Summer Internship!

I'm home! I know it's been a long long time since my last post, and I'm planning on updating you all on my last few adventures as well as how I've been adjusting to life back at home here in the next few weeks.  For now, I'm excited to announce that I will be interning with Blackhawk Church's middle school ministry as a Madison Missions leader! (refer to my first post here on the blog for more about what Madison Missions is).

God sure has taken me on some crazy adventures these past seven months!  In the Navajo Nation in October, He showed up in a big, big way.  With little construction background and general lack of knowledge, I felt overwhelmed with my position as worksite leader.  Yet, in the midst of my panic and stress, he reminded me of His joy and sparked a in me a passion for showing the love of Christ to children and students.  I spent time playing, teaching the Bible though art and games, and leading worship (bringing back “Big Big House” with style) with kids in the Navajo Nation.  

This summer I will be interning with Blackhawk Church’s middle school ministry!  As I began to consider my options for post gap year, I looked for opportunities to engage in my passion for students.  Interning at Blackhawk is the perfect match.  A key component of my internship will be leading six different weeks of Madison Missions, which is a local service camp where middle school students and adult leaders serve at various organizations in the Madison area.  For many students, this is their first encounter with service and how to live out their faith.

As someone who participated in Madison Missions as a middle schooler, I am humbled and excited by this opportunity.  Reflecting on my time as a participant, I couldn’t be more grateful for the adult leaders who I looked up to as role models as an 11, 12, and 13 year old.  These Godly people had a clear passion for Christ and to show His love to me through their actions.  They taught me how to serve and love like Christ.  This summer I hope to do the same: to intercede in the lives of young students and be a Godly role model for them.  But I need your help!

First and foremost I ask for your prayers. I've been warned repeatedly that living with middle schoolers at the church for six weeks will not be an easy task, so please pray for strength and patience! More than that, pray that God would grant me wisdom and that the students I interact with would walk away knowing Him more fully.

This exciting continuation of my journey is not possible without significant funding. In order to participate in the Internship Program, I need to raise $3,500 by May 8th and an additional $1,170 by July 10th (for a total of $4,670). As a such, I am honored to ask that you join me in the next phase of my journey! Please prayerfully consider giving financially. Ultimately, your donation is both an investment in me and what God could do through me in students' lives this summer. If you choose to give, click HERE to give online via eCheck, debit card or credit card. Just 18 one time gifts of $200 will put me over my first goal!  If you have any questions or would just like to talk, please email me at ben.hersh.jamin@gmail.comor text or call me at (608) 577-3579. I would love to hear from you!

A True Montanan Adventure (Or Two)

Well, it's only been a month since I've last posted anything on here so I feel like it's about time that changed. The last few weeks have been a little bit crazy and a little bit slow.  Since Kentucky, I've been to Western Montana and now have spent some time in Wheaton at the Leader Treks office. Though not as exciting as Montana, being here in Wheaton means some spontaneous Chicago adventure days! 

I'll start with my time in Montana because, let's face it, Montana is way more epic than Illinois.  In Montana, I was involved in a number of wilderness adventure trips.  Unfortunately, we didn't get the experience of a true Montana winter as temperatures were at or above freezing most days.  As a Wisconsinite who has been in the south and warmth most of the winter, I was a little disappointed by the lack of cold air and snow.  The unusual heat also meant one of our adventure trips had to altered. Originally, it was in the books to charge around the Montanan wilderness in the deep snow with snow shoes and construct and sleep in giant snow caves.  Due to the heat and lack of snow in the wilderness, we resorted to building and sleeping in giant snow caves in the front yard of the cabin we were staying in!  Remember making giant snow forts as a kid (or if you're like me, last year)? That's pretty much exactly what we did.  After piling up snow into a mound about seven feet tall and eight or nine feet in diameter, we simply tunneled it out and spent the night in it! Much to our Texan's surprise, these forts remained plenty warm for sleeping!  

