Sprinting Past the Sunset

Hello again my friends!

     This afternoon I was disappointed to find that none of the other martial arts teachers could accompany me to teach self defense at the House of Hope(check out their website at http://houseofhopenicaragua.com/) . It is a refuge for girls and women who either worked in or were forced into prostitution. Due to the nature of the work there, I cannot teach classes without another person there to help out with the class. This left me with some free time. So I went to get my pictures taken for a new passport. Two good things on a side note: 1) the pictures only cost $1.50 for six 2) my passport photo will no longer look like a murder suspect.
     Afterwards, I still had a free evening so I went to run with two of my buddies. The sun was an imense, vermillion disc setting beyond the highway's horizon. We ran a 10K, walked home (another kilometer), and trained for another hour and a half. I felt astonished that I could do so much without falling over and dying. That was not the highlight of the evening though. We ran twenty-five laps around a massive traffic circle, La Rotonda La Virgen which contains a park inside. There were a lot of people walking around, and the more we ran, the more the walkers began to run as well. The funniest was a couple that started running while still holding hands. Eventually we saw one Nicarguan man who started to race us. We were in our final lap of the 25 around the four hundred-meter traffic circle, and he slowed to a walking pace. After we finished, we started walking to cool down. The young man joined us.
     He explained that he was a private in the air force, and that he was training for an exam to be promoted to the rank of sergeant. He explained the exam to us, and it sounded pretty grueling. We talked more, and he told us about the different parts of Nicaragua he had visited, the psychology of training, martial arts, police corruption, anti-corruption tactics in the military, and finally about God. I found out that he lived near the church where I preach. I also found out that he doesn't believe in God.
    "I am trained to kill, and due to the nature of my job, I don't believe that I can follow God," he said, but in Spanish.
    "There are a lot of warriors in the Bible," I answered, still in Spanish.
    "I know, but my senior ranking officers beat me to keep me disciplined. I have to obey them," he rebutted.
    "There is a being who outranks all men on this Earth, and you have to obey his commands with a disciplined spirit," I told him.
    He seemed a lot more interested. I invited him to the Sunday service at the church. He agreed to go! I am praying that I will see him there and that God will move in his life. After all, we can run as many miles as we want, but we can never run away from God's presence.

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10

Gott segne dich!
Seth

The Cornerman

   
     Recently I was offered to represent Nicaragua in the Central American MMA circuit on Nahautl Team. It is a team of close friends of mine all of whom have the common goal of using martial arts to share the Gospel. My first match in the sport will be in Panama, and I will compete in either May or June, depending on my passport situation(It was in a backpack that was stolen from my truck one day.) I have been working with several coaches in various martial arts disciplines to prepare for the fight ahead. I have learned many lessons in my training, some related to diet, some to technique, others to strategy. The most valuable lesson is to know you cornerman's voice intimately.
     A fighter has to condition himself or herself(There are lady brawlers too.) to the voice of his or her trainer. When the crowd is screaming, the music is blaring, and your adversary is insulting you to your face, you have to be able to focus your ears and lsten for your cornerman's commands in the midst of the battle. He is there with water when you are beaten and exhausted to encourage you to keep going. When you stop listening or refuse to listen, you are assured a loss. He sees the outside angles and the weaknesses from outside, and he knows your vulnerabilities. It is the voice of direction that carries you to victory, even when the odds are against you.
      For everyone in their own way, life is a struggle. We are all fighting something. From pressure, finances, relationships, success, starvation, our past, our present, desires, to loss and fear, we all need a cornerman to put things into perspective and to guide us step by step through the ring. It is comforting to know that whenever I feel like I am out for the count, I can depend on God to speak into my life and lift me to my feet again. With God in my corner, there is no fight I can lose. He prepares me every day with new experiences that make me stronger and wiser. He sees the situations I am living. He guides my moves. He will never leave my corner no matter how great the challenger. He knows me completely, and He has the perfect game plan to carry me to victory. It is up to me to listen for His voice in the heat of battle.
      "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." -Deuteronomy 31:6

Modimo ao gaugele!
Seth

In the beginning...

 Good evening amigos!  
      It's my first blog, but far from my first writing. To give you head's up on what you will see here, I will post my past and present adventures, from continental voyages to internal journeys of reflection. you might find some short stories from here to there, but I promise to distinguish fact from fiction. I also promise to be honest with my experiences. I will not withhold something just to make you think I am a good person. Besides, a testimony has no value if one cannot see the transformation of God's grace, right? Here I will connect you to before and after stories, the joy, blessings, triumphs, tragedies, and sometimes utter lunacy of the mission field. I am twenty-five years old as I write this, and I have been blessed with a lot of experiences in my short life.  I look forward to sharing them, and I hope you will enjoy them.
     I currently live in Managua, Nicaragua, teaching Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiujitsu, French, English, and working as a youth pastor. I went to language schools in Guatemala and France, taught Spanish to special ops marines(for 2 weeks), taught martial arts and language in statistically the most violent city in the U.S., took three kids from that city to do mission work in South Africa, and best of all, I've made a lot of good friends along the way who have taught me many lessons in life. None of this would be possible without God, and still as spectacular as it may sound, it has not been without tribulation. As a Guatemalan poet once told me in a random, park bench conversation about God, "No vayas por el camino que te lleva, pero ve por donde no hay camino y deja huellas." (Don't go by the path that leads you, but go where there is no path and leave foot prints." I never saw her again after that conversation, but I feel that that is fitting for the advice she gave me. Trust in God and he will guide you continually.

Buenas noches y que Dios te bendiga!