In this final trailer for the GO12: Santo Domingo documentary, Daniel Andrews captures an entire week of outreach in just under five minutes--helping us all to realize how the most important thing really is giving your time, energy, and heart to helping others realize the beautiful love of Christ. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zacBWhieLo4&w=560&h=315]
Daniel and I have been working on a short film documenting our recent trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for over a month, and it is almost finished. We recently screened the nearly completed version with a few people who went on the trip and it was met with a warm reception. We are excited about getting it out there for more people to see. Written by Grant Jones one late night in Santo Domingo, this trailer captures the heart of what the film is about, leaving. I hope you enjoy the trailer.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBk-2FN4evY&w=560&h=315]
Since returning home nearly a month ago Daniel and I have been hard at work editing the footage we filmed from the trip. We're hoping to roll out a fully produced documentary within the next couple of months, but in the meantime, here is a small teaser. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSntqG0Y6Is&w=853&h=480]
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home
Taking part in missions work is an extremely rewarding experience, but upon your return home it can also be incredibly difficult. The following is a little something I shared with our team this week. I hope it can encourage you, even as it encouraged us. "So, what's next?"
I remember asking myself that exact same question last year after returning home from Ecuador. How are you supposed to be equipped to handle every day life in the States after seeing and experiencing so much? How are you supposed to get back to business as usual? The answer is both easy, and terribly intimidating at the same time. You can't go back to how it was before, or at least you shouldn't.
By sacrificing time, money, sweat, tears, love, and comfort you allowed God to literally move you, geographically and spiritually, beyond the spoiled apathy and monotony of the American Church. Your obedience in going brought about transformational leaving. You see, God had to remove you from comfort, entertainment, and even loved ones, to push you to the point where He could open your spiritual eyes so that you could see the world and the Church as He sees it. Just as you left behind so much in going, now you must ask Him to help you leave so much behind in returning.
Instead of filling our days with scheduled business and mindless distractions, we each must realize that by answering that first question, what's next?, we will be answering a more important question.... What is God's will for me? In this respect I feel that I can offer you some helpful advice, and a sense of encouraging direction that will ease the transition back into life at home without forcing you to abandon the revelatory fervor God has birthed within each of you over the last eight days.
You found incredible joy and purpose in the Dominican Republic by giving constantly of yourself, some of you to the points of near exhaustion and sickness. You gave because you believed in the purpose which you felt that God had directed you to. Let me assure you, each of you have as clear and constant a God-given purpose on American soil as you did in the Dominican. Guard your hearts against the idle business of purposeless endeavor we often pursue. Set yourself toward some sacrificial end, and until a time which God directs you to it; pray and ask that He would lead you, not only to that end, but would also deliver unto you the means to see it through.
Let us continue to humble ourselves and take up the thankless tasks. There we were often met with fanfare and celebration, here that same heart may be met with indifference or disdain. Let us continue to love unconditionally. There love was almost always reciprocated, here it may be confused, misinterpreted, or ignored. In short, let us continue to love because Christ first loved us. Let us continue to shine, because we have come to know and love the Light, and our world is steeped in darkness.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home
GO12 Videos Waterfight
John the Revelator often wrote of Christ as the Light. For him the topic was one that carried with it deep personal meaning. So when Jesus, during His many public teachings, frequently referred to His followers as being beacons of light (a city on a hill, a light that cannot be hidden, or a virgin with a lamp) it spoke volumes to the young apostle.
This week we travelled 1,833 miles to share that light. We went to share it with people who are not in relationship with Jesus. We also went to share in a combined experience in the Light of Christ with brothers and sisters in the family of God from another land. Late last night we made our bittersweet goodbyes with many tears, and much encouragement. On the ride back to our hotel I asked our team what part of their experience in Santo Domingo they felt shined the brightest. The following is a summary of their responses.
Humility, we travelled to a humble place, and there I saw our young people set aside the ugly pride that so often cripples our ability to love others fully. They washed feet, cleaned up filth, picked up trash, and set aside the need to feel cool or be impressive.
