The goal of course was to make Melissa my lovely bride, yes finally. But prior to asking, the "old school" in me said that I was to talk to her parents, not on skype or on the phone, but in person to ask for their daughters hand in marriage. So in preparation, yes, I lied and told Melissa I was going to Bend to help my parents pack to move, but instead I snuck down to California to take her parents out for dinner to pop the second largest question of my life so that I could ask Melissa the first largest question of my life..will you marry me? So here it is, the truth... and for the record, she forgave me and as of December 20, 2009, we are engaged to be married. Please enjoy...

(Sorry, for privacy reasons I removed the video. But please if you are interested in viewing it email me at mccrayness@yahoo.com and I will email it to you. Thanks)

Organized Chaos

It is finished! I finished one handed but this is my friend's, Katie and Tanner's shower, and it is done. It took about 52 hours to tile only 42 sq ft or so. It is an intricate shower that took a lot of TLC not only on my part but also Katie's. She has a great eye and she organized patterns while I told her what was doable and what wasn't and changed things that needed adjustment.

It was an absolute blast doing this artistic job and hope to do one like it again in the future.

All the tile was bought at 2nd hand building stores, local tile shops and thrift stores. I'm not sure how many different tile and textures there are total, that information may be coming soon...

...fingers

Yep, as some of you may have heard...i screwed up. While doing a wood trim job for a friend, I accidently ran 3 fingers through a table saw blade. After contemplating and attempting to place blame on something or someone other than myself, I concluded with pointing 3 damaged fingers at myself. It really couldn't have come at a worse time. I couldn't place blame on anyone but myself... as I told my mom, "Mom, I basically walked on someone else's property and shot myself in the hand and then went to the ER." For those who don't know, I, like Paul who made a living in Corinth by making tents, am a tile contractor. My dad graciously taught me the trade; I was his trainee for 2 years and now live in Boise doing what he taught me. 8 months out of the year I work at the Boise Vineyard co-leading a discipleship school. For those who don't know what that even means, it means we teach the Bible book by book helping our students from all over the world go into a deeper more genuine relationship with Jesus by observing, interpreting and applying scripture. So we simply point them to Him, their real Rabbi. Like Shane Claiborne says, there are a lot of people who teach or write books on leadership, but there isn't much on "followership". So we simply do that, use the Word to transform the students from the inside out and lead them to be better followers of their Rabbi, Jesus, thus making them better future leaders of man. So, that I guess was a shameless plug for the School of Biblical Action (http://www.vineyardcollege.org/soba/Default.aspx). But I really love what I do (as unconventional it is), both discipling young people, and tiling all the while attempting to lead a simple and frugal lifestyle. But (back to the nasty pictures above) working with my hands got turned into working with hand, one hand on the morning of September the 8th. It's been a rough last few weeks and because of this event, I admit I felt like I curled up and put myself in a dryer machine and someone turned it on and I came out really dizzy. My perspective was off. People have said, "Eric, at least you still have your fingers." And yes, it is true, and they mean well but...when you feel like you are at bottom you are at bottom and it got a bit frustrating. I love process with my God, He isn't afraid or intimidated when I throw out an accidental swear word as a shark tooth like blade runs through my hand, He isn't afraid when I sink into depression for a few days because it seemed like all I knew was working with my hands, He isn't even insecure when I'm not looking to Him at that very moment, and He isn't condemning me when I come back to His feet and say, sorry Father... I need you. God isn't intimidated by man; for us who have thought differently are wrong, we serve Jesus, who rules over creation (Colossians 1.15-23). God isn't afraid of our lamentations... look at Jeremiah, David, Solomon, Paul, and even Jesus and many many others. For some reason the lame typical "Christian" culture that I feel like I grew up in and still find lingering like bad BO has told us that life is perfect and that it is bad to be sad or when you are sad you have to put up a front that says, "I'm fine" when people ask. Well it isn't, $hit happens. Thankfully in the Kingdom, life isn't perfect, but it is still good! God wants a real relationship with His children, all of them! I love wisdom literature (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and James). I have been going through Ecclesiastes and love the realness to this wisdom, spoken through a man who knew what it was to have everything and nothing. He was given wisdom through his life's success and failures and wrote some good stuff because of it!

