Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all are enjoying a lot of turkey and football, as well as spending time with family. In light of the holiday and since this will be my last update in Malawi, I’ve decided to make a list of the things I have been thankful for during my time in Malawi.

The Bandas: Rutherford, Tsaihai and the family have been so welcoming and kind to Drew and I during our time here. They have made sure we are well fed (Tsaihai is a great cook!) and had everything we needed. I know that it couldn’t have been easy to have two foreigners live with you for 5 months, but that hasn’t stopped them from opening their house to us. I am grateful for them.

The students at the Bible college: Roderick, Shadrick, Leman and Emmanuel have been great students to teach during our two terms at Word of Life Bible College. It has been a privilege to be there teacher and they have been so willing to learn every day. I have learned a lot from these guys and will cherish their friendships.

The Jailosis: Maxwell, Pauline and their children Chimwemwe and Joanna have been great hosts to us during our time in Nsaru. They have made sure we have everything we need and helped us with the college and starting up the youth program. Like most Malawians we meet, I will remember them for their kindness and compassion.

Drew: I have been with Drew for about 5 months now, and it has been great to have him as a team member. We both may think differently at times, but that has helped us grow as individuals and as a team. Plus its nice to have another american around to process through our time in Malawi. He is a good Christian guy whose friendship I have enjoyed during my time here.

My family and friends: Your notes and emails have meant so much to me during my time in Malawi. Each has reminded me of how blessed I am to have such amazing family and friends. Thank you for your words of encouragement. They have inspired me.

I hope during this time you too will finds things to be thankful for. We can be always be thankful for the love God has shown us here on Earth.

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thess. 5:18

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe”
Hebrews 12:28



Happy Thanksgiving!

Josh Kaminsky

Happy Thanksgiving!

Uncommon Leadership

Uncommon Leadership

This past week, Drew and I had the opportunity to attend and teach at a leadership conference that Bob and Peggy Kuest put on for church pastors and leaders in Malawi. Bob and Peggy travel all around the world holding leadership conferences that are based on the book Bob wrote called Uncommon Leadership (you should check it out along with his new book Uncommon Relationships at amazon.com). I had the opportunity to teach on David, the ruler of righteousness and on the topic of boldness. Both topics were learning experiences for me. I studied about how David ruled in righteousness to his people, even when he sinned with Bathsheba. David truly was a righteous man and a leadership example we should follow.

I also taught on boldness, which is something that I struggle with. But through studying to teach this lesson, I realized that we should have no fear in anything other than God (if you have time, you should do a word study on the “fear of God” in Psalms and Proverbs, it was eye opening for me). I told the story of my skydiving experience as something I did to conquer my fear of heights. I also taught that boldness is something the apostles got when they received the Holy Spirit. We should be bold in one thing, God, and not fear anything else, for He is with us always.

I also had a chance to preach one night at the conference. I preached on Romans 8:28 and how God works towards the good of those who love him. I gave a little of my testimony and talked about the lives of Joseph, Habakkuk, and Jesus. Each one had bad events happen in their lives but each trusted God to work his good through all things. God is working good in us, even in bad situations, and that was promised to us on the cross of Christ and his resurrection. There are some days when I still can’t see God’s good in the death of my dad, but I trust it is there because of the promise of the cross.

3 weeks to go

These next 3 weeks are going to be pretty busy for us as we get everything set up for the youth program before we leave as well as getting the translation of Youth Builder ready for the 2nd edit so it can be printed soon after that. Pray that our time left here can be fruitful, not only in the stuff we get done, but also in our time spent with the Bandas before we leave. I’ll end you with some verses from the sermon and lessons I gave at the conference.

Psalms 51:16-17 “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Written right after David is confronted with his sin)

Acts 4:29, 31 “Now, LORD, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God bodly.”

Habakkuk 3:17-19 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”

His hands and feet,

Josh Kaminsky

2 funerals and a wedding

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."

