God Speaks!

            God is awesome.

            This weekend was the semi-annual General Conference of the LDS Church. It’s the weekend in which the General Authorities (those who get revelation for the whole church….bishops get authorities only for their ward, stake presidents for their stake, general authorities have authority over everything) speak and give “new revelation” for guiding the Church and the lives of its members. Basically what happens is a bunch of rich businessmen speak for 9 minutes about how great the Church is and encourage people to do mission work, get married and do genealogy work. They don’t really give new information or prophecy. Tens of thousands of faithful LDS flock to Temple Square wearing their fancy suits and nice skirts. Millions of others watch streaming from their living rooms. Basically, it’s a big deal to them and not to anyone else in the world.

            Jeryan and I went down there on Saturday and sat in the Tabernacle overflow seating through a two-hour session. Basically it’s just incredibly boring. We read our Bibles, prayed, were on our phones and napped. It’s impossible not to. For real. At one point, everyone stood to sing Praise to the Man which really bugged me because then I had the blasphemous hymn in my head all weekend. I have spent too much time in Utah if I know Praise to the Man. Elder Cook from the Quorum of the 70 (it really does not make sense to me that they don’t realize this is a cult) stood and talked about how we need to look to Jesus or we will perish. He gushed about the Prophet for awhile but he was humble and also mentioned how nervous he was. I don’t think he was a Christian, but he was sincere and not trying to manipulate his audience (very, very rare in this Conference), and God used him to share HIS good news rather than Joseph’s very bad news. He talked about Moses and the brass serpent which was cool. I sat next to a girl who I talked to for a minute after. Her name is Sarah. If God’s purpose for me being there was just to have another name and face to pray for, so be it J So please pray that Sarah comes to know Jesus.

            Afterwards, we walked around creepin’ on my favorite Sister Missionaries to say hi to. We ran into Sister Schiaffi, who is a good friend of Aubrey’s. She’s super cute and is from Australia. She asked what my favorite part was and I was super thankful for Elder Cook at that point. We talked about Jesus for a few minutes which was cool, but it wasn’t like a super great conversation. I had to re-park my car at that point, but on my way back to Temple Square I ran into Sister Davis! She was one of the two sisters I met with back in March at the Blue House for a few weeks. We had awesome God-centered conversations. She recognized me which totally surprised me and gave me a huge hug. We didn’t have much time to talk, because she had to get back to her mission in Syracuse, UT, but she asked for my email because she wanted to be Facebook friends when she gets home. That little interaction was so encouraging. God is so faithful. I can’t believe I ran into her!! But I am so stoked and was reminded to keep praying for her. I ran into a few other Sisters I know and met their companions. Some of them were really awkward interactions but some were super cool. I ran into Sister Amuli who was Sister Schiaffi’s companion when Aubrey got close with them. We had a short conversation but it was really friendly. Sister Amuli went back to her home in I think Kenya yesterday. She is going to stay in contact with Aubrey. Please pray she comes to know Jesus well. Finally, I ran into Sister Rodriguez who is a huge joy in my life. I love, love, love that girl!! I am hopefully going to hang out with her on Friday, so please pray for that. She really wants me to visit her someday in Mexico City which would be awesome. She’s a delight! So please pray for Sisters Davis, Eisele, Schiaffi, Amuli, Fong, Rodriguez and Brevard. I love those girls but not nearly as much as Jesus!

            We got hungry and tried to take a homeless person out to dinner with us. We asked a few guys and they all were too busy so we got to pray with one and then had dinner on our own. We have been struggling financially but God has been providing in weird/miraculous ways so it was really nice to go to Jimmy John’s and enjoy a sandwich J Praise God for his faithfulness, even when we are faithless (for he cannot deny himself). That night we had some LDS and Christian friends over for board games which was fun J We have been getting closer and closer with Jay and Shelbie Spears, who are our Christian friends from Arkansas. They bring us a lot of joy!!!!! Sunday we got to go to Refuge Church…I hadn’t been to church in 5 weeks and I was STARVING for it. Refuge is a super awesome place and we talked the whole time about the Holy Spirit. Afterwards we had some friends over for lunch and went to Becky’s apartment to watch General Conference with her and Sarah. It was cool to hang out with them. Afterwards another LDS friend, named Cami, brought us over zucchini bread and a really sweet note. I need to pursue her more, please pray that I do. We had dinner with the Filers after that and then went to a night service at Refuge with Becky. I loooooooove Becky and am so excited she went with us. Please pray she gets to know Jesus for who he says he is. 

Summer's Gone, Fall is On!

            Well, a month and a half is a long time and there is a lot to talk about. It’s not really worthwhile to go into the day-to-day stuff but I’ll try to share a few updates and some things God is teaching me.

            Summer was super great. We had about a hundred people come through to stay at the Blue House in teams of 10-20. We had a lot of fun seeing the diversity of the body in these groups and seeing how God equipped each of them to be used in different ways for his mission. He really is creative not only in building the earth but building his kingdom. It’s exciting to see this kingdom and celebrate him with the community of the redeemed.

            Ministry was awesome. A lot of people heard the Gospel at Temple Square, in the LDS wards, at dinners, Bible studies (go Galatians!), bonfires, door-to-door things, and wherever else people were to be found. The good news of the grace of God incarnate is being shared in Ogden and Salt Lake City, and the culture is changing in Utah. There are a greater number of Evangelicals in Utah, though most of this is because people are beginning to move here more. Pray for a shift in culture. I love Utah but not merely as much as God does. He is at work here.

            I have grown in a number of relationships with LDS friends out here. My friend Becky is a ward missionary so she has been pursuing having a relationship with me to a greater extent this summer. I love Becky a lot. She, Aubrey and I met a few times to discuss our different beliefs and to try to understand truth. Those were the most honest conversations I have had in Utah which has been very refreshing. Our conversations have shifted now to being more about who we are and what God is doing in our lives. Please pray for Becky. She means a lot to me. I have also grown in relationships with Sisters Rodriguez and Bravard at Temple Square. Sister Rodriguez is a ton of fun and I really enjoy catching up with her about her life. She wants me to visit her in Mexico City one day which would be really cool. Sister Bravard had a conversation about what God has done in our lives a few weeks ago and I believe that she has submitted her life to God. I know there are things she believes that go against God’s word, but I do believe that she is in his grace and is indeed our adopted sister. Please pray for her to be filled with the Holy Spirit in a new way every day and come to be convicted more strongly of truth. She will be a mighty weapon for God’s Kingdom when she stops getting it confused with the Latter-day kingdom. I love her a lot. It’s been really cool getting to know Kyle better. He is fun to be around and we are having some more gospel conversations. I don’t think that he is close to accepting God’s message but God is pursuing him with outstretched arms and that is cool to see. I’m getting more established at my ward and in the community. Pretty much they know what I’m doing here and are getting more accustomed to having me around and more friendly. It’s pretty cool. J

            I got to see a miracle this summer! It wasn’t like a physical healing, and it wasn’t the rebirth of a dead person, but I got to see God step in and do his thing J. Aubrey and I spend the last couple weeks as the only remaining interns and spent the last week and a half as the only inhabitants of the Blue House. She had expressed earlier something blocking her from loving God and others freely. She had frustration and felt a great deal of bondage. We talked and prayed about it for hours every day in the last month she was here, because she decided she wanted it done for good. Two nights before she left, God delivered her. He showed her that the things that hurt to think and talk about were what she needed to understand better, and that she was more deceived than anything else. It was so cool to get to see up close what God was doing in her life. She is a different person now, freed to love and have joy. It got us both really excited to see God do that in the lives of everyone. I urge you to consider whether you are freed to love God and others. If you do not enjoy God and you do not delight in people, heaven should not sound that god to you. Begin to work through the things stopping you from having life to the full. If you are not enjoying that, you are submitting to what Satan (the thief, John 10:10) wants for you, not what God does. Don’t accept less than freedom, because Christ died to bring that. It’s not an issue of salvation but of truly living what God has for you.

