I uploaded some photos to facebook last night. Check them out!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Three Arts: Rapping, Advising, and Painting
Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I know that y'all have all been sitting at your computers hitting the refresh button continuously hoping a new update would appear. Well, the wait is over! So anyways.......Let's see, where to begin. How about two Sundays ago? Sounds good? Ok, let's begin the journey.
So that Sunday (June 7th), things started to get better. Well actually, I suppose I should back up a couple days. If you recall from my last post(and if you don't recall, then scroll down and read it) I was definitely feeling discouraged from a combination of not knowing anyone, having trouble connecting with the kids, etc. That culminated(good word, Robby!) into Saturday night where I felt extremely discouraged, didn't feel like I was supposed to be in Wisconsin, definitely didn't want to be here, and wanted just to go back to Georgia. Well, luckily, a phone call with Randy fixed that problem. I realized that me not being happy at the moment was not an argument for not being called to be in Wisconsin, and that I needed to make the most of my time here, trust God and look forward to what he had for me. Not to mention that I had a selfish attitude cuz it's not about me. Pray that I will continue to have this faithful attitude and trust in God because even though things have gotten much better, I do somtimes struggle with the selfish attitude. So back to that Sunday, things definitely started to get better. I felt like I connected with the kids better Sunday morning (Also, I debuted my rapping skills as Robby the Intern Rapper). After church on Sunday, we had the first meeting of the high school Bible study in which we're going through the Purpose Driven Life. It was a good time of people just getting to know each other better and sharing about what we're expecting from the Bible study this summer. That night, we had the first Junior High Fun Night (I'm not sure why it's referred to as Junior High. Didn't that term die out in like the 80s?). Every week for Junior High Fun Night, we play games(that Sunday, we played kickball), eat ice cream and Tim (the youth pastor) gives a short talk. That Sunday, he used the 1 Peter passage that talks about craving spiritual milk. So if I wasn't encouraged enough on Sunday, God provided more. That next morning, I checked my email and saw I had an email from Tim. Earlier, a mom of one of the new 7th graders facebooked Tim saying the following: "Tim, I just want to say thank you for making the 7th graders feel welcome yesterday. Jordan had a blast at Sunday School at the Fun Night. Troy got the play by play of Sam's video all day and Robby's rap. He also came home saying that, 'Robby is my new best friend, even though he has absolutely no athletic ability:), I love that guy'. So thank you for everything." How great is that? (Although I am a bit offended by the "no athletic ability" comment. Ha!) Um, so the rest of that week, the biggest thing was me making my video that was shown this past Sunday morning in Sunday School. It's called Ask the Rapper. Oh, and also, this past Thursday, I did some job hunting. Since this internship is only 20 hours a week, the church suggested that I possibly get a second job. At first, I was against the idea because the way I saw it, my ministry here was with the youth and I wanted to have as much time for that as possible. But then I realized that, besides the fact that I have a ton of free time, it's not my call what my ministry here is about this summer. God can obviously use me in Peshtigo with more than just the youth at Faith Baptist, and this second job can be a great ministry opportunity. So be praying about that. I haven't heard back from the jobs yet, but I'm trusting God with it. Wow, this post is getting super long. But let's continue, shall we? Let's see, this past Sunday, we had Junior High Fun night again. We played ultimate frisbee and this other game called electric shock. I totally can't remember what Tim talked about with the middle schoolers, but I do remember it being good (and obviously memorable. haha) But be praying for the middle schoolers: that even at their young age, they can realize that they can be used by God and will start truly living for Him. After Junior High Fun Night, we had the High School bonfire, which, of course, turned into playing hide and go seek in the dark in the church. It was a lot of fun and was, for me, a good time of bonding with the students through having fun. Tuesday, we had the second meeting of the Purpose Driven Bible study with the high schoolers. Though not all of the students talked, a lot of them did and it was good to hear what God has been teaching them through this study. Pray that God will continue to speak to them as we read this book and discuss it. Tuesday night, we had the Grace bible study, which is the college-aged bible study. There was a good attendance last night, which was encouraging