In chapter 2 verse 1 and 4 of Ecclesiastes Solomon says...

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:"

"...a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance..."

In chapter 7 verse 13 and 14 he says...

"Consider what God has done:

Who can straighten what He has made crooked?

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider:

God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore man cannot discover anything about his future."

This is echoed when Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew chapter 6 verse 33 and 34 to seek the kingdom first and to not worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own.

So Solomon contrasts good times with bad times, but both, he is attempting to draw the same conclusion... to be happy (or content), or to at least eventually come to happiness. There is purpose in what happened to me, God didn't necessarily do it to me but He definitely allowed it. My job has been to process through it and to share some of that process with others (you). So as mangled as my hand was and is, doesn't mean it's not a miracle, cause it is! My girlfriend Melissa came in my room in the ER with cute little tears in her eyes and I assured her that as bad as it looked, it was still a miracle (that by the way was the only time I cried during this, it was her fault...her tears running down her cute face were contagious). It was a miracle because it was my left hand and not my right, my bones were fine (it only cut through the tendon in my index finger), the home owner was home and able to rush me to the ER, even with the cost of it things seem to be working out.

There you go, for those interested. And for those who weren't, at least you got to see some cool pictures. So if anything, leave with this... you serve or could serve Jesus, one who isn't afraid of you and your "crazy" thoughts that you think only you have: He is jealous for hearts and is jealous for an honest and genuine relationship with you. So at least give Him that much. He knows our hearts and minds, He did create them... so much irony. So let your good days be good days and your bad be bad; but don't let them stay bad, find a way out of that perspective eventually by doing what you need to do to have that perspective change we all need. Mine personally didn't come at one distinct moment, it was through conversation and process with Him... first ignoring Him in this and wallowing in self-pity (honestly) and then finally acknowledging Him, who was already present. So I can find joy in this; not just because I have my fingers, but because I serve a God who actually genuinely cares and simply want's to talk to me and hear from me. So when God asks, "how are you doing?" He doesn't want to be answered with, "I'm fine".

To those of you who helped me look on the bright side, thank you. You were right, it just took a few days, there really is so much to be thankful for.

Thanks for all of your thoughts, prayers, and concern.

As Paul ended his second letter to the Corinthians,

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

and the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

the kids

Here are just a few of my favorite shots from a place in the Philippines called Bogo Island, CPG Islands. These kids were extremely precious and full of life. Ronnie, the church planter we worked aside said these guys are the future of the church in Bogo.

SOBA Graduation Video

PLEASE WATCH.

After a long hard year, the students have done it! They graduated. Here is a short but sweet video capturing of some of the years events. Great job you guys, we are proud of you!

Team Bohol Has Arrived!

Hello friends and family!

We are here safe in the Philippines!