In Montana, we also got the chance to go skiing at a couple different places.  Both places we skied, White Fish Resort, near Canada, and SnowBowl, just outside of Missoula, were distinctly different.  White Fish Resort had incredible skiing.  On the day we were there the mountain got four or five inches of new snow and visibility was next to nothing.  I could hardly see two chair lifts in front of me! What made for rather terrifying lift rides, also made for beautiful runs.  At White Fish I got me ski legs back underneath me and felt like I was on top of the world! Being on a mountain didn't hurt that feeling.  The terrain was some of the best I've ever skied and I loved getting to ski with my brothers on this adventure with me.  It did feel quite strange, however, not to be skiing alongside Dan, Jenna, mom, and dad this time around.  As much as I loved my time at White Fish with the gap year guys, skiing with my family beats it every time.

SnowBowl was much smaller and less ritzy.  I'd liken it to 10-15 times the size of Tyrol Basin with about the same amount of ritziness, lodging, food options, ect.  The one thing this place DID have was an unbelievable view!  From the top of the mountain, I felt like I could see towering mountains forever in every direction.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen before in my life! It got to the point where I would almost fall as I started skiing from the top because I kept looking up at the mountains rather than down at what I was doing.  As I gazed into the distance at God's breathtaking creation, He reminded me of theme of high school Snow Camp a few years ago.  Magnum Opus.  Masterpiece.  God created the unspeakable beauty laid out before me, yet He calls me His masterpiece, handlebar mustache and all. I was blown away.  Speechless.  In those moments I was overwhelmed with joy and peace in His presence and glory.  He created those mountains, yet I, we, are His greatest works.

Our last adventure in Montana (and Idaho, actually) was a doozy.  I never thought I'd do the things I did on that day.  In the morning, we woke up early and drove to hot spring waterfalls across the border into Idaho.  The hot springs were about a mile hike off the highway and fed into a freezing cold, snow melt river.  This combination made for natures own extreme ride.  Sit under the hot springs for at least ten minutes to super-heat yourself, then move quickly toward the river. Once you reach it, lower yourself in, make sure all arms and legs are inside the vehicle at all times, and enjoy the ride! It was literally breath taking.  Later that day, after an early lunch, I snow shoed up a mountain in Idaho, skied down it into Montana, and hiked back to the van in Idaho.  These are the words I never thought I would say. 

Switching back to life in the office a day after this crazy adventure, which was preceded by the adventures above, was not an easy transition.  We went from moving and doing crazy things all day, to sitting in the office and learning more classroom and meeting style.  Boy was it hard to sit still. I do feel like I learned form my time at the office, though.  I learned how to better lead small group discussions, how to more effectively teach leadership, and the importance of setting a personal routine of spending time with God, in prayer and in His word daily.  Also how to win at Monopoly (and board games in general) a lot. Not to toot my own hot here or anything, but I won a stretch of six board games in a row. Three games of Monopoly and three games of Settlers of Catan. Here's proof. 

Next stop is a two week canoe trip on the Buffalo River in Arkansas! I'm told we will be having a 48 hour period of solo and fasting time.  Although I am slightly nervous for this time, as it will be something completely new, I am also extremely excited! I can't wait to see what God has in store for me and what He will reveal to me during that time.

I also found out last week that I will be interning this summer at Blackhawk Church running and leading teams for Madison Missions! I can't wait to get started on the next leg of the journey God has me on.  Be on the lookout for my support letter with more details and information about my summer ahead.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support,

Ben Hershberger

Thank You, Manchester

I've had a booger of a time trying to put this one into words, but I'll just start writing and see what comes out. When we left for Kentucky about two weeks ago, I was just coming off a long 9 days of WFR training at the LeaderTreks office just outside of Chicago. I was tired and the team was exhausted as we hopped into the silver bullet (our beloved 12 passenger van) to embark on quick 8 hour jaunt into the eastern Kentucky town of Manchester.  

