INSPI(RED), Hope in the Dark, Thanksgiving

This was an email I sent out to some friends that have been to Africa...included some thoughts and resources. Check it....

As I sat here in warm, balmy and wind-free S.W. Wyoming I had a chance to reflect on the many things I have to be thankful for. I wish one of them would have been that I got to share Thanksgiving with some new African friends but for some reason it didn't work out. I called them and my calls were never returned. I am a bit disappointed for one reason that they may have eaten at the only restaurant open here on thanksgiving...to the surprise of no one it was China King Buffet. =) Anyway I hope they had a place to spend their time. I know I ate enough for them...unfortunately.
So Thanksgiving was good and I again was reflecting on something that you and I were undoubtedly changed by and also share...A visit or visits to Africa. There are an endless amount of things to be thankful for but no doubt I think some of the things our African friends are likely thankful for often we take for granted. I hope you all have taken a minute to just think of the many things we are so blessed to have around us...both our parents, siblings, grandparents, our health, opportunity for education, clean water to drink, endless resources to grow spiritually, a bible, a home with plenty of space, freedom, stable national and local governments, safety, shoes, feet, legs(polio free), contacts/glasses for some, the option to chose what I want to eat, the option to chose what I want to wear, my own car, I mean I could go on and on. I came up here to Wyoming with one suitcase(not a large suitcase) that quite possibly had more clothes in it than many of our African friends. Crazy. Some blessings are material and some aren't but I think we need to not neglect any and be extremely grateful for all.
I am excited that I have had a few chances and will have a few more to share about what the coming months may bring in Kenya as I return and what God has done in the past few years not only in my life and the teams I was with but also in Africa and our friends there.
I hope that each of you are taking the chance to seek out ways Africa can still be apart of your everyday. One that I thought was cool that I wanted you to be made aware of is called INSPI(RED) http://www.joinred.com/ . It is a simple creative and great way to take advantage of our consumerism here and have it benefit Africa. The simple idea is to buy RED. Buy RED cell phones, t-shirts, watches, i-pods, etc that are all sponsored by companies giving a portion of the amount you spend to go back to Africa and help the people battling AIDS. Plain and simple YOU buy RED. THEY get MEDS to help them battle AIDS and live another day. I'd encourage you to check it out and perhaps buy RED for Christmas for those you love. Pass this on to whomever you like...I just wanted to start with those I knew who had "African blood" in them and let you do your thing and spread the word. I know you will so do your thang!

Below are some additional resources/organizations you may or may not be familiar with that you may want to check out.

African Leadership www.africanleadership.org
Blood:Water Mission www.bloodwatermission.com
DATA www.data.org
Invisible Children www.invisiblechildren.com
Oxfam International www.oxfam.org
World Vision www.worldvision.org

There are 27 additional organizations right here http://www.hopeinthedark.com/links.php


Here is a portion of a closing letter written by the authors of a book entitled, "Hope in the Dark" by Jena Lee and Jeremy Cowart that I must share with you. You'll know what I mean when you're done reading it.

..."It would be wrong for us to close our eyes and our hearts to everything that we have learned. Our experiences won't let us do that. Our passion and anger and hope don't give us permission to abandon these experiences, because the time we have spent in Africa is beautiful and tragic, rich and life-giving, horrible and yet redemptive."
..."People have the right to know that there are places in the world like Africa, where water is a luxury, where the laws of poverty riegn, and where people are fighting a battle of disease with every ounce of strength that remains. It is fair, too, that people are given an opportunity to connect to Africans as hard-working, dedicated, creative, and compassionate people. If we fail to see their humanity, our response will simply perpetuate the inequality and the misunderstanding."
..."When we expand our world view to include those whom we have never met, our lives are changed. We are compelled to give of our time, our resources, our leadership, and our voices. We invite you to join us on this journey with our friends in Africa. Its is not a plea for charity; it is an invitation to join a team of people, Africans and Americans alike, who are walking alongside one another in love. It can make all the difference in the world."

Until Dukey Drops Again........Much Love................

WAKE UP! An E-mail from a friend visiting Africa for the semester...

This is an email from a friend of mine who is in Africa right now. I read it and had to post it on here. I've got nothing really to say for this one. It very strongly speaks on its own and echos my own heart. I hope it resonates with your own in some way.