Romans 12:15

While in Malawi and Zambia, Drew and I have had the chance to go to a wedding and 2 funerals, one in Malawi and one in Zambia. The wedding was a great time with the pastor, Aston Makina, of the church Drew and the intern team had planted getting married to his now wife Lezina. The wedding consisted of the bride ushered in by children on both sides of her waving their hands. The groom met her at the door and they were escorted to the front where they sat while the pastor officiated the wedding. They exchanged vows and rings and at the end hugged each other instead of kissing because that is a very private thing in Malawi and not done in public, especially in the village. Afterwards they had a reception at a village a few miles away from the ceremony.

We also attended two funerals. The one in Zambia was for the wife of the General Secretary of the Central Church of Africa Presbytery (C.C.A.P.). The other in Malawi was for the daughter of Roderick (one of our students) who was 4 and died very suddenly. Funerals are the most important events in Malawi and Zambia, more important than Birthdays or Weddings. We could have missed the wedding and it not have been a big deal, but going to the funerals meant so much to the people, more than anything we could have said to them. Everyone goes to funerals here unless they are physically unable to. Both of the families were prominent members in their village and churches so they had about 500-1000 people there. In Zambia we had to change our plans completely so we could attend the funeral. In Malawi, we didn't have school for 3 days, with Roderick not coming back until the next week. Also, in Malawi, we drove about 10 women to Roderick's house the night of the death so that they could be with his wife and sing songs to God all night. Both funerals were sad but something I will never forget.

Prayers and Praises

- Praise God for our students, who are almost done with school and will be commissioned to go minister to churches in Malawi

- Praise God for our garden. The Maize and beans are growing great since we've planted.

- Praise God that Drew and I have not gotten very sick since we have been here

- Pray for Roderick and his family as the death of his daughter Precious happened only a few weeks ago

- Pray for the youth program we are starting in the next few weeks. We are assisting some youth with fees so they can attend schools and help some start small businesses after school. They will be working on the field we bought a few months ago using Foundations for Farming techniques.

- Pray for our students as they have finals next week and then will be moving to begin ministry

- Pray for the Leadership conference that Bob and Peggy Kuest, affiliates of NMSI, will be holding for the women Today and tomorrow and for the men on Nov. 1-5.

- Pray for Drew and I as we have only 5 weeks left in Malawi.

Thank you for the support you all have given me. I know I say this a lot but I could not be here without you! I praise God because of you all. God Bless.

His hands and feet,

Josh Kaminsky

New update

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to send you a quick update on my next few weeks here. We are almost done with our book translation of "The Youth Builder" by Jim Burns into Chechewa and are looking forward to passing it out to various bible colleges and churches in Malawi. We hope to have to book edited within the next week or two and ready for print by then. Drew and I are excited about this because it can be a helpful resource for those wanting to do youth ministry in Malawi.

On Monday, we will be starting another term at the bible college in Nsaru for the next seven weeks. I will be teaching Church history from after the reformation to the present as well as teaching the books of 1 Samuel-Esther. It will be great to see the guys again and a privilege to teach them once again. This will also be their last term before graduating and going out to Malawi preaching at various churches.

Drew and I also planted our maize seeds in the garden and are looking forward to watching it grow and begin to see the fruits of "Foundations for Farming" and show the people of Malawi the benefits of following that model. We hope to show this on a larger scale at the land near the college when the farming season for Malawi begins in October.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Pray for Drew and I as we begin teaching again and as we begin to implement Foundations for Farming ideas and resources to the youth of Malawi during their next farming season. Praise God for our time in Zambia and the relationships we have begun to build there as well as Adam and Kristy coming to Zambia/Malawi for the month of September. They have been an encouragement to me as we begin our relationship in Zambia and continue to build the relationship we have in Malawi. Pray for them as they travel back to the states on Tuesday. Blessings to you all.


His hands and feet,
Josh Kaminsky

Photo Update!

Hey guys,

Since I am on a faster internet connection today. I am going to try to post some pics of what we are doing here in Malawi and Zambia. Enjoy!

The above pictures are of a demonstration garden that was started by a guy at the orphan center growing mustard leaves. We will be growing Maize (corn) and beans in ours. The other is of Lloyd, who we are partnering with in Zambia, visiting one of the youth projects near Kitwe.

