Before today my only exposure to someone using this Afrikaans phrase was typically during Bible Study prayers to God. I guess, now that I think about it, we don’t really say “thank you” that much in America anymore (or maybe I’m just not very thankful?!).

But today was different because God wanted to teach me something about being thankful.

I was about to enter this great checkout line at Pick-n-Pay, a local grocery store, but I freaked out because for some reason I randomly thought the clerk wouldn’t be able to speak or understand English. So I got out of what was the shortest-checkout-line-ever and then walked around for a little while until I found another suitable line. During that brief “walking around” period I realized that there’s really not even any dialog that has to take place between myself and the cashier so it would actually be reasonably safe to enter any line at this point.

(I suddenly feel like this is a confession of insanity blog…)

I ended up in a checkout behind a rather short elderly woman with a regular sized cart. She was slowly but steadily unloading her things from the tallest and closest within reach to the smaller, lower lying items on the bottom of the cart. I noticed that she was already struggling with the medium height items so I decided ahead of time to intervene and help her with the last few products that I knew she wouldn’t be able to easily reach. As I reached my hand into her cart for the remaining products her first reaction was mild confusion but once I handed them to her I think she realized I was just trying to help her out a bit. She promptly said, “Buy ah Donkey” (Obviously that’s not how it’s correctly spelled in Afrikaans but I’m just going with English phonetics until I figure out the right way to spell it). I just smiled and nodded to her since I had no idea how to reply in Afrikaans.

So that’s all it was. I didn’t go out of my way to perform any amazing, self-sacrificing feat. I’m no hero. I just helped grabs some stuff out of a cart for a lady.

As the elderly woman proceeded to check out she had a small conversation with the cashier in Afrikaans. Once she had paid the final total she turned to me again and (this time in English) said, “Thank you very much young man ,” and I replied with a simple “You’re welcome.” After the woman walked away, the cashier began to total up my groceries. But then she said something that caught me off guard, “You know, that sort of thing never happens around here anymore. That lady won’t be able to sleep tonight. What you did is going to keep her up the whole time.”

Wow! Was what I had done really that spectacular?

As I walked towards the doors my eyes began to well up with tears.

Was what I had done really that spectacular? I could think of a million more substantial acts of service than that one. It was literally nothing. And yet, to receive such a disproportionate response…

God, I don’t understand this world I live in! I can’t believe there’s so little hope that my simple act of service brought startling joy to an old woman. How sad has this world become? Is this what you’re talking about when you said to “be a light in the darkness”? Thank you for using me, in even the most mundane of ways, to bring glory to your name. I’m amazed how you can turn my simple obedience into a great testimony of your redemption. May the name of Jesus be lifted high here on earth!

I walked away from the store tonight in prayer.

May that woman know the source of all joy and life, Jesus Christ. God, thank you for opening my eyes to see how my life reflects back to you. Any change, any transformation people see in my life is because of the working power of Christ. The forgiveness I give comes from the fact that I’ve been forgiven much by the Father. And the joy that I share flows out of the abundance that I receive in Jesus.

I really had no idea what it meant to live a life so serious and aware of the fact that I reflect the one I serve, or that the impact could be so substantial. And God impressed on my heart that if I’m faithful and obedient with the small things then he can trust me with larger things. I can’t imagine what would happen if all Christians lived daily aware of the impact their actions can have on others. I’ll never know, this side of heaven, the impact I’ve had on peoples’ lives but I feel that God chose to reveal just a glimpse of what that might look like to me today.

So be encouraged! Your life, a living sacrifice, burns as a testimony to unending love and power of Jesus Christ. Don’t just settle for ordinary. Ask God for boldness to step out in faith and proclaim his name. The next time I encounter someone I pray that I’ll have the yearning to go beyond just a simple deed and actually tell them about this source of living water I’ve found in Christ.

(Written on September 30, 2009)

I’ll admit upfront that I’m as haoli as they come but I sure feel a little weird being around all these other white people over in YWAM. I end up hovering around the few pidgin speaking locals on the campus.  I’m also going through major Zippy’s  and Acai bowl withdrawals. But most of all, I miss all the relationships I felt like I was just beginning. When I found out that I was going to be spending three months with NHDH before YWAM I was definitely excited but didn’t think that I would feel so much at home in such a relatively short time. I think that’s a true testament to the hospitality of the church and families of Hawaii.

