It has been a few days since I last posted a new blog I thought this might be a good time. We leave in 4 days. Just four days…Thursday the 20th. But since we got back it’s been crazy here with training new teachings and a nice little hike. A few days after we got back to Italy we went on a hike up to where the first reformers of the Christian church were pushed off and killed. They were marched up to a peak and pushed off by the Popes Army. But we went to about 4,500 foot which is a nice little hike, the air was really starting to get thin and hard to breath. It really was a challenge but it was great.
Once we got to the place we were going to go it was a great time to just sit there and pray, and dream. Not day dream but dream for the future through visions.
Later that night we had a wii bowling tournament. Wow was that fun or what; it was also a costume party/dress up however you want. So I got the big idea to dress up as Barry Spofford. And Tess dressed up as Barry’s wife Pat. It was the funny thing every. HAHA wow it was really funny everyone just dressed crazy. Barry is the international directory of FCA. And during the whole thing one of our FCA staff members was on a Skype call with the FCA Vice President, they made me do the impression of him and everything to this guy. At the end of the call I told him I hope this will not interfere with any future job opportunities with FCA, he said, “don’t worry it helped your chances.” Haha it was so funny!
See Bobbio turns into this huge tourist spot during the summer. And this weekend they have been partying it up and having this huge festival. Yesterday some of the interns Today we played basketball with some people from Turino. It was great! The kids love Tall Paul and at the end they traded eamils with david so we can maybe get them into some camps next year! So God really placed an outreach with us today so it worked out great!
The training this week has been intense for me. The last few days we have learned more about management and dreams. “If you are somewhere that God has not put you then it is a dangerous place.” This quote has been stuck in my head since David’s father told us it. It is basically saying you have to know what God’s will is for you and if you force something upon yourself to do then you will not succeed because you are not depended on God.
The main biblical concept was the story of Nehemiah in chapters 1 through 6. Nehemiah was sensitive to the trouble of his nation and he wanted to do something about it, so he prayed for 4 months straights. He was a spiritual leader indeed he knew how to speak with him, surrender, he was sensitive, prayed, and he knows God’s heart. He knew he would have to stand up in God’s name if he fights the good fight then he will win, and he knew this. The thing is that he had to find out how to get the job done.
This is where administration comes into the picture. An administration is someone or a group of people that help led a company or group of people. The purpose for them is to make a hand book or rules to go by that will help get the job done. Next is financing. We have to build a budget and find out how much things will cost, that means every single thing. Pressure will most likely come from these things. It comes from expectations that we have built, we have to be prepared all the time, we have chosen to be a part of it ourselves. The good thing about pressure it forms character in that person and this is how we learn how to perform.
Now back to Nehemiah, he has to learn how to build a team to get the job done that God has called him to do. In Nehemiah 2:16- 4:6 It goes into deep deception about how the job will be done, but more importantly the people that will help him complete the goal. The good thing is that he knew he could not do all of it alone, there is no way he could build the wall all of it, and also guard the wall from intruders. This is how we see him as a good communicator. The message of this story is to show the need, give vision of how to solve the problem, and to make other trust in the Lord. In 3:1-32 it tells that everybody has a job to do to help out.
One thing that he grasped was teamwork. Because nobody is able to fulfill a big task alone. We need help there is no way to do it alone. The main thing to do is instead of doing all the work there has to be someone that teaches. The team has goals, values, and a soul. The values are what the team is found on. The goals are where the team needs to go. And the expectations are where we want to see the goal go and how it goes. But the one thing we have to remember is that there is no ownership, because it is God’s plan not ours.
Passion management is important. When we are in management and putting things together we have to give leadership responsibilities. We have to hand out leadership, not soft or hard but passionate. We have to have a trust based attitude and not a fear based.
Sometimes things can get out of control so we have to have positive controlling. We have to keep spirits high and crated excitement, and high expectations in order for some people to stay on task, and to hold the mindset that is required. It’s important to make sure things are going smoothly otherwise people will lose focus in what they are doing and will not care as much. They have to have their whole heart in it at all times to completely do it right.
Having dreams are important; we all do it. And it is right to have dreams and to think about the. One dream of mine is that I am in the process of getting partnership together with collegiate baseball teams that would help God's vision. The vision is to gather baseball and softball equipment, old bats, gloves, baseballs, any field equipment, and any old uniforms. To be sent to local players that cannot afford it, and also to overseas programs that need help. I just got back from Hungary working with The Hungarian National 13-15 year old baseball team. And the need is there, I want to grow locally, then regionally, then overseas to Europe where baseball is really starting to make ground. But the important thing is to get the equipment to those who truly need it. There is a need for the in a lot of places including my home town of LaFollette, TN. But also around the world.
Good work has enemies, in all the stuff we do there will always be someone that is against it and does not want to see it succeed. So we really have to understand resentment and malice when people come after us. Nehemiah had enemies that were against hm. And in order to save the wall and the city he knew he would have to act on this. So this is where he would set the builders up with a way to protect themselves. The enemies said they would come and he knew they would, so he protected them all. Nehemiah was to proclaim God’s legitimate right. He acts in the name of the Lord. In 4:4-5 it talks about not of his own revenge but to leave it in God’s hands. God judges not us we have no right to do so. Let us seek his kingdom and he will do the rest, there will be judgment it’s all in his hands, and that judgment is perfect.
Even though he defended well from the outside, it would not stop what could and would happen on the inside of the wall. Doubts among the people that was working on the wall would come up. The problems from the outside are bad, but even worse when they are on the inside. The people that start on something can sometimes lose stem and fall. That is one reason why we have to continue to encourage them and give them excitement. What Nehemiah does is eliminates the weak points and brings in new and strong people to help. But this shows that management is very important and that Nehemiah done a really good job of understanding the goal. When bad times came he fixed them. But the most important thing is that he continued to rely on God and what he was telling him to do.
I know that’s a lot to think about but it’s all true and very useful. God has blessed me with a vision in changing out world.
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