            I’ve grown a lot this summer in how I view God’s relationship with humanity. Genesis should be the most shocking book in the world. GOD created all these things and one of those types of things (the thing he gave a special place to) decided to REBEL against him! Against their Creator, the Great God of the universe! That’s nuts! And then he decided to keep working with them?! He chose to get in the way of these things rebelling against him! And not only that, he became one! And they killed him!!! What rebellion! But he did that for his glory and their good. He wanted to make them his. When it comes down to it, ministry is sorta silly. God doesn’t need us. In Aubrey’s last week at ward, Relief Society began with an overtly Christian hymn. God himself decided to share his message with them. He did not need us to be there. He’ll do a better job without us, because he cannot sin and muddle things up. Think like a dad painting the house and his three-year-old son asks to help. He smiles patiently and says, “Sure, I’d love that!” The kid makes a few messy marks and eventually the man will go back and go over what he has done. At the end, the son will look at the completed house and think, “What a great job I’ve done!” And his dad smiles, not correcting him. God is very patient with us. He gives us work to do for his kingdom because he loves us. He loves the process of redeeming humanity (Genesis 12-he showed up to one guy and said he was going to bless the world) and he really loves redeeming humanity to the extent that he uses humans to carry the message of redemption to others. It’s insanely cool. There are only two kinds of people in this world: living ones and dead ones. We really don’t need to worry too much if we are talking to an atheist, a Latter-day Saint, a Muslim person, a nominal Christian, a Jew, a Buddhist or an agnostic. The message is the same. Endless debates are silly because the message is clear: God sent his only Son to die to make his enemies into his children. We who are guilty have only to rely on God’s mercy and Christ’s worthiness to stand before God as righteous. What is cool is that as we share that message with people, we are part of God’s plan to recreate them, but we will probably not see the finished project. And that is cool! It’s not really our business anyways, it’s God’s! He lets us get a taste sometimes, but if not, that is great. I love that it’s all about God and his glory. I love him and love being able to be used and seeing his pleasure in using one he has redeemed to be an instrument of redemption.

            All the interns have left me L I miss Colleen, Casey, Aubrey and Allie a great deal but God’s ministry is carrying on. Jeryan is coming tomorrow and he’ll be here presumably for the remainder of my time out here. I have made the decision to move home around Christmas time. I love Utah and the ministry out here (a lot), but I think God is going to move me out of the way and do extraordinary things himself in the lives of those I love. I am excited to see it! For the next few months, I’ll be working primarily on the church plant. Bible study is really cool. We are beginning Deuteronomy which so far is a blast (not even kidding, I haven’t been this excited about anything in a while). We want to talk with the homeless of Ogden, declaring the good news to the poor (Luke 4:18, my original mission verse for the year) and to students at Weber State. I’m excited to see what God has for us. Please be praying for God to do more miracles!

Much love,

Kelly

Insomnia Strikes :)

Whoa! Nigh a month since I last actually blogged. There are a few reasons for that and there is no way I can possibly catch you up reasonably well so I'll just give a snapshot of what life has been.

Ministry has been really cool. We have been able to grow deeper in relationships with those that have been hanging out at the Blue House. I can't think of anyone that has been here for more than an hour without hearing the gospel spoken. It is a joy to be able to share the good news of freedom and then live as people freed. I'm really excited to be meeting more intentionally with our friend Becky from the ward. We are meeting to discuss doctrinal differences. The honesty in the conversation is refreshing. Please pray that God will reveal his truth.

We had a week without teams which was a cool time to spend as an intern family and build into one another. We have started reading and praying together which has been life-changing for each of us, I believe. It's really late/early so I can't really remember much of what has been happening, but it's been a really great month. We have had great times with missionaries both at Temple Square and here in Ogden. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be working. Utah is far from the harvest; this is a seed-planting ministry. Tonight we were talking about how few testimonies we actually here from ex-mos who came to Christ from people witnessing to them. Usually it comes from reading the Bible or stumbling upon the gospel through radio, TV, tracts or coming into a church. God has been working to call people to himself. From what I know of missions, that seems to be how it goes. I think it is time for the next step, for God's people to go out into the field and start building relationships with the lost and planting seeds through showing Christ's love. Pray for workers to come to Utah. As you pray it, know that it is already coming true. There are some really cool people out here I am honored to work alongside. It is wonderful that God does not need us to bring people to him. He can and does do it on his own. But there are other times he allows us to work beside him and get a front-row seat to his redeeming work. Ask God that he puts you in that place. It is worth whatever the cost, because you will know him and what he has done for you and others more. What is there in this life but to know and be known by, to love and be loved by the Lord Jesus Christ. Choose to be satisfied by nothing less and recognize that there is nothing more.

The teams we have had recently are great. We had a team from UC Davis who showed us a bit of what God's patience looks like. A few of our unsaved friends can be difficult because they never stop ranting about what they think. However, their many words were no match for this team's patience and eventually they heard and really listened to the gospel. It was awesome. We had a team from a Faith Chinese Alliance Church in Oakland, CA who showed us what Paul meant by outdoing one another in showing honor (Romans 12). They did nothing but service for our ministry all week. It was so encouraging and convicting. They cooked for us each night and never let us help with the cleaning. The gift of helps is awesome. We have a team here now from Oklahoma led by an ex-mo. We are doing a ton of witnessing at Temple Square this week because it is Pioneer Days, the weekend that upstages July 4th in patriotic celebration. Mormons LOVE their history (provided that it is LDS Church-approved versions of that history) and they have been celebrating for the past month or so. Pray for fruitful times with strangers.

My favorite part about life right now is the fellowship here at the Blue House. I love God's church very much and seeing a tiny hint of it with the interns and a few other Christians who make up our family has been very encouraging. Young adults by no mean make up a church and I would never call us that. But I love that God brought together several very different personalities to work and live in close proximity. We have been able to support each other a great deal in ministry and I believe in God's ministry of healing in each other's lives. I love Christian community so much because I get to see God working intimately in the people he and I love. Please pray for miracles amongst this little community in the remaining weeks we have together. They are truly life-giving to me.

