My Death of Cold

It snowed again today in Louisville. Most people ran in terror of the devastating snow fall.

I, for one, was unafraid, and in my shorts built this noble-looking snow figure. Oh, and Jeremy was there too, but he looked significantly less cool. He was afraid and used some sort of cold-defense system.

The snow figure beckons to all who would come and join his snow brigade. He offers less than adequate health benefits for its members.

I am Like a Rock, Steady and Unchanging

-----While driving home I was thinking upon the last five years since I began putting effort toward understanding God's Word. My theology must have gone through several thousand permutations during the last few years. I went from saying I was a Calvinist (but really not knowing what that meant and actually being very Arminian) to actually being one. I went from viewing this life from somewhat of a charismatic mindset (that is what happens when an immature Christian reads a book from the used book store because it is recommended by a member of the Newsboys) to being completely anti-charismatic to being a little softer in my stand. I went through various stages of legalism to having an appreciation for Christian freedom. I went from having a futurist eschatology to prescribing to partial-preterism. The list could go on and on, but my theology isn't really the point.

-----I realized that there were two things about me that managed to stay the same through all this. First, I have always been right (no matter what my position) and willing to think others were clueless for not thinking what I think. Second, I have always been awesome for being so smart (at least in my own mind). This was a disgusting realization. It would be nice to say any of this has changed, but it has not. I still cannot believe that people are dumb enough to hold views that I held two years ago. What a wretched man am I. “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance... I hate (Proverbs 8:13).”

Call to Ministry

-----During my senior year of high school I went to my first youth conference. God used the speaker at that retreat to put the desire to preach in my heart. During the four times I heard him speak I only remembered him reading from the Bible once. He rejected the doctrine of original sin, and he said nothing of the gospel. His concern was that we would no longer eat at Taco Bell or buy clothes from any corporation that didn’t pay its foreign workers an amount he considered fair.

-----I was dismayed that anyone would pay this man to speak to thousands of youth and was sure that the students left the conference more ignorant of the scriptures than when they arrived. In the days that followed I asked myself, “Where are the teachers that are going to undo what this man has just done?” I decided that I could be such a teacher. Except for a period of about a month when I neglected the Word, I have consistently felt confident that I should dedicate my life to teaching God’s people.

-----My goal ultimately is to spend my life teaching the scriptures. I want to follow in the path of the great expositors who have come before me. I want to faithfully nurture a body of believers. I believe that what the church in America needs more than ever are men who will preach the whole council of God, not men who are blown like leaves to whatever topic strikes them as appropriate. I hope that Southern Seminary will give me the tools I need to faithfully proclaim the Word.

A Letter From Africa

For everyone who is wondering how Shawna is doing in Africa I am posting this email from her. I have cleaned it up some. Please pray for her to see and savor Jesus Christ while she is in Africa.