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We definitely jumped right into our semester abroad without a spare moment for hesitation! I know I sent a very brief report last week, but I'll now make the seemingly futile attempt to express what I saw, felt, and learned in Rwanda.The focus of our trip was to study the genocide, the role of the church, the role of the West, and future hope for Rwanda in their economic goals and system of justice. We traveled to three major cities: Kibungo, Butare, and Kigali. Each city held many lectures, visits to museums and memorials, and personal testimonies of hope and survival. I'd love to relay all astounding details and reveal the truth, but I'd rather give you what the Lord put on my heart through all I learned and let you find the facts in a textbook. Sadly, though, textbooks and school curriculum never seem to full explain Rwanda. In summary, the West not only abandoned Rwanda in their time of need, the West also created much of the conflict there as well as in the rest of Africa. Learning of all the things our country has and has not done tended to make me feel personally responsible and ashamed of my skin. But what blew me away even more was the forgiveness and love that all Rwandans showered upon us! In all my travels I have never felt so loved and welcomed by every person I met. One night I hit a breaking point, a rush of anger, frustration, and sorrow that I think everyone needs to feel to truly learn from experiences like this. As vulnerable as it feels to share, I hope that my raw emotions and reactions can help bring the reality of the need to you rather than a recount of numbers and facts you can find in a book.
After one of our first few days in Rwanda, I wrote this in my journal: "My heart is crumbling. I feel the weight of all the world's travesties bearing down upon my soul. Need. NEED. NEED! Not just wants or desires or hopes, but basic human needs are going unmet around the globe. Children with barrel bellies and twig legs watch with their curious, kind, joyful generous, hungry eyes as I am let to a seat of honor and fed until I feel sick. The land is in a drought. Orphans of genocide still lack necessities. I visit for one day and feel my passion and spirit crushed by the enormity of everyone's problems. How can this church, these people, the country keep going? They are ALIVE. In the wake of evil and death, they are vibrant! In the wake of materialism and luxury I am dead inside.
I've had the privilege of traveling to see the big picture of needs in Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, andRwanda. And the news is full of images of India, Iraq, Indonesia, Mexico...needs everywhere! My drive and joy cave under the daunting task. But, what exactly is the task? What am I really seeing-physical or spiritual need?The church here in Rwanda labors away, chipping into the hardened walls of hatred, pain, and suffering that the people of this country endured. They walk. Work. Go on. In the Kenyan slums they just keep going, spending boring, tedious, exhausting lives with asmile on their faces while offering me their choice meat and crops which I struggle to eat thinking of its horrible nutrition content. Who am I to be cynical of their motivations in asking for money? Who am I to withhold my love? Love your neighbor as yourself. But love is not money. And I am dry. My crushed, empty spirit has no more love to give. I am finished. And the week has only begun.
"I am now back at school in Uganda, and still my mind floods with questions which I'm sure will only continue to baffle me more as the semester progresses. The more I learn about Africa and the rest of theworld, the more I lose my blissful naivety to the needs of the world. It reminds me of Ecclesiastes1:18. "Because in much wisdom there is much grief,and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain."I have seen firsthand that as Christians, we can not put our faith in governments and human institutions. The thing about Rwanda is not how barbaric and different from us they are, but rather how similar. We are all a depraved humanity. Where was the U.S. while that was happening? And the UN? The amount of troops it took to evacuate all the ex-patriots would have been enough to stop the genocide. But what should we expect? The US, the UN, and other organizations are full of humans. The United States of America will ultimately behave in its own best interest, and Rwanda had nothing for us but loss. Infact, the conflicts in Rwanda were actually started long ago by the Belgians in colonization. Hutu andTutsi aren't even separate tribes or ethnic groups, it was a caste system essentially created during colonization. Fingers of blame point in all directions. The same istrue for conflicts around the globe. But as Christians, we should not be asking where was the US or the UN. We need to be crying out where was the church?! And where is the church now?! We say "never again," but people are dying without Christ everywhere. We've probably all mentioned Iraq in our prayers during guided prayer concerts at church, but how often do we lift up the needs of the world? Do you know what's happening with the LRA in Uganda? Have you heard of the massacres in Darfur? Did you know that the same genocidal propaganda that lead tothe horrific deaths in Rwanda is becoming widely spread in India? And how horrible is it that at this moment I struggle to think of other places where weshould be mindful of human need because I don't know about them?! By the same token, I'm not advocating that we take the weight of the world upon our own shoulders. We can't possibly each pray for and get involved in meeting needs in every corner of the globe. That's the beauty of the body of Christ, that He'll lay certain places and people on our hearts. But I am saying that we really need to wake up. Rwanda was 95% "Christian" at the time of the genocide. The church was there during the genocide, but sleeping. Church leaders were rubbing shoulders with corrupt politicians. They didn't raise their voices and take opportunities for change. It was the individuals who truly followed and knew the Lord that heroically saved many lives in acts of love and compassion. Many of the "Christians" in Rwanda had merely converted to enjoy the benefits of education and material provisions that the western Christians brought with them. Churches that should have been places of refuge were slaughtering grounds for thousands upon thousands of women and children. As one of our speakers, a bishop in the Anglican Church of Rwanda shared, "The church as an institution failed. The church as individuals with personal conviction of sin never failed. That church prevailed." Sound familiar? How many Christians do you know in America that are sleeping? Are we trying to hard to gain power in government, business, education, whatever the field, that we fall asleep to the sin around us? The church must raise her voice, because we are the ONLY people with the TRUE answer for love and peace and reconciliation. No government, organization, or institution can do it. Only Christ. And only the people of His church can bring forth that message! So I don't know what God is calling you to. I'm not asking you to pray for anything specific or to go any certain place. This is only a cry to WAKE UP. And if you are awake, as I know many of you are, then stay awake and start waking others around you! This is nota message of condemnation or guilt, but rather a call to action. The last thing anyone in Rwanda would want to do is fill you with guilt. I wish I had more time to explain their peace and reconciliation process, called gacaca, but I can tell you that the country has HOPE and is moving on. There is a great need for trauma counselors and economical and agricultural training, but they are firm in their resolve to succeed without becoming beggars. So please, feel regret and remorse for how we have failed to meet needs, and use that constructively to help build a future wherever God is calling you. And it also seems that this update email has turned into a sermon! I wish I had a computer of my own here so that I could write a novel, but alas my computer access is limited. That will be a challenge when I have to start writing papers! Thanks for your prayers, and I hope that God will teach you as He is teaching me. I'm sure many of you are far beyond these lessons I am just experiencing for the first time, but thank you for humoring me. I greatly appreciate the unique opportunity I have to come here and learn! I want to share that with all of you! Please continue to email and let me know what the Lord is showing you as well. My classes started today, and I can tell it's going to be an incredible semester. Hope all is going well in work and school there, and keep listening to the Lord and relaying His message of hope and love to the world.

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Until Dukey Drops Again....Much Love.......