The first picture is of Steven, Drew and Adam in Livingston. Steven was our driver who drove us all around Zambia: From Lusaka in the center to Kitwe in the north to Livingston in the south. It has been great getting to know him as we travel visiting ministries all over Zambia

The second is of the guys we have been teaching at the bible college in Malawi. (Left to Right) Emmanuel, Leman, Drew, Rodrick, Shadrick, and me.

The third is of the soccer post we put up in Nsaru so the kids at the orphan center could have a place to play.

The fourth is of some youth helping us put up the fence for our demonstration garden at the Orphan Center

The fifth picture is of some of the youth playing a game at the orphan center after a teaching on Wednesday afternoon.

Thank you for the prayers and support you all give me! I could not be here without them.

His hands and feet,

Josh

In Zambia!!

Hey everyone,

Drew and I traveled to Zambia, a country the borders Malawi, this past Tuesday to join up with Kristy, Adam and Lloyd. Adam and Kristy are part of the YouthHOPE team in Ft. Myers and Lloyd, who is a native of Zambia, is a new affiliate of NMSI and YouthHOPE. We will be here for the next 9 or 10 days in order to visit Lloyd's ministry to youth and to dream about what steps need to be taken next in Zambia. Lloyd is the director of you for Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (C.C.A.P.), so he has been working with the youth of Zambia for a while now and is connected with what their needs are.

- Please pray that our time here is effective and we are able to dream about what the next steps will be.
- Pray for Lloyd and his ministry to the youth. He is in need of a car in order to travel and be fully effective in his ministry to all of Zambia. God has blessed him with support from churches to meet he and his family's basic needs but he is also in need of funds in order to set up programs and projects to enhance the lives of youth here.
- Pray for Drew, Adam, Kristy, Lloyd and I as we travel around Zambia the next 9 days and for our trip back to Malawi after that.
Drew and I also finished up our term of teaching the students from Word of Life Bible College in Nsaru. Our time was really good with the guys and one of our last nights we held a "mock" youth meeting with the guys to show them what it could look like in Malawi. We started singing some worship songs and before we knew it there were about 15 youth that joined us!! It turned into a great night of worship, filled with a lesson on trust (including some "trust falls") and a game of musical chairs. We were all really encourage by the end of our time and feel the guys got some good ideas of what youth ministry can look like in Malawi.
I also wanted to write today about a change for the rest of our time in Malawi. We will be staying in Nsaure, where the college and demonstration is, until the end of our time in Malawi and not traveling to the village in Chichimayane at the beginning of October. This will give us time to finish the garden in Nsaru and hopefully begin to work with youth for the beginning of their farming season in November. We will also most likely be teaching another term at Word of Life Bible College, which will allow us to give the students a chance to run a youth meeting on their own. Drew and I have no doubt that they will do great! Thank you everyone for your continued prayer and support. I could not be here without it.
- Pray for Drew and I as we begin this term next month and for our continued teaching to the guys about youth ministry, figuring out how that looks in Malawi.
- Continue to pray for the Youth Leadership Conference that will take place from September 24-27
- Pray for the extended time Drew and I have in Nsaru, that we would be able to use it effectively, getting ministy to youth and Foundations for Farming off the ground here.


His hands and feet,

Josh Kaminsky

One month here!

It's crazy to think that I have been in Malawi for almost a month now. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about a few of the things I have been doing here and some of the people I have met.

We have been staying with Rutherford and Tsaihai (silent T) with their kids Chris and Choconde. We also have some of their cousins staying in the house: Esimay, Emilay and Kyembay. They are really great people and have been very hospitable to Drew and I. Chris is out of secondary school (like our high school) and is looking to go to university. Chiconde is in primary school (our elementary school) and is on break right now. Kyembay is going to school and so is Emilay soon hopefully. Esimay works in the city. Rutherford is a bishop for Grace Christian Fellowship, so he does some traveling along with Tsaihai to different churches in the area. He has also started a bible college that Drew and I have been teaching at in Nsaru, which is about 45 minutes from Lilongwe, the capital.

