I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about a great man. His name is Ken Bruner.
Throughout my life, there have been several godly men that have influenced me in ways that I'm sure they don't even realize. Although I don't frequently express it, my father has deeply impacted me through his walk with the Lord and his relationship to my family.
When I think of a man who loves his wife the way that Christ loves the church, hands down my dad gets it. There is no other man on Earth that supports, encourages and leads his wife quite the way my father does. When I think of his ability to father my sister and I, he has done so with wisdom, discipline, and love. He walks in truth, he has tremendous discernment concerning when the enemy attacks and where the Lord is moving. He is a man's man, but he's also a lover. He is a warrior and a scholar. He walks in authority. This is my dad.
Whenever I think of any great adventure or great feat, my father has been there. Winning a state championship, going on the World Race, graduations, he is always there in full support. I have never once doubted his love for me or his family. He is a pillar. He is loyal.
When I think about someone who knows how to serve and lay his life down for someone else, there is none that compares. He is a true picture of servant-leadership. He takes care of his house, he helps others in need, he is an intercessor and he encourages other people in their strengths. He is a great man.
He has been married to my mother for nearly 28 years, and loves her more every day. He balances out my impulsive behaviors with wisdom. Today is a wonderful day to honor this man. Today, we've played several games of Cities & Knights (my dad's favorite board game), we're going to the pool, and we're just spending some time together. I am extremely blessed to know this man and to call him my father. I look up to him tremendously and even in his weaknesses I see the strength of Christ.
Thank you Lord for giving me such an amazing example. Thank you for showing me what love looks like through your eyes by sharing this man with me. I am grateful in ways that only you can understand. Show me how to honor both you and him with my life.
After training camp, I had the privilege of hosting several World Racers at my house for a few days. We'll consider this "Stop Number 1" for the sake of this blog. Several interesting and exciting things occur when you have crazy World Racers in your home. Here are a few of them:
Oral hygiene is essential when eating a variety of foreign foods.
(Grillz sported by Geoff and Matt)
Nutrition is a vital part of World Race health.
(Aubrey and Matt display the expired products from my pantry)
It is important to have a global perspective and to truly see how life is lived in different cultures.
(At the 4D World of Coca-Cola movie)
Supporters want to know the cool and exciting things that God is doing on your journey.
(Matt creating a Coca-Cola memory story of how Coke has impacted the life of "Aaron Bruner the hairdresser")
No, no, no. Boundaries must be established as we set out on The World Race.
(Paul engaging with some creature at the World of Coca-Cola)
And finally, a heart and attitude of worship will propel us through the next year.
(Matt pretending to play the djembe for a photo op)
Oh yes, good times. They also took the time to help straighten up my house which was a tremendous blessing. I look forward to serving with each and every one of them as we prepare to launch in August. Blessings!
Willy had finally reached the CVS at the top of the hill past the MARTA overpass. He was out of breath and weary. Rebecca walked him inside (still wearing my flip-flops) while another teammate ran to get some food for Willy. I waited momentarily. In that moment, I thought about what the Holy Spirit had been stirring in me. I thought about this man, this image that he had brought to mind during listening prayer. I realized that he wasn't done with Willy.
I entered the CVS barefoot in search of Willy. When I found him, he was sitting down in an aisle with a police officer standing beside him. I thought he might be in trouble with the law but I soon realized that was not the case. The officer was on the radio calling for an ambulance! Apparently Willy had doubled over due to pain in his side. He was clearly hurting. Matt Patch joined up with me at this time and we bought Willy some shoes. When we went to check on him, I just sat there rubbing his back and assuring him that God loved him. It occurred to me what I was supposed to do. During this training camp, God had revealed new things to me that I had never encountered, why would it stop here? It was as if I had finally embraced the authority that the Holy Spirit had in my life to do the unimaginable. I was meant to bring Kingdom. I was meant to bring glory and honor to God. I was meant to love the unloved and to heal the wounded. It is Christ in me, his Holy Spirit, that is what it means to bring his Kingdom. To walk in expectation because he is God! It suddenly clicked with me.