to see. Every week so far, it's been a good time of worship and of good discussion, which has mainly centered around how we can stand up for our faith in our community. Pray that God will continue to bring college students to this time and that it will be a time for God to work in our lives in how we can continue to bring glory to His name. Today, we played paintball with the high schoolers, which was a lot of fun. Also, tonight was the small group leaders small group. We're going through a book called How to Volunteer Like a Pro. Tonight, we talked about what we love about working with teenagers and also talked a lot about the notion of being called to ministry. Ok, so this post is almost done. I promise. Upcoming things: Sunday morning, Tim and some students leave for a mission trip in Trinidad, which means all next week, yours truly will be in charge. (Oh the power! *evil laugh*) More seriously, it means that I'll be running things Sunday morning and different things throughout the week. More specifically, I'll be giving the talk for Junior High fun night this Sunday, leading the Purpose Driven bible study on Tuesday, giving the talk for Grace on Tuesday night, and finally, giving the talk for Sunday School on the following Sunday morning (June 28th). Pray that God will guide me during those talks, both the planning and the execution. Ok, so I think that's all of my post. I'm sure I left out minor things but this post is long enough so that's ok. I'll try to update more often so that I can remember more details and so my posts aren't so stinkin long! Until next time, I'm Robby the Intern Rapper, and I'm peacin' out! *cue music*
So that Sunday (June 7th), things started to get better. Well actually, I suppose I should back up a couple days. If you recall from my last post(and if you don't recall, then scroll down and read it) I was definitely feeling discouraged from a combination of not knowing anyone, having trouble connecting with the kids, etc. That culminated(good word, Robby!) into Saturday night where I felt extremely discouraged, didn't feel like I was supposed to be in Wisconsin, definitely didn't want to be here, and wanted just to go back to Georgia. Well, luckily, a phone call with Randy fixed that problem. I realized that me not being happy at the moment was not an argument for not being called to be in Wisconsin, and that I needed to make the most of my time here, trust God and look forward to what he had for me. Not to mention that I had a selfish attitude cuz it's not about me. Pray that I will continue to have this faithful attitude and trust in God because even though things have gotten much better, I do somtimes struggle with the selfish attitude. So back to that Sunday, things definitely started to get better. I felt like I connected with the kids better Sunday morning (Also, I debuted my rapping skills as Robby the Intern Rapper). After church on Sunday, we had the first meeting of the high school Bible study in which we're going through the Purpose Driven Life. It was a good time of people just getting to know each other better and sharing about what we're expecting from the Bible study this summer. That night, we had the first Junior High Fun Night (I'm not sure why it's referred to as Junior High. Didn't that term die out in like the 80s?). Every week for Junior High Fun Night, we play games(that Sunday, we played kickball), eat ice cream and Tim (the youth pastor) gives a short talk. That Sunday, he used the 1 Peter passage that talks about craving spiritual milk. So if I wasn't encouraged enough on Sunday, God provided more. That next morning, I checked my email and saw I had an email from Tim. Earlier, a mom of one of the new 7th graders facebooked Tim saying the following: "Tim, I just want to say thank you for making the 7th graders feel welcome yesterday. Jordan had a blast at Sunday School at the Fun Night. Troy got the play by play of Sam's video all day and Robby's rap. He also came home saying that, 'Robby is my new best friend, even though he has absolutely no athletic ability:), I love that guy'. So thank you for everything." How great is that? (Although I am a bit offended by the "no athletic ability" comment. Ha!) Um, so the rest of that week, the biggest thing was me making my video that was shown this past Sunday morning in Sunday School. It's called Ask the Rapper. Oh, and also, this past Thursday, I did some job hunting. Since this internship is only 20 hours a week, the church suggested that I possibly get a second job. At first, I was against the idea because the way I saw it, my ministry here was with the youth and I wanted to have as much time for that as possible. But then I realized that, besides the fact that I have a ton of free time, it's not my call what my ministry here is about this summer. God can obviously use me in Peshtigo with more than just the youth at Faith Baptist, and this second job can be a great ministry opportunity. So be praying about that. I haven't heard back from the jobs yet, but I'm trusting God with it. Wow, this post