Day 00: If you’re reading this….

It means we’re not dead.

And: I got to sit next to Evan Grant!

We’re on our way! I’m typing this on a plane, but on a MSWord document, to transpose later. So…as mentioned earlier, we made it (but not while I’m writing, I’m still making it. #alreadybutnotyet #kingdomlife)

Our roadtrip was fun, Katie and Jay facilitated our drop-off and we arrived without incident (though a little later than my monochronological heart would like). 

WHOOOOOOOOOSH! Sorry, that was the sound of our plane taking off. 

So, we’re on the plane, all 26ish of us. I can feel the buzz of excitement in all the laughter and conversations around me, we’re ready. And it’s actually and truly happening. I’m grateful that I’m taking time to write because it allows me to process things that I’d ignore otherwise. And I’m grateful for the sneaky generosity of friends, it’s humbling and deeply, deeply appreciated (you know who you are). God is so good and I am requete excited to experience him moving.

I think that Joy is inextricably connected to Purpose and Identity. Knowing and being Who You Are and knowing and doing What You Are Made For is the deepest Joy you will ever feel. I know who I am and I know what I am made for.

Do you want to know? I know who you are and I know what you are made for... because it’s the same as me. 

I am defined by God’s Love for me. It’s the thing that matters about me, the thing that gives me life and makes me important. God made me the way I am because He loves the way I am. And has plans to help me walk more completely in that Identity.

I am made to live in God’s love and I am made to help others learn to do the same. That means Worship, that means Outreach, that means Discipleship, that means Service, that means Missions.

The extent to which you believe and live by these is the extent to which you will feel God’s Joy. Not happiness, that comes and goes. Deep, abiding, unshakeable Joy. (Philemon 6, y’all).

Anyway, I didn’t charge my computer, so I’m out of battery. I’ll post this once we get to the hotel tonight.

I cannot express deeply enough how much I desire for you to pray for us. It will literally make the difference in how things go. All I have to do is show up; you guys are fighting for us in the spiritual realm in a way that cannot be measured. God will have to show us when we get There just how powerful it is.

Gracia, paz, amor.

Not unaware.

or: "Sam's Rambly, Disjointed Thoughts on Spiritual Warfare, Plus a Tiny Team Update."
or: "P.S. Impossible Love"
or: "That joke at the end isn't funny"
or: "Enough Subtitles Already!"


We had our last training today. It was incredibly encouraging;our team is right where we need to be. It was the Spiritual Warfare/Conflict training, which is probably the most intense one we do.

Some thoughts:

I always think of Spiritual Warfare as a primarily defensive activity. The Enemy attacks, we defend ourselves and sometimes retaliate with some feisty prayer. I've never thought of the offensive side of Spiritual Warfare much; that we wage war by worshiping God, loving one another, speaking the truth and by sharing the Gospel. That's a beautiful offense.

It's crazy how Satan uses the same tactics over and over, just custom-fitted to different people. Lies. Darkness. Division. Distraction. Condemnation. Whenever we see these things, it ought be a giant red flag that says "hey! listen! (navi?) you're under attack!" Though if you think about the inherent nature of those tactics, they can be hard to see sometimes.

That's the beauty of the simplicity of how we fight though. It doesn't need to be reactive. We don't have to wait until we feel threatened. We should Love and Worship and Encourage and Speak at all times, whether we feel the attack or not (it's still there). Our method of waging warfare is beautiful and enjoyable (though stretching and uncomfortable sometimes). We Love deliberately*.

The other fantastically encouraging thing is that these attacks haven't somehow slipped past God's defenses; he didn't miss a block or stop paying attention (read Job). God deliberately allows certain attacks to come at us in order to train us, in order to bless us and refine us and make us more like Christ. That doesn't mean they come from God or that they are not designed to "steal, kill and destroy;" it just means that God has designs to redeem them for our Good.

So can we lose? Yes. And No. We can lose battles with the enemy when we are not keeping in step with the Spirit, when we choose sin and darkness and lies. But! We've already won the War. It's just the final stages now; though the fighting is still fierce sometimes.

Anyway, that's your sermonette for the evening. I won't even get started on Conflict; that's something i can diatribe on for days.

