Hi

Hi

I am setting foot onto the final week of BAyUP and it is pretty crazy that is just about over. It is pretty crazy how fast time flies when your chillin in a rehab program in Oakland during the week and talking about gods heart for justice during the weekend through a study on the book of a Amos.
You know, those normal everyday things we do.

If you haven't read the other blog posts by my friends Justin and Peggy you should have, because they explain 95% of what I experienced in the past week.

So they explained crazy stuff like bomb scares and other cool experiences, so feel free to scroll down and read about them. I'm going to talk a little bit more about what has been going on personally for me and try to be real with you all reading this.

Now to get started:

About 1 week ago I met up with Peggy (leader lady) and we had a little chat about how I am doing halfway through the program. I talked a little about how I had been counting down the days and thinking I only have a couple more weeks to push through. I realized that this shouldn't be my attitude halfway through the program at my site and as I've started to work through these thoughts I am not glad that I will be leaving in about a week. In fact that was pointed out to me clearly as I went to church today. This morning when I got up Casey (leader guy) told us that we were going to a contemporary evangelical church and mentioned that it was probably similar to what we were used to at home. The past couple of sundays we had gone to two black churches and one catholic church in what I would call one of the coolest post modern buildings I've been in. When we were told that I would be going to a church with a style I was used to I did not think much of it.

So...

We arrived at the church met some people and sat at our chairs. I noticed the church was mostly white and was similar to what I'm used to. When they started the first worship songs it reminded me of home, you would think this would be a good thing, but in reality it made me worried as what was to come. I wasn't feeling the music we were singing because I felt like I have met god in a hundred new ways here and he has been pointing out so much for me to change about myself. I have found that these worship songs that I had grown so much to love in the past are not the best way to worship and in fact it does not matter whether we sing my favorite songs or not because still god is there. It made me think about much that I have learned about how I need to live in much more giving and loving way towards my neighbor, whether that means downtown Oakland, Thailand, or home. Excuse me if I don't make sense at some point. I realized that I feared going home, because here at BAyUP and city team I'm started to learn new things about gods heart for these people and at this place I am greatly held accountable for how I'm doing, I am serving often, and no matter how much I want to go home or how crappy my day was god is still transforming lives greatly at this place and revealing my brokenness constantly. So going home back to what the so called white middle class lifestyle is like, is a scary thing for me. It makes me question whether I can really come home and start to change my lifestyle at home to follow the lord, and I don't want to fall back into my normal lifestyle without being changed from my experience at BAyUP. Now don't get me wrong god has done much and will continue to do much and I'm sure that I will feel convicted many times as I try to adjust back into that Eureka and San Jose State style of living. But, it is hard to change and help others change when you are the only one and it is hard to remember sometimes. Please pray over me and this last paragraph. I'm glad I had these things run through my head at the church because it shows me that god really has been teaching me and transforming me since I've been here.

Some other good news...

On Friday I spent time at an amazing park just outside of downtown Oakland at the port of Oakland. It so cool to be at this beautiful place with much nature and life and have these crazy machines and ships rolling by. I spent much time in prayer for family and friends which means many of you reading this blog post. I spent much time in prayer reflecting with the lord about our relationship and what it means to follow him which really helped me think about all of the things I have been recently learning over the weekends. It was one of my best times in Oakland.

One final word...

My Padre (father) recently had surgery on his back after dealing with a broken back for over 20 years. It had recently gotten much worse and over the years he had broken more parts of his back and a couple of ribs to go with that. He went into surgery not knowing whether or not he would be paralyzed, anything would happen, or he would be healthy. The surgery turned out successful and I found out while I was here at BAyUP. If you know my father give him a call or shout out and ask for his testimony about his back. He still has a while of recovery from the surgery, but I believe god can teach him and his wife Janet much during this time. So usually I wont give shout outs, but I thought I would because this is some of the greatest news I have ever heard and am so thankful that the lord showed my family grace in this way. A special shout out to J Lo keep working hard and serving and being faithful... Thank you for loving and caring for my padre since you all were married, I give you much props. A special shout out to Padre, you are such a brave man and have given me a testimony to share with others at BAyUP and I have a friend who wrote me a letter saying how this testimony greatly effected them. Keep holding strong and pushing through these next weeks of recovery... I love you much... Dill

Thank you for reading my post and putting up with the randomness of Dillon Adams... PEACE!

PS: Siblings.... Padre recovering means god has provided us with some great opportunities to serve, keep working hard at it. And Madre thank you for stopping by last weekend with Shiny much love to you both.