Trump, Hillary, and being a Christian in 2016

Disclaimer: This post is written by a guy who is trying to follow Jesus but at the same time a complete sinner. In addition to not being perfect, I am also not an eloquent writer. Hence why I prefer conversations to journaling.

This post is more towards the people that would identify themselves as Christian in 2016 (Note: I hate that even have to clarify this, but by Christian I mean on purpose follower of Jesus.) If you don't fall into this category, I probably can't put a justification on why you are happy/sad with this election.

I feel like many of the Christians voting for Trump are really concerned about the state of America and really want drastic change here quickly. It is perfect acceptable to want the best for the country you are living in, but just know that being an American on an eternal scale means just about nothing. If you are truly listening to God and what he wants for your life, then you could pack your backs and move to another country tomorrow (And if you think that is crazy you may need to increase your worldview some.) If you wind up living in America forever that's great, but your concern for the place you live in will never be worth compromising what you believe in (Matt 16:26). Trump has said many things that do not lineup with a Godly man, but he is also not imcapable of change and repentance. But just because he is capable of doing great things doesn't forgive or excuse what he has done. No amount of positive change he makes in a political arena can justify that. (If your read that and don't think Trump led a rhetoric of hate in his campaign, please give me your female family members  phone numbers and I will repeat his words to them word for word. Same goes to minorities.)

For those of you who supported Hillary and find Trump horrible, I would consider asking you to do some soul searching and examine if your personal compass is lined up with God's absolute truth. Hillary has broke the law and has not owned up to her actions either (And once again, if you think this didn't happen we may need to discuss what is/isn't a crime. Not meaning to do something doesn't not make it a crime). I know the rage of sexual assault or racism may not burn you like other crimes, but we cannot justify some sins and give others a pass. All sin is equal but some have different consequences than other. It pains me to see some people go to Hillarys defense when she has a poor worldview as well. I believe she cares about gay rights but I don't believe she cares about gay people. Don't be offended by the lack of LGBT rights in America and okay with the slaughter of gay people in the streets  in other countries (and if I have to state why this is relevant to this discussion, you probably haven't done your research on Sec. Clinton).

Disagreement with this stance is okay, you may just need to reevaluate your personal faith and beliefs. I would love to see what in your life that the Bible says is wrong that are justifying in contrast to the sins that infuriate you on a high level.

Don't let your anger for one category of wrongdoings allow you to justify another. Republicans had more options than Trump. And Democrats let the system pick their candidate. Neither candidate can stop God's plan for our lives and the mission he has put us here for. I hope this election cycle encourages you to seek more truth, expand your worldview, and redefine your purpose in Christ.

No Desire for Christ

This is a follow up to my previous blog, which you can read before this one. If you don't like long reads that jump all over the place I get that, but you're wrong and I hate you. :-)

I lack discipline in my life in many ways. In terms of my walk with Christ, that relates to not reading my bible, not having prayer time, not being active in Church or community. But in reality that is not it at all, because I simply do not wake up every morning desperate for Christ. I think since rededicating my life to Christ over 3 years ago, I have seen my relationship with Christ as a sincere "want" and "ought" and not a "need".

Let me explain. I am not married. So I use this example from perspective not experience.

I don't think any man sets out to be a bad husband. Even a man with the worst intentions for marriage (sex, status, money) doesn't do so with the intent to fail. I can't see a man put his heart on the line, pursue a woman, care about her needs and interests, blow money on a ring, work up the guts to propose, blow more money on a wedding and honeymoon, buy a house, get a dog, and pop a few kids out just to say "Fuck it, time to start screwing everything up". Most men "want" to be a good and probably think they "ought" to be a good husband. But when the shit hits the fan, they justify giving up because even though their intentions were there, there was no DESIRE to fight. There is no NEED to fight. With no desire or need, failure is an option. And they give up.

And that's where I have found myself lately. I want a deep relationship with Christ and know I ought to pursue him daily. But the truth of the matter is I haven't seen the need. And that allowed me to think some very scary thoughts.

I really do believe in God, Jesus, his ministry on earth, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. I believe in the Bible and the things that Jesus said. There is so much grace, hope, and patience for nonbelievers and so many harsh rebukes and promises for lukewarm Pharisees that I began to become afraid of what might happen if I stayed in that middle ground too long. And if I couldn't become this awesome, Christ pursing man of God that the only option that would allow me to sleep at night and save face would be to disassociate myself with Christianity completely. To add more fuel to my fire, I listened to a podcast that interviewed David Bazan. He was an evangelical Christian singer who many believers looked up to as a hero, only to eventually walk away from the faith despite a believe in God. His exact words were "I didn't want to keep sinning just so grace could abound". And I was like "Boom. That's me right now. If I can't get it together with Christ, I don't want to waste his grace on my sin and act like something I'm not. And if a guy that was a considered a Christian's christian can do it, then why can't I ?". I legitimately pondered that, even to back it up with my Reformed thinking that if I was saved that I would go to heaven regardless.

