Going big.

Much to my amazement, the idea of a charity ultimate frisbee tournament is slowly becoming a reality.

When I first pitched my idea to my friend and mentor, Carlos Devitis, I was kind of discouraged. Not because he condemned my dream - he thought it was a great goal - but because he warned me that a task this size would be challenging and would require a lot of work; there's a lot to go in to something like this. If you know anything about me, you know I tend to get overwhelmed and discouraged by large tasks....

But thank God for His provision; He's placed three very important people - a trinity, if you will - in my life who can help me get this going.

1. Shiloh Hurst - one of the creators of the Dance-A-Thon, experienced in organizing events, getting donations and managing logistics
2. Caleb Denecour - weathered ultimate frisbee player, experience in tournaments, connections to teams, organizations etc.
3. Ruby Jacques - philanthropist, knowledge of social issues, connections to Anti-Human Trafficking resources (experts, non-profits etc.)

I have a meeting with Caleb and Shiloh this Thursday.

Go big or go home

There's been a rising trend of Human Trafficking awareness, especially in the American Church. My church, Peninsula Covenant, is hardly a stranger to the altruistic bandwagon. Last summer we did this whole series on what Christ-followers should stand for, including justice for the oppressed. Our topic of choice was none other than the trafficking of human beings.

We learned A LOT about the whole issue:
- 27 million slaves (more victims today than all the victims in the centuries of trans-Atlantic slave trade in the colonial era)
- 80% female, 50% legal minors
- Second fastest growing income for organized crime
- Generates $31 billion annually
- Used for Prostitution, Manual Labor Agricultural workers, Domestic workers, Child soldiers etc.
- CALIFORNIA IS AN INTERNATIONAL HUB FOR TRAFFICKED INDIVIDUALS, SPECIFICALLY THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA.

As you can imagine, the revelation that slavery was happening in our own backyards was at the very least disturbing to many people in my congregation. One question burned on every heart who sat in the pews every Sunday: what can I do?

In October of 2008, two of my friends did something. Shiloh Hurst and Hannah Denecour combined their love of dance with God's heart for justice. These young ladies organized a 5 hour Dance-A-Thon (whatever the hell that is) to raise money to fight against modern slaver. They got a bunch of people from school and church and whatnot to collect pledges for dancing a certain amount of hours at this little shindig.

So I stopped by after my night class and - let me tell you - it was quite the party! Our DJ friend Alex was at the turn tables and a crowd of sweaty teenagers adorned with glow-sticks were tearin' up on the floor. They had a strobe light, a disco ball, lights, the works. I managed to catch the "salsa" and "techno" sessions.

According to International Justice Mission it takes $1,000 to successfully emancipate a slave and keep them out of forced labor. More specifically, it costs $1,000 to locate and liberate a slave, teach them a trade (for hope of a better job) and perform any legal action necessary regarding the "owners."

At the end of the night, Shiloh and Hannah managed to raise $3,100...
They freed 3 people from slavery! By DANCING.

(For more info about the Dance-a-thon, check out the December 2008 issue of the Spectrum: http://www.spectrummagazine.net/)

This account gives me so much hope. It shows that we can make a difference. "We" meaning anyone. So why not? What else can be done? Not only for the cause against human trafficking, but for world hunger, or the AIDS epidemic, or clean water, or genocide?

I want to do something. I've always wanted to do something bigger than myself. I never knew what I would do, but now I've got an idea:
Charity ultimate Frisbee tournament. Recruited teams would play for a donated prize, but entrance fees and optional pledges (money per points scored) would go straight to a cause. Think of the possibilities.


One of my best friends, Steve, is an amazing guitarist. He's been playing for years and he LOVES music. He also loves Jesus. He wants to get some bands - big, small, obscure, mainstream - together to organize a benefit show to raise money and awareness. Steve wants to expose both the darkness in our world, but also God's weapons - His people - against it. He's shooting for next summer. Get ready.

