David Stippick
Why I am doing Mission Year
My name is David Stippick, I am 19 (although in case you were wondering I will turn 20 on Dec. 10th), and I am about to embark on an incredible experience called Mission Year.
I accepted Christ on August 18th 2004, so I am a fairly young Christian. I’ve taken every opportunity I can find to grow spiritually, and be closer to God, and Mission Year is one of those opportunities. I have a passion for missions, and bringing Gods word, and the Truth of Jesus Christ to people all over the world. In my short time as a believer, I have been to Brazil and New York twice, and Atlanta and Arlington once. By the time I begin my mission year I will have been back to both Arlington, and New York.
I have spent the past year and a half trying to get into the middle of Gods will for my life, and figure out what it is he wants me to do with it. I have every confidence that during this year he will show me exactly that.
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
David Stippick's Blog
The park down the street. / Jul 20, 02:52 PM
Last weekend, we did our Justice Project.
The point of the Justice Project was to find an injustice in our community, and act on it. This could be something we do, or something that we assist empowering our neighbors to do, since we will soon be gone.
We settled on cleaning up the park down the street from our apartment. Several weeks ago, we decided on painting over the graffiti, and giving the park a fresher look, fixing two broken benches, cementing in some monkey bars that were already there, and fixing the swings (with better chain) and see-saw we’d put in several months ago, painting a mural on a wall, and getting new nets for the basketball hoops.
Last week, we went around and handed out flyers, and talked to our neighbors about our park work day, and cookout. Saturday morning came, and we rose bright and early to head out and try and beat the heat.
Several kids showed up pretty early on, and started helping with the painting, and Braxton, Jacob, Earl (from the garden) and a few other set to work on the swings. I was tasked with cutting and drilling holes in the wood that would be the bench backs, and see saw (Those of you who know me well, know that this could have turned out not so great, but don’t worry, I had Braxton check my measurements, AND I measured once, and cut twice. Kidding. Measured twice, cut and drilled once. Be proud, it all worked.)
Since I was doing this at the house, I missed most of what was going on in the park, but when I finally got over there, the place looked almost brand new! It was fantastic. We stopped and ate lunch (I devoured four hot dogs, and chips enough for three or four) around noon, and had a great sitting and chatting with the kids.
I think that my favorite part of the day was the kids. They took real ownership in helping out, because this is THEIR park. We’ll be gone in two weeks, but now they don’t have to look at explicit graffiti, or swing on swings that will break in a week or two, and they helped. They can tell people they helped put the swing together. They helped paint that mural. It was a really neat experience.
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Jesse / Jul 20, 02:51 PM
I met Jesse last fall. He was in the Disciple program at the New Orleans Mission where Katie, Braxton, and I help serve dinner once a week (sometimes more, depending on what Loretta needs).
As the weeks went by, we began to develop a relationship with Jesse, and he was one of the people I looked forward to seeing every week. I can’t remember how far back it was, but I remember going in one day, and he wasn’t there. When we asked around, we found out that Jesse had left the program. He was just days away from graduating out. He had tried to get in contact with his daughter and she refused him. He had to drink. And probably more.
I didn’t see Jesse for months, and honestly after a while, I stopped wondering about what had happened to him. Two weeks ago, as I was sitting in the kitchen making sure the serving line ran smoothly, I saw Jesse come through the line. I didn’t have time for more than a quick hello, but he didn’t look good at all.
This last Thursday, I was working the serving line, and here came Jesse again. We exchanged hellos again, and I told him I’d be out to chat in a few minutes. By the time we were done serving, Jesse had left the dining hall, and gone to the room that functions as the sanctuary at the mission. I walked in and saw him standing against the wall, and as I walked towards him, he walked towards me, and sat on a pew.
Jesse had lost a significant amount of weight since he’d been living at the mission. This could be, I thought, because he’s not eating three square meals a day anymore. As I would come to find out though, it was due to his new (or rather old, but recently picked up again), and fairly steady diet of crack. He’d never been HUGE, but he was bigger, and it was mostly muscle. He wasn’t a shell now, but he was certainly a shell of the Jesse I’d met so many months ago.
As I sat down, we embraced, and I tried to hug a little tighter and longer than normal, hoping that God could show him love through that. We didn’t talk for more than five minutes, and I don’t know if I could have handled any longer than that, but in that time he shared that he had a job doing loading and unloading at the convention center, and that he was drinking and using again. Before I got up, I asked if I could pray for him, and he said yes. I don’t know what I said, because I was trying not to cry. That takes a lot of energy for me.
I should have taken some time and shared with Jesse about God’s intense love for him, and His desire that Jesse be freed from his circumstances. But I’m sure he’s heard all of that before. Maybe I should have told him about my own addiction that I’‘m trying to overcome. But no…that’d be to personal for me. Shouldn’t go there, right? The truth was, I was scared. What could I EVER say to a man who is more than twice my age, and has walked valleys I will never even DREAM of, that would mean anything?! I convinced myself that the answer to that question was a resounding ‘nothing’. So I walked away. I walked away. I’m not proud of this, but it’s what I did.
