From Honduras!

Well friends, I am officially in Honduras.  I wasted no time getting to work.  I spent my first day deconstructing a church (which, fyi, was not what I expected to be doing on my first day, but it's a long story), and I spend my second day surveying and laying out foundations for a pavilion which will be built in the coming weeks.  

I wanted to let you know that my blog will kind of be changing directions.  I will be using this space to post updates from my time in Honduras, to post newsletters, to ask for prayer, and to tell stories of how I see God working here.  In the coming days, I plan on posting each of my first three newsletters that I sent out.  In case you aren't signed up to receive my quarterly newsletters, or for some reason didn't get one and were supposed to, you'll now be able to read them!  

Disfruten, amigos!

"The grave that held you will master you no more.  The Lord will not see in you a fiend or a whore, and you will be a son, a daughter.  Wake up, O sleeper, and Christ will shine on you.  Rise from the dead and His light will shine upon you.  There is hope, so sing"

The Watchman

I have sort of delayed writing this post for a while.  I am moving to Honduras in two days, what do I say?  This is a moment that I have prayed about and waited on for three and a half years; so what do you say when three and a half years of waiting and preparing is two days away?  I have asked for your prayers and support and you have faithfully offered it, but before I leave, I will ask one more thing of you...

A friend of mine recently turned me on to Ezekiel 33, the Watchman.  In this passage, Ezekiel is commissioned by God to be the watchman of Israel.  A watchman's duty is exactly that, to watch and alert.  If a people appoint a watchman, he is to alert the people of coming danger.  If anyone hears the alert, but does not heed the warning and he is killed, his blood is on his own hands.  But if the watchman does not alert the people of coming danger and they are killed, then their blood is on the hands of the watchman. 

Well, that makes sense.  If the watchman doesn't do his job and people die, it's his fault.  Simple enough. 

There is more to this though.  Why have a watchman? Is there an enemy attacking? What is he warning the people of?  What is out there that's so dangerous that will destroy the people, but that they are blind to? 

This watchman isn't there to warn the people of a foreign attacker.  He isn't even there to warn people of their sin.  He is there to warn people of the wrath of God, a wrath, which, if goes unsatisfied, will lead to eternal damnation.  This doesn't sound like good news.  This doesn't sound very warm and fuzzy.  This sounds harsh, and unloving, and evil.  God can be accused of none of this however, because he gave his son to appease his wrath and he appointed us all as watchmen to alert the unrepentant of the coming destruction.

We must tell them.

We are not bad.  We are dead. 

We are not sick and in need of medicine.  We are dead and in need of a miracle.

We are all dead.  Hondurans.  Americans.  Those in the 1st century.  Those in the 21st. 

This truth--we are dead--is the reason for the gospel.  It is the reason for Christ.  We can't leave this out.  We can't overlook the wrath of God for the love of God.  Without wrath, there is no love.  Without love, there is no wrath.  They are inseparable.  They are equal parts of God's character.  To share the gospel and leave out the wrath of God is to be a watchman and report sunny skies on the horizon even when you can see the attacking army.  The gospel minus the wrath of God is not the gospel--it is no gospel.

So why all this talk about the wrath and the watchman?  What does this have to do with me moving to Honduras? 

Well, quite simply, I'm going to be a watchman.  There are people in Honduras who are dead.  They need to hear the good news that although they are headed down a path that leads to eternal destruction, their debt has been paid.  I may be going to do this in Honduras, but in reality, you and I will be doing the same thing.  It doesn't matter where you call home, or work, or play, if you claim Christ, you too are a watchman.  You are responsible for the eternal state of the souls of those around you.  Right around you, wherever you are, people need to hear this news.  When you approach life this way, suddenly, the location becomes less important.  The amenities and comforts seem arbitrary.  The only thing that matters are the souls around you.  It doesn't really matter if the souls around you live in the suburbs or the slums.  It doesn't matter if the souls around you have showered today.  You see, rich or poor or clean or dirty, there all dead.  That is why my "mission" this year is no more important than yours.  God has given us the same task each and every day: to alert those around us of impending wrath as a result of their wickedness. 

