and he doesn't even like chocolate...

Blog post #4 has arrived! It feels like forever since I posted last simply because so much has happened in the last week and a half. I feel so privileged to be serving the Lord here at Westside this summer. God has been allowing me to learn a lot through all kinds of experiences. This past week I've been able to see some incredible and awesome truths through the smallest occurrences. I'm so grateful that God has given me this opportunity!

I could never thank the people here at Westside enough for how well they have treated me since I arrived just three weeks ago. It feels like I've been here so much longer than that! Not in the bad way though. I know way too many people to have only been here that long. I've been treated too well by everyone here to have only been here for such a short period of time. I feel like I could write forever just explaining how kind people have been to me! Its the little things that really catch me by surprise and allow me to see the love of God through His people here at Westside. Rice milk, local honey, a dish rack, and immense amounts of food are just a few things that people have been thoughtful enough to get for me. I have hardly had to buy anything simply because of all the incredible meals I have eaten at people's homes and the leftovers I leave with! I'm in awe at how well I've been treated and I can't say "thank you" enough.

 I gave my testimony last Sunday morning and as I was standing in front of the church telling everyone how much God has done for me it hit me how much God has done for me! From where I am today and how God got me here to the family and friends that I could never deserve to, most importantly, my salvation. His love is unfailing, unending, and completely illogical.

There is somebody I want to tell you about. One of my favorite people at Westside is Jake. Jake is (in his own words) "precious". He is absolutely hilarious! He is a very enthusiastic and active part of the church. He helps lead singing (from the front pew) and even turns pages for the piano players on occasion. Jake knows everybody and everybody knows Jake. He has never had a bad day in his life. Jake, Michael and I have an inside joke that never gets old. It goes something like this...

Jake: What is he doing?
Michael: Ben keeps hitting me.
Jake: Yeah.
Me: And he doesn't even like chocolate!

This is followed by laughter every time. Why? Because Jake's smile is contagious. When he laughs he has a way of making everyone else laugh along. God has given him the gift of infectious joy and I'm very thankful to have been contaminated. I think a lot of us could learn a thing or two from Jake.


Today was the first day of VBS and it was awesome! We have seriously been preparing for this week non-stop since I got here three weeks ago. We spent hours walking through neighborhoods and parks just to get the word out to the community. Today we really saw the fruit of that labor. We had 96 kids and 50 workers today! From what I hear that's a Westside record for Day 1! We're planning on having close to 120 by the middle of the week! Its an incredible opportunity to share the gospel to kids and their families! In all honesty, I think I had as much fun as the kids today. I'm the goofy character in the drama (I get to dress up as a fireman), teach the lessons (which includes playing with fire), and play games with the kids. So this week I'm pretty much a kid posing as an adult... which is the norm for me.

Good Stuff

Fieldside @ PK Park

Blog post #3 has arrived and there is no way it could hold all the awesome things that have happened over the last few days! God is showing me some amazing stuff and helping me grow at the same time! Friday is generally our day off in the office but we had so much stuff to do for VBS that me and Pastor Dan came in to get some stuff done. We went out and ran some errands and when we finished we went by Autzen Stadium, PK Park, Heyward Field, and Matt Knight Arena. The University of Oregon has some pretty impressive facilities. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go inside all of them before the end of the summer. We made it into PK Park pretty easy but got turned away at Autzen... so close.

Sunday morning was my first time teaching children's church at Westside. Its so awesome to tell a Bible story and watch the kids' faces when they're really getting into it. They were so intense as David and Abishai tiptoed through the pitch black and past sleeping soldiers to get to the bedside of King Saul. The kids were great and I had a blast!

Monday afternoon we went through neighborhoods trying to spread the word about Vacation Bible School. I didn't get much positive feedback for VBS but I did have a couple of great visits! I met one family with a couple of teens who are looking for a church with a good youth group and that she had heard good things about Westside. I assured her that Westside had a great youth group and that now it was even better than before for one reason... ME! I think my sarcastically confident sales pitch worked... she said they'll be visiting soon. The second good visit I had was with a man in his 50's. I didn't think it was going to go anywhere at first but a comment led to a short conversation and he eventually revealed that he and his wife had been casually looking for a church and hadn't been in a while. He told be they would be dropping by soon to check it out. Just a couple more chances to share the gospel and help people grow! Awesome stuff!

Tonight was an incredible experience! I went on a visit with Pastor Nathan to visit a couple who have been visiting the church. The whole point of the visit was to discuss church membership and discipleship with an elderly couple who had just begun their new life in Christ. Just sitting through that kind of meeting alone would have been such a great experience for me but God had bigger plans. The man was unsure of his salvation so he bowed his head and asked God to forgive him and thanked Jesus for his sacrifice. He didn't use church language and he wasn't eloquent but he sent goosebumps down my arms. It was from the heart. I'll never forget that moment and feeling that I could reach out and touch the Holy Spirit.  I'm so thankful God allowed me to be there. I'm going to work on sharing the gospel more so experiences like that will never be lacking in the future!

9 to 5

Welcome to blog post #2! Its been a super busy and fun first week on the job. I had a great Memorial Day that I spent with Pastor Kaminski's family and a couple other families from the church. I had breakfast, lunch, and supper all provided for me at different homes. It was a really good opportunity to get to know every body better and have a fun day off. I even went grocery shopping to buy stuff for my breakfast and lunches. PB&J, tuna, Spaghettio's, and Rice Dream are few of the staple items of my diet. I snagged a bunch of oranges and strawberries too. I've been addicted to both lately.


Tuesday night was the first college and career Bible study of the summer. Everybody had a chance to get to know each other and discuss some different ideas for what we could talk about over the next few months. We decided to use the majority of our time to discuss how to defend our faith. I'm really pumped about how the Lord is going to use this. Its an extremely relevant and applicable study that more churches should dive into. College students especially face philosophical attacks on their faith and have no idea how to defend against them. Churches have to be more effective in presenting these arguments to believers and offering valid refutations. If the church chooses not to address the philosophical arguments that young Christians are being attacked with then we're going to lose them to the idea that the church is ignorant and outdated. They hear these arguments and ideas from professors on a consistent basis and its the our job to prepare believers against such attacks.  Melissa and I are running it on our own which is a really awesome opportunity! She sings while I play the guitar... because my voice is too "special" to reveal to the world.

I never thought I would say this but I'm actually enjoying office work. Most of the stuff we do is actually exciting. We've been preparing a lot of things for our Vacation Bible School that's coming up in a couple weeks. I've been helping plan for events like VBS along with church barbecues and some other activities. I've been sending a lot of emails, writing letters, calling church members, and making visits. It's crazy how much time and work goes into the activities and programs that I've always taken for granted at church. Our office hours are 9 to 5 but we've really been putting in more time than that every day. Its a reality of ministry and exactly what I signed up for. I need to notify you of another intern mistake. I was so tuned in to the 2 1/2 hour quarterly staff meeting that I got pen ink on my pants. the marks actually kind of look like a smiley face... I think my pants may have been laughing at me.

Wednesday I helped with youth group. I did announcements and played a couple games with the teens. Melissa works with the younger kids on Wednesdays so I played my guitar and led singing... now everybody knows my voice is "special". It was a really good time getting to know some of the teens and doing some more stuff for the first time ever. Pretty much everything I've done this week has been for the first time in my life. I love it because I'm already being stretched and the summer has barely even started.