If you don't already know this about me - I dislike mushrooms...a lot. I go out of my way to avoid them. If I had to pick between eating a mushroom and stuffing my face with habanero peppers like the guys did the other week...I would choose the peppers any day. So imagine my blissful innocence as Thomas begins to pass around a bag of jerky last night. Luke and he discussed the numerous amounts of things they had learned about Tony that day in his shop - one of them being Tony's decision to forego beef for the rest of his life. And because Tony is such a generous guy, he was all excitement to share his love of vegetarian jerky and send them back to the Church on Pearl with their very own bag. So here I am casually chewing on a bite sized piece of what I believe is likely vegetables and tofu...when someone mentions to me that the thing I had just put in my mouth was actually a piece of fungus....*shudder.* I gulped it down out of sheer courtesy for the rest of the group and quickly grabbed some Apple Jacks to mask the flavor. I really can't think of a wonderful moral to this story or an inspiring quote to invoke deep thought - "ugh" is all that comes to mind...and I don't really have a reason for putting this story in the blog, but it seemed interesting, so what could it hurt?
On to the important things:
The past two days have been wonderful! Kelsey and I have had some amazingly fun times, starting with our trip to the beach with Anuhea. As we became closer, we learned so much about her and her hobbies (which are scarily like mine :.D) and found out about her somewhat-negative past experience in a Christian school and her openness to the laid back idea of having deep discussions in a small group, which is an awesome trait to have in our team's opinion. I can already tell she is an amazingly sweet person and I can't wait to hang out with her again. Kelsey, she, and I have already decided that a repeat of the beach trip must occur before we get on a plane back to NC. I can't wait!
And Kelsey had great discussions with several of the leaders at Window, finding out about their lives, their churches, etc. while carrying out tasks on the computer, printing, labeling folders, etc. My jobs didn't allow me as much time to talk as I was crunching numbers, but I definitely feel that the women appreciate us so much for our work ethic - respect goes a long way out here and I am so grateful that the opportunities have been given for us to show others we care because God cares.
Bruce, Josh, Luke, and Thomas all had amazingly encouraging days. I was so enthusiastic to hear about their days at team time tonight because today was Bruce's day to go out to Starbucks with the "God Story" sign. He got some amazing feedback (both positive and negative) from upwards of 5 people if I remember correctly. We have found as a group that people are very receptive here to those that will listen as they remain firm in their beliefs. Luke and Thomas met with Peter again this morning before he heads back to England for a while, discussing future plans (as well as returning with some pretty intense Chi Kung photos).
Tomorrow we are pushing our day off back a little in order to help an elderly gentleman move his belongings into a truck. Then the group will begin a very difficult task: getting everything we still want to do in LA to fit into the next 2 weeks. The group as a whole has been fighting off the conflicting emotions of homesickness and sadness over leaving so soon. However, we know that this will just strengthen us as we go back to our campus ministry this year and we pray for the continuation of what has been started here in LA this summer.
Always,
Storm
Oh, and because I feel so strongly about it - here are:
5 Ways to Dress Like a Tourist in LA...
1) wear hawaiian t-shirts, high-top socks with sandles, camera on back (or more than one, if
preferred...I have seen up to 3 before)
2) put on fanny packs of any kind (but especially the double sided ones with pockets on front
AND back)
3) adorn yourself with 3 screaming kids, colored sunblock smears, and a baby bag the size of
Montana even though you have no baby
4) carry or wear an "I heart LA/Santa Monica/Venice" t-shirt, hat, water bottle, purse,
bracelet, dog collar, refrigerator magnet, hairbrush, knitting needles, garden hose, and
teapot (all at the same time)
5) wear Chaco's (though they are popular at App, here they get you noticed...not in a bad
way, but Kelsey has had many many questions and comments on hers)
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I'm feelin' a bit ANTsy
Hi friends, glad to see you could make it back to read about another great experience that I have had here in LA...
It started off just as normal as any other day. The usual: wake up, breakfast, make fun of the way Kelsey looks in the morning, etc. We were expected to have a meeting with Ken and Bob around 10:30 this morning. They had quite the time with LA traffic so they didn't make it to the Church until about 11:30 or so. That was completely fine, because some of the guys that stay here at the church were watching a great "wake up and embrace the day" movie...Death Race. So I of course joined in the viewing party and lounged on the sofa. About 20 minutes in, I started itching in various places of my body. Some on my neck, a few places on my back under my shirt, my upper leg. I didn't think twice about it, just scratching a bit, until I prop my feet up and turn on my side. At this moment, my life flashed before my eyes. As I looked out in front of my face, I saw a winding river of blackness. My body froze as I realized what exactly was going on. The pieces of the puzzle was coming together now. I was itching so much because I was laying upon a sea of little black ants, or as I like to call them, Monomorium minimum.