We had a team time today, broken down into guys and girls, where we talked about insecurities and hidden sins. It was so good (for the guys at least, i wasn't in the girls' group, as you may have pieced together). The vulnerability! The unity! The encouragement and prayer! Mmmm. Good. (it couldn't be "Mm, Mm, Good," that has to be the other team, for obvious reasons)

This is waxing somewhat rambly, so i'll stop now. We're leaving for Mexico on Friday; please be praying for us!



*Now when i say "Love," i don't mean our culture's definition of love. I don't mean the feel-good, happy, nice, warm, fuzzies (though it can be that sometimes). That love is cheap; it's garish.

I mean the real, crazy, hands-dirty, scandalous, self-sacrificing, do-what-is-best-not-what-feels-best, freedom-bringing, culture-transcending, never-failing, gentle, patient, fierce Love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. The type of Love that is impossible unless you are in Christ and filled with the Spirit.

I guess....you could say.....if you wanted......we need to be....amor like Christ.

Compelled by Love...

I'm not sure if there's a statute of limitations on topical posting, but:

Our Evangelism Training on Saturday (2/4) was awesome!
"10 days ago, Sam?? That's the length of your whole Mexico Trip..."
Yes, yes, I'm sorry. It won't be a trend, lo prometo.

Our team worked through the condensed bridge diagram; a short and simple, but muy effective method of presenting the gospel. (Ask me sometime if you've never seen it; I'd love to share the gospel with you too). We practiced sharing the gospel and our testimonies with one another - it was so beautiful to be in a room where all of the conversations people were having were telling stories about God's power and love.

The primary thing I feel convicted in with regards to preaching the gospel is this:

"The love of Christ compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all..."

If you haven't read 2 Corinthians 5 lately, take a minute and read it. I'll wait. Well, sort of; I won't have to wait since I'll already have written this, but you get me.
.
.
.
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Isn't that crazy stuff? Anyway: to be motivated by Christ's love for a person, rather than my plan for my church's growth or my plan for their salvation or my plan for my evangelism time...what a beautiful and freeing thing this is. God is wooing hearts to himself; we're just telling people who it is that's doing the wooing. Evangelism is being God's wing-man; God is the impressive one and we're just pointing Him out (it's ok, you can quote me, that's why i put it in bold😁). "Hey, see my friend there? He's an amazing guy and He thinks you're worth dying for." God loves people more than we ever could, more than we ever could understand.

My prayer for you *i stopped typing to pray it* is that you would open your heart to God's Spirit showing you a deeper level of his love...for you, for others.

Please pray for our trip. My team is going to the Tec campus, where the choking weeds of comfort and worry grow. Pray for God to let some seed get through and some real growth happen.

much love to you.

Culture, Culture and Culture

or: "That's all I have to say about Oxford Commas."
or: "Rockin on the 1's and 2's."

Saturday we had our Cultural Training time for the Mexico team. I didn't sleep on Friday night (because, you know, life), so it was a bit of a blur for me, but it was a really pleasant blur.

We started by spending 1 hour of our scheduled 2 hour training doing a get-to-know-you exercise. It was essentially speed dating, where every person asked and answered the following two questions with every other person:
1. What makes you feel the most dead inside?
2. What makes you feel the most alive inside?

A bit weird, but it stirred some great conversation and let us get to know each other in a cool way (please keep praying for team unity for us!). It may seem like a lot of time to spend just conversating with each other; but what better way to get exposed to Mexican culture? We were investing in relationship, not task. If you are a gringo who wants to be more Mexican and you are reading this, here's the best two things to learn:
1. Relax; it will all work out.
2. People are more important than the thing you think you should be doing.
If you're Mexican, especially if you're a regio and reading this, let me know if that's inaccurate! I have a lot to learn still, but that's what I've got so far.

There's nothing wrong with being more task-oriented or more relationship-oriented, just know how you are slanted. I think God is both. I still remember when i learned that our task was relationship and our relationship expressed itself in tasks. Read Ephesians 2:8-10. Or read John 13 and 14, where Jesus says if we love him we'll obey his command...and that his command is to love.

Anyway, I'm excited to see what our team culture turns out to be like (every year is so different) and how we respond to regio culture and how it changes us and impacts our homegroup cultures when we come back.

