Hard. To. Take.

But it’s ok.  Becuase God has other things in mind.

Mieke and I have gotten to know a very interesting couple over the last few days.  He is a surgeon and she is a wonderful lady who has grabbed Jace from us many times and entertained him in the back of the classroom.  They are considering joining Mercy Ships.  They are being heavily recruited by Mercy Ships.  You see, there has been a recent event on board the ship that has left the ship without a head surgeon.  And when there is no head surgeon, the production line of life changing surgeries comes to a halt.

The couple is not sure that they will be able to cover their expenses while on board the ship.  They are highly paid professionals here at home, but once on board they will have no capacity to make money to support themselves.  And the social circles they are involved with may not be able to understand how a highly paid surgeon is now asking THEM for money.

That’s where you and us come in.  Mieke and I would like to challenge any of you who have said you will support us to consider supporting this couple instead.  I know it’s quite a mind – bending leap of faith.

Look at it this way – any money you send will DIRECTLY impact the life of hundreds or even thousands of Africans as the surgeon’s skilled hands literally become the hands of Jesus.  I hate to say it, but your dollars will have much more IMPACT if you choose to support this couple than if you were supporting Mieke and I.

Hard.  Yes, I know, hard for us and hard for you.  But I truly believe that the Lord would be pleased with this sacrifice.

Please send an email to andrew@findyourfans.com if you would like to be a part of getting the Mercy Ships production line running again.  Please also include an estimate of how much you would like to commit (either monthly or a one – time – gift) so that we can give this number to the couple and to Mercy Ships administrators here.

Shortly there will be a web page  setup that will allow you to give directly to this couple via Credit Card, Check, or over the phone.   We will send this information out to all who have responded.

Thanks for your prayers.  It’s exciting to think that one day we may be able to join Mercy Ships.  But it’s even more exciting to see God working right in front of us, in a way that we and YOU can be involved NOW!!

Once again, please send your email with your estimated gifts (either monthly or one – time gifts) to andrew@findyourfans.com as soon as possible.  The week is coming to a close and we want to be able to clear the way for this couple to go as soon as possible.

Which is what makes this trip so ironic.  We are going to visit the headquarters of Mercy Ships, located near Lindale Texas.  They operate a massive hospital ship that provides free medical care to the world’s forgotten poor in West Africa.  A place where you’re lucky to find clean drinking water.

Don’t get me wrong, I love all of our gadgets and wealth.  And I don’t think there is anything wrong with them.  But the contrast between my life (as a lower middle class American) and the life of the average West African is……..staggering.  Or ridiculous. Or unfathomable.

So we’re here in Texas to figure out if (A) we are a good fit for Mercy Ships, and (B) what to do if once we figure out (A).

We’ll be learning all about this Mercy Ships operation, doing some interviews with human resources, then attending a seminar on fundraising.  It’ll be an interesting week, to say the least.

We really appreciate your prayers as we try to discern the Lord’s will for us in this endeavor!

UPDATE!!! We have arrived here at the Mercy ships headquarters and have already had a few classes.  We’ve met two Germans, an Australian, a New Yorker,  and a bunch of other interesting people.

It is hard to describe how things are going at the moment.  I am in awe of this organization and what they do every day. Up to this point we’ve had a very small view of what goes on here and the scope of their operation.  Regardless of what happens with Mieke and I, we are sure of one thing – the Lord is working here in powerful ways.  The blind see, the lame walk, the mute speak, leprosy is cured, and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor.  Literally, every day in Africa.

From Wikipedia:

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. It is celebrated on December 25, but this date is not known to be Jesus’ actual birthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived, a historical Roman festival, or the date of the northern hemisphere’s winter solstice.

When I realized December 25th is not Jesus’ birthday, I wondered what possible redeeming value it could have.  Just a little research, however, allows us to cut past the hype and find the true “Spirit of Christmas,” which has much more to do with our faith than I thought.

The following is an excerpt from the “Saint Nicholas Center: Discovering the truth about Saint Nicholas.”

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor,” Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals-murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325.

Persecution, suffering, giving away an inheritance to the poor!  This is much more interesting than the typical Christmas stories I hear. What could cause someone to live this way?  What could cause someone to care that much about other people?

