2023 Ministry Update and Life Update

 

Unite Ministry and Brandon Nimz Newsletter

Hello everyone! I know it's been a very long time, but I am writing a newsletter to update you a bit on Tella and my life and on the status of Unite Ministry and my personal work as an in-state missionary at the request of several people who do still keep up with our latest happenings. Though much of what occurs with Unite and in my personal ministry as an in-state missionary is still similar to what it was in past, we will still bring you up to speed there. The bulk of the changes that we want to let you know about are in our personal lives.

Regarding Unite happenings, we continue to be the nonprofit responsible for distributing federal government commodities (food) regionally from Hays to approximately 30 food banks in our section of the state. We also locally give out commodities to families and individuals who meet the income guidelines. In addition to this food distribution, we still run the Unite Free Store inside The Gamers Guild at 200 E 8^th Street in Hays, KS. The free store has expanded in size and shelving from what it was even just a few months ago, although we continue to have times where we are full of donations or where the shelves are totally empty depending on how gifts and utilization occur.

For those who don't know about the Free Store, it is a fairly simple concept. We let anyone donate, take, or trade items from the free store regardless of income. There is no checkout or register—people simply take things, leave things, or trade with items on the shelves. This lets the community help itself and is a shadow of the image presented in Acts when the early church shared everything they owned. It also protects the pride of individuals who would not willingly take a handout but who would trade items they don't need for items that they do need. Though we never know what we will stock as it is solely community members donating or trading things that fills the shelves, we typically prefer to receive food items and items that homeless or poor individuals would find useful (things like can openers, microwaves, shoes, backpacks, toothbrushes, personal care or laundry care items, etc.). We tend to prefer people not donate regular clothes as there are other ministries in our area who are better equipped and who are more geared towards that, though we DO like seeing incoming clothes that could be useful to someone who is homeless or to large families (like coats or gloves in the winter, quality shoes any time of year, and baby or infant clothing).

Beyond Unite's more program or project-oriented ministry work, I personally do still meet with college students and individuals in need as situations or desires for conversations arise. Lately this has most frequently involved college students wanting to discuss faith matters and life issues or individuals who just got out of jail or off of parole. Along with these meetings, I frequently end up working with other aid agencies or individuals to help people in rougher circumstances find support.

As a simple example, I recently went to Louisiana to teach an Aikido seminar (for those who don't know, that's a self-defensive Japanese martial art that tries to protect not just oneself, but also the person attacking oneself; since it has a pretty strong love your enemy idea, it often leads to great ministry interactions). The day before I left, a man came into the free store needing help. He had walked to Hays from Toulon (which is a fair distance considering that it was around freezing before taking the wind chill into account and this fellow did not have appropriate clothes on to be outside). He had been kicked out of his living arrangements due to accurately reporting to his parole officer that another person on parole had moved in (and he wasn't allowed to live with someone else on parole, as is typically the case). He got off parole the very next day, but until he was off parole the Salina Rescue Mission would not take him and there was no way to get him a room because First Call for Help had already assisted him once in the past year. After talking to his parole officer and praying and thinking about it, we ended up getting him a room for the night along with some minutes for his phone so he could communicate with several people who needed to know he was leaving the county. The parole officer said he was off parole at midnight, I left at 4AM the next day to go to Louisiana, and Salina Rescue Mission was on the way. I called and confirmed that they'd receive us at 5:30AM as they sometimes don't open until a little later, and they were willing to open the door for us the next day. Just like that, we were able to get him shelter for the night and to the rescue mission the next day.

Later in the week, I received a call from him that he needed some medical and legal papers from the house he had been staying in. Legally the individuals should not have held his items, but they were refusing to send them on or to let a representative of his pick them up. I told him I'd let his parole officer handle the part of getting the items as the officer had volunteered to, and that I could then find someone to get the items to him. Thankfully, a local who works in Wichita frequently was able to run the items to him later that week when we obtained them. After that, the individual was able to get a job and move on to a stable living environment, which is gratifying to see (people we help don't always end up in better situations long-term, depending on what got them there in the first place).

Besides this type of aid work and meeting one on one with college students, I do still try to work with and build partnerships with churches and aid agencies in our area. As part of that, I have been the President and Vice President of the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance since just before COVID. In that capacity, I've been fairly active with a variety of ECMA projects and with re-engineering the ECMA to help it better serve the community and to involve more pastors and ministry workers. This summer I am officially on my way out of that position and drop down to just being a member, but I will still be wrapping up some projects on my way out. To keep the newsletter brief, I won't go into many details, but if any of you are curious about the ECMA projects I worked on OR if any of you want to join the ECMA, let me know (we are looking for a volunteer in the area to be the treasurer, and this position does not require a person to be a regular member/ministering individual in Ellis County).

Beyond this, I am beginning to carve out small amounts of time in my schedule to write. It's been impressed upon me to 'let them know' what God has been doing in my life and to share some of what He has helped me learn over the years (mostly things I have extremely repeated conversations about with the people I end up meeting with). I also feel I am likely supposed to start developing an App at some point soon to help greatly improve the efficiency of aid agency coordination in our area; if it works well, it could easily be expanded out to help other areas, as well. I don't feel led to do the programming or technical portions, but I do believe I can seek funding and seek coders to help make this fairly simple idea a reality.

While that wraps up most of the latest ministry happenings, the biggest change in my and Tella's personal lives has been the birth of our son, Simon. He is a joy beyond words, and we love him dearly. He is now a little over one year and two months old, and he is running around, climbing things, and joyfully babbling (and occasionally using some small words, too). He is always seeking to share his experiences with us, and both of us dearly love doing so with him. As those of you with kids know, this has been a huge life change, but I had 9 months of warning and have been progressively decreasing the amount and types of work that I do (including closing my lifeguarding and aquatics training company) to focus in on just what's important in ministry and to maximize time with Simon and Tella.

In addition, Tella and I are expecting identical twin girls in November. While this is deeply exciting, it has also been a harrowing experience as one of the babies is in excellent shape but the other appears to be in fairly severe trouble. The type of trouble has changed several times over the last four weeks as doctors get a better handle on it. First, they thought she might have a cystic hygroma, which is a 10% survival rate. Two weeks and a bunch of prayer later, they confirmed that she does not. They then told us they think she has Ectopia Cordis, which is a different 10% survival rate. Two weeks and a bunch of prayer later, they told us she does not. They did say that they are now fairly confident that she has limb body wall complex (which looked like Ectopia Cordis on the first Ultrasounds), which is almost universally terminal. This has been very hard to work through for us, and the statistics and options are also fairly challenging to consider. If it is limb body wall complex (and the doctors are much more confident this time), the number of global survivors can be counted on one or two hands from what I've been able to find. There is a website called Oakley's miracle that details one such survivor, but there are entire networks of support groups for women who have their babies stillborn or who have them survive a few hours and then hold them while they pass. The number of survivors are low enough that the doctors don't give a percentage chance of survival—they just call it terminal, period. This is additionally complicated since we have identical twins who therefore share a placenta and blood supply. If Baby A (the one with the suspected disorder) dies in utero, which happens 40% of the time, there's a 30% chance that the death in utero will cause kidney or brain damage that can even be terminal to our perfectly healthy Baby B. The doctors are therefore urging us to consider a procedure that burns the umbilical cord of Baby A whose survival odds are essentially nonexistent in their minds, effectively causing her to die, to protect Baby B. We are currently unwilling to deeply consider this procedure, but if they detect signs of Baby A actively and unavoidably dying, we have to keep in in mind. There are very few facilities that can do this procedure. Limb Body Wall Complex has so few survivors that most hospitals will also not intervene the other direction to attempt to save the babies once they are born. The only hospital that seems able to do both paths is Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which our doctors have referred us to and sent records to. They are willing to do a diagnosis that is much higher level and to go either route, but even the initial evaluation is likely between $15,000-$20,000 per twin. While we are members of Christian Healthcare Ministries, it is a cost sharing program after the expenses are billed, and it is not clear if they will do some of these procedures without payment up front. We are currently working out those details and applying for Kansas Medicaid. Since our family size is considered 5 now by Medicaid, it is likely we will qualify, though not guaranteed. Through all of this, we still have our normal lives to lead, relationships to participate in, and a beautiful baby boy to raise, so please keep all five of us in your prayers. It is a lot.

