Harrisburg, PA

Dear every awesome person,

(to the right is a map of PA and Harrisburg is the star...the picture is really small, so if you can't see it....i'm sorry.... but it's there I promise!!!)

I have arrived!!! This morning the interns and mentors bid each other goodbye and flew/drove our separate ways. It has been quite the last few days. :0) and the next few days and into months is sure to be quite busy and exciting as well. Belita and I worked out my job description last night at the hotel. My responsibilities are as follows:

Youth Ministry (yippee!!!!!!)
~to participate in youth group sunday nights helping out Josiah (the youth director)
~leading devotionals
~sharing in leadership and fellowship activites (games, etc.)
~brainstorm/develop new ways to reach the youth with Josiah
~teach/lead youth sunday school.

Worship (whaaaaaaat???)
~planning the 11:15am worship with Marisol and Josiah
~rehearsing/participating in the service (singing, playing guitar)
~develop other means of participation (dramas, etc.)
~announcements (9.00am service)

Pastoral Care (oh yeeeeeeeah....)
~accompany and assist Pastor Belita in home visits and hospital visits.
~shadow a chaplin @ the Brethren Old Folks homes & and do visits with Belita there. (One Day)

VBS/Christian Education (this should be interesting....)
~coordinating and providing leadership, as well as transportation. (will become clearer as the week approaches.)

BCM (Brethren Community Ministries)
~TBA

It was at the BCM part that Pastor Belita looked at me and said, let's stop there for now. hahahaha. So I will NOT be lacking in things to do this summer and will most likely take work home with me at night to do and keep myself busy.
She showed me all around the church today once we got there, and let me tell YOU. The building is a MAZE. hahaha. I was talking to one of 3 Jen's in the building, and she said she's been there nine months and still hasn't figured it out yet. So It's a lost cause. teehee. But I'm up to the challenge.

I had two AMAZING things happen today.

#1 On the freakishly small plane we road today, I had the privledge to sit next to a man named Eli, who was on his way to pick up his son, Alex so they could spend some time together. He is a program scrambler person who keeps bombs from blowing up by scrambling signals. He's been in Iraq for quite sometime....lol. However in his off time he likes to "pimp out" cars. make them into muscle cars and race them places. He's head over heels in love with his son who is 5 years old, and loves his Daddy just as much. I absolutely loved talking to him. And at the end of our conversation I asked to pray for him, and he said.... SURE! lol. It was great. So i prayed for him and his son, and afterward we got to talking about how green PA is. It was really cool. I've never done anything like that before.... it could become addicting. This is what I get for listening to Jesus!!! :0D

#2 Immediately after being shown the church layout and being introduced to a lot of people's office doors. lol. I was asked to attend a graduation party for the BHA. I thought it was a graduation for a high school kid...but it turns out to be graduation party for a young woman with a very young daughter who graduated from thier program!!! This program helps homeless and indebted single moms to get back on thier feet in two years. This woman, Liz, did it in one. Her testimony was amazing.... she had been through so much. lol. famous line "But I never blew anything up!!" :0D It was a very touching story, and a great way to be introduced to the community. I love success stories.

This place....is so different from anywhere I've been in my entire life. i have never lived in such racial diversity or such economic diversity. One street is beautiful and then you blink and the next street is a different world. I saw this is the Philippines and it shocked me, here it's mind blowing. How do people not know about this??!? It's heartbreaking. and I'm like 1000% sure this summer is going to stretch and change my heart in all sorts of ways. 1000%. It's so new.... and different. I hope I never get used to it, and this discomfort in my heart remains until the conditions change. :o)

Tomorrow, I am going to hang out with BHA (the gradutation program thingy) in the morning and follow the Director of that around. THEN. my Grandparents are coming to Harrisburg First, and spend the afternoon with me and then they are lending me thier car while they are in California for my sister's graduation and annual conference. :0) Huzzah for tomorrow!!

Well I'm going to go to sleep now....big day tomorrow.

