tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35155352682018456382011-07-07T23:25:24.022-07:00Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-77099702763618696572011-05-30T13:48:00.000-07:002011-05-30T14:11:30.357-07:00

Is it just "our" troops that we should remember this day? What about the civilians, children and women, whom "our" troops have killed? Should we remember them as well? Or what about even the soldiers whom "our" troops have killed? Were their lives not as valuable as American soldier's lives?As a believer in Jesus, coming from a long line of followers who began in the first century proclaiming

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-24355828558516747212010-08-02T06:59:00.000-07:002010-08-02T07:46:52.281-07:00

Yesterday was a gift from the Lord for me. Honestly, over the last few days I have been ready to leave and I wasn't fully sure why. There are many different reasons I'm sure, but it just wasn't good. Yesterday afternoon revealed some things to me though. We had a farewell celebration, which was a formal thing for a few hours, but then there was dancing and food afterwards. Many people from

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-34150595694522433512010-07-29T05:46:00.001-07:002010-07-29T05:46:54.287-07:00

In our last week we have had a few cancelations because of… well us being in Africa, haha. We are always learning to be flexible, because things often start like 2 or 3 hours late, and when they do, I usually just pull out a book to read or journal. Because of it I have seriously read almost 5 books during the trip here! We do a lot here, but also just have a lot of time in the car or being

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-78368386153307100982010-07-26T05:45:00.000-07:002010-07-26T05:50:41.908-07:00

A few days ago we went to Arringa, which is in the far Northwestern part of Uganda and has a very large Muslim population. We learned how a few missionaries had been killed in little while ago there, and others shot at. It was crazy to be in an area where there is real persecution of the church. One of the leaders of the church there really impressed me as he talked of what was happening there

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-85795121272116114242010-07-19T04:20:00.000-07:002010-07-19T04:54:04.700-07:00

So what has been happening as of late here in Uganda? Hmm… Well this morning we went to the Compassion International site here in Arua, and talked with those in charge of it. A few days ago we were also able to visit a World Vision site in Offaka, which was about an hour and a half drive from Arua. We were speaking in Offaka, and then as we were pulling into town we saw the World Vision there,

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-87791657366700617642010-07-15T05:59:00.000-07:002010-07-15T06:27:31.186-07:00

So life here in Arua is going on the same, but people are definitely paying attention to what is happening. Our supervisor with Africa Inland Mission just came up from Kampala to visit us and check on how we are doing. Apparently the guy from the US, Nate, who died in the bomb blast was staying in her home, so it hit home for her quite a bit. It appears that this might only be the beginning of

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-58165112651258554622010-07-14T00:10:00.000-07:002010-07-14T00:14:21.638-07:00

Yesterday was our day off, and we were supposed to be at a village for the whole of today and spending the night there, but they had to cancel. Thus we had a second off day in a row, and I was left with little to do. Kevin and I went on a run around town this morning and saw a lot of people. We even had a 70 year old women start running with us for a bit, haha. Everyone gets excited when they see

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-85139247930521526612010-07-12T07:45:00.000-07:002010-07-12T07:46:37.895-07:00

So last night there was a bombing in Kampala , Uganda , but we are in Arua so we are OK and don’t actually know anyone who was killed. It doesn’t make it any less of a tragedy though. Two bombs went off during the World Cup final game, killing 70 people. It’s crazy when it happens so close to you. A little window into life here in Uganda : The cities ( Kampala , Entebbe , Arua) have

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-61481876058599478032010-07-09T06:40:00.000-07:002010-07-09T06:47:51.546-07:00

We just finished doing a two day trip just now. We spoke at a church yesterday and then spent the night there, and then we woke up to go to a secondary school and spoke from like 9:30am until almost 2:00pm. Five of us guys slept in a little hut, which was pretty cool. It continues to show how absurd the way we live in the US is. I actually kind of like sleeping in a hut, just the hardest part

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-89247617086337720432010-07-05T08:07:00.000-07:002010-07-05T08:09:21.856-07:00

Speaking through a translator is difficult, let me tell you. You wouldn’t think that it would be all that bad, and it really isn’t, but the hardest part is just not being able to connect with the audience. I have noticed that in my speaking I love to get engaged and feed of reactions from those listening, but if I am making a passionate point they won’t respond until about 10 seconds after I say

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-25120171416321366442010-07-01T06:58:00.000-07:002010-07-01T07:19:46.999-07:00

On Tuesday morning we left to go to a village where we would be speaking all day. We are learning constantly that we need to be flexible and not worry about time here, but it was rather humorous when we were supposed to begin speaking at 9:00am and didn't actually start until 1:00pm. This is not an uncommon experience for us! Haha. The village had apparently rarely, if ever, seen white people

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-83441377417918383682010-06-28T01:17:00.000-07:002010-06-28T01:40:37.199-07:00

Yesterday was our first experience teaching a large crowd of Ugandans who weren't little kids. I preached a sermon in two different places, first in a secondary school of two or three hundred young men and women, and then in a church of maybe four or five hundred people. I don't mind speaking in front of large crowds, but the hardest part about this was not being sure if they could fully