Three people's lives were changed forever because two young women got a bunch of teenagers to DANCE. What kind of difference could be made from a bunch of people tossing around a frisbee? What change could be inspired in the midst of a mosh pit? Time will only tell.

Looking back. Part 2

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I definitely feel like God is working in me. One exceptionally prominent concept He's been putting on my heart is to have faith in Him and not in people. It is Jesus who saves and satisfies me. It is Jesus who protects and provides, heals and restores, teaches and guides me. NOT any human.

Staying home for school came with a huge price: loneliness. Community College students SUCK. Myself included, for not being the change I wish to see. I've never seen a more anti-social group of people in my life. Everyone at Cañada College is in the their own little world, completely oblivious to what lies outside. It's a commuter school: you're in and you're out. Friends are not a priority. Therefore, friends are not to be expected. This was most displeasing, especially since nearly all of my friends had dispersed across the state, the country and even the world. To make things even more challenging, Jade (the love of my life) is on the WRONG side of the U.S. trying out a high-ranking college she never even wanted to go to.
And it just so happened that everyone who stuck around was - on some level - extremely individualistic and solitary. And while we all loved each other very much, we could never become fully unified as the body of Christ. Consequently, I could never get the fellowship and community that my heart longed for. I tried looking elsewhere, but I really couldn't find my "place" anywhere. It's been a lonely year.
Who did stand by me? Jesus did. Who never left my side? Jesus. Who was always there for me? Jesus was. He stays the same, and will remain faithful. (Revelation 1:8)

People aren't perfect. But thank God that He is. For whatever reason, I've become extremely cynical this year. Somehow, I've been able to point out the hideously unacceptable flaws in everything and everyone. One example being my family, another being my friends, and finally my church. I don't wanna go too in to it right now. That's whole other discussion. But in short, I've seen the "dark-side" of a lot of things I truly love - hypocrisy, ignorance, pretension etc - and it's painfully discouraging. But who is good, all the time? Jesus is.

While this year was abundant with new found wisdom and knowledge, I feel like this year went by with startling speed and my college career is gonna pass me up within the blink of an eye. It appears a lot of these lessons were encountered in my mistakes. I slacked off this year in every possible way. I was just tired of trying, of really trying. It took forever to get a rhythm with school, to find a job, to finally shape [somewhat] of a social life, to realize these things I've learned. I don't really know what I'm getting at here...I just feel like life is slipping through my fingertips. I need to slow down.

When I shook my principal's hand one year ago, at my own graduation, I was never so relieved. This huge burden had lifted off my shoulders, because I knew the end of a very dark era in my life was at hand. I was gonna leave all the pain and struggle and depression of high school behind me, because a new beginning was ahead of me. As far as I knew, I was going places. Little did I know that I did not qualify for financial aid and coul not pay for school. Then came Plan B (a.k.a. community college).
I am nowhere near satisfied with where I am right now: at home, going to community college, no community/fellowship, no friends, no girlfriend by my side, monotonous job and the like.

My Lord has been whispering a simple message in my ear all this time:

TRUST ME.
I SEE THE BIG PICTURE.
I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING.
LET ME TAKE THE WHEEL
AND I'LL GET YOU TO WHERE YOU NEED TO GO.

Looking back. Part 1

Pictures taken June, 2008

I went to my high school's graduation ceremony the other day, mostly out of boredom and partly out of nostalgia. It was an interesting experience. Not a lot of alumni were there (much to my disappointment) and I didn't really have a lot of friends in the class of 2009. A few teachers seemed happy to see me, but most of them didn't care. Neither did I, to be perfectly honest. Like I said, I didn't really have a good reason to be there.

This was an impromptu decision after I got off work, so I obviously didn't have a seat. I stood in the balcony by the door and eventually moved down to the gallery on the side of the auditorium. Both places had excellent views, I just wish I could have given my knees a rest.