For some reason, God didn't allow that to simmer in my head very long. Boldly I opened up to a friend of mine who spoke some simple but powerful truth into my life.

The moment Christ comes into your life, that is the day you stop being lukewarm

It really resonated with me, that I had no power in going back to my old ways. I am running as hard as I've ever ran from Christ, and he still has a grip on me. He knew that I was going to come to this point, all the sins I was going to commit, and he died for me anyways.

I have to start putting that on the forefront of my mind daily. God is doing his work I need to mine. I don't need to read my Bible daily. I need to learn more about the life of Jesus daily. I don't need to pray more. I need to surrender more and listen for God's voice. I don't need more church or community. I need to fellowship with believers that can praise God for what he is doing while holding each other accountable with the goal of growing in Christ whether you had a great week or a terrible one. And most importantly, I need to stop wallowing on what I did, and constantly focus on what Christ has already done and what he wants to continue to do in my life.

If you read this, pray that God removes these thoughts from my brain and places them all into my heart. That I stop writing and saying what I think I'm supposed to do, but that I can start doing what I need to do to know Christ more.

Hunter

Falling Out / Forward Motion

I'm finally getting enough courage to type out this blog. It has been 170 days since I moved away from the Dominican Republic and back to America. I haven't really discussed a lot of what brought me back from what was a clear calling from God to live in the DR.

In the weeks leading up to my initial departure to the DR, my relationship with Jesus was not where it should of been for someone pursuing a career in vocational ministry, especially one located overseas. I was just so ready to leave my retail job and living with my parents and go do something to make a difference in the world. My dad was particularly unsupportive in my moving away, and negatively expressed that in a way that really strained our relationship. I did not want to deal with that, fueling my desire to leave. I literally was so desperate to get away, I willingly moved away with almost no financial support. I had to borrow money from my brother just to buy a one way plane ticket.

I honestly believe that in the grand scheme of things, my time in the DR had nothing to do with me influencing students in any way. That is not to say I didn't influence lives on a daily basis; I built relationships with many young men and women that I will cherish forever. But I believe the entire process was meant to expose my flaws as a man and break me down to the point where I had nothing left but God to build me back up.

My relationship with Jesus disappeared while I was in the DR. There is honestly no other way to put it. I put on about as good of a front as I could, but inside my soul was slowly wilting away. I have never believed the Bible quite as much as I do when I read "What the heart contains overflows out of the mouth" (rough translation, didn't feel like looking it up). I would literally say things to students and peers that I would never say to another person. I would get angry to a level that I didn't know existed on my personal mood range. I literally had nothing positive to give anybody. I wasn't waking up desperate for Christ, I was waking up wondering when the next time I got to lock myself in my room and hide from people. It wasn't like there wasn't people to talk to on campus, but it was more like I felt like there was no one double checking on me. I sat in a hammock one day, with no one off of work to talk, no internet to call home, literally as alone as I have ever felt. There was times where I literally was destroyed mentally but had to work because there was no one else to work.

The final 2 weeks in the DR were some of the worst my life. I wasn't working effectively with students, didn't have any energy left to work and eventually broke down. I knew that if I didn't make a change and quick, I would end up diving deeper into darkness and farther away from God. I knew that I was/am called to share the Gospel with others, but I didn't know how to do that without any support to grow my walk and without a gameplan of how to outreach to our students. I couldn't keep taking money from my friends and family to simply work a childcare supervison job that was causing me to drift away from God.

Once I moved back to America, I didn't know how to adjust. Just the comforts of being back near friends, family, and my church was a nice bandaid. But the wound on my heart was scabbed but not healed. I still hadn't established a relationship with Christ again, and threw myself into work. I continued to put on a front and act okay, but inside was still very hurt.

That is the main reason I am writing all of this is because I am taking of furthering my walk with the Lord. I am done living in bonadage and slavery to sin. I am going on the offensive against the enemy by opening up the darkness in my life to God's light. I have confessed my sins and struggles to the mentors in my life, and now am publicly sharing to break the hold that it has had over life. My walk with God is still very poor, but my heart feels light (light weight, warmth from light, and brightness of light) for the first time in a while. I ask that if you are reading this, you pray for God to continue to blow on the embers of my heart, in hopes the fire that was once there will grow larger than ever before.

