Insight from a Soldier

This is an excerpt from a conversation between my brother, who is currently in Afghanistan, and my mother. These words are simply too wise to not share and there is a lot we can all take from them. Please remember that these men are fighting so that you can have your freedom and read it with an open heart:

"You know i have to tell you i'm safe, that's my job to keep you from worrying, but just know that when i get to do my job, my real job, I love it. This is what i signed up for and would rather be doing nothing other than leading some of americas finest men of this generation.

"Without these men, america would surely crumble and i simply ask that you remind everyone at home who sleeps warm in the beds at night, with family down the hall, or those who enjoy a relatively safe drive or walk to work without having to worry about getting blown up, or having to put on 50 pounds of gear everyday, the sacrifices these young men make. They work constantly, guarding their brothers and americans at home, knowing that if the worst happens, its worth it, even almost expected because that is often what it takes to build nations and protect its freedoms.

"That isn't meant to worry you at all, because in all honesty, things are not bad right now. But i wanted you to know how i feel about the service of so many of america's boys that were not too long ago in high school or delivering someones newspaper. I just wish all of america appreciated them in the same way."

So, next time you go somewhere without having to seriously worry about your safety, remember what our soldiers are going through to make that possible. I'm no soldier but I think all they want from us is to remember what they're going through and be grateful for their sacrifice.

It's simple but incredibly important.

-Kenz

A Journey to the Slums

Hello Everybody!

I would like to officially announce to you all that I will be traveling to the Mathare Valley in Kenya, Africa this summer. Mountain Christian Church is sending 80+ people from the congregation to bring the hope of Jesus to a poverty stricken place. We are divided into several smaller teams, and I am on the sewing and knitting team. We will be teaching women of the valley how to make certain marketable sewn and knitted projects that they can sell to help provide for their families. I am very excited to teach them such a valuable skill but I am even more excited for the relationships that are going to be built while there. I already know that God will be working in ways that I can not even imagine.

A picture of the Mathare Slums which hundreds of thousands of people call home.

I know that this trip is going to significantly expand my comfort zone, but I am glad for that. There will not be change in the world if we all stay within our comfort zones. I am preparing myself for the challenge and growth that will occur during this trip. Please join me in praying for the people of the Mathare Valley, and for our team that will be going there in June.

I am praying to you

because I know you will answer, O God.

Bend down and listen as I pray.

-Psalm 17:6

Currently, I am working on my support letters that I will be sending to many of my family and friends. In these letters I will be giving information about my trip (much of which will be able to be found here), and asking for two things:

1. I am asking for you to commit to praying for my trip to Kenya. Prayers that our team and the people who we will be interacting with will be able to attentively listen to the perfect calling of God. This is my most important request because without God, this trip will not be possible.
2. I am asking for monetary donations toward my trip. I hate having to ask for money but it is an essential part of the process of going on a short-term mission trip and very important. If you would like to give you can give online at http://mountainchristian.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=104852, or wait patiently until you receive a support letter.

I would greatly appreciate it if you are able to do one, or both of these things, but above all, I am requesting your prayers. Thank you in advance for joining me in an endeavor to follow God into areas that desperately need his unfailing love.

Romans 8:35-39:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Christ,

Mackenzie

White Space

Over winter break my Bel Air church, Mountain Christian Church, did a series around christmas time titled "I'm Dreaming of a White Space Christmas". Here's a short video that illustrates the concept quite well. PLEASE watch it!

http://vimeo.com/17489321

Basically, the concept behind the series was for us to leave some white space in our lives. You know, like the white space, or margin, on the edges of the pages in a book. If the text was to go all the way to the edge of the page, it would look cluttered and no one would want to read it. Just like there's a spacious margin right here on this blog. The text is only consuming a narrow strip of the entire page because it makes it look more appealing to you. It's obviously working because your reading what I'm writing aren't you? The same thing goes for our lives. If we have every little detail of our day rigidly planned out, how in the world are we going to let God implement his plan for our life? The more open space we have in our day to day life, the more room there is for God to work out his perfect plan for us.

Well, at the time of hearing this sermon series I didn't really think about it much. It was over Christmas break so I didn't have much going on anyway. I just thought to myself, "White Space? Check!" Now that I am back at school and getting into the swing of things, I am getting a lesson on the importance of white space.

My schedule is pretty open right now. My only assignments have been text book readings, and things really haven't gotten intense yet like i know they will later on in the semester. I am not going into details in this post because things are still beginning to play out, but I definitely will soon. For now, I just wanted to say that having white space in your life really does allow room for God to work!!!

There have been a couple different extracurricular activities that I have been offered to partake in, but because I was not passionate about them I let them pass by. These are things that I probably would have enjoyed but I knew they weren't supposed to be a part of my life at the present moment. All I can say is: Boy am I glad I have had an open schedule right now because God is most definitely using it to his advantage! I can't wait to share specifics about things. for now I just want to encourage you to create white space in your life! It will be 300% worth it! I challenge you to have done something to create white space in your life by the time I post my next blog. I know you can do it and I know you know what you need to do. What are you waiting for? Do it!

Much love from a Hokie

-Kenz

Christmas Break

During my last few weeks at Tech, we were all asking each other what our Christmas break plans were. My answer was mostly one that included relaxation, time with family and friends, hunting, and even more relaxation. Little did I know at the time what that would pan out to look like.

On Christmas afternoon, Amy broke the news to us that Tyler was supposed to arrive at the airport from Afghanistan in about an hour. However, his flight was canceled and he was on standby for a flight leaving Atlanta at 9:45. We ended up suspensefully waiting to get a call from a borrowed phone that carried Tyler's voice saying that he got on that flight. After receiving that joyous phone call Amy, Dad, Mom, and I drove quickly to the airport to welcome him home just after midnight.

It was such a blessing to get to spend Christmas with Tyler. Even though he didn't make it home in time for Christmas Day, we were still able to share the majority of the season with him. I didn't realize at the beginning of break that it would turn out quite like this. We were able to spend a lot of quality family time, all six of us, for the first time since July. This included playing games together, lots of hunting, and just hanging out and catching up on life. We finally gave Tyler and Amy the boot and sent them back on their way to Tennessee where they will be spending the second half of R&R.

Now that they're gone, I'm not exactly sure what to do with myself. I will most likely continue to hunt and catch up with friends again but it's been really nice to have a slow pace of life again.

Happy New Year! Here comes 2011.