When we pulled up to the site of a church member's former home I couldn't help being a bit of a pessimist. As one of my team members put it, the air was so thick it was hard to move, there was enough heat to fry an egg on the sidewalk and the pile of rubble we were there to remove could have kept a backhoe busy for days. Within a few moments after arriving the team of ten along with some Haitians were working hard loading up wheelbarrows full of debris making quite the dent in the massive pile of crumbled concrete and twisted rebar.

Not too long after we started I noticed a woman load up a little two gallon pail full of rocks and walk off with it. I figured she was taking them to fill in a pothole or maybe use them for something in her house but she just kept coming back again and again. Eventually my curiosity took over and I decided to figure out where she was taking it and if there was any way I could help her with what she was doing. With a full wheelbarrow I followed her along out to the main road. I had already taken the path a dozen times before to dump the rubble on the pile next to the street. I figured that shortly she would turn off to her house or wherever she was headed but the closer we got the more I began to wonder. Then it happened. We arrived at the pile next to the street, she unloaded her pail, took a short break and headed back to the site.

My immediate thought was to find a translator to tell her to stop. It was completely irrational to be filling up that little bucket and walking all that way when there were so many of us who were able to do the work so much more efficiently. We had shovels and wheelbarrows and so many people. The work she was doing was, in my mind, a complete waste of time and was not helping anything.

Not three seconds after that a thought popped into my mind that was clearly God rebuking me. "You are wrong. Look at how much you can learn from this woman." Then it all made since. I had let myself become overwhelmed with all the destruction and had almost forgotten about how much the little things count. I had taken the famous saying 'go big or go home' way too far. Not only was it affecting my time in Haiti but it was affecting my life. We can't let ourselves get overwhelmed with the problems of the world. We all have the power to change the world and we can do it one pail at a time.

I don't have much time to write this blog but I just want to update you quickly on what is going on in my life.

Since we have been here in Georgia God has been throwing blessings at Myles and me.  He has provided places for us to stay food to eat and some awesome encounters with him. It seems that everything we ask him for, he gives. If we ask to learn about him, he teaches us. If we ask for a ministry opportunity he provides it. If we ask for a way to get to Kansas City to visit IHOP (International House of Prayer) he makes it possible.

One of my most favorite stories like that happened yesterday. We were on our way home and Myles said to me, "Trevor, what are we going to do this week?" I told him I wasn't sure and that we should pray about it so we did. Right when we got home I went to my computer because I had planned to skype a friend, Seth Barnes Jr., at that time and I looked at my email and saw that I had a message from him asking Myles and I to come to Haiti to lead a project down there for the week. So I called him up and told him we would come. That was yesterday and we're boarding a plane today and won't be back until August 9th!

Please be praying for Myles and me as we take on this adventure. Pray that God continues to bless us throughout this time, that he continues to provide and that we learn how to keep our ears open to him all the time.

I'm at such an exciting point in life right now. I don't think I have ever been more content with where I am at or what is going on in my life. The trip to the Philippines was awesome. The team of girls I was leading was very strong and mature. They constantly desired to listen to the Lord and because of that they were able to see quite an abundance of fruit (to read stories from the girls click here). I just got back to the states a couple of days ago and God is already blowing my mind with the community project we have started (for more details read this blog I posted a few months ago. Some  details have changed but the main idea is still there).

For the past few weeks I have been praying about starting this project up in Atlanta with my awesome friend Myles. We had no idea where we would stay, where money would come from, how we would eat, what kind of ministry we would do, who would disciple/mentor us and we weren't even sure how we would start this thing up. I tried to make a plan about how I would go back, apply for some jobs, find an apartment and make this nice elaborate plan for ministry and write out every detail. What was God's answer? "No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. This season of your life you will be depending on me."

 As most of you know, I am a very independent person but as soon as I gave up this thing up to God, he started providing. One of the people I look up to the most in my life offered to disciple me and coach us through this process of starting a ministry (which is a huge miracle in itself because he is crazy busy with his job at AIM). A week after I told God I would give up having a job for him he gave me around $400 through a few random people. Even on the plane ride home I didn't know where I would be sleeping after debrief but right when I got to the airport Myles told me that someone offered their house to us.  Ministry opportunities have popped up all over the place including ministering to prostitutes and homeless in downtown Atlanta, which has been a dream of mine for years. More people than I can count have offered to help us out with this vision. There have been countless people who have been hearing from the lord on this thing and have been offering up everything they have to make this dream a reality.

