Cornerstone

I absolutely love music! I love praising God through music! I can only imagine that is how David felt when he was alive. So often we see where he plays his harp and cries out to his God. This was a man after God's own heart! Pretty powerful statement I'd say. But I think we have something to learn from that. I don't think David would have wrote about that if he didn't think there were other people who would come along after him and experience the same moving experiences through music that he did.


Let's just say today went down as the hardest day of work yet. Our boss actually called the day early because he felt bad for us. The sun was brutal and the weeds were tall. Will and I were given a task to cut all the "grass", which mainly consisted of weeds, briars, and a few patches of grass here and there. In America this task wouldn't have been bad at all. I probably would have called my buddy from across the street, asked to borrow his John Deer and went to town. Well not only do they not have riding lawnmowers here, but they don't even have a push mower. Even on top of that there are no Weed Eaters (that is my next task... I think I can rig up one with a few things from the Market).


One time when I was younger I remember I got in trouble while we were at our family ranch. I can't recall what it was I got in trouble for, even though I still remember vowing to myself to never do it again because of the punishment that took place after. I was given a tool that looked somewhat like a "hoe" except on the end of the handle was a long curved blade. Daddy Burl, my granddad, told me to go cut down all the weeds with stickers on them. Boy, was I mad at that man that day! "You want me to do what?" I thought. I managed to finish the task and don't believe I ever went down that route again. Well I tell that story because when Will and I walked into a overgrown field, full of sliced up mango trees, these were the tools we were given. Well actually, I wish I would have been handed that nice tool Daddy Burl gave me several years ago. No shovels or machetes today, but a combination. It looked like they just stuck a machete on the end of the shovel stick and went to town. I actually had to stop and "re-nail" the plate of the machete to the handle within a few minutes of our work. I'm trying to paint a picture here that you can hopefully visualize. Anyways enough of my whining! Needless to say this work was hard and time consuming but very rewarding at the end when we looked back across a freshly cut field, with a beautiful backdrop of the foothills into the Andes mountains.


I remember looking at Will a few hours into it and saying, "I am on the struggle bus this morning". We both laughed and went back to work, knowing that we made this commitment and nothing was gonna stop us. So naturally I pulled the iPhone out and went to my last resort. I needed some pump up music. Now if you know me, and most of my teammates can tell you, my pump up music is much different than most. I will get very anxious and nervous if I were to throw some heavy rock, or rap into my headphones before a football game. I'm the guy, along with my roomie Jaxon, that is blasting something along the lines of Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Mumford and Sons, Lumineers, or Disney Pandora station. I also enjoy christian music. I have several artists that I really like but one group I really connect with is the group Hillsong United. Today I had one of those moving moments when a song came on and I hadn't heard it since Easter Sunday. I remember singing it next to my parents in the Erwin Center with hands held high and tears coming down my face. There is just something about the tune and more importantly the lyrics that come with it. If you have never heard it I suggest you pause reading this blog and go listen to the song Cornerstone by Hillsong United. Here are the lyrics, see ya in about 4 minutes with wet eyes... Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZq9xTfHvgo




Cornerstone by Hillsong United

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly trust in Jesus name

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly trust in Jesus name

Christ alone; cornerstone

Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love

Through the storm, He is Lord

Lord of all

When Darkness seems to hide His face

I rest on His unchanging grace

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

My anchor holds within the veil

Christ alone; cornerstone

Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love

Through the storm, He is Lord

Lord of all

He is Lord

Lord of all

Christ alone

Christ alone; cornerstone

Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love

Through the storm, He is Lord

Lord of all

Christ alone; cornerstone

Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love

Through the storm, He is Lord

Lord of all

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh, may I then in Him be found;

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless stand before the throne.

Like I have said several times already, I love this song. What sticks out to you about it? To me there are several, and every time I listen to it one of them pierce my heart because of something going on in my life at that time. I know this a song that I clung to during a rough period in my life. "Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of All!" Amen to that! And thank you Jesus for holding true to that truth at all times and through all storms! I could talk about each part of this song and what it means in my life but this blog isn't about me. At least I don't want it to be. I hope that maybe some of my experiences can enlighten your day and give you that extra "umph" to get you through the day. I, by know means, want you to feel like I am preaching to you because I am the last to have that position! You will completely understand that by the end of this blog. But I want a way to reach the ones who want to be reached. So this is my effort, for the time being!