I want to thank all of you who took the time to read this, to thank those of you who have financially supported us in any way over the years, and to thank those who have been praying for and with us. We sincerely appreciate being able to go on this journey along with you as we all seek to be part of the advancing Kingdom of Heaven that has been among us since the time of Christ. If you want us to pray for you or if you ever want to talk about how God is working in your lives or in our lives, feel free to reach out to me at Brandon.Nimz@gmail.com. Thanks again, and may God help us see the opportunities that are in front of us to be used by Him to spread joy, love, and hope to those around us and to ourselves both today and in the days to come.

October Ministry Stories/Newsletter

At times when the world seems chaotic and it appears that hate, evil, and other types of darkness are on the rise, the enemy can appear quite strong. This appearance of strength is actually one of its weakest times, because it highlights the contrast and makes God's peace, hope, and love shine that much brighter and be that much more evident when they do shine. That said, as believers, times like this are critical for us to be silent and listen to God, to be humble and move in God, and to allow God to work on ourselves so we are ready to walk with others in love and hope. In that vein of thought, I want to share with you today three-and-a-half brief stories of places I feel I've seen God work in the last month.

Short Story One: During one of the nights The Gamers Guild was open, we had a new fellow come in to the free store. He'd just finished serving his parole and had heard about us from one of his friends. It was a busy night with quite a few people wanting or needing things, but I felt like I should go show him around and let him know what services we offered. As we talked, it became apparent that I could do more good for him by sharing information on several food ministries and other services in the area, so I got some scratch paper and wrote down some details for him. While I did, I listened to his story of hardship and of gradual success, and I was able to applaud him for his hard work. At the end of our conversation, he told me he was starting a small business to do manual labor and construction, and he was excited and nervous about it. I wished him well, gave him some more resources, and then he headed out.

Many individuals like that will be one-time visitors to the free store. However, this fellow came back later—and he was excited to share that he had successfully completed his first job and might be looking for some workers to help with his next. He attributed some of his success to early support from our ministry, but I honestly didn't give him that many resources; I truly believe that the support he felt was more from God and from us respectfully listening to him share his story than from any actual direct resources we provided. After this visit, he came in one more time—this time he was excited to share that he'd obtained an opportunity to get new diabetic testing kits for free; he knew the free store had a fair number of low income individuals who might be able to use them, and he wanted to know if we'd accept them. I was personally fairly blown away—here was someone who had used much less resources off our shelves than many individuals, and he was touched enough to contribute back much more than he was given. It reminds me both of the crop yielding a harvest many times more than was planted and the idea that Abraham and his tribe were blessed to be a blessing to others. Even that evening he stayed around and helped organize some of our donations that had come in, though none of them were actually things he needed. He is looking for the opportunity to contribute back to others, and that is cool to see.

Short Story Two: One Monday night bible study a few weeks back, one of our members had brought a guest. She was a new grad student to Fort Hays, and she hadn't had a chance to make many community connections with COVID and all the restrictions. This individual was initially sweet and also somewhat shy, but she was welcomed and was able to share a bit about herself and her take on the scripture we were studying that first night. After prayer time, we stayed and chatted more, and we invited her to the Aikido classes as well since it seemed like she was looking for things to do and people to get to know.

The next day we saw her at an Aikido class, and the other students got to know her and work with her. Though Aikido can be quite challenging at the start, she did well and seemed to enjoy learning and meeting people. A week later, at her second time in small group, she shared that her week had gotten much better. Apparently she had been quite lonely and disconnected—mostly just sticking to contacting family and friends who were quite distant. She had few if any direct connections in Hays, and this was her first time in a couple of months actually feeling like she had people she could interact with. She explained that we in the small group were a large part of why she was feeling better, and I felt that it was a cool God connection and part of God's providence for her and for us.

Short Story Three: About a year ago, our ministry had been working with an individual who can be fairly challenging to engage with—part of that is because of their inability to understand all types of boundaries. At that time, they were unwilling to accept help within the boundaries that I had laid down, so they had walked away from us. A month or two ago, this individual showed back up wanting help again.

I had to do some internal prayer and reflection to come at this situation from a healthy place; thankfully, God has been growing me in the past year such that it has been far easier to work with this individual than it was back then. As such, my intention going in and my outlook going in to meeting with them has generally been healthy from the start; rather than having a spirit of obligation (which is where I eventually ended up last year), I have viewed it as a genuine opportunity and have been ok cutting off the time with them when it needs to be cut off for other things. In a sense, their mental health disorders and other challenges leave them constantly trying to make themselves the center of everyone else's lives, and this is a large part of where they constantly end up conflicting with my boundaries and other people's boundaries.

Thankfully, God already had a pastor friend of mine working with them this time, and He had also connected them to another nonprofit ministry, so the support network was more spread out and better able to function. In addition, when I was praying about this another friend of mine who is retiring from her role as a lead pastor and who is going back into spiritual direction work came to mind as a person to introduce this individual to. I felt that this introduction would be beneficial but had to be cautiously done, as my retiring pastor friend has a sweet, supporting soul that could help this individual, but this individual's tendencies would cause them to ask for more than could be provided. I had to trust God and trust in my friend's abilities to hold to her own boundaries if she chose to develop a connection with this individual.

Thankfully, it seems that God has been using this connection more than I would have ever foreseen as not just she, but also her husband, have been interacting with this individually in very healthy ways. This further building up of the support network around this individual is a cool answer to prayer, and I'm excited to see what God will continue to do.

As a short story 3.5, there's a very Christ-centered homeless fellow who is a regular in Unite's Monday evening small group Bible study. He is in his late sixties, and he bikes around Hays and has been called 'homeless Jesus' by people in the community because he's always telling people about Jesus and trying to help transients, homeless people, or just individuals in need. This fellow is actually quite well-read and intelligent, and he frequents the free store to get items for other individuals (and occasionally some things for himself). One Thursday evening after getting back from teaching the FHSU Aikido Club, I walked into the dojo door and saw this fellow sitting at a table in The Gamers Guild playing chess with the individual I just mentioned in the third story—the individual who is now getting a better support network. Watching these two individuals who really should have no reason to interact from a worldly perspective share a game and talk about life was actually quite a heart-warming scene to me. Knowing each of them fairly well, I can surmise that each was likely growing from this interaction, being challenged, and also having some of their needs met. It's also two individuals who the world might often overlook or even actively avoid. Yet here, in this moment, God was drawing them together and helping them both grow through community. What a cool thing.

Thanks for your prayers—things are always moving here. The Kingdom of God is forcefully advancing, and we are trying to pray, listen, and figure out what our part is in it as it comes along. I'm only just now getting back into the habit of publishing the newsletter regularly, so if you know of anyone else who would like to read it, please feel free to send me their email address, mailing address, or to point them to our blog (http://uniteeph4-1-16.blogspot.com/). Blessings to you, and I hope things are going well in your part of this world!

Sincerely,

Brandon

Embody Peace--March 2020 Ministry Newsletter

Though there are several ministry updates we can inform you about and some projects we can request assistance on, I feel it is more important at the start of this newsletter to share some basic principles from scripture that have been challenging me regarding peace, focus, and fear.

Regarding fear, I see a universal call in scripture away from worry and fear and into prayer and trust. This shows up in the words of Paul and other New Testament authors, but I believe it is also clearly evident in Jesus's sermon on the mount in Matthew. In chapter 6, Jesus finishes contrasting the Pharisees and teachers of religious law, who live for earthly praise and worldly wealth, with the way that believers should live (seeking the praise of God) in a variety of activities from fasting to praying. It really sets a stage for focusing on God's approval (and not focusing on temporal things of this world) before jumping directly into several passages that discuss not worrying. Jesus tells the listeners not to worry about what they would eat or drink, about what they would wear, about what others were doing (the segment about not judging others has to do with us not worrying about others' sins but first fixing ours so we can help them in love), and it finishes with telling listeners to trust God and His providence. Unlike the situation for many of us nowadays, many of these things Jesus was telling people not to worry about were urgent necessities that were real concerns—to the point that not having them could result in a very uncomfortable death for many of the listeners.

