Follow me while I serve in Nicaragua

My blogging on this site will slow down for the next 10 days as I travel to El Viejo Nicaragua. If you are interested in following my journey in Nicaragua I will be blogging on our Pequea Church website with daily updates and photos from our work in Nicaragua. You can bookmark the blog by going here. You can also follow more micro-blogging updates by following me on twitter. I will be bringing along my MacBook Pro, and Canon 7D to capture all of the moments and report home on our progress. For the most part this will be a bit of a technology sabbath for me as I work in ministry outside of my normal realm! When I return I will share some of my most memorable personal moments as I am anticipating God to work in my life through this experience.

Family or Church?

Working in full time ministry can make it extremely hard to manage priorities. I have come along way since my first few years of ministry. In recent months I have really needed to evaluate where my priorities lie. I am engaged and set to be married in June of 2010 and recently I have needed to make some challenging decisions on where my priorities lie.

One thing I have learned since working full time in ministry and I had wished I had figured out a long time ago is that God is not the same as Church. God has to be number one on my list. Personal time spent with God is of upmost importance, and this does not include the times that I am working in full time ministry at “Church.”

My second priority must be my family. In 1 Timothy 3:4-5 the Bible says “He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)” When I make a commitment to marry my wife Lea on June 12, 2010 I must make her, and someday my child(ren) my second priority in life. I believe that if I am not honoring and prioritizing my family I should not be making a commitment to full time ministry, it’s a biblical command.

I will be the first to admit that this is not going to be easy to balance. In recent years my I have put the churches ministry above my time with God. During those times I see my personal relationship with Jesus suffer and this effects my attitude towards others and my job. Just because I work in full time ministry and am reading the bible or studying scripture for an upcoming message series or video idea it doesn’t equate to setting aside specific times to personally spend time with God.

My Technology Choice of the Year

It’s time to announce my technology choice of the year. This year the choice is clear, it’s Canon’s 7D camera. In September Canon announced the release of a 18.0 Megapixel dual digic 4 image processing 12,800 ISO HD recording piece of awesomeness. Not only does this camera take stunning images it also records full 1080p HD video recording at 24p, 25p, and 30p at a price that is really hard to match.

I have shot quite a few Canon cameras but one of my favorite things about this camera is that everything is completely new. The all new 19-point autofocus system, the new LCD screen with overlay goodness. Although this is not Canon’s first go at HD video in its DSLR family the video in the 7D is awesome. Video is defiantly a full out feature of the 7D unlike some of the comparison Nikon models who just seem to “add it in”. The 7D provides for fully manual operation of the video system.

I will note that I am just getting started with the 7D. I am totally excited about taking it on my upcoming missions trip to Nicaragua in the new year. This is truly an amazing piece of technology and I am looking forward to all of the moments that I will capture. I will note that one thing I have noticed using Canons new 18-135 IS lens is that noise reduction can get pretty aggressive at higher ISO speeds which can obscure some detail in photos. The Canon 7D is also not full frame which might put some people off but for me this is a solid camera that produces the video and image quality that I need!

Google Browser Size- A Useful tool!

For those of you out there who are designing websites or are just curious what your own website or favorite website looks like to the rest of the world Google has released a fun tool called “Browser Size”. Google Browser Size is a visualization of browser window sizes for people who visit Google. For example, the “90%” contour means that 90% of people visiting Google have their browser window open to at least this size or larger. This is useful for ensuring that important parts of a page’s user interface are visible by a wide audience.

So if your wondering why a certain link or button is not being clicked in comparison to others it might be because a majority of users are unable to even see the button or link. Googles example webpage shows how a good percentage of people can’t even see the “donate now” button. It’s a simple tool, but a great resource! Click here to give it a try.

My passion for Nicaragua

In February 2008 I was given my first opportunity to serve on a cross cultural experience by going with a team from Pequea Church to Esteli Nicaragua. The trip changed my life and perspective on how God is at work all around the world. My God, choose to show me how He is accomplishing His mission beyond my over-saturated views of North American “church”. With my role as a technical arts director at a church in North America it is very easy to become so wrapped up in the programs and worship services of our local church and totally miss what God is doing around the world.

In January of 2010 I have been given a chance to return to Nicaragua. A team of young adults from Pequea Church will travel to El Viejo Brethren In Christ Church to serve this church and help replace a failing roof. Although we will be serving the church in this way, so much more of this trip will be focused on meeting the families, neighbors, and children of this community. It is my desire to better understand the story of the people of Nicaragua and bring that story home to share with our congregation. I am certain that God is at work in me, preparing me for something unexpected, my prayer is that I will be open to His leading me in this experience. Throughout the trip I will be blogging daily updates with photos and hopefully some video from our time in Nicaragua over on the churches blog. If you are willing to support me with prayer please just leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Service is a means of bringing about change within ourselves, making us not the “givers” in the interaction but fellow recipients with those we serve. – Jeremy Tyrrell