Home Sick
WOW!!! The past few weeks were amazing!! I don't really know where to start. First of all, God is good and He is alive! We went on several different trips this month, working in a mixture of public schools and churches. In the middle of all that we took a couple days to just hang out on this island where we went scuba diving and other stuff. It was a blast! I cannot wait to get home and see everyone. One thing I have to tell you about is this youth camp we were able to be a part of. There were people there from 9 different countries: Canada, Botswana, Nigeria, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, and U.S.. One of the nights I was given the opportunity to lead this group. I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it was to worship with the nations. I will never forget it.
I am feeling pretty home sick today and I'm ready to come home, but I know that it wont be long til I am back with all of my favorite people in the world. I am praying you while I am here and hoping to hear many great things that God has been doing in and through you this summer. It's so cool to serve the God we serve, because He is the One that is in control. He holds us together and cares for each of us.
I know how it is to get caught up with living, so much to where we forget what we are living to do. We are called to make disciples. We are called to be light in a dark world. Let the Lord lead you and guide your steps. Do all you can for Christ because he did it all for us. Serve Him. Let the world know us by our love, just like the song. Love God and love people. Don't just love when it's easy, love the unlovable. Show love because that's what Christ did for us. Fight the good fight. Keep your faith. Renew your mind with His word every day.
I miss you all and love you too!!!
I am praying for you all.
See you soon.
-Mitchell
22 Comments:
Mitchell,
Incredible! Sounds like you got a taste of what real "blended" worship is all about. Here in the states, we mix a few hymns and choruses and call that blended - that is to say we sing both the old songs and new songs. We even have "wars" over such matters. I would love to know what songs you all sang, and whether or not the worshipers had words to look at, and how you managed to display the words in different languages. Did you have like 9 screens, all with a particular langauage? Or did you all sing in pig Latin? Tell me how it worked.
What an amazing thing, to lead the nations in worshipping the Lord - what a blessing.
About being home sick, believe me, we are all ready for you to be home. Just a few short weeks left.
But what an amazing adventure.
As Paul would have said to Timothy, ..."try to come before winter!"
Love You, Dad
Mitchell,
You probably have heard of a book entitled LIFE's LITTLE INSTRUCTION BOOK by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. Not all of Brown's advice is good, but a lot of it is just good, practical stuff like:
1. Compliment three people every day.
2. Have a dog.
3. Watch a sunrise at least once a year.
4. Remember other people's birthdays.
5. Overtip breakfast waitresses.
6. Have a firm handshake.
7. Look people in the eye.
8. Say "thank you" a lot.
9. Say "please" a lot.
10. Learn to play a musical instrument.
In the book, Brown lists 511 suggestions, observations, and reminders on how to live a happy and rewarding life.
After the Introduction of the book, Brown writes a very personal note to his son, Adam.
"Son, how can I help you see?
May I give you my shoulders to stand on?
Now you see farther than me.
Now you see for both of us.
Won't you tell me what you see?
Well, thanks for telling me what you see.
As I read your "Home Sick" post this morning, I thought about Isaiah 6:1-8 where Isaiah describes an encounter with God.
...vs. 8..."I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?"
...Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
I am so glad that you were willing to go on this great adventure this summer. You have taught me so much about faith and trusting God to meet every need.
Oh, back to THE LITTLE INSTRUCTION BOOK, ...the last four things that Brown said to his son,...
508. Become someone's here.
509. Marry only for love.
510. Count your blessings.
511. Call your mother.
Love you, Dad
Correction...
508. Become someone's HERO! - not here. Sorry.
Mitchell-
I am thrilled to see the work of God in your life in a place that is so far away. I can understand your homesickness. You have been gone for so long.
Your dad came to Shreveport to see me and to be by my side when I saw the oncologist last week. My news was not good. Your dad will give you the details. Please continue to love and pray for me. I will come to Baton Rouge when you get back to learn from you about your stay. Just so you will continue to know, I love all the Shoumakers so much. Alan is the greatest friend in the world.