Love to you all! I miss you dearly.
Love
~ME

p.s. Cultural Difference of the day- It's REALLY green here!!!!!!!!! There are so many trees and green things.....and moisture.....and green things.....

Happy Mentor Day!!!

Hello you wonderful people (some of whom are confined to the couch in sickness...i love you Kristi....)

Today was Mentor Day, which means all the mentors for us interns arrived. Including the ever wonderful Mother of mine, and my own mentor, Pastor Belita Mitchel. It was such great fun meeting these incredible beings and getting to hear their stories of call and struggle, joys and rewards. I have discovered that they are all comedians! hahahha. Just kidding, but they all have great senses of humor and when they are in a room together its like a bundle of joy. They all love Jesus so much, and are so excited to share their summers with us that it's very encouraging. :0)

We, The Interns, even sang a jazzy song for our mentors to show them that we were happy they had arrived. :0D It was pretty sweet..... got a good laugh.

Tonight over all the other nights, I was hit with the realization that this summer is going to be so hard for me. Mostly on the cultural side. I am a white girl. a very white girl.... it's okay... I ad mitt it proudly. But having said that, I have never been immersed in African American or Hispanic culture beyond t.v. shows like Fresh Prince of Bel air and Family Matters. I am already learning significant cultural differences, that if I am not aware of them, could get me into trouble around the congregation. One of my friends looked at me tonight and said, "I think you got it hardest."

yay.

It's going to be a very different summer. a VERY different summer. So i ask your continued prayer for my sanity and the ability to adapt well to a completely new culture. A culture of diverse race, culture, and living situation (city vs. not) and such things. I am getting a little nervous...especially preaching to such a different congregation than the one I'm used to. I'm really hoping I don't say something that could end up reflecting badly on Pastor Belita or the COB or myself. *sigh* Yay challenges!!!! At this point i am very thankful for my past experiences with culture shock in NZ and the Philippines...so I at least know what to expect to be happening inside of me....maybe not on the outside....but on the inside to be sure.

Well it's nearly 11:00 here, so I need to be signing off and going to bed. But i must say before I go, that I am really enjoying the community of interns that I have found here in Elgin. I think we are gonna turn into a pretty neat support group for each other this summer as we all go our separate ways and for this I am eternally grateful.

I love you all, and I miss you dearly.

Happy Mentor Day!

Love

~ME

Worship: New Insight

Heylo Friends and Familly! I am a blogging machine!

So Today is roughly Day#3 of MSS orientation and man it's been a blast so far. Today we talked about worship and public speaking, as well as had a session on preparing for the summer...ya know...dos and donts. :0)

Jonathon Shively led the worship discussion and i found that I agreed a lot with his aspect of worship. He really stressed beginning each worship service (music, theme, sermon) with a scripture of your choosing or from the Litergury (a collection of scripture, dedicated to each sunday of the year....there is a NT, OT, and Psalm and Epistle for each entry.) We talked about the importance of reading clearly and with meaning. What stuck out most to me was this quote:

"Worship is not about with hits you, it's about what's gonna hit them."

I grew up under the assumption that the congregation only wants to know about what's hitting and changing me. Which is guess would be true, as a young person in the congregation the elders and others do want to hear about your God Journey, but that changes as an Adult in Leadership....and that changes for me this summer and a visiting Summer pastor at Harrisburg First in PA. Its about getting the feel the congregation, listening to them, listening to thier needs- spiritual and otherwise, then catering to that as God tells you to. It's a completely selfless act, being a pastor. Accepting responsibility for your own spiritual growth and then being responsible in a way for kick starting and guiding the spiritual growth of the community you are serving. It's so much more than I thought it was. I'm falling in love. :0P I think this is a dormant passion of mine that is being awakened like a hyper Frankenstein. Let's see if it catches fire during the summer. I'm really looking forward to the challenges ahead, good and bad.

I picked up a book today called, "The Irresistable Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. So far i've only read the introduction and forward, but it looks like a book i'll identify with. He talks about a faith that burns in our hearts and then pours out through our hands into this broken world. It's sure to be an interesting read. :0D I'll let you know my thoughts about it as I get deeper into it.

