Jamaica!

I spent all day today travelling to Kingston, Jamaica for my first overseas missions trip! The travel was great, and I had alot of fun getting to know the rest of the team (12 of which I've never met before!). There was only a little turbulence on the flight over from Miami, but flying with two people who have never flown before, and another who isn't a big fan, is definitely entertaining!!! Even without the turbulence!

I am struck by how beautiful the country is. I guess when I think about a third world country I automatically mentally flash through pictures I've seen on those Sally Struthers "Feed the Children" type of commercials. I image a rather desolate place where everyone is miserable and wanting to share that misery. A place where nothing surrounds you but dingy shanty-type housing and arrid ground. But I was very wrong. The people here are very happy, even though they have little to nothing. And the landscape is breath-taking. Both from flying over the island on the way in, and from the drive here from the airport, I was amazed by the incredible ocean views and the mountains that tower over the landscape. God is truly amazing, and His creation never ceases to boggle my mind! Mountains and ocean, two of my FAVORTIE things! And both in the same place!!!

The people here seem to be striving for the same things we strive for in America...even dressing very similar and seeming to have the same vices that we do. It is only the first day, and I know that I have ALOT more to learn this week, but I am stoked for a great week of excitement, learning, teaching, sharing, exploring, and taking in the beauty the God has put around me! I'll be teaching, and possibly preaching, this week, and helping with the Jamaican VBS here at the mission. I just thought I'd share a few thoughts on this first day. My body is tired, but my mind isn't, so it's not like I was going to go to sleep anyway! haha!

I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for this week...


It was a fun experience to get to go through Customs for the first time. Several people were "worried" that I might open my mouth and say the wrong thing, and get myself detained or overly questioned. Not that I would ever do such a thing! But I was my regular self, and NO ONE STOPPED ME! haha. Hopefully that holds true on the way home to the States too! But the Customs people were all very nice, and genuinely helpful. Although, they did get a little bent out of shape when we were taking pictures in the airport. APPARENTLY, in Jamaica that is a big no-no! I was unaware! It seems that I am often taking pictures in places that I'm not supposed to be! hahaha. But this time I had to delete the picture. Oh well, there really wasn't much to take pictures of, it was more of something to do while we waited to be checked through.

On the way in to the Mission from the airport today, we saw the factory where they filmed the opening scene in the newer James Bond movie, "Casino Royale." That was pretty cool. We were also treated to the experience of Jamaican driving! For starters...they drive on the WRONG SIDE of the road! And the steering wheel is on the opposite side than we Americans are used to. But that was the least of the differences. It was like driving through New York City only more hectic! The roads are in pretty rough shape, and often there are no middle divider lines for the lanes. People do not wait or even look before they pull into traffic, and all the drivers play "Chicken" regularly because they are too impatient to wait behind a slower car. Not that I would have much room to talk! I wasn't bothered by the driving because I was a passenger, but if I were the one driving.....I would NOT have been happy! haha, there would have been alot of shouting and horn blowing. Which is something they consider part of the Jamaican driving experience....they do not use blinkers really, they simply honk to let you know they are there. When they go around a car to pass, they honk to let the car know...kind of like a track runner would let the runner ahead of him know as he comes around the outside lane to pass.

All in all it was a great day and a great start to what should be an awesome week!

Life Chain and other Deland updates

So, I realized that it's been a LONG time since I've written anything on here, so I thought I would make a quick few notes. I spent an hour today doing the Life Chain "rally." For those who don't know what that is, its where you stand on the side of the road holding any one of several anti-abortion signs and just pray about the abortion issue for an hour (without talking, and doing your best to ignore any negative responses you see/hear from those who pass by). So, I've got to say, I've never done this sort of thing before, in fact, never really had any intention to. I am alot more wired to have a one on one conversation with someone about a topic than to stand on the side of the road with a sign. But I was curious about having the experience. So when I was asked by the mother of one of my Jr. High boys to come and take part, I decided to give it a try. I'm sure we've all passed some kind of protest on the side of the road before...be it abortion or something else, I know I've passed my share of them. And to be honest, I'm not really sure what I thought about them before other than that it wasn't really my thing. So as I stood out there, I watched the looks and reactions of the people driving by. Overall they were positive. There were a few middle fingers, and some sarcastic remarks, but nothing that was any more than a little bit of ignorance and a small lack of respect, lol. I don't know about you, but a sarcastic remark or finger in my direction has never really been enough to rattle me too much. Overall it wasn't a bad experience. My sign said "Pray to end Abortion." I thought that would be the least potentially offensive of the choices.

I've been in Deland now for 3 months. I'm enjoying all the new people and friends, and being back close to family and friends here, but I miss Knoxville, my friends there, and the mountains! The beach is no substitution for mountains!!! But God moves us to where He wants to use us, so I'm curious/excited to see what He has in store here.

Maybe I'll try to write more often, haha. Maybe not.

