i'm not there yet...

so as many of you all may have learned i am not in the Philippine's quite yet. I am currently writing this in the weekend of May 23. This week has been very unexpected and very unplanned.
As some of you may, I received a phone call from my friend Joe on Wednesday morning after receiving text messages all night of which I didn't know of because I was sleeping. I had gotten a text from my friend Atticus asking me if I knew my best friend Jt was in the hospital. I had know idea of this. After quickly trying to scramble around and find out an answer to why this was, in short, my world was shaken. My friend Joe finally called me back and informed me that Jt had collapsed when running on Tuesday night with his girlfriend and that he had been rushed to the ER for emergency treatment. I suddenly found out from several others that it wasn't looking good. I did what I only knew to do and hit the highway as quick as I could.
My mom by my side we flew up I-65 and bluegrass parkway to lexington, KY. This seemed to be one of the longest drives of my life. You are trying to concentrate on not being run off the road my the 18 wheeler that is veering into your lane while trying to text and call to see the latest update all the while thinking to yourself what in the world is going on.
We finally reached the UK hospital and headed to the floor where he was to meet my friends who were there and his girlfriend Emily. As a side note, I had kept it together pretty well until now. Emily and I embraced and a couple of tears fell but the thought still lingering in my head was, where is my buddy? I had been thinking on the ride up of what he was going to look like, was he going to speak, how did he feel, even just trying to prepare myself for this. Needless to say I had not prepares enough.
Emily led me into his 8th floor room in the ICU unit. I walked into his room. I stood at the doorway shaking as I saw my best friend in the world(one of two) laying lifeless in this hospital bed. It seemed as though he had a tube coming from every orifice in his body. His lifeless body just lay there. The only thing that moved was his chest. A machine had to keep my buddy alive, he couldn't do it on his own. His eyes just stared lifeless into space. I will tell you this much, seeing your best friend in the world laying in this hospital bed, having a machine breath for him, with his eyes open, his chest pumping, and nothing at all that you can do for him is the worst feeling in the world. Me and Emily just stood there. Afraid to touch him, afraid to speak, afraid to do anything. I will have this image in my head for my life.
At this point of the blog I just want to say that this isn't a blog about me and my troubles, it is not that at all. This is all about my best friend Jt. It is about anyone who has a best friend or a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a mom or a dad or a grandma or grandpa. This is for the people who have been made who they are by the help of someone else.
I can say today that Jt has made me who am I today. He has my history, he knows my emotions, he feels my humor, he knows my pains, he has seen me naked. He is my best buddy and he is me. Everything that he is, i am and everything that i am, he is. And nothing will ever change this.
After that being said just a word of update. Jt is doing better. The problem with his collapse while he and Emily were running seems to stem from his heart. Over the last couple of days he has seen major improvement. He can now breathe on his own, he is eating and drinking, he has his long term memory, he knows who we all are, he is starting to understand where he is and why he is in the hospital, and these are all good things. Jt is still having small problems with his short term memory. He recognizes people and different things but may forget that 5 minutes later. The doctors are still trying to learn more about his brain and his heart in the upcoming days.
If anyone who reads this is a praying person you can use the following things as a guideline to pray for him:

• That God would guide the doctors and the nurses to be with them when working with Jt and working with developing a diagnoses.
• That God would keep Jt from any kind of hurt or pain while going through these next few days.
• That God would give him good rest while he is there.
• That God would give good rest and patience to his mom Kerry, his dad Bob, and Emily while they are there spending the majority of their time with him.
• Pray that his strength may be regained in the next couple of days so that he will be strong enough to have the doctors work with him.
• Pray that God would give protection to him and his family and his friends who are traveling to see him.

• Pray that God would be glorified through all of this.

I hope that those people who read this will find it not informative but more useful than anything. From going back to Lexington for this i have learned several things.

1. Cherish you friendships more and more each day.
2. Pray constantly because God never gets tired of hearing from his children and he also never gets tired of answering people prayers.
3. God plans things in peoples lives for a reason.
4. I am glad that i have people in my life that I love and that love me.

So with all of this being said, continue to pray for my friend Jt in the following days and weeks. He has fought through the beginning he just needs to keep on fighting to the end.

I love you Jt...

three week count down...

Just last week I received a phone call from the IMB saying in short, "Get ready, you are going to the Philippines!"  This was an all of the sudden moment where my dreams and prayers had finally come true.  After applying for a mission trip to the Philippines back in February and not hearing back for a while, just the words "You are going" were very startling.  So now getting this news has been a reckless blessing.  I have been scrambling and trying to get immunizations which include japanese encephalitis, typhoid, and malaria.  I have been trying to purchase travelers insurance and a plane ticket and all of this I have been trying to get accomplished in a month!  It has been a challenge and I know it is driving my mom and dad crazy.  But all of this is truly blessed by God that everything is working out the way it is.  

I will be leaving for Camotes Island which is just east of Cebu, Philippines on June 5 and I will be there until July 30.  I will be sleeping in tents on the ground and eating dehydrated meals, yumm.  My team that I will be working with currently is made up of 3 girls, one guy other than me and one more member that I don't know about.  I am very excited about the weather in the Philippines where it is a toasty 88 degree average.  My team will be involved in general evangelism with the people of Camotes Island including children and adults.  On some days will be having backyard bible studies, playing with the kids, having bible studies with the adults, hopefully playing some Philippino basketball, maybe even planting some rice with the farmers of the region.  I will just say that I can't wait.  I know that God is going to take care of me just as He has taken care of me so far.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for my life this summer.  

I just want to make sure that this summer is all about Him, and not about me.  This summer will help me focus on Him and loving the people of the Philippines.  I won't have television, sports scores, internet, electricity, running water, warm showers, refrigerated food, juice, disc golf, or any of the things that I enjoy in my life.  But I will have no distractions.  I will also have kids to love on, adults to share the word of God with, teenagers to play sports with, farmers to help on the farm, and new friends and God to lean on.  In short, I cannot wait!

When I think about this summer I can only think about one song.  I have found myself mowing on a big John Deere mower during the middle of a hot summer day, while listening to this song on my ipod, and I have really started crying.  It is just my prayer for my life and for my summer and I pray that all of the words to the song are true of my life for Him this summer.

Hosanna in the Highest

I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Hosanna

I pray that God breaks my heart for what breaks His, I want to give Him my life for His kingdom's cause.  I want God to open up my eyes to the things unseen.

I continue to see Him moving in my life even in Bowling Green.  I will continue to keep this blog posted as I can and let you all see God moving in my life.  I would ask for your support and prayer.  Pray that the people of Camotes Island would be accepting to the love and Gospel that we are presenting to them.  Pray that all of my accommodations will continue to work out and that God prepares my heart in the weeks to come.  I thank you for all of your support and all of your prayers.