Who are the Needy?

Sorry ole' buddy...you don't know the poor as good as you think you do....that's what God has been telling me recently.

I rented an apartment from some friends the first several years that I taught school. Schedules and structure were unimportant in those days, but they were good days...days that were often kick started on toasted pop tarts and sparkling grape juice (I lived 30 ft from a bulk food store that kept sparkling grape juice on hand).

I lesson prepped at odd times of the day, jogged in the mountains and the streets of Shippensburg, sat above the turnpike tunnels (you wouldn't believe how bad the car exhaust smells right above the tunnels), read in coffee shops, and taught school during the day.

God seemed to use my unstructured lifestyle to bring me face to face with the needy. I got into some weird situations to say the least. One night I found an old man up in the mountains that had a stroke. He had been there for about 14 hrs, and wasn't doing so hot. Another night I rushed up on four guys in the middle of a drug deal on a back road. One of them made a half hearted attempt at grabbing me...he missed and there was a general diaspora. There are other stories like the unusual exchange I had with a character at the laundromat, and some intriguing conversations/relationships at the local basketball court. I felt like I was getting to know these people....

When I moved home, I moved back into the protection of a structured lifestyle...partitioned off from the needy. I try to combat this by picking people up by the road from time to time. I know its a bit dangerous in our day, but I don't have a family relying on me so....

I don't know how many people I've picked up in the last two years, but they all have their own story. Sometimes the pack of lies begins right away other times the stories seem sincere. Most recently I picked up a man that had just got out of prison. He was trying to walk 30 miles to his mom's house because she doesn't drive. He was trudgeing along in 15 degree weather with no coat...25 miles to go.

After hearing his reasoning, I realized that I just couldn't identify with his logic. A herd of thundering Bison couldn't induce me to start a 30 mi trek in his condition...the thought wouldn't even enter my mind.

That's when I realized how worldly I still am. I think like the world...I don't know people like Jesus knows them...I don't understand them like Jesus understands them. I confess this worldliness and repent of it. I am slowly coming to recognize that I am the needy. God brings the poor into my life...they are poking me...prodding me...being patient with me...sometimes spanking me...showing me what Jesus looks like....    

The Israelites: Teachers of All

As even Answers in Genesis admits, archaeological evidence of the miraculous destruction of Jericho is incredibly scanty. For years archaeologist have been raking the west bank in search of supporting evidence for the Israelite story.

As of last week the world now stands in shock while the archaeological community discovered they just might be searching in the wrong corridor! As the ice pack melted in North Western Pennsylvania a small group of private christian school students stumbled upon a scene emerging from centuries of glacial cover. The scene has the Board of Biblical Archaeology (BBA) and strict fundamentalist alike, sputtering for answers. Judge the scene for yourself.

  The stillness of the scene is quite haunting....a moment in time frozen on the very faces of those involved.

No one has answers! How did the Lanapi hear of the Israelite success, and what led them to believe they could experience the same success against a "Five Nations" palisade?

O Sinner Man Where You Gonna Run To?

We have been studying Mennonite migrations recently in my 11th and 12th grade World History class. Why have large groups of Mennonites migrated in the past? How did these migrations impact Mennonite culture? What happened to those who didn't move out with everyone else? Will there ever be cause to migrate again? If so, where would we go?

 In this light, I gave my students a little assignment: "Things get bad for us in the United States. As a group of people we decide this is not the best place for us. (One could argue that we should consider such a move right now on the basis that the Anabaptist people have begun to accept perverted American consumerism.) Do some research and recommend a suitable destination to the Mennonite community."

This is what they found. Of course the research is quite limited and not necessarily in depth. Still, using several criteria these were some of the re-occurring suggestions. Some of them even had google images of the land in their presentations.

1. Australia ( Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland,) 
Pros:
High GDP/ low poverty rate Good agriculture
Space
61.1% Christian
Dairy products are the 4th most valuable agricultural export
No military conscription
Already some Mennonites there
High health standards
Religiously tolerant

Cons:
HIGH COST OF LIVING
In debt (190 billion) (Sure does beat the slats out of 15 trillion)
Can be dry

2. Iceland (Hunavatnshrepopur), 
Pros: 
-Mostly Christian
-Strong sense of community: 98% of the population believe that they know somebody who would help them in a time of need
-Very beautiful
-Small population
-Located on a major trade route between North America and Europe
-2nd highest quality of life in the world
-4.8% unemployment
-Public school system demands that Christianity be taught
-Constitutional Republic
-No regular military forces

Cons: 
-Language
-Cold rough country
-Not much farmland/ main industry is fishing
-Friends with United States
-Small island/ limited space

3.French Guiana 
Pros: 
- Are welcoming Mennonites
-GDP per capita highest in South America
-Main religion is Roman Catholic
-Close to Brazil which is also a good option

Cons: 
-Soil is low in nutrients (they are working at changing this)
-Main language is French (Some English is spoken)
-Issues with illegal immigrants and clandestine gold prospectors

4. Brazil 
Pros: 
-Nice cities and lots of country
-Temperate climate/ good for working with the land
-2010 survey showed they had the highest religious and cultural tolerance.
-Places to escape to if need be. (mountains, swamps)
-Technologically advanced

Cons: 
-A country with a fair amount of world recognition
-Fairly populous

Late Season Archery

Over Christmas break I had the time and freedom to be in the woods a lot. With all the snow there is almost no place I would rather be. I wasn't hunting or videoing most of the time...just watching.

The video camera binge will pass soon as do most things with me, but there really are some incredibly sacred sanctuaries in the woods right now. I never video the sacred things...I don't want to ruin them. 

In that light, here's another video to demonstrate how idiotic we really are....

If you're wondering why I'm whispering when it doesn't seem like I would have to...you're definitely not a child of the woods. After several hours of snow muffled silence, even a whisper sounds like howling tires on hot summer blacktop.