You see, here in Southern California, these little guys are EVERYWHERE. As a matter of fact, I just now found one crawling on my foot...I dunno what it is about this place. So as I lay there for the eternity of 2 seconds, I wonder where else these little guys are venturing on my body...little did I know what awaited me. I jump up and start brushing my body off in a flailing fit in between the audience of the movie and the television screen. So there, 4 other guys watched in awe with blank stares of confusion on their faces while I ran about convulsing across the room. Eventually Josh cautiously asked "what are you doing" and that is when I explained the situation at hand.
Moving on, I sit here constantly scratching every little itch or tingle that I feel while writing this. I am sure those of you reading find yourself doing the same. Aaanywaaay...Bob and Ken walked through the door and we assembled the team. Today's meeting was a bit different than usual. Not only did we direct the point of conversation towards the biblical evidence of the qualifications needed to enter heaven's gates, but an older Swedish gentleman named Bennett walked into the room yelling something about a bake sale. You see, Bennett has been a member at the Church on Pearl since "ninteen seventy-four". He speaks with a strong Swedish accent and is not the quietest speaker by any means. After a short confusion of the bake sale and his visit, we found out (thanks to Bob who was the only one not shocked enough to speak) that the church had actually posted on bulletin an advertisement for a bake sale this morning. Un-luckily for Bennett and the whole city of Santa Monica, there would be no bake sale taking place this at the Pearl. With some short dialouge with the very social Swed, he asked the question "how does one become a missionary". This is when stuff 'got deep'. He of course was referring to us, a group of missionaries that has traveled across the nation to love the people of LA. But what he soon found out is that one can be a missionary, right in your own community. I know this sounds a little juvenile, but I think we sometimes tend to forget that simple fact. Sometimes we focus too much on the people around the world that need to hear about Christ's love, and we forget and overlook those people with the same need right infront of our very eyes. I'll let you chew on that for a bit.
After the meeting we said goodbye and were off to a late lunch and a couple hours on the field. Thomas and Luke had some good quality conversation with Kung Fu Tony and found out that his son is actually a Christian. Cool huh? We'll be praying that God will show the guys a clear 'next step' with Tony and the many other contacts they've made in Venice Beach.
Josh and I had some quiet time at a local coffee shop and ran into Ian, the guy from the Crusades group out here. It was nice to see him again and I am excited to continue our relationship with him and the many other friendly people we met last night at their meeting. We are supposed to be meeting with Jeff soon for our first church service, but he hasn't returned Josh's email. I think I can speak for Josh and I when I say that we are getting pretty excited about what God has in store for this. I hope he responds soon so that we can further our relationship with him and maybe have something to pass on to the permanent church planters here.
Storm and Kelsey spent the day at the beach with Anuhaya, a girl they were introduced to. I won't go into details about that, but instead leave that for Kelsey and Storm to discuss on the appropriate blog days. I can say though that she was interested in the idea of a bible study sometime in the near future. Just pray that God be will be working in her life and preparing her and the girls for what is to come.
Tonight was capped off with some group bonding time and a little bit more "counseling" as we tried to come up with some solutions to the problems we discussed last night about the team dynamics. So what did we do you ask? A 1 a.m. run to Wendy's to stuff our faces with hundreds of calories before coming back and crawling in bed. What can be more physcially and emotionally healthy than that? I recommend trying that sometime if you don't do that on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure Dr. Phil endorses it.
So as I think about the great sleep I'm gonna get tonight, I want to leave you with a few things to pray for.
1. Tomorrow, Josh and I are going out to the coffee shops and I am going to be manning the sign that Josh handled last week. Pray that God gives me comfort and wisdom during this. I am pretty nervous and I am trying to just rely on Him and trust Him to speak through me. Also just pray for some good opportunities and conversation with the people we come in contact with.
2. Pray for each group's patience and encouragement. As we watch time fly by, we are trying to figure out how to tie the loose ends and have something to pass on once we leave LA. Pray that we can just trust God with this and have faith that he will take care of everything as he always does.
3. Our team dynamics. This is a great team of people that I love very much. I couldn't have picked a better group myself and I know God has put us all together here for a purpose. Just pray that we will embrace these 3 weeks that we have here together and to keep each other in good spirits.
Thank you all ONCE AGAIN for everything. Your prayers and support mean so much to us.
Until next Tuesday, stay safe and keep your bug spray at hand.
