Daily Concern

Are we there yet?

Do you remember asking your parents “Are we there yet?” while on a long drive for a family vacation? Have your kids asked you that same thing just 10 minutes after leaving for a trip?

The entire focus is on the destination rather than enjoying the journey. You spend the weeks and days leading up to the vacation meticulously planning your every activity once you arrive at your destination. The only attention you pay to the journey is to pray that you don’t kill each other along the way.

Nowadays, many families opt for air travel, but if they did take the car or SUV it’s outfitted with DVD players, built-in game consoles, and iPods. Why on earth would you ever look out the window or talk to each other along the way to your destination?

Over the past year I’ve learned that the journey is often more memorable than the destination. It’s been repeatedly reinforced through my own experiences and through an awesome book by Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.

For example, my only memory as a child of our family trip to Arizona is my father having to pull over in a blinding snow storm so that my brother could relieve himself. We opened the back door and the only food we had in the car spilled out onto the ground while my brother proceed to yellow both the snow and the food. Our initial shock quickly turned to laughter. We still laugh about it to this day yet I have no recollection of our time in Arizona.

(I’m sure that story either horrified you or brought back some fond memories you’ve suppressed for years.)

In the past, I’ve been guilty of focusing solely on the destination. I had our trip to Disney World mapped out to every last detail, including whether to go clockwise or counter clockwise when you enter the park. (Hint, the answer is clockwise, most people head to the right by default – no lines)

So this past spring I took the family to Ecuador. The only details I had arranged ahead of time were our flight and for a gentleman I met over the Internet to pick us up. Seven days in a foreign land, picked up by a stranger, with no firm plan, my wife and kids thought I was crazy. Perhaps I was but we had an awesome time, our best vacation ever. We traveled over fifty miles in a truck so bad that Sanford & Sons wouldn’t buy it. We were escorted over the mountains by someone who did not speak English, in fog so dense we couldn’t see the front of the truck. And we were chauffeured from another airport to a hotel by a strange but polite businessman we met on the flight.

These experiences, these stories, are what made the trip truly memorable. I learned it wasn’t just about the destination, about the things we’d do and see once we arrived, it was about the journey.

Keep in mind the journey may not be enjoyable. Without suffering one cannot truly appreciate joy.

• Joseph was thrown in a pit, spent years in jail falsely accused, before arriving at the destination God had planned for him
• The Israelites spent forty years wandering in the desert, learning about dependence upon God, before arriving at their destination, the promise land
• Paul endured hardships, and years with a thorn in his flesh, before spending eternity with Jesus
• A cancer patient who must endure tremendous pain and suffering must not forget the many new relationships and opportunities that are born out of the situation
• An entrepreneur may toil at his trade for years before ever reaping any rewards
• Jesus had to leave Heaven, to live life as a man, and be brutally crucified for humanity’s sins in order to get to His destination, by His Father’s side

While parts of the journey may be filled with challenges, many others will result in indescribable joy and long lasting memories. Over the past six years at Fellowship Technologies I’ve worked beside some tremendously talented individuals who have worked long hours, faced what seemed insurmountable challenges, and formed countless memories. It has been, and will continue to be, an awesome journey.

I’m convicted more than ever to live life to the fullest each day, to take the time to enjoy the journey, to write a new story… the destination will be here soon enough. 

God bless,

Curtis S

Wondering why we're wandering

I am a part of Generation X, the “Baby Busters”, and I am guilty of trying to provide my children all of the things I thought I missed out on as a child of divorced parents. My wife and I took them on big annual vacations, got them the latest toys, the latest trendy clothes, put them in a private Christian school, and had them in church every time the doors were open.

We didn’t do it flippantly – or at least we didn’t think so. We thanked God openly for our countless blessings. We hid God’s word in their hearts. We patiently taught our children the value of hard work and about consequences. We taught them lessons via encouragement and discipline. We were involved in their lives but also gave them space to grow.

So far I believe we did a pretty good job. We are blessed with an 18 yr old son and a 14 yr old daughter who call Christ their Savior, who generally make good grades, honor their parents, and have steered clear of drugs, alcohol, and sex.

