mmmmmmmmmmurses Photo courtesy of Marissa Villa
On Saturday, November 7, 2009, Matt Patch, Kendra Baird, Marissa Villa, and myself embarked on an hour-plus walk from our current home in Israel to the nearest McDonald’s in search of culinary bliss. We began our journey with a craving for cheeseburgers and french fries. But what we eventually found was even more satisfying.
While Marissa and Kendra wandered into a clothing store, an unexplainable force pulled the guys into a bag store, and 15 minutes later, we were the proud owners of man purses (a.k.a. murses). I still don’t know how it happened … but I’m glad it did. It just makes sense.
Of course, we were skeptical, maybe even a little scared. So we asked the saleswoman all the important questions:
“Do a lot of people wear these?”
“Yes!”
” … men?”
“Yes!”
“Does this look masculine on me?”
“Yes!”
“190 shekels (roughly 51 dollars) seems like a lot. Can you go lower?“
“For you, I give five-percent discount.”
“Can you do 10 percent?“
“For you, I will call my boss, but know I never do this. It very rare.”
(After phone call to boss) “I can only do seven percent, so 180 shekels (roughly 49 dollars).”
“Deal.”
As I reveled in our bartering skills, the saleswoman informed us that our dual-murse purchase qualified us for a free gift: a leather wallet worth 100 shekels (roughly 37 dollars). So we decided to share the wallet on a month-to-month basis. Matt has it first since she stuck it in his murse.
And then an awkward exchange happened. As we were wrapping up the sale, the woman was trying to tell us a phrase they use in Israel whenever a happy customer leaves the store with a quality purchase. It didn’t translate well, but what we understood was, “Get new.”
“Do you mean enjoy?”
“No … get new.”
“Congratulations?”
“No … get new.”
“Thank you?”
“No … get new.”
” … OK, bye.”
I have no clue what “get new” refers to, but it just makes a lot of sense when I think about the past 12 days. At the end of October, my entire 42-person squad reunited in Istanbul for five days of fellowship, worship, and rest. Oh yeah, and we also made a few changes to the squad’s six teams. With Caroline and Aaron scheduled to complete their duties as squad leaders at the end of November, Dan Snyder and Brandy Chaffer were promoted to fill these roles for the remainder of our World Race. So, three new team leaders were raised up in the squad: Holland Cox, Colby Long, and myself.
Proclaim I61 is still fairly intact, but we obviously lost Brandy as well as my brother Anthony, and I gained a new brother in Ken Virzi. So with a new team dynamic, we decided a name change was necessary. Team Olur (Turkish for “possible”) is Kendra Baird, Shannon Morgan, Ashlee Hillis, Katie McFaddin, Ken Virzi, and Don Brensinger.
I’m not going to lie, the first 12 days haven’t gone as I envisioned. With few responsibilities for the first three months, I’ll admit my mind was on cruise control. No stress, no decisions, all I had to worry about was building my relationship with God and serving our contacts. I hate complaining, so let’s just say I have a few more responsibilities now, and by the end of Week 1, I was mentally exhausted.
Then our Sunday night church service came along. I wasn’t in the mindset I should have been. I was grumpy, annoyed, tired, and stressed that our 15-minute presentation in front of the church was going to bomb. As we engaged in praise and worship time, I prayed for a renewed mindset, and just then a picture of Jesus holding a lamb flashed across the projection screen. In that moment, I “got new.” I’m that lamb, and I’m in good hands. I’m protected, loved, guided, nurtured, and rescued. God didn’t put me in this new role to be defeated. He appointed me to this position because it’s part of His plan for me, whether I like it or not. I can’t tell you how comforting it is to know that I am exactly where He wants me to be right now.
“So do not fear for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
I may not know how to “get new” when I buy a murse, but I do know how to “get new” when I’m weak or disheartened. Everything we need to navigate life is in The Bible. I’ve heard many pastors call it an instruction manual. When I’m discouraged, I can’t drown myself in apathy and self-pity. I need to remember that a renewed mindset is just a verse or a prayer away.
(By the way, God helped us to knock our church presentation out of the park. We introduced our group, shared our testimonies with brief phrases written in Arabic on pieces of cardboard, and Shannon made the congregation burst into tears as she explained what God has done in her life since the Race began. Like I said, we’re in good hands.)