Indeed, Jesus's overall call through this message and in other places was for believers to give up their own kingdoms/worries/lives that they would gain true life, and life to the full. While this life to the full was given in a very real spiritual/qualitative way, it also resulted in earthly hardship and death for many of the early believers—sometimes very brutal deaths at the hands of the Romans. Even so, believers still continued on—called to turn over worries and fears to God. I suspect that wasn't easy, and there are obvious examples that they didn't always succeed—Peter rejecting that he knew Jesus and the disciples fleeing from Jesus in the garden, to name two. Nonetheless, they were called by Jesus to give up their worries and fears, and many of them eventually succeeded in doing so even unto their deaths.

Can you imagine what was going on in Paul's heart as he was being stoned in Lystra and was then dragged out, thought to have been killed (Acts 14)? A mob bludgeoned him with stones until they thought he was dead, and then he turned around and went back into the city to strengthen the believers there later. This same Paul who was stoned has several places in letters in which he tells believers to cast all worries and fears onto God; the same is true of Christ's earlier call. Even if Coronavirus really is a life or death matter for you or someone you love (I know several people who are quite immunocompromised as of today), asking God to help us all return to a place of peace and calm in our hearts is of utmost importance for us as believers, as is striving to return to that place frequently. Not only does God call us to strive to do this for our own good, but I believe that being in that calm place of peace makes us even more accessible to be used to help and love others in this time.

Regarding focus, Paul says to 'be excellent at what is good and innocent of evil' (Romans 16:19). This principle is likewise in the Sermon on the Mount that I referenced earlier. Jesus brings up many teachings in which the Pharisees were excellent at following the letter of the law while entirely missing the spirit of the law. Jesus goes through several Biblical principles to illustrate this; the law says to not murder, but Jesus says that calling someone an idiot is dangerous and cursing someone is dangerous enough that we are 'in danger of the fires of Hell'. Likewise, the law says to love our neighbors, but Jesus said we even have to love our enemies (and in other places expands on who our neighbors are). While 'being excellent at what is good' seems straightforward in these two examples, I note in my life that the world seems to want me and other believers to be more like the teachers of religious law—to focus on being excellent at 'not doing what is evil', while occasionally doing what is good. At the start of Jesus's sermon on the mount, He warned that unless listeners followed the law better than the teachers of religious law that they wouldn't even enter the Kingdom at all! This subtle-seeming difference is actually a life-and-death difference. To give a different angle on this principle, Mother Theresa said, 'I will never attend an anti-war rally; if you have a peace rally, invite me'. In this case, focusing on anti-war still focuses on war, and it makes our hearts, thoughts, and minds center on war and opposing it. In reality, this fills our minds and our hearts with concerns, worries, thoughts, strategies, and countermeasures—all related to war. This is makes us more akin to being excellent at the topic of war (even if it is avoiding war) than it is akin to us being excellent at peace (what is good). Being truly excellent at what is good would have us focusing on better ways of embodying peace, spreading peace, sharing peace, cultivating peace and love—even in hard times. Our hearts and minds would be focused on peace and learning about it such that it would even start to radiate out from us and show up in our thoughts and actions. This seemingly small shift in thinking, in heart, and in how our internal voice engages the topic has a major shift in how it affects our internal landscape and how it affects our external responses. There is a verse in Proverbs that talks about how a rudder is so small, yet it can change the direction of an entire ship; this verse is referencing our words/the tongue, but the principle of a small thing making a huge difference also applies to the difference in focusing between 'not doing what is evil' and 'becoming excellent at what is good.' In fact, the Proverb itself directly applies when we realize that our thoughts and intentions are internal words, and those internal words influence our heart, which Proverbs says affects everything we do.

All of this is to say that the above principle applies fully and deeply when it comes to finding peace at this time. If we focus on 'not worrying about Coronavirus and the measures being used to slow it,' then we are still focusing on fear and worry and are preventing ourselves from getting optimal growth out of this and from having an optimum impact on those around us. Instead, we as believers can focus on turning over worry, on finding God's peace, resting in God's peace, embodying God's peace, and spreading God's peace. This may be a time for us to seek God in our own lives and the lives of those very close to us. It may also be a time for us to reach out and love others in safe and wise ways—I've enjoyed stories of young musicians serenading home-bound elderly folks from the corners of their lawns. It may even be time for both internal and external focus and growth. I hope during this time that you can pray, reflect, and see how God may be already moving in your life and how He may be gently leading you to step out and shine hope into the lives of those around you. Times that seem dark like this are actually some of the best times for light to have a resonant impact and are some of the greatest opportunities for believers.

Regarding peace, hope, and opportunities—we do have a few needs for volunteers at this time. If you or someone you know is willing to install operating systems onto laptops that will be given out to low-income individuals, we'd greatly appreciate your help. If you have the knowledge to pop in hard drives and memory sticks on desktops and do the same, that would also be helpful. The computers have been untouched in a back room long enough that they should be sterile as far as COVID is concerned, and we can be sure to get them to you in a safe manner. We could also use volunteers to organize the free store—volunteers would come in after the free store had been closed for more than 72 hours (to keep maximally safe) to help re-arrange items, restock items, and sort new donations. We could also continue to use food donations and donations of low-stock items like toilet paper to the free store.

Thanks again for your prayers and support, and may God use you to help spread peace, love, and hope to others in this time. I'm excited to see what all He has going on!

In Christ,

Brandon

Unite Ministry Leader

October Newsletter

There have been two themes that have come up quite a bit in prayer, meditation, and action these last couple of weeks. One of them is to focus less on stopping the darkness in the world from advancing and more on taking part in the light of the world advancing (those aren't always mutually exclusive, but I'll explain that more later), and the other has been to return to my ministry roots and do the things that, deep down, I know are important. Everything else just has to fall in line from there.

The idea of focusing on advancing the light isn't new; Jesus talked about how the Pharisees were very careful to do the tiniest parts of the letter of the law, but they failed to honor parts of the spirit of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. (To be clear, he said they should do both—but he noted the part they failed was the 'advancing the light' or loving portion). During the parable of the sheep and the goats, people are separated not by what sins they committed, but by whether or not they went out of their way to love others (advancing the light). Jesus told his disciples that the gates of Hell would not overcome the church; a pastor friend of mine mentions (accurately) that gates don't generally go out and attack people. He feels that Jesus was implying that the church should be going out and storming the gates of Hell on earth (also advancing the light).

I find this same idea is visibly clear in Aikido. If someone grabs a person and tries to hold them in place (say two hands grabbing one hand), people often respond by trying to rip and pull and fight that grabbed hand free. This is trying to stop the advance of the attacker/the attacker's goal rather than focusing on the freedom of movement that the person being attacked has. If they calm down they realize they are just held by one hand—they can punch with the other, kick, move their entire bodies—all that's held is one hand. However, people tend to frequently react in quick panic and fight where the other person is stronger rather than advancing their own free movement (which may even allow them to get free later).

In actual ministry applications, I find people often connect to our ministry when things have gone beyond the ability of the other ministries in town to help with. Many of the people coming to us are homeless, have untreated mental illness, or are dealing with varying complex problems. As we work with them, we try to help them free themselves from their problems; however, some of them have problems that they are unlikely to ever be free from if they continue to exist in their current state. These situations are much like being grabbed (as mentioned above) and focusing on trying to rip the hand free. It's not wrong for us to help them with direct, tangible needs—but often that is simply trying to rip their hands free from an attack rather than helping them advance in more important root issues that may seem unrelated to the direct problem. How this plays out is complex and varied per every individual/situation that we work with.

This principle is also something that I can directly apply in my own life. While it is sometimes necessary to 'rip the hand free' and take on problems directly, it's often actually best to grow and develop overall and focus on other things. Eventually I become a person for whom said issue is no longer an issue for.

Regarding the idea of doing what's important first—when I started doing in-state missionary work, I would only do small odd jobs that didn't conflict with ministry. If they did conflict, I turned them down. Now, over time, what I do has become more complex and involves many moving parts for multiple entities. It also takes a lot of time. To handle the minutia of keeping everything running can be a full-time job itself; this often leaves important things—things that might involve 'attacking the gates of Hell' on back burner while I handle the more imminent/immediate things (or work with the imminent, loudly requesting people). Putting it a different way—it's tough to make time to go out and meet/pursue people who I've interacted with that I feel led to interact with more when I can barely maintain all that's already rolling. That's not to say the things currently rolling aren't good or aren't 'serving the Kingdom'. To the contrary—some of the most time-intensive things I do right now involve helping people in bad situations (as mentioned above). However, helping the ones who constantly come in our door needing help (who may never get out of their situations) at the expense of pursuing new relationships that I feel led to pursue is not the right course.