Prayer/Updates:

Thanks for the prayers! I've actually started fitting in pretty well into this group of people. I had a moment yesterday when I realized....as much as they are Brethren....i am too. I didn't realize it as much. As I'm talking with these extraordinary men and women, i'm discovering that they have the same passions I do. They have the same future vision of the church as I do. They care about the same things, and long for the same things, and they want to do it all with me and Jesus! It's been mind-blowing....completely....so thank you for your encouragment and thoughts!

**I would like continued prayer for the congregation I am going to be ministering in. Belita, as well as the other mentors (like my mommy!!!!), flys in tomorrow. I ask prayer for her patience and love as she guides and teaches me. I ask that I am also patient, and understanding of her.

**COURAGE. my assignment to myself this summer is to take a few risks in terms of ministry and Jesus. I'm terrfied and excited to tackle these future goals....whatever they may be....

Thank you so much for reading and for loving me! It means a lot!!!!

Love,

~ME

Shaped by Story

Hello all you wonderful people!!!!

It's Day two in Illinoise, and I am already learning so much. The people I am hanging out with are wonderful....a little quirky, but I think i'm liking it that way.

This morning we went to Church at Highlander COB (Church of the Brethren), and it was Youth Sunday! Yippee! So the high school kids ran the worship centered around a conference theme of "More Than Meets the Eye." It was really cute, and I enjoyed the music a lot. It's been really refreshing to be back in a Brethren environment with hymns and smiling faces. heehee. Not that smiling faces and hymns are not present else where in the world, it's just very comforting and...familiar.

After church we had a bible discussion with Micheal Novelli (who is going to be a father of two tomorrow morning at 9:30am!!! lol....His wife's going in for a C-section. He's really happy to get the opportunity to be a father....again. teehee.) His ministry was youth based for about 15 years and now he's into writing books and helping other youth pastors with teaching methods. Chris is going to get us all a copy of his book... I think he's my new hero.... :0D

He teaches based on story. Not like personal story, but by taking old testament scripture and putting it into story form. He then tells the story to a group of people and asks intentional questions afterward. He told the creation story to us...and new insight came to me through that telling. It was SO COOL. I want to figure out a way to use it this summer. I really connect to that kind of ministry telling.....oh man it was fantastic. :0D

Well kids, that's all for now. We are on a break between the afternoon session and dinner. MAN am I hungry. The time change is brutal...and the best part is....once I get used to it...I fly to PA and then to CA and then back to PA. Three different time zones in a matter of a week. 0_0

oh yeah.... I'm in for it. But I am having a lot of fun so far. It's looking to be an awesome experiance.... and I am also looking forward to food.... so I best depart.

*The picture is of the cover of Micheal's Book.

My love to all you back home, I miss you dearly,


Love
~ME

p.s. I led worship this afternoon, and it actually went really well!!! Even with my busted "e" string. :0D I was super happy. I ended up using Romans 8: 35-39, told a story about my mom (buahahhahaha) and then played then "Your Love is Deep." So far, I got good feedback. :0D

And so it begins....

Happy Saturday from Elgin, Illinois! :0D

Well it's been a VERY long day, but I am happy because I have free wireless at the hotel! SCHWEET.

My favorite moments from today:

*sitting in the airport next to secret government agents....no i swear. there were two of them....a married couple dressed in black and white who had lots of boarding passes to bunches of different places....and just when you think it couldn't get any weirder...... the white lady opened up her phone and started speaking fluent spanish!!!!!!! 0_0 it was crazy!!!!

* The guy in front of me on the plane.....passed gas....a lot. It was smelly. teehee. But no worries....i survived.

Once i landed in the airport I was met by two other interns and our driver who immediately said to me, "We knew you'd be a blonde!!" Guess that California stereotype is sticking to me this summer....teehee. They are really fun people. There are about 12 of us in all, all going to different places and different experiences this summer. I think most of them are going to grow on me this week as we learn about God and ourselves, and that Brethren religion. :0) Should be really interesting.

