New Blog

So I want to be able to share thoughts with people, but I also want to be able for others to share their thoughts back. My new blog site allows non-bloggers to comment. So from now on my post will be at the new site.

http://duncanbone.weebly.com

Such a time as this

I often wonder what times I was made for. I know God has had his hand in my life (as all of us) in a very intentional way. As some have heard of the ripple effect that has occured in my life, I cannot deny that God has a plan for me. Like Amy preached on Sunday night, we were made for such a time as this. Esther did some pretty amazing things in her life. She didn't come from royalty, but became it. She didn't plan to save a nation, but she did.

Here is a little tid bit into my life and the ripple effect of small, seemingly insignificant actions:

When I was in 6th grade I went out (against my better judgement) to congradulate personally the team who had just defeated me in flag football, my arch rival Chatfield.
On that team was a boy whose mother saw me and was impressed by my actions.
She intended to send her son to the private school I was at because of it. She never did but told her brother about the school.
Her brother sent his oldest son to the school in 8th grade (commuting an hour each way).
His son became my best friend Francesco Paese.
Francesco Paese invited me to Simpson Park Camp.
Simpson Park Camp introduced me to Youth Ministry in a way I had never seen.
Simpson Park Camp introduced me to Greg Martin.
SPC also introduced me to Spring Arbor University students.
I ended up going to SAU, interning with Greg at Clarkston UMC, and pursuing Youth Ministry.
At SAU I met my wife.
From my internship I got the job I wanted most.

All this from a few extra congradulator remarks and gestures. And now I have been set up through all that, for such as time as this. I could live comfortably and hang out with teens and the rest of the church hoping to influence lives for Christ. But that would be easy. Pray and discipline are needed all the more, because I know God will use the willing in extreme ways, in such a time as this. Whose life could you lift today in simple ways? I am willing, are you?

Affect the Ripple Effect

During a Fuel Mission week twenty 11-14 year olds banded together to do some work. Throughout the week we talked about the Ripple Effect:

You never know how many people you can affect through simple service projects. When organizing canned goods at a food pantry, or weeding a parking lot you rarely see any type of cool results in people's lives. But just because you cannot see it happen doesn't mean it is not happening. By doing these menial chores we saved these charitable organizations great amounts of time and money. The result of saving them time and money is opening more doors for them to help people. The people they help the lives are changed.
On top of the obvious lives these organizations help, we talked about how people see what you do. There is a famous tv commercial that shows a chain of good deeds that come full circle and helps the person that started with the first good deed. When others see young people giving of their precious summer days, they realize they should be doing good things as well. The more that happens, the more that happens. You will never full realize (until heaven) the reach you had with a simple, small good deed.
So how do we do good deeds to achieve maximum results? We use the gifts we have in ways to serve and love others. Some suggested helping others with homework, other with basketball or reading. Even things a simple as listening to others can used for good. Our gifts and abilities should be the rock we cast into the still waters of this earth. So throw away

Community Blessings

Community is a catch phrase these days. Online communities, sports communities, religious communities are just a few of the places this term is used. Over the last few years I have had a passion to restore a community. This community has often been stifled over the last century. The Body of Christ was one of the most, if not THE most effective community ever to exist.

Acts 2:42-47 is one of the most foreign concepts in this day and age. "And all who believed were together and had all things in common." Not one person in that original church had any sort of need. Everyone worked together to meet the needs of everyone else. Where has this gone church?

I have been blessed greatly in recent days by the new body of believers I have joined. I cannot even imagine what the church would like if we could give this kind of reception to every new believer! I wish this kind of love on everyone. I will work to give it in greater quantities than I thought possible. What will you do?



Signs in China were often lost in translation... But I like the imagery of this one. We need to take our loving community to a new level. It has been kinda poopy in the last 100 years.

China

I wish it were possible to explain three weeks worth of gallivanting around China in a blog post. But that certainly would not do it justice. To express the sight of the Great Wall or intricate designs of the Forbidden City in words is like trying to explain color to the blind. Nothing I could say would allow you to see what I saw. That being said I will do my best to reveal some of the truths I learned along the way.