We have been teaching 4 guys at the college: Emmanuel, Leman, Shadrick, and Rodrick. I am teaching Acts and the book of Numbers-Ruth and Drew is teaching Speech and Church History. The guys have been very attentive to our teaching and been a great encouragement to Drew and I. The term will end at the end of August so pray that it goes well and the students finish well.

When we are not teaching, we have been working on the demonstration garden for Foundations for Farming and trying to get it set up. It has been slow coming but some youth have come to help us build the fence and really get things going. We have also been working on a soccer field for the youth in the area by setting up posts and clearing the field to play. Please pray that we can work on the garden together with the youth and really make it something special and profitable for the youth in order to help their families and themselves.

On the weekends we have been going around to churches preaching and gathering youth leaders for the conference we will be holding at the end of September in Nsaru. We have had great feedback from the pastors of the churches about the need for youth ministries and ways to evangelize to the youth in Malawi. Please pray that we can get the right people there, ones that are passionate about youth and that it will be a huge success and a great support to the people of Malawi.

Also pray for Drew and I as we head to Zambia (right next to Malawi) on August 31st to visit some missionaries there and look at potential next steps in the country. We will be there until the 8th or 9th of September.

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement everyone has sent. It has been a blessing to me and a huge support as I continue the work God has laid before me. I love you all and can't wait to see what God will do next. Blessings.


His hands and feet,
Josh Kaminsky

In Malawi!!

So I am officially in Malawi and super excited to be here! I was greeted by Rutherford Banda, the national we are staying with for the first few months, and the intern team that is here. The first few days were full of fellowship and rest as I adjust to the time difference here. It was great to hear the stories about the interns summer here and how they laid the ground work for Drew and I to continue ministry here. Drew is a great guy and very easy to get along with and also passionate about youth, so we get along great. Yesterday we said good-bye to Sarah and Katherine (the two interns, along with Drew, that were here for the summer) and this week we begin to prepare for the ministry ahead of us. I look forward to what the future holds here in Malawi.


Prayer Requests

• Drew and I have the opportunity to teach at Rutherford's bible college for one of their six-week terms. We are both excited about this and would ask for prayers in diligence toward our teaching, that we would give the Malawians students the best education we can so they can expand the Gospel. Also for the opportunities to talk with them about youth ministry here in Malawi
• For the youth conference in September. That we can talk to as many churches as we can and get people at the conference who are excited and passionate about youth.
• For Foundations for Farming. Rutherford has some land we can farm on and now it is on us to begin the process and get youth excited about this new way of farming and the potential behind it.
• For my continued enculturation here. That I would trust the Bandas and Drew's advice and not try to do things my way because that's how I always do it.

Praises

• For getting to Malawi safely! I thank God for the safe travel.
• For the Bandas. They are such hospitable people and very friendly too. It has made my transition here so much easier. I will hopefully have a picture of them up soon for you all.
• For the intern team. I know I've said it before but it was truly a blessing to have the intern team here before me. They finished well and were a welcome help for the Bandas and Renfros here. Pray that the girls arrive home safely as they are in flight right now.
• For Drew. He has been so easy to get along with and has also made this transition easier for me. He picked up the language quickly so I have been able to lean on him for how to say certain things.

Thank you all once again for your prayers and support. I could not do this without you. God Bless you.

Josh Kaminsky

Departing. . .

Hey everybody! I hope this update finds you well. Today is the day that I leave for Malawi to do ministry with YouthHOPE and NMSI for 5 months and I am excited! I feel like it has taken so long for this day to come but I know that God has been molding and preparing me for my time in Malawi. I know I will come back changed and I look forward to seeing how God is going to do that. I thank you all for you prayer and support and I just want you to know how grateful I am to have that as I immerse myself in this new culture for the next 5 months. Here are some prayers and praises for you all.

