Chris's blog debut. . .

It is often difficult for a logical mind to believe in a God that they cannot see or touch.  However, just because we cannot see or touch God, does not mean that He cannot reach down and touch us.

Run the race. 

Starting on Wednesday morning, 63 students from grades 7-10 loaded up on to two charter buses and magically navigated through the traffic of Jakarta to the tea covered mountains in Puncak.   It was a breath of fresh air, quite literally, to move away from the grey city scene in Jakarta to the green mountains of Puncak where the sound of birds and rustling leaves took the place of motor bikes and honking horns.

As peaceful as it sounds, 7-10^th grade girls can quickly make up for the lack of noise.  It was a tiring three days, but some of the best days I have had since being here in Jakarta (minus the fact that my lovely wife was at home and not sharing the experience with me). 

The first day I spent the entire day at the High Ropes course encouraging students to take steps of faith by walking across ropes suspended 30 feet in the air.  It was a blessing to see some of the students conquer their fears and do things that they never thought they could do.  When the group completed the course, we took some time to discuss how the activity applied to faith and spent time in reflection and prayer. 

This is Liam.

The second day there was more free time for the students and I spent most of it doing belly flops and throwing kids into the pool.  Eric and I also spent time giving the students a lesson in hard knocks as we took on numerous challengers playing chicken (for those of you who have never been to camp, the game of chicken is when you place someone on your shoulders and go around trying to “dismount” other teams into the pool).                                                                                                                                  

We also showed the students what the teachers could do in a friendly game of Teacher vs. Entire Student Body dodge ball.  The students loved watching Eric and I throw the dodge balls as hard as we could (impressive for students who don’t know what really good arms look like, but they did not like it very much when it would elevate from leg level on its way to connecting with some unsuspecting girl’s face trying to hide in the back (I may or may not have done this). 

 After all of the events, in honor of the Perry Dale youthgroup, Eric and I had fun teaching our cabin of 10 students how to play the game of Cutthroat Mafia.  Lights out was at 10:15.  So, that is exactly what we did.  Turned the lights out, and then played an hour or so of Cutthroat Mafia. 

Liam

As Katie mentioned, prior to retreat, the Lord has opened up some amazing doors for me to be able to share the gospel with some students who were asking some very deep and meaningful questions.  Liam is a student who is in my Grade 9 Global Perspectives class and always asks these types of deep questions when given the opportunity.  We have had some great talks and some of these talks have continued after school hours.

 On the first night of the retreat, I noticed that Liam was sitting by himself while all of the other students were goofing around the bonfire.  I asked him what he was thinking about and he opened up.  I spent the next hour answering questions and listening to his hurts, and most importantly, to his heart.  He told me that he was having trouble making friends and that he did not have a “best friend.”  I asked him if he thought it was too “Sunday school” to ask him what he thought about Jesus Christ being a friend?  He told me that he understands what the bible says about Jesus, but that the void could not be filled by one sided conversations (paraphrased).  Liam is a very logical student, and faith and the supernatural is something that is very difficult to discuss because of the lack of empirical evidence (in his mind at least).  I asked him if he often laid awake at night and thought critically about life, more specifically, his life and its purpose in the world.  I told him I understood because I am exactly the same.  I lay awake at night and kick myself for things that Jesus has already forgiven me for.  I analyse, and critique, and dissect the smallest of seemingly insignificant details (just ask Katie).  I told him that I am not telling him about Jesus because it somehow improves my future heavenly status, but because I do not like the thought of him lying in bed at night, pouring over some deep questions, without the peace of Christ to fill the void.  I told him that I was simply speaking to him, not as a teacher, or some sort of missionary, but as a friend.  We continued to talk and eventually called it a night and headed back to our cabin.

I am not telling this story because of anything that I did, but because I know a lot of you were praying, and it is amazing how God answered those prayers.  The next night, after a very powerful message by Pastor Jeff, we were transitioning to a time of prayer and meditation around a bonfire (usually turns into more of a hang out time than anything else) when it started to downpour (Indonesian style).  So, instead of moving along with what we had planned, we moved down a path that undoubtedly, God had planned.  Pastor Jeff gave the students opportunity to sit and pray, or to get up out of their seats and make things right with anyone they felt they may have wronged by asking for forgiveness.  It was an amazing time to watch the students slowly get up, and move around the room.   As time went on, the students began to hug each other in the midst of tears, and I could see God breaking down walls and touching/repairing the hearts of many of the students.  As I watched, my eyes welled up because of something Katie always reminds me of.  “His grace is renewed with the rain.”  Here we were, forced inside by a downpour and God’s grace was washing away hurt and refreshing the hearts of the students with His forgiveness and overwhelming love.  Watching the hug fest go on, I noticed that Liam remained in his seat with his head down, politely refusing the kind gestures of other students who wanted to reach out, but did not know how.  I asked him how he was doing and he told me that he just wanted some time to think.  So I told him I would not bother him but was going to sit next to him so that he would know that he was not alone.  Eventually, several of my students came up and gave him a big hug which appeared to soften his heart and touch a spot that only God knew about.  I watched with a silly smile on my face as Liam got up and was met by numerous students who gave him a hug and expressed friendship in a way that he so desperately needed.  I had a hard time not crying because I knew that it was God’s arms wrapping around him each and every time a student came up and gave him a hug.

          That night, I found Liam in his room and we had another long conversation.  He told me that for the first time, he understood what I was trying to explain to him last night.  He said that he felt something that filled that space, and he did not know whether to cry or to smile.  He knew that it was from God, and it was like nothing he had ever felt, but was definitely something that he wanted to feel again.  At this point I told him that I would never push him into making a decision, but that it was as simple as that.  A decision.  He did not need a pastor, or need to be in a church, or to say some magic words, or to have a certain amount of H2O put on his body, all he needed was to lay in bed and know that God loved him enough to send His Son to die on the cross for His sins.  That He was a sinner, and that the one way to the Father was through the realization of what Jesus Christ did for him.  I do not know what his decision was.  It was not something I needed to be there for.  It is not, nor ever was about me.  But I was undeniably touched seeing God’s love manifested in the life of a young atheist, because of an unplanned downpour, in the middle of some mountains in Indonesia.  Please continue to pray for Liam as I know that there will be many more conversations to come.  I just pray that these conversations can take place as not teacher and student, but as brothers in Christ.