Me and the 4 students I am leading arived on August 8th. I taught the book of Ezra from the Old Testament on the 10th and then we flew down to Bohol Island on the 11th. Devin preached at church on the Saturday and on Sunday I preached. We have been staying very busy and are on the move a lot. The students have been inductively studying the New Testament all year, God has given them so much to give to these people... but they (and me) are learning quickly that the Filippino people have so much to give as well. When I preached, I encouraged the church that we as Americans have more to learn than to teach and to not be shy (becuase they naturally are) to share there stories with us. That opened a flood gate! People have been very open to telling us about there lives. We are doing a lot of teaching, but the most impactful things is like last night when Ethan and I stayed up with 5 of the male youth and shared stories of God's faithfulness. The girls have been doing the same with the female youth. We are now in Buena Vista in a little village and are continuing to sleep in nice harsh conditions! But it is so good! We of course have seen cockroaches, massive spiders, 16 foot python (in a cage of course), and other things. The roosters speak to us every morning!
Ronnie and Naomi have been wonderful hosts. They sure do know how to be hospitable! Our goal, like I have said is to refresh them. I shared that with them the first night... I said God put it in my heart that our team would be like a charger to cell phone... that when we are here, they would feel recharged. And Ronnie became teary eyed and said that was what he was praying for!
As intimate as it has been, most of our time is filled with laughing...they love to laugh. You can see the stars inside Ronnies house and he said that in America we have 5 star hotels but his house is an all star hotel because you can see all the stars! They have these 3 huge pigs they are fattening up for food and he said when we leave he is going to miss us...but he will go to the pigs and cuddle with them because they have pink skin like us white americans! haha. He loves to laugh and make jokes. He is a 21st Century Paul...he has 10 churches and we are visiting 8 of them this month. So other than church work, we will do some construction, encouraging, also seeing the beauty of what God has put his hand on in this nation! Ethan, Ronnie, and I played in a basketball tournament last night and we won by one point! They play in flip flops and we played bare foot because my feet get so sweaty.
Anyway...I could go on and on. But thank you for your prayers. We are safe and healthy. Mystudents are doing incredible. They are being flexible and fluid...goin with the flow.
So in short, it has been great! We are learning so much and are attempting to break the mold a bit of American dominance. Filippinos have so much to offer, so we are enjoying raising them up as well through Bible Study and Teaching.
I love you guys and please check our blog. Internet is a rare thing here because it is very rural. But I will try to keep you all connected as much as possible.

ericmccray.blogspot.com

On the schedul today:
-Help Naomi at the local market
-Outreach
-Maybe basketball outreach again
-More bucket showers
-Squaty potty! Oh how I have missed those
-Frog hunting tonight with the youth for frog and rice as a meal!

We love you guys and again, thank you for your prayers. Please pray for health, because we don't always know what we are eating or drinking. Naomi is an incredible cook and is a really hard worker! She is going out of her way as we speak to get us purified water.
Ok, I am done, I could go on and on.

Eric

PS Please check the blog and post comments.
Do me a favor! If there is anyone I left out or that you can think of who would like to read this, please forward it
PSS Those in Boise that will see Melissa...give her a hug for me, I miss her a lot!

The Tacatane Family

Here are a few pictures of the family we are going to be spending time with in Bohol.

Picture on the left (Ruth- 15 yrs and Keziah May- 2 yrs)

Picture in the middle (Keziah May, Naomi, and Ronnie)

Picture on the right (Ronnie and his girls)

This is the family God has blessed us with. They have been incredible through email and a few phone conversations. We are looking forward to getting there and meeting them.

They live in poverty and are filled with joy! Ronnie said, "You guys in America have 5 star hotels... well my house is an All Star hotel.... when you sleep upstairs you can see All the Stars because there are holes in the roof!" He is a man with a great sense of humor who is sold out to church planting.

Team Bohol, Philippines

As of July 7, 2009, myself and my team (from left to right: Brittany, Ethan, Jenner, and Devin) will be leaving for Manila where I will be teaching the book of Ezra at the YWAM bases SBS. Following the teaching, we will be flying down south to spend time on the island of Bohol where the students will get a whole month to apply what they have learned this year during SOBA. They will be preaching, teaching and serving the people of Bohol. Our goal is to love and serve the Vineyard pastor, Ronnie and his family, leaving them refreshed. We want to encourage them and refresh them for the next phase of their ministry. They pastor about 10 churches on the island of Bohol and we will be traveling to most of them (Apostle Paul style) to teach the Bible Overview and the Inductive Method Seminar to both pastors and congregations. We are extremely excited and I personally am excited to see what God does in and through my students. They have worked so hard this year and now they are going to get plenty of chances to apply what they have learned... it is the School of Biblical Action. I will be doing my best to keep this blog updated with stories and pictures of the team and their accomplishments during this next month. Thank you and here are some prayer points for when it's on your heart...

• For my teaching of Ezra at the YWAM base
• 1 day later, a student will be preaching at the youth service at Ronnies church
• 1 days later I will be preaching at Pastor Ronnies church
• Unity as a team (patience, humility, flexibility, grace, etc.)
• Health as well as miracles, both big and "small"
• A supernatural, Jesus like love and compassion for the people of the Philippines (that they would know they are being cared for)

SOBA's time at the Timber Butte Homestead

The following is a blog that pastor Tri Robinson posted about our time with him and and his wife Nancy... please enjoy

SOBA Blog: Check it out !!