God Bless,
Bruce
It started off just as normal as any other day. The usual: wake up, breakfast, make fun of the way Kelsey looks in the morning, etc. We were expected to have a meeting with Ken and Bob around 10:30 this morning. They had quite the time with LA traffic so they didn't make it to the Church until about 11:30 or so. That was completely fine, because some of the guys that stay here at the church were watching a great "wake up and embrace the day" movie...Death Race. So I of course joined in the viewing party and lounged on the sofa. About 20 minutes in, I started itching in various places of my body. Some on my neck, a few places on my back under my shirt, my upper leg. I didn't think twice about it, just scratching a bit, until I prop my feet up and turn on my side. At this moment, my life flashed before my eyes. As I looked out in front of my face, I saw a winding river of blackness. My body froze as I realized what exactly was going on. The pieces of the puzzle was coming together now. I was itching so much because I was laying upon a sea of little black ants, or as I like to call them, Monomorium minimum.
You see, here in Southern California, these little guys are EVERYWHERE. As a matter of fact, I just now found one crawling on my foot...I dunno what it is about this place. So as I lay there for the eternity of 2 seconds, I wonder where else these little guys are venturing on my body...little did I know what awaited me. I jump up and start brushing my body off in a flailing fit in between the audience of the movie and the television screen. So there, 4 other guys watched in awe with blank stares of confusion on their faces while I ran about convulsing across the room. Eventually Josh cautiously asked "what are you doing" and that is when I explained the situation at hand.
Moving on, I sit here constantly scratching every little itch or tingle that I feel while writing this. I am sure those of you reading find yourself doing the same. Aaanywaaay...Bob and Ken walked through the door and we assembled the team. Today's meeting was a bit different than usual. Not only did we direct the point of conversation towards the biblical evidence of the qualifications needed to enter heaven's gates, but an older Swedish gentleman named Bennett walked into the room yelling something about a bake sale. You see, Bennett has been a member at the Church on Pearl since "ninteen seventy-four". He speaks with a strong Swedish accent and is not the quietest speaker by any means. After a short confusion of the bake sale and his visit, we found out (thanks to Bob who was the only one not shocked enough to speak) that the church had actually posted on bulletin an advertisement for a bake sale this morning. Un-luckily for Bennett and the whole city of Santa Monica, there would be no bake sale taking place this at the Pearl. With some short dialouge with the very social Swed, he asked the question "how does one become a missionary". This is when stuff 'got deep'. He of course was referring to us, a group of missionaries that has traveled across the nation to love the people of LA. But what he soon found out is that one can be a missionary, right in your own community. I know this sounds a little juvenile, but I think we sometimes tend to forget that simple fact. Sometimes we focus too much on the people around the world that need to hear about Christ's love, and we forget and overlook those people with the same need right infront of our very eyes. I'll let you chew on that for a bit.
After the meeting we said goodbye and were off to a late lunch and a couple hours on the field. Thomas and Luke had some good quality conversation with Kung Fu Tony and found out that his son is actually a Christian. Cool huh? We'll be praying that God will show the guys a clear 'next step' with Tony and the many other contacts they've made in Venice Beach.
Josh and I had some quiet time at a local coffee shop and ran into Ian, the guy from the Crusades group out here. It was nice to see him again and I am excited to continue our relationship with him and the many other friendly people we met last night at their meeting. We are supposed to be meeting with Jeff soon for our first church service, but he hasn't returned Josh's email. I think I can speak for Josh and I when I say that we are getting pretty excited about what God has in store for this. I hope he responds soon so that we can further our relationship with him and maybe have something to pass on to the permanent church planters here.
Storm and Kelsey spent the day at the beach with Anuhaya, a girl they were introduced to. I won't go into details about that, but instead leave that for Kelsey and Storm to discuss on the appropriate blog days. I can say though that she was interested in the idea of a bible study sometime in the near future. Just pray that God be will be working in her life and preparing her and the girls for what is to come.
Tonight was capped off with some group bonding time and a little bit more "counseling" as we tried to come up with some solutions to the problems we discussed last night about the team dynamics. So what did we do you ask? A 1 a.m. run to Wendy's to stuff our faces with hundreds of calories before coming back and crawling in bed. What can be more physcially and emotionally healthy than that? I recommend trying that sometime if you don't do that on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure Dr. Phil endorses it.
So as I think about the great sleep I'm gonna get tonight, I want to leave you with a few things to pray for.
1. Tomorrow, Josh and I are going out to the coffee shops and I am going to be manning the sign that Josh handled last week. Pray that God gives me comfort and wisdom during this. I am pretty nervous and I am trying to just rely on Him and trust Him to speak through me. Also just pray for some good opportunities and conversation with the people we come in contact with.
2. Pray for each group's patience and encouragement. As we watch time fly by, we are trying to figure out how to tie the loose ends and have something to pass on once we leave LA. Pray that we can just trust God with this and have faith that he will take care of everything as he always does.
3. Our team dynamics. This is a great team of people that I love very much. I couldn't have picked a better group myself and I know God has put us all together here for a purpose. Just pray that we will embrace these 3 weeks that we have here together and to keep each other in good spirits.
Thank you all ONCE AGAIN for everything. Your prayers and support mean so much to us.
Until next Tuesday, stay safe and keep your bug spray at hand.