Today though, one part I really clung to. "Christ Alone, Cornerstone". Wow! I never knew three words could have so much meaning. So many people sing this song and breeze right over these three to get to the part about how He makes us strong, but do we actually realize what we just sang? When I looked up Cornerstone in the dictionary this is what I found: 

1. A stone that forms the base of a corner of a building, joining two walls.

2. An important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based.

Also looking into the "True Dictionary" aka the Word of God, Paul writes to the saints of Ephesus in Ephesians 2:19-22:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit.

I love the second definition in the dictionary... An important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based. I would say Jesus is a pretty important feature to say the least and we would be crazy not to depend on this particular thing and base our lives on it! But do we actually do that? If you honestly took a look into your life right now, could you say that Jesus is the cornerstone in your life? Is he the cornerstone for your family? It is a tough question and many stray away from actually answering that question, but who are we hiding that secret from? Maybe your friends and co workers are missing it, but the one who cares sees straight through you! You can't hide that from Him! 

There are many things that we replace Jesus with as our cornerstone, especially in America! We have money, clothes, success, jobs, self-perception, education, social status, knowledge, sex, experiences, drugs, and the list could go on and on and on... I can list these because I have tried to make all these my cornerstone at some point in my life and I was never able to find true joy. Not only that, but my life continued to keep going south and I wasn't even trying to hang on. Paul writes to Ephesus and tells them that we are "joined together" through the chief cornerstone Jesus. 

I got back from work and couldn't help but take a nap! It was pretty incredible I might add. But when I woke up I put my iphone on shuffle and what do ya know? The first song to come on is Cornerstone. I just lay there in bed with my hands held high again singing this song, yet all the while praying for God to reveal to me what my cornerstone is in my life. Also not only to reveal it to me, but to help me chisel away at it day by day and put Him in the place he belongs!

Immediately after I walked out to the porch to see the sun beginning to fade away over the horizon. I turned on a podcast that John Mark Davidson gave me that I had been meaning to listen to. It was a sermon by Tim Keller talking about Pride. God definitely had heard my prayer and was screaming at the top of his lungs at me! This was my cornerstone! No doubt about it!

I decided to write this blog today because I believe everyone deserves to hear the way Tim Keller presents this idea. I told Will after turning it off, "If someone doesn't ever hear that sermon, they will be missing out on a whole new view of pride. I gotta blog tonight! Again!" And so I am!

Tim Keller's talk comes from the passage of 1 Corinthians 4. Paul is talking to the church of Ephesus and trying to almost calm them. But he is also trying to enlighten them on something he has come to hold true to. He says in verse 3, 

"I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. vs. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.... vs. 6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. vs. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"

One thing we must remember is that the meaning of judge in this scripture means: the verdict of either positive or negative. In our every day lives, we are judged by others, and we judge ourselves. Tim talked about how we should take the example of Paul. He says that he doesn't care about the judgements that others lay on him, and then goes even further and proclaims that he doesn't even judge himself. 

How many of us are trying to live up to expectations, whether big or small? These are expectations put on you by yourself or by others. Are you trying to live so highly up to the hoops and hurdles in your life? What happens when we reach those expectations? Tim talks of when we reach those, our egos are fed, which turns out to be something of an internal monster that is never satisfied/full no matter how you are perceived by yourself or others. 

We live in a world that judges every single one of our performances. Most religions when you look at them are all about the works you do on this earth and then you will receive the verdict at the end. I think the reason I love christianity, and even more so the gospel, is because in Jesus Christ, and only in Him, do we get the verdict before the performance. Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..." So what is the reason to have any pride in your life? When I say pride I am talking about the pleasure we feel when we have more than someone else, are better than them at something, or when we achieve the expectations/standards either we or everyone around us have set up for us. We no longer have to live in that world and that is what Paul is trying to explain. We are free!!! "FRRRREEEEEEDDDDOOOMMMMM", as William Wallace would say! We should all be praising God for that, because now we can live with one goal, to further his kingdom on this earth! 

Are you tired of being the mouse in the wheel of pride? It's a never ending killer cycle. I know I've grown tired of it. Living up to expectations that I have set up, living up to the way others perceive me. Finding pride in those things, it's just not worth it. For so long my cornerstone to my life has been my pride. I am constantly wanting to please people. I want to impress coaches and fans! I compare myself to the best quarterbacks in the Big 12. Off the field I try to live up to standards "the church" has made for me, and yet I constantly fall short of those. There comes that monster again. But now I just let it ring... FREEEEDDOOOOMMMMM! 