Inspirational Love of Amazing Proportions

I've seen the video of this incredible story and if you have blood in your veins I can't see how you can't cry and be moved but I don't have the movie. Instead I recieved the story the other day in an email from a friend of mine and I had to post it. If you haven't ever heard or seen the story of Dick Hoyt and his son you need to. Its amazing...and whats more amazing is its about an earthly fathers love for his child. It just makes me totally amazed and speechless to try to comprehend the love our heavenly father has for us. Nonetheless here is the story of Dick Hoyt and his son Rick....

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From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles inmarathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day. Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his backmountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick wasstrangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an institution.''But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told.``There's nothing going on in his brain.''"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out alot was going on in his brain.
Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!''
And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized acharity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.'' Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ranmore than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two weeks.''That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could.
He got into such hard-bellyshape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year. Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hourIronmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think? Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one doctortold him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some back breaking race every weekend, including this Father'sDay. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

Until Dukey Drops Again.....Much Love........

Stumbled on to a old but great song...

There is a group named Caedmon's Call that I have many of their Cd's and have enjoyed their smooth folk-acoustic music rich with percussion and true honest lyrics. One song in particular has struck a cord with me tonight as I was headed to bed and heard it. Its from their "40Acres" cd released in 1999. I love the words and the truth they bear. So I found this old song and great CD I might add and wanted to share it with my two readers. =P haha It can mean for you whatever it may but I just was reminded of two verses...
Jer. 29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Prov. 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Well with that here are the lyrics to this song "Table for Two"...


"Table for Two" by Caedmon's Call (40 Acres)

Danny and I spent another late night over pancakes
We talked about soccer and how every man's just the same
We made speculation on who's and the when's of our futures
And how everyone's lonely but still we just couldn't complain

And how we just hate being alone
Could I have missed my only chance
And now I'm just wasting my time
Looking around

But you know I know better, I'm not gonna worry 'bout nothing
'Cause if the birds and the flowers survive then I'll make it OK
And given an chance and a rock see which one breaks a window
And see which one keeps me up all night and into the day

Because I'm so scared of being alone
That I forget what house I live in
And that it's not my job to wait by the phone for her to call

This day's been crazy but everything's happened on schedule
From the rain and the cold to the drink that spilled on my shirt
'Cause You knew how You'd save me before I fell dead in the garden
And You knew this day long before You made me outta dirt

And You know the plans that You have for me
And You can't plan the ends and not plan the means
And so I suppose I just need some peace to get me to sleep



Until Dukey Drops Again.....Much Love....

Hope in the Dark and my thoughts

I've been on this fresh self-reflective perspectives kick as you can tell from a few of my recent posts specifically relating to what we have been blessed and what we don't realize we have and how we should be different. Anyway since I posted some of my previous posts I recieved this book "Hope in the Dark" about Africa and was amazed how refreshing and accurately it has penned some of my thoughts. It says much of what I've been thinking in different words so well. So I picked some clips from the book that may astound and shock you but they are true. As you read them think how life would be different and how it changes the lenses you look through.

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"We know that American pity Africans," he told me. "But sometimes I think Africans pity American."
"How so?" I asked him.
"American seem to expect that everything will be provided for them. For us," he said, "this ear of corn is a gift from God. This evening's rain is a shower of mercy upon us. This healthy breath is life-giving. And, maybe tomorrow we will not have such things, our hearts are so full from God's provision."

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****Decisions I must make on any given day:
-Blue shirt or pink cardigan?
-Tall soy chai latte or Grande caramel macchiato?
-Write reports first or work on budget?
-Text message or call?
-Eat out or frozen dinner?
-Reality television or Headline News?
****Decisions SHE must make on any given day:
-Blue dress or blue dress?
-River water or puddle water?
-Walk once for four hours to get water or walk twice for eight hours to get more water?
-Sleep with the fisherman who will give food in return or let orphaned grandchildren go to bed hungry?
-Persist through the struggle or give up?
-Curse God or praise Him?

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"When she gave birth to an HIV-positive child, she named the baby "No Hope", for there was none. The mother's life was an isolated of stigma, abondonment, and fear. But her community began to shower love instead of judgement, support instead of neglect...and everything changed. Glimpses of grace enterd into the darkness of the pain, and hope made itself present. She has changed the name of her child to "Jesus is my hope."

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There's something incredible about African skies. It's as if God said, " I have so much beauty to give My world. And I'm going to shower it on this place because I can."

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"If you want to know the pulse and strength of Africa, spend a day with the women of a village. In the midst of deep suffering, domestic abuse, societal and poverty constraints, the women are the stability of Africa. The will carry the buckets upon thier heads, touch the wounds of the sick, accept the burdens of helping the village survive-and all the while, the will be singing praises to God."

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In this world, God has given us the gift of choice. Injustice threatens to take it away. They can drink the filthy, bacteria-ridden pond water or drink nothing. Clearly, that is no choice at all.

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There is a quote(below) in this book Hope in the Dark that I believe that anyone who goes to Africa can identify with and find totally true. Its something that you can only experience and when you see it you know it and its both amazes and inspires. -Luke


People ask me, "Doesn't it paralyze you to walk so closely and intimately with suffering?"
"No", I tell them.
"If I learned anything form my time in Africa, its that though the suffering is overwhelming, so to is the hope."

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Well let all that soak in a bit and see what you realize. See what you learn. I hope that this at the very least prompts you to look at your own life and see if you can say the same as some of these amazing people do who don't know where todays meal for themselves and their family will come from, battle with AIDS or don't even have remotely clean water. To be happy, content and free is a choice. Its a perspective of hope, love and grace that you chose to rest in.
Until Dukey Drops Again......Much Love............

10 things God may ask

This was a email I wanted to post that I got from a friend.
Just some thoughts to ponder...