Something that has been a part of my life the past few weeks is fear. I'm terrified of making decisions and I'm terrified of the future. Pretty much terror strikes when I am happy because I don't want things to change. I'm a coward, but that's that. God has been doing some cool things with me in that, but I'm not completely freed. I'm getting afraid of a lot of things, stupid things mostly. I feel like I blogged about this a few months ago, so maybe it's just coming back. I'm afraid that I'm forgetting something all the time and I'm feeling guilty all the time for the little things that I forget to do. It's dumb (though not unfounded, I have been making a lot of dumb mistakes lately), but powerful. I'm also a little bit afraid of Christian community, I think. I love love love the people God has been putting in my life, but I see some things in me I don't like. Most of it is sin that I thought God rid me of, but I'm realizing he just removed me from the temptation. That's a lesson in not getting too cocky about my own sanctification. I love Christians but when I get close I put them in front of God and that's idolatry. Some of the things I worry about are not really sin issues, just things I worry can become issues eventually. I don't think I have big insecurities about Christian community so much as I'm enjoying it and I don't want to mess things up. Because of these different kinds of fear, insomnia has struck again so I'm writing this an hour and a half before my alarm goes off. God has been telling me I have no reason to fear, but it's still there. Please pray for that.

In the past few hours I have been awake, I've had some good time with God. I sat in the backyard for awhile and thought about how different everything is since the last time I did that in the middle of the night. Firstly there is no snow. That is really weird. This whole season thing is so strange. But it's also cool. God showed me he is sovereign over the whole land and changes it when he wants. He reminded me he is also sovereign over the hearts in this land and he is changing them when he wants. The dead will be made alive in God's lovely timing. There is a Christian bookstore called "Oasis" out here which I really love. The Spirit is putting springs in this desert and will one day water the land. Another thing is that the house is full of people. I'm not alone anymore. God had that in mind all along which I kept forgetting. It's not my ministry, it never has been. This is his house and ministry to fill with whomever he chooses. I'm excited to be one of them at least for this time. I was also enjoying the garden. It's totally overgrown and there is very little mulch to be seen under the mass of green. My seedlings are unrecognizable and without me hardly noticing God did something amazing with it. I think he is doing the same with the ministry out here. Whatever I do that I get so excited about pales in comparison with what God has in mind. I've gotten to see the Lord do miracles with so many people already and I know he is doing more. It's a joy to be a worker in this field because the Farmer is Yahweh.

Video Update

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpRt92zuyWE

Video Update

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpRt92zuyWE

Love That Will Not Let Us Go

            A crazy, crazy weekend! God is faithful and I am pretty happy to be in his graces. A lot to share J

1: LET ME SERVE YOU

            Our motto at the Blue House has been “Let me serve you!” It usually involves some Christian bickering but all done in love and service. I love this community. It’s the coolest thing ever. We have the most random weirdos coming over all the time and it’s the best ever. Please be praying for Kyle. I love him a lot and I know that God does too. He’s opening up a lot more and he’s just the funnest thing. All the interns here and it’s great because God is good.

2: The love of the god of Mormonism

            When I talk to Mormons they like to tell me that I need to realize that God loves me. Like I believe he hates me or something. But lemme tell YOU something, Mormons believe in a deceptive, uncaring and I’d venture to say evil god. He sent his children away, MADE them forget about him, told them they could only come back to him if they joined a certain church and then judges them in the last day and only the best of the best of them get to be with him again. He won’t even VISIT anyone that doesn’t cut it. The thing that really bothers me though is that they believe that god took away all the evidence that what they believe is true so that they would have more faith. What an evil god! He only accepts them if they join a church that teaches crazy things that he makes it impossible to believe. They believe that Christ’s atonement and grace is only enough to cover those who have repented of all sins and become perfect. It’s sick. But hey, I know (tear, tear) that Heavenly Father loves us, SO much, and I KNOW that this church is true. Sorry, I’m not a crier. And I KNOW that if Heavenly Father wants us to return to him if we obey his commandments. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. (That’s a Mormon testimony. Look them up on youtube. It’s funny.)

3: The love of the God of the Universe

            Oh, wow. God REALLY does love us! Read Hosea, it’s insane. God is outside of time so the worst sin that you have EVER committed or that you ever will, the one that totally shocks you and shames you, has been known to God since he chose you. Think of a time when God did something SO good to show you that he loves you. In that moment, he knew you fully and fully knew what you were going to do to disgrace him. He didn’t think that maybe he could be nice enough to keep you from making that mistake. He just loved you. We don’t know God’s language so we don’t often understand it when he says “I love you, child.” But he says it often and shouted it when his only Son hung on a cross. We should never forget that. But we do, every day. Lucky for us, God is patient and tells us new each day. How has he told you he loves you today and how are you celebrating that?

4: The Love of God for Mormons

            God loves Mormons. It’s insane. Super crazy. The LDS temples are a slap in God’s face. They are disgusting and weird, creepy things go on in there. Real weird. Look it up. It’s gross. And at the base of the Manti Temple, each year thousands of Mormons congregate to watch nearly a thousand Latter-day Saints put on a production about how great Joseph Smith is. White Jesus gets a little shout out when he appears at the base of the Mayan Temple (look up what practices the Maya did, and consider that LDS prophets teach that those things were acceptable worship to God-it’s AWFUL). However, when it comes time at the end of the show for a happy married couple to go to heaven (where a bunch of people in white robes are doing a dance that is sorta like the Macarena), Jesus doesn’t make a come-back. He isn’t there. Weiiiiiiiird…. But what is the craziest to me is how much God loves these people. As they make this pilgrimage to take part in this (and all leave crying, so moved by the whole production), God sends hundreds of his ambassadors to share the message of his grace to them. Think about that for a second. That should bring us to our knees. God loves Mormons so much more than we do. He sends his people from all over the place (I met tons of people from Iowa, groups from California, Arizona, the South, Canada, etc) to share his good message in this gross place. Praise God for being SO much better. He loves us. He loves them. We should too.

5: Manti highlights

            One group of us went down Friday. Aubrey, Allie and I stayed back and we had a four-hour conversation at Jimmy Johns about God’s work in our lives and our responsive love for him. They love God a lot more than I do and I am so excited to get to spend the summer with them. Saturday we went down to Temple Square and did a prayer walk there. I was praying the whole time to see Sister Brevard and Sister Rodriguez and I ran into Sister Rodriguez right as we were leaving. She was with a new companion but we talked and were both really excited to see each other. We got caught up and then we all prayed together. She really was excited about it and asked when I was coming back. I told her I’d be there Tuesday afternoon so I’m excited to find her today. I love her so much.

            We made it down to Manti and got there to pray and do worship before. I talked with some guys who were born-again Christians who became Mormons for like thirty years, found out they were Jewish when doing the family genealogy stuff and then became Jews for Jesus who love Mormons. It was super cool. I was having trouble talking with Mormons, but I did get to share the gospel with a guy from the Church of Christ, Righteous Branch. They are an FLDS Church, which means they are polygamists. It was a cool conversation. There was a group from Rancho Santa Margarita who were doing worship and painting on a corner so I talked and worshipped with them. It was awesome. When I finally found Aubrey, Allie, Colleen and Ryan they were having awesome conversations through this thing called “soularium.” Very cool. Look it up. I prayed with a couple named Miles and Jackie with them and a woman named Lisa from the SoCal team. Later on, Miles found Lisa, and asked what we were all about and when she shared the gospel vs the impossible gospel (the Mormon gospel that you have to be perfect), he took it very seriously and agreed that the LDS gospel is not right. He told her he would really look at it. Pray for him. God loves him and is pursuing him. My friend Aaron was doing some really great street preaching and people were really listening. It was a great night and the next day at church was awesome. I made a lot of connections with Christians who love Mormons. Please pray that those connections continue.