Milligan Trip....Truth Project

I was given the opportunity last night and today to attend a regional training conference for Focus on the Family's, "The Truth Project." For anyone not aware of what that is (like me before this weekend), it is Focus' attempt to teach a biblical worldview through small groups. There are 12 DVD lessons that are really packed full of information. I was a little skeptical about how the weekend would go because a friend of mine had mentioned it and said he wasn't that big of a fan of it. But after hearing Dr. Del Tackett go through the curriculum, and the vision they have for it, I am excited to go through the material. Our society as a whole has bought into alot of lies, from politicians, the media, Hollywood, etc. This was a refreshing look at the biblical Truths that we have traded in for these lies.

The conference usually costs about $150 to attend, but through God's grace and provision, we were given free participant's passes through the son of a staff member here at the college (he is one of the main people invovled with Truth Project), free definitely fits into my budget!! Thank you Cathy and Gary Alan Taylor!

One of the greatest parts of this opportunity was that it was being hosted by Milligan College in Johnson City. I haven't been to Milligan's campus in about 6 years! We used to go to CIY there when I was in High School, but when they started having CIY at Lee University in Cleveland, TN, we started going there instead. It was great to be back at Milligan. I have alot of memories from the years I went to CIY there. The conference was held in Seeger Chapel, so during a break I started roaming around. I went into Lower Seeger, where Milligan's music department is. We had our His Time at CIY one year down there, and I could almost see everyone sitting there listening as Marshall recounted his inability to find Psalms during D-group, and when I went over to the gym I could remember many games of basketball, indoor frisbee, running up the slanted side walls from the lower level up to gym floor. And sitting in Seeger Chapel I could remember the many hours of worship lead by Jeff (I've just blanked on his name, I'll fill it in later! haha), and hearing speakers like Jeff Walling, Rusty Logsden, Tim Gray, Robin Sigars, and Gary Zustiak deliver amazing messages from the Word. And could distinctly remember the first time I heard Rich Mullins sing, as he gave an impromptu concert my first CIY, just months before his death. Or sitting towards the back of the chapel, listening to Willie Bolden preach, and finding myself walking up front during the invitation time! Wow, the memories I have from Milligan! Of course, I can't forget the amazing cave that is minutes away! That cave was the whole reason I went to CIY in the first place that first year!!! God works in incredibly mysterious ways! I'm not 100% positive that I could find that cave again, but I could remember exactly where we parked, haha. But it brought back great memories of roaming around the mountains looking for that cave for HOURS! And the moment when Tim and Tony both came to the realization that they recognized the spot where we were at, and then proceeded to point in the OPPOSITE directions for where we should go!

To top it all off we ate lunch at "The Firehouse," which is a great barbeque place in Johnson City. The restaurant is an old firehouse that has been converted, complete with an old 1925 fully functional fire engine. Part of our CIY "tradition" was to eat lunch there during our extended-rec day.

It was a great trip. The conference was very good, the speaker was awesome, and walking down "memory lane" is always fun!

Rock Climbing

Last night, 3 friends and I went to the local Climbing Center to get belay certification training. We weren't sure exactly what to expect, other than that it would be free and should be alot of fun. I don't think any of the 4 of us were disappointed! The two teachers we had were very different, but both very competent and nice to us. They took the time to make sure we understood everything and were able to reproduce the results they were looking for. The Climbing Center charges $8 for a full day pass for students, so I think that the 4 of us will be taking advantage of this offer as often as possible! If you have a Climbing Center anywhere near you, I encourage you to take a few hours and go and enjoy the experience! I'll even belay for you...if you're close by!

Funny commercial

So I saw this commercial last night on tv and it made me laugh so hard it brought tears to my eyes. Just thought I'd show it to everyone else and share the laugh. If for some reason you can't see the video (not sure if it will upload into Facebook or not), you can see it on my blog, bknieriem.blogspot.com or on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez5ZvgG2TOc

Patriotic Hymns

You know the songs I'm sure...and I'm sure you've sang them all before, like this one:
"My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing"
Or this one:
"O beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain..."

And many others like it, such as "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (Glory, Glory Hallelujah) and the Star Spangle Banner.

What strikes me about these songs is where they can be found (and where for many years was among the few places to find them), and that is the hymnals in the pews of churches across the country. For those who can't remember, a hymnal is that book in the rack in the pew next to Bible...it hardly ever gets opened anymore.

What I think is so strange about that is the fact that with faith being such a big thing in politics and news anymore we seem to have forgotten our political roots. (See previous blog). I'm not saying that you have to be a Christian to be an American, or to be considered a patriot. Not by any means! But what is frustrating is to listen to the "talking heads" on the tv babble on about how Christian values had no role in the founding of this country, or how faith should not play any part in how we select our leaders.

