Wash out this tired notion that the best is yet to come

As summer has started for me here in Jamaica I'm already seeing God working. Not quite a week has gone by since my arrival here, and only a few days since the first teams arrived. . . but God is already moving. Not that He ever stopped moving, it's just more evident to me now that I'm back in Jamaica.

This spring, and May in particular, has been one of the longest and most difficult in my recent memory. After six weeks here in March and April feeling God's presence and seeing him work in me and in the teams around me, I felt thrust into a storm when I returned that has remained through the rest of the spring to now. God put a very difficult challenge in front of me and it was one that influenced my work, my sleep, my eating and my general attitude towards life. As I struggled to focus on preparing the 13+ teams that I will lead this summer as well as daily activities like getting out of bed, I had no other choice but to submit everything to God. I knew that May was the month that I needed to get nearly every plan in place for these teams this summer and I was having a hard time getting it done.

So as I sit here, my first 3 teams off and rolling, I have found a calm in the storm finally. Although this calm is still a little cloudy and a bit surreal, it is a calm. I have already seen God work through difficult situations and come through in situations where I felt less than fully prepared. One team arrived a day late due to an anonymous airline (American) and arrived with great attitudes and servant hearts. Lost luggage that could easily ruin a day or a week, or in this case, two weeks, is written off and there is no concern at all.

On top of my pity party, I see friends and families who are going through REAL problems that make mine seem like nothing and I see them praising God through the storms. I am humbled!

All this to say that I know God at work in this world and I know He is working already in me, and prayerfully THROUGH me as well, and I know that this summer will be a great time of healing and restoration as this storm passes and the fog slowly lifts. In the words of Dave (Matthews of course), I wait as these storms wash away the notion that the best is yet to come. And of course who can forget the simple reminder that "THIS is the day the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it". Pray for a great summer and that God will be glorified through all that we do.

Adventurously Expectant

We just sent off yet another amazing team yesterday! We had a returning team of 116 serving with several communities/schools/churches in the Trelawny, Jamaica area. I had the pleasure of serving with a small group of 15 which I called my own. :) We spent a few mornings with grade 5s of Hastings Primary school assisting in reading and math and our afternoons were filled with construction. We are working on an additional building for the primary school which is overcrowded. This group started this project exactly one year ago and this spring we poured the concrete for half of the roof. The other half and the floor should be finished by this summer giving the school an additional two classrooms next year! Overall it was an awesome week getting to know my little group, seeing old friends from last year, and worshiping and serving with the team as a whole!

The group's theme for their spring break mission trips this year was "Adventurously Expectant". Basically this means living an adventurous life for God and expecting Him to come through in big ways! As I thought about this theme and enjoyed the cool evenings, I would look at the stars and think about a practice of mine. When I was younger I would stand in my backyard in the country and stare at the stars. I remember "asking" God to show me a shooting star. . . not that I needed proof, but more as my test of sorts for God. I don't do it so often now, but I still have my moments where I sort of ask God to give me a sign. I can honestly say that I have never once during one of these tests seen a shooting star. I feel like I have the "expectant" part down, but sometimes not so much the "adventurous" part. I feel like often we ALL do this! We expect God to do something for us or speak to us but we're not willing to actually listen to him when He answers us. We ask for that shooting star or whirlwind to appear but instead God is in that "still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-13) and we don't recognize it.

So tonight as our group was debriefing our day (I picked up yet another amazing group of 10 yesterday) I had my back turned to the sky and was talking with the team. All of a sudden I could see a light in the corner of my eye and nearly everyone awed as this ginormous shooting star (or comet or satellite or whatever it was) streaked through the sky in bright green and red and finally disappeared. It was big enough that I had time to turn around and see it for about 2 seconds! What I find interesting is that I don't need a shooting star from God to show me Him. I see Him in front of me always and witness Him working in so many ways on a day-to-day basis! I know that when I live adventurously for Him I can expect great things! Try living your life "adventurously expectant" and see what you find!

God sightings

Finished up my first spring trip yesterday and waiting for the second group to arrive shortly. The first group, from Hobbs, NM, arrived a DAY LATE! Their trip was cut short by US Airways because of mechanical problems in Dallas. So when they finally did arrive, at 8pm the next day, I half expected them to be down and out because of the delay. Instead they were extremely happy and upbeat and wanted to cut their beach day down if needed to do whatever needed to be done. Great attitude to have! And because of that attitude they had an awesome week! (check out their trip here) Met some amazing people and spent the week in one community getting to know the people there! Good times!

I was reminded, yet again, this past week that I'm spoiled! I get to serve on a new mission trip every week! Of course I have to do the leg work of getting their trip set up and details arranged, but even all this is in a tropical paradise. :) I don't have to struggle to find God. . . I get to see Him working in these team members each and every week and every week it's new people and a new trip. It's like life is starting afresh every week!