At the night session, we talked about Prayer. It was pretty sweet... we looked at it as a sort of spiritual discipline...which of course it is.

Notes=

*Prayer is way to keep people on our minds, as well as invoke God's awesome power.

*it's opening yourself up to whatever god wants for you.

*it's a powerful way to "let go" of all your life stuff, and let it be. (cue that beatles song....)

*the time span between the prayer and the answer God gives is not always awesome. lol.

*But God's answer is always a million times better than what your answer would have been (whether you see it that way or not).

What do you guys think? I think i'm up to my head in Jesus Freaks, and I like it!!!!!

Prayer:

1. I think i'm going to have trouble fitting in with these people. lol. They are really nice to get a long with and really sweet, but they are reserved...mostly. with a few exceptions. I'm just not as Brethren as they are! My constant thought all day was "Man...they are SO brethren!!!" Which is good for them.. it's just a challenge for me. They all know each other and most of them go to the same school. So I guess I just need, confidence and friendly powers.

2. I'm leading the worship thing tomorrow. So I'm hoping that goes well. p.s. I snapped the high E string on my guitar!!! *sad face* So I have to bring it home.....get a new string.... *sigh* odds my little life....

3. The congregation in Harrisburg. That they are prepared for me, and I for them....as much as I can be.

Thanks you guys so much for reading!!! I love you and I miss you. I miss you lots. lots and lots.

Until next time!!!
~ME

Worship Time:
Song~ "Your Love is Deep"
*This is my very favorite worship song, and I am going to play it on guitar for the peeps. :0) It should be cool.

Your Love is Deep
Your Love is High
Your Love is Long
Your Love is Wide

Your Love is Deeper than my View of Grace
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road i've traveled
Wider than the Gap you filled

Quote: "Love is a choice, not a feeling"

Verses I LOVE (teehee):

Romans 8:37-39 - In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1st Corinthians 13:4-8a - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

**What i want to do with the second verse is talk about how God IS love....so dude.... "God is patient, God is Kind.... etc"**

What do you guys think? I think putting it solidly together is going to happen on the plan....cause I had to make another to-do list to make through friday..... teehee. :0D
Love you all and can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Love
~ME

3 days to go!!!

Hello you beautiful people!!!

I wish to inform you all that I have indeed survived finals! Yippee!!! But my car didn't even make it through the first test... *sigh* Blinky (that's my car's name) is sick and is currently at the Car doctors being fixed and he should be done by friday so that we can get him all paid for and stuff before I leave the next day. YIPPEE. Finances are sooooooo fun..... ;0P

For those you who are interested, I have completed two of my five to-do lists. My wonderful superman of a boyfriend drove me to target so i could buy everything I needed for the journey. thus completeing the the first list... and then Laura (that's my best friend and roomie) cleaned our house so it's all shiny....thus completing the second list. Three more to go! I could do a list a day! I am so driven... ;0)

E-hem. Words of advice for all you travelers out there. When you go to book your flights and your mother says she'll take care of it....and you say, "Mother, I wish to leave early." Do specify which type of early you mean. Do you mean godawful early? Do you mean, late breakfast early? or do you mean wake up at 4:00am to make your 8:30 flight at LAX on June 10th after watching you sister graduate the previous day early? Cause...there is a difference. So you just make sure you specify...... (I love you Mommy.... i just wish to tease you for a little while <3>

As a part of my week of orientation (which is next week), each intern has the exciting chance to lead worship. We get 15 minutes to do whatever we darn well please. Planning it is on one of my lists of to do things that I will get to hopefully tomorrow.... I'm thinking I'll post what I come up with so you guys can speak your own minds...cause I'm interested in that kinda thing. The Topic i'm going to go with is......wait for it....cue the "awww"s....

Love.

"awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww"

Yeah, there are many things I don't understand about God.... and His love for us is one of them. Well...i'll let you know what I come up with.

Until next time,

~ME