Car update

The Alternator has successfully been changed and the car is running once again. I have still spent less on my car than I have on my bike. With the new battery and alternator I have spent around $270. I am pretty sure that after everything I have upgraded up my bike and repairs that I have spent nearly $350 on my bike. I am okay with that.

There is a bunch of garage sales this weekend and next. I hope to find a few bikes for my friends that want to start riding. I found one that is pretty nice. It's an old one which makes it even nicer. Either way I am excited about bike shopping this weekend.

Also this weekend we are having a fundraiser for summer camp. We are selling Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches. The goal is that we don't have to turn down a single kid from summer camp.

Prayer request:

• Fundraiser this weekennd
• Another intern is being interviewed this weekend
• That God provides the job that I need
• Rachel starting camp next week as a counselor
• My family - especially my parents and older sister.

Thanks so much. I am always blessed knowing that people are praying
Later

Car repairs

Changing the alternator. so far so good. hope to be rolling again by the end of the day.
later

Car update

As most of you know, God provided a car for me within the last 5 weeks along with everything else I needed to make it out to Ohio for this internship. Since receiving the car I thought that I would give a little update about it. I want to let everyone know how it is running and how I am using it for the internship.

The car is seeing its first of Ohio weather right now, otherwise it has been in a closed garage since getting to Cleveland. The first two or three times I filled it up I put mid-grade into it hoping to get better engine life and mileage out of it. I later found out the car runs best on regular "cheap stuff." I put Rain-X on the windshield this morning, just in time for the rain that is hitting hard as I type. In the city the car has been getting about 25 miles per gallon, and I haven't had the chance to do a highway trip without a ton of stuff in the car. I'll try and remember to check that when I go out to PA to see Rachel.

Now for the bad news. The battery died the other day and the car wouldn't start at all. The battery wouldn't even hold a charge. It was dead. We managed to get the car running long enough to get to autozone and get a replacement battery ($112), but said the alternator is also going bad. I have looked into that a little bit and it looks like another $100 or more. The car is running okay right now, but I fear it could die at any time, even when running. I have been keeping my bike on top in the event the car dies when I am away from home I can just ride home. I would rather not do that though.

I talked with a few people about getting it fixed on Sunday. One said he would pay for a new one, another said he would fix it. The first backed out when he heard the price (with man hours) of nearly $600. The other seemed willing, but he isn't free until either Wednesday or Thursday. I hope the battery last that long.

I believe that God provide that car only for what I need, nothing more. If I need to continue to trust that he will provide even when things start failing, I will continue to trust. I will just tell you this - I did not expect my car to provide me with spiritual lessons on providence, trust, and stewardship.

When I received the car I was asked the name of it. At first I thought of things life providence, or something along those lines. The more I heard about what it looked like on the giving end of things, the more I realized this was just as much about them as it was about me. Their is a Greek word that kind of represents that idea. The word is Doron (do'-ron), it means gift. Focusing on the free nature of the gift. It is not something coerced, but rather spontaneous. It is just as much about the giver as the receiver. Unless someone comes up with something else, Doron is the name of my car.

Later

Food

Lunch

Life as an Intern - Week 2

I have written so much about the last two weeks already, but there is still more to be said. Every time that I write something, I remember something else. Each new person I write to involves a different perspective that I didn't think of before.

Right now the biggest thing I my mind is  being content. I don't have a job yet, and not a whole lot has started at the internship. This makes me restless and worried. I feel like I have to do something, but there is nothing to do. I believe that God is teaching me to wait on him and be content for now. It is hard because without an income I will be broke soon, yet this is what I believe God has given me to do.

I didn't think that being into ministry or a internship in my case would be so drastically different from Bible College. I thought that I would be prepared and a help to those around me. I believed that all my training at school would set me up.College was incredibly valuable, don't get me wrong, but everything I thought would be important hasn't even been mentioned. What has been used the most is all the subjects that I probably should have pay more attention too. A friend of mine faced the same thing when he went to China for his internship, being over educated and under prepared. Both he and I have taken all the classes we needed, but we never expected that every single thing would be used. I didn't really think that I would use my computer class my first day on the job in ministry

God uses our weaknesses to reveal His strengths. The best place He would have me is when I am unable to do anything on my own. If I had what is necessary for ministry it would lead to pride, which it has in some cases. When I have no idea what is going on, and I have nothing to bring to the table of ministry it leads to nothing other than humility.

I hope and pray that God would use me.

Later

Treasure hunting

There is a trunk in my trunk!