Below are excerpts from the book 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan. These stories hit me pretty hard, so I just thought I'd share them.
Jamie Lang
When Jamie was twenty-three years old, she flew from the United States to Tanzania with $2,000 from her savings account. She planned to stay until she ran out of money, at which point she would come home.
Jamie was overwhelmed by all of the need that she encountered, so she started praying that God would allow her to make a radical difference in one person's life. After about six months, she met an eight-year-old girl at church who was carrying a baby on her back. Jamie learned that the baby's mother was dying from AIDS and that she was too weak to care for him. Jamie began to buy formula for the little boy, Junio, to provide him with the nutrition he desperately needed. At the time, he was half the size of a healthy baby.
Jamie fell in love with baby Junio. She wondered if she was being foolish - a barely twenty-four-year-old, single, white American entertaining thoughts of adopting a baby. Besides, she didn't even know if Tanzania allowed international adoptions. Eventually, he discovered that the country didn't allow international adoptions; however, because she had lived there for over six months, she could establish residency.
Before Junio's mom died from AIDS, she came to Jamie and said, 'I have heard how you are taking care of my son, and I have never known such a love. I want to be saved.' Just before she died, she said, 'I know that my son is taken care of, and I will see him in heaven someday.'
Jamie spent six months going through the adoption process and then five more months working with the American embassy to get Junio a visa. When she finally came home, she had been gone for a year and a half.
Junio is now five years old, totally healthy, and HIV negative. When Junio's mom was pregnant with him, she took a 'morning-after pill' late in her pregnancy in order to abort him. But instead it induced pre-mature labor, and because Junio was so small, no bleeding occurred during his birth. Thus, he did not contract HIV from his mother. What was intended to end his life, God used to save it.
Since adopting Junio, Jamie has gotten married, had a little girl, and is moving back to Tanzania with her family to work with Wycliffe to translate the Bible for a group that has never heard it before.
The Robynson Family
This family of five, with three kids under that age of ten, chooses to celebrate the birth of Christ in a unique way. On Christmas mornings, instead of focusing on the presents under the tree, they make pancakes, brew an urn of coffee, and head downtown. Once there, they load the coffee and food into the back of a red wagon. Then, with the eager help of their three-year-old, they pull the wagon around the mostly empty streets in search of homeless folks to offer a warm and filling breakfast on Christmas morning.
All three of the Robynson kids look forward to this time of giving a little bit of tangible love to people who otherwise would have been cold and probably without breakfast. Can you think of a better way to start the holiday that celebrates the God who is Love?
12.29.2010
12.25.2010
my miracle
when I walk this road
and I stumble and fall
I reach out for You
and trust in Your grace
there are times that I find
I can't carry it all
so I'll let You wipe
tears of sorrow from my face
I have to choice
I trust no one but You
for even in my darkest moment
Your love is unchanged
I'm desperate man
who is lose without You
but I'm desperate for You
and no one else
I'm so profoundly in need
and You meet me here
You will always be
my miracle
that You could truly know me
and still love me
that You can hold and forgive me
is a miracle
You are
my miracle
and I stumble and fall
I reach out for You
and trust in Your grace
there are times that I find
I can't carry it all
so I'll let You wipe
tears of sorrow from my face
I have to choice
I trust no one but You
for even in my darkest moment
Your love is unchanged
I'm desperate man
who is lose without You
but I'm desperate for You
and no one else
I'm so profoundly in need
and You meet me here
You will always be
my miracle
that You could truly know me
and still love me
that You can hold and forgive me
is a miracle
You are
my miracle
12.22.2010
The Man Trip - I didn't see any wind in the Windy City!
I basically spent half of our time in the car thinking of witty titles for my blog posts, so my alternate title for this one is, 'I robbed three banks in Gotham City, and Batman didn't show up.' You're welcome.
Chicago was the first serious leg of our journey. Long Island to Boston is only about five hours, but Boston to Chicago is 16. So, after we checked out Cheers and our little duck-statues park, we decided to hit the road. For whatever reason, I wasn't super excited to visit Chicago. I'd told Robby it seems like a neat place to stop, but if we wind up altering the route and going somewhere else, I wouldn't be all that upset about it. Good thing that didn't happen.
