South Africa

You would not believe it, but I have been presented with an opportunity to go to south Africa for next semester. Pastor Don McCall, one of my professors knows someone from down there that is leaving for 6 months starting next year. I know that we talked about trying to get me down there, and here I have the chance to do so. I don't really know what to do though. I would love to go and spend the semester down there, I am sure it would be very good for me. I just don't know what to do next. I have to raise support in order to get down there, and I need a good chunk of it before I get there. The total is 10,000 for the whole 6 months, which is very reasonable I think, but none of it I have. Sounds like I am relying on God for this one if He wants me down there.

Later

Update Sept 18th

Hey

Thank you for reading this letter and for praying for the situations that I find myself in, it is very appreciated – I really do thank you. Also, it is really nice just to let everyone know how I am doing without having to call everyone or Facebook everyone. I do apologize for the generalization of my letter, but I do end up sending this to lots of different people and it is somewhat necessary,

Anyways, thank you again, especially this week. Blah! I have had a long week. At the beginning of this semester I was given the chance to do an event for youth group, and I took it. The catch is the date was only three weeks away(Sept 25th)! Meaning that I needed to plan, advertise and organize people around this event in less than three weeks in order for it to work. On top of planing the event I work about 25-30 hours a week and go to school full time, making a very stressful situation. I wanted to do the event later, but that didn't work out in the discussion. I ended up taking the date and trying to get everything together while doing everything else, then only after pushing for this and stressing about this for two weeks do I find out that it is very unlikely that it can even work. Most of the leaders can be there and most of the teens that we have can't be there either. Right now I am waiting to hear back from my youth director about moving the date back, hopefully he will agree and move it into October at the very least.

Despite this rough week of planing, we had a great time at youth group this week. We didn't play dodge ball but instead mixed it up with other games that I think the teens really enjoyed. We made a lot of progress getting to know the teens just by playing these games I am going to try and introduce new games until we get a good mixture of what the teens like. I really want to get games that build relationships between the teens and the leaders.

Other news that might be of concerns for you: I was presented with a chance to go down to south Africa next semester as a intern of sorts. I haven't decided if I am going to take the offer or not. That would definitely be something to pray about as I consider the option. I would love to go, but I also really want to stay and work with my youth group here. I think that if God wants me to get there he will provide a way and the desire to do so.

Oh, I just remembered, I am teaching a class here in about a week. I will be presenting my youth group project that I am/will be working on for the next few weeks along with where I want to take the youth group over my stay here. Things I want to see changed and how to do that as a leader. This is going to be something new for me and I just hope that it goes well.

I have to teach youth group on Wednesday, I am pretty excited about that. I just hope that I have enough time to be prepared for it. I want to provide for more discussion than normal. Prayer for that would be preciated.

On top of these things, I really miss my family. My little sisters especially. God answered my prayers with a yes this time and is giving me a chance to go home at the end of next month. I am really looking forward to just getting home and hanging out with my sisters. Pray that everything works out and then they are home when I am. That really depends on what God is planing though. I'll let you know what I am planing for the next week

Saturday Sept 18:

Bike ride 9-12?

Date with Rachel 5-8

Sunday:

Church 9-12

Monday/Wednesday/Friday:

Wake/Devos 5-7

Homework/breakfast 7-8

Class/chapel 8-11

Lunch/work/class 11-1 (Friday Lunch with Rachel)

Homework/class 1-3

Work in kitchen 3-7 (Except Wednesday for youth group 6:30-9:30)

Work maintenance after work/youth group

sleep around 11

Tuesday/Thursday:

Wake/Devos 5-7

Homework/breakfast 7-8:30

Class/chapel 8:30-1

(Tuesdays) Meeting with Dr Wilhite about Class 1-2

(Thursday) Lunch 1-130

Homework 1:30-3

Work in kitchen 3-7

Work maintenance 7-8

Homework 8-10

(Tuesday) Dorm meeting 10:30-11:15

Sleep 11:30 (hopefully)

two for two

Hey,

This makes two updates in two weeks, which is better than I have been doing lately with school.

Last update was very brief and rushed I felt, and so I would like to be more careful when writing this one. To do that I am going to start before the weekend that I would like to post it. I would like to have it done by Friday afternoon, not Saturday morning.

My week has gone well, from what I can remember of it. It seems like each day just blends into the next, and each week is a continuation of the first, and that time in general is going very fast. I noticed this when I realized I didn't know what week of school it was. That is pretty bad considering that it has only been three weeks as of the end of today. This lack of observation might be the result of having a busy schedule.