Sacrifice, often the measure of how deeply you believe something is weighed by the personal sacrifices you are willing to make to further that belief. Faith, and belief, is most purely displayed during acts of ultimate sacrifice. For many on our team this week was an incredible sacrifice. They gave up vacation time, work time, and family time. Some missed a week of summer school, placing themselves far behind in their course work. They sacrificed hygiene and comfort, convenience and frivolity, for; an exhausting schedule, weighty humidity, and a soulful vulnerability that many will continue to carry for weeks to come. And everyone gave up time with those they love the most to go and serve He who loved them most.
Hope, seems like a cliche to us a lot of the time, but only because we have become so disillusioned to the plight of hopelessness that plagues our world while we bathe in the gluttonous excess that most people in our nation enjoy even in these somber economic times. For those with less distractions in their lives hope often lies just one basic need away. Sometimes that need is a tangible resource that will quite literally change their life. Sometime that hope comes in the form of deep encouragement that can only be understood within the soul. It was one of my life's greatest blessings to see young Arkansas college students impart both to perfect strangers over the last eight days.
Love, like hope is a word used flippantly. We don't really love cheeseburgers or American Idol, but we often say we do. Real love shine bright and far. Its bigger and better than anything else we can understand.
We spent the last semester discussing the idea of HOME as a ministry. I think everyone on our team now has a larger understanding for that idea, even as they come to understand the nature of the global Church. The great Canadian missionary, evangelist, author, and pastor J. Oswald Smith once said, "the light that shines the farthest, shines the brightest at home.". I know seventeen college students and three campus missionaries that are sad to leave the Dominican Republic, but are excited to get home and shine.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
I still remember Dakota as the outgoing and silly freshman that walked onto the Arkansas Tech Campus nearly three years ago, probably because he is still so outgoing and silly. Always ready with a joke or a laugh, and always ready to lend a helping hand. He loves the Lord greatly and has become a natural leader within our ministry. This week I watched a metamorphosis take place in his life, culminating as he shared the gospel from a parking lot to an eager and diverse crowd. The following is a note he wrote for me yesterday
Before we ever drove to the church in Russellville to get on the charter bus that would take us to Memphis, I had only one expectation. My expectation was that I didn’t have any other expectations. Literally nothing in my life could have prepared me for what I’ve actually experienced in the last 5 days here. Not even the meetings we had as a team prior to leaving could lead me to have an idea of what we would see and do while we were here. The research could never compare to the experience.
As soon as we got on the plane I knew that the time had finally come. The moment I had been waiting on ever since I was a freshman in college and was called into the ministry. That moment when I knew that the next destination would be my dream achieved and God’s plan a reality. It was surreal and exciting simultaneously. Being able to wake up in Arkansas and go to sleep in the Dominican Republic still blows my mind.
After the reality had sunk in, it was time to finally go and do what God had told us to do: share His love and serve others. When we showed up at the church, I’ll admit that I was a little hesitant, but after I saw how excited the people were to see us, I couldn’t help but let my guard down.
The only mistake I have made on the trip, and it was the best and worst kind of mistake, is that I got attached to those kids and they completely turned my world upside down. The first real moment I had was with a kid named Alexi. We actually beat boxed and danced and both had a good laugh at each other. One of the highlights of my life: getting to make a stranger from a different country smile because of a connection you have with them.
I will say that humbling yourself in front of others and actually helping with their needs is one of the best ways to introduce them to the love of God. It opened doors where I thought there weren’t any doors to open. When we had a service in the actual church building, that again changed my life forever, and I’m just being overly dramatic because of my emotions. I know that God is omnipresent and and He is the same God to everyone everywhere, but once I saw it first hand, I truly believe I’ll never be the same. Without a doubt the most amazing moment I have ever experienced.
