COLLEGE...

Sorry about the gap in my blogging. I've been on a business trip and very busy all around that time. I'm still trying to catch up, but I felt compelled to write a blog for the college freshmen I know. This picture found it's way into my mind as I read Special K's blog.... http://kevinkassakatis.blogspot.com/2008/08/homesick.html
My reading of his most recent post surfaced the memories that sparked the writing of this one.


The first few months of college can seriously suck if you let them. To admit weakness for a moment... I have always been very reliant on my friends and those around me. I struggle with solitude and do not like the feeling of loneliness one bit. When I went to college, I had one friend. One person I knew, and I was three and a half hours away from home. The one person I knew was my roomate, who I ended up disliking VERY much. I decided to room with someone that I had known in KINDERGARTEN..... thirteen years beforehand. Bad idea folks. I hope none of you have done this. This guy was a nutcase... drinking constantly, taking my stuff, inviting strange girls into our room, and any stupid thing you can think of. I met the campus police at my door more than once thanks to that fool. I made it once semester with him, and that was WAY too long. Choose carefully who you will live with in the same room. It doesn't matter who it is, it will take every one of the fruits of the spirit plus an extra apple or two from the tree of life to tame the aggravation of adjusting to a roomate. If you don't believe me, ask my wife... she is probably still getting used to me, and now another male has been added to the house!

Needless to say, my first few weeks of college did in fact, suck. I'm not the type to just go up to somebody and start talking to them though. I hate to admit it, but I'm that guy in line at BBQ Shack hoping I can get out of there without my grade school buddy's step-dad sparking a conversation about something meaningless... "Boy, that Michael Phelps! How bout that?!". GO AWAY. I mean...please don't think I'm a rude person.... I just don't think it's neccesary to give my life testimony at lunch when every working man in the country is in a hurry. I meet friends by being a non-creepy person. If you never acknowledge me, I'll probably never speak to you. I went my first few weeks of college only meeting a few people. I met these people because I lived on the same hall and we would have small meetings in which we introduced ourselves. I often found myself eating lunch or dinner in the dining hall by myself. I also remember constantly feeling sorry for myself, which I know now to be the enemy's sly way of sneaking into a young mind. I have since learned that being alone is sometimes paramount to concentrating on my faith.

My first mistake was not looking for Christian fellowship. I could have immediately become involved in Campus Crusade or one of the programs that offered a Bible study. Instead, I found immediate friends to replace my loneliness. I was homesick pretty bad, and missed my friends back home. I remember buying an old Fender accoustic guitar for $100 from an acquaintance at school. I had no idea how to play, but plenty of time to sit around the room and teach myself. Thats how I learned to play. I also spent a lot of time on AIM trying to find a familiar friend to talk to. I would leave it up and check it often to see if a close friend was on. I wondered if everybody else was feeling the same way I was. Beth and I were very close as many of you know, and this was the furthest I had ever been from her. She was not dealing with these same issues though, because it was her second year of college. I felt alone and like there was no one in the world dealing with the same issue... obviously a lie.

Remember this... The enemy is ready and waiting for an opportunity to show his face in your new adjustment to adulthood. If you slack off in allowing God to be your focal point and most important relationship, you are opening a large can of worms. As a matter of fact, you're opening like a 5 gallon bucket of worms. If you don't constantly fight off these depressing emotional epiphanies with the Word, the enemy will lob suttle thoughts into your mind that you will soon believe as fact. I tell you this, because I delt with it first hand. It is God's will for you to have Christian fellowship, but you must choose your friends wisely. If you put no boundaries on these decisions because you feel the need for companionship, you are walking blindly down a dark tunnel of evil obstacles. As I said earlier, I have always been too reliant on my friendships for stability, and it resulted in being even more lost.

