Tuesday, August 12, 2008

People, parties, and nature

The last week has been quite a ride. Like the title says - people, parties, and nature.

I guess you could say this note picks up at youth group Wednesday night. We had about 5 - 8 new visitors (Sweet!), and I spoke on John 4 -- seeing everyone as those for whom Christ died and capturing every conversation for Christ. Overall, it went really well. Still room for improvement for sure, but I am getting better every time. The two main things to improve -- be myself when I'm up there. I was great at doing this in my class last fall, but I have been losing part of who I am when I speak at the youth group. It's not a good thing. It's time to get myself back. Second, I need to get back to writing specific applications, which was one of the main points of my teaching class last fall, and I have kind of forgotten it. I need to make specific applications so students can go through the week and concretely say, "I applied God's word to my life," or, "I decided not to do what the teacher recommended/said I needed to do."

Jump ahead to Friday night. Melissa and Ramiro have their cell group on Friday nights, and I have been a part of three of them this summer (maybe more, but three sounds right). A great thing about them is that someone always makes dinner, which means I have gotten to enjoy some great authentic Mexican food this summer, on Fridays and other social gatherings. I helped Melissa make about one zillion chicken tamales for the cell group, and they were flippin' good. Don't doubt my tamale making potential ever again (wink or monocle eye glass if your Grace and Melissa).

This summer, besides helping with the youth group, I have had the joy and privilege of being a part of Melissa and Ramiro's ministry - Cosas Poderoses (I think that's how it's spelled.). I have seen Christian life daily practiced in a different culture. I have found that amongst the differences in belief, I am completely unified with them in the Spirit, that we are one big family of Christ, and just like a regular family, everyone is an individual within the community, and Christianity in different cultures is no different.

Through being welcomed in I have been able to build some great friendships with their cell group attendees - Erec and Grace, Noemi, Liz, and through this Eduardo, Arturo, and Otto.

I was invited to partake in a surprise birthday party for Noemi last Saturday. It was incredible, and just another reminder that you don't need to speak the same language to experience community (It does help that Melissa can translate and many of them speak good English.)

The food was incredible. Melissa made a homemade chicken pot pie, Grace baked some chicken that just fell off the bone and alfredo pasta and salad. For dessert we had tres leches cake (first time I ever had it) and flan. Needless to say, I was stuffed by the end, and my mouth was saying, "So good...oh so good," and my stomach was saying, "Why the heck do you listen to your mouth so often."

However, even better than the food was celebrating Noemi's birthday. I did not know this going in, but it was the first time anyone had ever celebrated her birthday. Wow! Being welcomed into this, being invited into group pictures, being able to help celebrate a sister in Christ's birthday was amazing. To say the least, being welcomed into this community has been one of the greatest blessings of this summer.

The next day, still feeling full from the party's delicious food, I was invited to Erin Syzdek's going away to college party. Being invited was enough of a joy for me, but God decided to grace me with more and more joy and good things throughout the day.

First, the Syzdek home is the ultimate party pad. Their backyard is huge! In their backyard is a full size trampoline, pool, fire bit, and huge lawn for all kinds of games (football, frisbee, neighborhood golf, etc.). In their garage is a ping pong table, popcorn maker, and for the party they had tons of food (pulled pork and big beef sandwiches (so good)), and they also had drinks and slushee makers near the fire pit and in the pool area.

The other great thing is that most of the students I have gotten to know over the past year were at the party, and I was able to meet some of their parents too (always a plus in youth ministry).

I spent the whole day swimming, playing water basketball, pushing people in the pool, getting pushed in, playing neighborhood golf, playing ping pong, eating, and talking with some incredibly friendly and interesting people all with their stories to tell, and in the evening we played a rousing game of farkl (which I won in case you were wondering). Good conversations, good times, good food, it was a great day.

Tonight (Monday night) I played sand volleyball with Paul, Patrick and Mike. Lots of fun, and it was great hanging it out with the guys. We then invited some others to join us in 4 on 4, which was a lot of fun, and it opened up the door to meet some new people. Two of them were from San Antonio. Small world! The two were visiting their uncle for the summer. She is going into her freshman year at Madison, and he is going into is sixth grade year at Harris, and she goes to Youthquake, which is the Wednesday night youth group meeting at Community Bible Church.

And this is all going to be topped off with meteor shower and sunrise watching at 5:00 a.m. with a few students from the youth group. I am totally stoked to get out and just marvel at God's creation. I'm hoping there will be some good conversations as we marvel, and we're going out for breakfast following the sunrise. Can't get much better.

Seven days and counting...if they're anything like the last seven, I'm in for a real treat, and then I'm back at school for freshman orientation. Another summer past, another semester of college begun.

God really is incredible, and people, parties, and nature are just a few of the ways He shows us that.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

I can count down using my fingers and toes.

11 days...! Holy stink (I've never said that before, but it just came to me. It seemed to fit. Don't look for any hidden meaning. There isn't.)!! One more day and I'll only need my fingers OR toes to count down the days.

I taught tonight on John 4:1-26. It's the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. My two points: See everyone as someone for whom Christ died, and capture every conversation for Christ. I think it went well, and I'll be going through some more evaluation tomorrow. One of the leaders told me he really liked it, and he thinks I'm getting better with every message I give, and he always likes my messages. God definitely knows when I need encouragement, and He always delivers.

I got to go to lunch with Jesse today (going to be a sophomore), and through this I got to share something I like a lot that he had never experienced - sushi and maki rolls. Heck yeah! First sushi of the summer, and I got to share it with a friend who had never had it before. We got spicy tuna rolls, eel rolls (because I wanted to kick his butt the first time), and a assortment of pack of sushi - tuna, salmon, whitefish, shrimp, eel, and a couple other ones I don't remember. We then finished our meal with a desert of tapioca pearl smoothies. I got mango, and he got honeydew, very awesome indeed. He liked it, and we have another sushi lunch planned for Saturday afternoon. Good deal.

Now, there are 11 days left. What's going to happen? Well, I'll be reading (mostly "Courageous Leadership"). I'm planning a two night trip to my good friend Matt D's place down in Peoria, and I will be trying to spend a lot of time with students. Also, I will probably going to the 101 discipleship class at church.

Then, I'm back to school on the 18th for Sigma Phi and freshman orientation, and then I will hopefully be able to go on the Indiana Dunes camping over nighter with the youth group. If I can't, well, there will be more awesome events I will be able to go to, and if I can, it'll be flippin' sweet.

For those of you that have prayed for me this summer, I am incredibly grateful. I don't even want to think of what the summer would have been like without your prayers behind it. I ask that you not stop but continue to pray for me and the ministry here as it closes out for the summer and I begin my junior year of college.

Also, if you haven't, read "TrueFaced" by Bill Thrall and Bruce McNichol. It's incredible, and I hightly recommend it.