Starting off in Shanghai I experience a city nearly three times the size of New York City. 23 Million people live within the city limits of Shanghai. While near death experiences occurred during our bike ride through the heart of the city, we first coined the phrase "everyone has the right of way in China." Apparently when you go from being a third world country to highly developed, you skip some steps in the learning process of driving. I am convinced there are no traffic laws in China. I saw police write parking tickets and that was it!

In Wuhan we spent considerable amounts of time with Chinese college students our age. After learning of the brutal work they had to go through in high school, I feeling ashamed of complaining about my experience. They would go to school almost all day long, starting at 6 am. Other than a two hour break at noon and an hour and a half at 5:00 pm, they would be in school until 9:00pm at night. That is one heck of a day! I need to discipline myself to have a better work ethic.

Next stop was Xi'an, Good luck pronouncing it! It is actually pronounce (She-on). This is where the Terra Cotta warriors are located. The craftsmanship of these statues was incredible. All life-size statues, and there were about 8,000 of them created for the first emperor of the Qing dynasty. I would tell you his name but I doubt many would be able to read it. He was so obsessed with the afterlife that he created an army to conquer the afterlife and to have people to rule over. In other words, he did not want to go there alone! On top of having an army of 8,000, he ordered that the craftsmen of the statues be buried alive with them so no one would know the location of emperor's tomb. He spent the better part of his life preparing for his death. That is no way to live.

At 7,000 feet elevation, the city of Xining had beautiful surrounding landscape. Though every city we went to had pollution problems, this city had the most near by scenery. We saw mountains and valleys, rivers and lakes. But what caught our eyes the most (in a negative way) was the religious happenings. Things we would perceive as demonic, they claim as their heroes; things we call idols, they call guides. Throughout the lamasery (Buddhist monastery) there were hundreds of images of Buddhas (not a god but an enlightened person), who's face was red or blue with grimacing and horns. They did not look enlightened, rather they looked like they just got kicked in the baby maker. The amount of rituals they have make me thankful for the saving grace and mercy I receive in Christianity, knowing there is nothing I can do to deserve God's love.

Finally we arrived at the much anticipated Beijing. The Great Wall of China, Imperial City, Tiananmen Square, Silk Market, Pearl Market, the Bird's Nest, and Temple of Heaven were the big sites to see. We spent time in the markets bartering (or arguing) with the shop owners. My morals had to be checked constantly because I had the desire to lie in order to get a better deal. The justification that I kept using was that they were lying to me to try to rip me off, so why not? I got out of there after a few good deals and holding my tongue! But seeing the incredible accomplishments that humans can undertake makes me realize how much more I could accomplish.

After eating some weird things (scorpion, eel, whole fish, etc...) and getting over the lack of etiquette (according to American standards), I came to respect much of Chinese culture. There are many things that I will never understand why they choose to do it that way, but they have some things figured out. It was another great reminder of how much we can learn from others. The person I learned the most from while in China was a little blind orphan boy. I spent about 20 minutes with him. The second I touched his arm he turned and jumped into my lap and arms. He latched on and did not let go. He was a bundle of joy, laughing and smiling as he lie in my arms. What James teaches about taking care of orphans and widows took form for me. My heart leaped for joy and shattered to pieces at the same time. I truly do not know what it means to love yet. God has much more teaching to do for me.

Detroit

And so it begins. I have been sitting at the airport in Detroit since 4:30 this morning and my flight doesn't leave until 10:40. I love to people watch, to absorb my surroundings. That is just the beginning of what I will be doing over the next three weeks as I travel around the world and all throughout China. I plan to have short posts often to keep family and friends up to date as best I can. Considering the amount of shananigans that will occur, I will not have the time or willpower to write all. But know that those who use their most precious commodity of time to read my words will not be used on senseless diary posts. I hope to bless you as I am blessed with experience and a broader viewpoint. Blessings from Detroit.