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-76813478206932870902010-06-25T02:38:00.000-07:002010-06-25T02:40:20.859-07:00

Last night we went to watch some futbol with our Ugandan friends. There was a small T.V. set up in a larger room in one of the church buildings which everyone watched the game on. Today we went and spoke at an elementary school of around six or seven hundred children. I don’t quite now how to feel about them being so amazing and excited about us. I am no one to be esteemed or looked up to as

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-74193461577806458812010-06-24T06:32:00.000-07:002010-06-24T06:51:36.806-07:00

Hey everyone,So we are finally in Arua and picking up some of the local language. "Mingoni" means "How are you?" and "Amamuke" means "I am fine". I love passing people on the street and saying mingoni and seeing them smile in surprise and joy seeing a white guy greet them in their local language. We are enjoying getting to know friends here, learning about their culture, their lives, their

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-10308432130253105172010-06-19T22:07:00.000-07:002010-06-20T09:45:40.364-07:00

We don't leave for Arua until tomorrow, but we spent yesterday here at the Africa Inland Missions house just 7 miles outside of Kampala. Jessica and I both had to return to the airport because our bags had not made it onto our flight into Entebbe with all of the craziness of flights changing. So Laurence, an older man who picked us up the previous night at the airport, had his son drive us

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-80861121117437925042010-06-18T16:14:00.000-07:002010-06-18T16:27:50.123-07:00

So here is how it went down. We were 3 hours into our 7 hour flight on Wednesday evening heading towards Amsterdam when the captain came over the loud speaker to announce that we would be turning back to New York because one of the two air conditioning pieces was down. That seemed really silly to all of us, but what can you do? I have an inkling that this was just what we were told and that

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-70726149635947885822010-06-15T19:41:00.000-07:002010-06-15T19:50:05.593-07:00

So it is weird to think that I am leaving tomorrow. We have been doing some training here in NY and looking through curriculums, but I'm not sure if I even feel all that much more prepared. It is so hard to know before I get there. I am excited to build friendships with Ugandan people. I am excited for Uganda to become home, even if it is just for a little while before I have to come back. I

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-36439386564163308462010-06-14T19:28:00.001-07:002010-06-14T19:35:54.361-07:00

Hey everyone,So I am going to be trying to blog as much of my experience as I can to let you have a window into this experience. I know that this trip is way bigger than me and the three others going with me, and even bigger than those we will meet in Uganda. This is all about Jesus, and everyone can be blessed by it. So I will document what I'm experiencing and learning.We arrived in New York

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-68930058388970891392009-12-10T13:28:00.000-08:002009-12-10T13:50:29.613-08:00

I wanted to share something that I am reading which I was blessed and challenged by. Jonathan Edwards, a well known pastor and great man of the faith from the 1700's, developed a set of seventy resolutions as standards for his own life. He desired to read them once a week and constantly commit his life to them. They are taken from Edward's book "Life and Diary of David Brainerd". Here are a

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-759757882044264352009-10-25T23:01:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:37:53.338-07:00

So I have been wrestling a lot with the concept of belief, and here are some of my latest thoughts...At Cornerstone we have been reading through 1 Peter on our own, and a passage really stood out to me. Here is 1 Peter 1:3-9:"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-26121228336917768182009-10-06T17:01:00.000-07:002009-10-06T18:29:12.616-07:00

Have you ever played a good game of Monopoly with friends? You sit down with four other people who you are close with, and know that you will be spending the next 3+ hours with them competing for the coveted crown of best Monopoly player.Now if you are anything like me, a competitive person, you start getting a little too much into the game. In your first few roles you land on "Chance", then "In

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-21834182016832258882009-09-27T14:23:00.000-07:002009-09-27T14:45:35.630-07:00

So many of us flippantly say that we believe in Jesus. Some of us do; many of us don't. And of the ones that do, I would argue that we all struggle with practical doubt/disbelief. I'm sure when people read that they maybe get nervous, and say "no I don't doubt Jesus, I believe it fully!"Let me use this as an example: If you are a follower of Jesus, I have a few questions for you. You believe

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-40222518280505822032009-09-13T15:22:00.000-07:002009-09-14T12:04:46.491-07:00

"Anxiety, misplaced shame, indifference, regret, covetousness, envy, lust, bitterness, impatience, despondency, pride—these are all sprouts from the root of unbelief in the promises of God."- John PiperSo recently I have felt myself crying out "increase (my) faith", much like the apostles in Luke 17:5 as I, much like them, realize more and more the cost and call of Christ on my life. As I see

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-35032479046290703502009-09-01T13:47:00.000-07:002009-09-01T15:59:25.416-07:00

"The sufficiency of Scripture reminds us that in our doctrinal and ethical teaching we should emphasize what Scripture emphasizes and be content with what God has told us in Scripture. There are some subjects about which God has told us little or nothing in the Bible. We must remember that 'The secret things belong to the Lord our God' (Deut 29:29) and that God has revealed to us in Scripture

