Friday, February 04, 2005

lose a friend maybe gain a brother/sister

my time in bako was not what i desired it to be. no crystal palace, no dewars, no 21st? or 24th or 28th st diner i dont remember the name or location of that diner, but man they had some of hte best chile verde i have ever tasted. my time entailed nothing more than driving there and then back. there was a student of mine from the past that i had counseled up at camp that called out of the blue and wanted to come volunteer up at camp for a few weeks. we are still short two people for our winter/ spring staff (if you pray please pray for those spots) and i thought it would be great and awesome for this person to live in some community for awhile. prayed, sounded good and went for it. we were in pasadena the day they arrived and then we arrived back to camp wednesday night after a day of work, immediately we were bombarded with people talking about this new employee and what had happened that day. i heard and asked and then talked with this person. basically the stories didn't line up and there was some stuff that definitely was unacceptable. then through a good two hour conversation and prayer time with this person, jesus revealed some stuff that i discerned to be not right and potentially unsafe for them or others. after a sleepless night and some wrestling with Jesus as well as counsel from people i trust and listening to those with discerning gifts, i decided to ask this person to leave. man it was hard but i think right. so on thursday and i drove them back to bako. hard stuff and i second guess, but i think i heard right. i received a call back from this person the other day, and was told that i was no longer viewed as a friend. it hurt to lose a friend, but hopefully i will gain a brother/sister. paul mentions this in his writings, but never thought i would have to live it, turning one over to their flesh that they may be saved. it was a silent car ride to bako and back.