I laid my hand across Willy's ailing side while Matt stood beside and prayed. My hand was filled with warmth. I felt the area that was grieving Willy. I did not tell Willy that I was praying for him or that I was asking the Lord to heal him, I simply stated, "Willy, tell me when the pain is gone". I expected the Holy Spirit to move in his life and in his body. After a matter of seconds, Willy gazed into my eyes and responded "I'm not hurting anymore". I saw relief in his eyes, I saw a joy that can only be given by God. This was all new territory. This was Kingdom being gained, one step, one life at a time. I told Willy about the love that the Father had for him. That he has not forgotten him. There was hope that filled his eyes, I knew it was connecting.
The ambulance arrived while Willy waited outside chowing down on some chicken. I sat amazed at what just happened. The paramedics questioned him about the manner of which he found his clothing. They asked Matt and I if we had given him money and we of course said no. They talked to him as if he was just another homeless person. But I knew differently. You see, in the minutes that I had known Willy, I knew that he had a story. I knew that he was important to God and his Kingdom. Whether that actually manifests in his life is on him and how he would respond to what happened that day. But I finally realized what it meant to make myself fully available. I desire more of him and less of me. I hope and pray that Willy comes to realize that he encountered God in a real and personal way that day in downtown Atlanta.
Please pray for Willy. May your Kingdom come in his life Lord.
For those of you not familiar with the buzzwords like "ATL" and "listening prayer", I will take a moment to explain. Before setting out for ministry like ATL (Ask The Lord), we start by gathering among teams to determine where exactly we may be ministering. We engage in something called Listening Prayer. This time is crucial because we so often jump right in without actually LISTENING to the Lord. We talk and talk and then do. But when is the last time any of us just sat and listened? I'll continue.
During this time, we pray against any thoughts that may come from the enemy or even our own thoughts that may crowd what the Lord is trying to tell us and we ask that the Holy Spirit would speak to us and equip us. Next....we listen. Yes, we sit and listen. Many times, God presents a picture, a word, or perhaps a verse. So we speak them out to each other and start making connections. For many of our racers and even for me at first, this sounded odd. But I will tell you a story of how the Holy Spirit moved in this time.
I decided to go out with Adam's team that day. We engaged in listening prayer and the group spoke out as the Lord was speaking to them. I received an image of an overpass with an older man walking under it along with the verse that speaks of young men having visions and old men dreaming dreams (in the book of Joel). We set out together and the team ministered to several people along the way. As the team gathered inside a fast food restaurant to feed this one man, I went out with Rebecca and Audrey to look for street vendors (one of the tasks was to eat dinner at a street vendor). As we started walking, we passed under a MARTA overpass, and sure enough, there was an older man walking up the sidewalk, barefoot, and with a walker.
Now, I had already been blown away from the experience last Wednesday night, so I was excited to see what God had in store. We walked by the man (Willy was his name), and I asked if we could help. He had been walking uphill for a while at that point and had little to no energy. As I looked into his eyes, I could see his story. All of the pain, the hardknocks, and trials that this man had gone through had brought him to this point. His walker had wheels on one end and tennis balls on the other. It could not roll properly. Willy looked at us and told us that he needed to get to CVS which happened to be up the hill and beside the fast food restaurant where the other teammates were.
I feel that it is important to describe Willy. Willy is a gray-heared man with a scraggly beard. His clothes were a ragged plaid shirt that smelled old and stale. He wore some pants that seemed that they hadn't been washed in a while and his feet were in desperate need of treatment after walking quite a bit barefoot in downtown Atlanta. He had vision out of one of his eyes, but the other was winced closed due to a head injury he sustained a while back. Although he was 53 years old, life had taken it's toll on his poor body.
We assisted him up the hill by holding the walker in the air as he walked because it cleary was not rolling. After every 20 steps or so, Willy needed a break. We set the walker down and gently rubbed his back. We encouraged him, prayed over him and loved him. Every time he looked up to see how far CVS was in the distance, sadness filled his eyes. I knew the Holy Spirit was moving. At several stops, I would place my hand on his chest. His heart was racing faster than his body could support. As I prayed over him and had my hand on him, his heart began to palpitate at a much slower rate. We crossed over rocky terrain that tortured his feet. I felt the Lord telling me to remove my flipflops and let him use them....so I did. Just to walk the short distance barefoot was difficult, but I imagined what Willy had been doing for years. Eventually we arrived at CVS and I told him to go inside and that we would wait outside for him with some food. He was very thankful.
