Hello, friends! I'm in a bit of a Chronicles of Narnia mood this evening, as you might have guessed from the title of this post. Earlier this afternoon I read through a book called "Finding God in the Land of Narnia," and one section really spoke to me. In many of the Narnia books, the children accidentally enter the mysterious land -- through a wardrobe, or a painting. "Prince Caspian," however, tells a different tale. In this book, the four Pevensie children are sitting at a train station minding their own business when they are suddenly "drawn to Narnia" by the inexplicable force of Susan's horn.
This reminds me of how I ended up in Tallahassee. In a way, I was drawn here by an inexplicable force. My first choice of a job would have been doing youth ministry at a church in the Midwest, and yet here I am in Florida engaged in campus ministry. As the "Finding God in the Land of Narnia" book describes, it is "an adventure undertaken in response to an irresistible summons or call." I don't entirely understand why I have been drawn here, but I like the way the book explains the life of faith:
"We enter upon this adventure only because, like the Pevensies, we are specially chosen and called, because we are hooked, caught, and reeled in by the irresistible power of the Savior's love. Out of that foundational truth flows the strength to accept the challenge, the energy to accomplish the mission, and the endurance to reach the journey's end in triumph and joy."
Let me tell you a bit about my adventure this week!
Friday and yesterday I spent time being "present" on campus. I noticed a distinct difference between the two days. There were significantly fewer students around on Tuesday than Friday, and they generally looked more stressed out. I saw several who were dressed up and reading through notes as they walked. It's finals week, so say a prayer for a student today!
One big task this week is to plan for Sunday's Young Adult/Grad Student BBQ. Katie and I have definitely learned some lessons about event planning. For example, we ended up scaling down the budget by about $100. We had to decide what would stay and what would go, which was a good experience for us. I've particularly enjoyed one aspect of the planning: the invitations. Last week, I sent a lot of Facebook messages to students and got few replies. Yesterday, I sent an additional message to all of the grad students on my list, inviting them to the BBQ. I got a few more replies from people who hadn't replied to my original message! I had been doubting that Facebook was going to get me anywhere, but now I have renewed hope that God has a plan for everything. One message didn't work for everyone, but for some, a specific invitation was enough.
This morning, we discussed the first part of "Permanent Revolution." As I mentioned in my last blog, this book describes the different attributes of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. I am primarily a shepherd/teacher mix. (That sounds like a dog breed. At least I'm not labeled a retriever!) Katie ranks high in the prophet category, while Pastor Jay is an apostle. If anyone takes the FiveFold survey and is an evangelist, please join our little group and we will conquer the world. (Just kidding... mostly.) It's great that we all have different gifts to share. My results didn't surprise me, but I think one important lesson I can take from examining the different gifts is that all are important, and I need to learn how to work with each one.
Tonight, of course, was our Vespers-that-isn't-Vespers. We had a delicious Midwestern-style meal of pork chops and mashed potatoes and studied the feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew 14. I really loved all of the different aspects of the story that were brought out in our discussion. We examined the event from all different points of view, from a bread seller in a nearby village to the people in the crowd to the disciples and finally to Jesus. I couldn't help feeling bad for Jesus. His cousin had just been beheaded, but he couldn't get away from the crowds to mourn. Instead of calling it a night when his disciples suggested the crowds leave, he showed his true compassion, despite his grief. He put his emotions aside and performed one of the more spectacular miracles of his ministry.
That's all for me, folks. I haven't heard back about my part-time job yet, but I have high hopes that I will have news by my next blog post. Sadly, I have no pictures this week; look forward to some BBQ pictures next week! I hope all is well with you, friends, wherever you may be.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Thursday, July 24, 2014
A Blog for Everyone
Hi, FRIENDS! Please excuse the all-caps. I'm not yelling at you, promise. This week I'm just missing my home congregation, Messiah Lutheran Church, where a multitude of secret agents have infiltrated the building. That's right -- it's VBS week! I miss the kids and leaders at the FRIENDS midweek program. I hope it's been an excellent week at the International Spy Academy.