A friend used a fun analogy in a discussion related to this topic—she gave the example of having two secretaries: one is stellar and is performing beyond all expectations. The other is performing adequately for a secretary. If you have the money to hire an assistant, which secretary do you hire an assistant for? With my current perspective of doing what's important, I answered 'the stellar one'. She said most people answer the normal one—since that secretary needs more help. The truth is, hiring an assistant for one who's already super capable maximizes their efficient use of the assistant and further increases their exponential productivity—whereas hiring an assistant for the normal one may help them, but it is ultimately less efficient. This is a similar idea—do I spend hours upon hours meeting with people who will be back in my space in a month with the same problems, or do I go out and pursue that fellow who came into the Gamers Guild fleetingly, but whom I had a really deep and meaningful conversation with? The answer, I now feel, is the latter. (It's not that I turn the others away, but I'm changing my focus and my time utilization to the important people and situations that often get put on back burner instead of the loud people and urgent-seeming things).

These two themes that have been popping up for me (advancing the light and doing what I deep down feel is important) are directly related in my life. Handling the constantly coming-in things instead of going out and advancing is much like 'stopping the darkness' instead of 'advancing the light'. While 'stopping the darkness' is still something believers are called to do (Jesus said to give to those who ask and gave multiple examples of helping those in need), we are also called to boldly go forth and announce and advance the Kingdom of light—not just reacting but acting in a forward-moving way. I think that this is an incredibly important part of the work that we are to do as believers, and I, for one, am excited to see where all it will lead in the coming months.

As far as prayer requests—feel free to pray for several challenging situations that I am in when it comes to working with others; a few of the circumstances are extraordinary and cannot be remedied without God's intervention, from what I can see. I'd also request prayer for clarity when it comes to how to move ahead with a community volunteerism project and potential buildings for our ministry. As far as potential volunteer opportunities—if you are in the area and want to do something, please contact me. We have needs for labor from simple things like cleaning and organizing to complex things like talking with lonely people who deal with mental illness or other life challenges. The opportunities for the Kingdom to advance are numerous—please just pray and ask Jesus, the head of the body of believers, where your particular role in that advancement is. If it's in something you're already doing, keep it up! If it's with us or near us—let us know; either way, if you are listening and following Him, I'm sure you'll end up where you need to be. Thanks again for reading this update, for your prayers, and/or for your financial support!

Happy New Year!

It seems that my life and ministry work have natural cycles to them; sometimes most of the outreach ministry comes from Unite directly, sometimes most seems to come through The Gamers Guild and the people who come in for it and the free store. This year, surprisingly, it seems like many of my best inroads for ministry have come from the Aikido side of the equation. Back when Unite was more focused on college ministry and less focused on community ministry, that was also true certain years, but it has several years since that was last the case.

Some of the ways that Aikido has been a strong inroad to allow for ministry have been obvious. One of the coolest examples was that of a student who came into The Gamers Guild to learn to play some games but saw the Aikido next door and wanted to give it a try. I knew he was atheist as far as his beliefs went, but one day after he’d been in class for a few months and we’d developed a stronger relationship through Aikido, I felt led to invite him to a small group Bible study. He joined in and sat with us for a few months more, and through God’s work in His life and some circumstances in it, he ended up becoming a believer. Now, I would consider him to be one of the more staunch men of faith I know.

Another example of Aikido connecting me to someone I could love and share faith with was that of a friend of mine from Japan. I met her when I was studying Aikido in Japan as a live-in student, and we developed a friendship. I didn’t have too much chance to discuss faith with her, but I did know where she stood and she knew where I stood. Due to some political situations, she had been asked to leave her dojo in Japan, and she was studying in Denver under a different Japanese instructor whom she’d had years of prior training with. We happened to be in Denver at just the right time to be able to help her when that political situation caught up with her here in the US and she was asked to leave this school, as well. She still had a couple weeks before her flight back to Japan, so we were able to let her stay with us in our house and comfort her when she was hurting. Ultimately, she made it back to Japan and has re-started as an Aikido instructor there, but I know that our time supporting her was very important to her, and I am glad God gave us the opportunity to do it.

In an extremely different direction, Aikido allowed me to share twice with the Kansas Academy of Math and Science (KAMS) students at Fort Hays State University (FHSU). These youth are high school students attending the university as they finish the last two years of high school. At the end of the program, they earn their high school diploma and an associate degree from the university. Needless to say, they are under a lot of stress. As I’ve mentioned before, Aikido teaches ways of making peace and harmony that are fully parallel with scripture, so it can be a very useful catalyst to help illustrate some of Christ’s principles and to share them in an environment that doesn’t allow faith discussions directly. The KAMS program was interested in having me, as an Aikido instructor, present peacemaking methods and philosophies for handling stress that are present in the art. I asked, and they were not interested in me presenting Christian concepts due to the varied faiths of their students. As such, I went in and presented Aikido honestly. When it was warranted due to our discussion, I also mentioned real times that my faith interwove with these peacemaking concepts (which often occurs as they are one and the same to me), and I was able to emphasize the importance of asking faith questions and delving into deeper life issues as part of dealing with stress (and I was able to do this in a way that was honest and non-threatening).

Several of the KAMS students in the audience were already part of the FHSU Aikido Club, and a few of the others I knew from The Gamers Guild, so this crossover was really useful as it let me have several real and deep discussions with those youth after the presentation. I must thank God for answered prayers that we were able to have these discussions; I had asked several others to pray for me going into these two presentations for KAMS as I needed to be sincere and honest—not compromising part of the faith that is core to my life and being—while also being sensitive to the way I was asked to present, which was not on faith but was on subjects related to faith. I think God helped that balance be preserved while still allowing beneficial talks and relationships to form from it.

I was further able to develop relationships with the KAMS students and other FHSU students on the FHSU Aikido Club trip that we took this December before Christmas. This trip usually occurs in January, but due to a variety of reasons happened Dec 14-20 this year. Also unlike previous years, six of our students were 20 or under, with only two being 21 or older. Of these younger students, several had never been on public transportation, and a few had never been on a trip outside of one with their family. These stresses combined with the physically stressful nature of an Aikido trip pushed them all quite far; they did extremely well, and I’m quite proud of them. I’m also truly grateful to God that He gave me the opportunity to have several deep talks with several of the different youth attending on a very great variety of subjects. We were able to talk about how to handle conflict as peacemakers, how to look at trials as opportunities for growth, how to help others who won’t help themselves with serious disorders, ways for dealing with questions about sexuality in an increasingly confused world, and several other deep topics to boot. It was a very excellent trip as far as bonding and growth went, and I’m excited to see how God continues to use the relationships that He furthered on that trip.

This is far from a complete list of ways God has been using Aikido as a connector for ministry, and it’s also not to say that the other ways stop—just that He’s been obviously using Aikido more heavily recently. The Gamers Guild has also gotten several new faces—I was very pleased to hear a couple of guys say that they felt welcome and accepted there where they don’t feel welcome most other places. Those two are both good young men who are working through some very hard circumstances and who are trying to turn their lives around. They come in to The Gamers Guild to socialize and feel welcome when they aren’t working; getting to know them and also to have some heavy-duty faith discussions with one of them has been quite a blessing.

The small group Bible studies and other ministry functions also directly show growth and benefit. I’m thankful for the honesty and comradery in our Monday and Wednesday small groups—several of those study evenings have been quite important for all of us attending. It’s also been enjoyable having George (one of the local homeless guys) and one or two of The Gamers Guild guys occasionally sit in on small group and share.

There are quite a few other things going on as far as kingdom ministry at this time, and I’d be happy to share with you if you ever want to grab a coffee in Hays or talk on the phone or over the Internet. That said, thanks again for your continued prayers and support—we greatly appreciate the blessing of being able to do ministry work together with all of you. Keep serving God in your own areas of influence, and have a Happy New Year!

God's Humor (Bromas de Dios)

The last few weeks have been a cresting wave of ministry and invested time; I was often up until 2AM and back up at 6AM.  It was spiritually and emotionally energizing--the types of deep, sincere spiritual discussions I was having late at night and the types of aid we were giving to those in need were the type of things that amp a person up and give me energy.  On the other hand, it was very physically exhausting to my body, and I critically needed sleep when it was all said and done (and during it, too).

