All things to all people

"I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (ESV)

This is one of my favorite verses when it comes to ministry. I have always believed that the best way to minister to people is through relationships and most of the time relationships are started because of a common bond. But what happens when we have no common ground with someone? When they are from a culture completely different than ours? A different background? A different race? A different social class? Instead of just walking away, we must become.

Many times we fail to become. I know I have failed at this many many times. Usually, when we can't relate to someone we just move on and just say someone else will come along and befriend that person. But when we do that we are neglecting God's word. When we come across someone we can't relate to we must get on their level and create the common bond.

I put this verse in practice for the first time, that I can remember, in South Africa. Before going to South Africa, I was nervous about being able to relate to this young men. We are from different countries and completely different environments. We have a language barrier and a race barrier. However, it wasn't hard to relate because of one simple thing.....a soccer ball.

Growing up I have always made fun of soccer. I always said it was a girls' sport. It was for boys who couldn't play football. I hated it. Mainly because I never played it. But here I was in South Africa standing in front of the boys who I came to share God's love with and the main opportunity I had to relate with these guys was the game of soccer. Needless to say, I didn't stand there and make fun of the game or make fun of them for playing what I used to call a wimpy sport. Instead, I became a soccer player for them. Because of this sport doors were opened for us to find more common bonds with the boys.

We could have gone in to the town and made all of the kids sit down for an hour while we preached to them but it wouldn't have been effective. Instead, we came to them and participated in their favorite past time. We showed them that we were here for them. That it wasn't about the rich, white, Americans. It was about them. About how much God loves them and how much we love them.

Jesus took the same approach. Instead of just sitting up in heaven and snapping his fingers to save us, which he has all the power and authority to do, he became like us. He came to us and related with us to show us how much he loves us.

Paul did the same thing when he became a minister to the Gentiles. A people who he once hated and looked down upon. He became like them. He lived with them. I'm sure he even broke his Kosher diet and ate some pork so that he could relate to them.

So the next time you encounter someone that you have a hard time relating to, become something to them. Find a way to build a bridge to that person. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new. Who knows you might actually enjoy whatever it is. I still suck at soccer and I was schooled by kids almost half my age but because of my time in South Africa, I have a new found appreciation and interest in soccer. My eyes have been glued to the t.v. the last couple of weeks whenever there has been a Confederation Cup soccer game on. Plus the fact that the games are being played in South Africa adds a little extra interest for me.

The Soccer Boys sporting their new soccer jerseys that they made.

Thandi's Story

Meet Thandi. Thandi was a big part of our trip. We saw this beautiful baby grow up right in front of our eyes. At such a young age she already has such an amazing life story. The cool thing though is that there are many more pages in her life story to be written. Thandi is in the process of being adopted by Helen, one of the missionaries we worked with.

Thandi is from Klipheuwel which is the town that we worked in. One night, Estelle (one of the other missionaries) got a call about a baby that was found abandoned in the town. Since she was out of town she called the police to go out to the town to investigate. They began to search for the Thandi's parents and in the mean time the Thandi was sent to an orphanage. Being at the orphanage did not work out too well for Thandi. She is an extremely quiet and passive baby. Since she didn't cry very much, she didn't get much attention. Helen and Estelle stayed involved with her and visited her often. They saw that Thandi's social skills were slipping since she was not getting attention. Helen felt responsible for her so she decided to bring Thandi home. The search continued for the parents but while the wait was going on Helen began to imagine the possibility of adopting Thandi. At this point, Thandi's name was still unknown. Helen began to throw around some ideas, one of which was Thandi.

After some time the mother of the child was found. Helen and Estelle were able to find out that the baby's name was Nolunthando which means girl of love. Thandi is the short version of the name. Helen couldn't believe that a name that she was throwing around to call this anonymous baby was actually her real name.

When Thandi's mother was found, Thandi's story became less of a mystery. Her mother was found in the hospital, dying from Tuberculosis. She was pencil thin. Accompanied by a social worker, Helen and Estelle took Thandi to see her mother. They placed her on her mother's lap and tears began to fall from her frail mother's eyes. The big muscular social worker had to excuse himself from the room, it was just too much for him. Because of her mother's illness, Thandi was left in the care of her father who kept her for a few weeks and then ditched her on the side of the road. Niether he or his family wanted anything to do with her. Partly because they thought she might be sick too.

To God's glory, Thandi is a healthy and beautiful baby. Helen is currently going through the adoption process. The only thing that could potentially rain on this parade is family members, who have shown no interest in Thandi so far, coming forward to claim her just so they can get a check from the government.

Helen joked and said that her only goal for Thandi was to make her smile and then she could take her back to the orphanage. But it didn't work out like that and now Helen is a mom and Thandi is a loved daughter.

Guess who's back....

Well I'm back in the States and in the grind of things. Sorry for the month long blogging break. Obviously, there was not much time for me to keep up with my blogging while in South Africa and then I have just been lazy for the last eleven days. But I wanted to thank all of you for the much love, support, prayers, and videos that have been sent my way. It has all been greatly needed and appreciated.

My next few blogs will focus on my time in South Africa. I just want to encourage you to remember that these are not just stories but reality. I had heard the stories and seen the pictures but some things did not become real to me until I saw them for myself, to me some of the stuff was just stories and pictures nothing more. So my prayer for you is not that you would read this and say "that's nice" or "sounds like Stephen had a great time" but my prayer is that you would be moved to action. That you would be decide to make a difference. That you would realize that there is a world full of people who need people like you and me to forsake the comfort of our air conditioned houses, soft beds, and full refrigerators and go. They need us to go and share the love of Christ with them. The love that changes. The love that renews. The love that brings hope. The love that brings light into the darkness.

Thanks again for the love and support and I hope you enjoy reading about my experiences in South Africa.

