Posted in General Posts by Joe Bugg on 5/3/2011
hey world joe jr here. last month was a new chapter in the wr for a number of reasons. being the new member on a team brings extra challenges other then the day to day ministry. having to meet 6 new people and learn there personalities and how they think and act and how to interact with them. this is what i figured what my focus for the month would be but as per usual it was on the back burner. i was downloading much different information. God opened up and showed me his heart. his huge, unfailing, loving heart. he showed me that to have a heart like him meant to love. if uv gone to church ur hole loofa uv heard that a million time and if you are like me you thought you knew that that means but didn't fully go through with walking it out. Gods love is to love the people who society deems unloveable, the gangbangers, murderers, rapists, thiefs; those are God's children too and he loves them the same as he loves you or anyone else. i watched two movies that helped me see his love that i highly recommend, furious love and finger of God are radicle moves about his love and show a little piece at how you as christians are supposed to act. i need prayer and practice on how to live this out because i also want my heart to be closer to the heart of jesus. a group of men whom i said with last month made a decision to do whatever it took to grow closer to God and hold each other accountable and bring each other up when we fell. leaning on other men has opened me up to hear from Him differently and drawn me into a new chapter in my life. He has big plans for me, i know this because im being attacked by the enemy very harsh and intensely and as it says in the good book to give thanks for your hardships. thats all i got 4 now. duces.
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Posted in General Posts by Joe Bugg on 4/8/2011
b4 we went on the world race we knew there was a strong possibility of your original team changing. and this month that happened. my beloved artist formally known as team POP was dismembered. just as i think im getting comfortable im thrown on a new team. i guess God doesn't want me to get comfy and thats not what this years about. i love team pop and they're my jam. we had such a unique team dynamic in that we acted like a family. a real family. we came to each other with our problems and with our achievements. we also loved giving each other a hard time which made me feel right at home if you know my mom or dads sides of the family. but God has closed that chapter now and started i am now on team rooted and am excited to see what God has to show me through my new team. Rosa Cruz, Erin Grets, Hayley Crum, Rachell Metscer, Denise Bavone, and Lamar Anderson. they were all on a team together last month so i feel a little like the new guy and don't really know any of them to well but i do know God has me hear for a reason and i will trust him in that. one thing im looking forward to is having lamar on my team. he's the oldest man on our squad and i am the youngest but we have a great chemistry and will learn a lot from each other.
well party...
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Posted in General Posts by Joe Bugg on 3/17/2011
month 2 had team pop shipped to south quito, ecuador where we came alongside a church and school called shekinah where we were teachers assistants, PE teachers. and english teachers by day, (from 8 to 1) and by night (3 to 5ish) construction workers, painters, and salon stylist. the month stretched team pop in multiple ways, separated from each other we all had a host family where we would sleep and eat all our meals. we were also told at the beginning of the month that south quito was a dangerous place and that we had to be careful at all times and the girls couldn't walk by themselves at night, i could tell they weren't thrilled with their loss of freedom but we all make sacrifices to come on the race. a few days in we started getting in the groove of daily living and after a night of ministry and team time i had walked my teammate Sarah to her host family and started walking home when a hand full of young me asked me a question in spanish. Speaking very little spanish i couldn't understand them and once they realized that they were ready to attack. Realizing i was a foreigner they assumed i had valuables on me and one pulled out a 4 inch butterfly knife and they started to approach me. Seeing the knife and 5 to 6 ecuadorians coming at me was enough info for me to turn and run. with them chasing behind me i hit corners and alleys and was able to loose them but with pastor fabian hearing the news we now had to have a spanish speaker with us at all times at night. on top of this i hear my best friend from home, Wesley's brother Wilson, also a close friend had passed away. the news broke me. i wanted so badly to be with the Holloway family to comfort them the way they had been for me last year when my father passed. Not getting to hurt but talking with Wes and having my family send my condolences helped but the month drove me to question a lot of things and drove me to the Lords Word which helped me in my grieving. i still wish i could be there for the Holloways but knowing that the father God has them in his arms makes it ok that i cant hold them.
Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
Jeremiah 31:13
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Posted in General Posts by Joe Bugg on 2/22/2011
after a long month of ministry we head down from mnt coffee to what we think is a couple days of relaxing and recharging. we spend a couple days doing so but on our last day right before all the teams leave for dinner, everyone relaxing, and all of a sudden a girl runs in the house and hells FIRE!!!!!!! in a panic and everyone runs out to see what they can do to help. By the time we get out there the house is burning up pretty good so the fist thing done is a Dominican kicks the door in and we grab 4 kids out 2 little girls and 2 little boys then yanked the living room furniture out and looked how we could control the blaze. earlier in the day i had gone to refill our entire squads water supply and a couple men go snag our ten gallons and a bucket and i grabbed the hose from next door and started squirting the fire. some how the completely inflamed house was tamed by a couple buckets of water and a garden hose, and by the time the fire truck go there the fire was out. a true miracle. the rest of the night we got to spend loving on the kids and family who's house was torched, a noter opportunity given to us to show God's love. we finally get to sleep later and a have another day till we have to leave 4 the airport at 1am for our 8 o'clock flight and 26 hrs straight of travel... hurray world race!!!
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Posted in General Posts by Joe Bugg on 1/25/2011
so a small group of us decide to hike to a small village called monte cafe, or mount coffee for u gringos, a good hike about 6 hours away. after a 5 o'clock start we start the climb up and 15 mins into it im already soaked with sweat and know im in for a long day... After numerous water breaks, snack breaks, and a few vomit breaks we get there and have a good welcoming even though we came in the middle of their festival worshiping Marry, a direct spiritual battle of why we were there, we pray at some peoples homes, have a great dinner, reflect on the day, and set up camp to head out in the morning. as we wake we get news blanco our guide to get us back home partied a little to hard last night and could make it on a count of a wicked hang over so we decide to hick to the trail and wait for another guide but on our way we find blanco still lit up like a christmas tree but ready to take us back to monte frio. we decide to jump into the river to sober him up and the first 5 hrs go along smooth except him getting a little teary eyed while remembering his recently deceased brother till he about passes out from exhaustion and has to stop. we give him a couple hand fulls of raisins, a half jar of peanut butter, a canteen of water and he takes a power nap as half of us walk ahead. a half hour latter im told he wakes up and kills the rest of the peanut butter sakes for more water, which they are out of, hops up and runs the rest of the mountain and we meet up at the first corner store where we all meet back up for some much needed water and rest. all in a days work for a racer....
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Posted in General Posts by Joe Bugg on 1/19/2011
Hey You Guys!!!!!!! after a couple, couple days of picking coffee, door to door evangelism, and construction its time for a much needed day of rest. i get to sleep in quite a bit till the roosters wake me up all sweaty in my hot tent to a great day with nothing planed. a few of our team members went down the mnt. for supplies and food while the rest of us get to shower, do some laundry and relax. and vie never needed a shower worse. it was SOOO awesome. like one of those herbal essence shampoo commercials with me screaming YES! YES!!!!!! also the food truck gets here b4 the others so we decide to munch some chips and salsa and walk a lil up the mountain to get a taste of home, ether sprite or coke, pick your poison. well good to talk to y'all. how do you say handsome???.....
oh p.s. ill be headed down the mountain to civilization on the 31 maybe able to skip the 1st 2nd and 3rd
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Posted in General Posts by Joe Bugg on 1/14/2011
wow i cant believe i'm finally here! sorry for the delay on the blogs, i'm writing this not knowing when ill be able to send it because i'm in the Dominican Republic in the mountains in a small village called Monta Sita and theres no power let alone internet. we are visiting their church and helping them in any way possible for the next couple weeks and i'm supper excited to see what God has in store for us. after our debriefing in Santo Domingo were we stayed at a local catholic church we have an awesome and relaxing day at the beach and our send off is the next day. after about a 3 hr crammed buss ride to the base of our mountain we r dropped off by gas station and our team pop and team his has a 3 hr wait 4 our pick ups to come get us. somehow this wait seems maybe 45 min because the company is great. after that we load up our truck world race style and head up the mountain. and when i say up i mean vertical. ridding in the back of the truck on top of our packs with my pop brothers jeremy and justin was an awesome experience. its a noter 2 hr.ish ride but this time we've got maybe the most beautiful view i have ever seen. the tropical mountains r like nothing I've ever seen and my words would do it little justus. as we finally get to Monta Sita we brush the dirt off and set up camp on a hill above the church. Fransis the pastors brother has been showing us around the town which all sits just off the road because its the only ground flat enough to live on. after seeing he and his brothers house where we are served the local coffee and I have never tasted coffee this delicious and immediately think of the 2 coffee main drinkers and how they would never leave this place, hattie bug and sam birdcall you'll have to go taste it for yourself and check out this view. well every one ill write another blog b4 i get to send this but keep the prayers coming and ill keep writing. love ya!!! peace!!!!
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