Praise

• My time here in Ft. Myers preparing for Malawi. It has been a great time of refreshment and learning as I prepare for the months ahead
• For my nephew Jayden. I was so thankful to have a few weeks in Orlando while my sister had her third son, Jayden. I was able to hold and spend some time with him and my two other nephews before I go
• For the intern team (pictured above) that is there right now. I am so grateful for the seeds they have planted and how they have prepared the way for me.

Prayer Request

• For team unity with Drew as I begin my time there. That we would have time to build our relationship in order to do the most effective ministry there. That we would encourage and strengthen one another during our time there.
• For my safe travel to Malawi. That I would be able to get there as soon as I can to start ministry over there.
• For my time with our missionary families in Malawi. That there would be unity and grace as we work together serving the people of Malawi
• For financial support. I am still in need of about 1000 dollars for project money while I am over there, would you all prayerfully consider giving to me. You can go to www.nmsi.org and click on the Donate to NMSI button.
• For the intern team to finish well there and for it to be a seamless transition as I enter in.
• For the people of Malawi to be open to Gospel and to the teachings we have, even if they are different from what they are used to. That Drew and I would also be open to the concerns and questions they have and that God would bring us all to a better understanding of each other and our culture.

Thank you so much for your prayer and support. I look forward to telling you all of the exciting things that are happening and will be happening over in Malawi.

His hands and feet,

Josh Kaminsky

November Update

Happy November everyone! I know that November comes an anticipation for the Holiday season. We have Thanksgiving coming up, a holiday that gets forgotten in the midst of Christmas. I mean most retailers already have Christmas stuff out and its still 6 weeks away. November also brings cold weather for most people, unless you live in Florida where temperatures still reach the 90s! But it seems to be cooling off, so I am definitely looking forward to that.

November also brings the annual National Missionary Convention, this year being held in Peoria, IL. The NMC is a convention of different mission organizations from all over the world. It is from November 19th through the 22nd. I will be up there for part of that recruiting with NMSI and YouthHOPE. I’ll be meeting with some of you while I am there, but if you are going to be in the area I would love to catch up and get some coffee or lunch with you while I am there.

I also wanted to take this time to highlight some of the internships that YouthHOPE will be offering for the summer of 2010. We will be having 5 separate internships from all different parts of the world. The first will be in Myanmar, where will be following after their first national youth conference and some holistic youth development. The second will be in England where we will be doing relational youth ministry and helping to launch an alternative worship service. The third will be in Chile working on missions retreats and sharing in public schools. The fourth will be in Malawi working with agricultural community development and youth conferences. Finally, there will be one in Ft. Myers at the CGO where you can learn about short-term missions and global youth awareness projects. If any of those interest you or you know someone that would be interested, feel free to contact YouthHOPE at info@youthHOPE.com or call 239-337-4336 and ask for YouthHOPE.

Don’t forget about the Isaiah 61 youth conference that will be in Orlando on Jan. 22-23 at Journey Christian Church and in Boca Raton Feb. 12-13 at First Christian Church. More information can be found at http://www.youthhope.com/i61.htm. If you guys are able to, I would strongly recommend you get some youth together to learn about clean water and what they can do to help people who have no clean water.

The last thing I wanted to bring up in this update is that I am hoping and praying to move down to Ft. Myers at the end of January after the conferences. I am excited to begin my ministry but also trusting in God’s timing and provision. In order to do that, I am looking for 100 friends, family or churches to support me at 25 dollars a month. I would ask you to pray and see if God has laid it on your heart to support me. I also ask for you prayers that God would raise people up to partner with me in ministry this way. Thank you and I look forward talking with you all about this. God Bless.

Praises:

For everyone who is partnering with me prayerfully and financially.

