Five Years of Blogging!

This week marks five years since my first blog post. It also marks the beginning of a journey unaware of where it would lead. The name of my blog, “The road goes ever on and on,” was taken from a Bilbo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien’s’ Fellowship of the Ring. The quote was very appropriate as I was entering a season of Sabbatical, exploration and discernment.

I initiated my first blog post on November 25, 2005 with the following….

"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow it if I can. Pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins the larger way. Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say?
"

~ Bilbo Baggins in the Fellowship of the Ring



The Lord of the Rings begins with Bilbo Baggins leaving the home at the Shire for an unknown destination. He did not know what was ahead on the road but he headed off with eager feet. He knew the road was far ahead, yet he was off to follow it as best he could. 



Bilbo’s song resonates with me. I feel a bit like Bilbo not knowing what is ahead. This blog is my attempt to share my path on the road with all of you. It is good for our paths on the road to meet.

Yep, that pretty much summed up what I was feeling five years ago! I get a little sentimental reading that first post. I am reminded of so many of the hopes, emotions, feelings and unknowns at that time. Soon after my first blog post, I began a couple years of travelling, exploring, and discerning where God would lead. My blog address, “wheresdavebayne,” was a frequent question asked by many for over two years. Then in March 2008, I followed and pursued the road to Argentina, where I now live and serve alongside the Word Made Flesh community in Buenos Aires. After 2 ½ years, I’m still here, striving to put down deeper roots of stability and to love my neighborhood!

Five years and 358 posts later, I am so grateful for this blog space to reflect and share my journey. Thank you to the many who have dropped by every now and then, even after many long periods of being missing in action. These past five years have been significant and transformative for me. This blog has been a meaningful and important space to journal and share snap shots of my journey.

While my feet have landed here in Buenos Aires, my journey and my blog will continue ever on and on! While the “wheresdavebayne” part may not be as relevant today, the blog remains a space to share my journey and intersect with yours. Drop by any time! I am grateful!

Photo taken from: www.ForestFoliage.com

currently reading...

I just started reading The Spiritual Formation of Leaders by Chuck Miller. Chuck was one of the mentors of The Journey retreats I participated in recently. Some of my friends will recognize the "pitcher/cup...saucer/plate" paradigm on the cover of the book that comes from Chuck. I am just a few chapters into the book and already realizing how deep his mentoring and priorities in following Jesus have shaped my life these past few years. I am looking forward to diving into this book as I pack and prepare to leave for Argentina in just a few weeks. Great timing!

Grace Commissioning

On Sunday I was commissioned for ministry in Argentina by my home church, Grace Community Church of Seal Beach. It was a very special and meaningful send off in prayer by Pastor Don and laying on of hands by our Elders and Mission Commission. I shared that these past two years feel like the “long goodbye,” as the church family has prayed and journeyed alongside me! Grace is the church I grew up in and served on staff for twelve years. So, really this is now just the next season of lifelong relationships. I am grateful for the foundation of care, support, and prayers as I leave in just one month!

I wrote up my first “missionary bio” for the church highlighting some of the key moments in my journey and the communities that have played a part! My commissioning seems like a good time to share it here.

Growing up at Grace and in a family that loved and served Jesus, David made a decision at a young age to follow Him. Today he continues the process of knowing and following Jesus more fully. His burden for the poor began to take root when the youth group regularly visited El Sauzal Orphanage in Ensenada, Mexico. While attending Biola University, David sought ways to serve the poor locally. He served among Cambodian refugee families with InnerCHANGE in Long Beach, developing a relationship with one family that deeply impacted his desire to know God’s heart for those living and suffering in poverty.

After graduating from college David served in various staff roles at Grace, including young adult ministry, outreach, and missions. During this time he also attended and graduated from Fuller Seminary. He is grateful for these twelve enriching years of ministry, growth, and lifelong friendships. His mission trips with Word Made Flesh introduced David to desperate poverty overseas in places like India, Peru, and Sierra Leone. These trips broke his heart and drove him to Scripture to listen to God’s heart for the poor and consider his response to stand in the gap and intervene with God’s love, justice, and mercy. After wrapping up his staff position at Grace in 2005, a Word Made Flesh internship provided opportunity to serve, learn, and discern future steps among the poor in Brazil and South Africa. During this time a series of spiritual formation and leadership development "Journey" retreats led by The Leadership Institute were a valuable piece of mentoring and growth.

David now looks forward to sharing life and ministry with at risk kids on the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina for a few years. He is also hopeful for what God may have ahead serving in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa. His three life priorities are shaped by John 15: 1) abiding relationship and intimacy with God; 2) loving one another in community; 3) and bearing fruit and witness among the poor. He is growing to understand his primary vocation as follower of Jesus Christ conforming into his image. He is grateful for the ongoing love, support, and prayers of his Grace family!

journey retreat day and forest home...

A year ago this week I completed a series of retreats called The Journey (www.theleadershipinstitute.org), which continues to be a significant part of this season of sabbatical and discernment. I have often shared that I can't imagine these past couple of years with this retreat process, the retreat peeps I shared the journey with (go Gen 11!), and the mentors who continue to invest in my life and provide spiritual direction. I had the opportunity to go up to Forest Home for a day and night this past week and join the current Journey retreat communities. The time and place was meaningful for me! Not only has it been a year since the last retreat, but Forest Home has been a significant place for me and God over the past 20 years. Lots of challenges and lessons learned at College Briefing retreats every Labor Day weekend...first as a college student, then as a wanna-be college student, then as a college pastor. It has now been almost two years since I was last up at Forest Home, so it was good to spend time with God in the prayer chapel and around the camp.

It was a sweet day of both thanksgiving and looking ahead. I can't even begin to recount all the amazing ways God has worked these past 12-months! So much to be grateful for! He has truly provided some rich and deep soil of discernment for decisions ahead. Stay tuned!