1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove: He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.
2. God won't ask the square footage of your house: He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
3. God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet: He'll ask how many you helped clothe.
4. God won't ask what your highest salary was: He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
5. God won't ask what your job title was: He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
6. God won't ask how many friends you had: He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
7. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived: He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.
8. God won't ask about the color of your skin: He'll ask about the content of your character.
9. God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation: He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.
10. God won't have to ask how many people you share this with: He already knows whether or not you are ashamed to share the good news of his love and salvation.

Until Dukey Drops Again.....Much Love.........

By choice or necessity

I was thinking in the last few days about how we as wealthy Americans have so many options and opportunites all around us. I mean if we get a little hungry and there is nothing in the fridge or cabinets that we would care to eat we can jump in our cars and drive up to the window at the local Burger King, Spangles, Taco Bell, Wendys or whatever we choose, depending on how late it is, and they give us food that was picked out on our own. We get to choose what food we would like to consume and however we would like it! We don't even have to get out of our cars.
I'm curious in such a make-it-your-way have-it-how-you-want ready-to-eat-in-10-seconds-society with opprotunity and convieneince everywhere how would our lives be different personally if we were born into poverty. Not American poverty where we claim to have it rough but 3rd world poverty where you dig in trash in hopes to find a chicken bone to suck on or boil with some water or where you are extremely excited and consider yourself blessed because you have one meal a day that is a bowl of rice and whatever else you may find.
I try to put myself in an element that I've seen but not experienced and I find myself asking would we be so picky if we were born into a different life? Would we even know what it is to be picky? Would we be so selfish? Would we be so ungrateful and unappreciative? Would our expectation of deserving or having rights to certian things instead of giving still exist? Would it take such a drastic change for us to realize the blessings we have and maybe cause us to be a little more selfless?

Luke 16:13"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

This is not to make us look at ourselves and be disgusted at all that "we" are but to recognize the blessings we have and still be different while sharing those blessings. Don't be consumed by this world....Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Until Dukey Drops Again.....Much Love..........

My Sisters Wedding

The week prior to July 8th 2006 I thought to myself this can't be real. My little sis is getting married!?! She's my little sis, she can't. As I began to work on the slideshow for their wedding it gave me a little chance to stare at the fact that yeah my sister is getting married. I'll be honest there were tears of joy and excitement for my little sis that she was...GETTING MARRIED!
It was a beautiful wedding and an awesome celebration of D.J. and Amanda(Ross) Castilleja (Cost-ee-yay-ha)!! For those that don't know D.J. he's a good guy and a great other half of the new Castilleja couple.
So I guess there is a time for each one of us when we enter a new season. A new season which brings new challenges and new surprises and blessings in which we become that much closer to who God has created us to be! I love these two and wish the greatest blessing upon them both for their lives and those that they touch!
Well thats it for now....Until Dukey Drops Again.........Much Love..............

Artist of the Sky...

I am continually amazed at the beautiful displays of artwork that we so often get to experience as the sun sets or the sun rises. How can you not see these things and not be in awe of our Creator!? Does he have time to paint the sky? I don't know probably. Does he paint it for us? Maybe, if not I'm sure enjoying the heck out of it anyway. Does he paint it as a reminder of who our creator is and his greatness? I think most likely.
Could you imagine if every morning at 6:43am a flash of light would appear and the sun would be up. Then as the day concludes and the sun nears the horizon like a light switch turning the light off the sun is gone. Not real exciting and not really that impressive.
I am however impressed and wonder likely till the day I die how it is that on a 99% clear evening that there may only be a few clouds in the sky and they are so convieniently placed right where the sun is going down causing beautiful colors to emit through the clouds as the sun sets. How? Why? The sky is clear except for the four clouds in the west changing from yellow, to gold, to orange, to pink, to red, to maroon and on in to darkness. Incredible.

Its absolutely inexplicible how light, the sun, refraction, speed, time, rotation of the earth, 24hours, lightyears, atmosphere, and clouds all work together to create such masterpieces. Coincidence of the daily occasion? NOT HARDLY. More like Perfection.

Yet we sit here on this ball of dirt and if we so choose to pause we can enjoy and experience new and unique works of art almost daily. How fortunate are we!? Its right before us screaming in color and vibrance asking us who is your creator? So then what is our response?

Until Dukey Drops again..............Much Love....................

Sleepless in Hays

You ever have a night where you just can't go to sleep? Its not so much that you're not tired becasue I am but that you've had some great conversation and you're pondering your dilemas, the worlds dilemas and everthing in between. You could have went on and on until the sun came up but you HAD to quit because the sun will come up and you will have to go to work. Its great but knowing that I have to work in the morning really isn't so great. And when you make yourself conclude you wish you could write everything thats in your head on to paper and pick up where you left off....almost impossible. Its just one of those moments that you just want to sit and marinate in...or at least I do.
I guess with that I'm going to marinate.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke

Until Dukey Drops again.......Much Love..................

Comfort of the legalist

I know its late...but I got some stuff so its just gonna be late.