Meanwhile, in non-spy-land, I've been busy and loving it. Last week I had the opportunity to take a mini-vacation to Orlando to see my old college roommate Lindsey. We went to Universal Studios and had a great time being Harry Potter nerds together. I took a bus to and from Orlando, and the bus driver tried to convince me that I was too old for Harry Potter. People everywhere, you are never too old for Harry Potter.
Putting my nerdiness aside, I have also been doing campus ministry, promise. This last week has been particularly busy. For example, I've read the first part of "Permanent Revolution", contacted about 100 students via Facebook, and called about 100 churches in Florida. Let me give you some more details!
"Permanent Revolution" is an excellent book, albeit a difficult read for me. I really appreciate its commentary on Ephesians 4:1-16, focusing on verses 11-12. "He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." Authors Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim point out that Ephesians is not intended to be read only by clergy; it is meant for laity. It is a book for everyone. They use the acronym "APEST" (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher) to explain that everyone has particular gifts that God intends to use for the expansion of his kingdom. If you're interested in this, you can check out the website FiveFoldSurvey.com and find out what your base gift is. Surprisingly, according to the survey, I have two base gifts: Shepherd and Teacher.
Each year, University Lutheran is given a list of Florida State students who self-designate themselves as "Lutheran" on their application forms. We recently acquired this list for the students taking summer classes, and Katie and I got right to work. We went through the students on the list one-by-one and did our best to find them on Facebook and send them a simple message in an attempt to connect them with University Lutheran's campus ministry.
In addition to University Lutheran contacting students directly, there is another way for students to get connected. LCMS-U attempts to help students connect with campus ministries near them wherever they go to school. One of my jobs this week has been to call Florida churches (because if Katie and I were expected to call all the churches in all the states, we would go mad) and tell them about the LCMS-U website, lcms.org/lcmsu. If they have students going to college in the fall, they can enter their information on the website and it will be sent to the campus ministry nearest them. It's an easy way for students to get connected. Connecting with the churches has proved to be not so easy; I've left a lot of voicemails and a lot of messages with secretaries! However, there have been those few exciting times when I've actually talked to the church's youth leader or pastor and led them through the process on the website. It's a great feeling to know that I may have contributed to a college student retaining his or her faith in college.
That's all I've got this week, friends! I hope you enjoyed reading about my random escapades. I've included a few pictures from Universal Studios.
Meanwhile, in non-spy-land, I've been busy and loving it. Last week I had the opportunity to take a mini-vacation to Orlando to see my old college roommate Lindsey. We went to Universal Studios and had a great time being Harry Potter nerds together. I took a bus to and from Orlando, and the bus driver tried to convince me that I was too old for Harry Potter. People everywhere, you are never too old for Harry Potter.
Putting my nerdiness aside, I have also been doing campus ministry, promise. This last week has been particularly busy. For example, I've read the first part of "Permanent Revolution", contacted about 100 students via Facebook, and called about 100 churches in Florida. Let me give you some more details!
"Permanent Revolution" is an excellent book, albeit a difficult read for me. I really appreciate its commentary on Ephesians 4:1-16, focusing on verses 11-12. "He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." Authors Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim point out that Ephesians is not intended to be read only by clergy; it is meant for laity. It is a book for everyone. They use the acronym "APEST" (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher) to explain that everyone has particular gifts that God intends to use for the expansion of his kingdom. If you're interested in this, you can check out the website FiveFoldSurvey.com and find out what your base gift is. Surprisingly, according to the survey, I have two base gifts: Shepherd and Teacher.
Each year, University Lutheran is given a list of Florida State students who self-designate themselves as "Lutheran" on their application forms. We recently acquired this list for the students taking summer classes, and Katie and I got right to work. We went through the students on the list one-by-one and did our best to find them on Facebook and send them a simple message in an attempt to connect them with University Lutheran's campus ministry.
In addition to University Lutheran contacting students directly, there is another way for students to get connected. LCMS-U attempts to help students connect with campus ministries near them wherever they go to school. One of my jobs this week has been to call Florida churches (because if Katie and I were expected to call all the churches in all the states, we would go mad) and tell them about the LCMS-U website, lcms.org/lcmsu. If they have students going to college in the fall, they can enter their information on the website and it will be sent to the campus ministry nearest them. It's an easy way for students to get connected. Connecting with the churches has proved to be not so easy; I've left a lot of voicemails and a lot of messages with secretaries! However, there have been those few exciting times when I've actually talked to the church's youth leader or pastor and led them through the process on the website. It's a great feeling to know that I may have contributed to a college student retaining his or her faith in college.