During a tiny lull between two very heavy stretches of time, a little series of events occurred that I want to share.  To me, it was a tiny glimpse of what I perceive to be God's humor (it could also be coincidence, but I find it pretty funny either way and it seems to ring of God's humor). 

Last Thursday, I received a text from some ministry supporters who live a distance away.  They wanted to bring in some items for the free store and would be in Hays.  I told them when I would be up at The dojo/The Gamers Guild/The Free Store, and I planned to show them where they could unload.

It turned out that they arrived right during the first kid's class at the dojo, but Tella was willing to start the class so I could help direct them where to unload.  This particular kids class was the day after our 6-day Aikido camp, so only one student was present (the others were pretty exhausted from all the training the week prior or were out of town this particular day).  As we were unloading, I found out that the couple had received quite a few items from an auction--many of them were the types of items that local families need, including blankets and bedding materials.  They also had brought some nutrition bars and vitamins--I originally thought they were also from the auction as a gift to the food pantry, but later found out they were intended as a gift to me and Tella, which was very generous of the couple (and we've already been putting them to good use).  Anyway, I hurried a bit so I could get back to class as Tella's expression was telling me to hurry up and get on the mats to teach.  I thanked the couple, and then I taught two kids classes back to back like usual.

During one of the adult classes that evening, my students started joking about me teaching in Spanish--some wanted such a class to practice the language and some wanted it to have to pay extreme attention to what was happening as they wouldn't understand the words.  One student said they shouldn't joke about it or I might do it (since I've done it before).  They were right.

Thirty minutes into the class (during which I spoke only Spanish and Japanese), I was having fun using a bunch of Spanish vocabulary about body movement that I don't normally use.  About that exact time, three Hispanic families all came into the free store together.  One of the families occasionally comes in (about once a month or once every two or three months).  They had brought along two other families.  The adults only spoke Spanish for the most part, though the kids mostly only spoke English.  They asked me some questions in Spanish, and because I'd been using the language for the last 30 minutes my replies were natural and fluid.  Also, some of the items that had just been brought in that afternoon were exactly what these (and other patrons that evening) needed.

After I had helped them a few different times with questions (between teaching on the mat), they left got everything they needed and left, and my students laughed about the strange coincidence that we'd done a Spanish class and then had three Spanish families come in as we were talking in Spanish on the mats.  They didn't know the further coincidence that some of the needed items had just arrived that day, nor did they know how infrequently these families came into the Free Store to really appreciate how unlikely it was that it would be on a day we did Spanish class (which almost never happens).  It made me smile and laugh a bit on the inside as it felt a bit like the humor that God often seems to show as He helps things fall together in the right place and the right time.  It was also a great pick-me-up as I finished the big wave of ministry that coincided with the Aikido Camp I'd been teaching and prepared to hit the follow-up wave of the Prerelease weekend at The Gamers Guild (along with some further ministry opportunities and the wedding of one of my Aikido students that same weekend).

Thanks for your continued prayers and support--please feel free to come on out and work with us or talk to me over a coffee if you want to know what else is going on (though my upcoming newsletter will detail some of it).  Vaya con Dios!  (Old Spanish blessing--Go with God)

God's Faithfulness

God recurrently surprises me by showing me prayers that He's answered that I've forgotten I'd even made.  One of the best examples of that occurred to me this last week.  As I was walking into Dillons, one of the employees (who often goes to The Gamers Guild) stopped me and asked me if I'd be willing to do his wedding vow renewals.  We had a bit of a conversation, because I needed to know what both he and his wife were wanting.  First, they often have different desires and don't always communicate well, and I didn't want to step into a minefield.  Second, I wasn't sure if they wanted this to be a Christian ceremony, and I needed to know those details before I decided if I'd be willing to proceed.  We ended up agreeing that he and his wife would meet with me the following day or the day after (they were doing the renewals in three days, and I wanted to let them know yes or no at least a day in advance--preferably much earlier).

They ended up showing up at The Gamers Guild to discuss what they wanted the night before their ceremony.  It took a fairly long discussion as they did want a Christian ceremony but hadn't laid out how the event should look.  They did know some songs they wanted, but there was no sound person or sound system, just a laptop with loud speakers and a cell phone.  They also knew some of the things they wanted to happen, but they didn't have an order or timing set out.  We worked through all of those details and more (I was glad I'd done a wedding once before), and then we set a time to do a rehearsal in advance.

The day of the event, I was mostly present to be a peacemaker and keep everything running smoothly.  I hadn't had much time to prepare a message, but I trusted the Holy Spirit to give me the needed words at the time and had at least some ideas laid out.  I'd be happy to share the details of the day and the ceremony in person at any time, but that's not really the heart of the story here.

The heart of the story is that when I first met these two almost four years ago at The Gamers Guild, they'd walked in as a group of four.  The husband had a girlfriend on his shoulder, and the wife had a boyfriend.  They man introduced himself and his 'soon-to-be-x-wife', in his words, and the woman introduced herself and her 'soon-to-be-x-husband', in her words.  They also introduced their significant others.  Needless to say, I wasn't sure exactly how to respond.  I kept it polite, and I introduced them to what they could do in The Gamers Guild.  I also got to know both of them and listened to their stories.

Over time, I watched them interact with each other and wasn't sure if they should stay together or not, but I turned it over to God in prayer--praying for the best outcome for them and the people with them.  Over the next few months they went through ups and downs, but they were ultimately separate and living with others.  Fast forward to a few years later, and they are back together--not only that, but they are generally treating each other better and are moving slowly towards a healthier relationship.  I'd forgotten about the prayer I'd made on their behalf long ago, and then, out of the blue, I'm asked to renew their vows.

That's when I remembered their true history and also when I remembered what I'd prayed.  It struck me pretty hard--how could I have forgotten those prayers years ago?  How much work had God incrementally done to slowly help these two get to where they were now?  What an amazing series of events must have slowly been occurring that answered a prayer that I'd forgotten I'd even made.

I felt humbled, embarrassed, and thankful all at once.  It was an interesting moment for me, and it was one that I'm still reflecting on today.  How often has God done major things to answer my prayers only for me to no even notice all of the hard work He and The Holy Spirit have been doing in others' lives?  Isn't it crazy that He could be lovingly, painstakingly answering a sincere prayer that I made so long ago that I forgot it?  How amazing is His great love?

Thank God for his patience, forgiveness, and most of all, for His love for all of us...

The Unexpected Kingdom Work Proverbs 3:5-6

This morning had a rough plan--it's my day to get more work done for The Gamers Guild side of the outreach work we do, and I had to get a fair bit done.  Our monthly schedule switches to summer schedule in a couple of weeks, and I need to lock down the hours that we'll change to for the summer along with several big upcoming events (and make sure they fit with direct ministry events, Aikido events, and other happenings).  This involves a couple to a few hours of direct scheduling work, then double-checking them with my wife, uploading them to two websites and four facebook pages, and printing them off to distribute at the Dojo and The Guild.  I had just finished getting around and was running to Dillons to pick up some needed items when I got a call from a local fellow who is getting very involved with several ministries (and who has a building that he wants to use for ministry that may be a long-term fit for us or may be something he'll use for his own ministry initiatives--for now he's working on his own things, which is how it should be at this time).  After making sure it was ok with my wife (the mornings are also our time to be together before she's at work since I work until midnight), I ran the errand at Dillons and headed down to First Call for Help.

Once there, I chatted with this fellow and a guy who's on First Call for Help's board of directors.  Both are idea guys who will follow through, which is great, but it can lead to conflict if visions aren't 100% in line.  The fellow with the building was urging the board member to consider renting out the back of First Call for Help to us (for the Dojo or Guild) and buy the house next door for their high efficiency apartments (instead of using the back we were standing in for the apartments, which is the current plan).  He had a few good reasons, including the fact that our money could go to First Call for Help instead of some local landlord, which I wholeheartedly agree with.  However, the building they bought was bought with intention to turn the back into the apartments, and they do already own the building and are already in process of looking to do that.  Also, the space would maybe work for the Dojo but not for the Guild or free store as it is too small and doesn't have enough parking.  The ceilings are too low for a Dojo, so we couldn't use weapons inside, but in an emergency we could look at renting a space like this one.  Right now at this time, though, it's not a good fit for us.  At this time, as First Call for Help waits on drawings from an architect for the apartments and costs, it's also not a good fit for them.  In future if things fall through, though, it's good to be aware of this option.

