what i've been doing in the meantime...

Sorry I haven't updated in a long time! There hasn't been too much to tell

I finished my class I was taking through directed study last week - it feels good to have it off my chest. Now I'm focusing on my internships and the ministries here.

I'm leading Bordertown again on Sunday. Jill and I want to serve communion to the kids in a few weeks. They never go down to "big church" and so they've never had the communion experience. But we don't want to just throw it on them. So this week I'm doing an Old Testament background to the story of Jesus. Next week Jill will cover Jesus and the salvation message. Then in 2 weeks we'll serve communion. Be praying that the kids take this stuff to heart.

VBS is in a couple of weeks too - I'm telling the Bible stories.

Other than that.... not much is going on. My mom is visiting in 3 weeks and I'll be home in 6.

Also, shout out to Jessica for being my first (and only) blog follower :) you make me feel loved, Jess! I hope your Mission Corps stuff is going well!!!

Love you all - drop me a note. I miss you all

Coming up....

This Sunday I'm leading Bordertown (children's church) - I'm nervous. This is the first time I've ever taught with the use of a translator (there are 3 or 4 kids who don't speak English). It's also strange because I don't really know these kids at all yet. Please pray for me. I'm talking about Gideon and highlighting Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

I think I need that message myself right now - I can do all things (even teach Bordertown) through Christ because he is my strength. If you think of me, pray for me - if any of you guys read this blog anyway haha :)

Angels & Demons

So I saw Angels & Demons tonight with my El Paso friend, Susan. Wow. It was amazing on many levels.

I guess I want this post to be more or less a discussion about "these kind" of movies - yeah, you know what I'm talking about. They're the movies that we good Christians shouldn't see because they're obviously anti-everything we stand for.

Or so we say.

But don't knock it til you've tried it.

Angels & Demons has strongly religious overtones - and they're not anti-religious. Yeah, I think that maybe Dan Brown took a few too many knocks on the Catholic church.... But there's a line at the end of the movie that I loved. One of the Cardinals makes a comments to Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) about the church. He says, "The church is not perfect only because men are not perfect - all men."

So yes, we screw up. A lot. The Catholic church, the Orthodox church, the Protestant church. Maybe even our good Nazarene church. We are not perfect - and we are the Church. But at least Christ can work through fallible people like us.
At the beginning of the film, Ewan McGregor's character (the papal advisor - some Italian word I don't know...) asks Langdon if he believes in God. As Langdon begins to give a long and detailed explanation, McGregor cuts him off to ask the question again. Langdon says, "I'm an academic. My head tells me that I cannot comprehend God." McGregor: "What does your heart say?" Langdon replies, "Faith is a gift; and it's one that I haven't been given yet."

How many of us try to approach faith as if it weren't the greatest gift we could receive from our Maker? No, we cannot comprehend God: no matter how hard we try to explain Him we always fall short. Faith is not something we can get by ourselves. It's a gift - one we have to accept.

My faith is stored in the God who saves me from myself. My faith doesn't rest in the latest movie or book. I know that some refuse to read Brown's works because they are sacreligious. But they are works of fiction - my faith does not rest in what Dan Brown thinks about God and the church. My faith rests in Jesus Christ.

And honestly, I don't know what Brown thinks about God - but from some of the dialogue in Angels & Demons, he may not be as far off as some think he is.

Try it.

EL PASO!

Soooooo..... I'm in my new room at El Paso First Church of the Nazarene - it's really hot here and I'm having a wonderful time :)

I haven't done a lot of ministry yet other than YIM training and stuff. But I'm really excited to get into everything. On Sunday I went to children's church (Bordertown). It was a great time - everything is bilingual... I wish my Spanish was better! I'm really curious to see how things shape up as I get to know the congregation and community better.

I was talking to some of my new friends - Maynard & Barb and Norlyn & Bobbi. We were talking about how sometimes the church has trouble changing. I was so encouraged to talk to them - I think I could have sat in their kitchen for hours. They'd like me to help them write some curriculum for W&W teams that come through - I feel really blessed that they want my opinion.

Maynard and Barb said something that really stuck out to me. They said that when we meet people who need our help, we should ask them, "How can I ask God to bless you today?" Usually in that situation we just say, "I'll be praying for you," or, "Can I pray with you now," or even just, "Have a nice day." But how much more powerful might it be if we ask God to bless them in a way that is practical and tangible for their particular situation???

It challenged me - I think I want to spend more time with them.