CSMP Update #3 FRM 101: How to be a Ranch Hand
Repenting isnât bad⌠it just hurts.
PTouf challenged us when we first got back to missions what are some things that we have been putting our hope intoâŚ
If I am completely honest with myself, itâs been my future. He gave some examples of peopleâs idols such as friendship, security, intelligence etc, that people give their lives for and instead we should be giving out lives for Jesus, because he is already working and moving.
I think over this past semester/year I have been learning a lot about Grace. I put a lot of my self worth and value in my abilities to do certain things and in the future. I feel very frustrated when I canât do something, or I try very hard, so still the overarching concept of Grace. I realize that in my life there will things that happen that I canât do anything about. Anything from breaking my foot, wisdom teeth removal, sickness, that itâs not only ok to ask people for help, but also I should ask for help from others, and also delegate tasks.
 PToufâs Uncle's Ranch
You know that feeling of laughing so hard that your sides hurt? Your abs burn and you absolutely canât breathe except to take in a short burst of air just to laugh it all out? Itâs a terribly horrible and yet wonderful feeling all at the same time.. You should try it sometime. Seriously, you wonât regret it. All it requires is a group full of wonderful friends, a dash of boldness and a willingness to be made the but end of a joke⌠multiple times.
Coming into CSMP, I didnât expect there to be so much laughter and genuine joy throughout this process of missions. There are times where it has been hard (being rebuked by PTouf multiple times, repenting before missions), but this is a passage about joy and laughter.
At PToufâs Uncleâs and Auntâs farm we did anything from going around the trails and looking at the farm animals, four wheeling, butchered a hog, and of course ate wonderful delicious food and played games. I realized that doing all of these things was like a cultural immersion, not for myself, but for my teammates which not only allowed them to experience a greater love for his people, but also the world and all of his creation.
My team explored the farm by walking around and also were driven around in trucks. The farm had water buffalo, cows, chickens, ducks, pigeons, goats, a turkey, and kittens.
 Crispy was a Hog, an unassuming hog that was living his normal life, until we decided to eat him
Crispy was Delicious⌠mmmm Crispy
Before we got to PToufâs ranch he asked us if we wanted to slaughter and eat a hog once we got to oklahoma. Some of us were hesitant about this, to say the least, but nevertheless our teammates complied, and those that did not want to see him die, but others were totally cool with going forward with this plan.
Killing and slaughtering the hog for I and my teammates was definitely a cool experience. I wonât go into too much detail, just for the sake of you all, but once it was dead we took boiling hot water and skinned off the hair, and then it started to rain, so we all went inside to wait for it to stop raining. We named him Crispy...mmmhhh crispy made for some delicious BBQ. As a whole we had been incredibly blessed by P.Toufâs family for serving us delicious food. Everything and I mean everything was fresh, because they had their own garden for food and raised their own animals.
 Not your Good Olâ Fashioned Hot Chili Peppers, but a Hilarious story
Another hilariously funny story, so we were eating mustard greens which P.Toufâs Aunt was cooking for us, and there were these chili peppers from Laos that were incredibly spicy. I unexpectedly took a bite of one of them, and my mouth was just in pain, but I swallowed it anyways and said âThose were NOT JALAPENOS.â Everyone on my team just started rolling in laughter, and Ptouf made fun of my facial expressions. Heâs such an amazing Pastor, but heâs such a troll.
Then afterwards Eric Lee decided to play a game called what are the odds. The way you play is you ask a person what are the odds of doing x; lets say eat the rest of the broccoli, the initiator of the game calls another personâs name, ask them the question, and they say a number, for example 20, and then they will say the number at the same time of eating the broccoli out of 20, 2 is definitely, and 20 is not at all. Thatâs how I think you play it anyways, so Eric challenged every⌠single⌠person, untilâŚâŚ he lost, and then he had to drink milk and water to decrease the spice level. However, we were at the end of our meal and we were stuffed from the food we cooked from BBQing Crispy, so Eric had to suffer through a full stomach without also . PToufâs Aunt was so mad at him for letting us do all of these stupid things.
Another thing we did at the farm in Oklahoma was ride four wheelers. My teammates had never even done anything remotely similar to this, with the exception of Luis, so they were hesitant to drive them. So, I just hopped on the four wheeler once Luis started it, and rode away. âHigh ho Sailor⌠AWAYYYYY!â