Getting the chance to hear the same worship songs in a different language and seeing the people worship the same God I’ve worshipped for years is the one thing I will never forget. “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” I was different yesterday, I’ll be different today, and I pray that He will have forever changed me.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
Grant Jones has become very special to me in the last three years. I have watched him continuously approach the tough questions that come along in life with a quiet faith that is neither forced, nor flimsy. He measures his words, means his actions, and approaches life with an intentionality not often demonstrated by someone of his years. In short, I have spent the last three years watching him steadily mature in his faith into the incredibly self-aware man he is today. He shared the following with me last night after an afternoon and evening spent playing basketball and sharing the Gospel with inner city kids in Tropical del Este in Santo Domingo.
On the bus ride back to the hotel:
For the past few months I've been wondering where to Go. What places to go to, what people To go to, and what things to go to. For the past few months I've been going through what seems like a spiritual mid life crisis--burdened down by questions of significance and lengthy episodes of apathy. I still embodied the zeal for God I've always guarded close, but I began to examine it objectively and question what it's use and purpose was. What it could do for this realistic experience I called "Now".
I asked God, with seemingly no response, where I was to Go. The seeming absence of his guidance only acted as fuel to the flame for the apathy and objectivity that had recently plagued my thoughts. However, tonight in a moment, reminiscing on the people I have met, the things I have done, and this country with its people we'll leave behind, in a moment of clarity I heard God say, "it's not about 'Going', it's about 'leaving'.".
These words seemed to be the key to unlock my mind and thoughts from the apathy and disinterest which had entered in. I began to think on this statement and believe God has guided me to this conclusion. This life has never been about going, but about leaving. A constant walking away from yourself, from this world, and the bible even says at times your family. A perpetual falling from the familiar to eternally embrace the unknown. A leaving of yourself and your heart in the things, places, people you are with 'Now', not the people you will go to. For now is all we have. And now all we can do is leave. If God permits another day to come I will Go. But for now my concern will be with only that which is assured, and that is what I have left.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
James the brother of Jesus and pastor of the Jerusalem Church wrote in his epistle about the importance of partnering faith with action. He wrote that you cannot actually demonstrate perfect faith without corresponding action. Monday was a great day to see this at work. We started the day by opening a small dental clinic. A local dentist and her assistant were brought in to give fluoride treatments, search for cavities, and provide basic aid to people that could never afford that kind of healthcare on their own. Dakota, Ashlee, and Jordan P. assisted the dentist with the more technical aspects of treating patients, during which the remainder of the team worked on repairing, painting, and decorating parts of the church where the outreach was hosted. Four hours later more than one hundred and thirty seven children, plus numerous adults, had been treated.
That afternoon we moved outside the church to pick up trash. People here do not throw away trash. They generally just throw it down wherever they happen to be. Trash is everywhere. Lots of it. By picking up their garbage we are demonstrating an act of sacrificial love in a way that is difficult for some of them to comprehend, but not all.
We split into three teams made up of American and Dominican workers and went down three different streets collecting, cleaning, and greeting. I split my time between the teams taking pictures and recording video, greeting the nationals, and helping where I could. While walking with a team down a pretty nasty street I spotted a little dog on the porch of a dilapidated home.
Behind a large metal gate/door set an elderly lady. She looked at our group with a curious apprehension which spoke volumes. She thought we might be doing something good, but she wasn't sure. Like, maybe we were trying to trick her or maybe something else was afoot.
To assuage her apparent concerns I began to play with a small chihuahua, that had to have belonged to her. I am not typically fond of chihuahuas, in fact usually I find them to be rather annoying, but I spoke kindly to the dog and snapped some pictures on my iPad as the lady looked on with what was quickly becoming mild interest. Cheerfully I climbed her steps and greeted her as she sat behind her iron wrought door. I began to show her the pics of the dog as she ooh'd and awe'd over the vibrant colors. When I showed her a short video clip she laughed heartily and full. Before long I had an interpreter there to help me communicate with this dear lady beyond my meager grasp of the Spanish language. She came out from behind her door, hugged me, and took a picture. We spoke for a few more minutes, I invited her to the outreach service we were holding near her home that night and she smiled a pure and genuine smile, devoid of the all previous apprehension.