During our time in Manchester, we stayed at a place called God's Closet. The Closet as we called it is a ministry to the town of Manchester that provides clothing and other necessities such as food and shoes to families in the area. The building consists of a big warehouse full of clothes with a kitchen and a few bedrooms in the back. During our second week in Manchester, we spent the mornings sorting, tagging and hanging clothes at the closet. Another cool ministry there has to do with those back rooms. They provide housing for people in the area that need a place to live during a transitional stage and a time of need. While we were there, a man named Forrest lived in one of the rooms. He is in his a former drug addict in his young twenties and a graduate of Chad's Hope (which you'll here about in a second here) and boy had God gotten a hold of him! He was on fire for Christ and it was inspiring and refreshing to see. Each night we would spend some time hanging out and talking with Forrest and he would share his struggles and passions and powerful spoken word he had written. It was beautiful to how God has worked in his life.

Some Closet Shenanigans. Size 52 pants and an XXXXXL shirt!!

We filled the first week of our time there at a place called Chad's Hope, a division of Teen Challenge. Steve May, the directed at Chad's, described the facility as a discipleship program, but it included much more than that. The men that go through Chad's nine month program are drug addicts and attend Chad's as a rehab center. The beautiful thing about this place and what makes it unlike anything I've seen is that Chad's uses no medication. No psychology. Just Jesus. We had the opportunity to join the men of Chad's Hope, who numbered about 20 and ranged from 18-35 years old, every day for a week as they continued their daily schedule. A morning at Chad's included personal Bible study for an hour starting at 8:00, followed by chapel and a class taught by Steve May. The afternoon consisted of lunch, three hours of "work period" (cleaning the building, creating things in the woodshop or doing other projects on the grounds), a free hour and dinner. My time at Chad's will stick with me. The men there were not as I had pictured drug addicts to be in my head. These men were growing to love Jesus and beginning to realize God's love for them.

Us with the me. At Chad's Hope

One point Steve stressed to us again and again was that each of us are just one choice away from being where these men were. I recognized this especially when I met a guy from Kenosha who is 18 and graduated high school in 2015, same as me. It's amazing to think that was just one or two choices in high school from sitting in the same chair he was at Chad's. It's only through God's grace I am where I am. The beautiful thing about meeting the guy from Kenosha was the he is interested in joining LeaderTreks for the gap year next year. GOD DOES AMAZING THINGS!!!

I fell in love with AFE in Honduras Open Roads in Romania because of how obvious God's presence was and is in those places. I felt a similar feeling at Chad's Hope. Only He could make place like this a reality, a place where He is so clearly and definitively transforming lives.  

I could talk about Chad's for hours, but God showed me so much more in tiny Manchester! It's been amazing to me how many times God has used children in my life over the last five months. In the Navajo and Memphis and Montana and Costa Rica and now Manchester. The second week of our time in small town Kentucky, we were to build a deck for a family living in a trailer. Little did I know, however, that my mission there was not to pound nails or cut boards, but to hike and climb and build dams and throw rocks and float tiny boats with a little boy. Austin is a nine year old boy who has seen and been through more in his nine years than a person should in their entire lifetime. He's been living in a trailer (where we were working) with his aunt and uncle for he last three years because his parents could not take care of him due to their drug addictions. I had they chance to sit down with his aunt and uncle and learned about his past and their love for him. Everyday I would work on the deck from noon to three or until Austin got home, then I'd spend the rest of the day with him. We dammed up a small creek that ran through his back yard, had rock throwing contests into a nearby small pond, chased each other around with sticks and climbed the hill/mountain behind his house. At the end of it all, he confided to me that I was the first adult friend he'd ever had. I was the first "adult" to invest in this boy's life and I could only be there for a week. Almost brought me to tears. Him saying that made me think about my own past. From elementary school through high school and today I've always been blessed to have adults constantly investing and pouring into me. My parents, coaches, teachers, LeaderTreks staff, Blackhawk Church leaders. I largely took all this input for granted, not realizing how blessed I was to have these incredible mentors and role models in my life. 