Speaking of schedule, I think mine will get easier as the semester progresses. Most of my assignments are within the first eight weeks I am pretty sure, and then they start trickling off. By thanksgiving I don't think I have any assignments due other than a test of something small. I think an online quiz is the biggest thing that I have after thanksgiving – I don't even have exams in more than half my classes. I am incredibly thankful for that.

I am also incredibly thankful for a guy that is taking some of my hours for work during the week. At first I was overwhelmed by the work that I was doing during the week, then I was thankful for the check that I got for working, then I was overwhelmed again because homework started. But I see this as a God thing, that Tony would start working as soon as I need some extra time to get things done during the week. More than that, I think I will be able to pick up sub shifts over the weekend to make up for the lost of time during the week. I think that is pretty cool.

It is getting colder here, fall is just around the corner. With that is the end of biking season, which is very saddening. I think that I'll be able to get about two more rides in if weather permits. I would like to get 1200 miles on my bike for the summer, but that all depends on the weather over the next few weekends. I am pretty happy with having 1000 miles, but I surly wouldn't mind more. What I do what more of is time spent with the guys who go biking, hopefully to have some good conversations.

Youth group went really well this Wednesday! The lesson itself was somewhat of a flop at best, but the discussion that happened afterward was very valuable. The female leaders and students went off and talked, and since there were not guy students the guy leaders just talked. We were able to discuss the structure of the youth group and it's effectiveness, and make suggestion for changes that might help. It ended up being a very helpful meeting that I think everyone profited from.

That is about it when it comes to highlights from the week. It is interesting to think that non of those things that happened this week I planned in the least, and yet all of them had importance to my week. I am excited and nervous to thing what this next week will hold. I'll give you a glimpse at what I have planned, and then next weekend I'll tell you what God had planned – because most of the time they aren't exactly the same.

Saturday Sept 11:

Bike ride 9-12 or Meeting for class 9-10

Meeting? 12-1

Homework 1-5

Date with Rachel 5-8

Homework 8-sleep

Sunday:

Church 9-12

Homework 1-3

Work in Kitchen 3-6

Homework 6-10

Monday/Wednesday/Friday: I have a exam to turn in on Wednesday

Wake/Devos 5-7

Homework/breakfast 7-8

Class/chapel 8-11

Lunch/work/class 11-1 (Friday Lunch with Rachel)

Homework/class 1-3

Work in kitchen 3-7 (Except Wednesday for youth group 6:30-9:30)

Work maintenance after work/youth group

Homework until sleep around 11

Tuesday/Thursday: I have an online quiz that I have to take before Thursday

Wake/Devos 5-7

Homework/breakfast 7-8:30

Class/chapel 8:30-1

(Tuesdays) Meeting with Dr Wilhite about Class 1-2

(Thursday) Lunch 1-130

Homework 1:30-3

Work in kitchen 3-7

Work maintenance 7-8

Homework 8-10

(Tuesday) Dorm meeting 10:30-11:15

Sleep 11:30 (hopefully)

Busy week ahead of me as you can see, all of which I get through by God's grace and prayer. Here are some things (if you desire to do so) can you pray for:

• Youth Group progresses toward effectiveness in outreach

• That I would have patience to deal with people even when I am tired

• That I would be a good leader and care for Rachel sacrificially

• Pastor Tim Vine: he is moving this weekend

• That I would humbly rely on God to get me through each day

Later

Updates

Hello everyone!

This semester I believe that I will have a hard time updating what is going on in my life and what God is teaching me. I do however have an assignment that I will be sending out to people as a prayer letter update letter. It won't be as personal as this normally is, but it will be something. So here is my prayer letter/update letter:

A lot has been going on the last two weeks. Time for an update for sure!

School has started and with it all the classes, people, and work. There is of course my relationship with Rachel that takes a good chunk of time, at least energy. The various people and ministries that I am part of, and they take up some more. Hopefully I get some sleep in there, too! Needless to say I have a long and busy semester ahead of me, but hopefully a lot of learning as well. I want to take this letter as a opportunity to take you along with me as I go through it. I will be trying my best to send out this letter every weekend about what is going on during the week. This may include what God is doing in my life, prayer request that I have for the week/month/semester, just everyday things that are going on in my life, and what my week will look like.

First, what God has and is doing in my life lately. Most of this involves school and the relationships that are here. I am doing a lot of reading for classes, books that I hope will challenge me in my faith to grow in ways that I didn't think possible. Just the classes themselves are pushing me to consider doing things I would not have before and think of things in a different light.

One class that I think I will learn the most in is a class that I am not even taking. I am TA (Teachers assistant) for the class teaching ministry philosophy. I have taken the class already, but now I have to help others learn it, which will push me to know the material in a new way.

Another class that I am that really looking forward to is basically a class about spiritual growth. This class I think will be an answer to prayer. I have been praying that I would be challenged to grow this year and I think this will be it. The whole class is built to help students discipline their lives for a regular growth. I am looking forward to it.