This is only one small personal example of how doing something, in addition to just believing in something, can have an impact on those we reach out and minister to here. With four days of ministry behind us there are now dozens of these same kinds of stories that could be told. Our team is continuing to perfect a faith that says we believe God loves these people and wants to show them, by partnering with demonstrative actions that speak louder than words. With two days left of ministry activity, I'm sure there will be many more opportunities to continue to do the same.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
Many in our group have little to no exposure to Spanish. We can't speak the language so communication becomes challenging and tricky. You can't always understand what is being said. Listening becomes incredibly important, and not merely listening, but hearing. Two days ago I challenged our team to go above and beyond the already rigorous schedule of outreaches and activities, and to allow God to speak to their hearts concerning this place, these people, and His will. Here are ten things our team has heard. 1. You are capable of doing things you thought you could never do.
2. My life is not about me. My purpose in life is to serve people.
3. Don't be afraid. It's ok to show your emotions, raise your hands, and stand up.
4. Let go of pride.
5. The most amazing thing is that even though we can't understand each other sometimes, we all worship God in the same language.
6. It's ok to be committed. Have no fear in your commitments.
7. You did a good thing today.
8. Everyone is different and you have something to add to the team.
9. We in the U.S. are the true poverty stricken. We depend so much on our material possessions that we are pour in Spirit.
10. Love is unconditional and without boundaries or borders.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
Jordan Patton is an amazing young lady. She would tell you differently because she walks with the Lord endowed with a special kind of unassuming humility that is not typical of American culture. She serves as a medic in the U.S. Army, and is in the ROTC program at Arkansas Tech University where she majors in Health and Wellness. She has been involved with our ministry for nearly a year. The following is an excerpt from her personal journal she wanted to share after her experience with a Dominican church last night.
God I am so thankful for your presence. This experience is life changing. That's what I want. I want to be totally transformed into a woman of God. I am still overwhelmed with your presence, even after the service is long gone. I always want to be accepted so bad and I put the opinions of others before yours. But I am already accepted by you. What else matters?
I have always known your love, but tonight I had a revolution. I was hit so hard with your love that I can't imagine needing anything more out of life. But I know when I start my day tomorrow the weight of the world is going to pull on me. It happens every time. I have an overwhelming connection with you and then I slowly start fading back into the person I don't want to be. I can't even explain how badly I don't want that to happen again.
I'm so thankful for the people you have placed in my life to encourage me and help me grow closer to you. I don't want this life to be a process of me inching closer to you. I want to serve you with every intricate part of my body. I want every second to be consumed with you. I want to be a prime example of a radical Christian.
Edwin told me not to be afraid to be that woman. It's ok to be the first. It's ok to show your emotions. He said It's ok to be over the top. I need your help God. I know I will never be perfect, but please God please don't let me go back. Always moving forward. And help me to be comfortable in my own skin. You made me this way for a reason. Help me to stop molding myself into other people and start molding myself into you. I need you so much. More than I ever have before.
More than ever I realize my life is not about me. Help me to live with that mindset.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
It is exceptionally hot here. The kind of hot that just sticks to you. You can't escape it, and so you must learn to just accept that as a natural part of this incredible place. That's a tremendous part of what today's experience has been about for our team. Some learned something as simple as how to say "hello" in another language. Others learned what it means to humble yourself in an incredible act of loving servanthood and selflessness.
We travelled down cramped and crowded streets, across dusty-dilapidated byways, to an awesome little corner of this rundown community. We were met with the sights, sounds, and smells of a culture far removed from the sensational superficiality so many of us are so accustomed to in the States. There we met electrician-turned-pastor Sanfrido at his small church that doubles as a community center for the neighborhood. The local basketball and volley ball teams were busy practicing on the old neglected courts, and there were children everywhere.
"Nate, can we interact with the kids?" someone asked me. I believe wholeheartedly in leading by example (1 Corinthians 11:1) so I did the only thing I knew how to do. I began to mingle with the gathering crowd; hugging kids, taking their pictures, shaking their hands, or simply asking them their name. There was a collective ripple throughout our group as the team began to realize the importance of simply loving people.
