I like Boston about as much as Bacon...

I ate bacon today. Yep, pork, greasy, bacon. I know. It is such a shock to you. The truth of the matter is that I missed it. I missed something that I normally despise. How is this possible? The truth is that we don't really know what we have until it is no longer there.

I have been contemplating this as I have travelled around the world to a place I am not familiar with. Suddenly, all the things that I hate about Boston have become the things I greatly miss. I miss the sights, the smells, the yells... ok the last one is a lie. But, I do love my home in Boston. For so long, I have tried to leave. I've tried to escape being a Bostonian. Yet, I kept getting pulled back in. Lured in by the pushiness, snottiness, and hard heartedness. Yet, just like bacon, I miss it. I miss the way people talk and walk. I miss the sports! I miss the TV shows! But, most of all, I miss my church.

Please, all of you people that have fainted, get up! Yes, I miss my church. The mission in Boston is so tough. We often think, its hard to share the gospel in a place dominated by Muslim or Atheist believers in countries far away, but really it is so hard to share Jesus in Boston. It's easy to get discouraged and want to up and leave. People in Boston have been burned by religion and have no place for God because they feel like he has hurt them. It's totally understandable really. But, its a hard place to plant a church. It's a hard place to fight the good fight of faith.

I write to you today to encourage you. When you feel discouraged about sharing your faith, be encouraged because God had placed you in Boston because he thinks you have the best stuff. You have what it takes. You are the Rocky Balboa of his army. Boston is a place where God wants to heal the broken and save those who have been burned. How happy I am today to realize this! How great a cause I fight!

Boston and bacon are in the same camp for me. Every taste makes me question, "why?" Why this place? But, my realization today is that I have the stuff that it takes to get the job done. And, if you find yourself wondering, why? Why Boston? Be encouraged, you are in for the fight of your lifetime. But, if you go away, you will soon be pulled back again. Boston needs you. And, even if you share and are dismissed, share again, and again because the truth prevails and Jesus will reign in Boston because he loves this place. He loves these people.