Well, my friends, I blinked and just like that we have already left our first country and we are now preparing to enter the next. On Saturday, we will leave Hong Kong where we are currently staying for the week and head to the dark side of the moon. When we move, our bags will each be a laptop lighter and all communication with the outside world will be cut off. I hope to share November's blessings with you by Thanksgiving. I hope that you will pray for us as we go, but I also hope you can feel my heart and how absolutely excited I am. I mean, seriously – this is cool stuff! Isn't this the adventure that every boy dreams about?

            Before we are silenced, I just wanted to take a look back at the Philippines. For the past month, I have chased (or been chased by) spiders, lizards, cockroaches, and rats through a school in the middle of the dumps. I have taped labels on thousands of books and helped arrange some of them on the shelves. I have dug through dirty, water-damaged boxes to help clean a storage room. I have helped lead chaotic soccer practices and seen children worship. I have gotten to know my team better and deeper, and I have been a jungle gym for children. I have gotten dirty, smelly, and gross. When you think about it, I really haven't done that much.

            As for my team, Judah, and partner in crime for the month in Libre, we have a little more to share. We have turned a trash-filled room into an actual library fit for the expanding of children's minds. We have taught Filipino teachers English and brought Christ's light to the dumps. We have befriended numerous backpackers in our hostel and shared the Gospel without shame. We have helped this school run more efficiently, helping to ease the burden on these courageous teachers as much as possible for the short time we were there. We have shared our stories, and seen at least one 14 year old girl saved after having heard testimony and seen her mother prophesied truth over the night before. Our tasks could have seemed menial at times, but we didn't come with our own agenda, but with God's. We simply followed Mother Teresa's advice and did lots of small acts with great love – Heaven, Hell, and the Philippines noticed.

            How about the rest of our squad as a whole, you ask? Oh, I'm just getting started. As a squad, we paved a trail through a trashy cut-through, enhancing one community's daily route both physically and aesthetically. We have held sick babies through the night at the Children's Home, praying over them and actually seeing them healed by morning. We have visited a prison and shared God's love with the cell mates. We have ventured into the deepest parts of the community where even local Christians would not go and established relationships with them. We have laid the foundations and begun the construction for a new children's home. Some of our girls went to a house for former/current recovering prostitutes, sharing love and showing a different way. And everywhere we went, we have reached out to the ones to whom Heaven belongs – the children of the earth; swinging them, lifting them into the air, playing with them, or simply showing them affection. 

            As one, I am human. I get tired and frustrated. I am weak and I am nothing. As a squad – the body of Christ – we are moving mountains, reclaiming dominion over this world as God's territory with every step we take. This is what being a part of something bigger than yourself is all about, and why I have no problem using the word "we" for things I didn't actually do. This is what following God and going filled with His love is all about. Do you see the trend expanding as the group gets bigger? We were ALL made to work together in the Body of Christ. As the body gets bigger and more unified, life just gets more and more exciting. So my only question now is, when I do a review of November, what will be your story to add to the list? And just remember, it has nothing to do with what you do, but everything to do with how much love with which you do it. So, Philippines in review? We have done nothing. WE ARE.

More pictures will come in a month. I will talk to you again on Turkey Day. Until then, it's lights out.

~LOVE~

        One of the most common themes in my teammates' blogs these past few weeks as we've been working in the dumps here in the Philippines is to notice the joy in the faces of the children who have so little in the way of material possessions. Every time we enter their situation, we first notice the surroundings. Our eyes focus on the unenclosed tin shacks piled one on top of the other; most of the owned clothes are strung about on a line to dry from the hand washing in a bucket of the previous day. The wheels of our jeepney creep through inches of muddy sludge – a mixture of dirt, sewage, rain and garbage. And finally, we have simply tried to block the smell out of our minds (and noses), for the powerful stench of this place reduces all pictures and videos to obscurity. You will never know anything about this place until you are here.

         Yet day after day after day, we are greeted with warm smiles of innocent children. Do they not know their circumstances?! Maybe they do to some degree, but as children they certainly do not understand fully yet. Regardless of their self-knowledge or lack thereof, they seem happy in many ways. We are special visitors and they want to make a good impression. They constantly try to communicate with whatever English they know, though most of their vocabularies are limited to, "What's your name?" Picking them up or swinging them around in the air brings pure elation. And if you could only see these kids worship on Sunday morning with all they have and feel God's presence in the room, your heart may burst.