To wrap it up I want to take a look into 1 Timothy. Because when you read 1 Corinthians 4 you would almost seem to think that Paul is boasting about how he has this figured out and because of this he is better than them. He completely is not saying that! This man who wrote all these books that we live by today says in 1 Timothy 1:15-16, 

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I am the worst. vs. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life."

This man Paul, how does he have so much freedom yet claims to be the "worst of sinners"? Because he had it figured out! He had no pride, his pride was Jesus Christ! He had no ego, Jesus bore that one for him on the cross! He had no one to please, except that of Jesus Christ, who now saw him as White as Snow! What a testimony!

This is my prayer tonight: Lord, thank you for Tim Keller and the word he brought to my ears today! Please Lord remove the pride from my life! You are my judge and my only judge! You hold the ultimate verdict! The difference Lord, is that verdict has already been made before my performance here on this earth. You say in Romans 8, that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus! Let me rest in that tonight Father. Soak into my mind, that I don't have to live by anyone's standards anymore! Not even mine! Break my standards down Father. Allow me to live with freedom furthering your Kingdom daily. I struggle with Pride I know! Remove that from my life and replace that cornerstone Lord. This is not easy! It is actually really hard and very scary! I am going to need your help all along the way. Please Lord place your hand on my life, my image, and my heart! I love you Father! I need you Father! and I want You! Amen!

P.S. Thanks to all you who sent prayers up for Jordan and his meeting with his dad! Received a text from him tonight that said it was awesome and everything he prayed for came true! Amazing how strong the power of prayer is! Love ya Jo!

What is True Joy?

John 15:7-12 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing... If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As my father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

Hola! Buenas noches from Tambo Grande! Man, do I have some thoughts to share with y'all today! I hope you're ready and have time, because tonight it is just me, my computer (a charger), and lots of stars. Our time in Tambo Grande has been about as perfectly scripted as it could go. I keep telling Will and Alex I am waiting for something to go wrong because this can't be a perfect trip. I mean I am working with new people, building friendships, getting my tan on, and growing in my walk with Christ. I just don't know if it can get any better. Also I am lobbying for Will to play football again. This kid has some hands on him. Lets be honest, if he can catch my wobbly passes on a consistent basis here on the futbol fields of Peru, there is no telling what him and Johnny Football can do teamed up together! Excuse me one second... I just threw up in my mouth! Just kidding... I can support Texas A&M now. I mean they did run off to the SEC because of our tv network that is in a whopping 300 homes across America. Definitely helping our recruiting ;) but that is enough of that rant.

You are probably thinking I put the scripture from John 15 in my blog today because I am working with tree branches and mangos and lots and lots of fruit. Yeah that was initially what stood out to me. But after going into a deeper place of thought and digging into this scripture something else stood out to me. Verse 11 says, "I have said these things so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete." I think we all can grasp somewhat the joy of His. I think Jesus finds joy in seeing us live by the gospel. I think he finds joy in seeing us love the less fortunate, or choose him over something more pleasing to our worldly flesh. I know Mikah 6 says, "Seek Justice, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with your God" (paraphrased), and I believe a walking man of christ looks like that exactly. And THAT, is something that brings joy to our Savior. But Jesus goes on to say, "that your joy may be complete."

Have you ever imagined yourself actually sitting in a room talking to Jesus. I mean literally close your eyes and go to that place. (Well, open them back up real quick and read this. Then I suggest you do this technique right after). Go to a place, I like to think of a huge library, full of books. Tall shelves, elegant lights, nice comfy chairs, and sweet statues. Each book is about something in your life. Hobbies, childhood stories, nightmares, church sermons, football stadiums you've played in, parties you've gone to, girls/guys you've dated, books you've read, and the list goes on. Isn't that cool? A library of your own. Design it however you want! This is your own "Inception movie", create it how you want! But one factor is important. Standing there waiting for you when you walk in is the man you had scheduled an appointment with that day. That man is Jesus. Y'all walk through your library and then take a seat over in the corner. He then looks at you and asks you in his deep yet calming voice, "My beloved child, where are you finding your joy in this world?"