is getting super long. But let's continue, shall we? Let's see, this past Sunday, we had Junior High Fun night again. We played ultimate frisbee and this other game called electric shock. I totally can't remember what Tim talked about with the middle schoolers, but I do remember it being good (and obviously memorable. haha) But be praying for the middle schoolers: that even at their young age, they can realize that they can be used by God and will start truly living for Him. After Junior High Fun Night, we had the High School bonfire, which, of course, turned into playing hide and go seek in the dark in the church. It was a lot of fun and was, for me, a good time of bonding with the students through having fun. Tuesday, we had the second meeting of the Purpose Driven Bible study with the high schoolers. Though not all of the students talked, a lot of them did and it was good to hear what God has been teaching them through this study. Pray that God will continue to speak to them as we read this book and discuss it. Tuesday night, we had the Grace bible study, which is the college-aged bible study. There was a good attendance last night, which was encouraging to see. Every week so far, it's been a good time of worship and of good discussion, which has mainly centered around how we can stand up for our faith in our community. Pray that God will continue to bring college students to this time and that it will be a time for God to work in our lives in how we can continue to bring glory to His name. Today, we played paintball with the high schoolers, which was a lot of fun. Also, tonight was the small group leaders small group. We're going through a book called How to Volunteer Like a Pro. Tonight, we talked about what we love about working with teenagers and also talked a lot about the notion of being called to ministry. Ok, so this post is almost done. I promise. Upcoming things: Sunday morning, Tim and some students leave for a mission trip in Trinidad, which means all next week, yours truly will be in charge. (Oh the power! *evil laugh*) More seriously, it means that I'll be running things Sunday morning and different things throughout the week. More specifically, I'll be giving the talk for Junior High fun night this Sunday, leading the Purpose Driven bible study on Tuesday, giving the talk for Grace on Tuesday night, and finally, giving the talk for Sunday School on the following Sunday morning (June 28th). Pray that God will guide me during those talks, both the planning and the execution. Ok, so I think that's all of my post. I'm sure I left out minor things but this post is long enough so that's ok. I'll try to update more often so that I can remember more details and so my posts aren't so stinkin long! Until next time, I'm Robby the Intern Rapper, and I'm peacin' out! *cue music*
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Prayer for the first week.
So on a selfish note, pray for me. It's been rather hard knowing absolutely nobody up here. I've definitely missed Georgia people. Also, it's been kinda different than I was really thinking. For some reason, I just thought that I was gonna be seeing the kids every single day and just hanging out with them constantly (I don't know why I thought that cuz I definitely didn't see my youth pastor every single day when I was in middle and high school. haha) and obviously it's not like that. There's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that youth pastors do. Which totally makes sense. And I know that that's still serving God and if I truly have a heart for the youth, then that stuff is gonna be just as important to me. But it's been hard sometimes for me to remember that. Lastly, pray for my connection with the kids in the youth group. Both Sunday morning and Wednesday night when I've had opportunity to connect with the kids, I've kinda clammed up and haven't really thrown myself out there like I should. Yesterday and today, I was really at times questioning whether or not I'm supposed to be here and lacking confidence in my abilities. But God is good and yesterday, I was reading Psalm 46 and came across verse 1 which says: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." and verse 11 which says: "The Lord of hosts is wiht us; the God of our Jacob is our fortress." Perfect timing for both those verses! Yay God! haha. So I guess overall, pray that I can place my faith in God during this time and trust in Him regardless of how I feel.
Also, pray for the Tuesday night college bible study: that it can be a great time for college believers in the area to connect and have great Biblical fellowship.
And of course, pray for the kids in the youth group.
Also, pray for the Tuesday night college bible study: that it can be a great time for college believers in the area to connect and have great Biblical fellowship.
And of course, pray for the kids in the youth group.
Finally posting.
So I'm finally updating my blog. But hey, I haven't yet been in Peshtigo for a week so I feel that's pretty good for keeping up with the blog.........