6: Best Friends

            Sunday, Aubrey and I took Aunt Martha, and 88-year-old family friend of Russ, down to the bottom of Utah to a tiny town called Kanab on the border of Utah and Arizona. It was really beautiful which was cool. We went to an animal shelter called Best Friends which is the largest pet sanctuary in the country. We stayed in a hotel where (thanks for praying) we found cedar bat mites in the bed rather than bed bugs (which we were fearing). We drove back up the next day. Aunt Martha insisted on driving for a bit and Aubrey and I once again realized how much God loves us. Because he kept us from dying. She was driving in two lanes in crazy traffic around Provo while people honked and we tried to get her to get out. It was dangerous. But God loves us. J

7: Prayer requests

            Pray for Kyle and Miles mostly. I’m getting a little bit worried about money with unexpected expenses with the garden and my car. God has me, I know, but it’s still something he’d like to be asked about J

Mormon Miracle Pageant

Hey! Wednesday night we had an awesome study on the love of God as shown through Hosea. If you don't know that book very well, I highly recommend reading it. God's love for us surpasses all human reasoning. That is because his love for us is not about us (that would be conditional love), it is part of God's character. We can depend on it fully. We had pancakes Thursday morning and I found out my friend Rulon from the ward was raised FLDS (the polygamist sect) and is now basically anti-religion. I got to share the gospel with him and I look forward to doing that more and more! The Arkansas team left on Thursday night and then we had ten new friends over to watch a movie. It was fun! The community that is developing at the Blue House is so exciting. Please pray for more miracles!

Friday morning Colleen, Bobby, Vickie, Casey, Allie and I (that's all the interns so far) drove down to Ephraim, UT and met a team from Bellflower, CA. It is in the middle of nowhere but a little further down the road you come to the Manti Temple. There the Mormon Miracle Pageant is held. For eight nights over two weeks, 20,000 people watch a play with a cast of over 900 act out the "historical" stories from the Book of Mormon, which includes the life and death of Joseph Smith, the Nephites and the Lamanites (those are spelling errors because Google Chrome happens to know that they are not real people groups-Mormons teach that the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas are actually Jews that came over from Israel centuries before Christ) obeying and rebelling against the word of God, Jesus Christ visiting them (they honestly believe Mayan temples are Mormon temples) and then a married couple going up to the Celestial Kingdom (basically heaven, but in this version of heaven a bunch of people are dressed all in white suits and are doing what looks like the Macarena; Jesus is nowhere to be found, he only had a forty second appearance in the course of the two-hour production...and they claim to be a church NOT a cult and completely centered on Jesus Christ...it's hard to reconcile). It was ridiculous and absurd and full of Joseph Smith-worship (the climax is his martyrdom), but is what I would have expected. Cheesy, but still the Mormons were sobbing and really felt the Spirit. They eat this stuff up. I don't get it. However, I am getting ahead of myself. Let's get to the good news!

The production starts at dusk (9:30) but people start coming in at about 6. That's when we arrived. About 150 Christians come to this each night to share the love of God. We started with worship which was really cool. The Temple blasts music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir because they know that evangelists will be there. They believe that we have the "spirit of dissension" and that scares away the Holy Spirit. Because they do not believe they are indwelt with the Holy Spirit (one of the things we agree on), they need to create a pretty place to invite the Spirit in. I found out that is why they sing. They sound good but it is dead and that is because they do not actually consider it worship. It's more to create a pretty environment with the hopes that the Spirit will join them. Sort of like idol worship. Do what you can to invite the gods to come bless you. I'm glad that's not how our God works (especially because my singing voice is not all that inviting). So we actually gathered and worshiped there which is such a cool experience. And then the witnessing began!


First we gathered as a team together to pray but we were interrupted by the security who told us we were not allowed to do that on Church property. The sign actually says no evangelizing (which just means sharing the gospel...I guess deep down the LDS Church knows that isn't what it is doing), but I guess praying to God isn't allowed either. We kept on praying once we were on the street which is public property. Then we went out and talked to people. Most people (of all ages, the little kids witnessing were awesome) were handing out tracts. That's not my favorite approach but in this case it is powerful because they are waiting for hours and will read them out of boredom. I was impressed by the various ways of talking to people and how effective all of it is. A lot of Mormons would stand around just to argue, but that meant they heard the gospel. It was so cool. I talked with a Mennonite woman handing out tracts and found out she is an ex-mo. She had a very unique testimony. Her reasons for exploring outside the LDS Church were very LDS and she finally left because she found a tract in her attic that she had taken from the Nauvoo pageant. She had actually taken it just to throw it away with disdain in front of the evangelists, but somehow that one ended up in her purse. God is great!

In the two nights we did that, I was not very forward. I should have been less timid because so many people were more than willing to talk! Allie and I went around together and she would pray while I spoke most of the time. We went first to this guy named Wade who was with his wife, sister and niece and nephew. We had a good conversation and his niece was in seminary mode but his younger nephew was intrigued by what was going on. I'm praying that he (Chase) will hide those things in his heart and that God will recall them at the right time. Next we talked with this cowboy named Kevin. He was going off on Bill McKeever who had a display out of a replica of the Golden Plates. They were 80 lbs and he invited people to lift them. Joseph Smith claimed to hold them under his arm and run three miles hopping over logs and fighting off attackers. At one point he was hit in the back of a head with a gun. And the replica plates were not made of gold. They were 60% LIGHTER than the ones Joseph claimed to be carrying. And if he at any point had dropped them, they would have been crushed and all the characters would have been erased because of the pressure on the soft gold.
Kevin came unglued, claiming that the best people in the world, US Marines do that every morning before breakfast. He went off on Bill for being a fat city slicker. We found him later and had a conversation with him. He's not LDS and he has a lot of crazy views but we shared the gospel with him and had some fun with him. Finally we talked with a young woman who lives near Ogden named Jill. She is very Mormon. We shared the gospel with her again and again and again. She couldn't understand that when we said we have been set free that we didn't mean set free to sin all the time. She also couldn't believe that we believe in a God that is so harsh he would call us sinners. It's unreal. I wanted to talk more on that here but this is too lengthy. Another post I'll discuss the differences between the God of the Universe and the god of Mormonism. We asked to pray for her and she was offended and I explained that I pray for everyone. She still said no but all-in-all, we had a long gospel-centered conversation and she heard the gospel for the first time in her life.

