Subject: Day in Josh's Life Newsletter Series - SFA Edition, Episode 4
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:29:56 -0800 (PST)
Disclaimer: Hey, I know it's long (as always). If you don't have time to read the whole thing, that's cool. But please do scroll down to the bottom where I did actually put some serious thoughts. Thanks!
Dearest Cyber Folks,
Well, it's finally hit me - those mid-semester blues. Here I am, sitting at home, knowing how much work I've got to be doing, in fact, it's sitting a mere three feet away from me. Macbeth calleth me, urges me to read it, yet I resist it still. And then there are papers, several papers, longing to be written, yet I delay, thinking that maybe if I wait just a little longer, the Rapture or some other cataclysmic event may very well happen which will permanently prevent me from writing the paper. I just know that I would be frustrated in wasting all that time, so I decide not to do so . . .
Just got back from Texas the other day. As usual, it was a very interesting experience. Though it lacked some of the exciting adventuristic episodes of the years before - no tackling giant cowboys or youth pastors, no rolling down giant hills, to calling-for-Sullivan-rain-dance, in fact, no Sullivan, no Marcus with the caramels, no Marcus chasing us through the woods, no Marcus telling us about Franklin, no stick horses or cowboy hats or Dufrenes screaming at pastors, no eyebrows being plucked or hair being butchered by those who claim to know how to cut hair ("I've cut my dogs hair is what I meant," she said in reply); no, none of that this year. We did, however, have several new experiences that were rather humorous in their own right, as well as several moments were I did, indeed, learn something (I know, I know, most of you are saying, ?But Josh, every few months it seems you learn some new or profound thing. Haven't you figured it all out yet?? You would think so, wouldn't you? Guess it is safe to say I just must have not been all that bright before).
Well, it all started on a Friday morning. I awoke to the screaming of my roommate who has asking me to shut my alarm off. I had slept in a good half hour or so. I knew then and there that things would not quite be the same this year. As I rushed to get all my things ready (it was, in fact, 1:30pm now), I could not find for the life of me my cowboy hat or boots. I did find my big belt buckle and my stick horse, the Dolly Llama, but yet I knew it wouldn't be the same without my blue cowboy hat with the yellow feather and the bright red boots.
The trip up itself wasn't so bad. I had to keep the girls quite as they continually tried to talk. Satomi was the worst. She kept yelling random Japanese phrases and told Courtney that she looked like an eggplant several times. It was rather peculiar. This was the first time I had ever been I the same car with a girl from Japan (or another girl who looked like an eggplant for that matter). Danny kept talking about glosses and Tabitha kept poking him in the back of the head. Antione was a lot quieter than he usually is and only asked me for seventy-five cents this year rather than the whole dollar. Kenny pretty much kept to himself, but I think that was mostly because he was in another car.
We did, however, have an encounter with a very humorous old guy on the way up. We stopped in Crowley to eat a little dinner before the serious driving began, and as we were sitting in the McDonalds place, this old geezer looking person walks up to Tabitha (for those who don't know Tabatha, every group needs a blonde, and she's ours) and says, "Hey," in that old guy voice, of course, "you having a party? Happy birthday (he was singing this part)!! Bye bye!" The old guy then walked out of the restaurant. I wish I was making this up, but I'm not that good!
Several Japanese sing-alongs later, we were in Nacogdoches. The city looked just as I left it one year earlier - cold and damp. Yet, as our vehicle pulled into town, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine. I heard kids yelling and birds tweeting. I knew then, that they stay would be successful.
Immediately, I meet Amanda. I asked several of the people who lived there what the deal with Amanda was as see seemed a little strange. The reply? "Well, she's a man, duh!" I was flabbergasted as she, or he, looked so much like a woman. As I watched . . . Amanda? . . . I noticed (s)he began to grab random pictures around the ISFM (International Student Friendship Ministries) house and turn them upside down. As puzzled as I was, I figured I must have just missed this in the previous four years and it must be some strange Texan custom. I asked her (him?) what the deal was and she said, as she flipped over a big picture of the world, "We just want to turn the world upside down for Jesus!" I informed her that neither I nor anyone in my group was Jesus, but she would have none of it. I figured the best this to do would be to join in on the fun, so Danny and I grabbed the sofa and flipped it over.