Austin and I adventuring behind his house

Many of the men at Chad's Hope had similar stories. They grew up with broken families and with an absence of adult, especially Christian male, role models and leadership. It kills me to think that Austin may be on that same track. His aunt and uncle are doing their best, but they can only do so much. Though my three or four days spent with him is not nearly as much time as I would have liked to spend with him, I believe that God can use even my limited interactions with Austin to change his life. They certainly have changed mine. My time with Austin along with my experiences over the last five months have fueled my passion to live as a role model in kid's lives. To invest and pour into young lives that need it. To represent and example the love of Christ for them. I can't wait to see where that passion leads me and what God will do with it!

Next stop is Montana, which means a LOT of driving. Yesterday I woke up in Chicago, ate breakfast at home in Middleton (thanks mom!) at lunch in Minneapolis with Josh's family, at dinner in Fargo and slept in a hotel somewhere in North Dakota. What a day of travel that was! I'm looking forward to a week of skiing and snow camping and other crazy adventures, but most of all, I'm looking forward to the chance to spend some time with Him as I sit back and just listen.

Ben Hershberger

To Hell('s Bay) and Back

I'll be honest, getting back into the swing of things was not the easiest thing, nor was it really what I wanted to do.  I had a blast during break with my family and friends and wasn't ready to say goodbye again for another three or four months. Over Christmas break I did miss my guys, but what I really missed, though I didn't realize it at the then, was my time with the Lord.  Upon returning home, I found that I quickly returned to my old habits and had a hard time of retaining those from the gap year.  Namely daily prayer and Bible reading.  Since Christmas, I've quickly realized that having time set aside to spend time with Lord is my favorite part about being here with LeaderTreks.  Subsequently, it was my favorite part of my time in the Everglades recently.  I went back to read one of my journal entrees and I said "I always feel better after prayer. Why don't I do it more often?" So that's what I've been doing, praying more often!

The trip started well, we were all excited to be seeing each other again and preparing ourselves for another crazy adventure.  We left Monday the 4th of January for the most southern tip of Florida, we could not have gone further south of Florida save for the Keys.  We embarked in snow and hopped out of the Silver Bullet in warm and sunny South Florida.   

As we set sail, two to a canoe, we were thinking mostly of the prospect of seeing the likes of manatees and dolphins and sharks (more to come on that later), but what we weren't expecting turned out to be what we say most of.  Bugs.  Hundreds and thousands of Mosquitos and no-see-ums swarmed as the sun dropped below the horizon and we were setting up camp that first night.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen.  Straight out of a horror movie.  Needless to say, we quickly learned our lesson and the rest of our nights we were snug in our tents before sunset and asleep as darkness fell.  It was the only way we could beat the bugs.  I'll spare you the gory details, but I will say that the inside of our tent looked like a battle field by the end of our Everglades adventure.  The thing was covered in blood and mosquito guts.  It was gross.  Writing this is bringing back memories I hoped to forget forever so I'm moving on.  

Our first few nights we camped on the beach. Sounds like a dream, right? Wrong. The bugs made the beach sites almost unbearable once the day cooled off a bit at night. Our first night, the "beach site" we stayed at was all muddy clay. I hopped out of my boat onto shore and instantly my feet we stuck in thick sloppy clay, far from the beautiful sand I was expecting. This was our worst mosquito night as well. Made for a bit of a challenging first night, but things could only get better from there! As I said, we learned our lesson quickly and did the best we could to beat the bugs the rest of the way out. Two more nights were spent on beach sites, though the final beaches were real sandy beaches, not the clay junk we dealt with that first night. The last half of the trip, we camped on things called chickees. I have no idea if I'm spelling that right, but they resembled decks in the middle of the water. These places were much better for bugs (save one horrifying morning) and made for a nice way to close out our time on the water. 

This was our clay site. Not the best. 

This is Corbin and I cooking dinner at Hell's Bay on our chickee. Each chickee we stayed at was the same and consisted of two sides like the one you see here behind us. 

