God speaks, now I can listen

It's amazing, the things God says when you have an ear to listen.
Today, our speaker, Donna Jordan, an awesome woman, gave us three questions to ask God.
1)God, what do you think or feel about me?
2)Jesus, what do we have in common?
3)Lord, what plans do you have for my future?

So I walked outside of the lecture tent and had no idea where I was headed, but I was going to get there.
God says to me, "Go into the forest."
So I go into the forest.
God says, "Go sit on that bridge and I'll tell you what you need to hear."
So I go and I sit on the bridge, and before I can ask the question, God put the word "water" into my head. I went on to ask God, "God, what do you think or feel about me?"
No answer.
Only the word "water."
So, I looked in the index in my bible for the word "Water" and Psalm 23 was there. it talked about how God was the good shepherd, leading us beside still waters. And then it hit me. God is my shepherd. I am one of his flock. He takes care of me wherever I go. When I stray from the straight and narrow, he's there to pull be back on track with love and kindness.
So then, the next question. Jesus, what do we have in common?
But, before I could ask the question, God again had placed a word on my mind. "Wept" so again, I looked in my index. Wept, John 11:35, "Jesus wept."
So you and I have both cried, Jesus? Whoa. You're as human as I am? You would have loved a slice of pizza, an ice cold rootbeer and a movie? You would have partied and laughed with me? You would have cracked stupid jokes all day with me? You were fully human. That was what we had in common. We shared the same struggles (Kind of) and the same joys (Kind of).The same pain and fears. The same hopes and dreams.
Man, that's hard to swallow. It's hard to think that that idea had never occurred to me. Jesus as human as I am? Intense.
Third question, but again, for the third time, before I can even ask, God had a word on my mind. "Beauty."
"Okay, Lord. What do you have in store for my future? What plans do you have for me?... "Beauty?.. Uh... Okay...? I have no idea what that means. Well, there were scriptures for the rest of them, why not this one, too?" So I looked for a third time in the index. Two passages stood out to me. Isaiah 52, and Song of Songs 1 and 2. So I looked.
Isaiah 52:6-7 says:

Therefore my people will know my name;
       therefore in that day they will know
       that it is I who foretold it.
       Yes, it is I."
  How beautiful on the mountains
       are the feet of those who bring good news,
       who proclaim peace,
       who bring good tidings,
       who proclaim salvation,
       who say to Zion,
       "Your God reigns!"

The first thing I thought of as I read this passage was "Missionary work? You want to me to be a missionary, God? Really? That's the last thing I wanted to do, though."
I whined at God for a while longer and finally he says to me, "And missionary work is the last thing you will do." So, I'm going to be a missionary until God says otherwise.
And then, the passage in Song of Song was talking about a wife being all super sappy to her husband and I felt God telling me that a wife was in my future... So, That's that. So says God. More to come in the future.

First Blog from Germany!

Whoa.
That's really about all I can say about my experience in Germany so far.
One word.
Whoa.

First, I appologize for the randomness of these thoughts, I only write them as they come to me.

God is awsome, to say the least. Herrnhut is such a beautiful place, I have a hard time finding words to describe the beauty of this awsome, breath-taking, magnificent place.
The community I am surrounded by shocks me still; everyone is working together to better not themselves, but the community. Our dishwasher was broken, so dishes had to be done by hand, so what happened? Five students washed the dishes of 120+ students and 50+ staff without even being asked. They took initiative, and I've seen that more here in Herrnhut in 5 days then I saw in the states in years of my life.

Sad, right?

Right.

So what can be done?

What can we do to change our attitudes?

What can we do to teach ourselves that we are NOT the center of the universe?

I got a glimpse of the answer as I slept in a cardboard box outside under the stars on Saturday night.
The Base Leader, Jon, a very nice German man and a devoted Christian man, told us about a place in Etheopia called Garbage city. A simply horrible place that I won't go to describe in this post, but another.
The goal of sleeping in a box to raise questions like the ones that came into my head.

"Would I be willing to step out of my comfort zone to help those in need?"

"Would I sleep in a cardboard box in a 10 acre dump to teach young boys with bleak looking futures that God loves them?"

"Will I deny myself and allow God to move in on my person %100?"

Will you do the same?

Will you allow God to step in and run the show?

Will you step out to teach people that God loves them?

Personally, I don't believe that any of you can do it if you still have your hand on the steering wheel of your life. Control must be surrendered to God first and foremost.

That's all for now.

Joe Laurvick

The countdown has begun!

Man, so much left to do in so little time! Kinda startign to freak out, but I'm not too worried, I know God has my back. All my stuff is getting put into boxes, and the few things I'm bringing are being kept in a special spot so I can throw them into a bag this weekend. Financialy, I'm pretty close to being set for the whole 7 months. About $1500 short, so that's not too bad, [(Well done God!) And thanks again to those who gave!!]

I think I found a girl who lands in the Dresden Airport about the same time I do, so I'm hopping to have a traveling companion so we can get lost in a totaly foriegn country together! Ha ha.

I'm being sent off in church this week, so those who are able, please come to see me one last time!

I'll be making some more posts during travel. I'll post something if/when I find internet in the airports and whatnot, so keep an eye on the blog and facebook, too! I fly from Seatac on the 31st into Phillidelphia, from Philly, I fly to Munich, then from Munich to Dresden. Then from Dresden, I'll (hopefully) be meeting up with another girl from Washington, and we together will take the train from Dresden to Lobau (Sachs) where staffers from the DTS Base will be picking us up, then it's smooth sailing from there.

Keep me in your prayers!!!

Love, Joe Laurvick

Preperations under way

Whew. God is good is all I can say. He's provided me $2000 from friends and family with more on the way! Thank you to all my financial supporters! And earlier today, I went to church and asked them for some money, still waiting on the word, but i know God will come through. Bought my plane tickets (Both there and back), and prep for travel and living in a foreign country for 7 months is under way. Keep me in your prayers!

- Joe

First Post!

This is the first post of hopefully many to come in the next 7 months as I head off to Germany to do God's Ratson (Will & Pleasure). Woot.