Taking a pounding.

I read this story about Jesus the other day. He took the fellas and went over to the rough side of the Sea. It was an adventure getting there (that's another story), but when they finally land on the far shore, they are approached by a solitary man and an army of evil. We don't know the man's name, but the army of evil that had possessed him was called Legion... for they were many. Jesus has a conversation with this army of demons, and actually grants them a wish. It is a fascinating start to a story.

The rest of the story is very interesting, but I want to camp here for this blog. Last week I was in this Bolivian city called Oruro. It is a city built around a mining industry which has grown up for centuries on traditions, superstitions and devil worship. People with the gift of discernment can feel the darkness of this place.

I was there with an evangelistic outreach band. We scheduled several outreaches, and although I won't go into too much detail, the ministry was extremely difficult, and I'm convinced it was because of evil's strategic attempts to, not just discourage us, but to kill and mutilate our message and our people. Sickness, equipment problems, team disunity... Oruro was a learning experience for me.

Why a learning experience? Because I think for me the story of Jesus and the demon-possessed man has always been a story from a land far far away. I've known about spiritual warfare since I was very young. But maybe I didn't believe. Because if I believed, I think it would change the way I am.

So I'm changing again. This is bueno. I'm becoming frighteningly aware of a world I cannot see. And in the midst of this awakening, I went to Cochabamba.

The things that passed in Cochabamba can be categorized in two groups: things that make me want to stay here, and things that make me want to run home.

I"ll start with the things that make me want to stay here. We had a youth leader training done by Youth specialties, South America (http://www.especialidadesjuveniles.com). So the La Paz YFC encouraged volunteer staff to attend. There were eight of us in all, AND FOUR OF THEM SHOE SHINERS (Wilfredo, Ramiro, Ismael and David, for those of you who might know these guys)! We went through this intense five hour training and talked about how to help youth fall in love with Jesus. It was deep, practical, well done and I was very excited. I'm seeing a group of leaders forming, and my dream is that these guys will be the ones that reach this city with a message that will not disappoint.

The evangelism we did was challenging for me. I don't know always how I feel about proclamation evangelism, but as the band played and I shared a couple times or watched others share, I could see God at work.

Ok, now a brief summary of things that make me want to run home. I got a phone call four days ago saying that one of my former interns, Josh, was tragically killed in a kayaking accident last week. I really still have to process that news. Three days ago I was with Pedro's youngest son when his finger got slammed in a door and he ended up loosing the tip of his finger. The experience literally makes me want to puke when I think about it. Yesterday, with 2 minutes before a live TV concert, the band's equipment pops a couple times and burns. It literally was charcoal burnt when we opened up the apparatus later. And today I arrived in La Paz to find out one of my shoe shiners was assaulted in a robbery attempt. The doctors say he will loose his eye if there is not a miracle during surgery tomorrow.

These last couple weeks I've been reminded that this battle is not against flesh and blood (although it is bloody). There are things happening in a spiritual realm here in my world, which serve to beat me up, and at the same time encourage me. I'm not looking to be beat, but if God's work through us is causing concern with the leaders of darkness, I am honored to battle for the General who laid down his life.

Your prayers are not just words or encouragement. They are vital life lines for troops entrenched in a battle with a known victory, but also filled with real loses, wounds, disease, dirt, sweat and blood.