Vox Lucens

It is excruciatingly difficult to write a travel update when I cannot even tell you where I am. But that’s not a restriction I place on myself, unfortunately, and therefore not one I can take off on my own. So I will write travel updates while leaving out identifying details. And you will, hopefully, both survive and keep reading.

But this I can say: I am on a beautiful Pacific Island. (That narrows it down to, oh, twenty or thirty thousand possible locations.)

Proof of beauty:

Proof of Pacificality:

Everything has gone just marvelously so far. This is my first long trip post-law school and post-Bar, and it has been a wonderful discovery to find out just how much sleep can be attained a 12-hour flight when flash cards don’t interfere. The trip over was as breezy as 24 straight hours of travel can be, and our hosts have been nothing but hospitable since we arrived.

Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a beach baptism of an entire family saved through the ministry that Remember is partnering with as we seek to reach out to the persecuted church in China. Today we took footage and pictures of the Mandarin service, and began to meet the pastors that we will be interviewing over the next couple of days.

I was struck first with how young they are. These guys, most appearing to be around my age, are preparing themselves to face persecution they know is coming. They are the leaders in training - knowing that the leaders will get the brunt of the wrath to come. I can’t wait to hear their stories, and I pray that I might be found worthy to someday have the commitment that they have already demonstrated.

After the Mandarin Sunday School, we had an English service, and I was very grateful that I could understand what was being said. It was a communion service, and I don’t think I’ve ever been to a communion service that did not contain Christ’s command - “This do in remembrance of me.”

But when you are on a missions trip for a group called Remember, and you are publicly proclaiming your faith in Jesus Christ with a group of men like these Chinese pastors, that command takes a different tone. The remembrance is combined with the “doing,” a public profession that for these men could mean death. As I watched them, one by one, take the bread and the juice, I couldn’t help but wonder what that simple act will cost each one, some day.

They have remembered Him, and as we do the same, we must also remember them.

I feel compelled to leave you with this: Proof of eating real Chinese food.

I just realized that I forgot, before leaving, to ask you all to help promote the work that Remember is doing. I know that many of you have blogs and web pages of your own, and you can–very simply–use small portion of your webspace to spread the word on the work that we are doing to bless persecuted Christians.

So, if you would please, go to www.rememberthose.org/banners, enter your URL, and generate your custom code to add one of our three banners to your site.

And I thank you. Trip reports to come…

I have about a million ideas for posts…and about zero time to turn ideas into reality. I hate that it has been more than a week since I posted–and I thought life was supposed to get less busy after the Bar! How wrong I was.

So here I am, with a million updates and just a couple minutes to write something up. I’m going to write the blogging equivalent of a drive-by, but since I’m using that metaphor in writing a shattershot update, it is mostly likely a drive-by with a shotgun. Here’s my 12-gauge blog post.

Had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend up in Pennsylvania and Virginia, celebrating David’s graduation with great people. Congratulations, Brother Dave!

Now I’m back at home for two days before departing for the Pacific. Read more here. Updates to follow.

Today, I was judged to be moral.

Tonight, in between all the preparation-to-leave-things, I’m going to play for another championship.

And so I bid you adieu for now, dear reader, hoping all the scattershot has missed you and wondering whether you will next hear from me from this side of the world or the other…

Busy weekend…

Fort Sumter is ever a great tour for history buffs…and a great boat ride in the beautiful harbor.

Tea, on the other hand, makes a highly boring photographic subject. I will admit, though, that before this weekend I had no idea what it looked like and how you harvested it and made the beverage. Visiting the “First Flush Festival” is the stuff of major sunburns…

And then Charleston Harbor celebrated “Western Day.”

“Gabriel has finished his Extra Special Quest.”

I had a couple of fun and different photography opportunities this week, and captured some shots that I liked, and thought I would share!

I was first asked to take pictures at Charleston Harbor’s Mother/Daughter Banquet, called, “The Potter’s Hand.” Then I did a shoot for a realty listing. And finally, I found a gecko.