The second day I was having trouble starting conversations with people. So we decided to go onto Church property to take pictures with all the actors. It's so funny. I kept asking them what the costumes are based on "because you can't Google a picture of a Lamanite" because, of course, those groups don't exist. They said they didn't know and that if you tried to Google "Lamanite" you would just find stuff about how crazy Mormon people are. "But we're not!" she insisted. Oh, gotta love them :) So we did that which was a lot of fun! But then we ended up talking with these two girls:

The one girl is one of the stars of the show. She plays a fictional follower of Joseph Smith who falls in love and gets married and then dies and goes to the celestial with her husband. They asked where we were from and since the answers were so diverse, they asked what we were doing. Well, we're planting a church! So I explained what that means and shared the gospel and how much we love talking to people about it and they were super happy about this! We talked for a long while and I found out Becca (the star) is going to BYU and Katherine (the one playing an Indian) is about to go on her mission. I prayed for both of them and shared the gospel there. They were super stoked about it! It was awesome!!! And all of this was done ON LDS property! Woohoo! breakin' the law for Jesus :) Then we went and talked to this old couple who are serving their senior mission. They listened a little bit but they kept cutting us off to bear their testimonies. I really see what God says when he claims people are without excuse. Here he is sending Christians to offer freedom to these people and they actually refuse to listen. I think that God offers us freedom from things that bind us all the time but we refuse to give him the time of day.

Anyways, it was an amazing time of fellowship with believers from all over the country (mostly Iowa for whatever reason) and an awesome time of witnessing. I had only a few really great conversations, but I was only part of that army. I saw my friend Aaron talking with some atheists who were so intrigued they are going to hang out with him soon. So cool. We are going back this week (Thursday-Saturday I think) and are excited to see what God has there. It's amazing. Please pray for miracles to happen at the Mormon Miracle Pageant.

(Dead End...Get it?)

Chi Rho Misfits

God is awesome. I am loving life and learning so much. I am excited for this blog post even though it is 1:15am and I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in a few weeks. God is doing too many awesome things for me to not be sharing it!

Firstly, what I am learning most: We are all works in progress. Wow, I need sleep; it took way too long for me to remember that phrase. Forgive me for messing up idioms or standard English in this post. I’ll do my best. Anyways, duh, yes we all know that. But sanctification is GOD’S work, not ours. So I am starting to look at Christians as God’s workmanship in a new way. Instead of being frustrated by sin, I’m learning to be at peace because in a couple years God will have transformed that part of a person’s life. I don’t need to get bothered by things. For example, today we heard a group of Christians all ganging up and gossiping about a brother and adults and kids were joining in this. That’s a grotesque picture of the church, but God got me excited that he is going to touch the hearts of that group and they will be cured of this. How cool is that! God is the potter and we are the clay. We can’t expect each other to start out as anything but formless ugly lumps. God is not in a rush to sanctify us-we shouldn’t be quite so much in a rush to sanctify each other. That’s not to say that sin should be permitted; I am all for church discipline and trust that to the leadership of the local church especially. But I know that I do not possess the wisdom or maturity to be able to deal with a fellow believer’s sin in any way that is edifying to the Body. I too am a work in progress. I am excited for God to teach me temperance and purity and the other things he has for me. I’m an ugly mass but I’m in the hands of the Master Craftsman. J

Now, what I am loving most: Chi Rho is awesome. I don’t think anyone who has been coming around even knows that name or anything about what the sign represents. But that doesn’t matter at all. There is nothing institutional about this group but God is carrying out the vision he gave us for the ministry. There is a bunch of total misfits that have been coming around the Blue House to hang out and do whatever we have for them. It’s insane. I’ll try to begin to describe the people. We have had two bonfires, a movie night, a hike and some other hang out things and activities in Salt Lake. Basically all that’s happened is that people have been brought together. It’s the greatest. 

Band of misfits: Hmm….I’m not sure how to not be gossipy here. I would like to describe the people coming to these events but I am having trouble. I love, love, love that the people craving community now have one. Basically there are a couple missionaries with no friends. There are a couple Christian girls who grew up in such LDS cultures that they seem Mormon and are craving Christian friendships. There’s a Christian who went to BYU and is goofy and obnoxious but loves Mormons like you wouldn’t believe. Two kids (18 and 20) just got married and left everything and everyone they know in Arkansas to move here a couple days ago. There is a guy with a rough background and his two daughters who love God but have trouble making friends. Two or three guys from my ward have been coming around. Three girls from Intervarsity love to come because it’s the only time someone will listen to them. The crazy LDS lady that I hang out with regularly enjoys the only social interaction she’s ever had outside of family and LDS events. We pulled two Mormon married from their evening walks and hung out with them. My ward missionary has been trying to pursue me, so she’s been hanging out with us more. An LDS guy was walking by tonight so we invited him to join us for s’mores and he hung out for about four hours and told us about how much he hates his life and has no friends. Monday is his birthday and we are going to celebrate it for the first time in his life. My friend Shannon and her fiancé who are ex-Mormons hung out and answered questions and showed us what God is doing in their lives. A couple from England is here for a few weeks ministering to Mormons. We have a team from Arkansas here for the week form Adventures in Missions. An older couple from our neighborhood has been helping us with gardening tools and hung out with us one evening. We went to an Ex-Mormon Meet-up and got to talk with fellow Christians from LDS and non-LDS backgrounds who have a love of sharing the gospel. We met a couple Christians discussing Spurgeon at a restaurant in Salt Lake who were ex-Mormons and completely covered in tats. Um…I have no idea who else….a girl from my ward that I think has AS wants to hang out. Two girls from my old ward that split came by today because they have been thinking about me and wanted to talk with me, so I’ll be hanging out with them.

Basically, God has just started relationships among people that would never have met without this particular ministry. I really do not think that I am doing a very good job of sharing the gospel with my Mormon friends in general. But God didn’t mean for me to do everything on my own. He had me gather together people that all have one thing in common: they have been unwanted in some way by the Utah culture. But Jesus wants them and that’s what we get to be a part of. We’ll offer hang-out time for them several nights a week and I don’t have any doubt that they will keep showing up. I am really having fun, and not just ministry fun, the regular time. God is creating something precious amongst us. Please pray for miracles. He keeps doing it. It’s a miracle that these people were brought together by a few texts and shouts to passersby.

One comment on how great God’s design is for the Body of Christ: I have had trouble being able to talk with my Mormon guy friends. A lot. I didn’t know how to broach the subjects of school, sarcasm and girls. But Colleen’s boyfriend is awesome at it and tonight he was able to really get them to open up about what’s on their hearts and share the gospel to those open hearts. It was great to think about as I was watering and watching them talk. They would not have met if God had not been having me try to hang out with them for months. But all that time I felt like I was failing, God had someone better to share with them than me. I had been obedient with what he called me to all along. There is comfort that God’s plans are way better than ours.

June! No way!

I can't believe it's June 7! It's been almost a month since my last post, my apologies. I cannot begin to figure out what all has happened in that time, but I'll give a few highlights.

1) We planted the garden! That was a ton of fun and I loved every minute of it. We have stuff sprouting and that is super exciting!

2) I went home for Cassie and Pierce's wedding! It was a joy seeing people I love and celebrating with Mr. and Mrs. Rainey :)

3) Colleen came, so now I have a roommate. Last week was mostly relaxing which was great as we settled into the house. I'm excited for what God has for her this summer.