We got into town around 7a, after a sleepless night (the car wasn't arranged to its peak efficiency for comfort up to this point). Chicago was the first place where we found the joy and beauty of Hotwire. We didn't have any reservations in town, so our first stop was the nearest Starbucks so we could caff. up and make some reservations. (Little side story, working for Starbucks and traveling cross country is awesome. Every time we stopped at one to get drinks, the barista would ask where I worked, and I'd get to tell them about the road trip and my transfers, and they almost always hooked me up for being a fellow partner doing a sweet trip). With Hotwire, you get to choose how many stars you want your hotel to be, and what part of town you want to stay in, but you don't find out what hotel you'll be at until after you book. Ritzy hotels don't want to advertise rooms for $90 a night. We started in each city by checking out where the coolest and classiest bars, pubs and restaurants were, then searching that part of the city for hotels. In Chicago, that led us to reservations at the Palmer House Hilton in the North Loop, across the street from Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago. Yeah, we're classy like that.
The Palmer House is one of the original 4-star hotels; it helped set the standard for what a high-class hotel is supposed to look like. I need to get pictures from Robby, but it has one of those extravagant lobby entrances, with high painted ceilings, art everywhere, and fantastic architecture, and a killer balcony to look over the whole thing. I'm pretty sure there's a promenade somewhere. I'm not entirely sure what a promenade is, but I feel like this is the kind of place that would have one.
They graciously gave us an early check-in, which allowed us the opportunity to sneak a nap in after our overnight drive. Again, I really just need to get the pictures from the hotel instead of trying to describe it, but the rooms boast one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in (granted, trying to sleep in a car where the seat won't go down may have altered my perception) and a killer bathroom.
Post-nap, we wandered the city. Our first plan was to find some killer jazz bar, because where could be a better place to sit and enjoy and beer and some jazz than Chicago. Unfortunately, the only place we found was called Legends, I think, and it was a little too touristy, and a little too far for us to walk to at night - didn't look like it was in the best neighborhood. Thankfully, we decided to skip out on Legends later that night. From there, we wandered up to Millennium Park, which is a sweet spot, even if it is a little touristy. There's a giant water feature with a bunch of video screens behind it, so even though it's a little creepy when there's a face open it's mouth and water shoots out of the fountain, it's also very cool looking. There's also The Bean, a gigantic mirror ball, in which you get the most stereotypical, but also coolest looking, photo of yourself and everything reflected and refracted all around it. We want back later that night and got a shot of a the skyline reflected with everything lit up. As an added little treat, David Gray was performing at the stage in Millennium Park that night. It's one of the best venues I've ever been able to check out. We didn't buy tickets for the show or anything, just looked at the stage and seating as we went by. As always, I had to resist the strong urge to wander backstage and offer my services for the show; someday I hope to get to work there.
I don't know if I can even remember now all the different places we went later that night. I do remember that I don't ever recall paying more per drink than I did at a few of the places, though. As we were already downtown, and we were staying at the Hilton, we felt like pretending to be classy for part of an evening, so we went to several of the hotel bars to hang out. I'm pretty sure we were the only people making less than six figures at some of them. The coolest one we visited was The Wit, the rooftop bar down the street. They have a bunch of outdoor seating, and a fire pit that lines the patio so you get to sit right along the fire no matter where you are. All those really cool seats were taken, of course, so we had to settle for sitting at one of the indoor tables, but you still have an amazing view right out the window over the city and the park. We later went back to our hotel and paid $31 for two Long Islands. Yeah, we spent a lot of money in Chicago...