It was at this moment that Richard Skinner walked into the room.
"What are you guys doing?" Richard, the Chi Alpha campus minister at Stephen F. Austin University, asked.
"Turning this place upside down!!!" we yelled ecstatically.
Richard grunted like a pig then went on to say, "Well, at least you guys came here with the right attitude, but we will have to work on your methods."
The next day was a work day. I'm telling you, you don't know what it's like to be a real man until you pull a tree out of the ground with your bare hands. It's an experience that too few have felt, yet those who have are satisfied.
As I swept the living room, I looked outside and saw Danny starring at the sun. Some blonde headed girl who went to school at SFA walked up to him and asked him what he was doing.
"Starring at the sun," he replied.
"Why?"
"Well, I was playing in the mud, but that got a little tedious, so I thought I would stare at the sun for a while."
"You know, that's really not a good activity."
"Eh, I guess you are right. I'll find something else to do."
I then walked outside and saw the girls cleaning out the garage. They were talking to some other girl who looked like she might be from Nigeria.
"Hey girls, you all seem to be doing a good job cleaning this stuff up. Courtney, make sure you move that freezer so you can sweep behind it. Who's this you are talking to?"
"This is Goof On," said Satomi.
"Haha! No, Satomi, the correct phrase is 'Goof off!' You are such a silly kid." I walked over to the girl, "Hi, my name is Josh, and you are?"
"Goof on, N-G-U-F-A-N. It's Nigerian."
"What does your name mean?"
"God knows."
"Hey, you shouldn't take the Lord's name in vain like that."
No really, in my language, it means, "God knows."
"Oh."
At this moment I saw Danny riding a bike down the street and jumping five feet into the air off a ramp. As he was doing several back flips after flying off the bike, I heard him shout, "Is this a good activity?"
The blonde, who was now standing next to me, shouted back, "You should try veggie burgers! They help build up you immune system and it give you more fiber."
I, never wanting to miss an opportunity to say something smooth to a blonde, bust out with a great line, "Fiber, eh? You know, I eat veggie burgers all the time."
She looked me up and down then said, "You must eat a lot of them."
Later that night, I was hanging out with the girls in our group. Kenny had taken Danny to the hospital after he had broken his arm, and Antione had wondered off looking for some deaf people he could talk to.
As I sat on the sofa watching Amanda turn the pictures upside down and then right-side up, I turned to Tabitha and asked her how she was enjoying the trip.
"Simply marvelous," she replied.
"All trips with you are wonderful," said Satomi. "You big eyed Americans are fun to hang out with."
"Well, I guess I am a fun guy . . ."
"Hey Satomi, you want to call Ryan?" asked Tabitha.
"Oh, Ryan! Yes! He is so CUTE! Very big eyes!"
"Josh, can we use your phone to call Ryan?"
"Uh, sure, Tabitha, uh, I . . ."
With that they grabbed the phone out of my hand and ran into the other room.
As my eyes moved from following them running out the room to the chair sitting opposite me, they met Courtney's.
"Hi, Courtney."
"Don't worry; I don't think Ryan's cute. I think he's mean."
"Interesting, Courtney."
I then saw Amanda grab a picture and throw it at Courtney. "No one is mean!" she yelled, "Everyone is happy! This is a happy house!" She the grabbed a pin from a Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey game and started chasing Courtney around the house. As they ran in the next room, all I heard was Courtney screaming, "I thought you said this was a happy house?"
I looked up again and saw the blonde sitting in the corner. It looked like she was drawing something.
"Your name is Robin?"
She jumped as if I startled her. "What, who? Robin?
Oh, yeah, my name is Robin, sure."
"Hey Robin, my name is Josh."
"Interesting."
"Uh, yeah. What is your major, Robin?"
"Oh, I draw."
"So, you are an art major?"
"No, I like biology."
"So, you are a biology major then? What do you want to do with that?"
"I'm not a biology major. I just want to pursue Jesus!"
"Oh, interesting."
"I am, aren't I?"
"Very much so."
"Well, back to my letter!" she said as she began to draw again.
"Uh, what do you draw?"
"Oh, uh, feet mostly."
"Oh, eh, okay. Well you have a good night."
"I'm sure I shall."