            However there is a major problem. It is far too convenient to say they have so much joy with so little and we have so much to learn from them. These same children that we have come to love and even learn from will one day grow up to be adults – God-willing, but certainly not guaranteed. When they do, they will still be in a country whose 4^th highest source of income is prostitution. They are likely candidates for drug or alcohol abuse. One teacher told me that the students already demonstrate a high degree of violence, even in this Christian school where we see them so happy to us. Naturally, they will still need to address the lifelong sanitary and health implications of living in a dump on the outskirts of an already heavily-polluted city. 

            This brings me to the hardest reality of this trip. We are nothing. True change comes from a complete dedication to a place and a mission, while we only have a chance to assist for a short time in each place before moving to the next. Now do not get me wrong. Our squad already has done and will continue to do amazing things this year. I hope to give you a squad progress report of the Philippines before we head into that big "Red Country" for November, leaving our laptops and all communication with the outside world behind. But I am learning more and more that a man is created by God to insert himself into something and CREATE LIFE. This seems incredibly hard to do when only given 3-4 weeks at a time and I can already sense my own frustration in wanting to be a bigger part of the body of Christ than we were called to be for this year. 

            The follow-up to this blog will introduce you to a few people we have been working with here at the Philippine Christian Foundation (www.pcf.ph). These people are why there is such hope for this place, why it will continue to get better and improve lives, and examples of what it looks like to dedicate your life to something bigger than yourself. For now, I ask that you pray that we will bring as much life to every situation as we can, in whatever small or big ways. I encourage you to create life where you are; many of you in America are in excellent position to begin or continue to do so already. And finally, I simply remind you all of my deep love for you. I rejoice on this great adventure to which God has called me, but I also carry you in my heart. I pray that you may know God's love as I do, and deeper; that I may somehow lift you up, and then that you would pass it on. We are the Church.

~LOVE~

        The first week at the dumps is now complete, rounded off nicely with a beautiful worship service this morning in the same school building we serve in Monday through Friday. I was absolutely bursting with joy as we sang, in English, with a couple hundred small children. We rocked along with the guitar and drums and shouted out mostly internationally popular praise songs, such as "Open the eyes of my heart, Lord," with high energy and hands raised. These kids are hungry for God. And now with a lazy Sunday afternoon, and happy knowledge of UNC's latest football victory over Notre Dame, I guess it's time to give you a little more details of exactly what we have been doing the past seven days.

            Before I even begin with our service projects, I think a word on our living arrangements is in order. There are 13 of us between Team Libre and Team Judah here on this side of Manila, and we are all in one small room. It looks like an army barracks with all bunk beds and a narrow aisle in-between not necessarily designed for two-way traffic. Throw in all the big packs that are holding everything we own for the next 11 months – whose contents are becoming less and less packed and more and more strewn about in chaos – and you've got a cozy little room to say the least. Cozier still, though is the single bathroom we share in our room. 13 people – 10 girls – one shower, one toilet, one sink. Okay, so it's not exactly that bad b/c we do have open access to the other few bathrooms one story below, but you get the idea. This is community living. 

            And now that I've painted the picture of how much we're really struggling and sacrificing for the Lord, I can move on to the truth about the greatness of this place. We're on the fifth story with a nice view and a quaint little terrace. Every night, we enjoy Filipino sunsets over the balcony. There is a television, with a DVD player and HBO, so we've been able to enjoy a couple movies. We have a kitchen where we take turns cooking dinner each night, and we have free wireless internet connection so we can constantly communicate with you back home and the rest of the world. A few blocks away there is a big mall, where we celebrated a couple teammates' birthdays last night at T.G.I.-Fridays. I haven't taken advantage of these yet, but the mall also has a bowling alley and movie theatre among a plethora of stores like you would find at any other mall. Don't pity us.

            Now for assignments inside the school in the dumps. We spent several days doing two main service projects that were given to us. One group has been creating a library – sorting through thousands of donated books and boxes, cleaning out trash, organizing and creating a typed list of all the books. Three teammates and I have been cleaning out a store room. When we started, we could barely step inside the door of this room with all the junk piled haphazardly within. When it rains, the school floods. So anything that was in a cardboard box (about half the stuff) has been water damaged and partially destroyed. This has created the perfect nesting ground for "critters." 