All along this journey we’ve been reminded of the direct parallels that exist between parents and their children to God’s relationship with us. That lesson was ever present again as my son recently completed his first semester away from home at college.

He was awarded an academic scholarship at a major university. We agreed to pay 100% of his expenses (tuition, books, room, misc) for the first semester – and beyond, assuming things went well. We counseled him throughout the summer about the challenges that college would present, the temptations that would exist, the need to stay true to his Faith, and the consequences that would result if his grades slipped. He had all of the tools and resources he needed to succeed.

Unfortunately he fell into every available trap that was laid before him. His grades suffered, he lost the scholarship, and had to step away from the fraternity. We weren’t happy of course but we talked through the mistakes with him, forgave him, and now he’s packed and ready to return to college for a fresh start this evening.

It was a stark reminder of the Christian faith.

God wants to bless us, whether that is spiritually, physically, relationally, or even financially. He wants to bless us so we can be a blessing to others. We need to remember that we are forgiven. We are loved unconditionally. We simply need to accept these truths and follow His commands. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that there is a direct cause and effect relationship between our actions and God’s blessing. Just because I did my quiet time five days in a row doesn’t mean I will get a pay raise. But I do see how God wants the best for us, despite our failings, yet we repeatedly do the absurd and try to do things our way, choosing sin over obedience, and then we’re stuck wondering why we’re wandering around in the wilderness.

3 Words for 2010 - Story, Others, Positive

Following Chris Brogan’s lead Terry Storch recently published his 3 words for 2010. One of his 3 words was “Inpsire”, so I want him to know he’s already done so by inspiring me to follow his lead.

My 3 words for 2010 are Story, Others, and Positive. Each of these words came to me through 3 great books I read this past year or two.

Story

I’ve read every book that Donald Miller has written and I’ve had the privilege to see him speak twice in person at the Catalyst and Story conferences. I had hoped to meet Donald Miller while at Story but he had the flu and darted off shortly after speaking. His best book since Blue Like Jazz (a must read) is his most recent one, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. In the book he explains that many of us are not achieving what God has intended for us because we’re not living the story God has written for us. A story involves a person that wants something and is willing to overcome conflict to get it. It is my goal to write a new story for my life and family this year. To get a taste of this idea, read Donald Miller’s most recent post on goal setting, or better yet, get his book and see how it impacts you.

Others

Another favorite book I read last year was The Hole in the Gospel by Richard Strearns, CEO of World Vision. Do not read this book unless you want to be seriously challenged in your faith and your actions. It was truly a wake-up call to what it really means to be a Christian, to share our faith, and to serve others. One of the verses he highlights that hit me hard was Ezekiel 16:49, “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.” My goal is to put others first at home, at work, at church, and in the world. I’m not sure how this will manifest itself yet, but whatever it is, I plan to do it in the context of a “story”.

Positive

One of the best books I read in 2008 was The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander. He is a renowned orchestra conductor and current music director for the Boston Philharmonic. In his book, Zander recalls that he was in his mid forties until he realized that during a concert the conductor doesn’t make a sound. He realized that everything he did depended 100% upon the achievement of others. It was at that moment that he began to look at things differently and focus on teaching and inspiring others. He brings forth simple yet profound insights in his book, one of my favorites is Rule #6 which, simply stated, means, “Don’t take yourself so ____ seriously”. Much can be learned and taught with the right positive attitude regardless of whether life sends you roses or thorns. You can get a small taste of Zander's message by watching his 20 minuted presentation at the TED conference.

Ecuador, Days 6 - 9

We woke up very early the next day to head to Otavalo. Our guide was Gustavo, he spoke limited English but he made every effort to make the trip enjoyable. The drive from Quito to Otavalo was beautiful, endless lush country-sides and mountains. The market was amazing, it went on and on for many blocks in every direction (Pics 1, 2, 3). We had a great time and, of course, spent much more than we intended buy locally made gifts for ourselves, friends, and family. We spent most of the day in Otavalo and returned back to the hotel to rest. The kids were desperate for some American food so we ordered Pizza Hut to be delivered, it tasted perfect, just like home.