Please visit our school blog for student and staff updates at...

• 2009soba.blogspot.com/
  

Please visit the VCOM (Vineyard College of Mission) website at...

• vcom.vineyardboise.org/
  

simply this: thoughts & prayers from boise

• John 14.25-26 says, "I (Jesus) have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate (The Helper), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." So I pray that as this year goes by that the Holy Spirit would be teaching me and therefore I may teach my students and those around me through the revelation of sound truth.
• "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." -AW Tozer
• " A good teacher actually wants their students to be more affective than them." -Dr. Hendricks
• "I think that if what we are doing seems radical (regarding the Simple Way project), then that says more about the apathy of Western Christianity than about the true nature of our discipleship. And this is why "radical" has to be coupled with "ordinary"." -Shane Claiborne

Staff Overview: School of Biblical Action 2009

Dearest Reader,

As some of you may know, last June 2008, I completed a course called the School of Biblical Studies in Boise, Idaho at the Vineyard Church. Ever since then, I have been living in Boise working and waiting to hear how the Lord wanted me to apply all that I had learned. An opportunity recently arose where I was invited to step into formal leadership as a full-time bible teacher at the Vineyard College of Mission with a school similar to School of Biblical Studies, called the School of Biblical Action. After some thought, prayer and wise counsel, I committed. I can understand when the prophet Jeremiah said, “…His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot (20.9).” That same fire has been inside of me from the time I committed my life to follow Christ and began studying God’s Word. I realized that what I desperately want to do is put His Word into action, Biblical Action, and to equip and empower my students to do the same. Ezra put it perfectly when he said, “he had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel (9.10).” Let’s just say that I have set my heart on studying the Word, putting it into action, and to teaching its truth in Boise, Idaho.

           We have eight students coming to Boise this year from Washington, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, and England. In the School of Biblical Action we will teach our students through the inductive Bible study method, which brings the Bible to life. Students study each New Testament book, examining closely the historical settings, literary styles, main ideas, repeated themes, etc. and through that, they discover the relevant truth that applies to us today. I personally will be teaching a week on Jesus and the Kingdom, 2 Timothy, 2 John and 3 John, as well as leading small group and helping with daily classroom activities. The hope is that by learning more about who God is and what his word says, students are able to take that truth and do something with it... seeing transformation happen in their own lives and in the broader spheres of church and society. We don't want our students to just be hearers of the word, but doers of it (James 1.22-25). We want to take what we learn and do something with it... bringing truth to the streets. We'll give food to the hungry, evangelize the lost, love on the hurting, minister to the broken, pray for the sick, speak life to the hopeless, bring freedom to the addict... only imagination will limit us. Following Christ is both practical and spiritual; students will walk both out and see change happen in themselves and in the lives around them. They will daily witness the kingdom breaking through and will experience real joy in being proactive life-changers. At the end of the year, I will lead a one-month overseas outreach where the students and I will fully live out the Christian adventure. Bringing everything they have learned about Christ and everything they've become in Him, they will step out in faith and see God meet them there. It is there that they will discover they're far more equipped than ever before to handle whatever this life throws at them. In this age of relativism, there is nothing better than giving people a biblical worldview based on God’s steady character.                                                      

Unfortunately due to the intensity of the school, there will not be any time this year to hold a job; but the students’ tuition will help with my room and board until August 8, 2009 (the end of school).  Although that is the bulk of my expenses, I will still be in need of an income to pay for my other bills (cell phone, car, insurance, travel, etc.).  I would greatly appreciate your prayers of support this year, for myself, the other staff as well as the students. 

"The true function of a teacher is to create the most favorable conditions for self learning... true teaching is not that which gives knowledge, but that which stimulates pupils to gain it. One might see that he teaches best who teaches least." -John Milton Gregory (taken from Dr. Hendricks book 'Teaching to Change Lives'

I will do my best at this whole blog thing. I will keep in touch...please do the same!

Sincerely,

Eric