We were just passing through

Once we left San Antonio, we drove for quite some time and we ended up in a place called the Sam Houston Forest. The forest was literally croaking and it was about as black as black can get. Fortunately we found some headlamps in one of the pots supplied by James (Rick). As Josiah and Avery set up the tent, I gathered wood so we could set up a fire and eat. Unfortunately the tent was missing a few tent poles, so we made make-shift poles out of duct tape and sticks (Mark would be proud). We ate corn and black beans and chili with tortillas. We ate soooo much chili. After we attempted to start Revelation and observed how freakin stellar the stars were, we decided that sleep was a great idea.

After leaving the campsite we had to stop to get gas. SOMEHOW, SOMEONE DIDN’T REMIND ME NOT TO LEAVE THE KEYS IN THE LOCKED CAR. Well, we attempted to break in through the window with a rusty coat hanger…. But to no avail. When the locksmith got there I asked him if we could pray for him, and he wanted no prayer whatsoever. We prayed for him anyways.
And about an hour later, there was a speeding ticket that was given to us by an officer named R. Erwin. I’m not going to call anyone out, but it may have been Josiah driving, maybe.  Anyways we asked him if we could pray for him, and he asked for protection for him and his family. Then he said to read the book of Acts, cause Acts is what’s up. He was all about Acts 2:38.
Now, we’re just expecting Avery to mess up really badly. Hasn’t yet.

We left Texas with our our oil changed and our week’s groceries were bought. Applesauce is delicious.

We really didn’t like Louisiana. Not necessarily boomtown. Sure, some of the architecture was pretty neat and we did smell some real good Cajun food, but some of the people were just nuts. One guy slapped our car. I noticed a sadness about the people in New Orleans; and maybe this is just what I picked up from the French Quarter, and all the tourists, but there was a sickening spirit of self indulgence. Whether it was lust, or gambling or gluttony or avarice. It all seemed pretty hollow. And It wasn’t a place we thought we should be. So we drove for about nine hours straight.

As we left Louisiana we got into the guts of scripture. As a prep for our study of Revelation, we dug into the Song of Solomon. Not only is it an accurate depiction of how a man should love his wife, written in an age where marriage was loveless, but also a depiction of how Christ loves his Church, and how we should love Christ. Solomon’s wife is literally sick with love.

“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

If you find my beloved,

That you tell him

I am sick with love.”

The bride of Solomon pursues him with desperation and passion. Their love kept their souls inseparable; truly they were one flesh. She loses him, and searches for him with trembling, but when she does not find him, she keeps her faith. She keeps her faith and in her faith, she finds him.

We drove and slept in Meridian. Tired, but satisfied by the Lord.

Staying Lucky in San Antonio

OH. MAN. We are out of Texas! Through the dried up streets of San Antonio, in to and through the dark Sam Houston forest. Now, every other sign relates to porn shops, casionos, or seafood. Whats up with that? Oh and hey, I AM LOOKING AT SOME REAL GOOD SWAMP BOOMTOWN.

Anyways, it’s been pretty crazy. We saw my brother Thomas and our mentor, Zach Marr; they’re both pretty crazy. My older brother Thomas is the designated coach for the trip. He works at a company called beach body (The makers of P90x and insanity) and we will be doing insanity on this trip. Insanity is a work out program that uses high cardio and changes in exercises to burn fat and build muscle. My brother is super cool guy. When I last saw him (about a year ago) he was pretty down, but ever since he’s been disciplining his body and his mind, he has been living with joy! Real proud of him.

We talked about old grunge music and comics and Diablo 3, and I learned a little more about how he sees the world. He talked about how he realized that we are separate from our bodies, specifically our minds and that our minds are just a tool that we need to use carefully. He spoke about the strange properties of self-hate and mixed feelings. The book he is reading called the power of now, presented him with this concept: The author got to a place in his life where he was saying “I can’t live with myself anymore,” and when he thought about what he said, he wondered who the I in that sentence was. Thus, he realized there are two entities at work within him.

He let us, use insanity, which is pretty intense. We thanked him, said our goodbyes, at least thrice. Once we left, we jammed out to some Lecrae.

After chilling for about an hour, Zach Marr (the mentor) called us up. We slept at his apartment (a very San Antonio-esque Apartment). He lived in an old mansion that had been renovated for apartments. In the morning he took us out for some good ole Mexican breakfast tacos. Hes a local. He asked us about our lives (not about our feelings but about how it is) and we talked about the vices of the sales floor. Cause were men. Men topics.

We went shopping and got some healthy food at HEB. We got almonds for snack food and Turkey chili, black beans and corn for our dinner that night. I grabbed a whole bunch of tortillas and tonic water. We felt pretty good about our selection.

THEN, we saw my old friend Dianita. She made us some real healthy food. She loves the Lord, a whole lot. We ate Quinoa(Rice stuff) and Edamame (Kinda like Green Beans) and Jamaica(Flower Drank). Dianita also had gifts for us. She had a priest bless water for us, so we had a whole gallon of holy water. She gave us the lowdown on holy water: the idea is that it’s a physical manifestation of a blessing by a priest. Each priest in the catholic church is part of the apostolic lineage, having had hands laid on them by the former priests and bishops, and this tradition has been carried on since the time of Jesus. Anywho, we were pretty excited about this holy water but… we forgot it. So we just made our own holy purple drink (gallon of grape kool-aid) since we disagreed that only a preist could bless it.

During our lunch we learned about some things that were going on in Dianita’s life. Dianita is engaged to a good man named Jim who has Asperger’s and it was at his house that we ate lunch. She isn’t sure whether she should marry though, because she has a desire to be a nun. We came to understand that Dianita is a very strong woman of God. The way that she meets with God is a lot different than the way that a lot of people meet with him today. However, given the satisfaction she finds in the Lord as a result of her meeting him through more traditional, ritualistic means, perhaps some of us need more of a structured approach to meeting God.

Overall, our trip to San Antonio exemplified the diversity of God’s people and how they relate to him. 

Soon we are north

So imagine this.

Imagine, Daniel. Daniel Barker.

Just visualize that.
mmm.












Then imagine... Josiah Stienle

Then imagine them right next to each other.


Pretty good right?

Then imagine...
Avery Wallace.

All three of them in a triangle of fellowship with

JESUS IN THE MIDDLE

WHAT
WHAT?!?
YES.

Then take all that awesomeness. And put it in a van.

And let that van go from Austin, Texas, all the way through the north, into the Carolina's.

Imagine them talking about the gospel. About the value of a person, and his greater worth. About the pain and misunderstanding the ensue from a fallen world. About the community we are made for, and the relationships that come from that. About a greater healing and a tangible truth. About their own mess and their restoration and gratitude. About a living King and the very idea of a Trustworthy Deity.

Thats what Four Dudes in a Van is about.

And man, am I excited.