It's crazy how awesome God is. He will always provide for us as long as we seek him and give up our plans to him. Verses that support that idea are splattered all over scripture. One of my favorites is found in Matthew where Jesus tells the people, "Think about those lilies out in the field. They don't even toil or spin but I always provide for them. You are my most prized possession and I love you way more than the lilies. Wouldn't it make since that I would provide for you so much more than those little plants?" I want to encourage you to lay down your independence and rely on him. I promise he will blow you away.

It has been really good to be back in the Philippines. Lots of memories have popped back into my mind as I've met up with some old friends and walked the streets of this intriguing city. After the couple of days of travel it took to get here we took a rest day and started up ministry on Wednesday. On the plane ride over I caught a bit of a cold and my co-leaders and I decided it would be best for me to stay back today and get some rest. Please be praying for that and my team of girls (who are wonderful by the way). For most of the team, it is their first time to experience a place like this. Seeing all the hurt and poverty has been hard for them to deal with and they haven't even seen the worst of it. On Sunday we will most likely be visiting a church in a community called Lorega. The word poor doesn't even begin to describe this place. Please be praying on that day especially that God would give them compassion, help them deal with their emotions and let them be a part of the work that he is doing there.

In my free time I thought up a few things to help you get a taste of what the Philippines is like. Hope you enjoy!

Don't go to the Philippines if:

1.       You like to dance. They play nothing but rap music at the grocery stores and you will never get any shopping done because you will be too busy dancing.

2.       You aren't very fond of rice. Rice is at EVERY meal (including desert). If you don't like rice you will starve to death.

3.       You are afraid to cross the road without a crosswalk. Here in the Philippines, crosswalks are nearly nonexistent. Road crossing is exactly like a game of Hopper, except when you get hit it's not game over its life over.

4.       The thought of eating a boiled duck egg 1 day before hatching makes you cringe.

5.       Sweating is something you don't like to do. In this country it hits about 92 degrees everyday which isn't so bad but the humidity doesn't seem to ever drop below 100%.

6.       You have a problem with people taking pictures of you as you walk down the street. This morning I went to the supermarket and in the 5 minute walk it took to get there I had probably 4 people take a picture of me and about 30 people say, "Hello my friend."

7.       You don't like spiders, cockroaches, geckos or ants because you will have an endless supply of all of those in your house.

8.       You are afraid to try new foods. The Philippines is full of some of the most delicious foods in the world but most of the time it doesn't sound appetizing (see number 4). You must be adventurous.

9.       Smelly children scare you. Most of our ministry is to the children of the slums and the second we walk up there are dozens of children attacking us and most of them haven't had showers in days.

10.   You think nothing can beat southern hospitality because Filipino culture says they will do whatever it takes to serve others and make them happy.

My first trip with Adventures in Missions was in 2006 to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina hit (the picture to the right is the only one I have with me from that trip). The main focus of the week I spent there was seeking to hear the voice of the Father and acting on what he said. For the most part, there wasn't much of a ministry plan and it turned out to be a trip that radically changed my life. I learned what God's voice sounds like, learned how to worship him, how to share the gospel with his people and even what God's calling on my life is.

Last week I got the opportunity to go back and visit the area where this wonderful trip took place, Long Beach. I was visiting my friend Myles in Gulfport, a neighboring city, and one of the days I was there we were able to take a drive through the town so I could see everything again. It was pretty surreal. Things looked a lot different. When I was there last, over four years ago, they still had piles of debris on the roads and some houses had still been untouched since the day of the storm. Now they are all cleared away and if there isn't grass and trees growing in its place there is a new house, hotel or casino. We passed by the church I had stayed at and it looked quite the same except for everything was switched to Spanish. The destroyed Walmart was replaced by a new one, the beach road was rebuilt and Katrina's Soup Kitchen is now an empty parking lot.

While I was there in 2006 I participated in an ATL (a time to "ask the Lord" what He wants you to do) for the first time. It started out kind of weird. People were getting pictures in their heads of strange things like swans, bowls of apples and plants with tomatoes. Later on we kept thinking about an elderly woman named Corinne who we had met earlier in the week during a prayer walk. We decided to load up in the vans and go on over to her house. She invited us in to show us her house and the pictures she had painted. As we walked through we noticed that each vision God had put in my teammates heads were in that house. A bowl of apples on the table, a painting of a swan in the water, dozens of tomatoes growing on plants in her backyard... and that's just a few examples. It was clearly the place we were supposed to be.

