Kent Brantly

Laughter

2009-06-15T23:04:00.006-04:00

It's A Girl!!!

2009-03-19T04:19:00.006-04:00

Ruby Grace was born at 1:44am on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. She weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. She is a beautiful, precious little girl and her parents couldn't be any prouder! She's practically perfect in every way! See for yourself...

For more details go to Amber's blog.

It's True

2009-02-09T10:09:00.002-05:00

We're having a baby!
See Amber's blog for the latest pregnant pictures. The baby is due March 8th. We'll find out then if it's a boy or a girl.

Inadequate

2008-06-02T21:17:00.002-04:00

This update is entirely inadequate. But I have to at least write this much.

Last Thursday, May 29 2008, Amber Joy Carroll and I became husband and wife. I'm the luckiest man in the world.

For pictures, go here

It's a great story, but that will have to wait.

Yosemite

2008-05-23T02:57:00.001-04:00

One Year

2008-05-16T14:53:00.002-04:00

A lot can happen in one year.
A lot has happened in one year.
Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Praise be to God for his enduring faithfulness and mercy.
More to follow....

Loss and Gain

2007-05-17T16:41:00.000-04:00

one week ago today, two very special people left this life for grander things. one of those people was my 95 year old Granny who lived in florence, alabama. this trip to florence was a sad occasion, but a good time spent with family. Granny lived a full, long life of service to our Lord, and we celebrated that at her funeral on Mother's day. there could have been no better day to honor and remember Granny than Mother's day; she was mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to 104 of us, and we will miss her sorely.
the other person was a 17 year old friend from honduras. his name was Hanibal Martinez. Hanibal lived with my missionary friends in san marcos. he lived a challenging, short life, but he lived it well. he became a Christian about a year ago. it is sad for us that he won't be around for years to come, but i am confident that he is now in a place even more beautiful than the mountains of southern honduras.

For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death]. -- 2 Corinthians 7:10 (Amplified Bible)

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T14:18:00.000-04:00

Discipleship + RVL

2006-12-08T01:40:00.000-05:00

This post is a response to a comment from James (see posts from 9/2/2006 and 11/15/2004).

James,
Thanks for commenting on my ancient post (11/15/04). I completely agree with what you had to say. That's the problem with written communication (or at least poorly written communication) - you can't read sarcasm. My point, the one I wanted to make and should have clarified but never did - my point was exactly what you said. When God calls a disciple he is calling us to a radical way of life. We must surrender all of our desires and hopes and dreams to Him. There is no room for holding on to a little bit of self. Being a disciple is not a hobby, or a part-time job, or an interest. It is life.
What I was trying to express (and obviously did not, judging by not only your comment but also the comments from my friends) is our so often blindly self-centered, inadequate response to God's call on our lives. He can really knock us up side the head with an education of sorts, with a revelation of his desire for our lives, with an eyes-wide-open understanding of his call on our lives, and we trivialize it by making our newly-acquired lesson academic and philosophical. We like to make it about ideas instead of action. And in the rare case that we do try to put it to action, we do it on our own terms instead of on the terms demanded by the thing itself. "How can I fit this into my life without interfering with my current level of comfort and satisfaction?" "How can I fit this discipleship thing into my important plans?"

It all reminds me of a discussion from a Men's Bible study we had at school just today, looking at Daniel 4. Nebuchadnezzar was struck down by God and made to see that God, the Lord of Hosts, the Almighty is sovereign over the kingdoms of men. And he does acknowledge this fact, multiple times even, throughout his testimony. But even after spending 7 years out of his mind, eating grass like a cow and living among the wild animals, when his kingdom is returned to him he talks about the "glory of my kingdom" and he mentions how Daniel is also called Belteshazzar, named after one of Nebuchadnezzar's gods. It's like the lesson was only superficial. It didn't sink into the very core of his being like it ought to.

There was a great quote from G K Chesterton in the study as well. I think I'll end with that quote:

“We talk of wild animals, but man is the only wild animal. It is man that has broken out. All other animals are tame animals, following the rugged respectability of the tribe or type. Man is wild because he alone, on this speck of rock called earth, stands up to God, shakes his fist, and says, ‘I do what I want to do because I want to do it, and God had better leave me alone.’”

May God save us from ourselves.

Mockingbird

2006-09-02T12:23:00.000-04:00

get derek webb's new album free here

So what are you gonna do about it?

2006-08-28T14:39:00.000-04:00

a few thoughts about worship at the southeastern church of Christ yesterday... church was really good yesterday - very challenging. greg preached the kind of sermon that just gets under your skin. the kind where you get uncomfortable because you can't just ignore it. and it wasn't so much because he made a fabulous presentation (though i do like his preaching style) but it was because today he proclaimed the Word of God - you know, the one that is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, dividing even soul and spirit.
he challenged us with the radical commitment and obedience of john the baptist, and the impact the Christians of ephesus had on their community. they were making such a difference that the people who made their living from selling figurines of the goddess artemis began a riot. greg asked "are we making such a difference around us because of our relationship with Jesus Christ that the powers of darkness feel the need to fight back?" he asked us, in the past week what decisions have you made BECAUSE of your relationship with Jesus? how has your behavior at work been impacted this week by your relationship with Jesus? how have your relationships with other people been affected this week because of your relationship with Jesus?
after sermons like that we like to talk about how "the preacher was really turning up the heat on that one" or "well, now he's just meddling" (always said tongue in cheek) or "that was a great sermon. i really like what he had to say." but the challenge offered from the Word of God today goes well beyond those politenesses. it slaps you in the face and says "so what are you gonna do about it?"

the text for the sermon was Acts 18:23 - 19:41

Admitting Defeat

2006-08-01T19:05:00.000-04:00

With just 8 posts in the last 8 months (and half of those came in January) I have decided to give up all pretenses of being a blogger. I had a hard enough time this summer just sending out update emails to friends and family during my time in Honduras. So this is it. I will no longer pretend that I'm just behind on blogging, or just too busy to get out a long post. I resign myself to being a "make a post whenever I feel like it and not a week sooner" kind of guy. This doesn't mean that I'll never post my thoughts on some subject in particular or maybe even just write about some random happening in my life. But I am releasing you all - you faithful blog readers - from your feelings of obligation to check my blog frequently (or even regularly). And Jeremy, it is with a clear conscience that I give up my spot on your side bar (if you haven't already removed me). You are free to go about your daily lives unfettered by the burden of worrying about why I haven't posted in 8 weeks. You are free to use your precious bandwidth in some more productive manner, rather than habitually returning to kentbrantly.blogspot.com only to see me, once again, making a Good Friday alfombra in Guatemala.

So go. Run with this new found liberty. Write about it on your own blog if you like. Run and never look back. Don't worry. Someday some event will bring me to mind and you'll think, "I wonder what good ol' Kent is up to." You'll remember this blog and you'll think about cruising back over to check for an update. I'm telling you now friend, just send me an email. Your chances of learning something new about me are worlds better that way.

Farewell,blogger. Adios, you faithful few. Thank you for your continued support.

ps - maybe i'll post a summary of my summer before school starts again.

Prayer Request

2006-05-25T16:25:00.000-04:00

Please pray for my cousin's son, Matthew. He is 18 years old and a few days ago he was in an accident - he has pretty severe injuries. Please pray for him and for his family. Thanks.

Good Friday

2006-04-14T23:52:00.000-04:00

One year ago today. Antigua, Guatemala.

Super Hero

2006-03-26T14:55:00.000-05:00

This is just a quick post to let you all know that I'm still alive and kickin'. Rebecca was here over spring break and we had a great time. Spent the first half of the week with my family here (Carole's family was visiting) and then we made a quick road trip to Atlanta to visit Rebecca's parents and grandmother. It was time well spent. Maybe I'll share more details about the week later, but for now I have to cut it short. Apparently in med school, you actually have to work.... crazy concept, huh?

So for now, my 2 tests and 3 quizzes this week are calling my name.

Sorry there is nothing more riveting, no more juicy details for you - but that's my life.

But before I leave you - or rather before you leave my blog - go to this site and find out which superhero you are. I'm 85% Superman!

But to be honest, my real superhero is Mr. Jason

SK

2006-02-19T00:25:00.000-05:00

i hope SK doesn't mind me posting this.

no, i'm not talking about my Granddad, although his initials are SK (Sidney Kermit - what a great name). in this case, SK are the initials of a friend i received an email from tonight. i say "friend," but i've never met this person. in fact, i know almost nothing about her. but SK did something for me tonight, and i can't think of any better way that it could have been done. but all she did was ask me a question. one simple little question.

the one thing i know about SK is that she is a God-fearing person. i know this because she wrote me an email asking for directions to a church in Antigua, Guatemala.

i don't know who SK is, or where she is from, or what she is doing in Guatemala. but she is in Antigua and she desperately wants a group of believers to worship with on Sunday. she found my blog from april 30, 2005 reflecting on the Body of Christ during my time in Antigua. she found it by doing a google search for "Antigua English Worship Service" and she wrote to me asking where she could find the church, because she had nowhere to go last week.

SK, thank you for reminding me of the lessons God has taught me in the past. thank you for reminding me of what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ. as i read back over those reflections from april, i thought about where i am now. what have i done lately that shows me to be "the righteousness of God"? who have i turned away from the grace of God by my hypocrisy and self-centeredness? how am i to live out my faith in my current situation as a medical student? what lonely, desperate child of God have i brushed off unknowingly because i wasn't paying attention to the people around me?

i learned so much during my time in Antigua - about independence, about loneliness, about the Church, about living as Jesus lived, about dependence (i learned a little Spanish, too). but so many of those lessons i have forgotten. even the ones i wrote down, i have failed to keep them in my mind.

so tonight, i am praying for you, SK. i pray that even though the email i sent you was pretty late, you might find a group of Christians to worship with tomorrow. i pray also for the friends i made in Antigua who weren't Christians - that someone would be the hands and feet of Christ to bring them the good news of the grace of God, wherever they are now.

thank you, SK. i needed the reminder.

and thank you, God, for SK. bless her.

Que Dios les bendiga a ustedes este noche.

A Very Warm Welcome

2006-01-28T11:37:00.000-05:00

I've been noticing lately that there has been an increase in international visitors to my blog. I just wanted to offer you all a proper welcome. So...

Welcome
Bienvenido
Willkommen
歓迎
Welkom
Bienvenue
Υποδοχή
Benvenuto
欢迎
환영
Boa vinda
Добро пожаловать
dobrodošli na
dobrodošao
vítat
velkommen
taggapin
mile widziany
Hoş geldiniz
chroesawa
Karibu
مرحبا!, أهِ وسهِ!
boruch-habo
Howdy!

I hope you all, internationally and domestically, feel welcome here. Mucho gusto. Y'all come back now, ya hear!?

Do-over

2006-01-24T12:51:00.000-05:00

Apparently I miscalculated in my post yesterday. I said yesterday that the time to get started studying was "now." As it turns out, the "now" of yesterday got postponed to today. Sorry for any complications or difficulties this may have caused you.

Easy

2006-01-23T17:02:00.000-05:00

Deceptively easy.

That's how the second semester of med school starts out. It seems so laid back compared to first semester... no 2-hour anatomy lectures followed by 2 hours in the lab dissecting. No biochemsitry burying you in mounds of enzymes and pathways. And no cell biology with it's receptor-mediated signaling cascades.

Instead, we look at pictures of cells in histology, and we talk about the flu in microbiology. Sure, maybe physiology is a little challenging, but it's enjoyable...

That's what I'm saying now, but our first test isn't for another 2 weeks or so. I have a feeling that come test time, the hammer will come down. So it's off to the library for some non-motivated studying. It has to start some time. That time is now.

A Sample

2006-01-09T20:28:00.000-05:00

Today began my second semester of medical school. But before I get too involved in this round, allow me to give you a sample from round one. The following is a reflection paper I wrote after my first week of anatomy lab where we dissected a human cadaver.

During orientation we were told that everyone has a reaction to working with a cadaver for the first time. We were told that the reactions vary widely between individuals, and that all are acceptable. We were also told to think about and consider our own reactions to the cadavers. So, armed with this new insight and instruction I began to predict and analyze my reaction to the first day of anatomy lab. In the past I have, on occasion, become queasy at the sight of blood and the experience of investigating the insides of the human body. Once, while observing a surgery, I had to leave the operating room due to the combination of sights, sounds and smells. On the other hand, I have also had experiences of looking into a living human body and marveling at the miracle of life without getting sick or light-headed at all. Because of these different responses to differing situations, I was unsure of how I would react to the first day of anatomy lab.
Upon opening the table on Monday, the first thing I saw was the feet of our cadaver. Though this uniquely human feature was somewhat shocking (his feet had to be held out of the way in order to open the table fully), I did not have any adverse physical reactions to the sight of our cadaver, nor to touching him or performing the dissection. It did, however, take the first thirty or forty-five minutes to reach some sense of comfort with the work we were beginning. I made eye contact with one of my classmates as we began the dissection and we both had looks of uncertainty about the task facing us. By the end of our time in lab on Monday, though, my whole group was actively participating in the work.
On Tuesday we discussed in small groups our responses to the first cadaver experience, and I spent time considering my own response, which I felt was really almost a lack of a response. Why did I not become sick at the sight of this dead body? How should I feel about cutting open and dissecting a dead human being? Who was this person who donated his body for our educational benefit and for the medical benefit of our future patients? What kind of life did he live? How old was he at the time of his death? How did he die? All of these questions occupied my mind for the first day or two after the lab experience.
I also had another experience on Monday that affected my response to working on this dead body. The grandfather of one of my friends died on Monday morning while my friend was brushing her grandfather’s teeth. Her description of that experience somehow altered my feelings toward this dead body on the table in anatomy lab. On Wednesday, as I approached the table for the second day of dissection, I saw the exposed hand of our cadaver. The humanity of this man struck me in a new way this time. Later on, as we closed up the table for the day, we had to hold the cadaver’s feet out of the way and shift his head in order to close the table. This action of moving his feet and head seemed to me in some way similar to the care that I often must give to my own grandparents now that they are older and feebler. Somehow, over the course of Wednesday’s and Friday’s lab experiences, this man has become like an old friend to me. Every day he will be waiting for our lab group, waiting to show us something new about the human body. He wants to teach us, but in return we must take care of him, moving his limbs for him, spraying him down to keep him moisturized, and being gentle so as not to disturb some part of him that he is waiting to show us later on in the semester.
I am not quite certain how I came to this response towards this unknown dead man whose body we are systematically taking apart, but a sense of thankfulness and respect has become my overriding feeling towards this gentleman, and I appreciate the opportunity that he is providing for me even in his death.

Poor Old Micheal Finnegan

2005-12-27T00:16:00.000-05:00

Begin again.

One semester down, 7 more to go. Piece of cake, right? Well, I've learned a lot this semester, and I'd love to share my thoughts and such with you all - perhaps that will happen sometime over the next couple of weeks.
But right now I'm at my brother's house in Ohio. I'm here with my family and my girlfriend, Rebecca, having a little post-Christmas family fun. So I'm not going to write much for now. I just had to write something tonight because the demands for a new post have reached a new level of seriousness. One week ago I received an email from "The Juice" with the following threat:

Anyways, Kent, I'm giving you 1 week to blog again, or else your gone from my sidebar list. I don't like to dissapoint my visitors.

So here is your update. I successfully completed my first semester of med school, and in the process I started dating a fabulous girl named Rebecca. I have not yet seen "The Chronicles of Narnia" but I plan on seeing it this week. I also received the whole series of books for Christmas. Maybe I can read them this summer.

I realize this is a pretty lame post, but maybe it will be enough to hold my cherished spot on the Juice's sidebar. Please...

Guatemala

2005-10-11T23:54:00.000-05:00

Please pray for my friends in Guatemala who are suffering from the recent hurricane. I haven't talked to Thelma, mi mama Guatemalteca, but I was told she is ok by someone from CSA, the language school I attended.
thanks.

Temptation

2005-09-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

"We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it..."
- C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity

A few thoughts

2005-09-10T20:05:00.000-05:00

I have once again begun receiving pressure from "The PW" to add a new post. It's not that I feel it necessary to wait for a request for a new post every time, it's just that I choose to spend my time doing so many other things instead of writing new blog entries. But anyway, here's your new post, Michelle. =)

I don't know if I really have a "typical" form that I follow in my postings, but if there were such a thing, I am going to depart from it for a moment of reflection. I've been reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis lately, and I want to share a passage from this book that relates to some thoughts I've been having for a while now regarding the state of our country, and politics and Christianity in general. I don't know if I'll be able to share my own thoughts, but for now I think the thoughts of Mr. Lewis will suffice. I'd be interested to know what you all out there in blogosphere think about this topic of the relationship between Christianity and the advancement of a political system or party. My own opinions are not well formed, but there is one thing that consistently makes me uncomfortable and sick to my stomach, and that is the division that arises among self-proclaimed Christians because of their differing political opinions. I think Mr. Lewis nails this one on the head.

Mere Christianity: Book 3: Christian Behavior; Chapter 3: Social Morality

Speaking of a "fully Christian society"...

If there were such a society in existence and you or I visited it, I think we should come away with a curious impression. We should feel that its economic life was very socialistic and, in that sense, 'advanced', but that its family life and its code of manners were rather old fashioned -- perhaps even ceremonious and aristocratic. Each of us would like some bits of it, but I am afraid very few of us would like the whole thing. That is just what one would expect if Christianity is the total plan for the human machine. We have all departed from that total plan in different ways, and each of us wants to make out that his own modification of the original plan is the plan itself. You will find this again and again about anything that is really Christian: every one is attracted by bits of it and wants to pick out those bits and leave the rest. That is why we do not get much further: and that is why people who are fighting for quite opposite things can both say they are fighting for Christianity....
And now, before I end, I am going to venture on a guess as to how this section (of the book) has affected any who have read it. My guess is that there are some Leftist people among them who are very angry that it has not gone further in that direction, and some people of an opposite sort who are angry because they think it has gone much too far. If so, that brings us right up against the real snag in all this drawing up of blueprints for a Christian society. Most of us are not really approaching the subject in order to find out what Christianity says: we are approaching it in the hope of finding support from Christianity for the views of our own party. We are looking for an ally where we are offered either a Master or -- a Judge.

*note: C.S. Lewis was British and he wrote these words in 1943.

Out of Thin Air (Pt 2)

2005-08-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

You can read part one of this exhilarating story here.

So there we were, climbing into a cargo door on the side of a small prop plane with a few other crazies. As Jeremy said, with the long wait, just sitting around watching other people going up and coming down our nerves had pretty much settled down. No big deal. We’re going to get on this plane, strap ourselves to the instructors, and jump out.

No big deal until the plane starts down the runway, and you realize “I’m going to strap myself to this instructor and we are going to jump out of this plane. WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE DOING??!!!!”

Because we were first-time skydivers, we were doing tandem jumps, which means you are each with your own instructor. He wears the parachute. You wear the instructor, like a big backpack.

There were two other people jumping with us. A young college-aged dating couple. He had done it before. She was freakin’ out. I heard the guy’s instructor ask him, “Who is your best friend?” “She is.” “Wrong. I am. I’m wearing your parachute.”

So by now the plane has been climbing for a few minutes and the ground is way too far away. There was also a team of professional skydivers in the plane with us. I saw one of them open the cargo door and climb out onto the outside of the plane. Now at this point, it’s a somewhat surreal experience. I’m thinking, “people don’t do that in real life. You only do that in a movie. Hasn’t anybody told this guy that you only do that in a movie?” But the next thing I knew, the whole team of jumpers was gone. They just vanished. Our instructors had us get intimately close to them while they hooked our harnesses to theirs, and then Jeremy and I played paper-rock-scissors to see who would go first. He won… or lost, depending on how you look at it.

About this time, the terrified girl and her instructor make their way to the door. She gave a blood-curdling scream as if someone was about to push her out of a plane at 10,000 feet or something. My guy says, “wow, that was quite a scream. Think you can match that?”

Now, if you don’t know Jeremy, he isn’t a big guy. And by not a big guy, I mean about the size of your average middle-schooler. So his instructor says, “pick up your feet.” And he walks over to the door carrying Jeremy like a kid in one of those baby carriers.

“Are you ready? 1…2…3”

And suddenly I’m alone in the airplane with my instructor. We shuffle over to the door and stand at the edge. I can see Jeremy falling to the earth, already hundreds of feet away. I wait to hear the countdown, but we just stand there watching the others fall helplessly from 10,000 feet, reaching speeds of 120mph. Finally, he says the magic words, we lean forward, and it’s all down hill from there.
After falling for a minute or so, he pulls the ripcord. I can see the others drifting gently to the ground under their bright colored canopies. He gives me the handles and let’s me control our flight for a while. You can actually experience quite a few Gs if you get the parachute turned just right. Then he took back the controls and guided us down for a nice landing. Jeremy was on the ground already. We got unhooked and made our way to the barn, watching the freak-out girl come soaring down with her instructor. She was about to puke… which sort of ruined her boyfriend’s plans for a post-skydiving proposal, but I think it all probably worked out in the end.

We called our mothers and let them know we survived the experience – they were very appreciative – and then we bought some pictures as hard evidence of the adventure. I’d post it here, but I don’t know how.

But that’s the story of how we cheated death.

New Beginnings

2005-08-17T22:38:00.000-05:00

I have a special two-part post in the on-deck circle, but it isn't ready yet. However, there is a lot going on here and I didn't want to let so much time pass that my posts would become irrelevant. The most recent big news is... I started med school this week!!! Praise God!!
It all began last week with orientation on Friday. Then Saturday, after more orienting, we had our White Coat ceremony, where they give us our first short white lab coat, we sign the school honor code, and then all together we recite a version of the Hippocratic Oath. It was a nice ceremony, but watching 280 students walk across the stage one at a time, each attempting to gracefully allow someone else to put a coat on them wasn't exactly an exhilarating experience. Except, of course, when that one student was me... I'm sure everybody loved that part of it. Anyway, this week is a combination of orientation and classes, i.e. Gross Anatomy lecture and lab. We already began dissecting our cadaver. It took some getting used to at first, but my whole group seemed to adjust rather quickly to the idea. So far, so good. I think only one person in my class has passed out so far.
So that's what's new here. Thank you for all the prayers that have been such great support up to this point. Please don't stop - I'm sure my need for support and strength and stamina and courage and hope will only increase from here on out. So thank you.
In addition to all that, I am meeting tomorrow with Dr. Javier Sevilla, who happens to be from Trujillo, Honduras. He is a director of the Hispanic and Latino Health program at IU as well as the faculty advisor for the Society of Latinos student interest group. He is also interested in missionary medicine. We are going to meet together regularly to work on Spanish and to discuss and work on the improvement of health care for the Hispanic community in Indianapolis. It should be the beginning of a good experience. Pray that God would open doors as well as my mind.
I better get back to the anatomy books.
more exciting news to come in a few days... remember to check back.

Thanks for the Quiz, Niki

2005-08-08T23:42:00.000-05:00

is it accurate?

You are Proverbs.

Which book of the Bible are you?

End of the Line

2005-08-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't posted in quite a while. But this week is the final week before school begins. I actually have orientation this weekend. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. But it will be great... I hope. This week promises to be full of busyness and excitement.
No exciting stories right now, but I feel a few coming on, so keep checking back.

The Latest on Granddad

2005-07-20T17:18:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delayed update. Granddad is back at home now. He came home from the hospital last Saturday, and has been resting. He has recovered well from the pancreatitis, but 9 days in the hospital is about enough to wear out anybody. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for my grandparents. As my uncle put it the other day, getting old isn't for wimps.

A little help

2005-07-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

For all of you who, like The Future, have had a little trouble finding my email address (and by the number of emails I have received, I would guess that a lot of you have been having trouble) here is a little help. Click on "view my complete profile" in the right column of this page. Then on my profile page click "Email" in the left column. It's as easy as 1,2...
Of course, The Future never was too quick when it came to computers and numbers and such. So maybe the rest of you didn't need this bit of help. So, Future, this one's for you.
My niece and nephew are here this week. No big plans yet, but there is talk of seeing the sights downtown. Should be fun.

New Number

2005-07-18T13:12:00.000-05:00

I changed my phone number. For privacy reasons I am not going to post my phone number here for the whole world to read. But if I know you, please feel free to email me and I'll give you my new number. This will also help me update my email address book. I'm sure you can find my email address here on this blog.
peace,
kent <><

Update on Granddad

2005-07-14T15:58:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the prayers for my grandfather. He is still in the hospital, but is doing much better with the pancreatitis. Tomorrow they are going to do a procedure to investigate the cause of the problem, so hopefully it won't happen again. Please pray that Granddad would be strong and of good courage. It can be hard on a fella lying in a hospital bed for a week, with visitors stopping by every now and then. And please pray for my grandmother. He is her primary care taker, so it's hard on her when he's not around.
As for me, I have one month before school begins. One month of freedom before my life changes in unforeseeable ways. If you ever wanted to come visit me in Indiana, now would be a great time. To be honest, I am getting nervous about school, but I'm looking forward to getting started. It's been a while since I did any hardcore academics. I'm sure this first year is going to rock my world, but in a good way hopefully.
Any suggestions for things I should do during this final month of summer break?

Granddad

2005-07-10T23:08:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your prayers for my Granddad. He is still in the hospital, but has been moved to a regular room and is doing much better. He has pancreatitis and they are still unsure of the cause, but he is getting better. Please continue to pray for him, and for my grandmother. It is hard on her when he is not around. We took her up to see him this afternoon and she must have told him a dozen times "I love you." And of course every time he responded similarly. It's great to have grandparents who love each other so much after 66 years of marriage.

Home Early

2005-07-07T23:21:00.000-05:00

I'm not supposed to be home from camp until Friday afternoon, but I came home late Thursday night because my Granddad is in the hospital. Please pray for him. I just came home long enough to change clothes, before heading up to spend the night at the hospital, but I wanted to send out this prayer request. Please pray for Granddad and for Mom (my grandmother).
thanks.

Sorry to Keep You Waiting

2005-07-01T14:03:00.000-05:00

I started off the week strong, with two early posts. But now, as the days have worn on and the week is waning, I find myself slacking in the category of "frequent posts." So without further ado, let me get to some content.

Sunday marks the beginning of the observation of a great tradition - the Southeastern Church of Christ Bible Camp at Spring Mill. For all but perhaps 2 or 3 of my 24 years of life, I have attended camp. The first time I went to camp I was a young 4.5 months old. And for I believe 3 of the last 5 years I have served as a counselor for the high school boys. This year the tradition will be repeated as Tom Perkins (the youth and worship minister) and I take on a cabin of 13 rowdy teenage boys. I'm sure the week will prove to be a grand one. In addition to my usual responsibilities as counselor, I will also be leading singing in the morning chapel times and I will be one of the designated rental van drivers for the week. All of this suits me fine. I've led singing a number of times, and the rental van driving, while a very big and serious responsibility, is nothing entirely new to me.

But there is an added burden facing me at camp this year. Strangely enough, this burden is not some new responsibility that I have never faced before. In fact, I have done it multiple times in the past. But something about teaching the high school Bible class is weighing on me this time like a bench-press bar resting on my chest that I just can't muster the strength to lift. (I'm quite familiar with that feeling, which is one reason I avoid working out) While I have willingly taken on this task, and fully intend to carry out my responsibility faithfully, I am intimidated by facing 24 teenagers for an hour and fifteen minutes each morning to talk about "building character like Christ." And in all honesty, I think the pressure comes not from the 48 eyes that may or may not be upon me for that time, but rather from the topic that I am expected to "teach."

What do I know about the character of Christ? Well, of course, I was a Bible major at ACU, so I ought to know plenty about the character of our Lord (not to mention the fact that I've been a Christian for 13 years now). Ok, fair enough - so for the sake of argument I'll admit to knowing a decent amount of information about the character of Jesus. But that is not the topic for the week. The topic for the week is "BUILDING character like Christ," and at this point I have to throw in the towel. I know nothing about how to build character like Christ. Or at least, I feel like I know very little.

Let me take an aside here to add a disclaimer to this conversation: Please, I repeat, PLEASE do not read this as me looking for compliments. I don't want comments encouraging me by saying "You're a great guy" and whatnot. Do I want encouragement? Yes, but encouragement about teaching this class, not about my status as a follower of Christ. So please don't comment about that. It will only give me a big head, and that won't help anything.

So how am I supposed to instruct a group of teenagers about being conformed to the likeness of Christ, when I myself feel no closer to the goal than those who I am instructing? How can I, being fully aware of the sin in my life (or maybe not being fully aware - which would be worse) take it upon myself to spend more than 6 hours this week teaching some kids how they ought to be like Jesus? This is the source of the burden I feel weighing heavily upon me.

I know that the transformation of a life is accomplished by the gracious and graceful hand of God, not by the eloquent, skillful words of a wiseman. And I know that the softening of a heart is result of the work of the Holy Spirit, not the effect of a well organized worship service. And I know that the salvation of a human being is great work of the grace of God, not the end product of a life well lived. So I recognize that the building of Christian character in the lives of these teenagers (and in my life) is not dependent upon my skill and suaveness, my humor and intrigue in this week-long Bible class at camp. But what a burden I feel in spite of those truths.

Please pray for our class, and for the campers, and for the staff. It will be a great week of fun. I pray that it will more importantly be a great week of spiritual growth - for me and for the campers.

thanks for bearing with me.

It worked!

2005-06-27T09:01:00.000-05:00

So was it the hint that "nobody ever comments" that sparked such a quick reply or was it the fact that I inserted links in the text of my post? Well, whatever your motivation, thanks for the quick responses (all 5 of them), offering me the motivation to keep on writing about nothing. And thank you, Michelle (my preacher's wife) for giving that little extra bit of inspiration. By the way, missed you at small group.
Oh, and Timmy, about Bryan Weber... we made plans to meet that first night after dinner. Guess what? He didn't show up. But really he had a legit excuse, and we did meet up again and we spent a lot of that week together before I left Guatemala. It was good to see him, and it was good to have a friend around who knew me and with whom I shared something beyond those 3 months in Guate. He should still be there, but I haven't heard from him in a while. Who knows, maybe he decided to take a bus to Colombia just for the fun of it. And speaking of people who never update websites... when is the Timmy website going to be back up and running?

Who really reads this thing anyway?

2005-06-26T14:27:00.000-05:00

I got harassed this morning at church by my preacher's wife. Michelle York wanted to know why I have a blog if I am never going to update it. Never going to update it? I made two posts on the same day less than a week ago, and she says I never update. Granted, I may not blog with the consistency of a Mike Cope, or the humor of a Grant Boone, or the inspiration of a Ryan Porche, or the passion of a Jeremy Jackson, but come on, like my life is interesting enough to merit a blog of such grandeur? I tried to defend my minimal blogger activity to Michelle by citing the following argument: Why should I post if nobody ever comments? I mean, who really reads this thing anyway. But then another woman from my church piped up and said "Yeah, you hardly ever kept us updated while you were gone."
So, for the sake of Michelle and all you other anonymous Kent Brantly blog fanatics out there, I will add this post today, so that when she and you check kentbrantly.blogspot.com you won't be disappointed once again by my ever so exciting life.

For those interested in viewing pictures from my time in Central America, I have begun the arduous task of posting them online. I don't know if all 580 pictures will meet the ever-so-high publishing standards, but for the few that do, you can find them here.

So who does read this thing?

Quick Update

2005-06-20T15:05:00.000-05:00

To clarify my med school situation:
I will begin med school at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis on August 12th, 2005. The bioethics degree will have to wait a bit. Thanks for all of your concern. I've talked to a lot of people who still thought I was having to defer enrollment for another year, so I wanted to clear that up.
So to summarize, if you want to ever talk to me again, you should probably do so before the 12th of August, because that is the day my social life hits the back burner....
ok, so I hope that isn't really the case, but I'm sure this whole thing will be harder than I am capable of imagining.

i continue to covet your prayers.
thanks,
kent <><

Granny

2005-06-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

Please pray for my Granny (Ruby Snell). Last Tuesday (June 14th) Granny, my mom's mom, was taken to the hospital after falling and pushing the button on her Lifeline medical alert necklace. (You know, the old "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials) Granny is 93 and still lives by herself in Florence, Alabama. After lots of tests they determined that she suffered a light stroke. She had weakness on her left side and, although most of the time she is very lucid, she experiences periods of extreme confusion and irrationality along with short-term memory loss. Granny is now in a rehab center where they will put her through physical therapy this week to see what kind of progress she can make. She has been regaining strength on her left side, and her long-term memory is as sharp as ever, but she is not quite herself sometimes.
I went to Alabama on Friday to see her. It was like a make-shift family reunion. I saw 7 of my mom's 9 siblings, and the other two had been there before I arrived. I'm glad I got to see Granny again. It was my first time to talk to her since getting back from Guatemala. I thank the Lord that I was able to see her again and give her a hug.
So I ask that you pray for Granny and for my family. It looks like she won't be able to live on her own any more, so finding a way to share the work of caring for her will be hurdle the family will have to find a way over. Granny is a Godly woman, and she and Papa have given a rich Christian heritage to their family. Nobody gets to choose into what family they are born, so I consider it a great blessing that I was born into a Christian home. And I am blessed to have Granny for my grandmother. Papa (Ralph Snell) died in 1982, when I was one year old. I wish I had known him, but even without knowing him personally, he has blessed my life by the way he led his family, the way he raised his children, and the legacy of a life of Christian service that he left behind. I look at my uncles, my mom's 4 younger brothers, and I can see what kind of man my Papa was - a man of integrity, humility, and compassion. A man whose presence commanded respect, but whose demeanor was gentle and peaceful. A man with a passion for Jesus Christ, His body, and the Word of God. And a man whose love for his family was surpassed only by his love for the Lord. And Granny is his matriarchal equal. For the last 23 years she has been a widow, living BY herself but not FOR herself. Although 93, she still keeps up with her 10 children, 34 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. She raised her 10 children to love God and to pursue Godly lives. She has taught countless Bible classes and spoken at retreats for more years than you or I have been around. She always cooks something to take to the church pot-luck dinners (in fact she fell and broke her hip 2 years ago while trying to get her casserole dish out onto the front porch so she would be ready to go when her neighbors arrived to pick her up.) She lives a life of selfless Christ-like service rendered out of a heart of love.
I love my Granny and Papa. Please pray for her, for her recovery, and for our family as we care for her.

Home Sweet Home

2005-06-02T00:16:00.000-05:00

Back home again in Indiana.... at least for a couple days, before going on vacation with my family. Antigua was a great experience, and I will never forget many of the people I met there. Especially my new Guatemalan family. I also had a fantastic visit with my good friend Dearing Davis in Costa Rica. Beautiful country. Beautiful friend. It was a great ending to a great trip. Thanks to all of you who have commented over the months, who have sent me letters and cards and emails, and especially to those of you who have been praying for me. I couldn't have made it through any other way.

Gracias a Dios por la vida. Es una bendicion a respirar y vivir cada día.

And here is the sum of all that I learned in Guatemala:
Sólo sé que no sé nada.

more to come,
kpb <><

Guess Who´s Coming To Dinner

2005-05-23T12:45:00.000-05:00

So I walked out of my school today during our 30-minute break and saw Brian Weber walking down the street. That's all.

Dogs of Antigua

2005-05-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

I've made some observations in my time here about the dogs of Antigua, and I thought you might enjoy hearing them. First of all, the streets here are full of stray dogs, and you occasionally see people's pets in the street as well. So all of my observations are based on the dogs of the street. I have decided there are 5 categories of dogs here in Antigua: 1) skinny brown dogs 2) skinny black dogs 3) skinny black-and-brown dogs 4) fat dogs 5)house dogs.
All of the dogs in group1 and 2 seem to be related to the dogs of the same group, as they all look pretty much identical. The dogs of group 3, I assume, are the offspring of the cross-breading between groups 1 and 2 -- hence the mixed coat color. And group 4 I don't have much explanation for. But there is a huge weimaraner-ish dog that I walk past on my way to the internet café, and he takes up the whole sidewalk. Group 5 is composed mostly of the personal pets that I occasionally see, like the two miniature French poodles in my house, or the rottweiler that I've seen a couple times walking it's owner down the street. They don't really fit into any of the other catagories.
One other observation that I've made is that the mangy mutts that you pass on the street (groups 1 through 4 above) seem to be much more mellow and easy going than the house pets that you encounter. They don't bark at people, they don't bite, nothing. Of course, that might be a learned behavior after generations of being abused by pedestrians when they get out of line. I don't know. But the most high-strung dogs seem to be those that spend most of their time indoors. If you walk past a house with one of these dogs at the wrong time, or in the wrong manner, you are likely to get barked at with a ferocious bark that would scare the poop out of your average school girl. Especially if it comes from the large german-shepherd-looking dog who likes to stick his face out the window and show off his teeth.
Anyway, those are my observations about dogs in Antigua. Hope you enjoyed them.

Oh, and one final observation - most of the dogs here understand more Spanish than I.

reflections

2005-04-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

i've been learning a lot about the body of Christ in my time here in Guatemala. some of it has been amazing. it has been a blessing to find other Christians here and to know that we are family. the Church is an incredible blessing from God. i came to a foreign country knowing no one, but i have been surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ for much of my time here. there is a Bible study every tuesday at my school during our 30-minute morning break. there is an english worship service and Bible study on thursday nights - and though it is a bit different than the worship services that i am used to at home and at ACU, the most important thing is that this group of people gathers to worship the same Lord and Savior who loves and saves us all. we are family. when i have needed prayer, i have not hesitated to stop by the café where the church meets to talk to somebody. they even give away free Spanish New Testaments for you to share with other people. and i've had a couple of good friends in my time here who share my faith. we have been able to walk together, to help each other through the daily struggles of life. i have been blessed by the body of Christ here in Antigua.

on the other hand, some of the things i've learned about the body of our Lord have been heart-breaking. i've made friends who are not Christians and one of their biggest excuses for rejecting God's calling on their life is that they have seen the "church" and they want no part of it. there is a DC Talk song from back in the day that begins with a short monologue. it goes something like this:

the number one cause of atheism in the world today is Christians -
who acknowledge God with their mouths and then deny Him by their lifestyles.
that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

i shared those lyrics with one of my new friends and he said "yeah, that's pretty much been the case for me." he was only being honest. but it was like a slap in the face or a blow to the chest. i love the family of God, and i praise God for adopting me into His family. but where have we gone so wrong? "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God" but instead we have become a stinch in the nostrils of the lost. and this is not the scent that "to some is the stinch of death and to others is the fragrance of life" that Paul wrote about. this is the stinch of hypocrisy and sin that nauseates those who get a whiff. one easy example to support this train of thought: the crusades. but let's leave it there, because i wouldn't want to hit too close to home. i wouldn't want to talk about the racial divisions in the Church. or denominational battles that bring people of faith into positions of enemies. and i definitely don't want to approach the topic of "Christians" who go to church 2 or maybe even three times a week, and have happy families, and live in the suburbs and fulfill the american dream, and drive past the same homeless person or the same low-income housing project every day and take no compassion on the poor and the widows and orphans - and those sinners, the very people Jesus Christ came to seek and to save. and by no means do i want to get into a discussion of politics and faith - those two things should remain separate at all times. or better yet, just associate one political party or the other with our faith and support it whole-heartedly without critically thinking about ALL of the issues as they relate to our job of being Christ in the World.

it is a mystery to me. we are supposed to be Christ's hands and feet and voice in the world, but we are fallen people incapable of "becom(ing) the righteousness of God" - and yet i believe that He has already made us just that. He has given us the Holy Spirit and He works in the world through us - His very body. praise God that He is Sovereign, and He has overcome the world for us.

Jesus lived a pretty radical life. He touched people. He went to their homes. He got involved in their lives. and His call to us is pretty radical - pick up your cross and follow Me. be perfect, as I am perfect. go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them everything that I have commanded you. love those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. love them, just as I have loved you.

i, for one, think he meant it.

so what do we do now?

Not so fast...

2005-04-23T16:07:00.000-05:00

bad news for the day: i may not be able to start med school in the fall after all.

no, IU didn't rescind their offer. i think it is just a result of my over-ambitiousness (is that a word?). basically, because i started a masters in bioethics and decided to complete both degrees (MA/MD) i may have to defer enrollment in the med school for a year in order to get some bioethics classes out of the way. for those of you who know me, and know that i've been making this journey towards med school pretty directly for the last 2 years, you can understand that this news of having to wait ANOTHER year before actually starting med school is not too easy for me to swallow.

but i know that God will provide all i need. He will give me the grace to accept what i am given, and He will continue to open doors where He sees fit. so i would appreciate your prayers concerning my response to this situation. He has brought me this far - i don't want to jump of the wagon now.

more later

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

2005-04-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

Many of you have been asking me for weeks or even months, and the answer has always been "I don't know yet." Well, friends, the time has come. The decision has been made. The medical shools made their offers, and the winner is....
(drum roll please)
Indiana University School of Medicine!!! (whistles and cheers are appropriate)
Some of you may be disappointed in this decision, while many of you, I'm sure, are exstatic about this news. Personally, I am at peace with the decision and excited about the next 5 years in Indy. It will be good to be at home, seeing as how I've been gone for the last 5 years. And for my friends who live in other parts of the country, you can look at it as another destination for a road trip - because truth be told, we all know I probably won't be taking many road trips for the next 5 years or so, so you'll just have to come visit me.

In other news, life in Guatemala has been full for the last month (which is the last time I updated this blog). I could write a lot of my reflections on events of the past month, but that may need to wait for another time. That sort of thing deserves it's own post, anyway, rather than being tied into the great news that you just read above.
Sadly, my friends from the last 7 weeks are beginning to trickle out of Antigua and move on to greener pastures. This morning my friend Laurie packed her bags and took off to parts unknown. She has been a good friend for the last 7 weeks and has been encouraging to me in many ways. Thanks, Laurie. We'll all miss you.
Such is life in a language school. People come and go. Friendships form quickly. And just as quickly, they slip away... hopefully not fully, but who knows if or when you might see these people again? Needless to say, this departure of friends (Rafael and his Grandmother leave tomorrow) doesn't help much with the homesickness. Today has been kind of rough so far. Not only do you think about your friends who won't be around any more, but you realize that they are returning to their homes, to their normal lives, to their friends and family, and you realize that you still have more than a month of being here... without your family, without your old friends, and now without your new friends.
The good news is, new people show up every monday. And they need new friends, too. So while the old new friends can't be replaced, more will come along to walk this path with me. And before I know it, the end of May will be here and I won't be ready to leave my new new friends and my Guatemalan family.
But I prefer not to dwell on that idea either.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for praying. Thanks for writing.
Check back soon for some reflections on the work of God all around me.
hasta luego

Around the World in 5 Days

2005-03-24T18:18:00.000-05:00

well, i feel like i've been gone from antigua for quite a while now. saturday i was gone all day on a trek up the side of a 12,000 ft. volcano, and then at 4:00am monday morning i left town with my host family for a three-day vacation. first, the volcano...
volcán de agua stands to the south of antigua, a looming reminder of the several times this town has been ravaged by earthquakes and eruptions. and it is beautiful. unlike volcán de pacaya, agua is not currently active. it has been dormant for a long time, and climbing it i found little evidence that this mountain was really a volcano at all. the terrain at the bottom of the mountain is almost jungle-like, with dense trees and brush. along the way you see fields where the people are growing corn and such. and higher up are more trees, lots of grass, and lots of rocks, but not the typical volcanic rocks full of holes, just regular rocks. there was no evidence of volcanic activity that i could see... that is, until we reached the crater. this part of agua was much different than pacaya as well. pacaya, though active, has a fairly small crater - smaller than i expected anyway. and in pacaya's crater there are two spouts that spew gases, molten rocks, and the occasional lava. at the top of volcán de agua, however, is a HUGE crater. the rim of the crater reaches some 200 feet up forming a wall on 3 sides of the massive sunken hole that once was the portal between this world and the mysteries of the fiery depths. but now when one reaches the top of volcán de agua, one finds no lava or sulfurous gases. instead, you find a small cottage for campers and a soccer field, complete with two goals. and on top of the rim are several large radio antennas and housing for the maintenance people who service the antennas. it was really cloudy all day long, so our view was limited, but nonetheless incredible. i made the climb with 5 of my new friends - rafael, lauri, taleese, laura, and bjorn. our guide was an older man from santa maria de jesus, the town at the the bottom of agua. it took us 5 hours to summit, and 3:45 to descend - so about 9 hours of hiking in total. it was a lot of fun and a good challenge, too. i'm glad i got to do it, but i think i may have now had my fill of volcano-climbing for a while.

and now the trip with the family... i don't know if i have time to tell all about it right now, but it was three very relaxing days in one of the most beautiful places i've ever been. this was a trip for most of the extended family, so there were 16 of us, including tj and myself. (tj is my korean housemate and fellow student) so there were 16 of us crammed into a 15-passenger van, which wouldn't have been that crowded considering most guatemaltecos are not large people. but we had to remove the back seat in order to have room for all our stuff, so there were 16 of us crammed into 4 rows of a 15-passenger van... for a 7-hour drive. it sounds worse than it actually was. nobody was complaining really, even though it was pretty hot. and the time passed quickly. around noon we reached a small town where we stopped to buy live fish that we ate for dinner that night. we actually netted the fish out of a kiddie pool beside the tank where they were raised. then, from that town, we left the van and boarded a boat for a 30-minute ride across lake izabal to the house where we stayed for the 3 days. lake izabal is pretty incredible. it is a large fresh-water lake that feeds into rio dulce, which feeds into the caribbean sea on the north-east coast of guatemala. our house was right on the beach, and we spent hours just lounging around on the deck and playing in the water. the water in lake izabal is fairly clear and the perfect temperature. and i could walk out about 200 yards and still have my head above the water. and like i said, it is fresh water, so you don't have that salty grime on your body when you get out of the water.
on tuesday we took a two-hour boat ride all the way across the lake, out rio dulce, to the caribbean sea, where we visited the town of livingston, home to the garifuna people... i felt like i was in jamaica or some other caribbean island. and man was it hot! we also stopped at el castillo de san felipe, a fortress built by the spanish in 1595 to protect trade ships from the pirates that pillaged the area so often. the whole day we were surrounded by natural beauty. on the banks of rio dulce, jungle-covered cliffs rise 100 or more feet from the water's edge. it was a pretty incredible 3 days. we stayed at the house until 2:30 wednesday afternoon, and didn't get home until 11:30 last night. it was very relaxing, but i came back pretty exhausted. but i have a 3-day weekend to catch up on my homework and to rest.

¿cómo se dice "busy"?

2005-03-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

so i haven't posted in a while... some of you may have been concerned about me, but have no worries. i haven't written because things have been so busy here. that's really a bit ironic, i think, seeing as how life here moves so much slower than at home, but nevertheless the days are full... even if i do find the time to take an hour-long nap every now and then.
last weekend i climbed a volcano - volcán de pacaya. it is a small (2500 meters) but active volcano to the south of guatemala city. it was about a two hour hike up. not too bad, but challenging enough for a morning. this weekend, however, i am going to climb volcán de agua, the big volcano south of antigua. agua is not active (or as my brother kevin pointed out, it has just been dormant for a while... it is still, like all volcanos, alive and well deep down inside). so it isn't active, but it is much larger than pacaya (approx. 3500m i think), and will take an estimated 5 hours to summit, and an additional 2 to descend. i may be sore next week, but it will be worth the adventure.
i've been really blessed in my time here to find groups of christians all around me. the other night i literally walked in on an english bible study, and they welcomed me to the group. and in my school, on tuesday mornings during our break there is an english bible study. i actually got to share a passage and sort of lead the discussion yesterday. and there is an english worship service on thursday nights that i have gone to twice. the body of Christ is an amazing thing, and it is a blessing to go to foreign parts of the world and find people who take you in as family. and it's not true only of those who speak english. i have visited 2 spanish-speaking churches where i felt just as welcomed and just as loved. the love of God knows no language boundaries.
last week i also took a test to graduate from grado A to grado B in my school. i have to say, grado B is a lot harder than A. there are lots more verbs with lots more exceptions. but this too shall pass.
oh, and one last thing. last night i was going to meet some friends to go to a movie in a restaurant, so i told thelma that i didn't need much food for dinner, just some bread and tea. when i came down for dinner, she set a plate in front of me and on the plate was the best surprise in my time here.... cheesetoast! and to top it off, she sat down beside me and began breaking green beans. it almost felt like home. :-)

touchy feely

2005-03-07T16:20:00.000-05:00

Jesus was a touchy person. in his most incidental interactions, he was touchy. and it was intentional. when the woman with bleeding touched him, he knew it. when he met the lepers, he touched them. when he healed people, often he touched them, particularly when their ailment had some sort of social stigma attached to it.

i didn't touch the guy outside of burger kind. i dropped some change in his hand, wished God's blessings upon him, and walked away. but i didn't touch him.

i hung out with john and maki this weekend. john and i went to the evangelical church - centroamericana. we had communion and even went to bible class. then sunday night we went to see the movie "motorcycle diaries." it's in spanish with english subtitles (note: there is much foul language in the movie) it's based on a true story. fuser, the main character, was a touchy guy of great compassion. he refused to ignore the injustice he saw around him. he touched people that noone else would touch.
but fuser had the wrong goal. he missed the big picture. life, justice, is not found in political revolution. life and light and justice and love are found in Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God.

i want to be a touchy person. i want to be aware of injustice around me. i want to be filled with compassion. and i want to always have my eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.

next time i will touch the guy outside of burger king.

what is that smell?

2005-03-07T16:08:00.000-05:00

why, when i wear my new tennis shoes, do my feet smell like horse manure at the end of the day?

David and Bathsheba?

2005-03-06T16:25:00.000-05:00

last night was really cool. as i sat at the kitchen table with thelma, her cousin edgar, her sister virginia and virginia's husband adolfo, the conversation turned to my english-spanish bible. since they are all catholic, my bible was a bit different than theirs... mine is missing a few books. anyway, adolfo and edgar were taking turns looking at my bible, when adolfo asked me if i had read the story of david and bathsheba. "sì" but apparently not everyone else was familiar with this story. now, i couldn't understand everything adolfo said, but because i know the story i was able to follow pretty well as he began to tell his family the story of david and bathsheba. and boy did he tell it! no detail was too small. he told of david seeing bathsheba and inquiring "who is that woman?" he told of the adultery. he told of bathsheba's discovery of the pregnancy. he told of david's scheme to bring uriah the hittite, bathsheba's husband, back from battle to disguise the pregnancy as legitimate. he told of uriah's great integrity. he told of the murder. he told of the report. he told of bathsheba moving into the palace. he told of the visit from nathan the prophet. adolfo told nathan's story of the poor man and his lamb, and of david's anger, and of nathan's message - "David, you are that man!" but he didn't stop there. he went on to tell of the punishment from God, david's time of prayer and mourning, and the death of the baby. and then he revealed the identity of the next child born to david and bathsheba - the king-to-be, wise solomon himself. and then, to finish the story, adolfo told how solomon was the son of david through whom the lineage of Jesus Christ would pass.
and through this whole story, the others were all captivated. at the "you are the man" line, they all were shocked. at the revelation of the lineage of Christ, they marveled.
it touched my heart to see such eager interest in God's word, and to know that the man sitting next to me knew the word of God so well. the whole earth is full of his unfailing love.
if you don't know the story of david and bathsheba, check it out in 2 Samuel 11-12.
i'd love to be reminded of other great stories from the bible. i love hearing them over and over. so what's your favorite?
please keep praying for me. things here are going well and getting better, but i still covet your prayers. thanks.

Bienvenidos a Guatemala

2005-03-04T17:49:00.000-05:00

i'll come up with more catchy titles later, but for now, welcome to guatemala. i survived my first week of class, and though i still feel, like a friend said, deaf and mute, i'm learning and it will only get better. i have made several observations this week that i wanted to share, but now that i'm sitting at the computer all of my previous observations evade me.....
my favorite food so far: the tacos that Thelma made on monday night... wow! none of the food has been bad so far. i mean, cream of wheat is edible. but some of it has been really good. so you are probably thinking "don't they just eat beans and rice there?" the answer is a resounding no. today for lunch, we had grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and fresh avacado. mmmmm.
sometimes, a slightly inebriated individual is a good person to practice spanish with. especially if the inebriated person in question also speaks english. thelma's cousin, edgar, who lives in rhode island, came over the other night. we all sat around the table, them talking, me trying to listen - usually in vain. but the conversation eventually turned towards me, and they asked me some questions. edgar, who had been drinking a little bit of whiskey throughout the evening, began to ask me question in english about my religion. he, of course, is catholic. anyway, we talked for quite a while, some in english, some in spanish, about lots of things and the conversation kept coming back to Jesus. edgar said "i like my drink, but i follow Jesus Christ, and i live my life for him." as wierd as it may sound, edgar was very encouraging to me, and i probably talked more in spanish that evening than i have up to this point.
i'm sure there is much more i could tell you about. but that is good for now. please pray for me as i continue this adventure. it gets kind of lonely, and it's definitely not easy. but i'm glad i'm here.

You only thought it was the End of an Era

2005-03-04T17:20:00.000-05:00

For all of those who have been distressed over the past week about the ending of an era with Kent's phone number changing - fret no more. Cingular came through in the clutch, and secured Kent's subscription to their services until at least October of this year. So the Abilene phone number lives on! Of course, Kent's phone will be turned off until the end of May, so he won't be receiving your many phone calls. But you may still post here or email him. Thank you for your patronage. This has been a Public Service Announcement.

Número dos

2005-03-02T12:39:00.000-05:00

man, this language thing is slow going. i mean, i guess i've learned a lot for only having been here three days, but i want to be able to speak, and all i can do is piece together a couple of uncongugated words (and that at great effort). yesterday alone Julio gave me like 75 vocabulary words to learn. today there were not quite that many, but we got into present tense verbs, so there is a lot more to learn with verbs than with nouns and adjectives.

all that to say, i'm chugging along, but it's hard, and so far there has been little reward to serve as motivation. really, for me, the hardest part is speaking. my mind doesn't work that fast when it comes to languge. if i can look at it, and read it, then i can figure out what it says. but to just hear it, or think it, and have it come out of my mouth at a normal speed is muy defícil.

it is also kind of lonely here. there are a lot of people, but i don't know them, and they don't know me. i've met a couple of the students at my school, and there is an english bible study tomorrow night that i will go to. but it's still lonely right now. yo estoy un poco nostálgico.

but it is still true.... the whole earth is full of his unfailing love. even if i don't understand it when it is spoken in spanish.

Hola from Guatemala

2005-02-28T15:02:00.000-05:00

Hola from Guatemala!

i will dispense with the capital letters now because it is a bit harder on this keyboard. my flights were all good, and i got to see tim, zach and melissa, anne, and angie in texas. i slept most of the flight from dallas to miami, and part of the time from miami to guatemala. on my last flight i sat next to a canadian couple who were coming down with a group to work in an orphanage. they are going to be in antigua next weekend, so maybe i will see them again. i just found out tht i don{t know how to do an apostrophe on this keyboard.

all of my luggage arrived, and i just walked through customs. there was a man named rolando who picked me up, along with another student who arrived shortly before i did. her name is maki, and she is from japan. but she is in college in germany. she was a day late getting here because she first flew to antigua, barbados. she got there and discovered that she was in the wrong country, so she had to fly to philadelphia, then to miami, then to guatemala city. so of course, her luggage was not here either.

rolando picked up his wife and daughter in guatemala city and then we drove (maybe an hour) to antigua. our first stop was my new family. their last name is porras. it means cheering. living in the house are thelma (my hostess), her two sons, francisco who is 20 and in law school, and diego who is about 12, and thelma's parents, alfredo and lina. but also visiting yesterday from guatemala city was thelma's sister (i found the apostrophe) virginia's family. virginia's husband is adolfo, and their daughter vicky was there, too. vicky is about 22 and speaks fluent english. that made the initial introduction much easier than it might have been. adolfo's family visits almost every weekend, so i guess it's all spanish for me until next weekend.

yesterday evening we went to a procession, which is one of the parades they have every sunday during lent. during holy week (the week before easter) they will have multiple processions each day starting on wednesday. each procession is carried out by a different church. lots of people participate by carrying the "floats". you can buy a ticket to be a part of a procession for about $1.50. the exchange rate is about Q7.50 or Q7.75 to the dollar. the procession we saw yesterday was called Jesus the Nazarene of Jocotenango, which the town this church is from. it focused on the beatitudes.... and of course on Mary. it was interesting, and i took some pictures and video footage. adolfo's father composed the march that is played during that particular procession. so yesterday afternoon, just after i got there, they were remembering him by watching a video they had made from old family photos and videos, and then they watched the video from vicky's 15th birthday party (cuinsiñere or something like that). each girl's 15th bday is a huge deal with an extravagant ceremony at church and a big party.

everybody in the family is really nice, and they welcomed me well. there is one other student living with them, tj from korea, but he is gone to guatemala city for the week, so i'm alone for this first week.

thelma prepared breakfast for me today - bananas and papaya along with some mueslix sort of cereal. then i went to school and met my teacher, julio. he's a nice guy. i filled out some paper work, took a placement exam, and then we started... at the beginning. we covered a lot for the first day i think, and he gave me some homework to do. he also told me to memorize the vocabulary from the first few lessons. we covered at least part of about 5 lessons today. i had school from 8 to 12, with a 30 minute break at 10. during the break i met a guy from dallas who just graduated from texas a & m. he is a christian, too. he has a job with texas instruments beginning in the middle of may, so he will be here for 10 weeks. there were a lot of other students and teachers at csa (christian spanish academy). everybody was very nice and helpful.

i had lunch with the family, and then made my way back into town to use the internet. the house is about a 10 or 15 minute walk from the school. i live upstairs, on a balcony surrounding a courtyard in the middle of the house. thelma teaches kindergarten. just thought i'd throw that in.

so far, so good. it just hit me yesterday after i arrived that 13 weeks is a long time, but i think it will be good, and it will be worth it. i'm sure once i am more able to speak to people the time will fly by.

The End of an Era

2005-02-24T18:39:00.000-05:00

This is a public service announcement: Kent's cell phone number will no longer be in service after Saturday, February 26th, 2005. Upon returning from Guatemala at the end of May, Kent will probably get a new phone number. Until then, you may reach Kent at his yahoo email address, or by simply posting your comments here, on kentbrantly.blogspot.com.
This has been a public service announcement.

kent's bent on lent

2005-02-18T22:59:00.000-05:00

the season of lent has begun and i failed to plan ahead. i didn't begin the observance of this time by giving up anything, and now i find myself asking, "what have i already, by chance, given up for the last couple weeks?" perhaps this approach misses the heart of lent, but do i get any credit for the desire to observe this religious "holiday" of sorts? i'm considering giving up work. so just in case i decide on that one, i went ahead and quit my job at interstate batteries today. ok, so that's not really the whole story, but today was indeed my last day of work. tomorrow i leave for good ol' abilene! i'm going to sing song and lectureship before heading to guatemala. i'm praying that my time in both of these places will be a great opportunity for spiritual growth. throughout history, God has met with His people in the desert. the desert is God's country. like a desert, guatemala has the potential for being a solitary, trying place with hot weather. it's going to be interesting to see how it all turns out.
how about all of you out there in blog-land? anybody participating in lent? what are you giving up? and perhaps more interestingly, WHY are you giving it up? inquiring minds want to know.
for the next three months i plan on posting updates here regarding progress with spanish and guatemalan life in general. so stay tuned for all the latest on, well, my life. and don't forget to tell me about your lent sacrifices. i'm looking for ideas.

DO or MD

2005-02-01T01:18:00.000-05:00

DO or MD, that is the question. as of february 1st, i have two offers on the table: Indiana University School of Medicine and Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. and so the waiting shall continue as the hope of financial offers takes center stage.

God and Guatemala

2005-01-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

more on all this to come later, but i just wanted to tell you all that i love God, and i'm going to Guatemala. those two things can sum up what's been going on in my life lately.

Prayer Request

2005-01-17T21:11:00.000-05:00

please pray for the Highland church family in Abilene, Texas. a suburban carrying 7 kids and being driven by a mom was involved in an accident. one boy was killed, and the other 7 were all injured, some severely. please pray for these families. you can read about the accident at http://reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_3476519,00.html
you may have to register at reporternews.com in order to access the article.
thank you for taking the time to pray.

kent has a blog?

2005-01-10T22:46:00.000-05:00

it's been over a month since my last post, but now, at the encouragement of my dear friend niki, for whom i have much respect, kentbrantly shall blog again! i first created this blog with the belief that nobody would ever see it. then i began to see links to it on some of my friends' blogs. so perhaps some people actually began reading my thoughts as i displayed them for the world to see. but so much time has gone by, that i'm sure even those who at one time checked this site periodically have probably long since ceased stopping by to read "discipline and frustration."
but enough about me not blogging, and on to the matters at hand.
i don't know exactly where to start. there is plenty of serious stuff to talk about, but first let's discuss the jackpot i hit this weekend. my mom took me to Dick's Sporting Goods (formerly Galyan's) and they were having a going out of business 50% off everything sale. and man did i score big. i'm set for every major sporting event from now to 2015 - golf clubs, baseball glove, running shoes - and a few other accessories. looks like Christmas hit the Brantly home more than once this holiday season. also, thanks to a generous gift certificate from my friend anita willis, i bought a spanish/english Bible. i'm looking forward to being able to read the spanish version one of these days. i also bought another book today "the richest man in babylon." it was recommended by my econ teacher in high school, but i'm just now getting around to reading it.
as for more serious matters, life is full of ups and downs. in my last post i said i am less disciplined now than i was 3 years ago. while that may be true, those 3 years have been full of periods of greater and lesser discipline and virtue. but one thing gives me hope. one thing tells me that today will be better than yesterday. one thing tells me that i'll make it through. and that one thing is not my self-confidence, my great track record, or my great faith. in all honesty, that one thing is not even the encouragement i get from friends like benny and niki, or the many others of you who speak life into me on so many occassions and in so many ways. that one thing that surpasses all of my failures and gives me hope to keep on going and to keep on trying is the unfailing, unending, steadfast, gracious love of God. even when i spit in his face (which i feel i've done lately) He wipes it off, takes my hand in His, and says "I love you, kent." several passages of scripture have been opened to me in new ways recently. check out Psalm 73. even when you feel your feet have almost slipped, you can be reminded that He is always with you and He holds you by your right hand, guiding you with His counsel. even when your flesh fails to act according to His will, and even when your heart fails to desire His heart, He will be the strength of your heart, and your portion - FOREVER!
and everybody knows the 23rd Psalm. but read it again with new ears. praise the Lord for being the good shepherd!
all of this may not make much sense, but i had to share that God is working in my life... even when i don't cooperate. so thank you to those of you who have offered me encouragement, and thank you to those who set examples for me by the way you live. and thanks for your prayers. feel free to comment on anything i've said, whether it is something that struck you, or even if it's something with which you disagree. and feel free to share with me how God is working in your life. we all need to hear those stories more often.
thanks for hanging with me through this whole thing - give yourself a pat on the back if you've read this far.

discipline and hopelessness

2004-12-04T17:40:00.000-05:00

on the second day of second semester my junior year, my first TR class, i had intro to ministry. we had to make name cards to set in front of us on the tables. it was a class of about 40 i think. on the back of our name cards we had to write one thing we wanted to gain or develop over that semester, with regards to our life and ministry.
i wrote "discipline"
that was 3 years ago.
and i feel no more disciplined today than i did then, maybe even less so.
but i have learned some things in those 3 years. one thing i learned is that discipline, true Godly discipline, is not about my own determination and grit and ability to act.
but i'm not sure what it IS about.
i've been feeling pretty frustrated lately. frustrated with life in general. frustrated with my performance in this great drama. frustrated with my conflicting desires, and with my inability to or at least my failure to choose the better of those desires to satisfy. sometimes i get frustrated and then start feeling sorry for myself because i'm so miserable. but with all the reading i've been doing lately about pain and suffering - books like "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom - i really have no room to complain or feel self-pity at all.
so i'm living a Romans 7 sort of life, and in the middle of it all it seems pretty hopeless. but i just got an email from the worship minister at my church, Tom Perkins, with the sound file for a song we are singing tomorrow morning - "Refiner's Fire." "refiner's fire, my heart's ONE desire is to be holy, set apart for YOU, LORD, i CHOOSE to be holy, set apart for YOU, my master, ready to do YOUR will" so it's not about living according to my will. although it seems like a catch-22. i mean, if i have to CHOOSE to be holy and live according to God's will, then isn't that dependent upon my ability to make that choice and stick with it? isn't it dependent on whether or not i will live according to my will - my will that says "i want to live out God's will"?
i hate logic sometimes. but i've heard randy harris quoted as saying, "who died and made reason king?"
all right, i'm sort of rambling now, but you get the point.
lack of discipline.
frustration.
and life goes on.
God, please be the one desire of my heart. do not let me crowd you out with other desires. refine me.

-------------------------------------------------------

addendum
i just got this in my email - the text for a thought of the day from Dr. John Willis.

Hebrews 13:20-21:

"Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

i want this to be true in my life - in my heart and my spirit, and not just my mind.

Good News!

2004-11-17T23:03:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be a doctor! That's right, folks. I have been offered a spot in the 2005 entering class of the Indiana University School of Medicine. I have accepted the offer, and now I'm waiting to see if they want to pay for me to go to their school. In spite of my great excitement about this news, I have not yet decided where I want to attend medical school. I can accept offers from multiple schools for now and see how things play out over time. But the good news for now is that whatever happens, I now have at least one option for medical school. Thanks for all of your support up to this point, and I covet your continued prayers as this process continues.

what's it worth?

2004-11-15T01:38:00.000-05:00

i went to hear a man speak last weekend at a presbyterian church here in town. his name is Ray Vander Laan (RVL for short). he talked about discipleship, and what it means to really be a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man. side note: Jesus liked to call himself "Son of man" a lot - do you think that was just his own reminder that he was human? i know there are greater prophetic implications carried by the title, but you can't help but wonder what God thought every time he referred to himself as Son of Man. anyway, discipleship...
so it turns out that being a disciple doesn't mean leading a good life, going to church regularly, and throwing some church vocab into your everyday language now and then. rather, to be a disciple, a talmid, is a radical commitment not simply to following your rabbi, but a commitment to become like him in every way - the way you think, the way you act, the things you say, the causes you commit yourself to - in every way. and a disciple doesn't just try to do this because he has to, because after he finished college and had a degree that couldn't get him a better job he decided to try out this discipleship position. no, a disciple has an intense desire, an overwhelming passion for becoming like his rabbi. and for a rabbi to call a disciple, to say "follow me" is for the rabbi to say "i think you have what it takes to be like me."
so Jesus calls us, still today. "come, FOLLOW ME. my yolk is light and my burden is easy." and for those of us who respond to this call, he says further, "go and make DISCIPLES, baptizing them and teaching them everything i've commanded you."
first, i'd like to just say thanks to RVL for the education, and also for the challenge. because, if we take this thing seriously, you can't deny that it's quite a challenge, to say the least.
so now all i have to do is figure out how this whole discipleship thing plays into my plans for med school and a life as a physician. don't get me wrong, i mean, i want to be like Jesus, but i have plans, important things to do... plans. so i'll just have to figure out how this new education about the call to discipleship can fit into my plans, right? any suggestions?

First Blog

2004-09-13T13:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I set up this blogspot so that I could make a comment on my friend Ryan Porche's latest blog. In fact, that was the first time I'd ever even looked at a blog. So, seeing as how no one knows that I set up this blogspot, I don't imagine anyone will ever read this. But for those of you who have somehow stumbled across this by accident, I will try to write something worth reading. Let's start with something not original to me: "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." - Psalm 62:1-2
May these words find their realization in my life, and may all who read these words, both in print and in my life, be blessed by them.