            Along with the all the cockroaches, we saw plenty of other things as well. Every once in a while we would see a small lizard shoot across the wall. One day there was a huge spider that stretched as long as the height of the shoebox upon which it was trying to lay eggs. And then came the rats. A couple comparatively small ones emerged from the boxes at first. But one afternoon Steph and I saw the granddaddy of them all. A rat, let's calls him Splinter, came up from behind one of the last remaining boxes and casually walked up the wall and out the window. This time I couldn't even make any noise or move to kill it or shoo it away. I stared in literal disbelief and just watched until it disappeared. I really don't even know how to describe it; I've never seen anything like it. If it were in my hands, its belly would have spilled over in every direction, and its tail would run halfway down my forearm.   This creature was an absolute freak of nature, that's all there is to it.

            I think many people's lives are just like this storage room. We let things pile up until they become an absolute mess. And we hide our sins and flaws in darkness, where they grow and mutate. We have to start cleaning out our "storage closets." The further along in our assignment we got, the brighter the room became. We eliminated shadows and hiding places and exposed the cockroaches (sin) to light. It was a long, tedious process. It's not pleasant and it might even hurt. Just ask all the roaches that went "crunch." Finally, each new box we went through would send dozens more cockroaches scurrying about the room. And we would crush them. Funny thing is, the more boxes we cleared out, the more critters we knew would be waiting for us in the remaining ones. If we didn't kill them the first time, they headed for the dark hiding spots that remained. You can't just stop halfway because if you do you've just moved the bad junk from one place to another and not really eliminated it. You have to finish the work you started and clean it all out. This post has already run way long, but just know that as this year progresses I hope to be completely honest and vulnerable with you as you follow and support me. I encourage you to start cleaning out any cockroaches or cobwebs you may have in your heart and I will do the same. 

P.S.... The task seems tough at first, but you have no idea how fun it can be. Ever played whack-a-roach?

~LOVE~

        I remember how much I sought out the exotic during my semester of study abroad in Singapore in the spring of 2006. Wherever we went, the group was always trying to find the prettiest beach, the biggest mountain cliff, the tallest waterfall, or the most majestic sunset. In fact, one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen was over a Filipino beach that semester. I'm sitting here at Friendly's Hostel in Manila right now (apparently they have a Facebook group, so look it up) looking over a gorgeous sunset moments before dinner. A quick shower an hour earlier has left the air a little cooler and the flowers adorning our hostel balcony four stories above the street a little wet. 

            Today we left the utopia of Kids International Ministry to head for our hostel on the other side of Manila. Although we still claim the same city as we did this past week, it was nearly a 2 hour ride to change locations through the thick and chaotic traffic. Our ministry the rest of the month will be in the dumps, as I've already told you. I'm sure the hostel will present its challenges as well with 13 of us – including 10 girls – all sharing one room with one bathroom. But for the most part, tonight just feels completely peaceful. This place is pretty nice, in my opinion. And with time to relax, I feel like blogging about the beauty of God's sunsets across the world.   

            When I returned to America after my semester of study abroad, I remember fully appreciating everything so much. It became so easy on the other side of the world to appreciate God's beautiful creation, perhaps because we always knew that we may never be there again. It was a treasure to hold onto. Once home, I carried that daily appreciation for God's work with me wherever I went. In Thailand I chased those beautiful mountains; at home, I essentially had them out the back door in western North Carolina. In Indonesia, we surfed on an exotic beach. At home, I shared the beach with my family and a hotel room with air conditioning and TV. In the Philippines, as in all places, there was that sunset. At home, I remember the sunsets taking my breath away all over again as they settled over the greener grass and trees and I was able to enjoy them with the security of being home.  (Don't ever be jealous of another's experiences or location.  Thank God for where you are and what you have and simply continuously ask Him what He wants from you and where He may be calling you).

            And now, I feel as if it's come full circle again. My heart is breaking for this world, and I as I viewed tonight's sunset I thought of all the people below in the streets and all the people we were sent to reach out to this year. I looked around at the tin roofs of lean-tos, all the squatters begging below, and even the nicer buildings which still seem aged from time and pollution.   From the balcony, I saw the reckless driving and the worn down vehicles, as well as all the city filth. And all of this was framed in one of those memorable sunsets, piercing through the buildings. It just screamed in God's voice, "No matter where you go, no matter how much "less" any peoples may have than what you may be used to, I love them. They have me." What else do they need?! With God, you have everything.