Happy Mom Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there.

Do something nice for you mom today. She deserves it. Mom's are awesome, especially mine. Over the lats 10 years I have discovered that my mom is one of the strongest people in the world. Chuck Norris and Tim Tebow have nothing on her. But I'm not talking about physical strength. I'm talking about that kind of strength that comes from within. Ever since my dad died 10 years ago, it has just been my mom raising my brother and me. My mom has a really gentle and quiet spirit about her which could be taken as weakness but over the last 1o years I can honestly say there is nothing weak about her. She has done an amazing job raising us and she has loved us with a love that can only be God given.


Go hug your mom and tell her you love her and thank God for her every day. Not just Mother's Day.

conGRADulations

Congratulations Erin. I'm so proud of you. You are the greatest middle school teacher I know. Wait, I really only know two so that's not saying much. But if I did know more, I know you would still be the best. You have done such an amazing job over the last 4 years and the future is looking even better for you. You are going to impact so many kids' lives. I'm glad you understand the meaning of grace because that's the only reason you agreed to date me and I'm glad I have been able to be part of the the journey for the last 3 years. Good job E.


P.S.- Just to prove that I am not just saying Erin is a great teacher just because she is my girlfriend, here is the video that was played during graduation that featured a top student from each College of Education department. I'm probably embarrassing her but she deserves the credit.

P.P.S.- I'm dating a college graduate. Erin, you really are a cougar.

DONE....South Africa Here I come

My first year at Appalachian State is completely over and now its time for me to find a new school to transfer to. Not really but I'd love to see where you think I should go next. Leave a comment with you school suggestion. Anyways, summer vacation is officially here. Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while but you can't expect me to do much of anything during exams. As sorry as I am about not posting anything lately, you will have to get used to it because on Monday I will be boarding a plane to South Africa and will be gone for 3 weeks. I'll try to get a post or two in before then. Actually I guarantee that I will.

But while I'm on the subject, I might as well share a little bit about South Africa. I am going with a group from CCF to Capetown. We will be working with two full time missionaries in a slum area. Most of our work will be with the children of the area, with a special concentration on the teenagers. We will have the opportunity to hang out with these kids, play some games, do some crafts, show some love, and we will get to tell them about Jesus and His love for them. We will also spend some time with the elderly of the community and we will be visiting an orphanage.

This area that we will be in is desperately in need of love and hope. These people are surround by despair. In these communities, poverty, alcoholism, sexual abuse, and violence are the norm. There is also a serious AIDS problem in South Africa. Erin went a year and a half ago and her stories about a couple of the kids are heart breaking. There was a three or four year old girl who had already been raped TWICE in her lifetime. You can understand why she wouldn't go near the two guys that were on the team when Erin went. There is also a teenage boy who is pretty much taking care of his younger siblings on his own and he witnessed his aunt being burnt to death.

Though we are going into a depressing situation, I am excited. I am excited because I believe there is always hope. I am excited because I get to show love to some kids who really, really need it. I am excited to see what God is doing there because the last time CCF was there, the two full time missionaries were just starting to see fruit from their ministry.

So over the next three weeks the team and I could really use your prayers. Even though I am excited to go, I know I'll be excited to get back home after three weeks. Stay tuned for reflections on the trip and there will definitely be pictures making there way to the blog. Thanks for the support.

Cats and Dogs

*Analogies are not perfect. They break down at some point. So just follow me for a minute and don't be too critical.
Are you a dog person or a cat person? No, I'm not talking about pet preference. Which animal are you most like? I believe all of us should be dogs, well at least when it comes to our relationship with God. Sorry cat people. I'm not saying this simply because I'm a dog person. I am saying this because most dogs have the right relationship with their master.

Dogs always want to play. They always want to be around their owner. For example, Erin's dog Coconut always wants to be with the family. Whenever they leave the room he whines. He would follow them but he is afraid of the hardwood floors so he never leaves the couch. Anyways, he is always looking for something to do with his owners. He always wants to be around them, no matter what. Whether it is cuddling on the couch, being rubbed while everyone is watching television, going for a ride in the car, or just rough housing with Doug and I when we come over. He loves being with his so called "masters." Also, dogs are more like to come when called. I've never seen a cat respond to "here boy" or "here girl." They are obedient. When it comes to our relationships with Jesus, dogs give us a good example to follow. We should desire to be around our Master. He desires to be with us. We should also have obedience like dogs.

Cats are the opposite. They only come to the owner when they feel like it. Mainly, when they need something. I have never seen a cat that constantly desires to be around its master. The cat controls things, the cat is in charge. This is the wrong relationship to have with Christ. We should always desire to be around Him. Every day. Not just Sundays, Easter, and Christmas. When we have a cat mentality we control when God comes in and out of our lives but we forget that he is every where. We can't escape our Master and go lay on top of the couch or go mouse hunting. Our Master is always there. He wants to spend time with us and wants us to desire spending time with Him. Sadly, too many churches are filled with cats. They show up on Sunday morning for some petting and then leave and do their own thing the rest of the week.

I know the concept of being like a dog is somewhat crazy. We are prideful and don't want to refer to anyone as our Master or Owner. But God is the greatest Master and Owner any "dog" could have. He's not like Michael Vick or Clark Griswald (National Lampoon's Vacation). He loves us and takes care of us. He is the kind of Master that you can't help but love and run to whenever you get the chance. The beauty of it is that we always have the chance. God, unlike most dog owners, doesn't leave for a 9 to 5 job everyday while we are stuck in a crate. He is always with us. Ready to love on us and receive our love.

I can't imagine what the church and what the world would look like if we all became like dogs to our gracious Master and Savior Jesus. I can almost see Satan screaming "Who let the dogs out?" (Cue one of the worst songs ever created.)