Thursday, August 28, 2008

Prayer Request!

Hey all!

So, the Adventures In Christianity site I mentioned in a previous post has been hacked (again). The site has been under attack for awhile now, and this is the latest hack of several. Please be praying for the site and it's managers! Pray that they can work through this problem quickly and efficiently (and patiently). AIC really is a great contribution to Christ's body, and it's definitely a bummer to have it down. Also be praying for whoever these hackers are; everybody can have a change of heart.
Thank you!

Go with God,

Brooklin

Saturday, August 23, 2008

A Few Weeks of Travel

Hey all!

Wow, so the last three or so weeks have been amazing. As I told you in the last blog, I took a trip to Mongolia to teach English there for a couple of weeks. We've totally posted all about it (with pictures and all) at www.mongolia7.blogspot.com , if you want to read about what we did and the students we interacted with. It really was an amazing experience.. even though it's not exactly what most people think of when they hear "mission trip". We didn't see all that much poverty, even though Mongolia is a poor country in general. But the people there need Christ just as much as any of us, and I was glad I got the chance to help that effort, by teaching English.

When the team flew back to the States via San Fransisco, I split off from them and flew up to Oregon to meet up with my family in Cannon Beach, where they had already been for a few days. Our family goes to a Christian Conference Center there every year. It's an amazing place. Established near WWII, the Center focuses on family retreats during the summer. Cannon Beach is one of my most favorite places in the whole entire world. I highly recommend checking it out for your own family: www.cbcc.net

Anyway, it was a chill time hanging out in Oregon for a few days; the first couple of days were rainy, which was just fine with me, then it got more sunny, so my bro and I took our skim boards out. Man I'm sore. =P On one of the rainy days, I walked downtown with Morgan (a long-lost friend) and Brady (my brother). Morgan had wanted to show us the historical center that no one knew about. But here comes the part that I really wanted to share in this post. Before the historical center, we stopped in "Mike's Music", a little music shop that looked like it was adjacent to a hosue. The place had a few CD's, more music books, and even more instruments. After a bit, we started talking to the owner (Mike), and realized that he was a believer. He told us that he was in the final stages of recording (and producing) his own CD. He was just sending a few of the pieces up north to a friend in Canada to be mixed. I ask if we could hear a couple of the songs, and he scrounged around until he came up with a CD with most of the unmixed versions. Man, they were good. Mike played all the instruments in them and sang; his son played the drums. He told us he wanted a little something for everyone, and he definitely did. He had a classical-ish piece, one that sounded a bit like the Eagles, one with Spanish guitar and mandolin, and a Beatles-style. Every song had it's own sound and it's own message. Some of the songs he said he'd written more than 25 years ago, and God had told him to put them away for awhile. Until now. This guy was totally on fire for God and serving Him with music. It was a joy to meet him, and I'd appreciate it if you'd pray for him as he's putting the finishing on his album "Lights and Perfections". The title comes from the Old Testament, when God gives David the "light" of the Holy Spirit to put into the high priest's breastplate. It was the only non-manmade item of the entire outfit.

We sat and talked to him for nearly an hour and, honestly, it was the best "sermon" I've heard in a long time. He talked about how God has sent us the Word and the Spirit; the thing is, now days, some churches focus on the Word alone, while others focus on the Spirit. Very few find a balance between the two. He's a great guy, and I really hope to meet up with him again next year.

For now, I'm up in Spokane, WA, taking my older bro to college. He's going to Moody Aviation here in Spokane. It's a satellite of Moody Bible in Chicago. I'll be here for a couple more days, then heading back home to California after 4 weeks of being gone. There's no place like home. =)

Go with God,

Brooklin