Wed afternoon

Gonna have to be a quick one today, no time to check spelling either.

Best day yet, we worked hard and played HARDER!!!!  I took Lori, Tina, Wes, Nate, Jonathan, and Paige to the school to mentor.  We helped them with reading and part of what that meant was that we played Scrabble.  AND YES, I WAS OWNED BY A 3RD and a 4TH GRADER!!!!  Stupid 'q' and 'z' being worth 10 points each.  It was great.  

Also we Kaitie, Ty, Ethan, Nick, Paige, Alex, Kim, Andy, Tyler, Rachel, Little Justin, Michaela and myself went to the park to start up some games.  We played basketball, double dutch (yes, I suck at it, embarrassing actually) and kick ball and the neighborhood kids and some adults came out of the wood work, it was loads of fun.  

Let me tell, you should be VERY proud of your kids today!!!!  Especially those who went to the park.  

Tuesday Afternoon

Well Day 2 of work is done and it wasn't the easiest way, you know, laying lamenant (and no, I cannot spell that word) flooring and dry walling a ceiling isn't actually the easiest thing to do.  Some of us finished the rooms at the community center today and organized their library, so that was fun.  

Kenzie, Heath, Gavin, Alex, Hunter, and Caitlin Camic went to mentor at the school and had a great time.  Everyone who plays scrabble with these kids is absolutely getting owned by them.  I'm not laughing too hard because it's my turn tomorrow.  Some of them have said that the hour with the kids in the school feels like 15 min.  

Also last night was great, Kim, Rachel, Alex, Ty, and Michaela lead the neighborhood kids in a service last night about what Jesus was doing on Monday before His crucifixion and they did an AWESOME job.  I'm very proud of them and also most of our students came down and sang and played with the kids, so it was a good thing.  

Tonight Nate, Nick, Jonathan, and Heath have it tonight, so we're ready.  

It's Tuesday, which is the day that everyone realizes, 'Hey, I'm actually kind of tired.'  But, today has gone by pretty  fast for some and slow for others.  Soooooo...tomorrow we shall see...

Monday Afternoon...

Well, we are juuuuust about done with physical work for the day and we've gotten a whole lot accomplished.  We also took a tour of the neighborhood and I found out that Rich Mullins lived here at State Ave for a while, I'm a huge Rich fan so that's really, really cool.  

Adam took Nick, Ty, Kaitie, Ethan, and Christian to the public school down the street to do some tutoring with 3rd and 4th grade kids.  It was funny, Nick was absolutely OWNED at scrabble by a fourth grader and no we are not letting him forget it.  

I took Justin W, Kenzie, Caitlin C, Kim, and Michaela to the community center that State Ave uses for their church services and we painted all day.  Of course Kenzie and Kim declared war on me for some reason and so far, they are losing like Gen. Custer  at Little Big Horn.  Our group also made lunch today too, mmmm, PB and J for all.  

Tereasa stayed at the church building with everybody else along with the Crossroads staff and the State Ave folks.  Some are in the process of laying a new floor, which is entertaining to watch because it's a bear, others carried drywall sheets up four floors worth of stairs and are installing foam insulation and dry wall on the ceiling.  

Tonight we have the Jr High students form the neighborhood for worship and devotionals that were created by are students, so be in prayer for them tonight.  Also, we GET TO TAKE SHOWERS!!! Yaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!  Then we get to play indoor basefootball that was created last night, don't worry, y0u'll get to see it on YouTube when we get home.  

I'll blog later tonight to let you know how it's going.  

We made it in safe and sound around 7pm tonight.  We were briefed about what to expect and what's around us and we met all the people we are working with.  Everyone is in a great mood and we're getting settled in as good as we can, sleeping arrangements are a little tight, BUUUT, we' ll be fine with the girls on the fourth and third floors and the guys on the 2nd.  We were broken up into teams to do different jobs tomorrow, some will be cooking, some will be tutoring elementary kids, and others will be doing various jobs around the church building.  

It's going to be....not easy....but I'm pretty sure we'll be fine.  OF COURSE KAITIE AND KENZIE ARE PLAYING TWIN JOKES ON THE NEW PEOPLE!!!  