As difficult as the nights were, our days on the boats were that much better.  I loved being out on the water and in canoes.  I mentioned earlier about manatees and sharks and things.  This is where I come back to that because we DID see each of those.  In fact, I saw with my own eyes and in the wild, manatees, a shark, dolphins, a flamingo, a flying sting ray (the thing jumped two feet out of the water!!) and a plenty of fish.  It was like being at an aquarium except we were in the wild.  It was amazing to be up close and personal with God's creation in that way.  I'm still pretty sure I called in the manatees with my rousing rendition of the timeless Veggie Tales classic, "Barbara Manatee". 

Little known fact: Manatees have horrible breath. 

One of the last days, I was put in charge of navigating us out of the most difficult portion of our trip to navigate, out of Hell's Bay.  This place is adequately named for how it felt to try and navigate.  Every turn looked the same as the last and every patch of glades mirrored the one before.  Somehow though, I managed to lead us out of Hell's Bay only getting lost once.  If you were sitting in one of our boats trying to get out of the place, you'd be a lot more impressed that you are right now. Upon finding our way out of Hell's maze, Corbin and I celebrated with a bag of cheez its I'd had in my be all week. It was well worth the wait! I love those things, especially after a week of wilderness food like backpacker's pantry and cheese and crackers. 

My favorite part of the trip was returning to the habit of daily prayer and Bible reading. I loved getting to see His creation through open waters and beautiful sunsets and misty mornings and giant sea cows, but nothing beat the time I spent one on one with Him. Quietly listening and being content in His presence. 

Ben Hershberger

Costache Rica

Costache Rica

Costa Rica was really really hot.  And humid.  Being one quarter Norwegian, the heat and humidity don't agree the most with me.  Don't worry though mom, I made sure to stay hydrated! The trip was kind of split up into three different sections.  The first stretch we were in a city called Alajuela (which is really fun to say) and is right next to the capitol city of San Jose.  In Alajuela we worked with a pastor named Rigoberto, which, as it turns out, is also really fun to say.  Rigo (as we called him) pastors many people who are extremely poor.  Most are coffee farmers who only have seasonal jobs in Costa.  It was an interesting experience for me because many of the "houses" we visited when we followed Rigo around a nearby village that he ministers reminded me of those in Honduras near the dump at AFE.  On that same tour, however, I felt like a spectator and was very uncomfortable.  It felt like we were just walking through these people's lives and treating them like museum exhibits or something.  While in Alajuela, we helped to pour concrete for a family whose floor used to be dirt.  The work was hot and sweaty but it felt good to get out there and get my hands dirty!

For lunch each of the three days we poured concrete there, the family that lives in the small house brought us lunch. The lunch was a traditional Costa Rican lunch consisting of rice, meat, and a salad, along with fried plantains. Good good stuff let me tell you. We also got to walk through the cities soccer stadium, which hosts LDA, the countries best team for many years. We got to experience the culture of the city by taking a walking tour around the city, stopping at museums and historical murals. 

On the first Wednesday at Rigo's church, we got to worship along with the congregation. I have been blessed with many chances to worship God in different cultures and countries around the world, and I love it every time. It's amazing to me that we get to worship the same God anywhere on this planet.  How BIG He is!! At that same service, I got to give a 10-15 minute "sermon" (again, for lack of a better word).  I was even able to introduce myself and start my talk in Spanish! I did, however, end up leaning on the translator for most of the meaty parts what I didn't know how to say.  It was a great experience to be talking in front of a congregation in a different country and culture. 

The second stretch we were in the capitol city of San Jose, which, in an answer to prayers, was much less hot as it was in the mountains.  The nights were nice and cool and days were less hot.  I use "less hot" on purpose as the days were still plenty hot. Being in the mountains also made for some beautiful views.  In San Jose, we worked with an organization called Casa Viva. Casa Viva is similar to the foster care system in the United States, but much more personal and Jesus oriented. Rather than running things like a "children's home" or orphanage, Casa Viva takes children who can no longer live at home for one of many reasons and places them in Christian families all over the area.  The couple that started it are from the US and went to Wheaton (that's where the connection with LeaderTreks comes in).  We got to spend three mornings with the wife of the couple, Jill, who taught us about what Casa Viva does and child development and how the two are connected.  I really enjoyed learning about kids and how important family is for children. I realized how blessed I am and was to have such incredible and loving parents and family. Thanks mom and dad. 