Some every day things that are going on:

Rachel and I are still doing well – She is actually with me right now. We are up at her grandparents for the weekend to help them for the weekend at their camp. It is also a good time to just to catch up and visit with her family.

I have also been biking almost every weekend. There is a group that goes road biking a few times a week and I try to go with them on Saturdays. It is a lot of fun to ride in a group with other crazy bikers. I have also met some other students on campus that have road bikes and enjoy biking as much as I do.

Youth group is just starting out for the semester. I think it will be a good year for the youth group. I would really like some things to change, or at least improve for the sake of the teens. The hard thing for me is when I can do anything at all. Since I am not a member, I have no authority to change anything. I just have to keep praying that God will open opportunities.

Prayer Request:

Rachel and I both have a rough semester ahead of us. Pray that we would both keep up with our studies and not let them over whelm us. More importantly, that we would keep our relationship pure, with a priority to God first.

When I go for bike rides, most of the people I run into aren't believers or church goers of any sort. I really want to reach out to them and hopefully have significant conversations.

What I really want to see this semester is some change in the youth group. I want to see growth in the church, the students and members that go there. Once we as the members of the church start growing together, I think things we start changing for the better.

My week:

Saturday: Date day with Rachel and helping with grandparents for the better part of the day

Sunday: Go to church in the morning and do homework for the rest of the day

Monday: the day starts at 5am, School for most of the day and work/homework in the evening

Tuesday: Same as Monday with a meeting with a teacher about youth group

Wednesday: School and youth group in the evening

Thursday: Normal day of school and work

Friday: School in the morning with an exam in expository preaching class, and then another normal day of class and work.

I'll be doing my best to keep you up to date and let you know how things are going.

Later

Time for an update

Students are starting to arrive on campus for the start of the new school year. It is nice to see some familiar faces and old friends, refreshes the mind and attitude for the new semester. I really wish that I could have gotten off campus for a week or so, or something. To be honest I am tired of being here, but that is only relative to where I would rather be. If I didn't want to be somewhere else, that I would be completely okay with being here. Since I want to be somewhere else (anywhere else in my case), being here is not as much fun as it is for other people.

In particular I want to be with certain people, more than certain places. Family. I want to see my family. I want to see my little sisters and make sure that they are okay and that they are still holding the faith. I want to talk with my brother and make sure he is still as crazy as ever. All these students are great, but nothing beats family. Even when they aren't perfect, I still love my family.

The truth is that we are broken. My family is broken, we don't work any more - at least not the way we should. All the pieces are there and most of the pieces function well enough, but as a whole we are broken. We are all broken if we truly consider it, every part or whole. Hopeless if you truly think about the situation and the possible solutions. Since it would be more reasonable to completely scrap the whole thing are start new again, the situation is more than just hopeless, it is also helpless. Since there is no hope, there is no desire for help. If there is no hope or desire for help from the dying whole then all things considered the whole is dead. Like a man with a bullet wound just waiting to bleed out, the whole (my family) is dead. On top of this, we are the ones that have caused our own death. Each part as well as the whole, we are killing our own and our self as the whole. This truth only adding to the helplessness of the whole thing.

Standing back I, as a part of the whole, and see that my family is helpless and hopeless - dead. I look, and I rejoice. Not that I take joy in my dying family, but because I know that we are only looking at the situation with human eyes with human solutions. Everyone who is thus far seeing this as a hopeless mess has yet to consider God. I look at hopeless I not only have hope, but also rejoice and have the greatest desire to help the helpless, because God has revealed in His Word this truth:

1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2)

Even though we are dead by all means, I believe that God through His power can make us alive with Christ and rise us from the dead. I have hope for my family because He raised me from the dead and in the same way can. I believe, rise my family from this dead situation that they are in.

If my parents would accept Christ and be born again, starting anew, I believer that God can work in their hard hearts and save the family, the whole. If my parents were saved, who are very much dead, then how great a testimony to the rest of my siblings of the power of Christ and the reality of His existence.

Apart from the details of conversations and such, this is what I have concluded over the last week. It has been heart breaking and filling me with hope at the same time. I am restless for my family, but at peace that God has a plan. My job is simple - Pray. I need to pray that my family will see there own situation - dead - and go running to Christ for their salvation. Hope and Pray, that is what we have to do, and then wait for God's timing and plan.

Later

Pictures of my new bike that i got. Wanted to show it off a little. I'm not sure what kind of adventures it will take me on, but if it is anything like my other bike i can hardly wait.
Later.

I guess my new bike couldn't handle my strength. I snapped the chainring nearly in two.
Later.