The view from our hotel was great. We had a perfect view of both new town and old town Quito.  On the 7th day of our trip we arranged for Gustavo to take us into old town Quito. It was a Sunday and they  limited the traffic on the streets of old town to bikes and walking. We walked all over the town, visiting the many historic churches that were there (Pics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). They wouldn’t allow us take pictures in some of the churches, in particular because it was during Catholic Mass. We also toured the outside of the Presidential palace, sort of the Ecuadorian white house (Pics 1, 2, 3, 4). By far the most impressive thing was the Basilica. The walk up to the Basilica was a challenge given that we were still at an elevation of roughly 10K feet. However, once we got there were toured nearly every inch (See pics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

On our last full day in Ecuadaor we had Gustavo takes us to Mitad del Mundo, or the Center of the Earth. We were able to stand on the Equator and do some fun experiments  (even if they were a bit suspicious). The kids had a lot of fun, a unique experience I pray that they’ll remember forever.

The following morning, we packed our things and headed home. We were thankful for the opportunity to both serve and tour such a wonderful country like Ecuador. Hopefully, this will be the first of many such trips our family can go on.

Ecuador, Day 5

This was our last morning at Quizas Hoy, we woke up early to pack. We took some group photos with Al, Rocio, Ivan, and Augustine. We were very thankful for our time at the camp. Senor Vera arrived around 9am in a small, but clean, pick-up truck. We loaded up our stuff and headed on our way to Cuenca. Senor Vera understood no English so communication was difficult. However, he knew the way and would stop frequently to allow us to take pictures. We had to first cross over the mountains, we would then stop at Ingapirca to see some ancient Incan ruins, then on to Cuenca and lastly to catch a late flight into Quito.

As we ascended the mountain (roughly 14,000 feet at the peak) in the small truck we encountered very, very dense fog. So thick that we slowed to a crawl on the tight hairpin turns, at one point I even had to lean out of the truck to try and guide Senor Vera. As we went along we encountered more of the indigenous people that lived on the mountain. Both the men and women were considerably shorter than normal. And the women wore brightly colored traditional dresses. Most would not allow us to take pictures but we snapped a few along the way. My favorite pic was of this young girl sitting on the side of the road. We also came upon a Christian school, the girls ran away from our camera but the boys were curious and stuck around.

After several hours we arrived at Ingapirca, the place was beautiful (Pics 1, 2, 3, 4). We toured the ruins, ate some lunch, and bought a few souvenirs. Time was short so we jumped back in the truck and made our way to Cuenca, roughly 2 more hours away. Cuenca was a wonderful small town with small, one-way, brick streets and tons of churches (Pics 1, 2, 3, 4).  We could only stay a few hours and then Senor Vera dropped us off at the airport for our flight to Quito.

The short 45 minute flight from Cuenca to Quito was bumpy as we flew over the mountains. Quito’s elevation is roughly 9,300 feet but we felt no ill effects from it. On the flight we met a very interesting businessman from India. He lived in New York but had business interests all over the world, including Ecuador. Surprisingly he offered, actually insisted, that he give us a ride to our hotel in the car he had waiting for him. I was initially concerned about loading our whole family into a stranger’s car late at night in a foreign country. However, after a short prayer I was at peace with the decision. The Lord was looking out for us because the businessman indeed proved to be trustworthy, full of tips for seeing the city, and dropped us off at the hotel safe and sound.

Given the sparse accommodations we had the first four nights in Ecuador any sort of hotel would have been wonderful. However, our hotel exceeded our expectations even though it was simply a Holiday Inn Express. It was in the heart of the city, near the nightlife, it was newly constructed, seven stories high and simply beautiful, tons of marble and woodwork. Our rooms were on the top floor with a perfect view of the city and old town Quito. But thing we were most thankful for was the shower, it had a huge shower head that rained down from above the center of the shower. None of us had a hot bath since we arrived in Ecuador so it was truly a blessing. Prior to crashes for the night, we made arrangements with the hotel to have a driver take us to the street markets of Otavalo in the morning. Thankful to have made it this far we fell asleep right away.