------- I've kinda written a rambling email. A lot of things happen in two weeks. I'll try to write it out before I come to the internet cafe next time. I've made some really good friends. I like it here. Chichewa is the language it's not too hard so that's good. I don't know that much, but that's fine.
-----There are 7 other girls than me. We hit it off quickly. Tessa, Sara, and Monica and I are one group. Monica and I (she's the oldest 27) always stay up the latest and get up first. We've laughed a ton. But we're kinda split. I'm with one group and theirs is another group. There seems to be problems with the split for some people. I think it’s fine, but oh well.
-----It's fun here though. It's really pretty. The people here are the nicest people I've ever met and there are so many beautiful people here too. Africa's not at all what I imagined. The landscape is kind of plain with few trees. But the sky is huge! I don't know why it's so big. The big dipper is upside down from us. And the moon is different too--instead of being half on the side, it's on the bottom so it looks like it's smiling at us. I told everyone what Greg said and they laughed. There aren't that many animals here in Malawi. There are a ton of ants. You can get them all of you in a second. But they don't bite or anything so it's not bad-just annoying.
-----I'm staying in a house on the top bunk. We have running water. I haven't gotten sick at all since we've been here. I've learned how to knit and crochet and we cook from scratch a lot. One of the girls Tessa and I made banana bread for breakfast. A lot of things remind me of Memaw and how she does it. O yeah, we have done a lot of dishes. The short term teams come and it appears that we are the maids. But it's fine. We drink warm tea in the mornings and night. We have guards and I make it for them at night. I take a bath at least every other day.
-----Children of the Nations since we didn't really know before hand has houses with house parents and aunties where around 20-30 kids live. These kids were the worst of the worst. Now they are healthy looking. They were the ones who were abused the most and had worms coming out of their nails. But I'm not sad around them cause they are always so happy and nice. I love being around them.
-----We just got a schedule. On Mondays and Wednesdays we'll be teaching. The books look so old. I'm teaching math, English, and general studies which tomorrow will be about animals, what they're for and how to take care of them. My first day is tomorrow. And each classroom is a small building with even smaller windows. I chose a class because of the brightness of it. They don't have electricity in them. The younger kids don't have chairs. The middle grades have chairs. The oldest have some desks. I don't really know what to do tomorrow. I'm by myself. But I'm sure it will be fine.
-----These kids are the most well behaved kids I've ever seen. They are always dirty. In the outer villages the kids have flies swarming them like on the commercials. We got out there and helped the widows. I've fed pigs and ducks, got water from the well, which the Malawian interpretations said I did a very good job cause the other people's water came very slow. ha. When we do that kind of thing the kids and adults will stand around us and laugh at us. That part is kind of uncomfortable. But the kids just love us. Not to sound boastful, but they want to touch you and play with you.
-----They sweep their dirt floors a lot with brooms made from twigs. To be so dirty and dusty, everything's kept clean. I've washed clothes by hand and shuck the corn kernels off of the cob to make ufa for nsema which is like really thick grits or corn meal with water. That's their staple food. It's all right.
-----The second night we were here we went to church where they had dinner. You wash your hands with just water, then roll nsema into a ball and pick up beans or this relish stuff up and eat it. So I thought, “Oh, good getting sick right off the bat,” but we didn't. And I don't drink the water, but I brush my teeth with it and wash fruits and vegetables with it so it's not bad. I've used the “squatty potty” once. It's a hole in a concrete floor that you squat over. I try to not drink too much if I'm going to the villages.
-----If you have extra time with the kids they expect you to tell them a story or teach them a song. So me and another girl told Jonah. That skit from church helped me out. ha. People can't say my name here very well, and I laugh and talk in my sleep, but I knew that. One day we went to an outer village and I helped water the garden which they said I was a professional. haha. I guess I did it just a little less awkwardly than the other girls.
-----But we tried sugar cane. You just bite off the outer layer and then take a chunk and chew on it for the juice then spit it out. Everyone here almost always has a piece in their hand. It was really good. It was like watermelon but sweeter.
-----One day we went on a scavenger hunt at the market which is like an open market with different things and you barter with them but they charge white people a lot more money. It's really, really crowded. I liked it, but then I didn't. But we got food to take home to make like a Malawian over fire.
-----While we were there a boy on my team took a picture of a woman with her baby which she said was fine. Then the husband said no we need to receive money for it, so a huge crowd gathered around, and a Malawian intern with us talked to him, and we ended up going to the police b/c the man wanted money. Nothing happened. They just said no. He deleted the picture; they were just trying to get money. So that was kinda funny.
-----Then we were riding in this bus like vehicle with too many people so three of us were sitting up front in two seats. They have police stops a lot on the roads to check licenses and insurance, and I got in trouble for sitting up there and they were going to give us a fine so I moved in the next seat behind which was already too full so I sat on someone's lap and the policeman just looked at me and said no. So I squeezed in. That was funny too, and the Malawian men who were with us were in the back kinda hiding! ha. They're really nice.
-----The kids gave us welcoming programs where they introduced themselves and sang and danced. I love dancing with the kids. It's so great. They said Bible verses too. I think they know more than most of us. The head guy over COTN here is-Chris. I don't really like him. He seems very prideful. I like the rest of his family though.
-----There's this guy here, Quamie, from Sierra Leone, he just left actually, but they speak Kreol and it's so funny. Thank you is tankee, and so he taught us a song in Kreol that said, “Tell'em tankee, tell'em. Tell Papa God tankee. What He do for me I go tell'm tankee,”and stuff like that that sounded exactly like English except for funny. And then someone said will you translate that for us? So me and Monica and Tessa were laughing so hard and then no one else thought it was funny but that's probably the funniest thing ever. I should have waited to tell you that, but I just couldn't.
-----I've met a lot of Malawians because we're on the campus of African Bible College a lot, like for lunch and dinner. Oh yeah we kinda eat the same stuff here as in America. And most people gain weight when they come here because we eat a lot of high calorie starchy foods. So forget that idea about coming back thin. ha.
-----It's cold here at night and in the morning or anywhere there's not sunshine. I didn't bring enough warm clothes. I keep wearing one that's so dirty. But we have a washing machine we can use periodically so it's fine. I'm really glad for my sleeping bag though.
-----Thank you for your prayers! I love you all. Forward this to any other people who may want to know what's going on.

Go to my othen blog for further letters from Shawna, and updates from seminary.