4) Bible Institute is now finished. I'm thankful for the friendships I made there and for the ways I have grown.

5) I had a crazy busy weekend but all of it was fun! Well, not weeding on Friday morning. I was cursing the effects of the fall as Colleen and I were bested by monstrous dandelions and ungrateful plants that left us with lots of thorns as we tried to defend them from foreign invaders. After that I went to the last day of Bible Institute and day care and then went to the high school graduation of an old family friend. Saturday Colleen and I went to her bf's volleyball tournament and got ready for the bonfire. We worked on the garden for about four hours before it started. The bonfire was a ton of fun. There were about 35 people there from various walks of life and I believe everyone enjoyed community with people they would not have otherwise met. It lasted about six hours so it was a long day but it was super fun. One of the Mormon boys started flirting with my Christian friend and now he wants to go on a hike with us this weekend and wants to meet up at the Blue House. She will def not be dating him, but the fact that he's now comfortable enough with the notorious Blue House to come here willingly is exactly what we want. Praise Jesus! My friend Becky from my ward asked me to take her to church the next morning, at the Christian church I've started attending-yay! It was awesome!! She liked it a lot even though it was outside anything she had experienced before. I'm super stoked for that friendship. We went to ward meetings after that and then to a Christian gathering down in Salt Lake where we hung out at a park all day. It was a lovely summery weekend!

6) At Sunday's Sacrament meeting I shared my testimony again. The first Sunday of the month is Fast and Testimony Sunday and that's when Mormons stand up and bear their testimony. Their testimony is, as far as I understand it, the same thing as the burning in the bosom. It's the feeling that the Holy Ghost gave them when they read the Book of Mormon. That is the confirmation that it is true, so since they have been told it is true, they have the right to "bear their testimony" and tell others it's true. It's sort of confusing but I hope that makes sense. Still, it's an open pulpit and an opportunity I took to share Christ. It was announced at the beginning that Elder Porter of the Quorum of the Seventy was presiding. (In the LDS Church, there is the First Presidency which consists of the Prophet and his two councilors, then below them are the Twelve Apostles and below them is the Quorum of the Seventy-basically that means this guy is an LDS bigwig.) I was scared. And to make matters worse, Bishop Priet kept glaring at me to the point where even Colleen was uncomfortable. I think he was worried I was going to speak and embarrass him in front of Elder Porter. I did speak, though, and I don't think I offended anyone. I shared the stuff I'm learning in the garden (the "warm mud" stuff). I don't think many saw the direct challenge to their system of thought, so they were not mad at me. It went well. They aren't used to having people stand up and speak that have any sort of teaching ability (if you haven't been to one before, just know that LDS wards are as boring as watching paint dry), so they do like it when I share. I ended with "Jesus is God" and then walked back to my pew. I had to pat myself on the back for that. During the rest of the meetings, Colleen and I answered most of the questions and were able to share bits of Jesus throughout. It was a pretty good day.

7) We went to Family Home Evening on Monday night and are getting better about befriending those in our ward. Please pray that as it gets warmer, so do the people. I'm excited to have more casual friendships here and as they realize they don't have to fear me, they will be open to finding Christ. It's cool to be an example of what freedom can look like in their lives.

8) The first team is coming this weekend. Please pray!

9) I set up a schedule of Chi Rho activities to do weekly at the Blue House. Please pray for awesome things to happen.

10) Please pray that Saturday is a great day to grow deeper in Mormon-Christian friendships!

11) I started doing the Community Chaplain thing at the mall today. I went to about sixty businesses and explained what it is and gave them my card. Basically I'll be spending Tuesdays at the mall talking to employees and looking for invitations to share Christ by offering a listening ear and helping them with wherever they are at in life. Please pray for miracles there.

COMMUNITY GARDEN COMING SOON!

Oh man God is good. I haven't had internet at the Blue House in awhile so I'm behind on updates and stuff, but for now a coffee shop is a safe place to blog (no Mormons, haha). Mmmm so what is actually new...

The Filers were gone last week but they are home now. Thank you for praying for them. It was a hard time but good.

My last conversation with the missionaries was really cool. We talked about who God is for an hour and a half. I think it was pretty clear by the end of it that we believe in different gods. They said that in their quests for truth, the main thing that kept them from becoming traditional Christians was that the Trinity was confusing. I asked how the LDS Church handled the information in the Bible better than the Trinity, and they said they don't understand everything but it goes back to the feeling they got when they read the Book of Mormon. I asked how they deal with Kolob and the plurality of gods and they said the same thing. Basically it came down to the Trinity is confusing, Kolob is confusing, but they had the feeling when they read the Book of Mormon. It was really sad that they were so bound by that. I explained that we are not submitting to the idea of "trinity," we are submitting to what God reveals about himself through the Bible. In the Bible, we see that Father is God, Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit is God. God says there is only one God, no other before or after. Jesus claimed that he and the Father are one. We also see the relationships of love, submission and authority within the persons of the Trinity in the Bible. The Father sends the Spirit and the Son and the Son sends the Spirit and submits to the Father. The Spirit is referred to the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of Jesus. We have a lot of information about it, and the Trinity is a way for us to understand it and put it together. It defines bounds, which the LDS Church falls out of, because they told us that they are each a god, that there are three gods. Chris told them that of course they don't understand the Trinity. Their spirits are dead unless they are born again and they can only understand things of the flesh. I was amazed how the boys shrugged that off, like "okay, whatever." God made men and women to be SUCH different communicators. I met with my friend Shannon to talk about getting her questions about God answered. She's a Christian who was was Mormon until a little over a year ago. She wants to start back from the basics. We talked about the missionaries and she said that when she was a Mormon, she tried really hard to understand how the Trinity worked and couldn't. But once she became a Christian, she wasn't burdened by it anymore. It's a mystery and it's revealed by faith, but not blind faith, faith that comes from having our eyes opened to knowing God relationally. It's been really cool understanding and accepting that people of the flesh are not able to understand the things of the Spirit. I've been thinking lately how I don't really care about Mormonism. It's fascinating in a morbid humor sort of way, but I don't care if people get baptized into the Mormon Church. I don't care if it's growing or anything. Really, it doesn't matter. Dead people are dead people, no matter what color coffin they are lying in. All that I really care about is about being a live person who offers life to the dead. What matters? Jesus, that's all.

Shannon and I started talking about theology stuff. It was a cool time for me to reflect on how far I have come spiritually. I had to explain to her that knowing a lot about God does not mean knowing HIM better. It will not improve your relationship with God on its own. It made me love God more in that I admired him more and had fuller worship, but it wasn't until that information became incarnational in my life that I fell in love with him again. I had to admit to a lot of pride that can come from information, especially important information. Someone can probably have pride in knowing a ton about leaves, another can have more pride in knowing molecular biology and more in knowing astronomy. Think about how much pride we can have by knowing a lot about the Creator of all of that. How strange human nature is. That should be humbling. And eventually it will be and through great deals of information we come much fuller worshipers. But I think we get really lost in pride, and that's pride in anything. I've come to appreciate ecumenism much more being in a state run by an unbelieving cult. I've never appreciated Roman Catholics so much as when I consider how we share Jesus, whether or not we share a fully grace-based theology. Again, what matters? Jesus. That's all.