Through this trip, I've learned that the two best people to ask when you need to find good local (read, 'not touristy') place to hang out are cab drivers and bartenders. When I ask a bartender where I should visit, they tell me where they'd be if they weren't at work. This strategy led us to Wicker Park. Admittedly, we didn't really wander Wicker Park very much, and it was a little late to be exploring anyway, but we did find a place called The Southern, if I remember correctly, a cool little bar in an old garage. I think our main reason for going there was just to say we'd hung out in Wicker Park, though. On the way, we decided to go to a place called Rino, a nightclub that is apparently pretty chic (how could it not be chic, with a name like Rino?). We got there about ten minutes to 11, with a line outside, which I think is always a pretty good sign. Figuring it'd be busy and expensive I asked the bouncer about the cover, and found out that because it was a Thursday night, there wasn't even a cover, but they didn't open until 11. Then, we got inside, and found out that all vodka drinks were free until 1:30! How a place manages to make money without charging for entrance or drinks is beyond me, but it was definitely a hot little club worth visiting. It's not very big inside at all, so the bass pounds throughout the entire room, and everything is dark and mysterious with 'reserved' seating everywhere, and one of those guys in the bathroom who gets the door and offers you cologne. A sweet place to visit, but by about 1a, I was finally done, and actually wound up ditching Robby and cabbing it back to the hotel. We wanted me to stay and talk to some girl in a sundress we'd met out front. But he wound up at the hotel 30 minutes after me anyway, having sat by himself at the club until he decided to leave. I feel like I made the right decision.
The next day, before leaving town, we made an impulsive decision to visit the Art Institute. I'd never been to an art museum, and didn't think I'd be too joe-joe about the experience, but it turned out to be great! I'd have to flip through all my photos to remember all the different exhibits, but getting to see Monet and Van Gogh up close in person is freakin' awesome. It's a little crazy to look at the art and realize that it's not just a print, but the original, painted a couple hundred years ago. When in an art museum, though, remember not to step across, reach across, or lean across the little barriers they set up in front of the art; they don't like that.
And that was Chicago. An art museum is a great way to end any trip to a city, so I'd highly recommend that to anyone traveling. I'm sure I'm leaving parts out - I think that's what happens when you write about something that happened three months ago while you're jacked up on caffeine and started to get shaky 'cause you haven't eaten... But, you'll soon learn, as I did, that cities only appear to get better and better the further west you go in America. Our next 16-hour drive took us from Chicago to what was, in my opinion, the best city of the trip: Denver.
Chicago was the first serious leg of our journey. Long Island to Boston is only about five hours, but Boston to Chicago is 16. So, after we checked out Cheers and our little duck-statues park, we decided to hit the road. For whatever reason, I wasn't super excited to visit Chicago. I'd told Robby it seems like a neat place to stop, but if we wind up altering the route and going somewhere else, I wouldn't be all that upset about it. Good thing that didn't happen.
We got into town around 7a, after a sleepless night (the car wasn't arranged to its peak efficiency for comfort up to this point). Chicago was the first place where we found the joy and beauty of Hotwire. We didn't have any reservations in town, so our first stop was the nearest Starbucks so we could caff. up and make some reservations. (Little side story, working for Starbucks and traveling cross country is awesome. Every time we stopped at one to get drinks, the barista would ask where I worked, and I'd get to tell them about the road trip and my transfers, and they almost always hooked me up for being a fellow partner doing a sweet trip). With Hotwire, you get to choose how many stars you want your hotel to be, and what part of town you want to stay in, but you don't find out what hotel you'll be at until after you book. Ritzy hotels don't want to advertise rooms for $90 a night. We started in each city by checking out where the coolest and classiest bars, pubs and restaurants were, then searching that part of the city for hotels. In Chicago, that led us to reservations at the Palmer House Hilton in the North Loop, across the street from Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago. Yeah, we're classy like that.
The Palmer House is one of the original 4-star hotels; it helped set the standard for what a high-class hotel is supposed to look like. I need to get pictures from Robby, but it has one of those extravagant lobby entrances, with high painted ceilings, art everywhere, and fantastic architecture, and a killer balcony to look over the whole thing. I'm pretty sure there's a promenade somewhere. I'm not entirely sure what a promenade is, but I feel like this is the kind of place that would have one.
They graciously gave us an early check-in, which allowed us the opportunity to sneak a nap in after our overnight drive. Again, I really just need to get the pictures from the hotel instead of trying to describe it, but the rooms boast one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in (granted, trying to sleep in a car where the seat won't go down may have altered my perception) and a killer bathroom.
