The Relationship (not with a girl don't get excited mom)

                Over the week break I had at the end of March my Dad came over to Switzerland and together we toured around the country I have been in for the past 6 months. I saw more of Switzerland in that week than the past 6 months together. Welcome to the all consuming SBS (Side note: SBS is amazing it just takes up a lot of time). We went to three main areas, Chamonix, Zermatt and Interlaken. It was an amazing time with great weather almost everyday. The views from the mountaintops are just stunning. For myself it was a time that I sorely needed. It is the first time in a long time that my Dad and I had spent alone to bond more. Back home my Dad and I spend a lot of time together because we work together, that is not really quality time as, as people who know me or my Dad we are very intent on the task at hand which does not translate into quality time. Our lives are just really busy and that makes it hard to get away from it all and forget about everything for a few days. Our time together in Switzerland filled a hole that I didn’t know was so empty. My Dad is an integral part of my life and I am glad that he came. 

                As one can imagine, putting two Alspaugh men together does not lead to what many see as a lively time. As an apple I did not fall far from the tree. But for me our time together was perfect. We had a great time driving around and seeing Switzerland. The Alspaugh men do not usually converse with words, this comes from spending a lot of time together while working; you just start to know what the other person is thinking. But don’t worry all you people that care so much about words being shared in conversation my Dad and I do talk. We shared many things that had been going on since we had last seen each other and more importantly what God had been doing in our lives. From the outside perspective, I am pretty sure people think we are the most boring people and are not close at all. But we are close in ways that other people just can’t understand.

                Being in Switzerland for so long and being away from him and then having him for a week has really shown me how my life with God emulates the life I have with me Dad. My Dad and I enjoy spending time together. Not many words need to be shared but when they are, the words are deep and life giving. They help bring us closer and show us a deeper side to the other that we hadn’t quite seen before. But so much of the relationship between my Dad and I comes from just being together. I am realizing just how important that is between us. Nothing like not having something to show you how much that something means to you. After re-reading this I think I have captured as best I can with words this important part of my life.

                As for SBS this past month has been filled with doom and gloom, and also restoration. Don’t worry the doom is not in my life, we have been going through the minor prophets of the Old Testament and those are full of prophecies of destruction. It has been a time of seeing the different ways that God reached out to Israel. The most exciting part of going through all the prophets is seeing the differences between the books, the different aspects of God that come through.

                It has been an almost restful month because of the small books. I have seen this month as a time of solidifying many things. with it being less busy it allows for time to really just meditate and dwell on the time that has passed here in Switzerland. But now what lies in May is going to be the busiest month in all of SBS. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Lamentations, Esther and Daniel are all in May.

               

A glass box high in the sky.

 The Matterhorn

 Maintenance hard at work.

 Basically the day after.

 Pizza party with some great friends.

End of Quarter

March 2017 Update

                As this quarter draws to a close, I look back and wonder where the time went. Its been a busy quarter, finishing off the New Testament and taking a good chunk out of the Old Testament. There has been a lot that I’ve learned about the Bible, God and myself.

                We have been moving along fairly quickly this past month. Since my last update, we went did Exodus all the way to the Samuels. Its crazy to think about but despite how fast we have been going we need to go faster next quarter to get through all the books. Despite how fast and busy we have been I haven’t felt overwhelmed. The staff have been keeping the homework down on weeks that we have been doing extra things outside of the classroom. Genesis has been the biggest book so far but there is a few bigger ones coming next quarter that are going to be tough (I am looking at you Isaiah and Jeremiah).

                So apart from going through a crazy number of books I have done some fun things. In February, there was an event we call Café Night. It is a night where we get together as a base and enjoy an evening of fellowship. The theme was Hawaiian, and the DTS did a good job with decorating. The main entertainment for the night comes from students and staff that sign up and doing different things. the main thing people did was singing songs, but there were also some comedy acts, and a story or two. It was an enjoyable evening that was a lot of fun. It was fun to see different peoples talents and skills come out.

                Another really fun thing that the SBS did was the Wilderness Experience. Our staff are absolutely amazing, they worked so hard to pull the whole event together and for that I am grateful. So, the Wilderness Experience; we all dressed up like Israelites (the staff made all the costumes) and then we did a mock up of the parting of the Red Sea and getting the Ten Commandments. We then left the base in Lausanne and spent a couple of days at a base in Chatel which is about 45 min away from Lausanne. I had a great time, we built model tabernacles, ate great (I mean absolutely fantastic) food, had good fellowship and got a good message from Jiwung our school leader. It was such a relaxing time. Just being out basically in the middle of nowhere and not thinking about homework or anything was such a blessing. It recharged me quite a bit. The message from Jiwung really struck a chord in me. It was about how the enemy will try to take the Bible away from us, about how he will try to get us to let it go. He used an example that really spoke to me. Up till now I have probably heard things like this many times but this time, this time it became truth to me. That this life I live as a Christian is not an easy thing. There will be failures and casualties and without full reliance on God and the community that we need to have around us there is no way we can make it. Like I said, it is something that I have heard many times, spoken about a few times but in that moment it just became a greater truth to me.