Talk about a flashback. It so surreal to watch this: I remember sitting among my peers in those crappy plastic chairs, clad in the heavy and suffocating gradation robe with the stupid hat. I remember in the moment, it went by so slowly yet gracefully and methodically. They'd call a name. A roar of applause would sound. The student would walk up. Receive diploma - it would actually just be an empty leather binder. Shake hands with the Principal. Photo-op. Sit down. Repeat cycle 100 times and wait for the flood of pretentious bull-crap to pass. Hoot and holler with gusto and throw that hat up victoriously.

A lot of people were crying. I guess I really wasn't feeling the vibe, because watching these little troopers graduate was about as moving as Zoolander and half as entertaining. Although, I must say...it made me think a lot about where I was a year ago, and where I am now.

In some ways, I feel like I'm decades out of high school; I feel different. I've learned so much in the last 12 months. And I'm not just talking academics. Where do I even begin?
Somewhere in my journey through night classes, isolation, elections, parking tickets, protests, depression, block schedules, late fees, homework and "life-guarding"... I feel like I've learned so much about being a Man. My friend Philip summed it up nicely: "Knowing what you gotta do, and just DOING it." It's knowing that I'm not a child anymore. Knowing that I have to take ownership of what I do and that I have to take responsibility. No one is telling me what to do. I just got to know what it is, and do it with all my heart. (Colossians 3:23)

Jesus continues to remind me the importance of keeping a balance in life. The importance of managing time and priorities. Too much of anything is not good. In high school I learned that all work and no play makes Charlie a dull boy. We are human. We are mortal. We have limits. No one can just keep going. Surely you'll self-destruct if you try. You have to be still once in a while. Get some rest. Spend some time just being. Then, go do something you love. Go on an adventure. Be with people you love. Laugh.

Unfortunately, the complete absence of work is just as deadly...if not more. It's not okay to blow off our obligations. How do we expect to get anywhere if we never do things we don't want to? What if we need to? What if it's completely necessary?
Basically, I need to take care of myself AND get stuff done. No easy task. But, my friends, there truly is a time for everything. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

"...you should write a blog!"

...I can't say I fully agree with the above statement.

I've never really liked the idea of "blogging" because I thought it was narcissistic and stupid. Not to say people who blog are those things, but rather the act of blogging itself. Honestly, who seriously cares what my opinion is on...anything? Who am I to have a blog? I'm no one important. Not an author, a speaker, a professor or an expert on anything. I'm a community college student in the Bay Area. Who would care enough to read an online publication about what I think? Clearly, YOU do.

So why do it? Well...

1. As a college student, my life is in transition; I'm going from adolescence to adulthood. I'm going from being dependent to independent. I'm going from academics to application. A new season is dawning, and it's quite overwhelming. It really puts things in perspective; I was a minor JUST a year ago. I was in HIGH SCHOOL! Now I'm legal. Now I'm in college. Now life is about to begin. There's so much change, so many trials and errors, so many lessons to be learned. I feel like talking about what's going on is a good way to process my "journey."
2. As a Christ-Follower, I long for meaning in this life. I don't want to just occupy space, or just go through the motions. I want to make it count. God came into this world to bring me from death to life and out of darkness into light(John 5:24, 1 Peter 2:9). Jesus set me free from what hinders me so I can live into the fullness of the potential He's foretold. I want to be different and I want to make a difference. (Romans 12, Micah 6:8) Doug Fields, this renowned youth pastor I saw at a leadership conference, said in order to do that you have to discover how God's designed you. You have to examine your S.H.A.P.E and apply it to our world. Your "shape" is simply who you are: your spiritual gifts, your passions, talents, personality traits and experiences. Your identity.

Unfortunately, for an introvert, I fall incredibly short when it comes to self-assessment. That's probably where my "moderate" nature comes in. I couldn't tell you with certainty what I'm GOOD at, or what I'm most passionate about, what kind of person I am, or what I've REALLY been through.

Luck for me, I have many authentic and observant companions to help keep me in check. A good friend of mine, Lauren Majewski, suggested that I take advantage of my skills as a writer and put them to use. Hence, the blog.

I don't know where I'm gonna go with this. I guess we will see.