Somehow Saint Nicholas learned to derive his joy, strength, even pleasure from serving Jesus.  It wasn’t just his duty, it was his entire life.  A life spent gazing at Jesus and His Words.

Maybe Christmas is more about what Jesus did as a man, than as a baby…?

It all started with the death of a good job.  Two years ago I worked for a music production company.  The Lord blessed my efforts.  The money flowed in.  Everyone was fat and happy – our partners, my bosses, and myself.  Everyone except my wife.  The hours and long commute added up to stress in the family department.

But then weird things began happening at the company.  After three rounds of layoffs, the company was a shell of its former self.  I found it hard to accomplish anything new.  Those of us who were left twiddled our thumbs while waiting to collect a check every two weeks.  After a few months, I decided to strike out on my own.  My wife was happy.

At first I wanted to be an indie – music distributor.  I had great relationships with all the top digital retailers and their suppliers.  After a year working with independent musicians I realized I was losing more money in distribution costs than the artists were generating. That dream shriveled.

I was also involved with a local rock band.  We began honing our songwriting and recording skills.  After years of practice and occasional gigging, it became apparent we were all headed in different directions.  Another death.  This was one of the most painful, because those guys had become my closest friends.

There were many other little deaths.  Realizing I’m not meant to be a music producer.  Working with a band and record label that couldn’t quite tie the knot.  Starting a website development company with no future.  The motorcycle of my dreams, with a dead transmission.  I decided to sell the parts on eBay.  This paid the bills for a few months.

Somewhere in there, the biggest death happened.  The death of my motivation and desires.  I just stopped caring about anything.  Music, money, jobs, trips, vacations, work, careers, gadgets, gizmos, stuff in stores, church.  All these things began to seem stupid.  A chasing after the wind.  Meaningless.  I read Ecclesiastes and was pleased that the wisest man in the world agreed with me.

I just didn’t care about the stuff we spend our lives and energy obtaining and protecting and packaging and selling and marketing.  I can walk through the luminous halls of any department or electronics or music store and I actually feel pangs of revulsion at all the shiny plastic and metal.

But I also realized the danger.  I had never stopped caring about my wife and family.  Or my friends.  I realized that protecting and caring for my friends and family means buying and selling and working and creating and interacting in meaningful ways.  All of those things and actions that I no longer cared about.

So I went searching for my missing passion. This went on for months.  I needed to find something I cared about.  I took some personality tests.  Slowly a few things surfaced.  I like helping people.  I like adventure.  I am technical but can also communicate well with people.

I talked to many wise friends throughout these adventures.  A few key thoughts stuck with me.  My friend David shared something about his own quest “I stopped living for myself and started living for something greater.”  My friend Bill encouraged me to ask a simple question whenever trying something new, “Will this please the Lord?” Such a simple, powerful thing.

So I’ll cut to the chase.  I’ve found my passion again.  Something that fills me with hope and inspiration and a desire to “GO” as they say at Glenstone Chapel. And the crazy thing is that it is something that I never would have considered, if all my dreams hadn’t died.  They had to die, to make room for this passion.  Check ‘er out:

Confusion: Napster
Some say the word with a sneer of calculated smugness, indicating that yes, they have, in the past, partaken of this heinous bastion of evil. For others who are inside the industry, the word is delivered with loathing, contempt, and many times a quiver of fear.

What was Napster really? A den of evil? A consortium of thieves? Or a streamlined distribution system that had the potential to reduce costs and deliver greater customer satisfaction in a fraction of the time of traditional media outlets?

Bertelsmann AG, a German media company, wagered the latter, when they offered to buy Napster for $85 million in 2002. But before they could take possession of this revolutionary system, an American bankruptcy judge blocked the sale and forced Napster to liquidate it’s assets according to Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws. This was largely due to pressure from the RIAA who was locked in a heated lawsuit against Napster for unauthorized use of its music.

The music industry didn’t understand the very technology that was in a position to grow their business, so they attacked it and shut it down.