God Bless,
Bruce
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
We Are Family: Lessons from Crusaders.
"We are family, got my brothers and my sisters with me."
The theme of the past couple of days with the 6 of us has been community. Or, should I say the lack there of. I'll just be bluntly honest and say we've all enjoyed one another's company for the past 5.5 weeks, but having spent 24/7 around the same 6 people has gotten to all of us and tonight it boiled over.
Our day started as most others. Breakfast, team time/devo, field time and then we came back to the church. From the church, the 6 of us went to a dinner that the Santa Monica Summer Project Mission Team of 67 Campus Crusade students holds every Monday night. The team and I have met several of their teammates over the past few weeks and we met some more on Sunday. We were invited to go to a dinner with them tonight and to join them for their worship service. So, we did.
I'll be honest again here and say most of us had preconceived notions of what tonight was going to be like. We, our team, and the Cru team have different ministries here in LA and different ways to go about ministering to the people here, so most of the 6 of us had ideas that were quickly proven wrong. When we arrived it was the awkward "Who are the 6 new kids" stare from 134 eyes. It was a little intimidating, but most of the people quickly introduced themselves and it got a little more bearable to be in a room full of people where it was obvious we were the outsiders.
So we split up and ate with the Crusade team members and then joined them for their worship service. Afterwards, we mingled with some of the Cru team members and made some great personal relationships and connections.
This all has a point I promise. Actually, it has two. So, let's just jump into those. It's 1:52AM here in LA and I'm tired.
So:
1 - We realized that the community that these 67 students had was incredible. Living with 67 of the same people for 24/7 seems quite overwhelming. But somehow their group (at least at first glance) seems to be dealing with that in an amazing way. We watched them all get along with one another and know one another, and it was a blessing to see them grow closer to the Lord, the people out here in LA, and to one another all in community. One of the most frequent questions that all 6 of us got was "What's it like living around the same 6 people all day every day?" And while I doubt the Cru people knew what they were REALLY asking, thoughts started racing through most of our team's minds and helped us to realize that when it comes to community in our group of 6, the past couple of weeks has been pretty shiesty. So, when the team got back and had team time, we addressed the concerns, troubles, annoyances and frustrations that each of us were feeling with our community. After almost 3 hours, it seems like we've hashed it out and things are on a much better foot. I know all 6 of us feel like we've made some pretty progressive plans to get better about our community with one another. In fact, Storm said something that touched me more than I expected. She said "Thank you guys and girl for being a part of my first experience with siblings. It's been fun." And then it hit me. We are here as brothers and sisters in Christ and lately we hadn't been acting as a family. After tonight, no longer are we 6 friends, cohorts or anything else...we're brothers and sisters for one another here on the field, in our personal walks with the Lord and in our group times!
2 - The second thing that I personally got excited out of the time with Crusade group is another reminder of the centrality of Christ. What I mean is this: Christ is the single most important common denominator between any two groups or persons of the Christian faith. The group of 67 Crusade students and the 6 of us are here for the same reason: sharing Christ's love. It was a blessing to be reminded that while they may have different ministry views, we're still here with the same passion and heart for the same person: Christ. Being in fellowship, worship and community with them tonight helped our team realize that God is definitely working in big ways, and in ways that we hadn't even seen coming. So tonight, I feel as though I've not only gained 5 brothers and sisters from my team, but also 67 Crusade Team members who have blessed us and encouraged us to live urgently, seizing every opportunity to share the gospel of Christ and to passionately pursue Christ at all times!
So in almost-closing, I want to share this scripture:
Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may share in his glory." Romans 8:14-17
One of biggest blessings of salvation in Christ is an invitation to the membership of the Holy family. We're no longer individuals, but are now a part of God's family. We're together with our fellow brothers and sisters in faith, and with the big-man himself, Christ. However, this membership must, again I say must, come with a cost...ourselves. We're not invited to share in God's glory easily. We're called to intentionally join in his sufferings the same way he intentionally came to earth and lived a life that lead to the cross in order to achieve the glory of God. So, as fellow members of God's family and brothers and sisters in Christ, I leave myself with this thought for myself, my team and you readers...
What are we intentionally doing to put ourselves in harm's way and live a life that leads to the cross?
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Uh, Oh! It's Those Crazy Christians Again!
Hey Awesome readers! Has Jesus been good to you today? He's been the Bomb over here in LA! I'm just sayin' that we kinda serve the flippin coolest God EVER!!! Wonders! Why the enthusiasm? CAUSE MY GOD IS MOVING!!!! And it's cool to be apart of that and see it happening.
I wish I could tell you all the sick nasty awesome ways that God it at work here, but in reality I can't. Partly because if I told you all the ways He's been working that we have seen in our 5 weeks here this blog would take 5 weeks to read. AND partly because I really don't know all the ways that He's moving. He's kinda got a better big picture view than I do. Go figure?! Crazy, right?