Well, breakfast is at 730 tomorrow :( but at least Adam and myself have nice soft couches to sleep on :) 

I'll upload some pics tomorrow, my new camera is being stupid.

In 2 1/2 days we leave for Cincinnati to work at the State Ave. Church of Christ for a week.  I'm excited about this week as always, but I also know the seriousness of leading 25 high school students on a mission trip and just how important and crucial this is.  

We have...

1 week for us to grow together. 

1 week for us to reach out.

1 week for us to allow God to move in us as we do something different.  (knowing God moves when we're home as well) 

I week to get away from school and the worries at home to focus on others and on Christ.

It's when we're away, together, serving, this is when it gets good, this is when it's hard and uncomfortable.   When we have to work together and act above our age, which is not out of the realm for teenagers, and definitely not our teenagers.  

It's always awesome to see students rise to being challenged, to work together in situations that are out of their comfort zones.  Also, you can track our progress, I'm planning on blogging about what goes on every night beginning Sunday, so check it out.  It's gonna be good...

Sometimes things don't work out like we planned.

Have a great weekend everybody!!!

I had an absolutely awesome day yesterday, one reason was because it was 73 degrees and I put 200+ miles on my motorcycle, but for the most part, it was because of the 4 people I spent time with.

1) I ate lunch at Steak and Shake with Chip, who is a great friend and a great minister of the Gospel of Christ.  We went to college together and even though he's 15 years older than I am, because of Christ, we have a bond.  And because of this bond, we have friendship and brotherhood.  It was great catching up, talking about school times, life now, and our plans.  Chip's a great guy and is always an encouragement to me.

2) At 5 I met with Kim at a coffee shop downtown, Kim is a high school senior who has an unbelievable passion for God and a joy that is unmistakeable.  We talked about her plans and what she wants to do with her life and I was amazed at her maturity and that God would allow me to teach someone like her.  There are so many times when I'm with students that I feel so unworthy of being able to do my job.  So unworthy to influence students with such a wide-open horizon, it's just amazing.  After leaving Kim, I was so encouraged by what God is doing , not only in her life and mine, but what God is doing in general.  Yeah, this world is filled with pain, yeah there's hurt, but it's times like these that I'm reminded of the Remedy.  That I'm reminded of the imperfections of His people and that He loves us the same.  I just wonder what it would be like had I been encouraged and had I chosen to live my high school life like Kim...

3) After leaving the coffee shop I went, met Adam, and we rode our motorcycles to Lexington to Buffalo Wild Wings, after all, it was 40 cent wing night!!!  With Adam I have one of my closest friends who pursues God, a friend who tries his best to be a good husband and a good dad, someone I relate to on every level, who encourages me in more ways than he knows.  Someone who is a brother in Christ and a partner in ministry. We share the same struggles (although his wife is wwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy crazier), the same goals, so there's a sameness there.  I know with Adam I can say anything, we can talk about things because we are in the same place in life.  Adam's the friend that I never really had for so many years and I am so blessed to have that in my life.  

4) I came home to the most beautiful...er...scratch that...the most freakingly hottest woman in the world.  It was late, so she was already in bed, she's a great mom and works hard at it so she was tired. It's such a joy to lay down beside her and sleep, knowing how much she loves me even though I'm moody at times, silly most of the time, and hide behind corners and try to scare her every chance I can.  I am in absolute love with my wife, I'm so thankful that she's in my life.  She puts up with me, takes care of me, is a partner in the student ministry, and does other things of which I will not speak of ;).  I love being here in our little house that's not in the best part of town, but it's home, it's where she is, its where WE are. 

Days like yesterday make all the other days worth it, the days when my body aches, the days when I gut out 3 miles, the days when I screw up, the days when someone does something that hurts, the days when I try to help pick up the pieces, the days when life happens.  I hope that everyone can have someone in their life, someone like one of these 4.  A partner, and encourager, a confidant, and someone who's learning from you and with you.  I hope that we take the time to seek these relationships, that we seek what God has to offer to us, which is why I believe Church is so important.  That's where these relationships, these right relationships are ripe for the picking.