Pray for us this week as our group is over 100 serving with about 4 different churches and undertaking 6 different construction projects. You can keep up with what they're doing here if you'd like. My 6 weeks in Jamaica is starting to fly by now. Can't wait to see what else happens this spring!

PS - My MOM is coming April 1st! Her first time to Jamaica! That's a big deal!

Aaaah! Spring in Jamaica!

I had a friend recently ask me about my faith and "how do I know". This blog is for her.

I've been thinking about it since she asked me. . . because I didn't have an exact answer for her. She had recently discovered that her life was about to change dramatically. And apparently she was beginning to question her faith, or maybe she's just about to discover it? My uneducated response (after x amount of years at Bible college how can I say uneducated?) to her was, "I just know"! I told her that often it's not simple to see, especially when you're bogged down with the seemingly mundane tasks of day-to-day life. I told her that sometimes it's hard for me to really FEEL my faith. I KNOW it; but often I don't feel it. I told her that when I really FEEL it is when I experience it first hand.

First hand experiences


I've been in Jamaica for just over a week and I have yet to welcome a group of my own. In fact they come in tomorrow and we'll spend a week at the Grateful Hill Baptist Church near Discovery Bay. But for the past week I've been driving all over Jamaica making sure my spring trips are ready to go and getting some more info on some summer trips. And as I've been driving (with no radio) I've had a lot of time to reflect and I've thought a lot about this question, "how do I know?"

I'll tell you what. . . God doesn't yell at me any louder (or whisper to me any softer) than when I'm meeting with pastors who have such a heart and passion for doing His work! Nothing is more subtle than driving down the coast with the windows down and watching the ocean splash. Something as simple as a hummingbird buzzing around while I sit outside in my "office". And nothing breaks my heart and makes me FEEL God's touch more than meeting an elderly gentleman who takes care of his three young granddaughters while they all live in a small, one room shack at best! Those are the things that let me know I'm in the right place!

And out of all this comes my still uneducated response. How do I know? Because I know what God has called me to do and when I do what He has placed on my heart I FEEL Him smiling at me. My answer. . . LISTEN to what God is telling you; EMBRACE those times when you're broken and you have nowhere left to turn but to Him. He wants your attention! Then FOLLOW where he is telling your heart to go. Worst case scenario you go in the wrong direction. . . trust me, you'll feel it. And when you are headed in the right direction. . . you'll KNOW!

A new year and bananas

A week ago I was in Jamaica. . . sunny and mid 80s. Today, I look outside (with the space heater at my feet) seeing a thin white blanket on the ground, watching it flurry and hearing the wind howling. Is this how the new year is supposed to look? Ha!!

God has been good! I got to close out 2011 in Jamaica with an amazing team of 11 from Racine, WI in church in the tiny community of Belmont just outside of Montego Bay. At midnight we stopped our church service to celebrate with each other and then saw about a dozen people want to make 2012 the year that they started following God! I can't explain how much I needed that! Believe it or not, I thrive on leading teams in Jamaica! So since August I've spent much of my time talking to churches and groups about Praying Pelican Missions and what we do, and occasionally I got to talk specifically about Jamaica. And although I love talking about what we do, I love DOING IT! So what a perfect way to get some perspective, close out 2011 and start 2012.

Our team, being only 11, was very close knit and we bonded immediately! A far cry from the teams of 60+ where you struggle to get to know even the key leaders of the group. So our time together was more intimate and I got to share with them as they discovered the love that this little community had to share. Our ministry time was "hampered" by the surprise that was the election of a new Prime Minister. . . and that was just day one. But we soon found that God had much bigger plans than what we had prepared. So as our plans shifted and changed and each time it was just that much better. For example: on our first day (Thursday) we were supposed to gather a large group of children and have a VBS of sorts. Instead, elections caused us to go visit some of the elderly in the community who are members of the church but are no longer able to physically go to church anymore. This turned out to be one of the most unforgettable times of the entire trip. As one example, we met Milicent who is a young 95. She was a founding member of the Belmont Baptist Church and as we talked with her we found out just how much of a beacon she had been to the community and a few individuals in particular. She was so young and still had so much joy at a time in her life when many are "old" and bitter at life and their circumstances. Well, there were countless stories like this! But don't take my word for it. . . read about them here!

Well, the team left Tuesday the 3rd and we all shed a little tear as we were not ready to say goodbye yet. As they flew away I met up with Jon (my wonderful boss. . . hey Jon!) and it was immediately back to work. We spent the next few days meeting with pastors who will be hosting our teams in the spring and setting up plans for these trips. It was great to meet with them and to see their passion for their communities! And it was all made just a bit easier to envision after such a great trip!