Ecuador, Day 4

After breakfast, Al and I drove his truck back to a small town about 15 minutes away. The highway was under construction but they had gone about it in an odd way. They were creating a nice concrete highway but they had chosen to start in the middle rather than on the left or right. So the middle was complete but steel rebar poked out on the left and the right. And since they weren’t letting traffic drive on the new part yet, the traffic was forced to drive on the asphalt on either side, dangerously narrow and close to the rebar shredding your tires. Everything from cattle herds to huge semi-trucks driving 70 mph were on that highway.

As we drove along the thing that struck me was the extreme poverty that existed so close to the camp. Outside one home a group of kids ranging from 2 – 6 years old were playing on the highway under construction. One of the kids had a huge butcher knife, peeling an orange. It was such a stark contrast from how we treat our children in the States.

I asked Al what more could be done to fight the poverty near his camp. He said that the problem is so huge that it’s beyond what one man can do alone. Al said that is why his mission is to use the Quizas Hoy camp to train others, to multiply the positive effect on the community and the country.

We arrived at the town and went into a small hardware store, no larger than a one car garage. Al negotiated with the manager of the store to have the manager’s Uncle Vera come pick us up the following morning to drive us to Cuenca.

Once we got back to the camp we finished up the work on the painting and sealant. Colton and I then helped Al setup a simple sound system and projector in the outdoor worship hall. It was primitive but would serve its purpose for an upcoming camp that was being held there. In the late afternoon Al took us all on a walk into the jungle portion of his property. They had cut a nature path around the perimeter. The sights and sounds were beautiful as you can here, here, here, and here.

After dinner we went out to the worship hall and setup the projector. Mercedes plugged in her Zune and played some bits from Brian Regan for Al and Rocio. It must’ve been a real joy for Al, I’ve never seen anyone laugh quite so hard has he did that evening. We then played a movie, Glory Road, one of the few Al and Rocio owned so they had seen it many times. It was very surreal to be on the edge of the Ecuadorian jungle, watching a movie on a projector in an outdoor worship hall.

Ecuador, Day 3

It took a while but everyone finally fell asleep. The accommodations were not much different than any other church camp. Unfortunately, they were expanding the highway nearby so the truck traffic kept us awake, as did some dogs barking incessantly. Woke up with a huge headache, entering the 2nd full day with no caffeine, this is going to make for a long trip.

After breakfast we got right to work, Colton and I worked on water sealant while the girls painted Allen and Rocio’s home. After lunch we rested in the hammocks they have placed throughout the camp, very relaxing but surreal to know we’re so far from home. After a long day of working on the camp we cleaned up, had a nice and played cards with Al, Rocio, and our family. Rocio entertained us with stories of finding snakes and other critters in her home and even her bed during their time in Ecuador. She found a tarantula in her shoe this very morning. None of these stories did much to ease the kid’s concerns about going to sleep back in our cabin that evening.

Ecuador, Day 2

We got a good night’s rest in our hotel. We were on the 3rd floor of this small hotel, so Mercedes and I decided to take the stairs to the lobby. Melissa and Colton took the elevator. Five or ten minutes passed by and we hadn’t seen Melissa and Colton, turns out they were stuck in the elevator! The elevator is on the outside of the building so the pedestrians could see them helplessly stuck. The owner of the hotel took an ink pen and jammed it into a slot and the elevator finally opened up.

Allen Williams (our host) and his wife Rocio arrived to pick us up. We took a quick one hour tour of Guayaquil. We first visited a small park right in the middle of the city where hundreds of iguanas lived. They all loved to lay in the trees, you see them here, here and here. Next, we stopped by to see some turtles from the Galapagos. The city was crowded, lots of traffic, and high unemployment. We soon headed south to the Quizas Hoy camp which was about 50 miles away (I'm not sure the kids enjoyed riding 50 miles on a wooden plank in the back of a truck). We passed by miles and miles of plantations. Scattered along the road were small homes (huts), fruit stands, and livestock tied up next to the road for grazing. The fruit was amazing, we could by tons of fresh fruit for just a dollar or two.
We finally made it to Quizas Hoy, our home for the next 4 days. The camp is 40 acres, cut into the edge of the jungle, right off the highway to Cuenca. The camp was very beautiful, you can see many of pics of it here. Our dorm room was sparse, no hot water, no air conditioning. Thankfully, during our stay it wasn’t unreasonably warm.

