January 2, 2016 || Waking up that morning after spending the night at my Aunt’s house, I looked out the window in a nostalgic way thinking about what the new day would have to offer. The sight provided this answer: “Not what you expected.” I see my mom’s Mercedes and the passenger side window shattered to pieces. Not what I expected… As I ran to the car, I saw that my backpack, my beloved Ukulele, and a few other items were gone. Inside my backpack was my graduation present (which I had begged my mom to give me in advance), my previous Christmas present, and my passport.
- My graduation present: Sony A6000 mirrorless camera and three interchangeable lenses. (total worth: $1,200)
- My Christmas present: GoPro Hero 4 Silver and accessories. (total worth: $500)
Needless to say, the thief scored that day. Lucky for them… Also needless to say, my videography and photography days would be over for a long while. As the police officer finished his investigation, he informed me that there was no way to catch them and no way to replace my gear. Especially not with my World Race coming up and the fact that I still needed to raise about $14,000.
June 16, 2016 || While at training camp for the World Race, my squad mate Ali Sidoran and I had been told that we’ve been given the position as “Story Tellers” for our entire squad. To put it in a nutshell; we will each be given a coach who will mentor us though sharing the stories of our squad’s World Race experiences. We are to share through writing, videography, and photography. Three things which, at the time of receiving this news, I felt 100% UNQUALIFIED for (yes, I hit caps lock, bold, and underline for that statement).
Ali Sidoran
– This girl must have written at least 10 blogs since signing up alone. One of them has gotten featured on the website and, if that aint enough, she’s a model for cryin out loud! She’s also humble, godly and compassionate which has placed her in my “favorite living woman of the faith” list. She is perfect for this position. I, on the other hand, am the furthest thing from even being qualified! I can’t write well. I can hardly focus on one thought for 3 minutes at a time. As for videography and photography; well, thank you World Race for reminding me of my tragic loss. I was ready to step down from the Story Teller position and hand in my blank resume… But then God slapped me upside the head.
He said, “Jason love, you self-centered little child…” A voice didn’t literally come out of heaven and say that, but God did press it upon my heart. I began to pray, and ask God to show me His way. I was reminded of Matthew 4, where Jesus calls his very first disciples. They were simple fisherman and these men started a movement that is still growing 2,000 years later. Jesus called these four fisherman and eight others who may have been even less qualified to change the world.
God uses the unqualified.
He used a donkey to teach Balaam a lesson (Numbers 22). He used a man who was murdering Jesus’ followers and leading terrorist attacks to write most of the second half of the Bible (Acts 9). God does this because it shows us that it’s all Him. The beauty is that He chooses to do it through us. That’s grace. That’s the Gospel. The reality is that we’re all unqualified. No one is seriously fully qualified to enter spiritual war against Satan and all wickedness. No pastor, no deacon, no missionary, no teacher, and certainly not a 22 year-old kid who got his backpack stolen. But God came down from heaven, set the perfect example though Jesus Christ, and has given us the power of the Holy Spirit.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be[i] against us? in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Romans 8:31, 37-39
*drop mic…
…
*pick mic back up again and say:
Oh yeah, I need mention that God provided me with a new GoPro for an unbelievably amazing deal through craigslist and I will also be posting as many pictures as possible (even if I gotta use the camera on my cell phone). Jesus and the disciples spoke from mountain tops so the masses could hear their stories. I’m going to use this mountain called “Social Media” to tell of ours. 🙂
*taken with cell phone camera