                One of the big things that I got out of Joshua was about choice. Throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy God was teaching His people who He is. It was a slow process that took the Israelites quite awhile to understand. But through it all they had the choice of whether to follow God or not and it wasn’t until Joshua’s speech at the end of the book of Joshua that I got revelation in that. My journey with God is my choice, this I have known for a long time but it became so clear to me that the choice happens every day, every moment, every action, every thought, every single thing is a choice as to whether I will follow God in that moment. Reading through the Pentateuch gave me such a clear picture of this, how in every moment the Israelites chose to follow or not follow God.

                Another thing was from Judges. As I was working through it I was struck by how the whole book of Judges could be seen as one lifetime (metaphorically speaking). The constant cycle of sinning, crying out to God and God sending a judge could be seen as one person who sins, some times often and sometimes long periods in between, and then God sends the Holy Spirit (the judge) who shows us the way back to fullness with God. I feel like I have explained this terribly but suffice to say that it just really showed me God’s patience and love that He doesn’t give up on people even though they screw up so much.

                Overall this quarter has been a lot of fun, work, joy and exhaustion. Next quarter ends on June 22 and we head to Israel from June 23 to July 4 and after that will be Egypt. I will head to Egypt directly from Israel and I am not sure yet how long I will be there, probably 3 weeks. Its going to be a busy time next quarter with more homework to be done, more work around the base to be done and preparing things to speak on in Egypt but I am definitely excited. I’m ready for the week break but I am looking forward to next quarter.

Prayer Points:

·         That this next week is relaxing and recharging

·         For strength in the last quarter

·         For more revelation from what I will be studying

Thank you all for your prayers and support. It just wouldn’t be possible without it.  Until the next time, and remember to choose.

PS: I did shave my moustache.

Wilderness Experience Skit (Photo Cred: Hyun Suk Park)

Café Night (Photo Cred: Madison Beasley)

I am aware that I need to take more pictures but it is just not something that I ever think about. Its on the list of the many things I am working on with myself.

Time of Learning

February Update:

Time just seems to be going faster and faster. Already I am at the halfway mark of my time in Switzerland (I’m sure my mom is counting down the days.) I don’t understand how it has already been a month since I got back into Switzerland.

When we got back we definitely hit the ground running and did the last 9 books the New Testament in 3 weeks and then had our final for the New Testament. That was a busy week because we did Revelation, which is a pretty hard book to understand and no I still don’t understand everything in it but I understand a bit more, and we were also studying for our final which involves having to memorize a huge amount of what we had spent the last 4 months learning about. There was quite a noticeable difference in the SBS students after we had finished the test. A certain life and joy that had been missing, lost to the stress of it all.

This past week was Genesis, with my favourite speaker, so it was a really good week. It is also the longest book we’ve done so it was the most work. But next week is going to be longer because we are doing Exodus and Leviticus together. So, no slowing down in sight. But it is good, I enjoy being busy and doing things though at times I miss really doing things with my hands. I am part of the maintenance team which helps in that regards.

This past month has been notable for a couple of things I’ve been working on/struggling with. A big one is I’ve felt myself become more withdrawn. Sometimes I even feel like a hermit. Part of it was the workload increasing but that is just a feeble excuse. A large part of it was that in this place I am in there is very little privacy because of the nature of the base. That is just the way it is and it is not a good thing or a bad thing it just is. I am by nature an introvert and I haven’t been handling not ever being truly alone very well. Thus, because I never feel alone I don’t ever really recharge and so, even though I want to spend time with people I find it hard. It is a weird balance that I haven’t quite worked out yet. But the good part is that being in this place is the perfect place to try to figure things out because the community is so supportive and loving and they want you to succeed and grow. I haven’t figured out the best solution yet but God and I are working on it. The great joy of life is that it is all about continuing to grow.