That is where I was when I read this chapter. It was an awesome tactic my new friend Micah was talking to me about a few nights ago. When I really could feel that situation, and I could look at all these stories about me in my own "library", I really had to ask myself what I find joy in. Initially I had to be honest. I have built football up in my life so large that it had become an idol and everything revolved around it. So I instantly thought I find joy knowing that I was the last qb for a long time to storm Kyle Field and win the most monumental game I have ever played in. As I replied that back to Jesus, he gave me a look that basically said that's about right, that's why I put your tail in Peru all summer. But then I started searching the depths of my heart. What do I truly find joy in? I find joy in making my two brothers proud! Nothing makes me more happy than one of them telling me they love me, proud to be my brother, or anything along those lines. Something about sharing blood with those two and being the youngest, I constantly do all I can to make them proud to share my name. I find joy in hearing my mom pray. I always give her a hard time by asking her to keep it short before meals, but honestly I can see a woman who is devoutly chasing after her Daddy. I always took it for granted waking up in the mornings early before a 6 am workout in high school, when I would look over the railing down into our living room and the lamp would be on, a cup of coffee on the side table, and my mom reading her bible. She is the ultimate definition of joy in my life. I find joy having a Dad that tells me how much he loves me on a day to day basis. Do you know how unheard of that is? I never knew that until I got to college and had teammates that never did and never will experience that. I find joy in getting a text from my best friend back home, Jordan, that said this...

Jordan: I wanted to tell you that I contacted my dad last week and asked him if he wanted to come have lunch while I'm back... So he's coming into town and we're gonna meet and have lunch! Pretty crazy news, so I've been getting my mind right and praying hard on it!

Me: Broooo, that is sooo awesome!! Man I'm freakin pumped for you!

Jordan: I know man... My mind has been trying to comprehend it all and get stuff in perspective... I am not going to go about this in a harsh revengeful way but in a forgiving way. I just feel that after this lunch I'd like to move forward with our relationship and not look back!

How crazy is that? A guy who wants what I have always had and am just now realizing how much joy it actually does bring me! May our prayers be with my boy Jordan, as he goes about his day with his dad tomorrow! I know where his heart is and know what he wants. He finally has found his Father in Heaven, but for the meantime he needs his daddy here on this earth!

Another thing I find joy in is helping people. I love putting a smile on peoples face. There is just something about seeing someone with much less than I have, for one small instant, feel more blessed than I am. I guess what I am trying to say is I love having compassion for people. Not only does it bring joy to them, but also lots of joy to myself. I am reading a book called Tattoos on the Heart the power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle. The best story of compassion for me comes from one of Jesus' miracles. In this book "G" rights a meaningful paragraph...

"Compassion isn't just about feeling the pain of others; it's about bringing them in toward yourself. If we love what God loves, then, in compassion, margins get erased. "Be compassionate as God is compassionate," means the dismantling of barriers that exclude.

In Scripture, Jesus is in a house so packed that no one can come through the door anymore. So the people open the roof and lower this paralytic down through it, so Jesus can heal him. The focus of the story is, understandably, the healing of the paralytic. But there is something more significant than that happening here. They're ripping the roof off the place, and those outside are being let in."

We are called to be the men ripping the roof off and lowering people into the house to experience Jesus. So often we just talk about helping the less fortunate, or say things such as, "I'll get to that when the right time comes". Who are you to decide when the right time is? This blog is not to toot my own horn by any means, but I can say this is the worst time possible for me to be in a foreign country. But when God stirs in your heart a prayer to pray Anything, then you better be willing to pack your bags! We are tearing roofs down daily! Our job is to let people inside that house! And it won't get overcrowded trust me. As we see, He will move to another house, a much larger house if needed, only expecting and wanting us to come rip the roof off it! Because that is where he finds joy as well! Are you catching this metaphor?!?! I hope you are. But by no means do I find joy in showing compassion for my own good. Yes it makes me feel all warm and gushy inside, but there are plenty of other things that can cause that same feeling. I am in Peru because that is where I believe we would have found Christ today. Literally in Peru? Maybe not this exact town in Tambo Grande, in this exact hotel, working in this exact field, but I definitely believe he would have been somewhere serving someone less fortunate than him. I read an interview between Mother Teresa and Times, when asked about her greatest hope for her work in India, her response was short and simple, "To give Jesus to all", Times then shot back by saying, "But you do not evangelize in the conventional sense of the term." Mother Teresa had it figured out, she replied, "I'm evangelizing by my works of love..." That my friends, is breaking down the roof! Tearing it piece by piece, causing a commotion because you are not scared, you are not shy about your God, you are not worried what the others already inside might think! No, you know that when Christ looks up at you through the roof, it won't be the look that I got in "my library", but more so a look of "Well done, my good and faithful servant!"