le·gal·ism Pronunciation: 'lE-g&-"li-z&mFunction: noun1 : strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code
What is right? What is moral? Is the church right? I ask this not in the reference to "ethical relativism" with the idea that there is no truth, and what I do and believe is my truth and your truth is yours but more so just to ponder the thought and evaluate the values of which we stand by as Christians or as churches.
We as Christians are quick to lend grace and love to someone who we may not see on Sunday at church or at any given ministry but one of our Christain brothers or sisters make a mistake and by all means Gods grace is the only grace they can find becasue it sure isn't coming from the person that sits in the row in front of you at church. In fact its likely that they will talk about you and how what you did was so wrong or that maybe it was something else. I'm not gonna pull up any definition but I'm pretty sure thats gossip. Still as much of a sin as bring drunk, murder, adultery and everything else thats gonna be named in church as the bad sins. Oh we won't say it in so many words but our actions and the way we talk we give gossip, among other things, the free pass in church.
Someone who is going to be this way is most likely not going to go out of his or her way to be apart of someone elses life but instead will sit at church in spiritual arrogance and condem and gossip. How is that right? Let me answer that question...ITS NOT.
And so we preach we need to reach the world. We want people to be saved. We want more people to come to church. We will invite people we work with to church and we will tell them about the great sermon we heard. We, in our hearts, want people to know Jesus but how is it that they will know if they never see. Yeah we all have co-workers that we share our "neutral" workspace with but when we leave work we never see them outside the workplace. Our occupation is rarely a real picture of your life. And we say, "but I invite them to church all the time and they never come?!" It may be true and they may never come to church with you but thats all they see. So the perception they may have is gossip, church on sunday and revivals that shapes who Jesus or being a follower of Christ is to them. Then we ask them to come be uncomfortable in our environment. Given that picture I would likely not want to step into an uncomfortable environment either. Maybe they have church experience and all they see is they get the obligitory "welcome" hand shake, some gawks, a "gold star" for attendance and a nice talk when they show up. I'm thinkin' naw I'll stay at home. Its comfortable in the chair or the pew at church for the Christian but not for everyone else and again we want them to join us. No wonder they think we are too good because we are never willing to be uncomfortable and join them in their environment. To live life beyond our daily comfort zone just may communicate that you really care about who they are as a person and not more so as another person sitting in the pew or chair on sunday...because Lord knows we don't need more people just sitting on sunday. Yeah its comfortable but whos life do you impact? They may gossip that you walked into a bar but I'm pretty sure that life will go on. Jesus was judged and ridiculed for some of the company he kept and the places he went so why shouldn't we. Now this isn't to suggest that six days a week we should go find the local bar, strip joint, club or any other place for that matter and just be there but if you're invited by some friends to meet up at a bar to watch the All-Star game, have a meal or just chat don't find some lame excuse about your bible needs polished and you can't make it. Maybe it should be dusted off and see where Jesus walked. Be uncomfortable. Be available. Share in life with others. Sharing isn't with the expectation of getting anything in return. I believe that lasting impacting life altering change happens not just when something is heard but seen.
Well theres a truck load....Enjoy. Thanks for the chat pops. Look what you started. HA!! Until Dukey Drops again...........Much Love...................

When to Say When?

Just a thought or two I have pondered in this season of change for me.
As one looks to move on to whats next at what point is it time to lay that dream aside and move on to whats next or is there a point where you become defiant of what you should be doing next and instead postponing God's plan for you?
I mean Louis La'Mour, the famous western novelist, submitted his novels 350 times and was denied the opprotunity to have his stories published. Should he have given up? Would I have given up? But he tried once more and 351 was the magic number. Now his novels are known worldwide.
So I ask again is there a point where clarity or lack thereof lends itself to persist after a dream or perhaps just to be still?
Please feel free to share your thoughts......Until Dukey Drops Again.......Much Love...............

Kansas City Royals...Royally Pathetic...Jayhawks winning

...Right now the Kansas City Royals are on pace to have the worst team they have ever had. Radio stations in the KC area are boasting "We have more hits than the Royals" and then retracting that statement continuing saying, "...wait thats not many".That in itself needs a little background. Lets just say the Royals could break two records this year. One for most losses ever in a single season in Major League Baseball and if they do that they will secure the second record of having the worst terrible losing streak in baseball history by losing over 100 games in four consecutive seasons. Right now it is not even a debate who is the worst team in baseball, there's the Royals boasting a .229 winning percentage and then everyone else. The Roylas already have had 13-game and 11-game losing streaks at this pint in the season. 48 games into the season they are already 23 games behind thier division leader Detroit who is playing some great baseball and is leading the league in winning percentage at .700.My question is can the Royals finish over 50 games behind? Can it be done, right now I think it might be very possible. To win 50 games would be a good season at this point. Word is that some needed changes are taking place at the top with a potential new GM to be hired but the Royals are a long way from thier winning ways of the past(80's-early 90's). Check these links out... http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=92711
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/14684842.htm


The lone bright spot right now in Kansas baseball is exactally that....Kansas Baseball. The Kansas Jayhawks are headed to the National Tourney by winning the Big XII baseball tourney title beating 3 of the top 16 teams in the nation to become the Big XII Champs. Go Hawks!

Graduation is around the corner...May 13th at 10am

Invisible Children and the Global Night Commute(april 29th) went great! We had around 200 show up for the screenings and we had 80 people walk to Felten Middle School(pic above) and sleep on the field between the rainsoaked grass and 40 degree temperatures. It was a bit(very) chilly but none the less a great time and a good experience. Everyone had an opportunity to write letters to our president, congressmen and senators. Not bad for having about 25days to throw things together. We had a lot of awesome help...believe me...it had to be there or I either wouldn't have been graduating or it wouldn't have happened. I was very pleased with the response!
Just a sidenote but the filmmakers were on Oprah the wednesday before the Global Night Commute talking about the Invisible Children movement! That was cool to see!

The big news now is that graduation is this saturday! Its TRUE...I will be GRADUATING with a degree in Organizational Leadership...Finally! Its gonna be great to be moving on to the next step in my life. Phil3:12-14 has been a verse that has really been catching my attention...Check it out if you have a chance. I personally have focused on the first two verses not that the third one is a sad excuse for a verse but thats just where my focus has been.
Well thats it for now....Until Dukey Drops again....Much Love....

Invisible Children Movement & Global Night Commute

Invisible Children is something right now that has inspired me to great lengths and I and many others are doing what we can to see that Hays and Western Kansas knows about it and has a chance to be apart of something that could stop and war and change the history of N. Uganda. We've only had 4 weeks at best but we are doing what we can to make some noise from lesser populated side of Kansas. Its been exciting thus far and we'll see what the resluts are. I hope people are aware of the rare opportunity that stands before them and take full advantage by joining in the movement.