Post-nap, we wandered the city. Our first plan was to find some killer jazz bar, because where could be a better place to sit and enjoy and beer and some jazz than Chicago. Unfortunately, the only place we found was called Legends, I think, and it was a little too touristy, and a little too far for us to walk to at night - didn't look like it was in the best neighborhood. Thankfully, we decided to skip out on Legends later that night. From there, we wandered up to Millennium Park, which is a sweet spot, even if it is a little touristy. There's a giant water feature with a bunch of video screens behind it, so even though it's a little creepy when there's a face open it's mouth and water shoots out of the fountain, it's also very cool looking. There's also The Bean, a gigantic mirror ball, in which you get the most stereotypical, but also coolest looking, photo of yourself and everything reflected and refracted all around it. We want back later that night and got a shot of a the skyline reflected with everything lit up. As an added little treat, David Gray was performing at the stage in Millennium Park that night. It's one of the best venues I've ever been able to check out. We didn't buy tickets for the show or anything, just looked at the stage and seating as we went by. As always, I had to resist the strong urge to wander backstage and offer my services for the show; someday I hope to get to work there.
I don't know if I can even remember now all the different places we went later that night. I do remember that I don't ever recall paying more per drink than I did at a few of the places, though. As we were already downtown, and we were staying at the Hilton, we felt like pretending to be classy for part of an evening, so we went to several of the hotel bars to hang out. I'm pretty sure we were the only people making less than six figures at some of them. The coolest one we visited was The Wit, the rooftop bar down the street. They have a bunch of outdoor seating, and a fire pit that lines the patio so you get to sit right along the fire no matter where you are. All those really cool seats were taken, of course, so we had to settle for sitting at one of the indoor tables, but you still have an amazing view right out the window over the city and the park. We later went back to our hotel and paid $31 for two Long Islands. Yeah, we spent a lot of money in Chicago...
Through this trip, I've learned that the two best people to ask when you need to find good local (read, 'not touristy') place to hang out are cab drivers and bartenders. When I ask a bartender where I should visit, they tell me where they'd be if they weren't at work. This strategy led us to Wicker Park. Admittedly, we didn't really wander Wicker Park very much, and it was a little late to be exploring anyway, but we did find a place called The Southern, if I remember correctly, a cool little bar in an old garage. I think our main reason for going there was just to say we'd hung out in Wicker Park, though. On the way, we decided to go to a place called Rino, a nightclub that is apparently pretty chic (how could it not be chic, with a name like Rino?). We got there about ten minutes to 11, with a line outside, which I think is always a pretty good sign. Figuring it'd be busy and expensive I asked the bouncer about the cover, and found out that because it was a Thursday night, there wasn't even a cover, but they didn't open until 11. Then, we got inside, and found out that all vodka drinks were free until 1:30! How a place manages to make money without charging for entrance or drinks is beyond me, but it was definitely a hot little club worth visiting. It's not very big inside at all, so the bass pounds throughout the entire room, and everything is dark and mysterious with 'reserved' seating everywhere, and one of those guys in the bathroom who gets the door and offers you cologne. A sweet place to visit, but by about 1a, I was finally done, and actually wound up ditching Robby and cabbing it back to the hotel. We wanted me to stay and talk to some girl in a sundress we'd met out front. But he wound up at the hotel 30 minutes after me anyway, having sat by himself at the club until he decided to leave. I feel like I made the right decision.
The next day, before leaving town, we made an impulsive decision to visit the Art Institute. I'd never been to an art museum, and didn't think I'd be too joe-joe about the experience, but it turned out to be great! I'd have to flip through all my photos to remember all the different exhibits, but getting to see Monet and Van Gogh up close in person is freakin' awesome. It's a little crazy to look at the art and realize that it's not just a print, but the original, painted a couple hundred years ago. When in an art museum, though, remember not to step across, reach across, or lean across the little barriers they set up in front of the art; they don't like that.
And that was Chicago. An art museum is a great way to end any trip to a city, so I'd highly recommend that to anyone traveling. I'm sure I'm leaving parts out - I think that's what happens when you write about something that happened three months ago while you're jacked up on caffeine and started to get shaky 'cause you haven't eaten... But, you'll soon learn, as I did, that cities only appear to get better and better the further west you go in America. Our next 16-hour drive took us from Chicago to what was, in my opinion, the best city of the trip: Denver.
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