So I got into Peshtigo last Saturday around 4 (central time, I get to experience 10 weeks in a different time zone. That sounded so much more exciting before I typed it out....) after two long days of being on the road. I must say the worst part of the trip was the Chicago area: traffic plus construction plus toll booths equals unhappiness. So on Saturday, I met Tim (the youth pastor) and he showed me around the church and went over some official intern stuff with me and then we went out to dinner and then drove around Peshtigo before watching Mythbusters at the church while waiting for my host family to get home. I then met the Hays(my host family) and went to bed cuz I was exhausted. The Hays (Brian and Barb) are great people and so willing to serve. They basically told me that this was my home now so feel free to take anything I needed, including food. I'm thinking they may change their minds when their cabinets are empty. (Just kidding. But seriously.) Oh, on a side note, they have a spare bedroom so if anyone wants to come visit me, come along and we can party it up in Peshtigo(That seems so much more exciting than it really is. haha). So on Sunday, I got to the church at 7:30 AM (yes, it was early. Speaking of early, the sun rises at like 4:45. Ridiculous.) to pray with the pastors. I was also introduced to the youth group in Sunday School and attended the 2nd service of big church. I then spent the rest of the day going with Tim to graduation parties, eating free delicous food and talking to people. It was much more strenuous than it sounds. Oh, except before that, I locked my keys in my car. Yes, less than 24 hours in Peshtigo and I locked my keys in my car. Aren't I amazing? But this couple at the church (whose name I can't remember) were really awesome and helped me out. He's a cop so he broke into my car for me and then not only that but they got a spare key made for me! Amazing! Mondays, the staff has the day off. Monday night, Tim and I went over to a family's house (the Hoffners) for dinner. They have 2 daughters who are in the youth group. They're a really fun family. It was fun. On Tuesday, I prayed with the pastors at 8:30 and attended the planning meeting. It sounds really official but 95% of it was joking around and laughing (unless someone on staff is reading this. In that case, it was very official and all hard work). But, in seriousness, it was a great time for me to connect with the staff so that was cool. Tuesday night was the first night for a weekly college bible study. Apparently, in Peshtigo, there's not a lot of ways for college kids to connect (which blows my mind cuz Athens is overflowing with opportunities) so this bible study is a great way for college aged believers to get together and connect with Jesus and each other. Wednesday, I again met with the pastors to pray(which I'll do pretty much every morning) and later, Tim and I worked on my intro video for the youth group on Sunday. It's gonna be amazing. Stay tuned for that. Wednesday night, the youth group had small group celebration which was a time for the kids to come and hang ou and have fun. So that's my time in Peshtigo so far in a nutshell. I'm gonna make another post for prayer requests and stuff cuz this post is getting too long and boring.
So I got into Peshtigo last Saturday around 4 (central time, I get to experience 10 weeks in a different time zone. That sounded so much more exciting before I typed it out....) after two long days of being on the road. I must say the worst part of the trip was the Chicago area: traffic plus construction plus toll booths equals unhappiness. So on Saturday, I met Tim (the youth pastor) and he showed me around the church and went over some official intern stuff with me and then we went out to dinner and then drove around Peshtigo before watching Mythbusters at the church while waiting for my host family to get home. I then met the Hays(my host family) and went to bed cuz I was exhausted. The Hays (Brian and Barb) are great people and so willing to serve. They basically told me that this was my home now so feel free to take anything I needed, including food. I'm thinking they may change their minds when their cabinets are empty. (Just kidding. But seriously.) Oh, on a side note, they have a spare bedroom so if anyone wants to come visit me, come along and we can party it up in Peshtigo(That seems so much more exciting than it really is. haha). So on Sunday, I got to the church at 7:30 AM (yes, it was early. Speaking of early, the sun rises at like 4:45. Ridiculous.) to pray with the pastors. I was also introduced to the youth group in Sunday School and attended the 2nd service of big church. I then spent the rest of the day going with Tim to graduation parties, eating free delicous food and talking to people. It was much more strenuous than it sounds. Oh, except before that, I locked my keys in my car. Yes, less than 24 hours in Peshtigo and I locked my keys in my car. Aren't I amazing? But this couple at the church (whose name I can't remember) were really awesome and helped me out. He's a cop so he broke into my car for me and then not only that but they got a spare key made for me! Amazing! Mondays, the staff has the day off. Monday night, Tim and I went over to a family's house (the Hoffners) for dinner. They have 2 daughters who are in the youth group. They're a really fun family. It was fun. On Tuesday, I prayed with the pastors at 8:30 and attended the planning meeting. It sounds really official but 95% of it was joking around and laughing (unless someone on staff is reading this. In that case, it was very official and all hard work). But, in seriousness, it was a great time for me to connect with the staff so that was cool. Tuesday night was the first night for a weekly college bible study. Apparently, in Peshtigo, there's not a lot of ways for college kids to connect (which blows my mind cuz Athens is overflowing with opportunities) so this bible study is a great way for college aged believers to get together and connect with Jesus and each other. Wednesday, I again met with the pastors to pray(which I'll do pretty much every morning) and later, Tim and I worked on my intro video for the youth group on Sunday. It's gonna be amazing. Stay tuned for that. Wednesday night, the youth group had small group celebration which was a time for the kids to come and hang ou and have fun. So that's my time in Peshtigo so far in a nutshell. I'm gonna make another post for prayer requests and stuff cuz this post is getting too long and boring.
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