With that said, I really wanted to say thank you for the encouragement I received just from being around you guys! Everyone from Apex, Radi8, the Edge and the big church has affected my life going forward into YWAM and the world. So I always wanted to give you a chance to stay in the loop with me while I’m off doing whatever God has in store for me. So far all I know is in two months the majority of our PhotogenX DTS team will be headed for Panama in Central America and possible Cuba or Colombia after that. DTS has already been an amazing time for me. I think I’ve heard God speak more clearly now than almost any other time in my life. And there’s been major victory from past areas of struggle and lies I had bought into from Satan. YWAM motto is “To know God and make Him known” and I definitely feel like these first three months are bringing me closer to the “to know God” part. I can’t wait to see what happens when I get off this lovely little island (ok, Kona’s not all that, especially compared to Oahu) and hit the ground running overseas.

On a practical note, I’d love your guys’ support both financially and in prayer and encouragement. I’m sure there’s going to be many amazing stories to tell of God’s faithfulness while on missions along with some cool photos, Lord will, and I’d love for you to partner with me in the work God’s doing. I’ll be trying to use my blog as the go-to center for the latest information and prayer updates as well as testimonies, etc.  Right now, my most pressing request is for all my support money to come in on time (I actually need $2,500 by Thursday and I’m not quite there yet), so that’s a big one. The other area is around my relationship with God as my Father. I really desire to grow closer to him in an intimate relationship, not just head-knowledge.

Oh, and if anyone wants to by me a quick round trip ticket from Kona I’ll totally come hang out with you for a weekend.

If you’re looking to support me financially you can donate online through my home church’s website. You should use “Missions” as the category and specify “Cale Livingston YWAM.”

I’m so excited to be attending Youth With A Mission (YWAM) as I enter this next phase of my life. If you don’t already know what I’ve been up to, this letter should definitely bring you up to speed.

In the summer of 2008, while I was on vacation with friends in O’ahu, I felt God calling me to commit a longer portion of my time towards missions before I continued with any further education. Through a rather unique series of events, I recognized God was specifically calling me to join YWAM and go through the Discipleship Training School (DTS) program. After searching through the various DTS focuses, I stumbled upon one called PhotogenX which had a strong emphasis on photography along with serving in the global community, combating injustice and delivering the gospel message to the world. Once I had committed to YWAM, I actually ended up talking with friend of mine who lived and worked at a church in Hawaii about a job opportunity before my DTS started. The first three months of 2009 I ended up working with New Hope Diamond Head (NHDH) Church in Honolulu, Hawaii. That short stint at NHDH really reignited my passion for the work God’s doing in the church around the globe.

It’s that same passion that’s fueled my desire to join YWAM and learn more about a missional lifestyle. As a Christian, I’ve received the commission to go into the world and proclaim the gospel of Christ to the lost, bring hope to the hopeless, stand against injustice, feed the poor, clothe the naked, and pray for the sick to be healed. YWAM is awesome because it exists to equip young people, like myself, to live missional lives intentionally focused on reaching the world for Christ and living out the great commission (Matthew 28:19). They’ve sent out nearly four million young people over the course of their more than 50 years in the field. Even in the short time I’ve been here, I already feel like I’m apart of a great heritage of believers who are excited about reaching the world.

And here’s the part where you come in! One of the luxuries I have as a child of the internet is the ability to be in constant communication with you, as supporters, and give you current updates and prayer requests. My vision is that this wouldn’t just be a one-time letter but that, as you choose to partner with me in what God is doing, we would grow closer as the global family of God and in our understanding of the work he’s doing in every corner of the world. I have a sense that God’s preparing me for a long term investment in real global issues of injustice and poverty.

So what does partnership with me look like? Well, I definitely need to be showered in prayer while I’m here in Kona, Hawaii and also once I’m on my outreach in Panama. Classes have already been pretty intense and, by God’s grace, I don’t even think I’ll be able to recognize my old self once this course is over. It’s certainly exciting to know that God will be doing a work in me but I’m also a bit timid or guarded about being completely open and honest with a group of total strangers. I’d specifically like prayer around the area of God refining and pruning me spiritually in this season. I think it’s safe to say I bring a bit of baggage into this experience and I’m just looking to grow closer to God as my spiritual father and feel his love in my life. I would be personally blessed if you committed to pray for me weekly in the various areas I list on my website.

The other real element of support is in my financial needs. God has already blessed me with enough resources for the first half of the DTS but I still need another $5,000 for the following 12 week outreach to Panama. The great thing is I already know in my heart that God is the faithful Provider, he has proven that fact over my last four years of life. There are two different ways to give. One would be electronically through Mountain View Community Church’s online giving system on their website. The other would be to mail a check to them and they can process the rest.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter and I hope that you will prayerfully consider partnering with me in the ministry of Christ. To stay connected, I’ll be making a real effort to consistently update my blog each week at www.calelivingston.com along with additional email updates.