I really am thankful for my time in the DR. I have zero hard feelings or regrets about anything or anyone. I had many awesome moments and built some amazing relationships there. There were times where I opened up with glimpses of my struggles to people there, so thank you to those who prayed for me and listened (you know who you are). And thanks to every person in America who gave or prayed for me. I am eternally thankful for your generosity and believing in me no matter what. It took this past stormy season of really cultivating my soul to show how much I still have to grow as a Man of God. I am excited about the fruit that is about to show up in my life and how I am going to grow in the Spirit in the coming months.

In Christ,

Hunter

3 Ways to Support Me in the DR

Lots of people have questions about ways they can support me during my time in the Dominican Republic. So I decided to make a list of ways you can help me out.

1. Prayer

I need this more than anything! Please be praying for me on a daily basis. Pray for my walk with Christ. Pray that God continues to reveal his purpose for my life. Pray for Caribbean Mountain Academy (where I work), the staff and students here, and that we as a campus move closer together and closer to Christ.

2. Care Packages

I love Care Packages! Besides being filled with useful items I need, they also remind me home and remind me I am never alone on my journey!

Here are a list of items I always need plenty of:

Gatorade Powder
Workout Shirts and Gym Shorts (C9 at Target - Cheap and Great!) XXL
Socks and Boxers (Size 13 and XXL)
Snacks (Beef Jerky, Packets of Tuna Fish (no cans!), Raw Almonds and Cashews, Raw Sunflower Kernels, Dried Fruit)
Toiletries (Toothpaste, Bar Soap, Shampoo, Deodorant)

I also would love it if you include letters or notes along with anything you send!

You can send any care packages to

Hunter Yates

3170 Airmans Dr. # 3039 CMADR                                      

Ft. Pierce,  FL 34946

3. Financial Support Team

I am a full support missionary, which basically means I rely 100% on people financially supporting me on a monthly basis. The money I receive goes towards my living expenses (gas, food, clothing) and in an emergency fund. Every donation counts and goes towards allowing me to stay in the DR.

To give towards my fund, visit the Crosswinds Staff Support page HERE and click next to my name and picture. You can set it up to become a monthly giver or just to give a one time donation.

(And for more about what I do in the Dominican Republic at Caribbean Mountain Academy, watch this video!)

Thanks for reading!

In Christ ,

Hunter

The Transition

I hate blogging. Let me be more specific. I don't like writing in general. I am one of those people who never took notes in school and I can't translate my thoughts into a journal. That is why I love having friends I can talk to and vent my thoughts. My mentor Rob Cupp said I was one of the most complex people he had ever tried to pick the brain of. I would rather be an awesome storyteller than writer anyways. That being said, I wanted to get some of my thoughts out on here.

I turned 23 yesterday. I am happy with where my life is right now. I get to serve the Lord by serving people in one of the most beautiful countries in the World. I have an awesome family who I love dearly. I have amazing friends who I get to walk life with. Most importantly, I have an awesome Savior who Loves me and lifts me up even when I seem to screw up like it is my second job.

There are still things I want though. I hope I don't sound greedy. I know that if I died today I would go blessed with the life I have lived so far and would go with a full heart. But there are more things I want for my life.

I want to be a Godly husband to a woman who love Jesus and brings me closer to him daily. I want to be a father to kids who have the opportunities I never had and be the first pastor in their lives. I want to finish school and see what career field God puts me in. I want to be in at least one cage fight, or at minimum a pro wrestling match. Okay, so maybe that last one won't ever happen. A boy can dream.

My hobby as of late has been laying in bed dreaming about those things. I have a bad habit of thinking about the future too much and not enjoying what God has for me right now. I was literally in the DR a week and I had a thought something like "Okay Hunter, what are you going to do next with your life?" The problem with this kind of thinking is that it can never accomplish any of these things for me. Even worst, I spent my time dreaming about these things instead of reading my bible and going to the Lord in prayer. I could feel my spiritual life tanking, but my retreat was going to my mind in fantasy and not in the Lord.

But then I heard this verse in a sermon.

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart" Psalm 37:4

Now I had heard that verse plenty of times in the past. I'm not sure why it struck such a cord with me this time. All I know is this is all that has been going through my head the last week.

I have the unique opportunity in my life where I get a chance to pursue God away from the distractions of America and all the comforts of home. I am learning that is one of the main reasons I am here and one of the main reasons I never got close to accomplishing any of those things while I was in South Carolina.