I got up and walked away. I don’t know if I’ll ever see Jesse again on this side of glory. But I hope I do. I hope Jesse is able to overcome the obstacles he has been faced with (especially the ones he has place in front of himself). But the odds say he won’t. That’s what breaks my heart. Please, please pray for Jesse.
Jesse, I love you brother, but even more than that, God loves you. More than you or I will ever know. I know that I will see you again someday, when death has lots it’s sting, there are no more tears, and the chains of addiction have been thrown off of the both of us.
Out Loud / Jul 14, 01:24 PM
One night last week while Meredith and I were cooking dinner, she asked if I minded if Jake sat in the kitchen to read out of the Bible to us. Honestly, I wasn’t so hot about the idea, usually when we are cooking dinner, or doing dishes, we put music on. I like music. So this, was different, and I wasn’t really looking forward to it. Of course, I said yes.
Jake came in, sat down, and started reading. I think he was in 1st or 2nd Chronicles. I tuned him out at first, but then figured I may as well listen, because I had nothing else to listen to. I was glad I made that decision.
I honestly can’t tell you what it is that he read, but I remember enjoying it. I do my best to spend time in the Word daily, and I don’t always do a great job of that. But even when I am doing it regularly, and getting something out of it, it can become monotonous.
I can’t really explain what it was, but there was just something about listening to someone read the Bible out loud while listening with others that was really cool.
Next time you’re preparing dinner, get the family involved, and have someone do the reading while the rest of you cook and set the table. Or pass take turns reading as you sit and eat as a family. Or do whatever works for you. Maybe you want to set specific time aside to just do that with family, or friends. You don’t have to make it a Bible Study, or a discussion (although don’t discourage questions), just…read the Word out loud with each other.
Just try it. You’ll like it. I promise.Comment [2]
Seek first. Then Speak. / Jul 14, 01:23 PM
We just finished a book called Living in Color, by Randy Woodley. Woodley is a Cherokee Indian, who does ministry primarily among Native Americans. I enjoyed much of what he had to say, and enjoyed reading something written from a new perspective. As Irvin said last night at our CityWide, we often times allow ourselves to see the color and cultural issues that the church faces as being in just black and white.
Anyway, the concept I enjoyed most from this book was that of understanding that God has already, or is revealing Himself in other cultures. I know that I, and I think that as the white western church, a lot of times have this image that we are bringing God everywhere.
He relates an old Cherokee story that I won’t try to relate here for fear of butchering it, but it conveys the concept of dying for someone else/others, and resurrection. As I was reading through this part of the book, I was also reading through Exodus, and I was at the point where Moses flees to Midian, and marries the daughter of the priest. I may have my context wrong, but I can’t help but wonder, if they were not Jews (and I assume if they were, they would be in captivity in Egypt…correct me if I’m wrong), how did the encounter God? He had to have revealed himself to them in some way at some time.
It is important for us to remember that even though we have the truth of scripture, God has begun to show truth to EVERY culture/people. It is our job to seek that out, and make those connections. Then, we can begin to show how the truths they have relate to scripture.
We only have a part of the picture. We should never be so arrogant as to think we have the whole thing. We have to find the parts that other people have, and try to make the whole picture.
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Genesis 1:9-10 or, The Beach / Jul 9, 11:03 AM
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Over the weekend, I got to go to Pensacola Beach with the staff of Rachel Sims Baptist Mission (my main service site), and their sister center Carver Baptist Center for the 4th of July. It’s a rough life I lead as a missionary here, I know, but SOMEONE has to do it.
We had a blast though. I spent the majority of Friday and Saturday chilling out on the beach. While I enjoyed that, I have to let you know that I am much more a fan of the idea of a day at the beach than I am of the actual day at the beach. You know what I mean? The sand in places it won’t come out of for days is not so much something I enjoy.
Anyway, on Friday, I came out of the water for a few minutes, and just watched everything around me, and taking in how beautiful it was. That was when God tapped me on the shoulder and was like ‘Pretty cool huh? I made it”, and I was thrust into contemplating God’s creation…again.
First, I was looking out at the expanse of ocean in front of me trying to see the difference in the sky and the water. I couldn’t find it. The horizon of each blended together. The sky went from blue to purple in the setting of the sun. The water was piercingly clear, you could see everything on the bottom (if you were in shallow enough water). I watched as a seagull hovered for a moment and then dove headfirst into the water, and came back up proudly soaring off with it’s captured prey. God made that creature, just as he made me. With love.
Then, I looked down at my hands where I was playing with the sand. I was reminded that God knows EVERY grain of sand, so how much more does he love me? I can’t even separate one grain from another, let alone BEGIN to WONDER how many there are in the entire world! It’s crazy mind boggling.
Anyway, those were just a couple of the things that were running through my head as I contemplated the incredibleness of God while I got a super sweet tan in Pensacola Florida.