April 27th we will have a screening of the full length DVD at 7pm in the Fort Hays Ballroom
April 28th we may have another screening TBA
April 29th the Global Night Commute takes place all over the world but here in Hays it takes place at Felten Middle School at the track

Americans are closing their eyes to open the worlds’ to an unseen war.
By lying down, we are joining the invisible children in northern Uganda, and demanding that our government put an end to the longest running war in africa, and one of the worst crises in the world today.

FACTS:
--Northern Uganda called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today because of the lack of attention
--1.7 million people forcibly displaced
--AN estimated 20- 50,000 children abducted to fight as soldiers
--tens of thousands of children commuting nightly
--130 people die per day in Northern Uganda due to violence

Take a look at these links.

www.invisiblechildren.com

The response from Washington D.C.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBZunv9kgd0

Local info for the Hays Area
www.invisiblechildrenhays.com

I have got to get off here if I want to graduate...
Until Dukey drops again......Much Love.....

Africa...Invisible Children

This quote is from the story of the Invisible Children...

"Once one has been to these challenging terrible places they're always strangely drawn back...because there's nothing that can compare to seeing the raw reality of the basic human need for survival. It disgusts and inspires." -Dan Eldon

Any thoughts? Curious?
Check out the link to the right...
Until Dukey Drops again...Much Love...

The Madness of March

As the snow begins to melt from a snow storm that came through a few days ago after many 60-70 degree "winter" days we find ourselves officially in spring. Every year around this time there are favorites and there are cinderellas among college basketballs best teams. Everyone attempts to guess who will be the Final Four and who will be the cinderella team. There are upsets that destroy your bracket and there are teams that defy their seed. My Final Four included Kansas, Texas, Uconn and Florida. Kansas sadly was that team for me that I was counting on. They ran into the MVC buzzsaw Bradley Braves. Bradley almost didn't make the tourney and they made the most of their opportunity knocking of #4 seeded KU and #5 seeded Pitt.
The biggest news now in the state is that of the Wichita State Shockers who play another seed-defying team the Colonials of Goerge Mason tonight. Both teams have an opportunity to do what many teams would almost die for, a chance to make the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. After both teams have been knocking off higher seeded teams they have a rematch of a game earlier in the season where George Mason won by three 70-67 and they are favored to win again. It should be fun to watch.
Ok so after I posted this Wichita St. went on to lose to George Mason in what was not the best game for the Shockers who looked slow and just not on their "A" game. They were still fun to root for.
Other big news in this area is the Kansas State signing of Men's head basketball coach Bob Huggins former coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Kansas State I believe took a huge step toward seeing success with their Men's basketball....unfortunately.
Fort Hays State Men's basketball won their first game of the North Central regional but dropped their second to eventual DII National Champ Winona St. They ended a great season 27-4.
Coming into this the tourney everyone had expectations of a certian team or maybe of a conference. Oddly enough this made me think of the expectations we have of one another whether in a friendship or dating relationship. I'm not going to speak toward marriage because as most of you know I have no experience in that area but this is
very relevant to it.
So often we have unrealistic and very idealistic expectations of one another and this often causes problems. Granted they are good to have and help us push each other to greater things but in the event that someone doesn't meet those expectations I believe we should be honest with ourselves and see if we were perhaps a bit unrealistic. Whether we were a bit over zealous in our ideals or we weren't we should be able to let it go and not hold a grudge toward that person because they didn't meet our lofty bar.
I believe it is really important that those expectations are discussed early on in a dating relationship so that as it progresses you are aware and be open to any modifications too. The vital part in discussing these is that you yourself are able to listen to the other person and find if they feel that you do have unrealistic expectations. You also need to be honest with yourself if you are in a cosmic world of your own in the making of the mold that your friend or date needs to fit into. If your horizontal relationships around you are really out of whack and messed up it is very likely that your vertical relationship is imapcted too.
Anyway just some thoughts I had...Until Dukey drops again....Much love....

Skiing...highs and lows

Last week I drove to Rock Springs, WY to meet up with my parents to go to Park City, UT and go skiing with my old man, pops and daddio. We went to The Canyons in Park City and had a great time. The sun was shining and it was quite warm as you can tell from the picture. I chose not to wear a hat, hair, and forgot sunscreen. The results speak for themselves. Today I started peeling. Its all good though. We had a great time on the mountian. The snow and the weather were both excellent!
It was fun to laugh at my dad and he had a few chances to laugh at me. We made some jokes on the camcorder..."dad are those your panties in the tree!!?!!" LOL! We trekked across unknown territory and just brought about more laughs. We just plain and simple had a good time.
One of the times when dad did nothing but laugh was when we were headed across an open area of unskiied territory. I got up to the run we were trying to find...dad showed up later because he lost his pole in the snow...and I stood at the incline on the edge of the run checking things out and I began to slide backwards. The back of my skis dug in and I fell over backwards burring my left shoulder and my backpack two feet into the snow. It was just the sight dad needed as he skiied over to me. He demanded the camera while he laughed. He paid me $20 and he got the camera. So thats what I'm doing on my back. Just kidding about the $20. We went in to Salt Lake City one night and ate at a Brazilian place where they come around and cut off hunks of freshly roasted chicken, turkey, elk, pork tenderloin, etc. off of big skewers. It reminded me very much of Carnivore in Nairobi. Then the second night we messed around in Park City and headed home. It was also good to hear of the cool things that God is doing in the lives of those apart of their ministry in Rock Springs. Is. 40:28-31
It was awesome to enjoy the beauty of the moutians and hang with a pretty cool guy too. He's not quite the risk taker he used to be 10 or 20 years ago but I won't be the one to spoil the fact that he's not 18 anymore. It more fun to think that you are and will be for a long time...so next time take that 20 foot jump in the terrain park instead of looking at it. You may never live to get another chance to take it. Of course you may not live to tell about it either but the people watching will pass on the legend of the "Flyin' White Weasel".
While I was on the road the Fort Hays Tigers dropped one out of two games in the conference tourney and fell from #1 in the region to #2 and lost the chance to host the regional. It is sad because I was making plans for my smooth canvas of a head to show some school spirit. So many students are too concerned with looking cool and are too scared to show a little passion and excitement and have some fun...I'm not gonna get started. Anyway we dropped to #5 (26-3)in the Nation(Div. II) but that doesn't matter now. The fellas have got to go out and win. The girls didn't do so well and ended a great season at 21-7.
Well thats it for today as another beautiful early March day ends...Until Dukey drops again....Much love....