Rounding out my two weeks in Jamaica was a time of fellowship and training with a good bit of our Jamaican staff. We had a short day and a half of worship , chatting, goofing off, and getting to know each other a little more. . . OH, and we did some training in there as well. :) It was cool to hear several of them express how much they enjoyed our short weekend together and appreciated our time and the information gathered. We're set up to have a great spring and summer in Jamaica! We finished 2011 with just over 1,000 participants in Jamaica and about 3,300 for the whole organization (including Belize, Haiti, Mexico and our US locations in Miami and Tucson).

Looking at 2012: PPM already has almost 5,000 participant signed up to go on trips with us! That's 5,000 lives that will be changed! If they go home and change just one life because of their trip then we're at 10,000 lives changed. If we're VERY conservative and say that while they are serving on their mission trip they each touch just ONE person then we're at 15,000 lives changed in 2012. And these are VERY conservative numbers! God has been good to us this past year and He has good things in store for this year!

So. . . this is what gets me up in the morning when it's COLD and I don't want to get out of bed! This is why I love my job! This is why 2012 will be the best year yet! Oh, and the bananas? I got some bananas yesterday and they are absolutely flavorless compared to Jamaican bananas. That's it. :)

Drinking my Blue Mountain coffee and loving life! Here's to 2012!

Cold, cold days

Over the past couple weeks as a full-time employee of Praying Pelican Missions, I've been doing a lot of "cold calling". At first it sounds weird when I tell people that I work for a missions organization and I do sales, and cold calling. But when I think about it and tell people what I do, it becomes obvious that I'm not really "selling" anything. I'm more introducing them to something that can give them and their ministry a life changing experience. Of course it has a minimal price to it, but what doesn't?

So today as I'm going through a list of cold calls I start getting down because I feel like a salesman. And I feel like I'm bothering people. But once again, when I started thinking about what I'm doing, I realized that the only reason I'm calling these people is to offer them something that I have been doing for 3 years now with PPM and have loved every minute of! I'm not selling them something useless or a product they won't use or appreciate, but I'm inviting them to share in this experience that has change my life along with countless others through PPM.

I've had several very good conversations off of "cold calls" and it's been exciting to get to tell others about this amazing experience they can have through serving with us. Please pray that things continue to go well and that God will continue to open doors and people's hearts to what He is doing through this organization.

If you don't know what we're doing, check us out on the web!

Changing of seasons

We all know that God works in seasons in our life. The past few weeks have been, quite appropriately, a changing of seasons in my life.

After two and a half months in Jamaica this summer, I am immediately thrust into some difficult situations and decisions. Travel, a new job, changing relationships, and growth have all been part of this new season.

The most exciting of which is a full-time position with Praying Pelican Missions as Missions Consultant! So after serving in Jamaica in some capacity for about 18 years, the three past years being with PPM, I finally get to live out my dream and serve full-time in missions! Consulting with teams, fundraising, and of course. . . leading and serving with a lot of groups in Jamaica . . . and possibly elsewhere in the future as we continue to grow and follow where God is leading us. As I step into this role I will need to raise $10,000+ annually to cover expenses and part of my salary. I'm excited to see how God will work through what can potentially be a very difficult process.

Actually, just as exciting if not a little more, is the personal growth this season of my life has started. It's been amazing already just to see how God has been working in me and showing me areas in my life that need some attention. Spending time reading, praying, reflecting, and just being quiet has been amazingly beneficial! If you've ever read Donald Miller's "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years", then you'll know what I say when I say I'm trying to live a good story. :)

Traveling, traveling, traveling! Since June 1 (when I left for Jamaica for the summer) I have been home probably a total of 1 week. A weekend in Chicago, bonding and meetings in Minnesota, a birthday weekend in Vegas for awesome friends, and now Denver next week for some training. I feel like a nomad! Ha! But it's been great to connect with friends and to be away from the distractions of home. It's actually made it easier to reinvent myself and to hear God.

Now since I've officially started full-time with PPM, I feel like the season has changed over and it's time to live in the new season of my life. For this I have a couple needs:

1. PRAYER! I immediately found out during this change in my life that prayer is the most important part of personal growth! So please be in prayer for my own personal growth as well as my growth with PPM. Pray for my fundraising efforts, pray for safety in travel, pray for groups that will be signing up to go with us, and pray for God's will to be done and not my/our own. God is good. . . especially when you're following His path!

2. Financial: As mentioned I need to raise $10,000+ in this new position with PPM. I would ask that you prayerfully consider donating. You can go here http://prayingpelicanmissions.org/donate.cfm, click on the "Staff Sponsor" on the top left of the form, fill out the form and select my name, and click either "one time" or "monthly" at the bottom. It's that easy! :) Or you can mail a check with my name in the memo section to the address at the bottom of the page. Either way your gift is tax deductible and a receipt will be sent to you.

3. Click! I will be updating this much more often now, so follow along! I'm also on Facebook and Twitter (@brianzeschke)!

God is good and I know I'm very excited for this new season in my life! Thank you all for being a part of it!