Another big part has been what I feel I have been getting out of this SBS. One of my fellow students helped to put it into words which really helped me figure out how I need to change. I had been feeling disappointed with my SBS so far and there’s no way to sugar coat it. I had come into this expecting great knowledge and revelations to come from this. So many of the staff shared the amazing things of their SBSs and I wanted those same things. I wanted to be overwhelmed by God from what I was learning but it didn’t seem to be happening. It took quite awhile and a lot of prayer to get to a point where I kind of let those expectations go and decided to have knew expectations. I want great things to happen but I now really want them to be in Jesus’ timing and with His blessing. I don’t want my SBS to be like someone else’s but I want it to be mine and for Jesus to work what He wants in this time. I now expect less things in a broader sense but I expect more from the one from whom it matters, Jesus. I see this SBS so much more clearly as my journey with Him and growing with Him. It mattes so much less if I get great revelations, don’t get me wrong I still want them, but what really matters is that I am doing this all with Him. There are so many things I want to learn but I know that it will take many years to scratch the surface of this. So, I want to focus on just growing that relationship with Him during this time and continuing on from here.

So, prayer points would be to work on me introvertism and to continue working out my relationship with Jesus more. Also for continued motivation to do my school work.

If you have questions/encouragements feel free to contact me at my email address:

tyler.alspaugh@gmail.com

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Tyler

Holidays and Adventures

Over the past month I have had the great priviledge to travel around Europe. I saw many things and met some interesting people. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I've still got a couple of weeks of school that I didn't talk about. So, onto those. The last week of classes we had Daniel Lewis teaching on Matthew. That week was one of the best that we have had so far, at least for me. He just came at the book from a different approach than most of the other teachers that we had had up to that point. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the other weeks but this one just fit my style and I enjoyed it.

When I had finished Matthew I got a little bit lost. For months I had been going hard at homework and suddenly I didn't have anymore. I realized it was a time to let things sink in and to remember and meditate on what I had learned. Reflecting on the things that I wanted to become an integral part of my life. This has become the focal point of my time in SBS now. Before I would have said that it was important to me but now it became the most important, it became a real key to this whole time.

Then, I said my goodbyes and off I went on my trip around Europe. First stop: Rome. Rome is a beautiful city that has a lot of history. December is a good time to go because it was still fairly warm but there was not a lot of people compared to the last time I was there, which was in October. There was almost no line to get into the Coliseum or into the Vatican Museum which normally you are waiting hours to get into. At night in the areas I went there were very few people. Which for me was nice. Part of the point of this trip was to be away from people and have a time of solitude. In a YWAM base it tends to be crowded with not a lot of privacy or alone time.

Next stop was Paris. For me Paris was the best, I’m not sure what exactly it was about Paris that made it the best but it was. It has wonderful architecture and historical buildings, great museums that hold uncountable objects, lovely cafes and stores. I was visiting with a friend, a local Parisian, who knew the city. Maybe that was part of why I loved it so much, with a local there was a connection that you could make to the city.

Then it was off to Ireland. Into a beautiful corner called Donegal. Ireland is one of my favourite places, there is just such a beauty to it that I love. I got to spend a wonderful time with family that I haven’t got to see that often which was a real pleasure. I spent Christmas there and it is a Christmas I will remember for a long time. In SBS we talk a lot about applying what we learn and living it out for people to see. My family there showed how that love works. Just the amazing peace and joy I felt there. Just everyday people walking out God’s love. It was encouraging to see that at work. Next stop: Dublin. I only had a bit of time in Dublin but it was a good time. I got to see more family and make more connections to people that I didn’t have before.

Next it was a short hop over the pond to England, specifically Manchester. As I traveled it was so interesting to see how each place was unique, even though we call many places “Western Civilization” the history and culture of each place comes through and I enjoy getting to know each city and country. In Manchester, you could still feel the industrial revolution that took place there. It is quite a nice city in its own right. I enjoyed spending more time with family quite a few of whom I hadn’t met before or met so long ago that I don’t remember doing so. Next stop: London. London is quite a nice city but I didn’t have much time there. I had planned on visiting a couple museums and walking around the city but then ended up spending 7.5 hours at the Imperial War Museum and was exhausted so that was the only thing I really saw in London.

Final stop before heading back to Switzerland was Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen is a really nice city but I felt like it wasn’t a real tourist city. Sure, there are some sights to see but I felt it was somewhere that if you lived there it would be more enjoyable. It is a place that you would work and when you got off you’d go find a nice café, or go explore a little area. Somehow, I feel it should be enjoyed in small doses while living there. But overall, I enjoyed myself and got to spend some quality time with some friends.

Overall my trip was a great success and I had a wonderful time. It became a journey that took me on an adventure with God. Slowly learning a little bit more about Him in the different places that I went. Some places it was about showing hospitality, generosity and love. Some places it was about serving and showing humility. It opened my eyes more about what it looks like to walk in a lifestyle that portrays God even as you are learning more about Him. It helps put for an importance of doing what it is that you have learned.

Apart from that there isn’t really anything to tell. I’m back in Switzerland and ready for what comes ahead. I’m praying that I keep a hold of the things I’ve been learning and don’t lose them in the information that is coming.  Until the next time.