Before continuing with this story, there are some things that I'd like to stress from observation. When we pray against any form or thought from the enemy and ask the Lord to speak, we MUST believe that he will do it. At times, I have doubted if what I was hearing was from God or not, but we have to know that when we speak those things out and when are hearts are sincere and true, he does move. This is just part of Willy's story and our encounter with the Holy Spirit. We must not be afraid to act when we hear a word from the Lord.
Although I've heard of the "Kingdom", I never really knew or contemplated what it meant in my life. As a younger person, it was this lofty place with fluffy clouds where everyone's pet survives the trip to heaven and we all have swimming pools in our backyards. Kinda silly I know, but I bring it up because my view of the Kingdom is radically different and for the first time in my life I have acknowledged what I have seen as Kingdom on earth.
"Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on EARTH as it is in Heaven"
The whisper within our hearts that cries for something more truly does exist. It is this voice that says that there is something greater, that these amazing stories in the Bible are not just stories. If I honestly believe that God is God, then it must exist and for the first time I've tasted what it's like on earth.
The Holy Spirit made himself known in a vibrant way to me this week, a way that I had never known. During training camp, there was a talk of the Holy Spirit and his empowering presence that equips you to do things that only he can do. It's more of an awakening than him just showing up because he is and has always been present. And this week he brought life into what previously felt like lifeless bones.
As I was worshiping and praying in the Spirit, Jake (the logistics coordinator for the World Race), laid his hands on me and began praying and prophesying over me. All at once, an immediate rush swept over my body, and I sensed the Spirit's presence in a refreshing way. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with thoughts running through my head of other racers. Three racers came to my mind specifically. I knew that I was supposed to minister to them. During the time where people were receiving an impartation of the Holy Spirit, I immediately went to these three men. I felt this new anointing resting on my shoulders and I proceeded with confidence during the ministry time. Bear in mind, I have NEVER experienced ANY of this for myself. As I prayed and spoke life over each of these men, the Holy Spirit moved and each one of the them fell to the floor by the power of his presence. They were resting in his perfect peace. I continued to sit with each of them and speak what the Lord was speaking over each of them calling out their giftings and abilities, and ways that God would use them this year.
I cannot begin to explain how any of this happened, the Holy Spirit remains a mystery to me. But that is a comfort to me and not a hindrance because I know that it could only be God who could do these things. This was only a beginning, a taste as I stated previously.
Jake came up to me once again and laid hands on me. I then was overwhelmed with joy that is inexplicable and I was overcome by a peace. All of the stress of this past year, and the insecurities I've felt about my leadership abilities faded away and I was engulfed with a serenity that covered me from head to toe. Again, something that I cannot explain.
All of these instances confirm that God moves. I may not understand them completely, but I embrace the realization that the Kingdom is at work. His Kingdom moves through me and through the authority of his Holy Spirit in me. That is Kingdom. Taking ground with every step I take because it is within me.
It all began last May when I was in Panama City Panama. I was staying at a YWAM base with a few of my squad members to set up Panama ministry when I received an email from my mother saying that the head wrestling coach position had opened up at Harrison High School. I quickly applied for it thinking that I really needed something set-up for when I returned. So, long story short, I got the job along with a Spanish teaching position. Let me just say, I have never received proper training for teaching. I had no knowledge of how to plan lessons, set up grading rubrics, communicate with parents....nothing. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed.
Fast forward three months (roughly October), and I just broke. I could not understand why God had put me there at Harrison High School, a place as familiar to me as my front yard. Shouldn't I be out "doing" something? Was all last year for nothing? No.
You see, God has a way of using all things for his glory. He allows us to pass through seasons in order to refine us, to mold and shape us. This season seemed like the LONGEST season of my life. Don't get me wrong, I loved the coaching aspect, but teaching was really a stretch. And please understand, I am EXTREMELY thankful that I had a job during this rough state of the economy. However, I hungered and longed for something else. There is something inside of me that I cannot explain. It's not just a passion, it's something that is only satisfied when I am operating fully in the calling and nature that God has given me. I saw glimpses of it during this past year, but it was not full on. There is a reason why God has given us different "callings", and I definitely have learned that. I pled with the Lord for something different but to give me the courage to finish well. I knew that I was struggling and that he was shaping me, but I had no idea for what purpose.