I covet your support of me this year.  I will ask you to pray for me.  I will ask you to pray for the Hondurans.  However, the main thing I ask of you, is that you do not fail in your duties as a watchman because, after all, if you claim to be a follower of Christ, you are one.

The only question is:

Will you sound the alarm?

The Thing That Won't Change You

As I type this, Passion Conference 2013 is exploding in Atlanta, GA unlike it ever has before.  I attended Passion 2010, 2011, and 2012, and I am eternally grateful for the truths I learned during my times there.  Louie Giglio and the Passion team truly do a great job of, first and foremost, preaching the name of Jesus and his renown above the "Passion" name or the "Louie" name or the "Chris Tomlin" name or any other speaker/band/movement.

As much as I learned and grew in Christ at the three Passion conferences that I did attend, I think that I am learning just as much by not attending this one.  Here's why:

If you're anything like me, you're impatient.  Fast food sometimes isn't fast enough.  High-speed internet sometimes isn't "high-speed" enough.  Urgent care takes all day.  Traffic jams are headache inducers.  In my world of "now," I find that sometimes I want my share of Jesus "now."  Sometimes, I don't want to sweat and struggle and pray for hours on my knees only to have God not answer my prayer the way I want him to.  Sometimes, I don't want to spend hours and hours studying scripture when the TV is calling my name.  Sometimes, I don't want to be obedient to Christ when it's much easier not to be.  

But here's the think about instantcy: it fleets.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

No pressure, no diamonds.

You pick the cliche; the point is all the same.  For the most part, things that come quickly are usually less permanent/durable/quality than those that take time to develop.  My walk with Christ is the same way.  My nature wants it to come easily and quickly and painlessly.  My nature wants to be at Passion because I can get an enormous dose of Jesus.  My nature wants to be on high for Jesus, because  a high feels so good.  After all, what could be better than instant satisfaction that feels permanent and immortal?  (For the record, I'm speaking about a spiritual high.  I have no experience with any other kind of high!)

But remember the thing about instancy?  It fleets.  It is neither permanent nor immortal.  Instant satisfaction turns out to be deception.  Permanent turns into temporary.  Immortal turns out to be very, very susceptible   

By not being at Passion right now, I can see how differently I am approaching Christ.  Instead of running to a fire hydrant of Jesus, I am steadily growing closer him little by little, day by day.  I have to learn to grow in Christ painstakingly because there won't always be a Passion to go to.  There won't always be a podcast to listen to or a book to read.  Sometimes, all I will have are my bible and my Savior.  If those two things aren't enough for me when they are all I have, then all the Passions in the world can't help me.  

This is where I want to be careful.  I do not want it to seem like I am saying that God can't change a
person through a conference like Passion.  I have seen in my own life, and the lives of others, tangible change as a result of Passion and conferences similar.  I will definitively say, however, that if you leave Passion with nothing but emotions, by the end of the month, you will revert to the pre-Passion version of yourself.  That is to say, if all you take away from Passion are some one-line quotes from Francis Chan, a heart full of emotion, a picture with your community group, and a digital all-access pass, then you will not change.  All the preaching, all the music from the best worship bands, all the lights, and all the fog in the world is not enough to change your stony heart.  Only Jesus can change your stony heart.  Jesus will be preached at Passion.  You only have to make sure that you're following him, and not your fleeting emotions.  If you are blessed enough to have attended Passion this year, please don't waste what God is trying to do in you by letting your emotions convince you that there is no work involved.  If God is doing a work through you, it won't be completed at Passion.  In fact, it won't be completed until "the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).  Don't let your emotions fool you into thinking that it's smooth sailing here on our.  Expect to have to work.  To have to go against the grain.  To probably have to endure some painful or confusing hours in prayer.  There is no such thing as instant faith.  Satan would like nothing more than for you to attend Passion and leave deceived by your own emotions.