I have preached on numerous occasions to these same students the value of living "an agenda-less faith", or loving people simply for the sake of loving people, because that's what Jesus did, and not just because you desire to add them to some obscure measurement of tallied conversions. Today they get it. Many of them are sleeping now as I write this; but they rest in the gracious goodness of the great God who brought them 1,833 miles away from home to teach them the importance of the simplicity of simply loving people.
Today I saw American college students wash the feet of total strangers. I saw guys, that probably don't even clean their own rooms at home, laboriously pick up trash surrounding a community basketball court. I witnessed shy students turn into fountains of laughter as the contagious reality of a God without borders and boundaries sprang from their soul. Today I learned a lot about these guys and gals, even as I saw them learn so much about themselves.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
Excited, prayerful, and sleepy, we left early this morning from Russellville, AR, graciously traveling the three hours or so to Memphis on our church's large bus to catch a flight to Miami. We arrived early. Our jet arrived on time. The flight attendant walked us through all of the mandatory preflight hullabaloo and we gingerly taxied out to the runway for takeoff. And suddenly for so many in our party, it was real. This was really happening. They were leaving the country. They were actively engaging in a bigger part of the Christian context than they had ever known before. Of our group of twenty more than half had never flown commercially before. There was much excitement and anticipation. Nervous laughter, sarcastic humor, and a palpable giddiness permeated the team. Seat belts went on, bags were stowed, and the engines roared to life with the awesome thrust of engineered wonderment as we hurdled down the runway and lifted from the earth. Everyone survived lift off. I don't mean that to sound dramatic, but we had more than a few who were genuinely worried regarding their first experience at air travel.
The moment we broke the cloud line, and the cumulus landscape lay before their eyes like a pristine world of angelic ethereal cotton--all was well. We were doing it. We were going. And it was good.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
For over a year Chi Alpha at ATU has been preparing to travel beyond the borders of comfort and country to obediently pursue the commission to global evangelism we believe God has charged us with. Tomorrow morning that mission becomes a tangible reality for seventeen students and three staff members. We'll be traveling to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to work for nine days with two rural churches in the area. There have been some awesome challenges in seeing a project of this scope come to fruition. Several years ago we began to move in this direction as a ministry and our first challenge was allowing God to prepare our hearts by cultivating a global mission mindset, which He has done. The next challenge we faced was having a staff member with the experience and capacity to organize and oversee such an undertaking; and WOW! God orchestrated a phenomenal addition to our team by blessing Chi Alpha with Jake and Ellen Tinnell, who have nearly a decade of experience leading missions teams all over the world.
Our next big challenge was finding a team willing and able to go. We needed students with the heart for global outreach, but we also needed students with the wherewithal and tenacity to work hard at consistently raising the large amount of money needed to make this trip happen. I'd be hard pressed to be more proud of our team. They have been faithful in their actions, creative in their thinking, and obedient in all things throughout this process.
This entire endeavor has been such an incredible challenge for all involved. So many hearts and lives have already been deeply impacted by this trip... and we haven't even left yet. We depart tomorrow full of faith in a glorious God that has abundantly and exceedingly provided for us in the face of every challenge leading up to this moment, knowing full well that He has made the way and surely directs our every step.
To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home What's next?
GO12 Videos Waterfight
Why do I go? Why do I believe that a chief component of my relationship with God is reaching out to people who don't know Him? After all, if He is all knowing and all powerful, what does He need me for anyway?
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:19-20
The easy answer is, we go because He said "go". There was no part of that passage that is formed like a suggestion. No, it is a command. Go, go to the poor, the hurting, the destitute, the hungry, the sick, the confused. Go, go across the street, across the room, across the hall, across the world. Go. Make. Disciples.
If Christ is our Lord, and He said "go", do we really even have a choice? The question then isn't, why do I go, but rather, why wouldn't I?
