So, it's been a little while since I've been able to find a chunk of time to post on the blog. Sorry, y'all. But I thought I would give folks a glimpse into our daily life here in Indianapolis.
The madness begins at 5:30AM with personal prayer. The rest of the day has often depended on what words we might have gotten that morning. For example, all the preachings we've done came from words, during these prayer times. We cap these off at about 6:20ish with a 10 minute powow of what we heard God tell us. One powow, or wow pow as one Sean Connelly Word Smith coined, yielded the call to be ask folks that day what changes they needed in their lives, their friends' lives or family's lives. As a result we baptized our first IUPUI student in the Holy Spirit that day.
Our wow pow leads us into the grueling buffeting of the merciless Jon Gapp, who has been appointed to lead us through our morning physical training. Simple push-ups and sit-ups with a mile and a half run each morning gets us ready for the day. This goes from 6:30AM to 7AM.
We then rotate through the bathroom and cooking for breakfast in time to share a meal at 7:45AM with the folks in Allendale (neighborhood in Shreveport, LA). There are Missionaries deployed in Shreveport too. We Skype using two computers and two webcams. It's like a phone call except we can see and talk with each other. This allows us to share a meal even though we're 800 miles apart. Brian Couch or Nathan Barret (both in Allendale) talk about the men they've been praying with or last night's big happenings doing missionary work and we share our successes/hardships in our work in Indy. This usually goes until 8:15 or 8:30AM.
Then morning prayer happens. We sing songs, pray together for healing or if there are Words we've gotten for one another. Words are things that God wants to tell us or others. They come in a variety of ways all the way from a scripture passage that we read to audibly hearing God's voice. Then we sit and plan the day's events. This is held in the sofa room where we've managed to cover more than half the floor space with 4 massive sofas which surround a huge (like 5x5 foot) coffee table. Think conference room, but sweet.
From here we've got time for personal emails and logistics more scripture investigation and prayer for the day. This is also the time when many of the talks we've given are written for that day. And this goes until 10:30AM when we pack up and head for campus. IUPUI is about a half mile from our house. On the way we've been memorizing the Sermon on the Mount by having one person read a verse or two and the others recite it back. This is also when talks for the lunchroom are practiced. We walk and listen, give feedback and listen some more.
We've made a habit of always cutting through the big hotel on campus and emerge a few hundred feet from the University College or UC where we've been preaching. This lies across a busy one way street and an open quad, which has been a great deal nicer since the weather has been in the 70's recently. This is really when it can get tough. When there is a talk we've heard God ask us to give, the last thing I want to do is keep moving forward. But as we walk my two brothers' footsteps calmly keep pace alongside me and I can just focus on staying with them - praise God for brothers. We finally get to the steps and make our way inside where the bustle of lunchtime has just picked up. There will usually be 150 students in there at once, with tons streaming in and out. This is where we split up to talk with folks we've already scheduled meetings with, or stand up and preach, or like most days just sit down at someone's table and start conversations with random folks. This happens until 2 or 3PM when we regroup and head back for home. By this time a lot of the student body has already left for the day so we've found it's more fruitful to get other work done.
On the way back we stop at Wishard Hospital where we've been praying with folks for healing. It is a real joy to meet new folks there and our time seems to grow as we get to know more people. Then we making our way out, it's a quick stop to chat with some friends we've recently made who live under the bridge we cross to get back to our neighborhood to check supplies and fellowship for a while, before getting home. Dinner is at 5 or 6PM sandwiched by more prayer and logistics work, emails and calls.
And as we approach 10PM as it is right now, we cease our work, get ready for bed and hit the sack with a final breath. Soon to get up again ready for tomorrows struggles. Hope this was insightful y'all. God Bless and good night.