Okay, finally, our last stretch was spent on the coast (!!!).  The place we were staying was some sort of Christian missionary facility in a small town called Playa Azul.  It was a beautiful spot, maybe one kilometer or so from the coast.  There were two main buildings, the first full of rooms for sleeping, kind of like dorms, and the second was a cafeteria of sorts with a nice kitchen and a huge room to eat.  Between the two, was my personal favorite feature, a swimming pool! :P  Being back near sea level, the heat turned back up a few notches. 

This photo was taken from my devo spot each morning (below). On the right, you can see our sleeping building, in the middle, the swimming pool, and on the left, our dining hall!

The beach by our "compound" (for lack of a better word) was in really bad shape.  Full of trash and heavily polluted due to a big river coming in from the Central Valley, where the large cities of Alajuela and San Jose are.  One of the last nights in Playa Azul, Corbin and I walked out to the beach for the sunset. The beach, while riddled with trash, could not take away from the beauty that was the sunset. No matter how hard we humans try to ruin things, nothing can stop and diminish His beauty. 

For our work this last week, we traveled maybe an hour down the coast to Jaco, a major tourist attraction in Costa because it's a gorgeous place.  While there, we worked with a surfers ministry, which meant we got to work at a professional surfing competition!! It was just like the movies, complete with the giant judges stand, hot sun, and dudes with dreads running to the water with boards attached to their ankles. Classic.  We worked with a local pastor who founded a church near the beach he dubbed "surfer church". Surfers are often not welcome in churches in the area due to their appearance and laid back lifestyle. For this reason, Dennis founded Pura Vida church, which we had the pleasure of attending one Sunday. The church was set up in a school in town (think Blackhawk Fitchburg on a smaller scale) and Dennis proceeded to give the sermon in shorts, a pink polo, and flip flops. We had a blast there!

The last day, we hung out at a national park called Manuel Antonio where the rain forest met pristine beach.  This place was unbelievable!! While on the beach, we had to have one person stay with our stuff the whole time because monkeys would come out from the jungle to steal our food! I'm serious! Those buggers were ruthless. 

I apologize for how late this post is... I'm going to do better about staying on top of these posts as the next few months unfold. Right now, as I put on the finishing touches here, I'm on the road headed for the Everglades and an eight day canoe trip!!  I've never done anything like this before, but I'm stoked!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Even if I can't be with you in person, I'd love to stay in touch. Whether you're in Madison, off at college somewhere or anywhere around the world, the Internet is an incredible thing! Shoot me a text, comment on here, an email, or an owl Harry Potter style. Whatever it is, I'll be excited to see it! Of course, during a number of my trips, I'll be in the wilderness and thus out of touch and away from technology, so give me a couple days. 

Ben Hershberger

Vamos a Costa Rica

Well we've landed in Houston (at which I'm urged to say "Houston, we have a problem"). After sleeping from Chicago to Houston, I'm excited to catch a few more hours on the way to Costa!

Now, what exactly am I doing in Costa? Great question, I'm glad you asked! Honestly, I still am asking the same thing, but now I know a little bit.  For the first couple of days, I'll be doing a work project, putting in a concrete floor in a house in the Capitol city of San Jose. The second stretch continues to be a mystery for me, but by my understanding, there will be another work project and a chance to learn about LeaderTreks' partners in Costa. Finally, we'll be serving near the coast and exploring more of what Costa has to offer, including an apparently very cool national park in the area. 

So there you go! Now you know as much as I do about my life the next three weeks or so.

Sorry this post is so brief, not only do I not know much, but my plane for San Jose, Costa Rica is set to take off in about 14 minutes!!!!

I appreciate the continued prayer and support from you guys back in the cold :). I will be without my phone the next few weeks so please continue to comment and stuff, but I will not be able to reply. 

Love you all!