That's all I've got this week, friends! I hope you enjoyed reading about my random escapades. I've included a few pictures from Universal Studios.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
A Wednesday in the Life
Hello, my friends! For my blog today I'd like to give you a look at what a day in the life of a campus missionary is like (at least, what it will be like until the fall semester starts and all hell breaks loose). So here we go!
Morning:
I've included some pictures again: the first is of my fancy new Florida State University official campus ministry ID! (Ignore my photo, it's very sad.) The second is my spare bed where I typically do my devotions in the evening. It looks much nicer now that I've added blankets, pillows, and my beloved stuffed animals. The third includes several items I use on a day-to-day basis, like my Bible, the book we're reading, a binder full of "Missionary Notes", the notebook in which I write everything, my folder of random things, and my daily agenda. That's all for me, folks. May God bless your day!
Morning:
- Wake up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc.
- Meet with Pastor Jay and Katie for our morning devotion; this morning, based on Psalm 65
- Discuss ministry matters with PJ and Katie
- Work on ministry matters; for example, this week Katie and I have cooperatively written an article for Ignite, a LCMS youth ministry publication
- Eat lunch -- best done with someone; last week I was able to have lunch with another Florida State campus minister, and he gave me some good advice
- Work on more ministry matters; today, I made an hour of cold calls to Florida churches to help them connect their recent high school graduates to campus ministries near their new schools
- Be "present" on campus; this entails picking a spot on the Florida State campus and simply being present, to take notice of the students who walk by (we will soon expand this to the Tallahassee Community College and Florida A&M University campuses)
- Do desk-type work; this week we are assigned to plan our budget and read the first section of "Permanent Revolution" by Alan Hirsch & Tim Catchim
- Eat dinner -- or, if it's Wednesday, attend Vespers! Tonight we had a tasty pot roast and purple (yes, purple) potatoes, and we studied Romans 8
- Relax -- or, if it's Wednesday, blog about my week! After Vespers seems to be a good time to sit down, chill, and reflect on the past 7 days
- Do something fun; for example, watch some TV, read a book, play some Pokemon
- Read and reflect on the Bible for my evening devotions
- Go to bed and wake up refreshed for another day!
I've included some pictures again: the first is of my fancy new Florida State University official campus ministry ID! (Ignore my photo, it's very sad.) The second is my spare bed where I typically do my devotions in the evening. It looks much nicer now that I've added blankets, pillows, and my beloved stuffed animals. The third includes several items I use on a day-to-day basis, like my Bible, the book we're reading, a binder full of "Missionary Notes", the notebook in which I write everything, my folder of random things, and my daily agenda. That's all for me, folks. May God bless your day!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
"I've been installed!" "Did it hurt?"
Hello, dear friends! Welcome to my second ever blog post. A lot has happened since last Monday; brace yourselves, it'll be an exciting ride! I'm joking, I'm not actually that exciting. But I am excited to tell you all about what has happened in Tally in the last week.
After another day of my solo explorations, Katie arrived on Wednesday. It was great to meet my fellow campus missionary! (If you'd like to meet her too, check out her blog: http://keboltwood.wordpress.com/) I can already tell we are going to work wonderfully together. We are opposites in many ways, but we both love Jesus, and that's the important thing! We can't wait to get into our ministry endeavors. We already got to eat lunch with our new friend Caroline on Thursday. She gave us all the insider details on FSU.
Both Katie's grandma ("Omi") and my mom were here this past weekend. We spent some time getting to know each other, Katie and Omi painted her room and got it all set up, and then there was the Fourth of July. My mom and I had the opportunity to eat lunch at the house of someone in the University Lutheran congregation, and we had such fun. We stayed for a couple of hours afterwards just chatting. Later that evening, Katie, Omi, my mom and I, plus Pastor Jay & Liz, went out to Tom Brown Park. It was a lovely celebration of our country's independence, with tasty food, good conversation, some fun bands, and fireworks. There were also pony rides, but sadly, my mother said no to riding a pony.
