bon voyage?

have you ever flipped through a magazine and had to go back to a picture, because it pulled at something inside of you?


have you ever watched a movie so many times that you could close your eyes and replay it in your head?


have you ever read a book in one day because there is something inside the story line that pulls you so deep into it that you can't help it?


there is something about the human condition that strokes our affections and becons us to discover the magnetic pull of this feeling. there are some things that evoke awe inside our souls, that inspire us to do more than just look.


today there is a pull in my soul, for some reason a little town in ireland called saintfield makes my heart jump.

when i hear of suicide rates in certain cities in ireland being the highest in the world, me heart cringes.


when i hear stories of children who have never known their fathers i want to know more.


when i hear of children who are alcoholics before they can read i want to understand that kind of pain.


when i hear of kids taking three weeks out of their summer to go to the czech republic and teach english it makes me pause. i hear stories of people who have never even had a chance to disown the gospel, for they have never even heard the name of JESUS CHRIST, it beckons me to re-think my distance.


sometimes we get to see these things and pray for these people, or send others to go and help, other times we get to go.


this time i have a chance to go.
this year in about 4 months i will be embarking across the pond. i will be going. GOD has put in my heart a yearning to understand why my heart is drawn to these people. these stories. these realities. i get a chance to see "youth ministry" from a different persvery different perspective.


this, is a turning of the page, as it were, in my life. there is a reason that i have been through the story that i have. today is a new stage in this adventure. one that will change the way i think, the way i see, and ultimately the way i love and worship. GOD has his hand deep inside of this.

Judges 18:5-6
And they said to him, "Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed." And the priest said to them, "Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD."