Getting Acquainted

what better way to get acquainted than a water fight?

i met all of the kids last week at the service and got the chance to see many of them again on Sunday, but tonight was the first night that i felt at home in the service. it may have been becuase of the water fight that we had before the service began.

last week jody told me about a game called "Poor Man's Laser Tag" (Brad if you are reading this is a great idea for the youth). The game is fairly simple. Participants tape construction paper to the front of their shirt. Each team has a different color construction paper. Each participant is given a water gun (small one). After about 15 minutes or so, the game is called. The papers are removed and whoever has the dryest papers wins.

Tonight, though, the adults were given bigger waterguns, and I was given the supersoaker :-) I wasn't on anyones team, so i went around and shot all the kids. it was so much fun! one boy hid in the corner the whole time, so when he finally came out, he showed off his dry paper. he thought the game was over, but not for me. I soaked him and his paper. in response, he took the garbage can that had all the water that had leaked out of the guns and dumped it on me. this resulted in much laughter and me chasing him around the fellowship hall trying to get payback (until Jody asked everyone to sit down)

When i did sit down, it felt...strange...like that was were i belonged, like they had accepted me. I know that I did not come to pooler to please people or to be excepted by the people here, but that doesn't mean that it isn't really nice! and as it is my goal to minister to the youth, being accepted by them will make that job alot easier and more enjoyable!

tomorrow we are going to the beach, another chance to play with water, and, of course, laugh with a group of kids who love to do just that. i can't wait.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Continue to pray for the relationships that are being created. That the conversations will flow from boys (which seems to be the main topic of conversaition) to the only One who can satisfy the desires of our hearts.

new technology!

For those of you who have been reading my blog, thank you! Now it is much easier; you can subscribe to my blog using the form at the right. Just type in your email and complete the prompts that follow. After this is complete, a copy of my posts will be sent to your email as they are entered (i believe) or at the least, you will be notified when I post. This will allow you to know when I have posted so you won't have to check it everyday because I definately do not post everyday!

Thank you for your faithful prayers! Love you!

History Comes Alive

On Saturday, the Campbell family and I went to Fort Pulaski on the way home from a beautiful day at the beach. The fort was one of the major holding grounds for the Confederates during the civil war. We took a guided tour around the fort; the tour was led by an energetic tour guide. As he spoke, the Confederate soldiers appeared in the bunks and shuffled around the field. They manned the cannons and yelled for more ammunition. They cried out in pain and laughed at in the golden sunshine. I could see it all as it played out before me. I was in awe of the power and history contained in that space, history that is all around us. There is history in the ground beneath our houses and everywhere we walk, some places and people call us to recognize it while others push us in the future, causing us to forget.

Last night, I lay reading my Bible, drifting in and out of sleep, using all the strength in my body to lift my eye lids which suddenly weighed 200 lbs. Why wasn't this exciting, why was God's word not a page turner, why did I wish to be done so I could pick up Velvet Elvis or go to sleep? I thought back to the events of the day and realized that like the Civil War, the events in the Bible really happened. The facts of the Civil War can put you to sleep in a text book, but the mouth of an impassioned tour guide brings them to life. The facts of the Bible were putting me to sleep because I wasn't approaching them with passion. I had forgotten that these words were spoken by a Man who really lived and written by men who saw Him and experienced Him. This morning, when I read my Bible, I tried to imagine Paul, there in front of me, writting to the church at Corinth. He shares his heart with them. When I imagined it in this way, the words seem to come alive, just as the Fort did yesterday. From now on when I read these words, I will attempt to discover the passion behind the pen, to examine the context of the story.

As I was reading velvet Elvis I found more on the subject of bringing the Bible to life. Rob Bell reminded me that the stories in that Bible are not only important because they happened but because they happen. The story of the woman at the well happens every single day as God reaches out to the "untouchables" and changes there lives, shows them that they have worth. How wonderful!

So, I am trying to read my Bible with more passion and more understanding, although I fell asleep even today as I read. HOW HUMAN WE ARE! Pray for me in this area as I try to improve my quiet times, so that they are not so quiet anymore. Why do we call them "quiet times" anyways, shouldn't God be speaking to us?

Good Morning!

I at my host family's home, waiting on 10 o'clock, when I am going to the office to work on the calendar for the summer. Most of the dates for camp and VBS are already set, but we (Jody and I) are going to attempt to set days for day trips and solidify some of the other plans that are kind of up in the air.

The past few days have been busy, but none of it has felt like "work." This is the kind of job that I want to be paid for someday, one where you don't even realize that you were just "working." Yesterday Jody had to go to traffic court in Savannah, so I got my first view of the city. It was absolutely gorgeous. The houses are all old, but well-kept. There are gardens everywhere, even though there isn't alot of grass. People have plants growing on their porches, up there house, and all around! AMAZING. We also saw some beautiful cathedrals, but weren't able to go in because they were having service (on a Thursday afternoon?)

Last night we went to a concert by Steve Fee. I was a little skeptical about how good it would be because I have never heard of him before, but it was really, really good. Steve allowed everyone to worship instead of attempting to entertain. I was struck last night by the verse "Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice." So often, worship is hard. Lifting your hands is not always comfortable and our feet get tired from standing. Our mind tends to wonder, and bringing it back to God over and over again can be mentally straining. Sometimes I just get so tired during worship, but I left the concert last night more energized than when I came. My worship seemed to change when I realized that it wasn't always going to be fun, but, if my heart was worshipping, it was always going to be pleasing to God!

I started reading Velvet Elvis today. What a great book. Rob Bell challenges us to question our faith. How can that strenghten our faith? Rob says that questioning causes us to admit that we don't have all the answers. We must seek out God, discover the mystery that He is. I recently read that women were created to reveal the mystery of God. Men are surface creatures, after digging a while you find all there is :-) but women are deep, no matter how long you know a woman, you will never know all that she is, but when you love a woman you are encouraged to continue searching. This is the same way with God, our love for Him calls us to dig deeper and deeper, to continue to question, even though we know that we will never completely figure it out. You should really check out the book, but beware it may cause you to question!

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for the youth at Rothwell and in the community. Pray for one of the youth guys who is currently un-churched and does not have a walking relationship with God. He was able to experience the worship service last night. Pray that a seed was planted that we at Rothwell can water. God gives the growth!

What draws you to Christ?

They've told me, "It's Cooler in Pooler" and so far, it's true. The people here are full of smiles and incredibly giving. I just arrived at the home of my host family a few hours ago. We had service at the church tonight, where I got to meet all of the youth (or all of the ones who were there). They were all really nice and energetic, reminding me alot of the youth at home. Most of the youth are high school age, from 9th to 11th grade. There are many more girls that guys. Tonight there were probably about 20 kids there.

The past few days I have been at orientation in Toccoa, GA, where the Georgia Baptist Association is located. We had lots of different training sessions, but one of them was evangelism training and the session was led by Janet, a woman from the GA WMU. It was completely different than what I expected. She explained the importance of love in the evangelism process. She didn't talk as much about what we say, focusing on what we do. I have been struggling lately with the thoughts of advertising Jesus as though he is only a "Get out of hell free card" and we are the community chess. It seems that this is what we do when we walk up to people and begin sharing an evange-cube or something else without actually getting to know the person first. Janet encouraged us to share our heart with the people.

What draws you to Christ? This is the question that Janet posed to each of us. and a question that each of you reading should pose to yourself. My answer is love, a love that wraps itself around me. A love from a friend who sees everything that I am and yet loves me the same. In his presence i can be me, sybisue. I don't have to worry about who i am because he knows and he made me!!!!

This is what I should share with those around me. These other tools can still be used to share the plan of salvation, of course. But what draws people to Christ is a person whose heart is real. My heart will not show in a memorized "plan of salvation" but my heart will be clear when I speak of what drew me to my fabulous Saviour! This new view of "evangelism" was energizing. i can't wait to share with others what drew me and continues to draw me to Christ.

Thank each of you for your prayers! Please pray for the youth at Rothwell, especially the middle schoolers and the new kids who are moving up from the 6th grade.

A Savannah Summer

In a few weeks (two and a half), I will head for Savannah, where I will spend the summer as an intern at Rothwell Baptist Church. I can't wait! At the church, I will assist the youth director will various aspects of the ministry, but I will concentrate my efforts on discipling the girls who are there through girls' bible study, fellowship and service.

I am not sure of all the details at this time. I have spoken with Jody (the youth minister) a few times, but I am not quite sure what questions to ask. I think that it is going to be a "wait and see" adventure! I do know that Rothwell is 20 minutes from Savannah. The youth group is very involved at the Baptist center downtown, so we will be doing VBS there and hanging out with the kids there a couple times a week. Rothwell is also 20 minutes from the beach, yeah! I am not sure what ministry opportunities are available on the coast, but, hopefully, we will be able to find some.

I am so grateful that God is allowing me to serve Him right here in the United States under such "safe" conditions. I admire those who are stepping so far out of the their comfort zones, both physically and emotionally. I am not going that far physically, but I know that God is going to challenge me in other ways. This summer, I hope to develop an intimate relationship with the Savior, learning to discern His voice more than ever before. I also hope to get a clearer glimpse of His plan for my life. I think, however, that He is going to teach me more about faith and less about "seeing the future."

Pray that God will use me to reach others and use those that I encounter to help me grow and strengthen my faith so that I can better serve Him in the way that He desires.