On Saturday, my mom and I did some tourist-y things. In the morning we went to the Downtown Marketplace, which is a quaint farmer's market-style event in downtown Tallahassee. I had the most delicious popsicle made out of fresh strawberries. Then we traveled to Thomasville, GA (about 40 minutes away). It has a downtown area with unique shops and art galleries. We bought some prints from a gallery and I found some cute gifts for friends at some of the shops. After Thomasville came Havana, FL (about 20 minutes out of Tally). Havana is famous for antiques, which are always interesting. It's also a historic site.
Sunday, of course, was Installation Day for Katie and me! It was a very meaningful experience. We said "I will, and I ask God to help me" a lot. The questions were good too, but the answer we gave- it really brings into perspective that this isn't about us or our qualifications or strengths, it's about what God will do through us.
After a delightful lunch at a place called Newk's, my mom and I settled into one of our favorite activities... watching NCIS. We were exhausted after being in the heat on Saturday. That evening we went to see a movie with Katie and Omi.
On Monday, before my mom had to fly back to Iowa, we got in some more tourist-y stuff. We visited the Florida State Capitol, which is like no capitol you've ever seen. I associate capitols with domes, but here, only the old capitol building has a dome. The new capitol looks like a big skyscraper. At first we thought that was odd, but when we went to the top floor, we began to wish there was something like this in Iowa. The view was incredible. I'll include a picture at the end. We also visited the Florida History Museum.
I drove my mom to the airport, and by the time I got back, Omi had left as well. Katie and I were sad, but we were also eager to start our work, which began straightaway Tuesday morning. We had a devotion with Pastor Jay and then a meeting about this year in general. It was an overload of information: dates, times, places, quarters, goals. Katie and I were a bit overwhelmed, but it was great to see an overview of what this year will be like. We were also given our first assignment: to apply for part-time jobs. It's considered a part of our ministry to get a part-time job in a student-rich environment in order to build relationships. We have both applied to a few places and are waiting to hear back. Hopefully I'll have news by my next blog!
To prepare for our missionary year, both Katie and I had to read the "Strengthsfinder" book by Tom Rath and take the survey associated with it. The survey details your five strengths. Mine are: Connectedness (I see the links between all things), Belief (I have certain unchanging values that give me purpose), Input (I have a craving to know more -- and I like to read, sound familiar, anyone?), Futuristic (I am inspired by the future and what could be), and Learner (I have a great desire to learn and to constantly improve). We discussed our strengths at our meeting, and I discovered that Pastor Jay and I share some strengths, while Katie and I are completely different. We should all complement each other quite nicely.
This morning, we once again started out with a devotion, and then Pastor Jay gave us our second assignment: to people-watch on campus to get a feel for what Tallahassee, and especially its students, are like. It was interesting to say the least, although I didn't have nearly as cool of an experience as Katie. She was able to have a half-hour conversation with someone and witness to them about Christ! I was so excited to hear about it afterwards. We are already making a difference here.
This evening was Vespers, which, as Pastor Jay says, is not actually Vespers. It starts out with a dinner and turns into a casual Bible study. Tonight we took a look at Psalm 145:1-10, which is a passage I really enjoy. You should all check it out! Afterwards, Katie, Caroline and I did a Dollar Tree run, and now I'm here, writing this post. Shocker, right? I've included some pictures at the end again. The first is from Sunday's installation (and no, Dad, it did not hurt.) The second is me with a beautiful Crape Myrtle tree grabbing the Spanish Moss that hangs off of every single tree that exists in Tallahassee, I'm fairly certain. The third is me with the view from the top of the Capitol. Incredible, isn't it? That's all for me. I hope you are all blessed on this day the Lord has made!
After another day of my solo explorations, Katie arrived on Wednesday. It was great to meet my fellow campus missionary! (If you'd like to meet her too, check out her blog: http://keboltwood.wordpress.com/) I can already tell we are going to work wonderfully together. We are opposites in many ways, but we both love Jesus, and that's the important thing! We can't wait to get into our ministry endeavors. We already got to eat lunch with our new friend Caroline on Thursday. She gave us all the insider details on FSU.