When I was about 11, my best friend and his family moved to Hickory. Soon thereafter, I met Rusty who still today is like a brother to me. He moved from East Davidson to Weslyen our Senior year, then accepted a scholarship at a college in Houghton, NY. Another very close friend went off to school at Mars Hill, then moved to Atlanta GA, and now lives in Washington D.C. While I was at WCU, I learned that my sister was dating somebody way older than she (he will wittingly scold me for that statement) Of course I didn't know what to think about this until I met the guy, whom most of you are now familiar with. Chris is now like a brother to me and a very important part of my life. As most of you know, he and Lindy responsibly accepted their calling into the mission field and moved to Kenya in June. I am now hearing that more close friends of mine are considering moving... one to Tennessee, the other to England. The point I am trying to make is, God has put me back in my place several times as far as "comfortable" friendships go. These friends have never left me, but many have just accepted God's calling to live in another location. Your life will also never be the same since you've recently left home. Your friends will change, you will develop new relationships, and you will lose touch with those you call great friends now. However, your closest Christian brothers and sisters in life are bonds that will never be severed because they are anchored by the same purpose.

John 4:13-14 says, "Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." If you attempt to put your trust and value in worldly relationships, you will continue to be unsatisfied. If you value your relationship with Christ as your most important one in life, your other relationships will fall into place in their proper order.... behind Him.

Control your emotions by controlling your thoughts. Know the Truth as it opposes the lies of the enemy..... because you will hear and experience both. The great news is written down for you, use it.

Collosians 3:16- "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

Romania 2008

This is the post that I'm sure several hoped for, but wasn't sure whether to expect or not. As you may have noticed, I don't normally type up a very "serious" post. I do, in fact, try to live on the lighter side of life, but I also try to incorporate my humor and jocosity only where appropriate. These circumstances are those where the chances are minimal for the attitude could be di

stracting from our true purpose in life. This is another long post, but I hope you stick with me and enjoy it as I attempt to illustrate how God's Kingdom grew in this awesome opportunity. When an time allows, please see one of the Senior student's devotions regarding the trip HERE.

With this in mind, I have to mention why I enjoy being a youth leader at Rich Fork Baptist Church. I have done so since 2003 where I began by occassionally teaching the 8th grade, which by chance was the same group of students I taught for the last three years and have just recently graduated. I often say that these students teach me more than I do them. This holds true because with every interaction with them, I learn more about today's youth, and my abilities to reach them. It's sad to say that I have now been out of high school for 9 years, and the schools are not quite the same. The struggles, however, are very similar. I learn more about God's nature and man's constant failures when I arrange lessons on them. It's very educational when students ask me for opinions and give me their own. This is no ordinary group of Seniors, but a very mature and very gifted group. They are servants at heart with joyful dispositions, but are still somewhat impressionable as 18 year olds often are. You need understand the background of this class to help you digest the details of this trip.

Nine students signed up to be part of this Romania team. I was excited to see so many commit to the trip and work hard to earn the money that was required. Another 9 adults attended which includes 2 Youth Leaders (myself and Scot Edwards) and the Youth Minister, Matt. I knew our students had no idea what they were about to experience. I will never forget my first mission trip to Honduras, because there were so many "firsts" involved. It was an experience in which I felt the spirit move so powerfully that it gave me a whole new understanding of showing the face of Jesus to the lost. That is what we intended to take to Romania. Our purpose was to host a camp for children from tiny villages near Oradea. We picked up 40 children, ages 8 to 19, at the church Monday morning around 10am and drove another hour or two to the camp. On this ride, we met children from every background imaginable, and most of them were very poor. We were amazed at how small the baggage was on each child's shoulder for a full week of camp, but we were still ignorant to what baggage they were dragging emotionally.

We arrived and immediately began forming bonds and friendships with these children, most of whom spoke little or no English.  I quickly learned how to play a barefoot "Futbol" game on the dirt tennis court. I basically learned the rules from several "charades" conversations with my young impatient Romanian teamate after every play I messed up. It was kind of funny, I just couldn't understand what he was trying so hard to tell me.  Matt Bryant got it easy. Once I learned the game, I explained it to him in English. Once these kids saw that I could play alright, I gained their respect as someone they could relate with because I used to play "Futbol" in high school. It was the same way with every one of these Seniors with one added advantage.... youth. These youth are 18, and much closer to these campers ages than I am. It's amazing to see how God plans these things out so well. Each one of these Rich Fork youth connected with several of the children in a way that another could not. For example, we have one youth that is outgoing, funny, has tons of energy, and apparently a passion for children. He constantly had at least 3 boys that were about 8 to 12 years old hanging from his shoulders. This is only one example though. Every youth was perfectly matched with the personalities of some of these children. They attached, they laughed, they played, they prayed, the Holy Spirit moved, and lives were changed on both sides of the spectrum. God's plan was, as it always is.... perfect.