The weekend after this, I got to do a lot with Genesis Project. It's a church that really looks to reach out to the outcasts. Friday night we got food together and brought it door to door to the projects in Ogden. It was awesome to give these families fresh produce and breads. I have come to appreciate more than ever tangible expressions of the love of Christ. Saturday they had a huge Mother's Day lunch at a park. About 500 people came and we basically ran out of food way before the day ended, but it was so cool to see so many poor families enjoying kids activities and barbecue ribs and chicken. I love what that church does. (Wow! I'm super excited right now! The baristas just started talking about how much they love worshiping Jesus!) I went to something with Refuge Church after that which was also cool and encouraging. Oh!! That's right, I got an email from my friend Kacie that day who is a nurse serving aboard Mercy Ship. She was excited to tell me about her experiences (her first real experiences with Christians, I'm so stoked!).

The missionaries came over that night to basically figure out if they still were going to come. I was really frustrated with it. I wouldn't give up on them. They talked about humility and how we weren't submitting to what they were saying. I was bothered but kept pushing them to meet. We agreed on a time and then they said they wanted to meet at the Institute building. That freaked me out a bit because I have been pushed to talk with those in charge and I don't want that again. Right after they left a few friends were passing buy and they prayed with me for the meeting to not happen. That night a YWAM couple came. They stayed for a few days and we went to a Family Ward which was a new experience for me. Not a good one, but not really worse than anything else, haha.

I met a girl aptly named Christian who moved out here to minister to Mormons. She's renting a room from a super Mormon family who have the missionaries hang out there all the time, so naturally she's pretty discouraged. It was cool to talk and encourage each other.

When it came time to meet with the missionaries at the Institute, I was in battle mode (probably because I spent all my free time that week reading a kids' series that had a LOT of sword fighting in it). It was from God, I think because it made me consider the armor of God passage for the first time in detail. I realized it was not a battle "against flesh and blood"-I'm not up against the LDS Church or the people in charge. It's a rescue mission. It was cool to be thinking about that. We went to the Institute and waited for an hour and a half and they never showed. God answered those prayers. I was quite relieved.

Last night we had a meeting about the Community Garden. This guy named Jason found my flyer at Weber and helped us out a TON. I am SOOOO excited for this!!! Today I awoke to the mailman delivering a hundred packets of seeds from the government. We put together a layout and are planting this week. Please, please, please be praying for that. For the next week, that is my main focus. I am so so so so so excited about this. I want to become a farmer. If you knew me especially back in high school (or even a month ago) you would have never thought I'd be all gung ho to start an organic garden but I am giddy about it. I love my little seedlings. I'm so excited to start this up and see what God does with it. Please pray that he does a lot. http://xpcommunitygarden.blogspot.com/

The next thing after that will be just preparing the Blue House for the summer. I am in charge of planning just about everything for the interns and teams that are coming. I have to get the house ready to hold a lot more people than it should. I'm so excited about what God will do with that. Please pray that God does a miracle this summer in Ogden and in the hearts of individuals.

So I only thought I had a few sentences to update you on, but this is a bit longer. It's funny how much God reminds me what he has actually been doing when I think it's been a sleepy week. Nope, he's got his thing going. I love you all and hope you are doing well!

"You talk to God like he's your friend."

News is starting to pile up and I have a few spare minutes which means it’s blogging time!

I had a wonderful time at home. I felt so loved and encouraged by my family, friends and church family. Long Beach Alliance Church is amazing. I got to share with Kairos (thank you, Kerry) about what God has been teaching me. I am realizing how much I have put knowledge ahead of unity. God never told us to know everything. He did tell us to love one another, put each other’s interests above ourselves, and be of one mind. Putting pride in knowledge above that is not love of God or others. That’s self-love. I was wrong and I apologize to all of you for that. If you don’t know me that well, I probably would have done the same to you. Please forgive me for caring more about myself than you.

So, since I have been back: There aren’t night classes for ADI starting up until maybe fall, so I’m not teaching. Instead God is giving me lots of other things to do.

My biggest project right now is starting a community garden. I am doing a lot of organizing and indoor gardening for now. It’s been really crazy busy, but I’m super excited. The goal is to feed people and bring the community together to work on a project. We have about 1500 square feet of land to till. Please be praying for things to come together with that and that it will be a blessing for Ogden. We’re planting May 21 and a lot of things have to come together before then.

I was able to meet with my LDS friend last week before she left to work on a Mercy Ship for the summer. It was really great and before we left, I asked to pray for her. She is very friendly and is definitely one of my favorite people I’ve met in this state. After I prayed she had tears in her eyes and was completely silent for a long while. Finally she laughed and said “you talk to God like he’s your friend.” She was mesmerized. It was so cool. I made her a care package that included a worship CD and a Promises of God book. I am so excited for what God has to offer her in the next couple months. Please be praying for her. I’ll never forget that moment.

I made cupcakes and took them to the apartment next to me last week. That was cool to meet a lot of the people that live there. Most of them are in my ward so it was cool to see them on Sunday. I’m going to try to start chaplaining there, so pray for opportunities there.

This Sunday I gave my testimony at my ward for Fast and Testimony Sunday. The information I shared was good but my own personal presentation of it was not. I got really nervous and felt bad about taking too much time, but I got to share with a hundred lost people that Christ died to set us free and how dare we submit to less when that freedom cost so much. I also talked a lot about loving and being loved by God when we have nothing to offer. Ironically, relief society was about “increasing my righteousness.” It was really ridiculous. I had nothing at all to add to that conversation.

Monday night I went to Family Home Evening. I accidentally sat down next to the bishop’s wife and then ended up being across from the other guy in the bishopric and his wife and the bishop sat on the other side of me. Long story short, it came out that I am not a member and that I am a non-denominational Christian who is interning for a church-planter. I had to explain what I actually do over and over again. It was awkward but I played dumb and kept the conversation light and they were nice about it. We’ll see how that goes.

Tuesday a few friends from Intervarsity and I went down to Temple Square. We made lunches for homeless people so we got to have a few good conversations with them. We talked to a Satanist, a believer and everything in between. We had a lot of conversations with sister missionaries and got to pray with them and share the gospel with them. It was a tiring but super cool day. That day I also spoke with the bakery manager of a grocery store and she’s going to be calling me a few times a week to pick up bread and bring it to lower income apartments in Ogden. I am really excited to start that ministry as well!

Tomorrow is a prayer event at the Blue House and I’m meeting with missionaries. Be praying for good opportunities with them. We’re working on making the Blue House nicer and making a game room for the basement. We have tons of teams coming this summer and will have six interns so it’ll be really busy. I am in charge of training the interns for the summer and of most of the teams that are coming. It will be cool to mix the ministries that I am doing and have the resources and man-power to get some cool things done. Pray for God to do awesome things. Joe, Jennifer and the kids are going back to New Jersey this weekend because Jennifer’s grandfather passed away tonight. Please pray for them.