For YouthHOPE being able to have all these internships all over the world

For the Isaiah 61 conference expanding to Boca Raton and Orlando

Prayer Requests:

For God to raise up more prayer and provisions partner with me so I can start my ministry at the end of January

For God to be in the planning of the Isaiah 61 conferences and that the eyes of youth would be open to the issues of unclean water

For myself and YouthHOPE to continually be seeking after the wisdom of God

The NBA playoffs

So for those of you who don't know. . . I am a huge NBA fan! The season can be kind of long, but there are still plenty of great games and moments (like Devin Harris' half-court shot to beat Philly). But nothing compares to the playoffs, it's where anything can happen and where some of the best basketball is played. It's where stars are born and you find out who the best of the best is. It also brings you great series like Bos-Chi and Phi-Orl. The Phi-Orl series saw 3 buzzer-beaters in six games. There were some great games, but they were overshadowed by the better series: Bos-Chi. 

Seven overtimes (OT) in Seven games. One game went into double overtime and another into triple overtime. That's 35 extra minutes of play, almost making it an 8 game series, I just wanted them to keep playing, make it like a best of 20 series. That's how great each game was. Game 1 saw Derrick Rose, a rookie who wasn't supposed to have a good series, rip the Celtics for 36 points and 11 assists on route to a game 1 victory for Chicago in OT. The next game saw Ray Allen come alive and drain a 3 with 2 seconds left for a Boston win. Game 4 saw 2 OTs with Allen making a shot to force OT and Gordon making one to force double-OT. The bulls prevailed and the series was tied 2-2. Game 5 had just one OT where Paul Pierce took over as Boston took a 3-2 series lead. Oh and by the way, a guy I haven't mentioned, Rajon Rondo, is averaging a triple-double for this series, something only four other players have done (Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Oscar Robertson). Then we come to Game 6, which gave us 3-OTs and possibly the greatest first round game ever. There are too many big shots to name, so I'll just go over some stats: Allen had 51 points, Rondo had 19 assists and ZERO turnovers. Rose had an 28 points-8 rebounds- 7 assist night. John Salmons had 35 points and Joakim Noah (who I have never been a fan of) stole the ball from Paul Pierce for a breakaway  dunk and foul that essentially won the game for Chicago. Game 7 saw Boston prevail, all in all this turned into one of the best series ever. I loved watching every minute of it. 

And that is why I love the NBA playoffs, because of series like those. Hopefully it will be exciting the rest of the way through.

Random Thoughts

So I know I haven't blogged in awhile so I thought I would update with some random thoughts I have had the past few days. . .

I am listening to Jeremy Camp's "There will be a day" . . . It gives me hope and encouragement to get through tough days when I know what the finish line will look like . . . check out this story on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/04/26/iraq.christian.attacks/index.html . . . it makes me sad, grateful and humbled that I am blessed to live in a place where I won't die because of my beliefs . . . I pray for those who lost loved ones and I pray for the extremists that killed them . . . I pray for a Saul moment for them, that God would show them The Way . . . I pray that good would come out of this tragedy . . . I am up way later than I should be . . . Support raising has been discouraging of late, which has made me want to give up (if I am honest with myself) but I won't . . . that would be the easy way out and I am tired of taking the easy way out . . . the more I am in Orlando, the more I know my heart and call is in Ft. Myers . . . which doesn't make leaving Orlando any easier . . . I love the NBA playoffs, it's the best part of the year . . . when Isiah (my oldest nephew) is old enough to drive, I'll be 30 . . . that's scary . . . He'll be playing football and baseball in high school by then, which will be cool . . . he's a good kid (along with his younger brother) and I wish my sister would see that more often . . . I love lamp . . . I don't have a high value of myself . . . I'm working on changing that . . . one of my favorite shows is Real World/Road Rules challenges . . . it's like watching a train wreck . . . you can't stop watching it to see what happens next . . . I miss dad . . . I am excited for what the rest of the year holds for me . . . I think it will be great . . . I hope Kris Allen wins American Idol and Melissa and Tony win DWTS . . . I think I should go to bed now . . . have a wonderful night!

Greetings from Bulgaria

So I have been traveling a lot these past two months. When I return from Bulgaria at the end of the week, I will have been gone 29 days out of the 59 days in February and March! That is crazy to me! If you told me I would be in Bulgaria this time last year, I would have said that you are crazy! But here I am. . . and I love it. It has been really hard and really encouraging to be here. I have struggled trying to figure out my job and how it looks like on the field, but it has been filled with things that have been very encouraging and good about how my job looks. Oh it is also cool that we got to stay a day in London on the way here and back. So all in all this have been a great trip and I look forward to telling  you all about it soon. I am right where God wants me to be. That is awesome!

