I hate packing. It always seems so daunting, and I spend about a week worrying about what I may forget.

But when it comes to actually doing the task, it’s no problem since I have everything at my disposal…and I wonder why I worried about it in the first place.

10 days worth of clothes? Check. Toothbrush? Check. Bible? Check. Underwear? Double check.

That’s my list of things I’m taking to New Delhi for our mission trip in a few hours. I’m actually pretty excited about this trip just to see what God is going to do. But this has literally been a year long process for me to get to this point.

I started off 2011 by going on my first missions trip ever to Orissa. I went by myself, but before I left I was completely discouraged, confused, unsure, and….worried. 2010 was quite possibly the worst year of my life with so many question marks involving work, school, family, and ministry. There was not one area of my life that wasn’t in utter confusion. All of that culminated into one giant, random (so it seemed), decision to go on a missions trip to Orissa in January.

Determined to make 2011 different, I went. I came back excited about preaching the Gospel, but little did I know that God was prepping me, and my friends, to grow closer to Him through a series of events through the next 12 months. The discouragement turned into encouragement. The troubles of the prior year served as lessons and guardrails for this year. Every so-called trial of the past revealed itself as having a purpose to make us stronger as a unit.

You may have seen our “Give Thanks” video on YouTube that we put up on Thanksgiving Day. We really meant it. This year, and seeing God literally revealing Himself to me through my job, family, friends, and ministry, I can honestly say 2011 has been completely amazing. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. The lesson I learned can be quickly summed up by James 1:2-4 (NASB):

²Â Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

What is this perfect result? I can’t describe it. Am I there yet? No way. But to give you a glimpse, I’d like to share a picture from my trip to India back in January. I went on that trip in an utter state of confusion. But during my time there, I had the chance to go on a “houseboat”.

A houseboat is the Indian version of a…umm…boat with a house attached to it. But this was my view. The moment I sat on that boat, put my feet up on the deck, and stared out into the never ending river, I experienced a peace I’ve never felt before. It was pretty surreal on how I could feel so at home during a time in my life where everything was supposed to be confusing.

That’s God working through your trials. If you approach trials with the faith that He is perfecting a good work in you, it will give you a whole new outlook when challenges come your way.

Are there obstacles in the path of this upcoming trip? Sure. Have I seen discouragement come my way mere days before we leave? Of course. But this time, I expect it. Because I know better. This time, I know there is a reason for the trials. And to be honest, I’m ready to confront them head on because they are going to make us even stronger.

Yeah, I still have to pack. But I’m not worried. I’m actually pretty excited for what’s in store.

Hey Everyone!

At the beginning of August, I had the amazing opportunity to go on a mission trip to Mumbai, India to help out an organization called Bombay Teen Challenge (BTC) with several others from Philly, New York (chicken & rice, holla!!) and New Jersey.  BTC began as a ministry devoted to reaching out to the poorest of the poor and has evolved to rescue and care for sex slaves in the brothels of Mumbai, the children of sex slaves, juveniles roaming the streets, addicts and runaways.  I must say, we went with a mindset ready to bless all those we came in contact with on this trip, but moreover than we could EVER have imagined, we in turn have been the ones blessed.

We had opportunities to talk and work with the children at BTC, some HIV+, many not knowing who their father is, some not aware of their true age, others just thankful to not be on the streets anymore.  My first reaction when I saw these kids was just an amazement at how happy they all were!  It was a happiness I couldn’t understand; their smiles so large and sweet they became contagious… seconds after seeing all of them, we too were smiling!!  I quickly realized that their happiness boiled from within because they were so greatful to have an opportunity to be where they are at right now, and not out on the streets, unaware of their surroundings, or when they’d get to eat their next meal.

We heard testimonies from women who were once taken, or left, from their homes, promised a life of opportunity and hope, yet stripped of all dignity and forced into sexual slavery in Mumbai, India.  By being forced into this “lifestyle” many became scared and had no place to turn for help.  Not knowing who to trust anymore and not wanting to bring shame to their families or themselves, they remained shackeled to their new lives in the Red Light District.  Broken mentally, emotionally, and physically, many of these woman racked up debts that they were unable to pay off.  Many had children born to them by some guy who felt the need for a 5 minute sexual adrenaline rush… never to be seen or heard from ever again, yet these woman were faced with the choice of raising their children on their own, within the Red Light District.

Testimonies from the men began with running away from home hoping to find a better life in the streets, little did any of them realize the hardships they would face, or the atrocities of the life they had chosen at the time.  Consequently, many fell victim to the streets and became heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol.  Begging on the streets throughout the day provided enough money for the drugs and alcohol that they craved, causing many to not even be able to eat or afford proper food.  Living in homes made of cardboard boxes, or tarp hanging over their heads, nearby the railway stations or transit centers, their lives were lost to wandering the streets, and with no education they were unable to obtain jobs to take them out of this poverty and wretched situation.

Yet… God is a JUST God.  God is SO much more of a Father to His children than anyone could ever be, is SO much greater than that guy who walked into the Red Light District as a client, and is SO much greater than any addiction that anyone on these streets had ever had to face.  After talking to many of the men, women, and children at BTC, it is SO clear to see the hope that God had restored in their lives.  The very fact they each of them can truly and genuinely confess that Jesus is their Lord, and He alone has brought them out of their past to take them out of such miseries to provide an open path of redemption and hope, is just AMAZING.

Only God can cause such a transformation in their lives.  How can I possibly say that it’s only God?  Because people always change.  People will always say something great to you in hopes to change you or make you feel better and to help you forget about your past, but there is only ONE person who can allow you to truly forget about your past by knowing that your sins have truly been forgiven… and that is Jesus Christ.  Jesus BECAME sin, and SURRENDERED that sin upon the cross to His FATHER, and according to one of His last sentences on that cross, “It is finished.” – meaning, sin is over, it’s done, it has NO bearing or hold over our lives, and we need to indulge in that fact and move forward in His unconditional Love and Grace.

Jeremiah 33:10-11- ”This is what the LORD says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without men or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD…’ ”

This verse came to life when I went to Mumbai, society might say that there is no hope or possibility for salvation within those streets of the Red Light District, but I say to you that is completely FALSE.  There IS hope, and there is SO much opportunity to bring that hope of Christ to people there, so that they may know that they no longer have to live in that lifestyle, but they can trust God to take them out of it.

It’s the least we can do with all that God has blessed us with, isn’t it up to us to go out and break the injustice and stop sexual slavery?  to stop the drug and alochol addictions?  to provide for and take care of the many hungry and homeless?

In all honesty, it’s not good to be back… I wish I was there helping in whatever way I can, but it’s up to us to be faithful in what God has already given us, and I truly believe if we align ourselves to Christ and work as a community for Him, He will take us to where He wants us to be, whether to minister on those streets, or not.  God bless!

In His Grace,

Steve