The Lamb is Worthy of His Reward

Two posts in a day?! Boy do I treat you guys well. This morning we left from tiny Ashland Montana dark and early (a nice 5am departure) and have been driving since, with more than a few hours to go. It's a long ride, but much much better than the first drive from Wisco to the Bob a few weeks ago. I've gotten to know the guys really well and we've become the best of friends in just a few weeks! It's been really sweet to be able to grow so close so quickly and makes long car rides way better too. That's some pretty evidence of God's hand on the six of us if you ask me! After a bit of a rocky start, God has provided affirming moment after affirming moment. Plus, Corbin loves hugs and being close to people in general (he was a wrestler) so I get that out of my system which, again for those of you that know me well, very necessary for me!

In Ashland we stayed in the basement of a tiny little church for the week. For our service projects we helped split wood at this sweet ranch just outside of town (our directions were to take the second driveway on the right after the road turned to dirt). I got to ride a horse there!! It was beautiful. Kind of like those classic movies where the heroic cowboy rides off into the sunset amid mountains and desert. Except I had to turn around and come back. I think I heard a director somewhere yell "CUT!" before I turned around though. 

We also built a deck for an old man, Russ, in town. This guy was one of the cutest, most awesome old men that I've ever met! He had a bunch of awesome stories about his life. For one of the days we were supposed to be working I spent most of it chatting with him and doing odd jobs around his house. We got to run a Sunday school type thing on Tuesday night and I dressed up like a zoo keeper and hang out with little kids. Pretty much right in my sweet spot there! On Wednesday and Friday we went to bible studies at a church across town. 

The Bible studies were where the most depth of the week came in. We talked about two main things separately at the studies but they connected really well. First was about motives. About living and doing everything for Christ. Not for ourselves and not for others but for Him! This showed up the next day actually when we were working on building Russ' deck. At the end of the day we were supposed to be done, we were nowhere near finished. We were all willing to stay and finish but instead we decided to leave. We decided that had we stayed and finished we would have been working for ourselves. Working to get the deck done for the feeling of being accomplished, the satisfaction of finishing. Instead we left to take a step back and reevaluate our motives and to return later in the week with new mindsets to complete our task for the glory of God rather than for ourselves or even for Russ. The lamb is worthy of the reward for His suffering!

The second was about dying to ourselves, letting Him fill in the space, and picking up our crosses daily. It was an awesome study cause we were with a bunch of old guys (who referred themselves as "graybeards" and us as "the youth") and they had a lot of wisdom to share with us. I'm now regularly rechecking myself and my motives to why I'm doing things. If the answer isn't "I'm doing this for the glory of God" then I need to step back and recenter myself and my heart. For example, why am I here? Am I here to figure out my future and what I'll be doing next? There's too many "I"s and "my"s in that statement. I need to do it all for the glory of God and focus on making that my number one priority. From there all it takes is a ton of trust (easier said than done) that God will use me for the glory of His Kingdom.

Next stop is Moab, Utah for a week of Mountain biking! I've never mountain biked before but I'm excited to get out there and start cruising down mountains on a pair of wheels. I can't wait to see what God has for me on the next leg of my journey! 

Unfortunately I don't have pictures from Ashland yet, but they DO exist! I just don't have them... Hopefully I'll have some pics to add to this post soon. 

Words can't describe how thankful I am to each of you for caring enough to follow me along my journey with God and for your consistent prayer. They really are felt in BIG BIG ways!

It's been beautiful and eye opening to watch God work in myself and in the guys I'm with and the communities we touch. How sweet to be in the midst of a 7 month journey with God! No better way or place to invest my time than in things that are eternal - a treasure that will last me well beyond this life! Or as Buzz Lightyear would say, "To infinity and beyond!" 

Thanks for reading and God Bless,

Benjamin Hershberger

The Dadgum Bob Marshall Wilderness

 What a wild(west) couple of weeks! I got out of the enormous Bob Marshall wilderness a few days ago and proceeded to spend two or three days at a gorgeous cabin on Placid Lake in Western Montana. Although I've only been gone for a few weeks now, it feels like it's been ages since I've been home! The guys and I have begun to form a sort of a ragtag family with each other. We're now calling ourselves the "Dadgum Six". Dadgum is a word that Austin (our resident country boy, the 6'4" offensive linemen) says often and we have adopted and say all the time. It's been really sweet to get know these guys and grow spiritually together. 

In just a few short weeks, God has already taught me a TON! The first few days in Montana were pretty tough. We started with a torturously long and cramped 18 hour car ride from the northern Wisco to the west, then we landed at basecamp in the Bob. The first night, we just set up tents at basecamp and got our bearings and an overview of what the next ten days would look like. At this point, I was not in the best of places and wondering what I had gotten myself into. 

One of the biggest points of emphasis here is timeliness. Those of you who know me know that this is NOT be strong suit. I'm a very laid back, go with the flow, not having every detail planned out kind of guy, so you can imagine this has been a bit of a shock to the system for me! The first few nights in Montana, I really did let satan get a hold of my mind. On trail, however, we studied the book of Nehemiah and the biggest thing that stuck out for me was that the first thing Nehemiah did when God called him to do something or he faced an obstacle was pray. And pray hard. So that's what I did! I started being in constant prayer and conversation with God. Whether it was while I was hiking, making dinner or getting ready for bed, I was talking with God. I'm still in awe of how He replied. After my time of prayer started, the trip did a complete 180. God turned things around and the last stretch of the wilderness and the cabin was incredible. It's been amazing to watch Him work. 

(This was taken from the cabin on Placid Lake after the Bob)

The next leg of the journey takes me to tiny Ashland, Montana, just outside of an Indian reservation to work alongside a small church on construction around the town. I'm excited to meet the pastor (who is apparently very laid back and not great at communicating - sounds like my kind of guy!) and get to know people in the town. 

Speaking of tiny towns, I'm again writing this post from within a van, cruising across the state of Montana. The thing about tiny towns and the state of Montana is that there is very little cell coverage or internet connection. As I'm finishing this up (and in the middle of text conversations with some of you) I'm realizing that here is no service and hasn't been for some time now... I'm hoping that when we get to the town I'll be able to find a sliver of connection to get this sucker posted!

Well shoot. There was no service in Ashland so this update is well over a week late. I've just left Ashland and am headed to Moab, Utah for a few days of mountain biking! Be on the lookout for another post in the next few days here (maybe later today if I don't sleep in the van) depending on what service looks like in Moab. Sorry for the long long been in posts! 

You guys, as you read, God has taught me about the awesome power of prayer, so I want to give a HUGE thank you to those of you praying for me as God leads me through this crazy journey. Love you guys!

Ben Hershberger