Sold Out!

FHSU Tiger Basketball had a big weekend in some ways and others not so much. The Tiger Men's team has been ranked #1 in Div II for a few weeks now and came in to Sundays game against Nebraksa-Kearney 25-1 and 18-0 in the RMAC. Sundays game was the first in school history to sell out in advance. The official attendance was 7,187. The place was packed and loud!!! It was awesome to see over 6,000 already there for the start of the womens game. The Lady Tigers(21-6) deserve a big loud crowd. They played well and beat the Loper ladies 60-52. The guys had established a 31 game home winning streak and had won 18 straight games. The men just had a tough time getting shots to fall. Free throw and 3 point shots were not dropping as the Tigers shot 55%(12/22) from the freethrow line and 17%(4/23) from 3-point range. Still they battled but in the end we all went home disappointed with a 70-66 loss to our bitterly disliked rival Nebraska-Kearney. The conference tourney starts on wednesday and continues on the weekend as the guys are the #1 seed and the women are the #3 seed. The women have got to possibly win the conference tourney or make it to the championship game to have a shot at making the national tourney as their region is very strong. The guys will have a NCAA DivII tourney bid locked up and should host the regional being #1 ranked in our region. Should be a lot of fun. Hopefully they will rebound from this loss and realize they have got to play better because now it becomes one and done for the season. I'll continue to enjoy rooting for the Tigers as long as the ride lasts.
Speaking of fun, this wednesday I am leaving for Park City, UT as my dad and I are going to go skiing Thursday and Friday at The Canyons www.thecanyons.com one of the top 15 best places to ski in North America. I am really excited! It will surely be a lot of fun. Its been a long while since pops and I have just kicked it so that will be really cool. I'm sure I'll have some good pics from the trip.
Thanks for your prayers for my mom as she had surgery about 4 or 5 weeks ago. Its been a kind of slow process as healing from surgery is but she is doing better and getting healed up. She had a bit of cabin fever but is back on her feet and getting in to a routine again. So thank you to you all...all 3 of you who read this. HA!
Monday nights I have a bible study and we are reading a book by John Piper called "When I Don't Desire God:How to fight for Joy" and I think its going well. If you haven't read Piper before he can be quite philisophical and I can't say it has been real smooth all the time for us all but tonight was really good. We talked about how joy is a gift and it is ultimately a gift that stems from God's grace and love for us. God's grace just is humanly very difficult to comprehend. (Eph.2:4-5,8-9) Why does He still love and pursue us when we repeatedly do stuff wrong and hurt our relationship? (Rom.7:13-23) I have no clue why in human reason to be justify or make sense of it. Thats love. We also talked about how we rank sins. In our eyes murder, adultery, rape, and homosexuality are among the "worst" but in God's eyes even though the bible says those things are wrong our "small" sins of gossip, lies or lusting are equal because they are sin. So if God loves us the same no matter our sin why the heck can't we love others whether they are homosexual or not. We should exhibit the same grace and love God gives us to others. Good stuff. Gotta be Sold out!
For those who may be wondering I will not be going overseas this summer. I know its became a trend for the last 3years but I am stateside this summer. I've got my sisters wedding on July 8th to celebrate and I know that God has got other plans for me this summer only not in Kenya. It is possible I could return there because I would most definitely like too for a longer period of time but thats down the road a bit. I am trying to search and see what this summer and next fall will bring aside from the knowns that I'm graduating on May 13th and my sister is getting married on July 8th.
Well I think thats it for now.....Until Dukey drops again....Much Love..........

Papa Johns, Papa Ross, and Mr. Philip

Here are some pics from the Papa John's Pizza Showdown on Thursday Feb 2nd at the halftime of the #2 ranked Fort Hays State Men's Basketball game vs Metro St. The first(at the top) pic you see all the contestants in 4 teams of 2 with their partner standing behind them. The guys on the far left of the group pic and in the background of the 2nd pic were the winning team...They called themselves "Team Mexico" and are on our cross country team here at FHSU. They ate 9 pieces of pizza in 3minutes, crust and all. I've heard a lot of people say they could do better but we'll see next time if their talk is walk. The one girls team pictured in three of the pics finished 2nd with 7 of 8 pieces in the given time. Sedera(left) and Heather(right) represented well. I knew them from Christian Challenge and knew they were savages and could hold their own. I wasn't disappointed. They got game.
The picture below is of my dad at Christmas time that I promised to post on here. I'm sure he'll appreciate it. He got in the fridge to get some OJ and got excited and wet himself. He really likes OJ. LOL! Just kidding...the lid wasn't on very well and he dumped it all over himself. I chased him around to try and get a picture and he wouldn't let me. Finally he gave up and took this beauty! Thanks Pops!
And Finally to Mr. Philip(not pictued...maybe later) and his wife Sandy, whom we worked with the last two summers in Nairobi, Kenya, were at Challenge last night and they shared with us. It was GREAT to see them. They have been such a blessing to know and work with. They are currently stateside on furlow for the next 6 or 7 months. Maybe I'll have to make a road trip to go see them? It was awesome to get to see them once again! I guess thats it for now. So until Dukey Drops Again......Much Love...........