That’s all I can think is going on for now. There has been an ton going on this week but that’s a little of it to share with you. This morning I shared this on the radio and I think I’ll close with it. During the relief society thing I was reading my Bible and landed in Isaiah 58. It was perfect for Fast and Testimony Sunday. They believe they are satisfying God with their humility and righteousness but they are not doing his will. This is what God’s will is and this is what I am excited to be doing!

True and False Fasting

58:1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Refiner's Fire

God is good and his steadfast love endures forever!

 (Weber State Thursday)

Here's the update: 

            The Filers are back east in New Jersey and West Virginia spending time with loved ones and raising support. They are gone most of April which is so exciting for them! Joe has been feeling great, praise God!

            Last week I went to Temple Square a few times and had some good conversations. When I was going down to Salt Lake with the group from my ward I kind of realized my mission field is LDS girls specifically, because I hadn't been able to open up relationships with LDS guys. However, this weekend I did! I had a game and movie night with a few guys from my ward at the Blue House and it was really fun. I'm glad God continues to break my expectations!

This past Thursday-Saturday I got to hang out with Meghan Cassidy, a girl from college group at LBAC. She was traveling to Wisconsin to go raise her niece and nephew. I was so encouraged by her dedication to being Jesus to this family. It was SOO cool to hang out with her for a few days and be able to encourage her as well. We spent time together watching Zac Efron movies (HSM3 and 17 Again!), singing songs from Tangled, going to Intervarsity, exploring Temple Square, hanging out with the LDS guys, and having people over for pancakes on Saturday. It was a joy to have her here and I hope God makes it happen again soon!

            Sunday I went to my ward and in Relief Society (girls' club) we were told to not give into sexual temptation because we are daughters of god and are future goddesses. From here on out, I will use a lower case "g" when referring to the god of Mormonism. I did not like hearing that crazy doctrine said so nonchalantly, but it does open me up to addressing the blasphemy to Mormons, because I heard that from attending their meetings and not from reading "anti-Mormon" literature. 

            Something to pray for: Joe asked me to move forward with a new thing for the blue house. We basically want to make it a living community centered on loving God and people. Please pray for God to do a miracle with this whole thing and how to not make it interfere with what God is doing with Intervarsity. I'm impulsive but am horrible at making things actually happen. Please pray that God will put this vision on the hearts of those he wants involved and that Ogden will be changed.

            Tonight I got a really cool place marker for where I am at spiritually. What people here observe in me is not anything like I was last year. What I took pride in before seems empty compared to what God has done in me now. He has made me a new person. He has brought me through the Refiner's Fire that I may love him. When asked who Jesus was, the man born blind said, "One thing I do know, though I was that though I was blind, now I see." My “testimony” of Christ is that though I was proud, now I love. I get to bring my new self back home for Easter (how fitting)!

(My backyard Friday)

            It has been snowing here which is a cool illustration for the blood of Christ. It covers up a dead land with the whitest stuff you ever saw. It’s the most peaceful in the world. When the sun comes out, it nourishes the land and out comes healthy plants, deeply green and hearty. Though we have to go through spiritual winters, I hope you find the peace, purity and nourishment that come from Jesus alone. When you are made new, may you be hearty and healthy and glad for even the coldest nights. It has been a really tough process for me because some parts of it still hurt, but I thank him all the same for freeing me from myself.

 (This week at Temple Square)

Isaiah 42:5-10 and 43:1-5

Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”

Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth,

But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,

God Responds!

Proverbs 24:11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. 

            This weekend is/was General Conference, the semi-annual meeting of the LDS Church where the Prophet and Apostles speak and give new revelation. 21,000 Mormons go into the conference center to hear their speakers and the Mormon Tabernacle choir in person (this is where Proverbs 24:11 hits home). Thousands of others spread out through Temple Square to hear the broadcast in overflow sections. The rest watch it on the TV or listen on the radio. It’s the central event in the LDS Calendar. They basically stopped giving prophecy as we understand it, because they realized they can’t. Most of the “talks” as they are called are feel-good messages about how great it is to be a Mormon. Sometimes big changes are made (like a few years ago when the Word of Wisdom was re-interpreted to not mean any caffeinated beverage, but only tea and coffee…funny how that same year one of the Apostles was on the board for Pepsi), but usually it’s about being good people and feeling the spirit. Crazy evangelists hold signs during this time and tell Mormons they are going to hell. Others try to strike up conversations, but most of the throngs of people are set on getting into that building.

            I was invited by a girl in my ward to join her and a handful of others to try to go get tickets in the standby line. We went to her parents’ house the night before in South Jordan, and then awoke early the next day. I regret that I put my own comfort above showing love actively for most of the night, but I was able to learn a lot about what it means to be LDS and how LDS families work.

            Temple Square during General Conference is almost unrecognizable. As we waited in line for a couple hours, we were visited by several pairs of missionaries. It was interesting to hear them speak to an audience of Mormons. They have a new policy of doing teaching through the phone. They asked everyone to go through their phones and give them the names and numbers of all the non-members they know. One in particular struck me because she was so well-suited to be a missionary there. She is a strikingly beautiful girl from Germany and was forceful and flirtatious in everything she said, so that she got what she wanted from everyone. About half the people they talk to on the phone get baptized. That was really sickening to hear. Please pray about that. It was very frustrating to hear them be super excited about the “spirit” and worshipping God by all singing “Praise to the Man” in the conference. My stomach turned at the thought of that. I started praying that we wouldn’t get in. I saw several missionaries that I know and tried to get to know the ones that stopped by. Two that have been fake and deceptive in our talks thought I was in the process of converting when I said I came with my ward. Their excitement and pride really bothered me but I didn’t know how to tell them I wasn’t interested. I think they assume I’m in that successful half.

            When I finally texted people for prayer, God answered! The encouragement I received back built me up and gave me more confidence in having friendly conversations with my group. The conference started and we did not get in. They decided to go back up to Ogden instead of staying in Salt Lake. I had been pleading with God to bring the Temple Square missionaries I love to us. Just as we were leaving I finally saw them and went up and said hello. It was a really friendly greeting and I gave them my phone number. I’m really excited to start talking with them more.

            We saw the anti-Mormon crowd and on another corner I saw a pastor I know holding a sign that said “God Loves Mormons.” I said hello and introduced him to my group. He gave them a paper he wrote on how the atonement happened on the cross rather than in the Garden of Gethsemane which is LDS teaching. They politely took it but one kept muttering to himself “lies!” as he read. Right after I saw Tommy, a homeless guy whom I had lunch with a few weeks ago. It was cool to say hello and give him what I could. That’s something strange to Mormons. They don’t usually take care of homeless people, because they give so much to the Church (that does not take care of homeless people), they value hard work very highly and look down on idleness, and because they see tobacco and alcohol as such evils.

            After a few hours of public transportation, I was back in Ogden and got to go hang out with Christians. I was so excited that God took care of that situation. He really loves his people and he responds to their requests! I don’t know what we would do without prayer emails and texts, but I am thankful for them! I want to encourage you to ask people to pray for you; God really does it! You can’t get much more biblical than crying out to God.