I awoke the next morning to the sound of music. Kenny was dancing around the living room at the Chi Alpha house singing the great Hanson hit Mmm-Bop. Danny was on the phone complaining that we had too many log trucks on the highways today, and Antione was sitting in a chair with his mouth open playing with the three quarters I had given him the night before. I asked Kenny to turn the music down and heard some singing from the shower upstairs. Some one was singing We Are Family. I asked Kenny to turn the music back up.
To be honest, church is a blur and I don't have any good stories about it other than Tabitha eating a lot of doughnuts and Satomi drinking all the orange juice. Courtney, I think, was complaining about there not being enough chairs and she seemed to be upset about the pin in her neck.
I know we went and ate at some Cotton Patch restaurant and some guy named Gary was there, along with some other people from the church and the Chi Alpha group. Halfway through the meal, Danny picked Tabitha up (broken arm and all) and carried her to the trash can where he dropped her in face first. I figured something must be going on with the group, but I wasn't sure what.
Later that night, I took Tabitha and Satomi for a walk through the haunted forest that Marcus chased me, Danny, and April through last year. They had heard the stories and wanted to see it for themselves. As we walked, I got a wild hair and, remember that it is pitch black - no lights or anything - I decided to jump back and scream. I'm telling you I never heard a Japanese girl scream that loud or that long before. It was rather humorous. I laughed the whole way back and Satomi kept saying stuff in Japanese under her breath. It was very entertaining.
Later that week, we did some work at the Chi Alpha information table. We had a question of the day thingy, had some surveys for people to fill out, fliers to give away. We were basically inviting people out to the two big events that Chi Alpha had going on that week - the Big Open-Mic night at the on-campus coffee shop (some schools are just so stinking cool) and the Big Chi Alpha service on Tuesday night.
What I really enjoy about these trips, no matter how much fun I have and funny stories (true or, as in most cases, made up) that I always come away with something I can point to and say, "I learned that one this trip." These trips are very unique in that we don't only go away and help out this other Chi Alpha group, but our team grows together as well and we, as individuals, are also ministered to. I would encourage everyone who reads this and is a Christian to do some sort of team outreach and to not make it just a one time thing, but make a commitment do be doing things to minister to others.
For me personally, I have learned so much over the past four years at school, and it seems like even more this past one year. This trip, God really revealed to me something that, again, I knew in my head, but hadn't yet really connected with my heart. I really began to understand the whole "soils" parable and realized it is not necessarily my job to make the gospel more effective or to try to present it in such a way that people won't think I'm some weirdo. Even though I personally think that Christ's love is best spread through relationships, sometimes, you just don't honestly have the time to build one, and you just have to share. It's not my job to make the person listen or accept what God says, but to trust in God's Holy Spirit to minister to the person. Again, this is common sense stuff here, but sometimes it just takes an experience to really let it hit home.
Remember boys and girls, that life is all about choices. Life is basically one big choice waiting to happen. You can wake up or sleep in, go to work or go out with your friends, do this or do that, serve God or serve yourself. All of these choices have consequences. I know I have to constantly evaluate my choices: Is what I am doing now the best possible thing that I can be doing? If not, what should I do that would be better than this, and why am I not doing it? Do I know I need to be involved in a church or not involved in this relationship? Do I know these certain people have an influence over me that I don't like and I know is not beneficial? Do I know there is a better way, yet choose to do it my way because it is what I've always done and it has gotten me this far? How much further could I be? How much happier would I be?
Am I pursuing God and allowing Him to be as big an influence and as much a part of my life as I know I should be?
Am I even concerned that I'm not?
It's some interesting stuff that I think we all need to think about. So I'll leave you with that.
Have a good night (or day, depending on whenever you read this).
Josh
Responses:
Amanda from Texas:Hey Josh,
How's it going? I just read your newsletter and wanted to commend you for your vivid imagination. However, I am not too pleased with the part you chose for me. You portrayed me as first of all, a man, and also a little psychotic. I thought I was your friend and you want to slander me across the internet. I am very sad now. Mostly though, I am sad that you did not keep your word and turn the pictures back the right way. It is kind of funny because we just noticed last night that the picture on the book shelf was turned upside down also. I was like "Joshua Manning!!!" You will pay!!! Anyway, I hope that you are having a good day. You are an interesting person, Josh Manning. Later.