Woooohoooo!!!(except homework)

The Fort Hays State mens and womens basketball teams are doing heating up! Currently the men's team(18-1) is ranked #2 in Div. II and is playing great basketball. Its the highest the Tiger men have been ranked since the 96-97 season when they went 34-0 and finished as national champs ranked #1. The women are 16-3 and playing well also. Both have big games this Thursday as we host Metro St. from Denver who are in the top three in the conference for both the men and the women. Thursday will be fun for me too as I have been doing some marketing for Papa John's working with FHSU and we will be sponoring the game on Feb. 2nd. At halftime there will be a pizza eating competition where in teams of two, four teams will compete to see who can eat the most pizza in 4 minutes. It will be like a tag-team deal where only one person can be at the table at a time. It should be fun and create a little halftime excitement for both Papa John's and the Tigers. The winning team gets a $100 gift certificate from Papa John's.
As far as the Jayhawks go they are playing well...of course last time I posted about thier success they went and dropped two in a row to lowly KSU and Mizzou. Sad. So (knock on wood) I hope it doesn't happen again. They are in the thick of the BigXII race.
As for me I am busy with reading way too much stuff for class. Its been nuts. I average about 100 pages for one class, 2 chapters for another, chapter for bible study and I'm on hold for any reacreational reading. I can understand it for my leadership class that is my "capstone" class for my degree but I have a gen-ed, basic 100 level class that is killing me like its a capstone class too. I don't get some professors I guess. Oh well life goes on.
For those of you that were aware of my moms health thanks for your prayers. She seems to be doing well and healing from surgery. I guess she has to be home for the next two weeks but I'm thinkin' what crazy stuff she's been dealing with she needs as long as she needs. It was cool as my mom was in the hospital I had emailed Peter, friend of mine from Kenya, to ask for prayer and his father had just went into the hospital and we got to specifically pray for similar situations dealing with our family and their health. The situation itself wasn't cool but to meet eachother through prayer a world away was great. He sent me Phil 4:4-8 as encouragement and I really stopped and looked at it in many more ways than usual. We have no reason not to rejoice. No reason.
Well homework awaits me so I'd better run...Much Love to you all...Until Dukey Drops again......

Happy New Year!

Sorry its been so long since I've posted. Its been a busy but good break. Classes are started up again and its gonna be a real busy semester. I guess I'm gonna have to be extra disciplined with my time. That likely means few postings on here. We'll see.
Anyways Christmas was really good as I got to see my bro Tyler, visit my parents out in Wyoming and hang with my sister and her fiance. Yes she got engaged on Christmas eve. Don't ask for details about a wedding because at this time there really aren't any. So it was a great time with the family. My dad kills me. I had some good laughs at his expense like he spilled a half a jug of O.J. on his lap and it looked like he had an accident(pic to be posted later) and one of the times we played racquetball I hit him in the head twice!! It was so painfully funny! It was a coincidence that I had been hit twice the day before...it wasn't revenge. I had tears flowing and was in pain because I was laughing so hard after we got done playing.
I came back to Hays and my grandpa had put two new tires on my car. Merry Christmas. He also put these awesome hubcaps(see pic) that I'm sure he stole off of some HUGE '72 Olds cruiser and thought they would look nice on my car. To put it mildly they have gotten some attention. I mean they had a photo shoot with Porfirio as you can see so they're famous. He clown too much. Grandpa has out done himself again. Its funny stuff.
New Years was good. The cops showed up at Micah's house because the guys across the street were shooting off fireworks and Micah got his out as the cops showed up. So naturally Micah standing in the street with a roman candle in his hand held high above his head caught their attention. All of his fireworks were confiscated. Thankfully the cops showed up before I could get mine out of my car or I would have been in the same boat and I would have been mad because as some of you know I am a 4th of July savage.
Jan 2-6th we went to LifeImpact in OKC, OK. It was really good. Its awesome rub shoulders and talk with some awesome and incredible people who are seeking God in all they do. We took 45 from FHSU and had a great time.
We had a Christian Challenge leadership retreat this last weekend in Salina at WCC. A lot of stuff in less than 48 hours but we had a blast and I was able to connect with some people I maybe didn't know so well. This semester I am only going to be leading a small group. We're gonna go through the book "When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy" by John Piper. I am excited about it and it should be good and a great chance to grow a little closer to a few guys.
This weekend I will be going to Kansas City to help move the new pastor of our church to Hays. Micah, P, myself and two other guys from our church are gonna be the moving crew and tackle it all on Friday. I know theres gonna be a great way to help out and I'm sure it will be fun too.
FHSU basketball update: Men are 15-1 and ranked #8 in the latest Div.II polls. The women are 13-2 and playing better and better each week. It shouldn't be too long before they get some attention.
KU basketball update: Its sad times right now as a Jayhawk fan as KU has dropped two straight and to the two worst teams they could, Mizzou in overtime and K-State by 4(You happy Heather?). Things are really looking doubtful for an NCAA Tourney bid setting with a record of 10-6.
And yes its true I am planning on graduating this spring with a degree in Organizational Leadership. This is my last semester taking undergraduate courses here at FHSU. So there will be a huge celebration of grand proportions to mark my perserverence. Ok so maybe not but I will be done this spring.
Happy New Year to you all!
Until Dukey drops again.......Much Love...