So it is time once again for the best festivities of the year. . . the NBA All-star weekend! This is my favorite weekend of the year, and as I get ready to watch the second half of the all-star game (72-67 West) and thought I would recap the weekend. First of all, I will say that while this was a good all-star weekend, it was a step down fro the past two. Two years ago it was in Vegas, which was a place it had never been before, and it was fun. The dunk contest became relevant again, and the other contests were good as well. Dwayne Wade lit up the skills competition.

Last year it was in New Orleans, the first time since Katrina hit, so everyone stepped up their game some. The skills contest featured amazing guards like Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Dwayne Wade and champion Deron Williams. Jason Kapono, last year's champ, put on a clinic shooting 3s, he just destroyed the competition and has one of the best shots in the league. The all-star game was great too, but the highlight was the Slam dunk competition. Dwight Howard was absolutely amazing! Look up his superman dunk, among others. The best dunk contest of this decade, even better than the 2000 competition with Vince Cater.

So now onto the highlights of this year's competition. Kevin Durant dominated the Rookie Sophomore game this year. He also was great in the HORSE tournament. Everything else was down this year. The Slam dunk contest was good, but not great. Howard had some good dunks, but the dunk of the night belonged to Nate Robinson.

And as I finish the score in the 4th quarter is 124-108 West, so all in all it was a good All-star weekend, but not great. Still love it though.

Dwight Howard dunks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKSUTyndjJQ

Nate Robinson dunk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjDmyW4RJ64

CNN Report

So I recently watched a video on CNN tonight and it really upset me. Watch it and let me know how you feel. I mean seriously?? How can this happen?? I suspect that Saudi Arabia is not the only country doing this, just the one that got covered. I would love your opinions on this. Thanks.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/02/08/robertson.saudi.child.bride.cnn

Greetings from DC!

Hello my friends. I hope you are all having a good day and have a wonderful weekend planned, whether that be relaxing or full of fun activities. I am currently residing in one of my favorite cities, Washington DC. Maybe its because I love history, but you can not beat DC or Boston, there is just too much history to ignore. I am visiting the city tomorrow with my good friend Andy, so I am excited about that. I have been here 5 times now, and each time I have found something new to enjoy. Plus I love seeing Andy and Janet, so it's a win-win for me. 

However, this is not the only reason I am here. I also am visiting with two churches and a few friends for support while I am here. I'll be honest and say that support raising is stressing me out, and I am wondering about what the future holds. I decided tonight, after freaking out for the last couple of days, that this is all in God's plan and that I need to prepare the field, aka continue on the support trail, and trust that God is going to do what he has planned to do. I'm going to stop complaining to God and start trusting him more. I'm going to trust in the plan he has for me.

What a game

Some observations from the most amazing Super Bowl ever. I would probably actually say this was 1a and last year's Super Bowl as 1b. Both were phenomenal. 

I feel bad for Kurt Warner. He has been in three Amazing Super Bowls (2000 against the Titans, 2002 against the Patriots and this one) and come out on the losing end despite three amazing performances by him. The guy is a stud and Hall of Famer. 

The Cardinals did not lose this game. The Steelers won it. I was actually hoping for OT, but that catch by Santonio Holmes was amazing. Once again 1a while David Tyree's catch is 1b.

If the Steelers would have lost this game, it would be because they choked AND lost their composure in the 4th quarter. They had I believe two personal fouls (one by harrison that didn't amount to much because the ball was downed at the one) and a holding in the end zone. Plus their #1 defense suddenly forgot how to play and allowed the Cardinals to light them up. But none of that matters now because they won.

The Cardinals defense is for real. I think this was their coming out party. They bended but did not break (with the exception of the Holmes catch) and allowed the Cardinals to stay in the game. 

