pre-CBC

We are in Springfield, MO, which is reminding me a lot of Arkansas. You can feel the religious oppression here. Everything has Jesus fish on it. The restaurant we ate at last night only served beer with half the alcohol content because it was located next to a church. I picked up a Christian monthly magazine that said Global Warming was caused by the voice of God. We went bowling at a Christian bowling alley that played only Christian music and had a "Warning, Jesus Christ is in here" sticker on the door. Get the picture yet?

Tomorrow we will engage in civil disobedience at Central Bible College. I will let you all know how that turns out, but for now I want to leave you with a few thoughts from our stop at Dordt.

At least two students came out to us as LGBTQ during our visit, and one student sent us this e-mail after we left:

“If someone had told me at the beginning of the week that I would be deliberately making and spending time with LGBT people, I might have told them they were crazy and laughed it off. I admit that I never had any intention of attending any of the presentations or the panel discussion when you guys were here at Dordt. But because one teacher decided that my Sociology class should attend the presentation instead of holding class, my life has been changed, and in an amazing way! My mind and my heart were really truly opened. Never has something really stuck with me this hard or so clear. Everything I experienced in the past couple of days has been so amazing. I met some incredible people and I have come to cherish every second that I spent in their company. God works in mysterious ways. I felt God pulling at my heart and now I understand why….

“I want to encourage you in that no matter what happens, you have friends here at Dordt College that are praying for you the whole way on your journey. You are warriors on a new battlefield. You are a few against many. But your strength is with each other and with God and you will shake the foundations of this nation and the church down to its core. For with God on your side, who will be able to stand against you? Whether you reach an entire campus or just one person, you have made an impact and you have initiated change. And that is something that will stick for life like it will with me. These past two days and the friendships I’ve made will stay with me my entire life.

“What you are all doing is courageous and brave. You face opposition and adversity and yet you continue on. You are all amazing people. I wish you all safe travels and I will pray for your safety as you will probably face communities that were not as pleasant or “accepting” as what you experienced at Dordt. May God watch over you in everything you do and protect you with his loving hands. And may He work in the hearts of those who so strongly stand against you. I love you all and God Bless!”