Love ya - let me hear from you - campbell777069@bellsouth.net
-campbell
hey mitchell- I'm actually near Toronto,Canada right now on a "road trip' with my grandparents. We went to Niagara Falls- talk about how awesome God's creation is. We also went to the tallest building in the world, the CN Tower. This is great but I wish I could be at PHAT camp. :( How amazing that you were able to worship with NINE different countries! It's so cool whenever God does the unexpected. Anyway, I am praying for your strength and endurance as you get closer to the end of your trip. The whole youth group misses you SO much. Psalm 28:7 Cecile
Happy Birthday !!! Read your gmail for more !!
Happy Birthday ol buddy. Hope today is a great day in _____________. You are sorely missed by everyone here and we can't wait to see you.
What exactly does a brithday celebration include in _____________? Send us details.
Enjoy your day and get home soon. _____________ has had you long enough. It's time to get back to the US of A.
Oh, and now it's only about 40 days til Tiger Football.
Later,
Dowies
Happy Birthday from Ashley, Michael Jr., Mrs. Wanda and Mr. Mike. It sounds as though you are having a real God experience. It is amazing to hear of the good things that are happening. Well we just got home from P.H.A.T. camp and we had a real good time. We miss you and we are praying for you. I hope that you have had a good birthday! See you soon!
Happy Birthday Mitchell!!!
Well it's another summer, and you're gone on your birthday! Ha. It's been that way since you entered the youth group and spent your birthday at camp or on one of those amazing youth trips. So, this is not uncommon - you not here on your birthday. Still, you are missed so much and we can't wait to get you home. Just know that the birthday thoughts and prayers are coming your way big time!
PHAT Camp was awesome! Can't wait for you to see pictures and hear stories. The beach was so wonderful. Of course I'm ready to go back a.s.a.p.
The worship experiences you have written about sound amazing and life-changing. I am so looking forward to hearing more. Reading your description of it makes me feel it in my heart and I'm so thankful for the way God works everywhere.
Happy Birthday Mitch! I miss you and love you very much.
Mom
Mitchell,
I can't believe you're 21! Unbelievable! We all can't wait for you to be back home, but I know that you are going to have so many wonderful stories to share.
I have soooo much I want to say, but I guess I'll just wait until you get back to us!
Take care and God Bless you Mitchell!
Love,
Ms. Camille & that Burkhalter gang
heyheyhey!!! well you just need to hurry up! haha just kidding!! i'm glad you've been praying for all of us down here because God has really been doing some awesome stuff!! like...unbelievable~ PHAT camp was incredible. God has really done some cool stuff!!! and i'm glad to hear that He's doing the same over there!! i can't wait to see you!! just a couple more weeks!! love you!!!
oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! yay!!!
Hey Mitchell,
Hope you had a great birthday yesterday. Still can't believe you are 21 years old! When you were born, I was about 5 years older than you are now! I had been out of college for about a year, and at the time, served as Minister of Music and Youth at Bel Air Baptist Church in Marshall, TX. Your Mom was a SAHM (stay at home mom) and Lindsay had just come through the terrrrrrible twos! Talk about a hand full.
God has been so good to us by giving us you, Lindsay, Laura Beth and Benjamin to raise up in the Lord. How we thank God for blessing us with such wonderful children.
Have an awesome week. By the way, WBRJ will be taking over the airwaves about the time you get home. So, maybe we can have you and Matt in the studio for a live interview about your mission work!
Talk to you again soon.
Love, Dad
HeY MiTcH!!! I heard from Catie Blunt that you and her were...and i quote: "pretty much BFF" now, since she was put with your group over there, hahaa! I'm so glad that ya'll were able to work together atleast for a little bit. She is absolutely INCREDIBLE!
