First Impressions

Hey everybody! Thanks for checking out my first blog post! Basically the purpose of this blog is to keep you updated on how my summer internship at Westside Baptist Church in Eugene, Oregon is going. Hopefully this blog will be more than just informative though. I'm praying this summer will be a time of intense spiritual growth and that I'll take advantage of the incredible opportunity God has given me to gain real-life ministry experience. I'm sure you'll have more than a few opportunities to laugh (at or with me) and be encouraged through what God is teaching me. So here it goes!

First off I'd just like to point out how crazy it is looking back over this last year and seeing how God has used different circumstances to get me to Eugene: torn acl, no football, stay at home for fall semester, think about full-time ministry, change major from nursing to humanities, go back to 'natha for spring, start thinking about interning at a church, hear about Westside, pray... and here I am. Its so cool to see how he used each one, good and bad, to get me where I am.

So I flew in Friday night and arrived at my "summer pad" as I like to call it. Yes, the two primary means of decoration are lace and pink. Don't hate! It is my humble abode. I have my own bathroom, living room, and kitchen all upstairs at the church. Its actually pretty awesome. When I arrived there was a basket of snacks and fruit waiting for me in the kitchen along with cereal and, you guessed it, Rice Dream. What more could a guy allergic to dairy ask for?

So today was my first Sunday at Westside. I was a little nervous at first but that went away pretty quick. Everybody was super friendly and outgoing, especially Ben... I have a feeling you're going to be hearing a lot about Ben this summer. A lot of people already knew a lot about me and even asked how my knee was doing. It was pretty obvious they had been praying for me and that was a reassuring feeling. Melissa (my fellow intern, pal from Maranatha, and the pastor's kid) and I observed children's church so we can start doing that on our own next week. Crazy kids! Its going to be a blast!

Tonight we had a teen BFG (Bible Fellowship Group) at the Lowder's house. On the way there we drove by Autzen Stadium, home of the Oregon Ducks.  Pretty cool. We heard a great challenge on sanctification and then played some games. It was a great time getting to know the teens (especially Ben) and hanging out with the rest of the staff. (Note: I managed to get my first intern blunder out of the way by spilling a glass of water on the Lowder's carpet. That, folks, is why I'm an intern.)

On the way back, I rode with our youth pastor Dan Kaminski and his wife Kellie to drop all the teens off at their houses and something caught my attention that I know I've taken for granted in the past. Dan was driving and he knew exactly where to go to get to each of these teens houses by memory. It's because he's been to their homes so many times for many different reasons. Its a sign of his investment in their lives. Investing yourself in someone else is time-consuming and can be exhausting and even frustrating but there isn't anything in the world that is more rewarding. As believers and disciples of Christ we should all be investing ourselves into the lives of others. Its the only kind of investment that has eternal benefits.