God moved me to another country so that I would put ALL of my delight in him. He wants to give me the desires of my heart, but he has to be the person I desire most before any of that can happen. Honestly he wasn't my main desire when I was home. He was an important aspect of my life, but not my everything. Things that he uses to glorify him were my everything (Small group, Church, Family), but not Jesus himself. This has been a hard transition but also a very beautiful one. For the first time ever, God was literally the only person I had to talk to. And when I mean literally, I mean I felt like I was one of those weird kids in movies who has an imaginary friend. The Good News is, God is not imaginary. He is not dead. He is alive and as real as anybody reading this right now. And at the end of the day, I am finding myself drawn closer to him and I am excited to see how I am refined because of this.

Please continue to pray for me as God continues to work in my life and as I serve him in the Dominican Republic.

In Christ,

Hunter

Greetings from Jarabacoa!

Hola!

I am approaching 2 weeks here at CMA and it has been a jam packed experience so far.

It was a surreal experience walking around campus the first night I was here. The idea of being somewhere new but knowing where everything was and already having relationships here was amazing.

Working with the students has been amazing. I see so much potential in their lives and even through their struggles I know God is doing work in their hearts.

I'm excited to see what God has for me here and to see how he provides.

Speaking of providing, I need prayers on a few things.

1) Continue praying for my walk, that I continue to seek out Christ, allow him to pour into my life, and that he allow me to pour into others.

2) Pray and consider joining my monthly support team. I have only around $300 of monthly donations. I am provided for here with meals and an awesome house, but need to raise that amount to around $750 so I can pay for living expenses and daily costs. (There is information on how to join my team on my previous blog post.)

3) TRANSPORTATION

I need to purchase a vehicle within the next month or so, which will allow me to go into town as well as travel around campus (CMA is on a mountain, fyi). I am looking to get a 4 Wheeler because I have no motorcycle experience not to mention I have the body frame of an offensive lineman.

The cost of this will be around $3000. I currently have around $1000. I would love if anyone reading this would consider making a One-time donation to go directly to the cost of purchasing this. I know that is asking a lot but I am faithful that God provides in times of need. (There is information on One time giving on my previous blog post.)

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions about anything!

In Christ,

Hunter

Read this to Join my team!

Exciting News!!!

My support page is finally up and ready to go!!!! In case you didn't know, I have accepted a job in the Dominican Republic working at Caribbean Mountain Academy. You can read more about CMA and my journey there on my last blog post (My Journey).

I am asking those reading this to begin lifting me up in prayer, and then consider financially supporting me by joining One or Both of the following teams. My scheduled move date is January 10th, so I need your support and quick!

Please read all of this before trying to give! :-)

Monthly Supporters

You guys are my backbone. I am relying on faithful funders to support me on this journey. My entire salary is dependent on people like you coming alongside me. In fact, I cannot even book my flight until I am fully funded which means having a team of givers behind me ready to go.

My current goal is to raise $750 dollars a month. I have calculated this down to 30 people giving $25 dollars a month. Not a lot of money when you think about the opportunity I have to be a light in the lives of some troubled teens.  (If you have more questions about this, please call/text me at (803) 309 - 1844 or send me a message on Facebook.)

To join this team, click HERE and scroll down to the last section entitled "Staff Support" and click the purple "Donate Now" button. This will redirect you to the giving form.

Fill out your personal information, then under the section entitled "Donation" go to "Frequency" and select "Monthly Recurring". To the right of that, select "Staff - Yates" under the "Staff Support" dropdown menu.

(It is very important you click "Monthly Recurring" and "Staff Yates" to make sure your donation is credited properly.)

Enter your debit/credit card information, enter your donation amount, and then click "Support Us" to finish the transaction.

(This will auto-draft off of the card you enter, so take that into consideration if you use multiple debit/credit cards.)

One Time Donations

I understand that some people would love to give but can't commit to monthly donations. I would love it if you would consider donation towards my initial move fund. I am looking to raise $1000 initially for when I first arrive in the DR. This will cover transportation costs, household equipment, and living expenses. No amount is too small, so if you are able to please consider making a one-time donation.

To join this team, click HERE and scroll down to the last section entitled "Staff Support" and click the purple "Donate Now" button. This will redirect you to the giving form.

Fill out your personal information, then under the section entitled "Donation" go to "Frequency" and select "One Time". To the right of that, select "Staff - Yates" under the "Staff Support" dropdown menu.

(It is very important you click "One Time" and "Staff Yates" to make sure your donation is credited properly.)

Enter your debit/credit card information, enter your donation amount, and then click "Support Us" to finish the transaction.

Thank you all for reading and thanks in advance for giving. I will be posting on social media and this blog updating you on the process. And remember, January 10th is my move date, so I am asking humbly for those giving to do so swiftly!

"Now to him who is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20

God Bless!

Hunter