre Dame's defeat at the hands of Pitt in 4 overtimes this past Saturday. My dad, brother, and I went to the game together, an annual tradition dating back to our childhood. Incidentally, this is the third time I have witnessed Notre Dame lose an overtime game (somehow I think it might be all my fault!). The first time was to the #1 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers back in the Eric Crouch era (around 2000, I believe). Then, in 2005, the Irish stormed back against Michigan State from a 3-touchdown deficit in the 4th quarter, only to get beat in overtime. Then, of course, this most recent loss in 4 overtimes to Pitt. As if that wasn't enough, I also saw the Irish lose to USC in 2005, thanks to the "Bush Push," in one of the most heartbreaking games in ND history. All in all, I'm pretty sure my attendance at ND football games is a curse. Anyway, it was still fun to get back inside the most historic stadium in college football history. Here are some pics from the game.

Trunk 'R Treat

This past Friday night, our children's ministry at St. Mark put on a great event called "Trunk 'R Treat." Families in the church decorated the trunks of their cars to different themes, and kids both from the church and from the community came to see the trunks and, of course, get lots and lots of candy! I went with an international theme, displaying flags and soccer jerseys from different places I've traveled around the world. Check it out. 

Common questions I received were: "Are you one of those people who sell stuff out of their cars?" and "Are you a Communist?" I assured everyone that I was neither of those things. All in all, it was a really fun night. Seth and Nikki joined in on the fun as well. You can check out their pictures here.

My Cat is a Potty Mouth

You may not know this, but I have a cat. In light of this fact, people sometimes ask me if I'm a cat person. Well, I grew up with cats, yes, but I'm still more of a dog-lover personally. Anyway, Adrienne found this little kitten in Atlanta this summer, and she asked me if I'd take her in. So, being the good boyfriend that I am...I have a cat. Her name's Beyonce, and she's from the Dirty South. Last night I found out that she's also a potty mouth. Check it out...

Demolition Derby at Hope Ministries

Last night was our first Community Impact event of this school year. The high school Impact Groups teamed up and went over to Hope Ministries in South Bend to do some grunt work at their Family Life Center. We helped clear out an area that will soon be renovated to provide more housing for homeless men. The room was filled with old furniture that needed to be dissembled/destroyed and discarded in dumpsters. For this task, we were given pick-axes and sledge hammers (no joke!), and we had ourselves quite the demolition derby...it was awesome! Check out the pics below:

Note: only one sledge hammer was harmed during the demolition process (my bad), and only three people went home bleeding last night (I'm really hoping my tetanus shot is up to date!!!). Despite those few minor setbacks, it was a GREAT night serving a GREAT organization that does so much for the "least of these" in our community.

¡La Clase de Español!

One thing I love about St. Mark is that we are a church that is passionate about world missions (kinda makes sense, as we are a Missionary church). Each summer it seems that we are sending teams all around the globe to minister. Many of the countries where we have been ministering or supporting missionaries are Spanish speaking (i.e. Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico); unfortunately, most members of our missions teams who minister in these countries each summer know little to none of the Spanish language. For those of you who are familiar with short-term mission trips, you know that the language barrier can be frustrating and difficult to overcome in the short time a mission team has in that different culture.

THE PROBLEM: People need to learn Spanish!

About a year ago, I became aware of the desire for many of our mission team members to begin to learn Spanish. Although I would consider myself far from fluent, I did study Spanish for 5 years in high school and college and have spent a decent amount of time overseas in Spanish speaking cultures. So, when I heard of this need, I got excited about the opportunity of helping out in any way I could. However, for a number of reasons last year, this project got put on the back burner.

Then, this past summer, I traveled with a team to South America, where we spent the majority of our time in Paraguay. During this trip, I saw first-hand the need and desire for this group of people with a heart for missions to learn Spanish. I knew the problem (see above), and God laid this simple solution on my heart:

THE SOLUTION: Start a Spanish class!

Duh. Why didn't I think of that?!

Well, it took a little effort to get off the ground, but last night was week 7 of La Clase de Espanol! We meet every Monday night for about an hour and a half, and we have been having a blast. I teach alongside Diane "Dino" Matteson, our office manager here at St. Mark and a very proficient Spanish speaker herself. Our class consists mostly of a couple families, with parents and their children learning the language together. They have taken incredible strides in the past couple months, and I'm so proud of them! Here are a few things I love about teaching this class:

1. The people. I love spending time with this group! They all have great hearts for Jesus and for the world!
2. Practicing my language skills. It gives me a chance to keep up with the Spanish language (previously I had been neglecting my Spanish studies for a couple years). Also, I've found that learning a new language and teaching a new language are two very different things. I have had to focus much harder to understand how to best teach others a new language.
3. The excitement of watching others learn. Last night, I sat with a group of 5 children as they asked questions in Spanish and answered them in complete Spanish sentences! Wow!
4. The focus on missions. This group doesn't simply want to learn another language for the sake of learning another language--they want to learn another language so that they can minister to others!
5. The focus on prayer for the nations. Each week, I've been wearing a different soccer jersey from countries around the world, and then we spend time at the end of class praying for that country. I have the kids show me on a map where the country is located, we spend some time identifying the needs of that country, and then we pray for them. So far we have asked God to reign in Ecuador, Paraguay, India, Brazil, Mexico, and China. I was touched last night to hear an eight year old girl pray that Christians in China would be able to go to church and that the pastors there would be let out of jail. God heard those prayers!

God is definitely doing great things here at St. Mark, and He is raising up a people with His heartbeat for the nations! Amen!

Two of my favorite little kiddos...

Still Alive and Kickin' It

By now, you might be wondering, Is MaxAC still alive? Fortunately, the answer is: Yes, I'm alive, and living life to the max! Here's what I've been up to recently:

• going to a lot of youth sporting events
• teaching a Spanish class (more on this later)
• dealing with some drama in the youth group (of the teenage girl variety...my favorite!)
• not sleeping enough
• trying to keep up with my new house
• leading an awesome student leadership team
• spending lots of time with my girl
• preparing for a long trip overseas (more on this later, as well)
• not blogging

Life never stops, but unfortunately sometimes blogging does stop. However, there is much to share, so look for more from MaxAC in the near future!!!