I made sure to chat with both men to a fair degree as I could sense the visions butting heads, but I also know both men to be powerfully kingdom-driven and hard working, so a conflict is in no one's best interests.  I also wanted to make sure neither lost drive by their idea not happening--they both do good Kingdom work, and letting them become discouraged is not good for the Kingdom.  Overall, I think it went relatively well--I got a good handle on the situation and I think it opened us all up to options if things change at First Call for Help without overly discouraging anyone; it did end up taking almost two hours, though (I stayed to talk with the board member about this and other things).  After that discussion, I had a very beneficial talk with the director for First Call for Help, which took up another hour or so.  Again, this talk was highly beneficial as it let us catch up, clarified a few cases we are both working on, and it also got us on the same page with this particular idea and a few others.  I was also able to pick up some items for the free store from their back room of extra items.

Afterwards, it was already after noon, and I ran by Breathe to pick up a coffee drink to give to my wife at work.  I wasn't able to chat with her long due to how much work we both had, but it was good to still spend ten to fifteen minutes getting on the same daily page, encouraging each other, and seeing each other.  I also caught the station director--I wasn't sure if he and I were grabbing coffee at 1PM or not--we had tentatively said we might since last week didn't work out.  He said it would work for him if I wasn't overwhelmed, and I felt it would be good to do for both of us and for the Kingdom, so I agreed to meet him.  This left me 40 minutes to get home, get a few quick things done (including eating breakfast at 12:35PM), and then get back.  We proceeded to have a great chat, which lasted until about 2:15PM, which was beneficial to both of us and to some ministry things we're both doing, and then I headed home.  Once home, I had to take care of a few urgent things, and then it was time to pray and center for the day (normally something I do in the morning--now I was doing it about 3:00PM, and I have to head to the Dojo around 4:15PM, so there was no way I was going to get the schedule done anymore, much less several other items on my list for the day).  During that time, I prayed that God help me 'seek first the Kingdom in all I do', which is something I usually pray, and something interesting stuck out to me: He had already answered that prayer in my day today up to this point, and I should have realized He would do so.  In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will make your paths straight.'  Had I done my usual day in my understanding, which would have been helpful to ministry, as well, I would have likely missed out on most or all of these things I'd experienced.  Other good things would have happened, but it was seeking God's will in each moment, not relying on my own understanding of how things should go (which would have involved me staying at home to do my usual morning routine etc.), that allowed my day to fall into place in such a beneficial way to myself and Kingdom work.  Seeking His will in each truly small thing in my day, even if it deviates from what I expect I should do, is really the best way to allow me to follow Him so He'll make my path straight--according to scripture but also to life experience (both now and previous). 

Anyway, after my reflection I hopped on here to share it (after getting some water and coffee).  One other thing that I've been adding to my life (almost daily) is to share how God's working and/or write (not necessarily on here), so I figured I'd share a bit of the ministry day today before I head out to the Dojo on my bicycle with my wife in the next five minutes.  I'm looking forward to seeing what else God has in our day, and I'm not worrying about how each little detail will shake out (though I am trying to make sure to get things done that need done in each moment as I go--right now I need to make time at some point to complete this month's schedule as soon as I can, though it may be tomorrow, and I need to make time to iron out the final details of some lifeguard classes I'm teaching later in the month).  The key, though, comes back to not worrying about what I can't control, being present in each moment, and in that moment seeking Christ.  Even now I prepare to hop on a bike and chat about the schedule with my wife on the way, but then I'll fully be in the Dojo mode, thinking of how I can teach the young ones both physical Aikido and Godly principles (humility, respect, love) in the lesson that will shortly occur.  Each phase of my night will be that way--just focused on the phase in front of me, not on what I have to do in the background.  In that way, seeking the Kingdom in each thing, I trust that He'll make my paths straight, and I thank God that He will do so.  I hope you, too, can be focused in your day and can seek first the Kingdom in all you do in each moment; I know that it can be tough when other things pull at us, but I know it will have the greatest result for all of us if we can succeed in doing it.  Go with God and keep serving/loving; thanks for reading and sharing part of your life/time with me!

Adventures and Spiritual Growth in Japan

By the way, if you want to know what happened in my 7 weeks travelling (most of it spent as a live-in Aikido student in Japan) along with some of the things that I grew in spiritually, please feel free to check out my blog relating those occurrences here: (https://uchideshiexperience.blogspot.com).  Not all of the entries talk about spiritual things, but many of them do, and all of them have potential to be interesting if you have never been a live-in martial arts student in a foreign country before (and even if you have).  ;)  Enjoy!

The Small Things

Though we all arrived a little bit late to this morning's small group (that we hold in Breathe coffee house) due to a local walk-for-a-cancer-cure event cordoning off the major streets near the coffee house (and directly in front of it), we all seemed genuinely happy to be sitting down to small group again.  While I was gone in Japan, it sounds like attendance was intermittent, but some of that was due to local events (including a blizzard at one point).  Now at least a few of us are regularly meeting, and more will likely rejoin once semester finals are over.  

For my part, I was glad to see the guys again and hear how life had been treating them.  One of them had gone through several relatively major life events, and the other was primarily focusing on his family and some things his youngest child was going through.  Both were happy to share and to listen, and I really enjoyed hearing what they had been learning about life and spirituality (while that was the main encouraging point for me, you'll have to come to a small group yourself if you want to know what they were learning, as discussions in small group are private).

We didn't get to much Bible study, and we never normally do when someone makes it back after a long absence, but it was still energizing finding out how we could pray together and simply being together after such a long absence.  There are some things you don't realize that you miss until you are back in them, and this time was definitely one of those things.  Though some of our small group times I'm exhausted, all of us (including me) are distractable, or topics range far enough away that it may not be obviously beneficial, many other times we share powerfully as we learn through reading the Bible and discussing it and/or sharing what we've been learning in our own personal, spiritual walks.  This time is invaluable and encouraging in ways I don't always see, so I was very blessed to be able to spend it with some fellow brothers in Christ this morning as I then rolled on into my day (which involved five minutes later selling an Aikido student a wooden weapon and talking about the challenges of raising and teaching children--especially of teaching them morality--and relating that back to our own personal growth in Christ and patience, then running to the bank to make change for The Gamers Guild for tonight and proceeding home to get breakfast and do office work).

Often-times its the small things in my day that end up setting the tone for everything else to go well.  Thanks to God for that opportunity this morning.  

Newsletter and big updates!

Hello everyone!  I want to share an experience that I recently had in Aikido that related directly and very heavily with my faith, but it requires a bit of background information to make sense in context.  As such, please bear with me and read to the end of this update (I also have some big news later in it)!

Back in January, I took my nidan (or second degree black belt) test in Aikido.  In our association, it takes many years to be ready for such a test; I had been training around 12 to 13 years at the point I took mine.  Testing is done at national headquarters in front of the Chief Instructor of our association (Toyoda Sensei) and several other high-ranking individuals.  The test itself involves using Aikido self-defense techniques against whatever attacker they pick at the time (they’ll pick several different ones to execute different attacks) at full speed—showing not only clean techniques but a large variety and an ability to adapt to the strength, speed, and size of whoever is attacking you.  It also involves disarming an armed attacker from several different attacks,  defending oneself on one’s knees against multiple standing (unarmed) attackers, and defending oneself against multiple standing attackers (while standing oneself) at the very end.  They usually last between 25 and 45 minutes and has very few, if any, pauses to catch one’s breath.

The day of my test, I had a lightly injured knee and wrist (I found out later that I had some slight ligament and tendon tears; they have since healed), but I wasn’t really nervous in my mind or heart.  However, the morning of my test I could tell that either my subconscious or my body was nervous, because I awoke early and tense in my cot, unable to go back to sleep.  I headed out to a nearby 24-hour restaurant (around 5AM local time) and sat down, ordering a good full breakfast as my body would need resources later in the day.  At the table, I began my daily prayer/centering/meditation time after placing my order.  It took initial effort, but as I prayed I began to relax into awareness of God’s presence more and more.  During my prayer, I felt that I needed to be in my ‘Sabbath’ mindset and very present in each moment during the day as it occurred, so I started attempting that.