And here are a few pieces of info if you’re looking to support me financially:

If you’re looking to donate through Mountain View’s website you should use “Missions” as the category and specify “Cale Livingston YWAM.” If you want to write a check, make it payable to “MVCC” and write “Cale Livingston YWAM” in the memo line.

But really, the one thing I want to convey in my support letter is how excited I am that I get to partner with what God is doing in the world through the Church. It’s a simple as that. Everything else is just a great story about the process.

For instance, we’ve been having really great speakers in our morning classes as of late. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve enjoyed every guest speaker along with our regular leaders. Paul and Susi are amazing and you can just feel how committed their hearts our to the cause of equipping young Christians to use their gifts and talents to more effectively communicate God’s love in the world. The most recent example being the Hakani project. I encourage you to check out the website and watch the video. It will really give you a sense of what I want dedicate my life to. There’s so many untold stories out there, victims that don’t have a platform to speak. There are people dying in hopeless situations but it doesn’t have to be that way…

One of the things God has really impressed on me is the idea of partnering with friends and family and that they’re included on my journey into various parts of the world. It’s not just a letter at the beginning and a thank you when all is said and done. I’m really looking to create an ongoing relationship with both my supporters and those whose lives we’re affecting. A few years ago God gave me a vision of a needle going around the globe and sewing together all different patches of clothe. In the same way, I believe that, as we both go on missions and and support those who do, we continue to unify the global Church, the bride of Christ.

I think, over all, the thing I’m really struggling with is my tone in writing these letters and blogs. I don’t want to sound like a broken record. I feel like I’m stuck on “global church” and “great commission” in everything I say. Realistically, there’s not much else I need to talk about. Everything else is secondary. The other key thing is I want people to really catch my excitement and anticipation for this YWAM experience. If you know me at all, you’ll know that I don’t really buy into hype too much. I was never one for wearing school colors, support class functions or sporting green on St. Patrick’s Day (I still think most of that stuff is pretty lame). But I can say that this is definitely an entirely new and different experience. There’s a true sense that something is culminating in the Kingdom of God. I have the honor to serve on the front lines at the climax of the battle. And, in the same way, those who support me are also there with me in spirit and prayer. I’ve already heard one-too-many testimonies about how God works through prayer instantaneously to pass up the opportunity to have fellow believers praying for me daily.

My encouragement would be for anyone who is already supporting a missionary in one way or another. You don’t realize how much of a blessing you are to them! Your prayers have real power and are felt tangibly daily. And your financial support releases missionaries to fully devote their lives to serving in the field. For me, when I use the term “missional lifestyle” I believe that includes people who take an active role in supporting and equipping other missionaries in their work. It also applies to people who are intentionally living out the Great Commission in their own neighborhoods. There’s never a lack of lost souls to bring to the Lord, rather there’s a lack of Christians willing to reach them. God has only just begun to reveal this revelation in my life. I invite everyone to join me in expectation for what God is about to do in coming months.

As I said in my tweets earlier, I feel like I should be some sort of indie artist/homeless person. Let’s just say I won’t get any flak for not shaving my beard any time soon!

Landing in Kona was pretty nice but I was surprised by all the bareness and lava fields. A large majority of the island is sparsely vegetated and mostly black. In hindsight, O’ahu is definitely the most densely populated island of the bunch. The weather was also emo-esque, just for me. There was a blanket of what might very well be volcanic ash but I’m just going to ignorantly assume it was fog/clouds.

I already went through the sign-in process which wasn’t too bad. But I knew I should have transferred my bank funds earlier since I ran into the problem of not being able to withdraw my money right away. I guess I get to leave some work for tomorrow, huh? I also had a quick peek at my room and it’s pretty much a Hume Camp Cabin with a nice kitchen and bathroom attached. There’s also no wifi there yet since the dorms are actually brand new. Again, just leaves something to look forward too. Oh, and my entire 50 person PhotogenX team is staying in these new dorms because our classroom is adjoined on the first floor. Short walk to class, awesome. Long walk to lunch, not so cool. Oh, did I mention that we all have work duties and I inexplicably chose 5:30-7:30am kitchen chores of 3:00-5:00pm outdoors work. It was such a tough call. Only time will tell if I made the right choice. Honestly though, I was leaning towards becoming a “normal” with my sleep schedule and I think this is definitely one way to jump start that effort, for better or worse. And, if you think about it, working outside during the hottest part of the Hawaiian day doesn’t sound very smart.

There’s probably some key points I’m leaving out but I’ll inevitably get back to those…

Lastly, for those of you who know my crush on Survivor: I’ve already made an alliance with some of the girls on my team and I think we’re going to win the first immunity challenge (one the them is really athletic). But I’m not sure who I’d vote off at this point. It actually feels pretty hard now that I think about it. Man, I really need to stop this comparison between missions and reality TV!