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-53448157464117443102009-08-29T20:48:00.000-07:002009-08-29T20:57:26.855-07:00

Donald Miller, in Through Painted Deserts, writes "I could not have know then that everybody, every person, has to leave, has to change like seasons; they have to or they die. The seasons remind me that I must keep changing, and I want to change because it is God's way.""I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-73644088779402295222009-08-19T07:40:00.001-07:002009-08-20T10:58:05.210-07:00

Being in Las Vegas puts me through a lot of emotions and thoughts. I think my initial response is awe at the lights and extravagance of everything. But then I remember where all this money came from, and where all this money could have gone. I think about how if people decided to give their money to poor people who are starving around the world instead of giving into the excitement and rush of

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-44046777528397178992009-08-19T07:14:00.001-07:002009-08-19T23:31:35.871-07:00

After getting stuck behind a big oversized truck who was going about 25 miles per hour on a single lane road with a speed limit of 70 for about 45 minutes, the driver finally thought it was time to pull over to the shoulder to allow the 20-30 cars waiting behind him to pass. A few miles later we stopped to get a little lunch, but took it on the road with us because we were pressing for time to

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-4213317599749397672009-08-13T21:48:00.001-07:002009-08-13T22:17:36.259-07:00

So we had planned on leaving this morning at 6:45am, but there was a specific gender, not male, that was late and we finally left around 7:30. We headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park first thing. I tell you, I have never seen anything like this before in my life. I'm not used to seeing things so big and grand in Ohio or anywhere else in the East. We drove all the way up to 12,000 feet in

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-32703670681167945112009-08-12T21:15:00.000-07:002009-08-12T21:24:41.457-07:00

So we spent about 10 hours on the road today going through Kansas and some of Colorado on our way to Denver. Kansas is so flat that you can see for miles and miles off of the highway. We drove along this road amongst an ocean of green going as far as the eye could see. Kansas is pretty bare of large attractions and industrialized areas, but it was really cool in a different sort of

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-79508561267994486172009-08-12T10:21:00.000-07:002009-08-12T10:30:38.128-07:00

I am sitting in a gas station with WiFi in Salena, Kansas right now. It is seven of us on the trip: Luke Marzano, Melissa Toomey, Kari Dye, Cat Van Wagner, Autumn Partlow, Lainey Hart, and myself. We left at 7:00am yesterday and didn't arrive at the hotel just short of Kansas City until around 11:30pm (which would have been 12:30am without the time change). So it was quite a long day on the

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-41324090665828681132009-08-04T10:51:00.000-07:002009-08-09T08:10:35.677-07:00

This whole past week I have been able to say my goodbyes to all of my friends in Marietta, OH. On Monday (27th) night some of my friends threw me a little surprise going away party. During much of the week I was able to spend time with people close to me whether it was in a hot tub, at a campfire, at dinner, getting ice cream, or whatever it might be. Time well spent. My last night in Marietta,

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-29301828414514797552009-07-11T13:59:00.000-07:002009-07-11T14:24:04.731-07:00

So some of my friends and I just did a yard sale to raise money for World Vision, an organization that does a lot to fight poverty overseas. We raised close to $600, which is great, but I honestly was somewhat humiliated and frustrated while I was there. I HAD SO MUCH STUFF. I filled my entire car, a friend's truck bed, and another friend's back seat with bags of clothes, furniture, dishwear,

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-3809984636590133872009-07-06T09:40:00.000-07:002009-07-06T10:14:58.492-07:00

My Position in Marietta Ending:After serving as the Youth and College Minister out of First Baptist and on the campus of Marietta College for the past three years, I was informed that the church would not be continuing my position for a fourth year. It was communicated to me that it was for financial reasons. I apologize that I haven't been able to inform many of you of this until recently, but

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-60318541506855088482009-06-22T09:13:00.001-07:002009-06-23T08:17:02.204-07:00

I went on a bike ride today and along the bike path there was a sign put up to honor the people from Marietta who played a part in the underground railroad. For some reason today it struck me that these people being praised for what they had done were in reality undermining and violating the cultural and political system of their time. According to the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, any person

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-59310740087736447982009-06-03T08:36:00.000-07:002009-06-03T08:38:46.787-07:00

It’s not that I don’t believe is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I do. But belief is something that means so much more than we commonly like to admit. For the longest time I was taught that belief was something easy, something cheap, and something casual; it was easy to believe. It seemed like if you asked anyone around me if they believed in Jesus, they would respond with a casual “yea sure

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3515535268201845638.post-70118316851202466472009-06-03T08:18:00.000-07:002009-06-03T08:23:16.647-07:00

I am constantly thinking about what it means to be saved. I look out at America and see that 80% of people claim to be Christians and yet very few are really following. They prayed a prayer. They know the stories and verses. They dress up nice. They come to church every Sunday. Yet they haven’t been transformed. I struggle through what to think of this. I am tired of seeing this complacent,

Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16317611665580090715noreply@blogger.com1