Ben Hershberger 

Navajome on the Range

Pastor Eugene at Good News Church

Alright. Here we go. I've been putting off writing this post (as many of you who have been waiting to read it know). I put it off because this stretch of the trip, ending about two weeks ago now (whoops), was the hardest two weeks I've experienced in a long, long time. Coming off of the Moab trip, mountain biking and hiking, we were all a little physically tired and not quite ready for what was ahead of us, though we didn't know it yet. We each were assigned different roles for the trip, each of us had a leadership role and was in charge of a different portion of the trip. For example, I was in charge of the worksites, we had someone in charge of cooking, someone for cleaning, for worship, for ministry and an overall leader. This was a new concept for me. I've been on a number of mission trips, but never in charge of one. As the worksite leader, I had to not only find places in the community to work (along with Corbin, our overall leader), I had to come up with all the supplies we would need, and have a plan for how to complete our tasks. As a man who has done very little construction, this meant a lot of time searching online for how to do things and talking to community members, Home Depot employees and my team members for advice.

Dadgum Six and our kids.

Couldn't figure out how to flip this, but it's
my David vs Goliath comic strip!

Upon arrival in the Navajo Nation, on the second of our 17 days on the border of Arizona and New Mexico, we were thrust into leading youth night for Good News church, LeaderTrek's partner in the Navajo. Our ministry leader, Josh, put me in charge of crafts for the night. I had about 90 minutes and limited supplies to come up with a craft relating to the story of David and Goliath for a group of "youth".  At the time, we had no idea how old those we'd be working with were. After a few frantic text messages (thanks Michael) and quick creativity, I decided to go with leading the kids through making a six panel comic strip chronicling David battling Goliath. Of course, I'm not the best artist the world has seen but he kids (who ended up being ages 6-11) were appreciative of my efforts, though they had better drawings than I did. Although we only had a few hours to plan for the night and had never met the kids before, I felt in my sweet spot when I was with them. I felt the same feeling the following Saturday and Wednesday when we got to be with the Navajo kids. Before coming to the Navajo Nation, I knew that I enjoyed being with kids but it pretty much ended at that. My time with the kids in the Navajo may have been the highlight of the entire year so far for me. By having these times with kids where I feel I'm in my sweet spot, using my strengths and gifts God's given me, He's been piecing together the puzzle of where He wants me and how I fit into His plan. Be looking for more on this in my next post later this week chronicling my time in Memphis and how God worked there. 

As much as God teaches me things while I'm using my strengths, He can use my own weaknesses to teach me too. He used both of these tactics over my 17 days in the Navajo, with my time with the kids exemplifying my strengths (relating to the kids, getting to know them and acting as one of them), and my time in charge of the worksite demonstrating my weaknesses (making quick decisions, setting and striving to achieve time goals, and adhering to a strict schedule). Another problem, as I said before, was that I was called on to not only find the worksite but lead them while I was there. Except that I don't know the first thing about construction.  That meant a lot of late nights searching the Internet for construction tips and supplies needed and conversations with those who knew more than myself. Even with these sources, I struggled to have the correct answers (or any answers for that matter) when asked by my teammates. My unknowing how to build things coupled with my being very much a relator (which means I'm not task oriented; I don't stick to schedules well and am chronically late when I'm with people) resulted in slow going on the worksite. This led to a few late nights and long long days.  

Concrete slab we poured for Tom, an elderly man living on
the Reservation. ft Silver Bullet (our trusty van)

Through this struggle of getting little sleep and working well out of my strengths for two weeks, God continued to demonstrate his power. If I was on my own for those two weeks, I would not have stood a chance. Halfway through I would have curled up in a ball and withered away. I spent many hours asking for his energy and wisdom as I struggled through. And, as He tends to do, He showed up in big ways! He provided for me energy to get through when I was certain I couldn't. 

After leaving the Navajo on the 30th of October, we headed for the city of Memphis.  Rather than having a ridiculously long post today, I'll leave you all in suspense a little bit.  Be on the lookout for a Memphis post soon!

Thank you all for following me on my journey, and as always, thank you for your prayers.  I couldn't be where I am without them, and remember, comments are appreciated! Love hearing from you all.

Ben Hershberger