Each student gave their personal testimony at some point during the camp. Although each testimony was precious and unique, most began with being raised in a Christian home. Mine begins this way as well. Three Romanian teens from 18 to 19 years of age gave their testimonies during the week too. Each of them received Christ at one of the camps from the years before and were comfortable telling their story. One of them in particular was a very polite boy that I loved being around. He admitted to all that he ended up in an orphanage after birth and was practically ignored until the age of 6. At the age of six, he was still unable to feed or dress himself. He failed to thrive the first 6 years of his life because no one spent the time to nourish and educate him in any way. I remember my eyes welling with tears as the translator spoke, "Think of what a child should be capable of doing when he is 6 years old. I could not feed myself, I could barely communicate, and I was still as helpless as an infant". From there he spoke of how God wrapped him in His arms and found someone that taught him these basic fundamentals. I think the boy is 18 now and is full of strong Christian values because of God's grace in his life. I had no idea that several of the children at this camp would relate to that story, but they did. These children left the worship area in tears and were immediately comforted by a leader, adult, translator, or friend. That Thursday night, 3 children made the decision to ask Jesus to be their savior. I knew it would have been more had their pride not stood in the way. It was evident that the enemy was working too, but it was obvious who would reign in their hearts. I went to bed thanking God for allowing me to witness it, and praying hard for broken spirits in the next 24 hours.

Friday night, all the youth, children, and teens were the closest and most comfortable with each other that they were going to be before leaving. Bodies were tired, minds were in furious debate, and the Spirit was as course and heavy as a mountain fog on that camp. An invitation was given (which you must understand, is a very foreign concept to them), and a long prayer was translated. I lifted my head after several minutes to see 19 children, all in tears, standing at the front. God had softened their hearts and lifted all shame and distractions. His Spir

it overpowered the misconceptions and lies of the enemy, and saved young souls that night. I was unable to find a neck that was not being hugged by a student or another adult. My eyes searched the room as I saw my Senior class, each with their new brothers and sisters, sharing tears of joy with these children. They finally understood the words they had heard Steven and Emily sing in worship all week, "I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see." My mind, lips, and soul were speechless. I could do nothing, I could think nothing. I could only savor the overwhelming joy that surged through my mind and heart. My eyes hold back tears as I re-live this experience now, but at that particular moment there were too many emotions to even outwardly express. I do not remember feeling like that in all of my life. I found the nearest shoulder and grabbed it, and coincidentally it was a 16 boy that is very similar to me 12 years ago. I watched the Spirit continue to move as my students and these Romanian 

kids sat down to pray with the pastor. 

I have never heard of a universal language, and have never considered the fact that the Holy Spirit is exactly that, and much more. Words were not needed for these Senior students.... not for this occasion. They sat and "emptied their cups" that night. They sat with these children for 30 minutes, listening to a language that they could not understand. But it did not matter. Hearing 19 young Romanian children praying out loud in their native tongue asking Jesus to enter their lives... was one of the most beautiful sounds I have heard. It was not until a day later that I even considered the fact that I could not consciously understand the words being spoken.  My son is only 6 months old, and I can only pray that I will one day be as proud of him as I was of these 9 youth that poured their hearts and souls into these children in the past week. The adults were important, but it was so obvious that God had these Seniors there for a huge reason. My pride for their accomplishments in athletics, education, and music are pale in comparison with the pride I felt for the lives they allowed God to change through them on this trip. Their lives, along with mine, have certainly been changed, and I will continue to pray for them as they head to college. I will pray specifically that they never lose sight of what they physically can not see, that they never conform to this deceptive world, and that they never forget God's love for an obedient heart.

Thank you, Rich Fork c/o 2008... from all four of us. You are more friends than students, and now more adults than teens. We love you and we will always been an ear to listen to you, a shoulder to cry on, and a home to visit.