I was at a Bible study a few weeks back, and when it came time for prayer requests, one of the leaders of the group said to pray for her sister and some friends, that they were going to Malasia on a mission trip and the sister and her friends were really nervous about everything because they didn't know what to expect. (turns out, Catie Blunt was one of the friends) I thought that was amazingly ironic so afterwards I told her to rest-assured, that my cousin was over there and he wasn't experiencing too much agonizing torture or anything. lol!
i actually have no idea what it is like for you over there, but i have confidence that the good God we serve is taking care of you and all His faithful servants while ya'll are over there loving on people and being a light in a dark and often times oblivious world.
i am so glad to hear that you are experiencing God like you've never experienced before. i cannot even begin to imagine the wonderful things you are encountering, because simply reading about the things you write about seem so powerful in such a real sense!
i love you.
i am so proud of you.
i am so inspired by what you are doing.
love, em
Hey Mitch: Pap and Gran here, just thinking about you lots! We still can't believe you are 21. Where have all these years gone!!
You know what that makes us.
It was great to get an update. Yes, God is still in control and you have seen it firsthand. What an experience! We have all learned from it and gained new faith and committment. Thanks for going and thanks for being willing to share from your heart. And thanks be to God for a wonderful grandson who seeks to put Him first. We are proud as can be of you and look forward to a big hug and hearing more about the summer.
It won't be long and you'll be on familiar grounds. Glorieta is a great place. Wish we could be there, too.
Love lots and we pray for you everyday.
Pap and Gran
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Mitchell,
When I read of your journey, and all the unbelievable experiences you are soaking in, I get chill bumps and choked up all at the same time!!!! How incredible to worship with brothers and sisters in Christ from so many different places, each with different cultures, languages, lifestyles and experiences. The choked up part comes from just trying to appreciate and understand the magnitude of our God and His love for us, and how He is with all of us, everywhere, all the time. Incredible!!!!!!!
We all miss you very much and are ready for you to be back home. I know your family is truly homesick for you!! You should see your mom's face when she asks me if I've seen your latest blog and shares with me what's going on with you. She lights up like a Christmas tree (not two big twin ones, but a regular one!! Well, I don't know...it might be as bright as your lighting job on the TLCT!! LOL)
Anyway, can't wait to hear more and see pics, etc etc etc.
Much love,
Mr. Ken
PS: Happy Belated Birthday! I had forgotten that you and Samuel share the same birthday!!!!
I messed up and deleted my first comment,in case you wondered why one was deleted.
See ya! Mr. Ken
Hey, What's up. Sorry I haven't posted earlier, I just got my laptop so I'm finally catching up with the rest of the world. Only a few more weeks and you'll be back, but what's more important is that there is only a few more weeks for you share the gospel as much as you possibly can to as many people as you can physically talk to. No Pressure :) We missed you a PHAT Camp, and Choir Tour, and World Changers. So many trips...So little time. Just to let you know they were great, and we even had 2 people accept Christ at PHAT Camp!!!!!! The Praise Band misses you (We need MORE ELECTRIC GUITARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) lol, but were doin alright. Just Glad to know that you are having a good time serving our Lord. He is always good and always faithful!
Hey, Mitch,
Pappy here. Sounds as if your in the home stretch. Don't forget while you are at Glorieta to look for our youth director at Emmanuel, Cody Allbritton. He just took 10 of our youth to Lookout Mountain for a student life conference. First youth trip for some of them. We hear their report at church tonight. It's been a real blessing to read of your experiences and we are looking forward to hearing about them in person. We pray for you every day. Hasta luego!
Hey Dude - Hope the plane ride home is better than the ride over there. I know you will be glad to be back to American soil. I'll be praying for ya'll while leading worship at Glorieta. I know it's gonna be awesome. Holla at me when you get back to BR.
Hey Mitch,
I just found out I could access your page from work. Happy Birthday bro. I can't believe you're almost home. You have no idea how much Lindsay and I have missed you since you've been gone. We talk about you all the time and pray for you constantly. I know I've told you before, but you really are a role model for me. It is awesome to see how God has been using you this summer. I can't wait to hear all of the stories. We'll get Lindz to whip up a Fiesta and some molten lava cake and you can tell us all about it. Your little niece is waiting on you to get back too. You better hurry b/c she's growing up pretty quick. We've been telling her all about you though.
Sorry this was so long. Hope your flight back goes well.
Love you bro,
Kyle
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