By way of explanation, my “Sabbath’ mindset is the attitude and perspective that I seek to embody during my weekly Sabbath.  It is way of thinking that tries to be relaxed and unworried, appreciating all of the little things around me that I frequently ignore or miss in the busy-ness of a regular work day.  For instance, I daily eat eggs and often have a coffee in the morning, but I’m usually multi-tasking by thinking about the day, talking with Tella (my wife), doing dishes while the eggs are cooking, etc.  During my Sabbath, I try to relax and just enjoy the little things—the smell of the coffee as it brews, the heat of it in the mug in my hands, the cool little wisps of steam rising off it.  I also really love the taste of coffee, so I enjoy it, and I thank God for all of the little things I’m often unaware of and the little ways He blesses me daily.  It’s attempting to embody that perspective and thankfulness over the course of the day. 

As I sought to do this the day of my exam, I had a lot of things that I was able to appreciate.  It also opened up some conversation options and opportunities to love others/serve the Kingdom of God that I might have missed; for instance, at a cultural event that morning we were making mochi (pounded rice desserts), and I was able to chat with a new intern at the Japanese cultural center for nearly an hour about her life, goals, dreams, and faith.  I was also able to share some of mine and get into a decent faith discussion, too.  It may or may not have had a lasting impact on her in any way (I don’t know that it did), but it is an opportunity that I would have completely missed if I had been inwardly focused on the exam and stressing out about the future that was a few hours away yet.  As I was aware of this, I reflected that sometimes stress and worry seek to steal our ‘present’ now in addition to affecting us at the actual moment we’re worried about, and that as a Christian I shouldn’t allow that.  There’s a reason the Bible says to ‘worry not about anything’ but instead ‘pray in everything’.  It turns a potential for darkness to steal our ability to serve God and be at peace in the now into an opportunity to sink into God and His peace and connect to Him as we deal with it and grow.  What a blessing, huh?

Anyway, I was able to better and better be in the now and in peace—seeking to find opportunities to love others (I had a chance to call my wife and listen to what was happening with her, help make things run smoother in our group, and do other things because I was just in the now). 

As the moment approached and we were in our second hour of practice on the mats at the dojo, I felt stress begin to rise and I prayed.  As I did, something internally changed.  I usually have several perspectives that I know intellectually aren’t true but that emotionally I cannot help but feel.  Some of these include feeling like my Aikido does not work the same at national headquarters as it does elsewhere, feeling that the Aikido at national headquarters is somehow different and much better than my own (even though they’ve taught me mine and it’s very similar), feeling stressed about being evaluated by my superiors and unable to be free in my true Aikido, but instead being stuck in a performance mode that is self-evaluating and strategizing and trying to look as good as I can.  All of these things heavily get in the way of being free on the mat and of demonstrating where I really am—there’s also a fear that I’ll be unable to demonstrate where I really am.  As these things began to rise within me and I prayed, it was kind of like the peace of our dojo (training location in Hays) fell into this place.  I feel God’s presence heavily at the dojo at home (partly because I pray there often as do others, which lends a peace to the place, partly because it has students I love and care about in it, partly because when I practice there I’m trying to embody Christ and Aikido principles in everything).  As my peace from home seemed to invade Tenshinkan (the national headquarters training hall), I felt like I was finally able to be myself there—that it was just another location, and more importantly that my usual spiritual connection that I have to God that can be disrupted when I am putting all of my energy to performing correctly (which makes me perform incorrectly) was strong and intact for the first time ever in Tenshinkan.  As I prepared to test, I felt close to God without worry breaking that—I felt the ability to listen to others and be aware of others and love others like I often do in my ministry work.  As the test began, I was free to be the actual me—connected to my very core in Christ—and in the moment that was in front of me (the one person attacking me) not worried about my endurance, stamina, strategy, variety, performance, or even the test itself overall.  I just listened spiritually to the person in front of me, stayed connected to myself, and was free to be my usual Aikido/Christian self.  It was excellent.

It was also strange, because at the end I had no idea how I’d done overall.  Usually I am gauging my performance as I go—in this instance, I just was (or one could say I just was me).  I noted when things didn’t go as I wished, but I adapted and moved on leaving it behind.  I noted when things went well, but when they were in the past they were already done, and they had not hold on me in the present.  It was very disconcerting to have no idea of how I did at the end and also to have a ton of excess energy.  In the little sprints in the test I’d become fatigued, but my training style recently had lent to a very large overarching stamina (as long as I get just a short recovery break—a minute or two at most), so though I’d been exhausted in a couple of sections, overall I still felt like I could go for quite awhile. 

Standing there in that place, I let go of the reflections that I had no control over and tried to calm my physically exhausted body while moving back into the present and being connected to God and those around me (near the end, I had lost connection a bit—just due to physical exhaustion, not due to stress as would usually have been the case). 

It doesn’t leave with a big triumphant moment or crazy testimonial—except that I was truly free during that test.  Technically there are things that I may or may not have liked, but it may always be my favorite test because of how free I was under what is often tremendous pressure.  That state of freedom is what truly embodying Aikido is all about, and it’s what truly embodying CHRIST is all about.  We may not be physically attacked in life frequently, but life itself hits us with stresses, pain, bad situations, and ‘attacks’ all the time.  I find when I am able to be free in Christ like I was on the mat, those negative things lose their power to impact me as much and an opportunity arises for God to turn the situation to good in some way (my growth or the growth of others, or the chance to see a window to love someone else).  I wanted to share this story to encourage you all—please pray and see where you may be letting worry or stresses or circumstances hold you down, and please ask God to help you let go and turn those things over to Him so you can be free—both for yourself (it is much more peaceful even if things still hurt) and for the Kingdom (it’s one of the MAIN PLACES we can grow in and help love others/help them grow).  I know that I’m still praying that I can accomplish that myself!

Speaking of which, I received a chance to practice embodying those same principles again a couple weeks later when I found out that I had been accepted to be a live-in Aikido student of Kobayashi Shihan (one of the older living students—80 years old—of the founder of Aikido).  He’s very impressive—not only is he still technically astute at 80—he throws his students and takes falls from his students—but he very much embodies doing Aikido with joy and life and energy (which is a very big passion of mine, if you can’t tell).  It’s a rare opportunity that not everyone gets, and in addition I had the chance to do it with less expense than is usual due to some other circumstance.  Coupled with the fact that he may retire any year and that it may be my only chance to train under him (and that I could potentially make it work at this point in life but probably could not later), it was quite an impressive opportunity.   As such, Tella and I had been praying over it heavily for some months before I applied in October.  You see, if I was accepted (not many people get to train under him that way), I essentially must accept it—so the application itself was really about praying over whether to do it or not as my acceptance would mean I was doing it.  Then the news came that I had been accepted!

This left me just a few short weeks to outsource all of my ministry work, dojo work, and work at The Gamers Guild for a 7-week trip that would have me mostly living East of Tokyo and travelling between Aikido schools to train under him (between 20-30 hours a week of training, sometimes more, in addition to likely 40-60 hours of cleaning, cultural classes, other classes and duties, etc.).  The stress of outsourcing all of my work was tremendous, so I had to re-embody the principles that I’d been learning—especially this last week as I neared my departure date and things kept piling onto each other more and more (such as the need to do my taxes now instead of in March when I usually would).  There are several times that I succeeded and a few that I at least partially failed, but I was able to keep training at resting, centering into God’s peace and the Holy Spirit in the now, keeping Kingdom priorities top over the urgent, and living as I prepared.  Ultimately, I was able to leave Hays with most everything that was critical done and the rest do-able over the Internet during the very early part of my stay.  I’m typing this now from an airplane that has departed the U.S. and is on its way to Narita airport in Japan (though I’ll likely edit this and actually send it out once I land and have wifi access, and my epically awesome, loving wife will be helping by printing  off physical copies and mailing them to you). 

As I embark on this journey, I wanted to ask you, my ministry supporters, to please pray for me and especially for Tella,  Not only is this the longest that we’ve been physically apart in marriage, but it also is extra work for her and (in a nontraditional sense) a sabbatical for me.  It’s also a growth opportunity for everyone whom I’ve left behind in charge of various dojo, ministry, and Guild tasks (and I hope and pray that they do get to grow while I’m gone—much of my preparations involved setting things up so they could take over for a time and so that they’d have the best chance of growing and gaining from doing so while I was gone).  Please pray that Tella and I have peace, hear the Holy Spirit, and grow and advance Kingdom ministry wherever we are at and that those who are behind grow and advance Kingdom ministry, too (whether they realize they are or not).  I’d also request prayer for clarity for both of us—part of the idea of this trip now is that we both will be in prayer to better hear God’s voice and direction when it comes to some larger ministry and life decisions we have to make.  In 9 years of ministry, I have not had such a long break from having to handle the day-to-day.  Though I will be VERY busy in Japan, I will also be separated from much of what is going on back home and able to pray, listen, and reflect more clearly.  I’ll also have a lot of reflection time due to all the cleaning and duties involved in living here (when I’m able to mentally focus on praying and listening).  Please pray that this time is fruitful for God’s work and for us, and thank you for your support in prayer, and for some of you in financially supporting the ministry. 

If you want to follow my journey while I’m here, you can read my updates at this website (uchideshiexperience.blogspot.com).  I will be posting some of my experiences and reflections on it (along with photos of life in Japan).  The main point of that website is to keep Tella updated and connected with me as I journey over here and she is the main audience, but I’m also fine with friends, family, and those I love (or whomever they feel the desire to share it with) also joining in and reading them, if they wish.  Though they are written for just a few people, I’m fine with God using them however He does.

One final small note—if any of you has free storage available or know of someone who does, one of the homeless guys who is connected to our ministry is looking to store some items there.  Keep in mind that it may be very long term but that it also would help him out.

 

Thanks again for your prayers, and remember to stay free and open in Christ to Kingdom opportunities that may be right in front of you.  Don’t let stress steal your present, but live in peace and joy in the moment, loving others and serving with Christ in the Kingdom.  I love you all, but He loves you even more and better; thanks for being connected to me and all believers through Him!

Gloves

I noticed something small and strange the other day that encouraged me.  I'd been feeling like the Unite Free Store had not been getting much usage in the previous month, but then I noticed the gloves.  A store nearby had too many of too many wrong sizes and had given them to us to distribute.  Even though less than  a month had gone by, instead of two Wal-Mart bags full of gloves, we had only two pairs left.  That's a lot of people--more than I realized--in a very short amount of time.  Thank God for using circumstances for the good of many and for helping me realize how frequently he used something right in front of my face without me knowing it.

God's Timing

Sometimes time seems to work out in inexplicably good ways.  I don't always attribute that to God; I'm pretty sure sometimes it's just coincidence.  Sometimes, though, I suspect God may have a hand in things timing out just right.

The other day was a great example.  I was in the middle of a very busy set of errands; it was Aikido camp week, and I teach a little over 6 hours most days with the usual duties of running a ministry and The Gamers Guild in between.  Near the tail end of my set of errands with only a couple more to do before I had to be back to teach, a fellow was walking up the sidewalk.  This fellow was previously homeless, but a different individual in ministry had helped him find an apartment.  He'd been looking for jobs for awhile and was in a small group that I lead.  I waved while carrying boxes from UPS into the Aikido of Northwest Kansas door, figuring he was just passing by and wouldn't swing in since The Guild, Free Store, and Dojo were all closed at that hour.  As I was cutting the boxes open, I heard the bell jingle at the door and he stepped in.

I asked how he was doing, and he said well and not well.  I could tell by his face that he was quite upset by something.  It turns out that he'd gotten a job interview, which was great, but that he'd also just gotten an eviction notice several minutes before and had gone out walking afterwards due to being so upset.  The property manager had included a sticky note on the eviction notice that said if he wasn't out by Monday and if he hadn't paid rent by then that the sheriff would be by to make sure he was out.  That put us on a pretty good time crunch as it was already Friday afternoon and many aid agencies closed shortly.  There was also no way for me to help him Monday as I was leaving for Chicago Sunday night.

I talked through the facts with him and found out that he didn't have a copy of his contract--it was supposed to be dropped by but never was; it also turned out that he didn't know where he was supposed to pay or how since he'd never received the contract.  He just knew the amount.  As I pieced more and more together, we headed over to First Call for Help--a local ministry that sometimes provides rent assistance.  We found out that he was ineligible for any type of assistance since he'd been helped in November with a bus ticket to the Salina homeless shelter.  The policy at First Call due to its limited funding is to only provide help once a year to individuals.  They did give info for a couple other places we could catch.  We went to Catholic Charities next, and as we arrived we found out they were closing in a couple of minutes.  Fortunately, two of the employees there were generous enough to help out anyway once they found out about this individual's situation.  Their policy was to pay up to $150, but only if the remainder was already paid down to that amount.  The rent was $250, and I just happened to have the register deposit for The Gamers Guild in my right pocket since the bank was my next errand for the day.  With enough money there to pay his rent down by $100, Catholic Charities agreed to cover the rest.  They tried calling the owner (we'd tried that earlier) only to get the same voicemail we had received.  They decided to get in touch with him Monday since it was so late, but they had at least committed to cover the remainder of his rent.  Now we just had to figure out where to pay that rent.

After several more phone calls (one to the sheriff to see if they really were going to be by--they weren't: the property manager was just bluffing to try and scare the tenant out if they weren't going to pay), we got in touch with the property manager who had left the eviction notice.  This was accomplished without a phone number or any other contact method for the property manager--it was also God's providence that we got in touch with them, but that would be a longer story.  I was able to broker peace between her and the tenant (she'd had a few frustrations with the tenant, as well), and everything got taken care of.  One of my senior Aikido students walked in at that point, and then I had to go get suited up for class.

While the story itself is interesting, the seemingly perfect timing is what really sticks out to me.  It was perfect timing for him to catch me at Aikido of Northwest Kansas--there was only a couple minute window.  We got to Catholic Charities a couple minutes before they closed.  I just happened to have $100 in my right pocket due to the errands I'd been running.  We got in touch with the owner and property manager afterwards--once groups had committed to pay for rent--which smoothed that process over.  We likely couldn't have gotten to Catholic Charities in time if we'd gotten in touch with the owner when we first attempted it.  We also got this individual a copy of his rental agreement, helped the property manager get more comfortable with him, and alleviated the (false) stress of him worrying whether the sheriff would be by.  All of this happened just in time for me to switch gears to teach, and it was all fully resolved (which is good since I couldn't help Monday).  Considering how much came together at just the right time, I thank God for the perfect timing of it all.  One of those things might have been coincidence, but with all of them adding up, I think He was involved with helping this fellow out and answering prayers.

Thank you for reading and for praying!

Brandon

Opportunities Amidst the Busy-ness

Last night was busy--we were doing a triple work day event with the the dojo, the ministry free store/coffee house, and The Gamers Guild.  In the midst of coordinating a bunch of projects, a cold young teenager came in looking to warm up.  Apparently he'd walked a friend home and was now returning to his home--he was looking to heat up and possibly get gloves from the Free Store.  I helped him find a hat and a single glove--we didn't have a partner for it yet, but I showed him where it was likely resting (in a pile being sorted)--and then told him to warm up as I continued on one of the many work projects I was overseeing.  As I was walking across the dojo to put something up and prepare something for someone else to do, it hit me--I had a Kingdom opportunity here to show extra love: not just the love of a place that gives what is needed, but Christ's love that actively goes out to what is really needed.  The teenager had almost headed out, but I caught up to him and offered to give him a ride.  

It was a simple thing, and I was glad I was able to do it.  It likely didn't cause any life-changing moment in and of itself, but each little interaction like that in which we believers can actually love (with action), is a small advancement for the Kingdom of God.  In my busy-ness of a work day that ultimately serves Kingdom ministry, I almost missed this small opportunity to really reach out.  I pray that God helps those of us who seek to follow Christ to be attentive to listening to the Holy Spirit and looking for opportunities to love others.  

Last night I also had the pleasure of seeing someone who is actively looking for opportunities to love others.  It was the birthday of an anonymous individual, and rather than eat out with family, she chose to use the money for items for the free store, which she and her family brought in and loaded up onto the shelves--food, a crockpot, a griddle, and a host of other needed items...  all from the money she could have used for her birthday meal.  This took a potential blessing of a good time with the family and turned it into a different good time with her family that also taught her children about real, active loving for Christ.  I was very honored to get to watch that as it played out, and I was also encouraged by it.  

I hope these little happenings from last night encourage you, as well, and that you have a chance to look for extra ways to love others today.  Merry After-Christmas, and may the gift of Christ encourage you to bless others as we prepare for a New Year!