Also, because i know you are all dying to know:
1. I feel most dead inside when my brokenness breaks other people.
2. I feel most alive inside when I get to help other people in a meaningful way. Also when i'm driving on a wide-open road.

Pray for love.
Pray for power.
Pray for vision.
All from God.

Support-raising

Joyful generosity on the part of the church brings God great glory, y'all.

Support-raising has always intimidated me a bit; i'm prideful and independent by nature. I don't like to ask for help or rely on other people. God always uses raising money for these trips to humble me (thanks God) and put me into a position to receive love from other people.

I felt it on my heart this year to try to rely entirely on other people to pay for my trip. If i wanted to contribute, to contribute to my team-mates in their support-raising, but to trust in God to provide for my trip through his people. It's telling that i kept this goal to myself; it shows i didn't really trust God to come through in this area.

I've been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people i sent letters to (and some that i didn't!). Thank you so much to everyone who has been giving. It has been humbling and i feel deeply loved and cared-for.

I'm getting pretty close to our goal and have a few more people who have said they want to give. It's still a faith question, but the generosity that i've seen so far has already moved my heart to worship God and his provision through his people.

:)

#squadup

See how a used a hashtag and a pop culture reference in my title? It's because I'm hip to the lit jive the kids are spitting, yo.

ALSO WE HAVE OUR TEAM(S) FINALIZED AND I AM SO REQUETE STOKED.

All caps is so obnoxious. But I am excited! Stephen and Hillary and Sheryl and I spent time praying and we came up with the following two teams (awesome names courtesy of Stephen):

Team Gringo

Stephen Campbell
Hillary Sykes
Claudia Flores
Zuri Sanchez
Aylin Ortiz
Maria Ortiz
Myra Rangel
Savannah Davalos
Steven Gonzales
Maegan Whitt
Matt Martin
Miranda Grey
Zachary Smith
Alex Cates
Isaiah Cruz
Emily Goldston

Team Extranjero
Sam Baker
Sheryl S
Evan Grant
Matthew Zawadzki
Travis Wheeler
Riley Knippa
Elizabeth Bustamante
Scott Fuller
Grace Muenich
Kelsie Kirk
Camden Ogier
Monica Nava

The next few months will be training and team bonding. We'll have Cultural, Evangelism and Spiritual Warfare training times. By the time we go, my hope is for the team to have a feel similar to a homegroup, where we know and trust each other deeply.

Extranjero means a foreigner; an alien or stranger. Think 1 Peter 2:11. If you've read much of my Monterrey blog before, you'll know that I think life and short-term mission trips are really, really similar. We'll be going somewhere that isn't our home, for a short time, with a distinct purpose: to see people come to know Christ.

Please be praying for us; I'll post after our training times.

Letter Go

We had our Support Letter Sending Party this morning. We all met up at the church office to finalize, stamp, address and send our letters.

I used to be uncomfortable with the support-raising process; it felt like asking other people to pay for something I wanted to do. Over time, I grew to be ok with it, viewing it as a "necessary evil," since I couldn't afford the trips without the help, but still never really liked that it had to happen. This is the first year I've actually been excited about the process. The church working together as a body to reach the lost is a beautiful thing! Our team may have the time and opportunity to Go, but we're only the hand, as it were, we can't reach without the arm.

If you're supporting a missionary or ministry somewhere, you are a vital part of the work God is doing. Be praying for your missionary (especially if it's me!), God knows they need it. Prayer is the best thing you can give to anyone. It's the most powerful ministry tool we have. Stop reading this and pray...I'll wait. Go pray for your family and your hurting and lost friends, pray for the people who aren't your friends, pray for your church, pray for our trip to Mexico...there's so much need for prayer, it's not hard to see the need to "pray without ceasing." (1 Thes. 5:16)

Our team looks pretty fantastic this year, there are so many of us that our team leader, Stephen, and the Missions Team at Fellowship decided to send us as two teams to allow greater flexibility, effectiveness and safety. Stephen asked me to lead the second half, which I am super excited (and un poco nervioso) about. We're deciding how to set up the teams right now and will have  it finalized next week. Please pray for wisdom and sensitivity to the Spirit's leading for us!

This is gonna be so good, y'all.