            Just go look at a sunset.

~LOVE~

        The tile of this post is for my teammates.  It has a meaning to go along with a passage we studied the other night as a squad.  It's a crazy and bold statement, but one that I have to express.  But it just doesn't really fit with this blog right now, which is to first say, "Welcome to Manila!" So feel free to ask me more about it if you like.  Otherwise, just keep reading and enjoy.  First things first, just wanted to let everyone know that we arrived here safe and sound. After leaving LA late Saturday night, we slept, ate, watched movies and did whatever else we could think of to pass the flight over the Pacific before landing here early Monday morning. (Not a typo). It's felt a little strange so far these first few days, though. For starters, I've already been to the Philippines, so I feel comfortable here despite the fact that my previous journey was just an 11 day trek. I have also been signed up for the World Race for nearly a year now, so there is just a peace of being where I was called and anticipation to really dive in deep and get going. Finally, we've also started with more training and we're staying at the Ritz of missionary housing. For our training week, we are staying at K.I.M. – Kids International Ministry – where 4 of the other teams (not my team, Judah) will spend the remainder of their time in the Philippines. The best way to describe this place that I've heard is that Jeff Long, the man behind it all, has been building an ark here like Noah. For many years getting started it might have been hard to see where he was going or others might have thought he was crazy to invest so much into this one place. Yet now, it is exponentially increasing in the fruit that it bears and that is evident from walking around the community. We're living the good life here, and this is not at all what I expected right off the bat.

        In a couple days, we will leave this hidden Garden of Eden that has been created from the years of love, sweat, and toil of a faithful few. From here, Team Judah will be heading straight to the dumps. And I could not be more excited! For the next month, we will live in a landfill with the 4,000 others who already inhabit it. There is one small school in the middle, so we've been told, where I think we will spend a lot of our time. Jake, the administrative angel for the squad visited earlier this week to check out the scene and get the report. He came back and was actually a little sick that night after just a brief time surrounded by the filth and smells. Judah has consistently said that we want the most challenging assignments and God is graciously answering those prayers. Many times our prayers can be a very dangerous thing when they are actually aligned with God's will – dangerous in the fact that he just might give them to us.  We may be fools and have no idea what this really means, though we nevertheless say, "We are ready! Take us to the dumps!"

        Finally, I'm learning so much that this trip is not about us. God doesn't need us to do his work. God graciously allows us to join in His work and will use us for His glory. And at the same time, I'm learning that this trip has everything to do with us. We're not just here to do good deeds for 11 months. We are here learn, grow, and become exactly who God made us to be; to take that home with us for the rest of our lives so that we may radically and positively change the world for His kingdom. Time after time you realize that changing the world begins with the changing of oneself. 

        My friends, the hours before I leave America, not to set foot on our soil for the next 11 months, are quickly dwindling away. Saturday morning I will leave bright and early to head for Los Angeles, via the Atlanta airport, where I will meet with 50 others from all across the country and even a couple from Canada. Our hearts are crying out for the nations of the world and all the lost and broken souls within them. We have been called to love and serve abroad and as we embark hand in hand with God, we could not be more eager and excited to go and do His work. But before I leave, I will give my state of the union address for America – my home, my first love.

        Those close to me know me as an incredible optimist. As we push further into this election season, there are so many issues on the hearts of minds of our people. Many, in fact, will focus on only the negatives and everything that needs to be changed. The pursuit of a better America is a worthy cause and it is true that we live in extremely extraordinary and potentially perilous times. However, there is so much more to this blessed land than the rhetoric of sound bites. We have problems and we have flaws. Some things are (really) bad and some things need to be fixed. But my friends, I tell you today, unequivocally and unashamed, that the state of our union is GOOD! 