But do you want to know what my ultimate true joy is? All these are great, but all these will come and go and be blown away by the wind. My true joy was found while sitting in that library. I could hear my saviors voice! I could see his face! I just wanted to reach out and hug Him! You are probably thinking that I am smoking something over here or just plain crazy, and maybe I am crazy, but after I read that scripture I was in a place I had only been one other time in my life. I could honestly feel the presence of God all around me! Nothing in that moment mattered except my eyes focused on him. My heart sank into my chest, and I was full of joy. That is true joy friends, being in the presence of Jesus. I can't wait to be in Heaven and live in that joy for eternity! Singing and dancing and praising the one true king!

The problem is, I'm still on Earth, in South America, in Peru, in a small town called Tambo Grande, working in an even smaller town called Malingas, cutting down trees... That sounds like the opposite of heaven haha. So for the time being, these other joys shall hold me over until that day comes. A day that I hope to be a celebration. A day I will join up with my grandparents and cousins that have already passed on.

I am all about action. It is great if a coach draws up the best play, but if it doesn't work, the crowd is booing him (or boooing me). So after reading this blog today, I hope you actually take a look into your life. What are you finding joy in? To find out if it has to do with Jesus, ask yourself this. Think of everything in this world you love! Think of Heaven, paint it in your mind. What you visualize will be the best there is He has to offer, because that is what He promises us. You see the streets of Gold, you see the Kingdom and the Gates (I play a lot of mindcraft so this is really easy for me). Put it all together and ask yourself this, "Would I accept a free invitation here for the all eternity knowing that Christ would not be present?" Where your joy lies, so does your heart! Lets start tearing down roofs, Ready, Set, Go!

P.S. It is not letting me upload photos on here so feel free to follow me on Instagram! @CaseMcCoy6 Will thinks he is a professional photographer so we are having fun with the camera throughout the day.

And On The Second Day... They Rested

As the Mumford and Sons ringtone blared at 6 am our conversation was short and not sweet. Will: "My head is killing me." Me: "I can't move, my back is broke." Then we threw water on our face and caught a ride to the mango farms. You see, I can brag on us "Gringos de Americano" as they call us here. We actually worked extremely hard yesterday on day one. As we have quickly realized, only being here for five days so far, the Peruvians don't believe that white Americans actually work. All they ever see of us over here is a business man in a 4 wheel car with a cell phone up to his ear directing orders in a very accented North American broken spanish. With that being said, as we stepped off the plane in Piura, we were already at a disadvantage. One vow we made to each other was not only are we here to help these fellow citizens of ours (because that's what love does), but also we want to help our culture and our country out by changing the view of America as a whole. Yes, we worked hard one day getting dirty with several other workers, but anyone can do that. We are here for nine weeks and it is going to be a grind to keep up with them and continue to be servants to them just as Jesus was when he walked the streets of this earth. Isn't that our ultimate goal? Isn't that our calling? Love one another as Christ loved us? If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times, but it never really rang in my head like it has here. How can we even try to express his love for us through words. All I can even try to put onto paper is that he left the RIGHT HAND of GOD! Why would any of us ever want to leave that position? That is so inhuman it is scary. I know the day I walk the Streets of Gold, there is not going to be a single ounce of my spirit that would want to turn around and come to this place we call home. Not only did he do everything I just mentioned I wouldn't do, but he did it all the while knowing he would ultimately receive the wrath of God and die the cruelest death known to man. Speaking of the cross, have you ever stopped to think, "Jesus actually had my name and every sin I would ever commit, whether small or large (since we are humans and rank our sins), and still decided to bare the nails for me?"If that doesn't bring tears to your eyes then maybe you should really take a check into your walk with that Man that did bare those nails for you. Because if you didn't know, HE DID! This whole idea that I had heard about for 21 years through hours of sunday bible school, longgggg boring sermons (so I thought), and even a Mel Gibson produced movie, didn't actually sink in and take a toll on my life until this year. Why is that such a downfall for so many people of my generation that are raised in the church? The only thing that I have come up with (not scripturally based) is that I never needed God. As Jennie Allen talks about in her book Anything, God was just a plastic God to me. He sat upon the shelf and my family lived for him. They loved him, gave him pretty much all they had, but for me that's all he was. Therefore I never needed him. Everything in my life was taken care of for me. I was a good athlete, made good grades, didn't do drugs, and was in church every Wednesday and even TWICE on Sundays. It wasn't until tragedy hit, that I actually had to get on my knees and seek God. Truly seek him! No longer could I just pray a prayer for forgiveness and to bless my family and the food I am about to eat three times a day to this plastic God. I had to open up myself and stop hiding from this God that was supposedly still pursuing me. WHAT?!?! Pursuing me? Why the heck would he be doing that?
That, my blogger friends, is what this blog is about. That is what Love Does. It is, it really is! There is no greater story in the history of mankind that can outdo this love story! No Nicholas Sparks story can even be put in the same breath! Sorry ladies. But it is true! So why would I not give up everything I had going for me in the states and come love people that need it. Is that not our commandment? Is that not what we just agreed He did? What if everyone started loving the way we are commanded to love? It seems like such a cliche, but seriously! If we all decided to put one foot outside of our comfort zone and decide to try this word called love, I promise we will all be dancing before you know it!
As for the rest of our day today, yes once again my ADD kicked in, we were able to ease off on the manual labor and count trees for a new plot of land we are about to contract out. It was interesting because my two amigos and me are still trying to brush up on our spanish. With that being said we had to find out which trees were healthy and which were not. Oh and somehow find a way to count up to 563 in spanish. Also today was the first day we got to experience the sun and heat of Peru. So of course I wanted to get my tan on. I took my shirt off and am now going by a nickname I am not proud of. "Baywatch" has been given to me and I am quickly trying to put it to rest. The problem is Will and Alex loved it so lets just hope we can leave it here in Tambo Grande when the trip is over. Haha. All in all, this trip is building up to be all we had hoped for. We have to get up early in la mañana to go back to the field and grab a shovel and get back to work before calling it a week. But for now I got to get back to our competitive card game. Still praying for all those affected by the awful weather in Oklahoma! Always sad to hear, but we have to trust that there is a bigger picture. He must've needed some new Angels :)