Today I woke up, looked at my phone, realized we had 11 minutes to be at Tonys for our Chi Kung lesson, jumped out of bed, punched Thomas' hip, ran out the door, knocked on the girls door, said "Storm we gotta go!" and the proceeded to dress as quickly as possible(back in my room of course, not the living room... that'd be awkward.)
Despite the initial rush in the morning, today was great! We had a good lesson, and met knew people! We met this cool guy who does martial arts choreography for movies here in LA. He had a cool name. His name was Luke. =) The other group had great Jesus coffee shop talking/praying action going on. All in all, a good day. Sunday is a day of rest, but for us it's more like half a day. We get Thursdays as an actual day of.... well... not rest, but a day off anyway. =) Today was alot of reflection on the upcoming week. Everyone has alot lined up for the upcoming week of Jesus spreading. I'm PUMPED!!! I think saying any of the names of God is like a super pumpin' pep talk... or something. What if I said like, Lord,... ooooo... goosebumps of Holy Spirit power!
OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FAN-FLIPPIN'-TASTIC NEWS!!!!!!!! So Peter knows that we're Christians now. We told him that love is the greatest thing in life, like livin' by it. He said "It's amazing that at such a young age you all have such an amazing grasp on what life is all about." And then we ended up talking about the idea of house churches, and he wasn't appalled by it! I think we may have some awesomeness of church planting in the works! Peter leaves for jolly ol' England on Wednesday, but we get to have tea with him before that. We get to see him again during our last week here. God has blessed this relationship so far. Pray for more.
OK,
HOW DO WE PRAY? you ask me?
Pray for churches to get started here. Lives to be saved. People to be discipled. Jesus to Move!
"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we could ask or imagin, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." - - Ephesians 3:20,21
I wish I could tell you all the sick nasty awesome ways that God it at work here, but in reality I can't. Partly because if I told you all the ways He's been working that we have seen in our 5 weeks here this blog would take 5 weeks to read. AND partly because I really don't know all the ways that He's moving. He's kinda got a better big picture view than I do. Go figure?! Crazy, right?
Today I woke up, looked at my phone, realized we had 11 minutes to be at Tonys for our Chi Kung lesson, jumped out of bed, punched Thomas' hip, ran out the door, knocked on the girls door, said "Storm we gotta go!" and the proceeded to dress as quickly as possible(back in my room of course, not the living room... that'd be awkward.)
Despite the initial rush in the morning, today was great! We had a good lesson, and met knew people! We met this cool guy who does martial arts choreography for movies here in LA. He had a cool name. His name was Luke. =) The other group had great Jesus coffee shop talking/praying action going on. All in all, a good day. Sunday is a day of rest, but for us it's more like half a day. We get Thursdays as an actual day of.... well... not rest, but a day off anyway. =) Today was alot of reflection on the upcoming week. Everyone has alot lined up for the upcoming week of Jesus spreading. I'm PUMPED!!! I think saying any of the names of God is like a super pumpin' pep talk... or something. What if I said like, Lord,... ooooo... goosebumps of Holy Spirit power!
OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FAN-FLIPPIN'-TASTIC NEWS!!!!!!!! So Peter knows that we're Christians now. We told him that love is the greatest thing in life, like livin' by it. He said "It's amazing that at such a young age you all have such an amazing grasp on what life is all about." And then we ended up talking about the idea of house churches, and he wasn't appalled by it! I think we may have some awesomeness of church planting in the works! Peter leaves for jolly ol' England on Wednesday, but we get to have tea with him before that. We get to see him again during our last week here. God has blessed this relationship so far. Pray for more.
OK,
HOW DO WE PRAY? you ask me?
Pray for churches to get started here. Lives to be saved. People to be discipled. Jesus to Move!
"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we could ask or imagin, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." - - Ephesians 3:20,21
Happy Birthday Josh!!!!!!!!
This week has been great, it has been one of the quickest here in L.A. I think. Only three weeks left but we are all anxious to see how God will use us in these last few weeks. And to make everything even better, Josh was born today....22 years ago. HOORAY!!!!
So anyways, God has definitely been with our team throughout this week. Friday was great for the Venice team, we ate breakfast with Peter at Gilberts, which is a mexican place. God was with us in the conversation, we talked about lots of things. We found out that Peter is involved with a Daoist community, he considers himself a Daoist but uses the term loosely. He picked us up at the church and upon finding out that Luke's dad was a pastor in the middle east, I think he knows that we are all Christian which was a conversation opener. We talked to him about the state of church today and how there is other forms of church, like house churches, and he seemed to be open to that.