        For months, our financial system has been crumbling from within – torn apart slowly over many years by greed dominating proper judgment, risk being too far separated from the risk takers. Bear Sterns vanished over night. The face of Wall Street was changed forever when, in the blink of an eye, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Merrill Lynch tumbled to obscurity, a memory of the past. And now, we are about to witness the single largest expansion of government in our nation's history as they seek to bail out the crippled economy. Yet, I have had the opportunity to work for a financial company founded with Christian values who still holds true to those today. Northwestern Mutual is run with all the wisdom of prudent leaders. With every decision they make, they are dedicated to doing the absolute best thing, not just for some distant CEOs or shareholders, but for each and every client whom they serve and whose trust they seek to gain and keep.  "Hot" trends – like the sub prime mortgage industry that is heavily responsible for the collapse of financial institutions – are discarded and not thought about twice if they fail to meet the high standards of greatest value to clients. The integrity of the individuals in the company – ALL of them – is excellent, and I would be proud and honored to return to work with them next year if God leads me back to America and the business world. Now, with ties broken and nothing to personally gain, I highly recommend the company to anyone looking for any type of guidance on financial matters. Northwestern Mutual, I thank you for every aspect of the time I have shared with you so far. To you, and because of you and all other business men and women who work every day with integrity and for the improvement of our society, I say, "the state of our union is GOOD!"

        Many people with hearts for international missions – and many more who have simply become disillusioned with America – claim that we already have so much. Too much, in fact, to waste more time or energy on. As Americans, yes, we are so rich! But I am also reminded of a quote by Andrew Carnegie who once said, "No one becomes rich without enriching the lives of others." Take this with you, all budding entrepreneurs. A copy of Forbes Magazine recently fell into my hands with a list of America's 400 richest individuals. Of course Carnegie may not have been one hundred percent correct when you take into account benefactors of inheritance, crooks, successful gamblers and so on. But as I scrolled down that list, I think of how these individuals have improved the quality of life for millions. And, more often than not, they did so because they worked extremely hard to get to that point. A couple examples: Can you now imagine life without computers? (Bill Gates). How about the hundreds of millions who save needed money shopping at Wal-Mart and the millions more employed there? (Waltons). We are dependent upon one another and on God in this world. To anyone who thinks you are "independent," I question your sanity. How easy it has become for us to claim our own independence when policemen and soldiers keep us safe. How easy to claim our independence when doctors keep us healthy. Isn't it easy to enjoy a nice meal when farmers have grown our food, others have packaged and shipped it to us, and then chefs have prepared it? To all those who have become rich by enriching our lives, to all those who recognize their true riches with Christ, to all those on whom we depend for so much, and because of all these people, I say the state of our union is GOOD!

        And how easy is it for us to think we're "something" for going overseas to do God's work. I tell you the truth, God is smiling on Maralee who is committed to bringing love to 2^nd graders of all family backgrounds every day. God is smiling on Matthew and former World Race alum, Gabrielle (among the thousands of others) who have signed up for their domestic mission through Teach For America. God is smiling on Nathan, Will, and the many other youth group leaders, who show love to, and build the foundations in, young adults that they may become the men and women of God they were created to be.  And just the other night I bid farewell over burgers to 5 incredibly close friends. Justin. A buddy since first grade with the soul of a musician and heart of a lion about whom I could share cherished memories for hours. Ben. A college roommate who may know me as well as any; more than a decade-long friend; a high school basketball teammate. And then an actual brother and sister to each other: Tim. Mr. Most Talented, American Idol should-be, hard-working success will-be. Lauren. A confidante; Tim's sister, and my neighbor down the street for the past twelve years. Throw in Tim's girlfriend Sara who just graduated with me from UNC who is a joy getting to know more and more every time we're together, and you've got a good cast for dinner. Coast to coast, our nation is filled with individuals like all of these, and millions more – good... no, GREAT people. To them, and because of them, I can easily say that the State of our Union is GOOD!

        This summer has taken me on many travels. I have had the privilege of spending a weekend in Atlanta, a family trip to San Antonio, and five days in Milwaukee for Northwestern Mutual's annual meeting. Along the way, I've passed through the airports of Detroit and Minneapolis. Then of course, my numerous travels through my home state of North Carolina – from my hometown of Hendersonville to Charlotte to Greensboro to Chapel Hill to Wilmington. The greatest state in the country – said not to be taken as a divisive claim, but merely out of the passionate love for all that I've ever known. Then finally, just last week my team, Judah, and I made it to Kansas City to visit IHOP, aka International House of Prayer. Here I witnessed for the first time a place that has been committed to 24/7/365 prayer, praise, and worship and has not stopped for a minute since 1999! The only way to describe it is powerful and that you can simply feel God's presence when you walk in. Whatever differences these places may have, there are so many more common threads which unite us all, wherever we may be in the country. And I don't know about you, but I feel better about our country just knowing that people are praying without ceasing. To the people in every corner of the U.S who are committed to making your community a better place and all those who offer continual prayer, and because all of you, I say the State of our Union is GOOD!