Skip forward (now April 15th), and God shows up and not just in a small way. I receive an email from the principal asking me to come in to visit him. At 2pm I walked into his office. At 2:10pm I walked out...without a job for next year. I forgot to mention, at this point I had committed in my heart that I would serve God at this school one more year if I must, I had submitted. So he acted. I signed on to my email around 2:15pm (yes, the times are significant).
In my inbox, there was an email. This email was time-stamped at 2:04pm, while I was sitting in the office with my principal hearing the "bad" news. The email was from Jimmy McCarty, coordinator for the World Race. He had asked me previously how teaching was going and if I was planning on staying in it for a while. I had told him that I needed to pay off some school debt. For some reason, Jimmy mentioned that I had come to his mind that morning of April 15th and he felt like he had to email me once more just to see if I would come and work as a squad leader. A last effort. So...
During the time that I was finding out about my lost job, God was already preparing the next step for me...at the same time. He is so faithful! I will be co-leading the August 2009 squad with Caroline Crawford , a World Race alum, and we will be launching in Ireland. Go check out her blog as well. I am currently sitting at training camp in Gainesville, blown away by God's goodness. He truly knows the desires of my heart. I exist to mobilize others and ignite a passion that is uncontainable.
The Lord has heard my cry, his love endures forever.
As I mentioned in my last post (forever ago), this life seems surreal. Either I'm dreaming today or what went on this past year. It's been absolutely INSANE trying to get my bearings as I'm teaching for my first year ever. One year ago, I was sitting in Thailand among poor and destitute people. I was on the brink of something huge that I couldn't express in words. Today, I sit in a classroom surrounded by English-speaking students learning Spanish in middle/upper class society. Still, at a loss for words to express the change that has taken place. I find myself so incredibly BUSY that I wind up getting discouraged and flustered. Am I doing this right? Am I really teaching these kids anything? I'm convinced that teachers go through some of the hardest most intense work I've ever seen. It's not just what they do in class, it's all of the extracurricular activities that take time (grading, parent phone calls, lesson-planning, etc). It is overwhelming to say the least. Going into this year, I knew this wasn't where I was going to be for the rest of my life, but it is even hard to imagine that I'm going to be here even for this year. This is grueling. I'm learning how to find joy in even the toughest of circumstances.
Today, I woke up at 8:05am after spending hours last night creating a study guide for my students' exam. I was supposed to be at school at 7:30am for a morning study session. I rushed out of the house frantically, arrived at school just before homeroom and had no idea what I was going to do during my classes. I decided to head home at half day because I was just flat out mentally not there. There are days where I feel down and beaten. There are days where I feel like the task is too great. Fortunately, I do know that God is bigger than all of it.
I know that he has put me here with a purpose. To reach these young people. But I refuse to lie and say that I don't struggle with finding joy or purpose in my work. If we didn't go through these seasons along with the peaks, then we surely would be untested and not battle-ready. Thank you Lord for this season.
So as for an update, I am currently certified with a non-renewable certificate for teaching High School Spanish II at Harrison High School. I am coaching wrestling and I am the FCA teacher sponsor at our school. I am plugged into Vineyard Community Church (AMAZING), and I am way too busy. I am certain that one of the enemy's greatest successes in America is the occupation of our time. Even if we aren't doing anything wrong or bad, we still don't MAKE time to just sit and be still in front of the Lord. We need that. I challenge you and myself to make that time or we will drown. I am praying and seeking the Lord for his guidance this year and also for what's next. Several things are on my heart: Spain with G42, getting into China, returning to Swaziland, seminary, and working with the World Race. I have absolutely no idea how any of it will work out.
I apologize for being silent for so long, this has been the biggest adjustment I've ever had to make in my life. I appreciate your prayers.
After being home in Kennesaw, Georgia for 3 days, it is apparent that I will be staying here for a little while. It's been an interesting process trying to adjust to life here compared to life on the Race. I spent an hour and a half yesterday just driving around and parking in several locations to sit with the Lord. I had no direction as far as where I was going so I was wandering rather aimlessly. As I was journaling and reflecting, I likened the re-entry process to something like climbing back through the wardrobe from Narnia.