In the Beginning...

So yes, I am officially a blogger. As I sat on my back porch looking over a local soccer, eating gold fish, and drinking coca cola my two amigos started blogging. I felt a bit left out, so I sprayed some mosquito repellent on and joined the world of blogging. I am in Peru. Yes you are probably thinking what in the world is this kid doing there? Don’t I have a team to be with back home? Shouldn’t I be training? Yes, yes, and yes! Over the course of the next nine weeks I will be blogging about my trip here in Peru, posting pictures, and sharing what I have learned both culturally and even more importantly spiritually.

            So lets get started. I got this wild idea back in January to accompany my cousin on a journey to South America. I had no clue what I was getting into just knew I couldn’t have picked a better person to travel with. I knew that if he was making the effort to come all the way here, it would have something to do with serving the Lord, loving people, serving people, playing sports, and eating REALLY good! Doesn’t that sound like the most fun trip? If you know me, you know that I love to eat, and I love to love. There is just something about that word. If you don’t love to love then you will probably not love or even like this blog. I will go more into this these next couple of weeks but for now I got to stick to the plan…. Yes, I’m ADD, ADHD, and ABCDEFG.

            After talking to Will about this trip I learned that another girl from his College Ministry there in College Station would be making the trek here as well and her name is Alex. Alex is already awesome and such a trooper. I can’t wait to keep growing in my relationships with these two. So what are we doing here? We are here to help on a Mango Farm. Yes, the great mangos you buy from your local HEB with soon be coming from the small town Malinga right outside of Tambo Grande. Tambo Grande is also a smaller community about and hour and a half from Piura where we stay on the weekends. The John Mark Davidson family lives there and are hosting us for the time being. And lets just say, this family is awesome! It doesn’t get any better than these guys! The have completely made this trip all it is worth, and I can’t wait to keep learning more about these guys. John Mark and Tara have FOUR kids. Three boys Kellen, Kase, and Mack, and one girl named Parker (excuse the spelling if it is wrong :/) These kids are nuts and it is so fun to be around some americans and talk a little English in the afternoons.

            I should probably wrap up my first blog now by giving my intro into love. I am reading a book right now called Love Does. It is basically a bunch of crazy stories about love and how extreme it needs to be! I want that love in my life! I want to experience the love that Christ has, has had, and always will have for me, with everyone I come in contact with. To find that love I packed up my bags and traveled as far away and as different as I could find from the life I was living. You see, to me being normal was being like everyone I was around. I was cool, had things going for me that I ALWAYS took for granted, lived in a nice house, drove a nice car, had the best electronics, an unbelievable family, and plenty of food and water! I was tired, in a rut, and needed to experience something more! So here I am, outside getting eaten by mosquitos because my repellent has worn off, out of clean water, and running out of battery, but most importantly completely in love with love! Why am I here you ask again? Because that’s what love does!