        Until that first Tuesday in November when the last vote is cast, you will hear many things about this country. In January, the 44^th president of the United States will formally give his view and future outlook on this topic. But as I depart, and carry you with me as I go, I definitively remind you that the state of our union is GOOD! It is time for me to follow God's lead to the distant corners of the earth, sharing His love and serving others abroad. It is time for you to stay, and with a daily commitment to follow God's lead, make this land GREAT. We all have our role to play in the body of Christ.

        I will miss you, and yet I leave without turning back, even for a moment. May God bless you, keep you, and fill your heart and mind with the knowledge of my deep love for you. May God continue to bless America. And may America always bless God. 

Nations... Here we come.

            I think the words faith and hope are often used interchangeably in our culture. "Have faith that things will get better." "Have faith that God will provide for your needs." To me, those are examples of where the word "hope" should be used instead. My team leader, Aaron Darlington, and I were discussing this topic one night after a team conference call and we agreed that faith is not the hoping for good things to come. Rather, faith is obedience to God – even when he makes difficult requests. 

            This definition has two parts that need to be broken down. The first part consists of the examples of faith defined in the Bible in this way. God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Then God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, through whom God's promise would be fulfilled. Abraham obeyed by sacrificing Isaac in his heart. Just pause for a minute. Can you imagine how hard that must have been? Just think about God asking you to sacrifice your only child. Just think about that alone for now. Losing a child. Your only child. That should be enough to make your heart ache! Now, I don't think any of us have ever been promised to be the "Father of the world," the head of the line would eventually bear Jesus. But I think it's also safe to say that if we were promised that, and then subsequently asked to sacrifice it, we would mourn a little extra for that, as well. Yet Abraham knew that God is always for and not against him. He knew that "God's ways are not his ways," and he trusted that God had a greater reason behind it. In short, Abraham obeyed. THAT is faith, my friends. 

            The second part of this definition of faith is the communication with God. Obeying God implies that you must first have heard Him. Now I love music. I love movies. I love quality time with friends and family. I love nature and enjoying all of God's beautiful creation. I believe God absolutely can speak through all these things and more. However, anyone who has ever played the child's game of "telephone" knows that second-hand messages can often be distorted. Also, because you usually choose the music you listen to, the movies you watch, and the people with whom you surround yourself, the "messages" you receive from these things may perhaps be, at least subconsciously, self-selected to meet your views and perspectives, as opposed to hearing what God really is trying to tell you. So how do you "hear" God speak to you? My advice is that you take time to separate yourself each day from all the "noise" in your life and spend more time directly with Him through prayer and through reading His Word which he has given us.

            The prompting for this blog comes as I continue to fast from checking my support account for the trip. From prayer time, I believe with every fabric of my being that God instructed me in my heart to refrain from checking my account – a request that is becoming more difficult with each passing day. I had become obsessed with it, checking multiple times a day to see if anything else had come in. Back to my definition of faith, I believe this is what God has told me and I believe I must be obedient even though it is tough. This doesn't necessarily sit well with my parents, who have justification in claiming this move irresponsible and illogical, or the staff at AIM who have to make sure we are ready to go. To them, I simply ask for your love, patience, and understanding. I know this isn't easy. Believe me.

            And to everyone else, I ask for your help. I know I still have money to raise and would love for you to partner with me in this ministry. However, I have faith that as I obey God, He will continue to provide. My real request at this point is for my teammates. If you are reading this and feel led to support my ministry further, I pray that you do so by supporting them first. God has called us all to spread His love to the nations, yet some still have quite a ways to go just to meet the halfway mark which is required to get on that plane to leave the country.  As Christians we are ONE body of Christ. And as the eyes and arms have different functions to accomplish a singular purpose, so too are those who send us equally important to those of us who are sent.

Faith: God will provide as I obey in his call to fast from checking my account

Hope: He will do so quickly and fully.

Faith: My teammates know God has called them to sacrifice a year of their lives to advance His kingdom, even though they lack the resources to do so on their own