We got to work right away, helping to put water sealant on one of the new dorms they were building (8+ years in the making). The food was simple but good, I think we had plantains with every meal, prepared a different way each time. By the end of the day we were all tired but very thankful for the experience.I think all of us, especially the kids, will learn a great deal about how other parts of the world live and our role in helping others.

Ecuador, Day 1

On Monday, March 16th, my family and I traveled to Guayaquil, Ecuador via Miami, FL. Thankfully the flights were uneventful. We landed in Guayaquil at 9:30pm and it took another hour to get through customs. Waiting for us outside the airport was Allen Williams, a gentleman I had only previously met over the Internet. He was easy to spot, he was a foot taller than anyone else around him. Allen runs the Perhaps Today Church Camp, where we were to serve the next few days.

Allen had told me he was picking us up in his truck and that our kids (ages 17 and 13) would need to ride in the back. While I was prepared for that I was completely unprepared for the condition of his truck. It was only a slightly newer model than the truck in Sanford & Son. So here we are in a foreign country, with a strange man, who wants me to load up my family in the back of this truck at nearly 11pm to drive us to a local hotel. I thought “Why not?”

Allen drove us to a nearby hotel, along the way we passed through some pretty sketchy neighborhoods, eventually arriving at our hotel whose doors were already locked. Thankfully, someone was there to let us in and lead us to our 3rd floor room. It was no bigger than a college dorm room with four small beds and a small bath. It didn’t matter, we had made it to Ecuador safe and sound, the room was clean, we were tired and all soon fast asleep. I thanked God for our safety and asked for wisdom as we prepared for our adventure the next day.

Family vacation, Hawaii or Ecuador?

In the fall of 2008 my wife Melissa and I were making plans for our 2009 family vacation. Our son is a senior at Faith Christian School so we wanted to make it a memorable trip since this would likely be his last year at home. We quickly decided upon Hawaii, specifically Maui. Melissa and I went there for our tenth anniversary and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place.

However, as I thought and prayed about it I felt that just going to yet another tourist location, no matter how beautiful, would not have the lasting impression that I was seeking. I’ve stated this before, but the words of Donald Miller haunt me - many of us live in Christian glass houses. We live with Christians, we work with Christians, we worship with Christians, many of our neighbors are Christian, and we even eat at Chik-fil-a. We become too comfortable in our way of life and our routine, we rarely interact with those outside our Christian holy huddles. I wanted to shake things up.

Well as luck, or God’s providence, would have it, I work for Fellowship Technologies and we’re blessed to count Centro Cristiano de Guayaquil in Ecuador among the churches using Fellowship One. Several members of our staff had traveled down there to train the church and they came back telling amazing stories of need there. As I prayed and pondered about where God was leading us I just kept coming back to Ecuador.

So with a leap of faith I booked four round trip tickets to Ecuador for March 16th – 24th. Our 17 yr old son and 13 yr old daughter were not thrilled to hear Ecuador had replaced Maui as our destination. So now we had transportation to/from Ecuador but no plan for what to do during the 8 day trip. We had no where to stay and no specific itinerary. This is exactly opposite of my God-given nature. Our prior trips, including the one to Disney World, were entirely pre-planned, with an hour-by-hour plan for each day.

We decided not to burden our client church and instead emailed a list of various mission organizations we found on the Internet. We connected with several and prayerfully decided upon the Quizas Hoy (Perhaps Today) Church Camp. The plan began to take shape, we were to work with Allen and Rocio Willams at their camp for the first four days and then tour the country for the remaining four. That was as detailed as our itinerary would become before we departed for Ecuador. We knew God had a plan for us there, we just weren’t sure what it was at the time…