Both Katie's grandma ("Omi") and my mom were here this past weekend. We spent some time getting to know each other, Katie and Omi painted her room and got it all set up, and then there was the Fourth of July. My mom and I had the opportunity to eat lunch at the house of someone in the University Lutheran congregation, and we had such fun. We stayed for a couple of hours afterwards just chatting. Later that evening, Katie, Omi, my mom and I, plus Pastor Jay & Liz, went out to Tom Brown Park. It was a lovely celebration of our country's independence, with tasty food, good conversation, some fun bands, and fireworks. There were also pony rides, but sadly, my mother said no to riding a pony.
On Saturday, my mom and I did some tourist-y things. In the morning we went to the Downtown Marketplace, which is a quaint farmer's market-style event in downtown Tallahassee. I had the most delicious popsicle made out of fresh strawberries. Then we traveled to Thomasville, GA (about 40 minutes away). It has a downtown area with unique shops and art galleries. We bought some prints from a gallery and I found some cute gifts for friends at some of the shops. After Thomasville came Havana, FL (about 20 minutes out of Tally). Havana is famous for antiques, which are always interesting. It's also a historic site.
Sunday, of course, was Installation Day for Katie and me! It was a very meaningful experience. We said "I will, and I ask God to help me" a lot. The questions were good too, but the answer we gave- it really brings into perspective that this isn't about us or our qualifications or strengths, it's about what God will do through us.
After a delightful lunch at a place called Newk's, my mom and I settled into one of our favorite activities... watching NCIS. We were exhausted after being in the heat on Saturday. That evening we went to see a movie with Katie and Omi.
On Monday, before my mom had to fly back to Iowa, we got in some more tourist-y stuff. We visited the Florida State Capitol, which is like no capitol you've ever seen. I associate capitols with domes, but here, only the old capitol building has a dome. The new capitol looks like a big skyscraper. At first we thought that was odd, but when we went to the top floor, we began to wish there was something like this in Iowa. The view was incredible. I'll include a picture at the end. We also visited the Florida History Museum.
I drove my mom to the airport, and by the time I got back, Omi had left as well. Katie and I were sad, but we were also eager to start our work, which began straightaway Tuesday morning. We had a devotion with Pastor Jay and then a meeting about this year in general. It was an overload of information: dates, times, places, quarters, goals. Katie and I were a bit overwhelmed, but it was great to see an overview of what this year will be like. We were also given our first assignment: to apply for part-time jobs. It's considered a part of our ministry to get a part-time job in a student-rich environment in order to build relationships. We have both applied to a few places and are waiting to hear back. Hopefully I'll have news by my next blog!
To prepare for our missionary year, both Katie and I had to read the "Strengthsfinder" book by Tom Rath and take the survey associated with it. The survey details your five strengths. Mine are: Connectedness (I see the links between all things), Belief (I have certain unchanging values that give me purpose), Input (I have a craving to know more -- and I like to read, sound familiar, anyone?), Futuristic (I am inspired by the future and what could be), and Learner (I have a great desire to learn and to constantly improve). We discussed our strengths at our meeting, and I discovered that Pastor Jay and I share some strengths, while Katie and I are completely different. We should all complement each other quite nicely.
This morning, we once again started out with a devotion, and then Pastor Jay gave us our second assignment: to people-watch on campus to get a feel for what Tallahassee, and especially its students, are like. It was interesting to say the least, although I didn't have nearly as cool of an experience as Katie. She was able to have a half-hour conversation with someone and witness to them about Christ! I was so excited to hear about it afterwards. We are already making a difference here.
This evening was Vespers, which, as Pastor Jay says, is not actually Vespers. It starts out with a dinner and turns into a casual Bible study. Tonight we took a look at Psalm 145:1-10, which is a passage I really enjoy. You should all check it out! Afterwards, Katie, Caroline and I did a Dollar Tree run, and now I'm here, writing this post. Shocker, right? I've included some pictures at the end again. The first is from Sunday's installation (and no, Dad, it did not hurt.) The second is me with a beautiful Crape Myrtle tree grabbing the Spanish Moss that hangs off of every single tree that exists in Tallahassee, I'm fairly certain. The third is me with the view from the top of the Capitol. Incredible, isn't it? That's all for me. I hope you are all blessed on this day the Lord has made!
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