good to be home

hey everyone, sorry its been a while since i have posted. i made it back safely to Alaska and its been really nice to be in one place, where i know i will stay for more than a few weeks, months, or years. i can finally "settle down" for a while and start planning my life with Jazmin here, according to Gods will of course. so basically i am working at the Valley Church of Christ, its the congregation that i grew up in and im really excited to start my ministry here. the body is loving and very tight knit but i know that there is always room to grow in Christ and hone our abilities and gifts that are given to us by God. not only is the church body here of a good size already, but there are still so many people here in Alaska who are yet to know about Jesus! we are one of the most unchurched states in the Union, so that is a task in itself. i cant wait to see what kind of fruit God starts producing here. i will keep updating as more things start to happen, but right now im just taking it easy. love you all and God bless - Ben

i feel it coming back again, like a rolling thunder chasing the wind...

sooner rather than later, i will be boarding that big jet plane to make my way back to the frontier, back to Alaska. its bittersweet, leaving one home to go to the next. i have a new chapter in life to look forward to, my girlfriend Jazmin and I are planning on getting married next June. i have something to work for, a place to prepare for us in Alaska, but nonetheless I will be working for God, preaching Christ and letting Him work through me. some awesome news, I got to baptize Jazmins uncle, Javier, last Sunday. its great for her to have another Christian in her family of Catholics, and next I think her mom's heart will be opened to the Word. Please pray for the lost here in Leon, Mexico. even though I will be leaving on Sept. 8, i will always be connected to the people here, not only through my girlfriend and future wife, but through Christ. God bless.

robbers

Hi everyone! Well I have some good news. The good news is that Jesus loves us. The bad news, some robbers broke into our apartment last Wednesday and stole 3 laptop computers (including mine), 2 digital cameras, and a wallet. Thankfully, no one got hurt because we werent home. So I have limited access to the internet right now, but im here in a cyber cafe typing this. This situation reminds me of 2 things, 1. how blessed we really are to be missionaries who have unlimited communication through the internet, and 2. how unimportant ¨stuff¨ really is. For example, right now because I have no computer, I am getting more time to spend reading the Bible and studying it. I have already learned so much more just from this time and I am enjoying the closeness that I have with God. So my encouragement to you is, forget the computer or the email or whatever ¨stuff¨ you have blocking your communication with God, and talk with Him for a while, or read his Word.

sad but true

I know that usually, missionaries put the success stories of the work on their blogs.... but the sad truth of the matter is that things dont always work out that great. Someone once said that "The life of a Christian isnt easier, it just isnt lonely" and also that "Christianity isnt a religion that gets you out of a bad situation, it just gets you through it." Today I went out to my friend Davids house, and got to visit with him, his mom Isabel (to the left), and his little sister Maribel. David is growing up in a house with no manly influence, and is confused about a lot of things, doesnt have a lot of motivation, and the motivation that he does have is for the wrong reasons. Maribel is either oblivious to the familys situation, or chooses to ignore it, as she often seems in her own little world. Isabel is the single mother who takes care of the family, but she just started working again after a long period of time not working at all. She had borrowed money from a money lending company here in Leon, but because she didnt pay back the money, they took away her stove. So when I was at her house, she explained to me that they are forced to buy food that you dont need to cook on a stove. I have to admit, ever since I have gotten here, her situation has gotten worse and worse. It breaks my heart to see it, but its the truth. The only thing that she really has in life is Jesus, and sometimes I'm not even sure if she realizes it, wants it, or care about it. Please pray for my friends, our brothers and sister in Christ, who dont have as good of a life as we do.

thoughts, nothing more nothing less

nothing a whole lot going on down here. we got back from Saltillo and the youth reunion there and it was awesome, we ran into some different views on scripture and worship, but it was an eye opening experience nonetheless and just to be able to accept others as our brothers in Christ is a big step and I hope to encourage others to do the same. we may not worship in the same form, preach in the same tone, or dress the same way, but we are all loved by the SAME GOD! i am leaving Mexico in almost exactly a month. i dont know how i feel about it, i know i will be coming back because my girlfriend and future wife is here right now, but who knows where God is going to take us. help start a new church plant here in Leon? work with my congregation in Alaska? start a Spanish congregation in Alaska? i love life, the freedoms we have and just the ability to not worry about money, time, or anything other than following God and making sure we are doing His will in our lives. i guess thats one of the many reasons i love my girlfriend, she shares that view. i guess the point of this post is simply this: please pray for me, and i will pray for you.

Tianguis

Yesterday was really awesome. At 7:20 a.m, I met with my teammate Megan and one of our friends Jazmin to get ready to sell some used clothes at a nearby "tianguis" market. This coming week, 22 of us from the church here, 18 youths and 4 adults, will be heading to Saltillo, Mexico to attend a nation wide youth reunion. We are all excited to go and see what God will do, but the funds so far have been lacking so we have been fundraising the past week. We got to the market and had to wait until 8:30 to see how many of the regular vendors would show up, and then try and find a spot to set up in between their booths and stands. We set up and had 8 bags of clothes to set out, and as soon as we opened the bags and started to tell how much we were selling it all for, people began to take interest in what we had. During the 4 hours in which we worked, we saw all type of people, selling all types of things, and i even payed 3 pesos to use the bathroom in a bucket in the backroom of an unlit house. It was probably one of my favorite Mexican experiences, selling used clothes at the tianguis, because it was something totally new to me. So by 1:30 we had sold half of the clothes we had brought, and made $800 pesos (which is roughly $80 American dollars). We had really not expected to sell that much, but God provided, like always. I guess my point is, remember who you are working for, whether you are selling used clothes at an outdoor market or working at the boss at a white-collar business, remember who we are working for! If we remember this, HE will provide us with what we need.

Time

Well I went home for a week and it was awesome to be able to see everyone there, see how everyone has grown in their walk with God, and to be able to get a little peak of what my future holds. I got to see my new baby cousin, Marie who is very beautiful, not only did I see her but they EVEN let me hold her! I got to see my best friend Jake Collins get married to Kristina Pruitt and it was a beautiful thing to be able to see. I love weddings and just how biblical that concept really is. I got back to Leon and the first thing I got to see was a brother and his 2 sisters get baptized! Another beautiful thing to be able to see. I have been really blessed lately. We went to the waterpark Splash yesterday to celebrate the fourth of July. Im not sure if our country was even talked about much but it sure was fun grilling out steaks and going down all the slides at the pool. I like to look at it as more of a celebration of family and good friends. Because thats what we are here in Leon. My uncle is the evangelist at my church in Alaska and he preached on the last Sunday in June, and the homework he gave was to read the book of James once a day for the whole week. Well i forgot to yesterday but other than that, I have been reading it every day and its amazing how much you get from a book after rereading it over and over. New things stick out and definitions are cleared up and defined. This post is just to let everyone know I am alive, in my next one I want to show some of what I learned from James. God bless!