Please, don't think for even a second that I have all of this figured out.  I say these things only because I have seen the spiritual high deceive too many people, including myself.   It pains me to see people fired up for Christ, only to find that their intensity was rooted in their own ability to stay high. If you attended Passion 2013, I pray that you will continue to thrive in Christ long after the high has faded.  If you didn't get to attend Passion 2013, don't worry.  You may not be sitting a room with 60,000 people, but the time you spend in prayer and in the Word glorifies the same God being worshiped in the Georgia Dome.  If you have no clue what Passion is, that's perfectly alright, because Passion isn't the point.

Jesus is the point.

Full Circle

I love it when things come full circle.  7 months ago, almost to the day, I sat in a coffee shop and interviewed for a job at a local construction company.  I didn't know exactly what I would be getting myself into, but I did know that I wouldn't be ready to leave for Honduras for quite a few months, and since most companies didn't exactly value my plans for Honduras, this was my best option on the table.  I quickly learned that not only did this company value my plans to go to Honduras, but they actively sent out thier employees on short-term mission trips.  They were more than accomodating with my support raising and were geniunely interested in hearing about the progress of my journey to Honduras.

Now, flash forward 7 months to toinght.  I sit in the middle of a room as employees from this company lay hands on me and pray over me as I prepare to leave for Honuras.  I can't explaing why, but it was one of the coolest experiences of my life knowing that my employer for the better part of the last year was lifting me up to Almighty God in prayer.

The employment I have found at Grace Klein Construction over the last seven months is just a small part of the puzzle that God has divinely assembled in his plan to get me to Honduras while bringing the most glory to himself as possible.

I have more Honduras news that I will release very soon.  Thank you for your prayers and for your partnership with in the gospel.

Feliz Navidad!

Honduras Update 1: Support Raising

I am currently undertaking the most substantial task that I have ever attempted to undertake. In order to understand that and the rest of this blog, you must first know two things, both of which you may already be aware of:

1.  I am moving to Honduras for one year to share the gospel and make disciples through the use of construction.

2.  I am raising 100% of my support before I leave for Honduras.

Had you asked me four months ago, I would have told you that I was out-of-my-mind excited about #1 and that #2 was only a necessary evil that had to be accomplished before I could get on with #1.

If you were to ask me now, I would tell you that I am even more than out-of-my-mind excited about #1.  My thoughts on #2 however have changed.  God has humbled me in my outlook.  He has show me that He is in control and that I control nothing.  I want to share with you some of the attitudes that I have been broken of and some of the things God is teaching me during this process.  I don't want you to know these things so that you can see how I have matured in my approach to support raising.  I want you to know about these things so that you will see how great God is, and how small I am.  I also want to show you how expansive an impact we could have on the Kingdom if we would just believe these two truths, truths that God is making painfully evident in my life right now.


1. God is big.  I have tried to convince myself of many different reasons as to why it makes sense to raise support: 1. It's biblical.  Paul raised support.  Even Jesus' ministry was supported financially by a third party.  2.  It'll make me trust God.  It'll making me rely on his faithfulness.  3.  I get to involve others in the Great Commission.  By partnering with supporters, I allow them to share a part of my ministry.  All three of these reasons are justified, but I'm not convinced that they're the main reason why God would have me raise my own support.  I believe the reason is this:

If I didn't raise my support, it'd be too easy.  If I didn't raise my support, there would be no development, no struggle.  These points culminate into one ultimate: if I didn't raise my support, God wouldn't receive the glory due him.  If God wants to receive the glory due him in this process, then why not do it through the most unlikely of circumstances?  If I had an extra $30,000 laying around and was able to just hop on a plane for Honduras, where is God in that?  If I had a check handed to me each month to cover my expenses, nobody would see that and say "Wow, look at what God has done!"  If I've learned anything, it's that God's ways are higher.  While my means are motivated by selfish ends (to get to Honduras quicker, to not have to "worry" about support, to not look incapable), God's means are motivated by a very specific end: the advancement of his glory.