The verses I mentioned above, I'm sure most of you could catch on to the tune quickly and have it playing along in your head, but for most of us we are lost after the first verse. I admit I am just as guilty. But I wonder why that is? Have you ever read the other verses of these songs? While arguably some of these songs can lose their Christian undertones and values when only the first verse is song, it is undeniable in the latter verses! For example, here is the 4th verse of "My Country 'Tis of Thee":
"Our fathers' God, to Thee, author of liberty, to Thee we sing: Long may our and be bright, with freedom's holy light; protect us by Thy might, Great God our King!"

And have you ever heard the second stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner? I admit that I don't think I ever had. Here are the words:
"O thus be it ever, when free men shall stand between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserves us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just; and this be our motto: 'In God is our trust!' And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave...O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?"
(did you know that there is a question mark at the end of the Star-Spangle Banner? I didn't, lol)

Even our own national anthem cries out to the thanks that was given to God for the founding of this country. How can we now say that the founders of this country were not men of faith? That they had no intention of making a country built on the values and morals that have long been the mark of Christianity? Again, that's not to say that you have to be a Christian to be an American. But the founders were building a country on the principles of their faith!

I thought it was interesting to see what the other verses of these classic American Patriotic songs said. I hope you'll take a peek for yourselves. God Bless America!!

Patriotism

So this past weekend was the 4th of July, and I'm sure everyone enjoyed taking in the smells of the neighborhood Bar-B-Q's and parades, topped off with the night skies (and neighbors yards) being lit up by hundreds of fireworks. Add to that the fact that many of you probably had a three day weekend and it makes for a great holiday! I love the patriotic holidays, I really do, maybe its because of spending time in the military, I don't know; but I always wonder why our patriotism seems to be secluded into one or two days a year. Why don't we show it all the time? Over the weekend I read many stories and blogs about the founding fathers and other patriots through the course of our countries history, and I'm hard-pressed to imagine them as being "holiday patriots." But I guess patriotism like other things is on a cycle of sorts...available at our disposal when we need it. Maybe I'm the only one frustrated by that, I don't know.

As I was thinking about the change in patriotism in this country over the years, I got to thinking about other things that have changed. And I ran across several blogs on the usual 4th of July banter, talking about whether or not America was founded by Christians, or as a Christian nation. I read many interesting blogs and stories about the founding fathers and the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Now, while you always have to take things you read on the internet with a grain of salt, and realize that most bloggers and authors have thier own agendas to fill, I searched out some of the things that were said and found some interesting truths. Many of the founding fathers and early leaders of this country were strong men of faith, and believed that what they were doing was prompted by and endorsed by God. Not only that, but there were many quotes from them concerning the relationship between God and government, and most of which came to the same conclusion: that God is and always will be a part of government, and that a nation that tries to throw Him out of it is doomed to fail. That is my own summation of a quote from John Jay, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. (see below for full quote). It just seems to me that we have lost touch with our "roots" so to speak. That we've gotten out of step with what this country was meant to be.

Anyway, I suppose I should step down off of my soap box before I make too long of a rant on here. Just thought I'd share some of what I found in my reading this weekend. I hope everyone had a great 4th! While yes, we all enjoy the BBQ's and fireworks, and extra days off from work, I hope that we keep in mind the sacrifices that have been made, and that are continuing to be made, so that we can enjoy the life we live in this great country! Here's some quotes I found, I hope you enjoy them:

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” – John Adams
(To the Officers of the First Brigade of the 3rd Division of the Massachusetts Militia, October 11, 1789. Adams Papers, Microfilm, reel 119 Library of Congress.)
“Whoever shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.” – Benjamin Franklin
(Burton Stevenson, The Home Book of Quotations – Classical & Modern (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1967), p.265.)
“No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion applied and accepted by all the classes. Should our Republic ever forget this fundamental precept of governance, men are certain to shed their responsibilities for licentiousness and this great experiment will then surely be doomed.” – John Jay
(Address to the American Bible Society, May 9, 1822, in The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Vol. 4, p.484.)
“It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage . . . Before any man can be considered a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.” – James Madison
(James Madison, A Memorial and Remonstrance (Washington DC: Library of Congress, Rare Book Collection, delivered to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia. 1785).)
“True religion affords to Government its surest support.” – George Washington
(To the synod of the Reformed Dutch Church of North America, October 1789, Washington Papers, Library of Congress.)

“Religion and Morality are the essential pillars of Civil society.” – George Washington
(Letter to the Clergy of Different Denominations Residing in the near the City of Philadelphia, March 3, 1797.)
“From the day of the Declaration . . . they (the American people) were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of the Gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledged as the rules of their conduct.” – John Quincy Adams
(John Wingate Thornton, The Pulpit of the American Revolution 1860 (New York: Burt Franklin, 1860, 1970), p.xxix.)

Quotes courtesy of Mark Beeson's blog.... www.markbeeson.com and other sites.

Also, look up Jeremiah 18:1-10...take a read