Unfortunately, Peter is leaving for England this Wednesday for two weeks so we will not get time with him as much as we hoped for. On the bright side, we met Ted who is a close friend of Peter. Ted had an accident ten years ago which caused him to be partially paralyzed but he can move for about two hours a day. We caught up with him and Peter on last Wednesday by coincidence (God inspired I think), and he was extremely open to conversation. Supposedly his social circle has diminished due to his disability so he seemed really touched when we talked about talking with him. We talked a little about churches and he seemed extremely receptive to it as well. So the game plan is to keep in touch with Peter as much as possible and while he is away, talk to Ted and maybe we could start some sort of group with them. I am extremely excited about the potential in this situation.
Friday after breakfast was awesome as well, we had tea with Peter and sat out on the grass with him. Storm and I got snagged by Sandra before we were able to join them on the grass. Sandra explained that she has a sister in the hospital, who has cancer and her entire stomach has been removed. The sister's name is Phyllis and we asked if we could pray for her and her sister. Then I explained that I am a Christian and then we ended up having a conversation that lasted over thirty minutes where she basically unloaded her life on me. She attends a gnostic church (I am not aware of what a gnostic church stands for and I should do more research on that) she specified that it was not an agnostic church and that she isnt quite a "believer" but she likes the speaking. She sells water paintings in Venice and is not going to be out there too often this summer but if we see her again hopefully God will bring us some fruitful conversations.
Today we did Chi Kung and it was great. My knuckles got swollen from punching the bag so much. We had tea and conversation but nothing spiritual came up today. And here we are...it is now Sunday and I think our whole team is so ready to see what is ahead of us for the week.
Things to pray for:
+Peter
+Ted
+Venice Beach
+Sandra
+Phyllis
+Jeff (Josh and Bruces connection in Santa Monica for starting a possible new church)
+Santa Monica (and the college)
+Tony
Thank you all the people who have been praying for this trip and the people that we have been talking to, I have truly learned the power of prayer here and we appreciate that you guys are willing to aid us with Jesus power.
Grace and Peace
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Dios es increible!
God is amazing! jussayin. I am so excited about the growth that has occured in all of us this trip! For me this week has been really exciting. Boldness is something that I have been reminded constantly of and continuously praying for it this whole trip. I have been frustrated with myself for my lack of boldness when normally I will talk to anyone. I have been excited this week because I was finally able to tell my fears to be quiet and that I was going to go talk to Weihung before I talked myself out of it. This was such an amazing feeling for me and I thank God for that! I still would ask you to pray for boldness for me. The conversations that God has blessed me with have shown me a lot. Yesterday at Six Flags I was able to talk to a Guatemalan woman, Cara and play peek a boo with her baby girl, Megan. We both only spoke a "pequeno" (little) of each other's language but through signs, motions, and the little bit I remembered from taking Spanish in high school we were able to communicate. It was amazing to me how God allowed us to communicate with such a large language barrier. That was such an exciting feeling!!! They were such a sweet family. We had such a great time at Six Flags! On the rides we felt the greatest possibility of death (aka the ride Tatsu) where it was literally like flying through the air we did a lot of praying, screaming, or laughing uncontrollably depending on how we each handled fear. We have strength in knowing that God is always with us whether riding roller coasters or talking to people about our faith.
Storm, Luke, and Thomas had a breakfast date with Peter this morning which I understand was the most amazing conversation they have had since they arrived in LA! They all seemed very excited about the conversation but are disappointed that Peter will be leaving for a little bit. Thankfully he will be back before we leave though!
Storm and I volunteered this afternoon at A Window Between Worlds! We are really enjoying this place! The ladies that work there are so sweet! Tomorrow they are having a big event The Music and Art Festival 2009 so today we were crazy busy preparing. We loaded lot of cars with items for the event, printed out instructions, contemplated throwing a printer out the window, made signs, and tried to lower every one's stress level. They all did such an awesome job of staying stress free and super organized! Tomorrow (Sat.) we are going to be backup volunteers at the event if someone doesn't show up or if they need other help!!! It is going to be a lot of fun!!!
Josh and Bruce hung out at coffee shops this afternoon praying and brainstorming about Monday when they do the sign again! Luke and Thomas hung out with Tony at his shop for the afternoon! I believe they all had a great day!
We came back and hung out until dinner time! We had pupusas in honor of Josh for his birthday tomorrow! I know we have complimented on the food we have ate a lot but it really has been amazing especially tonight!!! Storm and I worked on our Spanish some more which is always a lot of fun and creates a lot of laughs! Then the group went to see Transformers!!! I thought it was good!!
Be praying for...
Pray for the urgency. Time is flying by literally we only have like 3 weeks left which kind of freaks me out to think about. Pray for the relationships that we have built that we will find the connection point so that they can continue when we are back home. Continue to pray for the relationships as they are still growing and that the spiritual conversations will be easy to have.
Pray for boldness as we talk to people. Pray that we will be very intential when starting conversations and when talking about spiritual matters.
Pray for LA that people will be more receptive to converstations about God.
Pray for the conversations that Bruce is going to have on Monday with people at the coffee shops with the sign. Pray for Jeff, Josh's new friend, that those conversations and meetings continue to be well. Pray that they will be able to have church together and lead to other meetings with friends.
Pray for Chi Kung lessons tomorrow as Luke and Thomas talk to Tony and continue to gain his respect and start God conversations.
Pray for the ladies that work at a Window Between Worlds that we will be able to have conversations with them about God. Pray that the event flows well for them and that they raise money for domestic violence shelters.
Pray that we are continually sharing God's love with people we come in contact with to the point that it becomes a way of life for us!!!
Thank you for reading our blogs and supporting us through pray it means so much to all of us!
Love,
Kelsey
Storm, Luke, and Thomas had a breakfast date with Peter this morning which I understand was the most amazing conversation they have had since they arrived in LA! They all seemed very excited about the conversation but are disappointed that Peter will be leaving for a little bit. Thankfully he will be back before we leave though!
Storm and I volunteered this afternoon at A Window Between Worlds! We are really enjoying this place! The ladies that work there are so sweet! Tomorrow they are having a big event The Music and Art Festival 2009 so today we were crazy busy preparing. We loaded lot of cars with items for the event, printed out instructions, contemplated throwing a printer out the window, made signs, and tried to lower every one's stress level. They all did such an awesome job of staying stress free and super organized! Tomorrow (Sat.) we are going to be backup volunteers at the event if someone doesn't show up or if they need other help!!! It is going to be a lot of fun!!!
Josh and Bruce hung out at coffee shops this afternoon praying and brainstorming about Monday when they do the sign again! Luke and Thomas hung out with Tony at his shop for the afternoon! I believe they all had a great day!
We came back and hung out until dinner time! We had pupusas in honor of Josh for his birthday tomorrow! I know we have complimented on the food we have ate a lot but it really has been amazing especially tonight!!! Storm and I worked on our Spanish some more which is always a lot of fun and creates a lot of laughs! Then the group went to see Transformers!!! I thought it was good!!
Be praying for...
Pray for the urgency. Time is flying by literally we only have like 3 weeks left which kind of freaks me out to think about. Pray for the relationships that we have built that we will find the connection point so that they can continue when we are back home. Continue to pray for the relationships as they are still growing and that the spiritual conversations will be easy to have.
Pray for boldness as we talk to people. Pray that we will be very intential when starting conversations and when talking about spiritual matters.
Pray for LA that people will be more receptive to converstations about God.
Pray for the conversations that Bruce is going to have on Monday with people at the coffee shops with the sign. Pray for Jeff, Josh's new friend, that those conversations and meetings continue to be well. Pray that they will be able to have church together and lead to other meetings with friends.
Pray for Chi Kung lessons tomorrow as Luke and Thomas talk to Tony and continue to gain his respect and start God conversations.
Pray for the ladies that work at a Window Between Worlds that we will be able to have conversations with them about God. Pray that the event flows well for them and that they raise money for domestic violence shelters.
Pray that we are continually sharing God's love with people we come in contact with to the point that it becomes a way of life for us!!!
Thank you for reading our blogs and supporting us through pray it means so much to all of us!
Love,
Kelsey
Thursday, July 9, 2009
1,2,5, no....22 blocks and no Chinese food!
As you may be aware, I am a little...okay, a whole day late on getting my blog up. After 2 meetings, 4 hours of hectic volunteer work, and an intense (but heartfelt, I am sure) team time, I just crashed. How lucky am I then that I blog on Wednesdays so I have our free day to redeem myself?
The past week has been a mass of craziness - it's been a rollercoaster ride getting through it all. Speaking of rollercoasters, those are exactly what Josh, Bruce, Kelsey, and our buddy David went on ALL day today (it is 11:00 pm and they are just getting dinner). They found this amazing sale on tickets for Six Flags and decided to spend their day fighting two-hour-long lines and repeatedly plunging to their death...(sorry, I much prefer waterslides so I am a little biased). Luke, Thomas and I had some chill time at the church until lunch time. Then follows this EPIC adventure to walk around the corner to a Chinese restaurant Luke had seen previously. So we walk......14th street.....and we walk......22th street.......and we walk.....36th street...NO Chinese! Sadly, we trudge back to the Subway we had spotted and discuss Luke's possible delusions as we chomp into the deli goodness. We ate dinner at an Arab restaurant and I experienced my first ever Shawarma wrap. They were tasty - much like the gyros we sometimes get on Venice Beach.
The part of the evening I wasn't expecting was the deep discussion Luke, Thomas and I began to have on open-theism at Starbucks afterward. I can't even explain the jumble of thoughts in my brain right now as I consider for the first time the ideas of "falling from grace" and the quandary of God as an All-Powerful being v. a Merciful being. Interesting concepts that I will now have to ponder for days, weeks, and months to come...