I'll explain it further this way:  if you take a look at just a few of the "Bible heroes", as we like to call them, God brings glory to himself in a similar way.  He never chooses the most popular, or the most polished, or the most well respected to accomplish his will.  In fact, it's quite the opposite.  He used a murderer and adulterer in David to bring about the lineage of Christ.  He chose a liar and a coward in Peter to build his church on.  He entrusted 12 common men, men with zero societal clout, with the task of spreading Christianity to the rest of the world.  God has a habit of accomplishing his purpose through the most unlikely people in the most unlikely circumstances so that he gets more glory out of it.  When someone looks at David, a murderer and adulterer, and sees the lineage directly to the savior of the world, they can't explain it apart from God.  So when someone looks at me,  a poor college graduate who lives in a camper, and sees what I have accomplished to get to Honduras, they too can't explain it apart from God.

2. Pray hard.  A second reason why I am thankful for raising support is because it has taught me to pray. It has taught me to pray hard.  It has taught me to physically hit my knees, grab hold of the horns of the altar, and pray hard until I have assurance that God has heard me, and even then, not to stop, but to continue to petition the only One who is able to provide.  If I wasn't up against such an unattainable task, I wouldn't be forced to rely on God for my every need.  I wouldn't be forced to daily petition God to raise up faithful partners with whom I can work to advance His kingdom in Honduras.  So, even if it appears that all my efforts in support raising are being done in vain, I can say this at the very least: it has taught me to pray.

I do not, however, think that my efforts are in vain.  I do, in fact, believe that God hears my prayers.  And I do, for sure, believe that God is receiving glory.  I confidently say these things because God has already begun to prove his faithfulness as I am well over halfway to my goal of being 100% funded.  My goal for departure for Honduras has been January.  I still cannot say if I will make my goal, but I am often reminded that it is just that, my goal.  My goal means nothing.  All that matters is that my support is raised according to God's plan.   It is not easy to relinquish control in this matter, but that is when God is glorified.

If you would like to know more about my support raising, its progress, or how you could get involved, please do not hesitate to contact me about it (trussell@caminoglobal.org).  I find joy and excitement in being able to involve more people in what God is doing here.

I can't wait to write again on the progress God is making in this journey.  I would ask you to pray alongside me that God would continue to raise up faithful partners for the spread of His gospel and the advancement of His kingdom.

In Christ...

We Don't Belong Here Forever

Caleb was a friend of mine; he died Sunday night.  We played Ultimate Frisbee together at Auburn; he was good.  We went to church together in Auburn.  We ate at Cracker Barrel together twice; we both ordered chicken fried chicken both times.  He beat me at the peg game that sits on the tables at Cracker Barrel; he was good at that too.  I can't say that I knew Caleb extremely well, but I can say that he was an excellent teammate, a hard worker and a sincere lover of Jesus Christ.

I heard a song today that put Caleb's death in perspective for me.  Simply titled Heaven, Paul Wright says "we don't belong here forever. No, no, we don't belong here.  We'll be dancing, singing, bringing our praises and lifting our voices to Jesus.  They'll be no more crying, lying, or dying when you and I are in heaven."  I have to believe that God has placed each person on this earth for a very specific purpose.  People aren't "called home" too early.  People's lives don't get "cut short" as many of us sympathetically claim in times of unexpected tragedy.  God knows what he is doing; He calls us to be with him at exactly the right moment.  What a glorious moment that must be--the moment when crying, lying and dying cease and our eternity becomes dancing, singing, and bringing praises to the creator of the universe!