This passed Thursday I went back to Corinne's house. Surprisingly, she was there alive and well (still driving in fact at nearly 90 years old! Haha! See my previous blog.) At first she didn't quite remember me but after a bit of a memory jog she invited Myles and me in for a visit. Like before, she showed us her paintings, gave us a tour of her back yard and in her cute southern accent told us what her dog was thinking, as old people like to do. After a bit of talking, I told her I had been praying for her and that she should start painting again. She agreed and said it would be good for her and then we said our goodbyes left.

I've been hanging out with God for about eight years now and I still have no idea why he does some of the things he does. Why were we led to go to Corinne's house in the first place? Why did he lead me to go back? What was the point of all this? I don't know. But I know he was pleased with us. He is always pleased when we do the things he asks us to do.

As many of you know, I started a bit of a road trip adventure a few days ago. Among discovering a few things (such as the fact that my Honda Civic gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway and that New Orleans is one of the coolest yet junkiest cities in the world) I have realized that people from the state of Alabama cannot drive! In the two nerve wrecking hours I spent driving through this state I came to the conclusion that the top five rules of the road of the state of Alabama are as follows:

1.       Always slow down to 20 mph or less while on the entrance ramp to the interstate to make a safe entrance

2.       Cut people off as often as possible and slam on your breaks within 2 seconds afterward to make sure that drivers around you are awake and alert!

3.       It is always better to drive in at least two lanes at once to have a safe amount of room on either side of your car

4.       Old people should stop driving? No way, don't listen to people who say that. It's ok that you are 98 years old and can't see, hear or react to anything in less than 30 seconds

5.       And most importantly, NEVER pay attention to cars around you. It will just distract you from what is really important, yourself.

Hope yall enjoy the humor and no offense Frank and Beckah and anyone else from Alabama Haha!

Amount I have: $357.82

It seems that my time here in Nicaragua is dwindling down. Less than three weeks left and then off to Houston for a quick few days of debrief and then home. Man, I remember about a year and a half ago when I signed up for this it felt like I was forever away from the start date and here I am almost at the end. Amazing.

So let's talk about what has been going on here in Granada. The past few weeks have been interesting and full of a variety of things. We had the 5K Vida Joven (Young Life) benefit race on the 10^th of April. Although it was a great event and raised about $6,000 (enough to open up a second club in Granada) it is good to have it done with. It was a long few weeks of raising money and advertising and took a lot of time out of our regular ministries but in the end it was worth it. El Jardin Del Puente (The Garden of The Bridge) is almost finished thanks to a good nudge from the head missionaries and a week or so of working morning and evening. We still have a little ways to go but it will be ready for seeds by the time we leave. And praise the Lord, we have a friend, Ben, from Athens, GA, who will be coming down here for the summer to take over on the garden project and all the other ministries we are involved in. Other than that things are going just like usual. Homeless ministry in the central park is still impacting the city, Tuesday guys bible study is still creating a small unified group of guys for Christ, the dump ministry is still putting food in the bellies of the poor and feeding them with the word of God, nursing home ministry is still bringing joy to the old folks and keeping the place clean and ministry at La Jungla (The Jungle) and Calle Yoyo (Yoyo Street) is still bringing the kingdom of God to the drug addicts, drunks and prostitutes (and this past week I gave my first sermon in Spanish at La Jungla without a translator!). God is working.

Now let's talk about what's coming up. On Friday the whole team will be heading up to a city called Matagalpa to visit the Young Life camp there. We will be heading out on Friday the 23^rd and then on Sunday two other teammates and I will go up to Honduras for a little adventure until Friday the 30^th. After that there is a little more than a week left in Nica, then debrief in Houston and then everyone goes home. My family and I are planning on taking a vacation to Florida on June 6^th and then on June 27^thish I will be heading out to the Philippines again for a month! I will be one of the leaders for the Ambassador trip this summer and I am quite excited. Then after that it looks like I will be taking a trip to Australia with a couple of other people with a plan of living by the spirit for a month or so. I believe this trip will be a total ATL (Ask The Lord) trip where we just buy a plane ticket and go relying on the spirit to give us a place to stay and people to minister to. I've never done an entire trip like this but I am quite excited because I think it will get me in the mindset of living life by the spirit and when we do that God uses us to do great things. After that it looks like I'll be moving to Atlanta to start up on the community project.

Well there is the update. It's quite lengthy but thanks for reading it and PLEASE pray for me! And, of course, let me know how I can be praying for you.