Unrestrained Greed
The music industry has shown an incredible desire to sue individual customers of their music, when those customers behave in ways that the RIAA deems unacceptable. 30 year old Jammie Thomas of Brainerd, Minnesota was sued by the RIAA for $222,000 when she shared 24 songs on Kazaa. She is a a single mother with 3 kids and a salary of $36,000 per year.

This unrestrained greed shows that the music industry is willing to destroy individuals in order to (misguidedly) preserve an out of date business model.

Irrelevance
What are the main services that a traditional record label performs? Recording, pressing Cd’s, distribution and promotion. These services are no longer required.

Back in the “good ‘ol days” recording costs were astronomical. Reels of expensive tape, weeks in a professional studio with a highly paid staff, and several levels of production at different facilities. These days, a musician can record a great sounding album with a laptop and a few pieces of outboard gear.

Back in the “good ‘ol days,” a record label would estimate (often badly) how many albums they should manufacture. This could be any number from 100 to 100,000. Now an artist can use a variety of services to manufacture the exact number of physical albums they require for a certain event, or CD Release.

Back in the “good ‘ol days,” record labels either owned or contracted distribution companies to transfer their wares to outlets all across the globe. Services such as iTunes, Pandora, and Last.fm have replaced the need for this physical distribution. And where physical distribution is still needed, it can be easily shipped to the customer’s home via direct order from a website.

Lastly, promotion. Herein lies the golden goose of traditional record companies. For who else has the power, the connections, even the intelligence to assemble a flamboyant marketing scheme that could propel an unknown musician to the heights of stardom? The answer, once again is simple. The fans themselves now have that power. Facebook, MySpace, blogs, and other social networking communities have connected fans to musicians directly, and given them the tools and power to easily share their musical bliss within their own community of friends. Any marketer knows that this word of mouth advertising is more powerful and effective than any mass media shotgun blast could ever be.

Creation of Idols
I saved this one for last because it has probably been under – discussed around the inter web. Or at least discussed less than some of the other points above.

Everyone remembers Brittany Spears’ psychotic flame outs of a few years ago. The oddly shaved head. The neglect of her children. The flashes of nudity.

People may rightly say that she is responsible for her actions and that she made horrible decisions that lead to such odd behavior. These people would be correct.

But I feel sorry for ‘ol used and abused Brittany. She has been sucked into a machine that caused her to become something she never should have been. She never should have been a superstar who inspired millions of rabid teenage fans to worship her.. She never should have sold out her meager talents to the highest bidder so they could share the profits and create this freakish thing.

She was just a girl. Just another human being. Just another Jane Doe, who’s wildest dream came true. But instead of joy, this dream ultimately brought despair. She’s been sucked in, chewed up, and spit out the other side of the American Music Industry.

This summer (mid September), Mieke, Alex, Jon and I plan to head to Colorado to visit my sisters (Heidi and Lori) and our parents, who will be back from Ecuador.  It’s been a few years since we’ve seen them.  It’ll be great to see them all in one place again…if only for a week.

I was adding up the various costs (gas, food, camping fees, etc) and I think we can make the 3000 mile round trip for about $500.

I stumbled across a great new online bank that promises to make saving for this trip fun and rewarding. And it has a great name to boot.  Click the image below to check it out.

When: Jan. 31st @ 6:30

Where: Marvin Ridge High School Heres a MAP

Cost: 1 Can of Food

Type of Music: Sitka is acoustic guitar – driven indie rock with hints of folk and pop. Trisonic is classic rock at it’s finest!

Who’s invited: You and all your friends.

But money was tight this year.  And I thought I would have to get really creative to figure out how to get him a good train set.  But sometimes things just work out best if you don’t worry about them.

A month before Christmas my neighbor walked over nonchalantly carrying a big plastic box.  He said his kids were done with their Brio brand electric train set.  (Brio Trains are built and designed in Sweden – the engines are made of metal and feature a tiny automatic transmission and powerful electric motor.  The tracks are made of wood and are perfectly designed for a two year old’s hands).

Sometimes I just stand back in amazement at the timing and providence of our Heavenly Father..  This was a gift directly from His hands (through my neighbor), which I passed on to my son.  It’s almost as if the Lord is saying “Don’t worry about these things.  I’ve got your back, I’ll provide everything you need, if you just trust me.”