Eternity becomes heavy on my mind in times like this.  The thought of the afterlife being eternal  becomes, if only for a split second, tangible.  That is when my heart breaks.  So many will not experience dancing, and singing, and bringing praises to Jesus because they never knew him.  Fortunately, Caleb will experience that; in fact, he is right now, and I'm sure there's no place he'd rather be.

If you do not know Jesus Christ, I beg you to meet Him.  I don't want you to claim Him solely so that you will be in heaven for eternity.  Yes, that's part of it, but I want you to meet Christ because I can assure you that nothing else can hold a candle to the satisfaction found in Him.  Nothing else in all of creation that you could possibly lend your attention to will be able to satisfy you like Christ.  In Christ is where the only eternal satisfaction is found. Eternal peace.  Eternal paradise. If you could, just ask Caleb.

I will go to Caleb's funeral on Thursday.  He will be buried.  The sun will set.  Then it will rise again.  Life will come calling the day after Caleb is buried, and as long as there is life, there is hope.  As long as the sun rises again, there is hope that you too will be able to join Caleb as he dances, sings, and brings praises to Jesus.

So please, look to Jesus.  You don't have to look far, He's not hiding.  He's calling and waiting.

Please.

Let Everything That Has Breath...

A lot has happened since I last wrote a post.  I finished my thesis, I graduated college, I moved to Birmingham, I started a new job, my sister got married, I went through training/orientation for Honduras, I have began support raising/partnership building for Honduras, and I moved again.  Life has finally slowed down enough for me to write; unfortunately, however, there are so many things I'd like to write about that have happened in the last 10 weeks, I have quite a bit of catching up to do.  God has taught me so much and begun to open my eyes to so many new things about Himself, that I really don't know where to begin.  Eventually, I'll get around to talking about Honduras and preparation and partnership formation and the like, but for now, I want to share three chapters of Psalm that God has revealed to me that have dominated my thoughts for the last month.

Prior to about 6 weeks ago, I had never read the last three chapters of Psalm (148, 149, 150).  I had heard the phrase "let everything that has breath praise the Lord," but I had never bothered to look up its source.  I'm so grateful to have found these chapters, because they have literally reformed the way I think about the purpose of life.  To sum it up, the psalmist commands everything on earth, all creatures, all humans, all plants, all creation, to praise the Lord.  The concept is simple, and its exhaustive.  It starts out by commanding all of creation to praise the Lord.  All his angles, all his heavenly hosts, the sun and the moon, all shining stars, the highest heavens and the waters above the skies are all commanded to praise the Lord.  Then all of earth is commanded to praise the Lord.  Great sea creatures, all ocean depths, the weather, mountains and hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and cattle, small creatures and birds, kings and princes and rulers, young men and maidens, old men and children are all commanded to praise the name of the Lord because His name alone is exalted.  Then the people of earth are told to praise the Lord.  With dancing and instruments and joy they are to rejoice in their maker and praise Him for His greatness.  The last 11 words of Psalm sum it all up: "let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord."

If these chapters don't already make it clear enough, the destiny of every creature on earth is to praise the Lord.  This is the heartbeat of God--for every creature to praise His name.  Every human being WILL praise the Lord in one of two situations: as we enter the gates of heaven where we will sing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty" for eternity, or as we descend into the depths of hell where we will suffer for eternity.  These two options make clear the distinction of God's grace versus his wrath.  It shows the haunting reality of God's unquenchable wrath for those who deny him, and the unwavering hope received from God's unending grace for those who embrace Him.

These chapters have so greatly reinforced in my life the ultimate reason why we exist-- to praise the Lord.  It seems to me that the God of the universe is powerful enough to make this happen.  It gives me hope to know that His name will one day be thoroughly praised by all.  This hope is no reason to back off on sharing this good news, but is all the reason more to spread it so that God's glory is more famous today than it was yesterday.

"May the praise of God be in their mouths...let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord."