(In no way am I saying that I think that I have everything right or all figured out - this is just where I am, and what has worked for me with what I feel God calling me to do.  Everyone has their own unique calling, and I urge everyone to find their own.)

We are ONE body.  We are a living, breathing unit that is dependent upon one another...  Wait that can't be right can it? Unit?  That is most definitely singular, and I know that I am in no way corresponding or have any relationship with that crazy guy who sits on a stoop downtown and begs for change every night...

But what if we took a step back.. What if we frequented an area outside of our normal realm?  Outside of our personal, self-centered thinking. Now I'm not saying that we are all self-centered or egotistical or anything, just trying to make a point..

If God created everything, does that not also mean He created everyone? And when our moms and dads tell us how special we are to God, and that He even knows how many hairs we have on our head, who's to say that we are so special?  Who's to say we aren't ALL so special to God?  You.. Me... Donald Trump.. Lebron James.. Bill Nye the science guy.. your third grade teacher.. those trapped in poverty due to civil unrest.. and yes, James who sits on the stoop every night begging for the change in our pockets.  God LOVES each and EVERY ONE of us - not a single one more than another.  He, in His infinite wisdom, has placed us all in our own  unique circumstance based upon our environment and abilities.  

But imagine if we were not as lucky as we are.  If we did not live in the area we did, or our parents be so fortunate as to have the jobs they were able to obtain over their lifetime.  What if we were born into a third world country, or into the ghetto downtown?  What if that was you on the corner, or in the soup kitchen?  What if that was us watching our preteen brothers being taken away and handed machine guns and taught to kill without thought?  What if that was us struggling to find what we and our family would eat that day, battling with famine and disease?  What would you think of the person in your shoes right now?....

These are the thoughts  and questions that have pushed me to my limit. To my end. To my death. I no longer want to live.... WHOA WHOA WHOA..I know your thinking, "wait is this a suicide note, is he gonna kill himself?!?" And the answer is double sided...No, haha, this is definitely not a suicide not, but yes, this is my death letter.  Metaphorically, I very much yearn to die.  Die to self.  Now I know that's a big statement.  And I'm not saying I will ever fully live up to its expectations or that I'm never gonna help myself to that second serving of desert or new pair of shoes again, But I am saying that from now on I want to live for others, for the underdog, for those who need it more than I do.  I want to be uncomfortable.  

My name is Matthew Hayes and somewhere between the bars and the lecture halls I lost myself last year.  I had no idea where the me that my parents raised had gone.  I was taught to love, to laugh, to live, to grow, to strive to do my best... and I at the time I thought I was doing what every one was supposed to do - go to college, get my degree and be a productive member of society.  And that's fine and good and all, but I wasn't happy.  Sure I loved spending time with my friends and going to football games and everything else that comes with being a college student these days, but I had lost the JOY in my life.  I felt like a part of me was missing, I felt that with the knowledge and gifts I had been given, I wasn't DOING enough.  I felt as though I was living out my life's biggest fear: complacency.

So I turned to the only thing I knew wouldn't steer me wrong: JESUS.  Now even if you don't believe in the Big Man, you have to at-least give the Man a little credit with what He sought to teach and instill in the world: LOVE,  justice, peace, equality, service.  And the more I got into His word, the more I prayed, The more time I spent in silence... The same answer kept coming.. (The paradox of the gospel) TO LIVE, ONE MUST DIE.  Die to self, and LIVE for one another.  When Christ died for us, we became His body.. His arms, hands, legs and feet.  We have got to work together if we ever want to survive.  We are dependent on one another whether we like it or not, so if some of us are sick, hungry, diseased or just in need - and those of us who have the earthly means ignore them - This body that we are is sure to die.  And I'm not just saying that, look at the world around us today - there are some frightening things starting to emerge (war, global warming, poverty, disease, natural disasters...etc, etc).  

So this is the beginning of my Great Adventure.  My quest towards becoming the servant, steward, and  Lover of God through His people that I long to become.  On Thursday I will embark for AFRICA, to a village called Black Tom which is about an hour and a half outside of the capital of Liberia (Monrovia).   I am going to work with an organization that works with orphans and misplaced children and families from the recent Civil War in Liberia.  Now I'm not expecting to come back and magically be filled with the solution to world hunger or peace, but I am hoping however, to put efforts towards bettering an area that needs it, and in the same breath better myself to serve in whatever way God calls me to in my future.  This trip to Liberia is not the complete adventure, but only the beginning... Please don’t think of me as anything but a normal young man seeking his path in life.  I am not a missionary, not a selfless human being…but a sinner, hypocrite, and fool like everyone else in the world; I just have seen the “exit sign” on this road to the pursuit of happiness... So come.. and see.. with me the beauty and the splendor and the glory our God has to offer through His people.  

Peace and Love

Matt