Theological Tacos

Hey everyone! I am sitting at Starbucks in Ensenada, Mexico, listening to Prince, missing Starbucks (More like missing my friends that I worked with. I love you and miss you all.) And I just finished my homework for the night. There is music in the air, the smell of tacos surrounding me, foreign language reaching my ears, and I'm surrounded by strangers and friends from all over the world. And yet, I feel like I'm finally home. After months of being in the USA, spending time with family, being in my home country, preparing for the future, I have gallivanted across the globe to a country I have never been to, and for some reason I feel more at peace and more at home now than the 6 months in Minnesconsin. Now this is not to say that I do not love my family, or do not like being back in the USA. It is just that I am starting to realize more and more that the USA is not my home. Wisconsin is no longer my home. Being a missionary and living in community has become my home. Whether it be in Harpenden, England or Ensenada, Mexico, or where i am going to be in Brazil. This is where I feel alive, safe, and content.

I love Youth With a Mission (YWAM). I could see myself being with this organization for the rest of my life. While living in community can be hard, I will always prefer it to any other form of living THUS far I have experienced in my journey. I adore being able to make new friends and share our stories. Whether those stories are about God saving me from my suicidal and depressed life or how I can not pour coconut juice into a cup. People are what motivate me, inspire me, cheer me up, and encourage me. Being able to grab any of the people I live with and ask for prayer, to worship God with me, or to grab a late night taco with some deep conversation is something I will never take for granted in my life.  

I came to Ensenada, Mexico to do a Biblical Core Course (BCC) It is a 3 month school where I will be intensely studying the Bible. There are 13 books that were chosen and I will be reading each of those 5 times (while reading the rest of the Bible during the school as well) and studying and interpreting it in depth. I never thought I would know so much about the Law of Moses and the Israelites. Moses was the actual OG and I want to be like him. I decided to do to BCC for a couple of reasons. I wanted to get to know God better and pursue Him like He pursues us. I did not just want to sit around waiting for the YWAM base in Brazil to get back to me about my visa, so I decided to do a BCC. If I am moving to Brazil to be a missionary and spread the gospel and the word of God, I should probably know what it is I am giving people. I need a better biblical knowledge and foundation, not only in my own life, but in the lives I give to others. 

So this BCC is a lot of work. We are doing a lot of homework. Here is a little snapshot of my homework from a couple weekends ago

As you can see, That is not a simple task. It has been so much work and God is stretching me in so many practical ways as well as spiritual ways. I'm being challenged in my beliefs and why I believe them. Let's take the tacos in the earlier picture. There are many kinds of tacos in Mexico. Now these tacos are all different. In that picture is an intestine taco and the other two are carne assada. Now I could just eat the first kind of taco that I was given, or what they recommended me, or I could try a couple different ones and challenge my taste buds. I could see for myself what taco I prefer. It's the same with the Bible. I am having the opportunity to look at the different beliefs and theologies and digest them all and choose for myself what I believe and why. Just like tacos, people will argue what is better or what they prefer, and I want to know what I prefer and why. In my tacos and my theology (The intestine tacos are legit by the way). I am learning discipline to get my homework done on time so that I do not get a 0. I have to choose how I spend my time. I have not been in a proper schooling environment since I was at college in 2009. 7 years without homework. I thought I was done for life and now some days I spend 12 hours in the classroom working. With extra coffee. A lot of coffee. I absolutely love all the work I am doing, but it is exhausting. It has been hard trying not to do homework on Sundays since that is my Sabbath.  

I am stoked to see what else God will be teaching me through His school and how I will apply it to my life and ministry elsewhere. And speaking of elsewhere, a short update on Brazil. I have been waiting for the base in Brazil to get back to me and there has been some problems with my visa and my application. Sadly the base I was planning on joining may not be an option anymore, so i had to rethink my plans. I have started looking at different YWAM bases in Brazil and think I found the base for me. One of my very close friends is at a different YWAM base (shout out to Milky!) and they recommended I apply and join them there! I sent in my application and will hopefully be starting my visa application soon. I will have more updates on where in Brazil and the time frame when things are a little more solidified, but I am very excited to join this base and see the other ministries and services God will do through me there.  

I hope you are all doing fantastic and would be very excited to answer any questions about YWAM, the BCC, my life, my future, and anything! Have a great day and God bless you in new and fantastic ways. 

Colin.