However, conversations on controversial spiritual beliefs are only one of the challenges that have come up this week for the team. After the push and encouragement from Ken and Bob, the team has really risen to the challenge of overcoming the fear of beginning conversations and bringing up spiritual topics. Team time has been especially focused on spiritual growth within the team. Josh, as the leader, has led us in opening up with our testimonies and truly thinking about the way Christ has influenced our lives. Many people when they hear the word "testimony," automatically think of the generic "how old were you when you were saved?" or "tell all of the bad things that have happened in your life" or "give the perfect Christian answer." But in reality, a testimony isn't about telling a story from your perspective or a chronology of your entire life... it's about looking back and figuring out where God was in your story, what he means to you because of that, and deciding where to go next in your walk with Him.
There has been relational growth as well as spiritual growth, too. Last Sunday we each gathered gifts to bring to our "house church" type meeting, and mine was a little out of the ordinary. I challenged every member of the group to spend the days before our next meeting figuring out the ways in which they value and appreciate every other member of the group. Yesterday, we sat in a circle and focused our time on each person individually - telling them things that they may or may not have known about themselves, but that show how much we care for each other throughout all of the busyness and craziness of living together for a whole summer. To be honest, I didn't expect my suggestion to fly, but the team was very willing and had a great time experiencing some time focused solely on them and their merits. I can't think of a better encouragement to others than to be shown that they matter.
Tomorrow (if we can get the three who went to Six Flags out of bed,) will be filled with field and volunteer work. We can only ask you and thank you a million times for the wonderful prayers we have gotten - especially as there are many individual meetings and personal discussions occurring in the next couple of days.
Love to you all - and check maps for existing restaurants before setting out on foot! :.D
~Storm
The past week has been a mass of craziness - it's been a rollercoaster ride getting through it all. Speaking of rollercoasters, those are exactly what Josh, Bruce, Kelsey, and our buddy David went on ALL day today (it is 11:00 pm and they are just getting dinner). They found this amazing sale on tickets for Six Flags and decided to spend their day fighting two-hour-long lines and repeatedly plunging to their death...(sorry, I much prefer waterslides so I am a little biased). Luke, Thomas and I had some chill time at the church until lunch time. Then follows this EPIC adventure to walk around the corner to a Chinese restaurant Luke had seen previously. So we walk......14th street.....and we walk......22th street.......and we walk.....36th street...NO Chinese! Sadly, we trudge back to the Subway we had spotted and discuss Luke's possible delusions as we chomp into the deli goodness. We ate dinner at an Arab restaurant and I experienced my first ever Shawarma wrap. They were tasty - much like the gyros we sometimes get on Venice Beach.
The part of the evening I wasn't expecting was the deep discussion Luke, Thomas and I began to have on open-theism at Starbucks afterward. I can't even explain the jumble of thoughts in my brain right now as I consider for the first time the ideas of "falling from grace" and the quandary of God as an All-Powerful being v. a Merciful being. Interesting concepts that I will now have to ponder for days, weeks, and months to come...
However, conversations on controversial spiritual beliefs are only one of the challenges that have come up this week for the team. After the push and encouragement from Ken and Bob, the team has really risen to the challenge of overcoming the fear of beginning conversations and bringing up spiritual topics. Team time has been especially focused on spiritual growth within the team. Josh, as the leader, has led us in opening up with our testimonies and truly thinking about the way Christ has influenced our lives. Many people when they hear the word "testimony," automatically think of the generic "how old were you when you were saved?" or "tell all of the bad things that have happened in your life" or "give the perfect Christian answer." But in reality, a testimony isn't about telling a story from your perspective or a chronology of your entire life... it's about looking back and figuring out where God was in your story, what he means to you because of that, and deciding where to go next in your walk with Him.
There has been relational growth as well as spiritual growth, too. Last Sunday we each gathered gifts to bring to our "house church" type meeting, and mine was a little out of the ordinary. I challenged every member of the group to spend the days before our next meeting figuring out the ways in which they value and appreciate every other member of the group. Yesterday, we sat in a circle and focused our time on each person individually - telling them things that they may or may not have known about themselves, but that show how much we care for each other throughout all of the busyness and craziness of living together for a whole summer. To be honest, I didn't expect my suggestion to fly, but the team was very willing and had a great time experiencing some time focused solely on them and their merits. I can't think of a better encouragement to others than to be shown that they matter.
Tomorrow (if we can get the three who went to Six Flags out of bed,) will be filled with field and volunteer work. We can only ask you and thank you a million times for the wonderful prayers we have gotten - especially as there are many individual meetings and personal discussions occurring in the next couple of days.
Love to you all - and check maps for existing restaurants before setting out on foot! :.D
~Storm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)