Harrison's 100-yd INT return was amazing, yet it was only the third best play of the game. That's how awesome this game was. Oh and the Cardinal Offense needs to learn how to tackle. There is no way Harrison should have gotten a TD, but it was still amazing.

While I hate the fact that the Steelers won, I am happy that another black coach won a Super Bowl. Kudos to Mike Tomlin. I hope this does two things: 

1. It aspires more black players to become coaches and gets rid of the Rooney rule because GMs realize that by passing on talented black coaches they might be missing out on the next Tony Dungy, Mike Tomlin, or Lovie Smith. 

2. That the myth that black people can't coach is finally squashed. I still think it is a travesty that College Football has such a low number of black coaches. Seriously?? Get out of the stone age. At least the NFL has dispelled that myth somewhat.

The Office tonight was amazing! The opening scene was probably one of the funniest scenes ever!

My Super Bowl pick for next season: Browns vs. Cardinals. You heard it hear first :)

Hello my name is Josh and I am a monster (or at least I have the tendency to be) pt. 2

So I realized that my original post was way too long, so I broke it up into two parts.

The last point I will bring up (there are so many more, enough to do a thesis on it) is that the ones that we hate, our "enemies" who have done atrocious and despicable acts against other human beings, are HUMAN and even HUMANE, in their own sort of way. You see we want our villains to be crazy pschyopaths so we can box them into a category and make ourselves feel better, knowing there is no way we can be like that. But the truth is that most villains are actually of a sound mind. They have completely plausible explanations for doing what they do that make just as much sense as the explanations we have for opposing them. In fact, if we listened to their reasons, we might even be swayed to their side.

They are also humane and have feelings, they are not cold-blooded killers with no conscience or morals. Some of the soldiers at Auschwitz, even though they killed countless numbers of Jews, saved some out of some sense of morals, otherwise Jews would be completely exterminated now. Those soldiers are not so different from the soldiers of the Indian war, or from the policemen who murdered and beat up blacks because of their color. I quote for Merton: "Given the right situation and another Hitler, places like Auschwitz can be set up, put into action, kept running smoothly, with thousands of people systematically starved, beaten, gassed and whole crematories going full blast. . . They will be glad because they instinctively welcome and submit to an ideology which enables them to be violent and destructive without guilt."

I say all this to say that I think the main point of Merton's book is to hate the atrocities, hate injustice, hate greed, hate the monsters of this world, but hate them in yourself, not in one another. That is why I am coming to grips with the fact that I am a monster. That, while I don't think I could systematically kill thousands of people (but who knows?), I can sit by and do nothing which would make me no better than their executioners. That until I confront the monsters in my soul, it will be impossible for me to begin to bring peace to this world. That without Christ, my life could have been just like the ones whom I have come to call "my enemy." 

Thanks for reading.

Hello my name is Josh and I am a monster (or at least I have the tendency to be)

So I just got done reading Thomas Merton's "Passion for Peace" which was an inspiring book to read. It was one of those books, that when you get done reading, you ask "What do I do now?" You can't just go on living like you never read it, and you can't not do anything, because that would be a great injustice. So I decided to read off some of the points that I got out of it. Here it goes.

The Root of all war is Fear. We fight and destroy each other because we fear one another and ourselves. We can not trust ourselves, so how can we trust one another? For if we don't strike first, we just give the other person the opening they need to destroy us. The reality is that neither one wants to destroy the other, but fear makes us think we have no other choice.

As Christians, we should be on the front line calling for the abolition of war. This is not some crazy unattainable ideal, but if we take Christ's words literally about "loving our enemy" and "praying for those who persecute you" then we realize that war is never an option.

Nonviolence does not mean passivity. Just because we are out killing or destroying other people does not mean we sit idly by while everyone else does it. That would in no way be Christ-like. In fact, I think we encourage violence by our own inactivity. Look at the Danish resistance to Hitler during World War II. They chose to hide Jews and refused to trade with Germany and resisted any attempt by Germans to remove Jews from Denmark. They did not wage war with Hitler or cry out that all Germans must be killed. Rather they stood up for what they knew was right.