I am a Jesus Freak

Did that title catch your attention?

I experienced something ridiculous tonite. I experienced divine healing. I am not kidding. I almost feel ridiculous writing it or considering it, but I experienced it. I was at Wednesday service. I have been praying about my knee. Going to the doctor for physical therapy, I have been dealing with the "fact" that complete recovery will take at least 6-8 weeks. This is a fact that was not sitting too well with me. I even went into to my director today and told him I didn't think I could do most of the dances.

I met a man last week who approached us with a very interesting question: Where is your faith? This question, of course, he is relaying from God. It is easy to claim you have faith, but what if God were to say, you have gotten pretty good at praying and reading My Word, and attending church, but what about showing me your faith. That was tonite's message, a little bit of a rehash of last Sunday's guest's message.

Background on the guest: Dr. C, for the sake of safety and privacy.

He is a man with top credentials from both universities in S. Korea and in the states, with impressive post-doc work to boot. Despite all of this he said that in in his fist-sized heart he felt the vast emptiness of the entire universe. With the following question echoing in that endeless emptiness: " What have you done for God?"

To make a long story short (go to myjubileechurch.com to hear the entire sermon, amzing stuff really) he quit all that and decided to move to China. He initially went and taught as a professor and he befriended many of his students and would invite them to his apartment, and through that kindness and the wonder it sparked in his students, he showed them Jesus.

I really am not doing this man's story justice, so if you have time, please listen to the sermon; it is also quite entertaining. I promise you will roll around laughing, in pleasurable pain. He then decided he wanted to start a Christian school in Harbin, China, the place I will go this summer, however, he had no money. Despite the fact, he set a date and an ammount. January 10th. After months of praying, nothing came. As you may have guessed though, with the date approaching, he had acquired 50,000 dollars. On the night upon his departure to China, he had dinner with a pastor's wife who gave him a check. He figured it was money, and non-chalantly said, "anything helps," or something of that sort. When he arrived home, it irked him to find out how much was helping him get closer, on top of the already grand sum of 50,000, to the intended goal of 60,000 dollars. He was expecting 100 dollars or so. You may have guessed it...It was a check for 10,000 dollars! You really need to hear the sermon. This man is hilarious in his relating of this account. To only give a snippet, as he got on the plane to Beijing that night for a thirteen hour plane ride, being so excited and giddy, he found no other way to let out his joy than to go into to the bathroom stall, hug the toilet and scream into the flushing toilet. What a story, what a man, what a God!

Now with that out of the way. Tonight. My knee injury has truly been a struggle for me. I was praying for it and performing all the other procedures to make it better. However, being more humbled than ever tonite, I asked several people to pray over it. Sixth time is the charm as they say. When the sixth person laid hands on me and on my knee, I felt a literal something in my leg. At first, I just thought it was my leg going to sleep or something. It was a subtle kind of pins and needles feeling. The interesting thing is that she had asked me to get up from kneeling for her to pray for me. I was only on my knees for a couple of seconds, but that in itself was painful. But I was asking myself, "where is my faith." I know this my be hard for a non-believer to wrap their heads around, if you are still reading this at all. I would have been laughing at this post two paragraphs back myself a mere couple months ago. I really challenge anyone to read the Gospel. Read Mark or Matthew. I am sure you will like it. Remember, Christianity is one thing. I have not mentioned it once. It is not about Christianity. It is about Jesus Christ. A man I believed lived and still lives who is the Son of God. Read those books in the Bible. It says that Jesus performed miracles; he also said that those who believed in Him would have similar abilities. I have experienced several miracles and wonders in the past couple months, and now that I really think about it, my whole life. Tonight simply took it to an even more palpable realm.

After she prayed for me, I began to feel that my knee was different. I began to bend it, and there was no pain. I got down on my knees, and again, no pain. I am not one to make up stories, really. I was actually not sure what to make of it. Was this some sort of psychological trick? I guess, if I end up writing a blog tomorrow about how my knee is terribly stiff and broken, perhaps. However, I have a 100% faith that that is not the case. Our pastor asked us to go up and testify. Due to my awe-strickenness and not wanting to make a scene, I did not. I actually had gathered the courage towards the end, but he was wrapping it up. I did go up to him afterward to let him know. Being the man that he is, and of course believing, as I do, that we should proclaim His power and lift glory to Him, he called me back in the back of the church to testify in front of the mass that had gathered there to chat and fellowship. At first I felt awkward, but He gave me the words to say.

I will be honest. I saw faces filled with joy and encouragement, and some also with skepticism an "come on give me a break". Funny thing, the latter really did not matter to me. I know what happened. It is my knee. When I got to the bus stop, although I didn't have a toilet to scream into, I screamed with joy. When I arrived at my friends place, I did all the dances outside of his place, ballet jump and all, and I felt completely fine. I will dance tomorrow and on opening day and night. God is good. That is all I know. I have rejected Him my whole life. I am simply glad that I have let Him find me.

Before I get into my closing statements, I would just like to point out some things that have brought me to this point, which in my eyes is just the beginning of things which I cannot even imagine. First off, new experiences. Anyone living an existence where they do not feel uncomfortable or try new things is bound to get caught up in a skewed view of oneself and of the world. I am not trying to convert anyone to Christianity. I have seen this with my secular friends too. They find new sides of themselves and realize who they thought they were was simply who people had been telling them they were. About the whole Christianity thing, I am not proud of the Christian institution in a lot of ways. It has screwed up a lot and continues to do so. That is what kept me away for so many years; I ain't no cherry pie either. All I know is that knowing Jesus Christ personally is a real trip and this is from a guy who has taken plenty of trips, of all sorts, if you know what I mean.

On a simpler note, some music that is extremely inspirational is Sufjan Stevens. If you want something new and interesting musically that will stir deep thoughts and spiritual bowels, listen to this. Give it a try. He isn't Christian music. It ain't no lame Christian music. Just because I love Jesus doesn't mean I can't listen to good music. This guy is considered one of America's best songwriters and is one of the most respected musicians in the world today, particularly on the indie circuit. I also recommend Blue Like Jazz to everyone by Don Miller. This book was recommended to me for several years, but I am glad I have only read recently, because I would have only dismissed it before. I had to learn the things the hard way. Stories of God by Rainer Maria Rilke is also good. If anyone knows Literature, they know Rilke, so don't play dumb. One of humanities most brilliant poets. Most definitely, of course, the Bible. Start with Matthew or Mark if it seems daunting. I have read the other stuff, it's not as good, Buddhist texts, the Koran, etc. Give the Bible a chance, honestly. I am being objective. I wanted to be a Muslim for quite sometime, and I also took Buddhism quite seriously for quite some time. It's just a trend people.

If anyone wants to ask me any questions, comment, please feel free to email me:

adam.young-valdovinos@yale.edu

There is a story about my childhood that I would like to tell, but I think I will keep it for a future post. It has become quite clear to me how this strange occurence in my childhood is more relevant than ever now.

Finals and the musical are in His hands and they will be great, for his Glory.

Peace,
Adam