A friend of mine asked me if I felt like it was more of a dream that I was here and that the Race was a reality or the other way around. I could only answer both. I was sitting in Olive Garden with my family feeling like I was dreaming and that I would wake up in the dirt in Africa sweating in my tent. I also, at moments, felt as if the last 11 months were just a flash in my mind because of how everything felt "the same" at home. My mind and heart have been bouncing between locations, between two worlds. I have not felt cohesiveness....yet. I've been living in a world for the past 11 months that seemed so different from the world that I came from. It was magical but real, it was different but the same. And when I returned home 3 days ago, after the most adventurous and life-changing 11 months of my life, it felt as if I had just left in some ways. Sure, time has passed, people have changed, but the "world" seems the same to me. And I stepped back into it thinking that so much has happened over the past year for it to be so similar to before.
My mind is trying to wrap around the FACT that this is the next season of my life. I know that eventually the bouncing back and forth of dreams and thoughts will unite into one fluid mindset. That the worlds will blend together and what I've learned this year will not be forgotten but will be integrated into my life here. I'm learning that the stories, the faces, and the moments photographed in my memory will always be a part of me. They remain with me no matter what season of life I'm going through. So as seasons change, I desire to take what I've learned from the previous season and incorporate it into the next season, and the next season, and the next....
So it flows into one continuous life. Yes, in seasons, but life. As I'm starting this new season, it has been important to bring closure to the previous one. Saying goodbye to family, ending the Race well, and cutting my hair (which happened to be a pretty emotional experience for me). It's the closing of the old and the welcoming of the new. My prayer is that God would show me how to see The World Race in Kennesaw, Georgia. How to see experiences I've had out in the world in this new environment. How to serve, love, and share with the people here what I've seen on The World Race. I pray for the two worlds to be one and for my heart to not be divided. Thank you Lord that you operate in seasons, I praise you for each and every one...
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...
Well, last night we had our final banquet together. There were lots of laughs, some tears, and great fellowship. We are thankful that we were able to have our full squad that we started with (plus one Traday) be at our final debrief even if it was only for a matter of hours (Christie Albaugh had to fly home early because of family reasons, please pray for them). We have been through a lot this year and we have been transformed in more than one way. We have seen our perspectives go from a limited world view to one that makes our world seem rather small. We have been broken for the nations. And we are hungry for what God has in store for us this next season...as well as some American food : )
Krystle and I on a carriage ride through Granada before dinner
When I think of a man who loves his wife the way that Christ loves the church, hands down my dad gets it. There is no other man on Earth that supports, encourages and leads his wife quite the way my father does. When I think of his ability to father my sister and I, he has done so with wisdom, discipline, and love. He walks in truth, he has tremendous discernment concerning when the enemy attacks and where the Lord is moving. He is a man's man, but he's also a lover. He is a warrior and a scholar. He walks in authority. This is my dad.
He has been married to my mother for nearly 28 years, and loves her more every day. He balances out my impulsive behaviors with wisdom. Today is a wonderful day to honor this man. Today, we've played several games of Cities & Knights (my dad's favorite board game), we're going to the pool, and we're just spending some time together. I am extremely blessed to know this man and to call him my father. I look up to him tremendously and even in his weaknesses I see the strength of Christ.
I laid my hand across Willy's ailing side while Matt stood beside and prayed. My hand was filled with warmth. I felt the area that was grieving Willy. I did not tell Willy that I was praying for him or that I was asking the Lord to heal him, I simply stated, "Willy, tell me when the pain is gone". I expected the Holy Spirit to move in his life and in his body. After a matter of seconds, Willy gazed into my eyes and responded "I'm not hurting anymore". I saw relief in his eyes, I saw a joy that can only be given by God. This was all new territory. This was Kingdom being gained, one step, one life at a time. I told Willy about the love that the Father had for him. That he has not forgotten him. There was hope that filled his eyes, I knew it was connecting.
A friend of mine asked me if I felt like it was more of a dream that I was here and that the Race was a reality or the other way around. I could only answer both. I was sitting in Olive Garden with my family feeling like I was dreaming and that I would wake up in the dirt in Africa sweating in my tent. I also, at moments, felt as if the last 11 months were just a flash in my mind because of how everything felt "the same" at home. My mind and heart have been bouncing between locations, between two worlds. I have not felt cohesiveness....yet. I've been living in a world for the past 11 months that seemed so different from the world that I came from. It was magical but real, it was different but the same. And when I returned home 3 days ago, after the most adventurous and life-changing 11 months of my life, it felt as if I had just left in some ways. Sure, time has passed, people have changed, but the "world" seems the same to me. And I stepped back into it thinking that so much has happened over the past year for it to be so similar to before. 
