Don't judge a book by it's cover...

Below are pictures of three guys that I spent a good deal of time with during English camp. I spoke the first night of English Camp about the labels that people put on one another, emphasizing the fact that we often judge people based upon their appearance without ever knowing anything about them as people. But thankfully God does not judge by external appearance but is able to see through to our hearts. I had to put that in practice during English camp. I had to check myself to not categorize the Estonian students before spending time with them and getting to know them. God brought 3 guys into my life this week that I was able to spend considerable time with during the week, let me share with you:

Eric: Eric is the stereotypical Scandinavian looking lad. 6 foot 3 inches tall, lanky arms and legs and long blond hair. He is a terror on the basketball court and is an able soccer player. He has traveled widely throughout Europe and his English is very good. He is quite outgoing and is a great conversationalist. For some reason he seemed drawn to me and we spent considerable time together throughout the week. My read on him throughout the week was one of confidence and independence. And while those things are true...it was Eric who shocked me by sharing on Wednesday night of some of the hurt in his life that held inside and that he actually kept people at arms length so that they would not hurt him. I was shocked and humbled that he would share so honestly with me. He is not a Christian but is very interested in reading the Bible and really wants to continue attending Craig Hamer's home group. He is surrounded by Christians and enjoys their friendship. Pray that Eric would continue to open his heart to God and would see God at work in his life.

Jimmy: In the bottom picture on the right in the hat is "Jimmy" Hendrik. When I first met him I thought we was a tough kid who would never be interested in spiritual matters. Boy was I wrong. As I spent time with him I got to know the real Jimmy. He was very attentive to my speeches and early in the week shared that he was a Christian and that he was involved in a large church in Tallinn. He is a great guitar player. But the night of the gospel presentation he shared with me that he had religion but not a personal relationship with God through Jesus. I had shared about Nicodemus and he identified with the story and wanted to be born again. We talked about how to start a relationship with Christ and I sent him away to think about it and pray if wanted to. The next morning he told me that he had shared a very deep conversation with another Christian student and that he had heard about how his friend was filled up with Christ and then they prayed together. Pray that Jimmy will read his Bible and get more involved in his home church in Tallinn.

Tavi: Tavi was a quiet kid yet was very deep. During my opening talk I shared a thought from Dallas Willard, which I pulled from "Renovation of the Heart". I asked, "What is the purpose of life?" and then suggested that one author wrote, "The purpose of life is the authentic transformation of the whole person into goodness." He came up to me and said I have recently been thinking about the meaning of life. Throughout the week he was very attentive during my speeches and we shared many conversation about theology, philosophy and the Bible. Pray that Tavi would grow as a Christian and would come to greater clarity on a Biblical Worldview.