New Blog

Hey guys! Thanks for following my blog last summer! It was a blast! I wanted to let you know that I'm starting up a new blog called "These Things." If you so desire you can check it out. Hope you are all doing well and seeking to follow Him more and more each day. God Bless!

Back up off!

Hello my faithful disciples! Welcome to blog post #6! Had a really great last couple weeks and I'm excited to fill you in!

So in my last post I mentioned the opportunity I had to go hiking with some friends. Well it got even better the next day! We made our first stop at Waldo Lake which is one of the clearest lakes in the world. You can see up to 100 ft. deep on days when it isn't windy! So we chilled there for a while and ate lunch on the dock before packing it up and pressing on towards our final destination.

We arrived at what is probably the most jaw-dropping location I have ever seen: Crater Lake. It was incredible! When I reached the lip of the crater I was in complete awe. Crater Lake is literally a volcano that erupted and put out so much molten rock and lava that the inside eventually collapsed and left a huge crater that is now the deepest lake in the United States... oh, and its getting deeper. Side note: Crater Lake is also home to Santa's workshop. I pity all you simpletons who have bought in to the propaganda put out by Thomas Nast in the 1860's to 1880's that Santa lives at the North Pole. It's bogus.

I  got to go to Boise! God was extremely providential in providing me a way to get home, see my family, and be at my Nanny's memorial service. It worked out that a family from Westside, the Lowders, were heading to Boise for a family reunion for exactly the same period that I needed to be home! How awesome is that! So Mr. Lowder, Melissa, Jessie and myself made the 8 hour trip and arrived safely in Boise. It was a complete surprise for Micah and Lauren. At first I was disappointed that I had to tell Mom and Dad beforehand and ruin the surprise for them but after I arrived I was glad it worked out that way... It gave Mom enough time to buy my favorite snacks! I was so glad I got to see them all and tell them face to face about everything that God is doing in my life!


I also got to spend time with everybody at South Valley! I'm so thankful for my home church and all the prayers they bring before for my sake. It was inexplicably awesome sharing in the joy with them over what God has done in my life so far this summer! I even got to attend our Nursing Home ministry that Michael Check oversees. God is definitely using Mike in that ministry and I was glad I got to be a small part of it. Its so awesome to hear the Gospel! It never gets old. It brought tears to my eyes as I heard once again the story of how my Savior took the weight of my sin upon himself so that I could be freed from death. There could never be a story more beautiful!

Sunday night was Nanny's memorial service. I'm so thankful I was able to be a part of it! I had the honor of saying a few words, along with a few other family members, about what she meant to me and what I'll remember her most for. She was a woman of God who truly exemplified what it meant to allow the love of Christ to spill out of herself and into the lives of others. I am blessed to have been one of the many people who to experience that love firsthand. Seeing all my family there was great! Reagan is no longer a baby, Jackson quadrupled in size, and I've got three more nephews/nieces (first cousins once removed if you want to be all technical) on the way in the next few months! I can't wait to finish school in December so I watch all these little brats grow up! Bonus: I got to see up close and touch the actual remains of the plane that Nate Saint and Jim Eliot flew to reach the Auca Indians for Christ! There were actually marks in the metal from where the natives had hacked into the plane with their weapons. What an incredible story of men who carried their cross in a very real way for the sake of Gospel! Seeing it all up close made the story so much more real to me.

My time was amazing in Boise but it was exciting to get back to Westside and dive back into (in a deeply spiritual accent) the ministry! Mrs. Lowder surprised me with my favorite desert in the world on Wednesday night. I mentioned in passing, the day that I got back to Eugene, my Mom's blueberry muffin layered pudding and how amazing it was. She walked into church and handed it to me. I was speechless... this was due to a combination of surprise and I was already tasting it in my brain. Let's just say I've had it for a couple meals... that's right, meals. I am eternally indebted to the Lowder family!

We started a new series in our College Bible Study this week. We're going through the Way of the Master training videos with Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort. Telling people about the Gospel is so basic to being a disciple of Christ and yet I fail to do it so often. I only have one more week here at Bible Study but I'm hoping my peeps will keep it running after I leave. I'm preaching this Sunday at Westside so pray that goes well if you get a chance! I'm pumped! I'm preaching out of Luke 14:25-34 on being a disciple. Its been a very convicting study process. I would greatly appreciate any and all prayers that the Lord will use me. Hopefully it will get uploaded to our podcast on Itunes... that way I'll feel famous.

j-i-p-p-e-d...

Hello my friends! This is my first blog in a few weeks so I’m sure you’re all just starving for a little update on how my life is going. Here's whats up!


Most of my time at work the last couple weeks has been spent preparing for camp. We had junior camp last week and teen camp is coming up soon. Junior camp was awesome! It was definitely a lot of work heading up to Washington a few days early to get everything ready for the kids. I was already tired by the time the kids arrived on Monday afternoon. It was totally worth it though! Around fifteen kids received Christ as their Savior throughout the week. I had the incredible privilege of sharing the Gospel with a few of them after services and being right there as Christ rerouted their eternal destination from death to life. Pretty awesome stuff! There is no sense of accomplishment or achievement that could ever surpass the feeling that having a part in someone's salvation brings. Why? Because the feeling comes from Christ working through us, not anything that we actually do. The greatest sense of accomplishment a man can feel doesn't come from his own achievements, but by allowing Christ to achieve things through himself. 


I had a pretty crazy cabin! Most of the kids were pretty good... except one. This kid was a maniac! He did everything he wasn't supposed to do. Thursday morning after chapel he grabbed the team flag, ran through the girl's cabins, and slid down the 300 ft water slide... that was pretty much how he was all week. Friday night I stepped out of the cabin for 2 minutes after all the kids were in bed. Next thing I know my cabin sounds like a jungle... I walk in to find that this kid has broken open some glow sticks, rubbed the stuff all over his butt  and is now running all over the cabin with fluorescent cheeks. He was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Today me and a few friends hiked the Trail of Ten Falls about an hour and a half from Eugene. It was gorgeous! The falls were beautiful and reminded me of how incredible of an artist God is. You can actually walk behind a couple of the falls and stand beneath the overhang of rock and dirt. I'm used to having earth below my feet, not above me. The change of perspective was definitely humbling. It was awesome because at the top of some of the falls it was just a small, slow moving stream that was flowing over the edge but by the time it reached the ground the tiny stream had become a destructive force of nature. After we hiked the falls we headed to the coast to watch some an awesome sunset and then on the way back pulled off into an abandoned weigh station and lied on the pavement and stared at billions of stars in the night sky. Today really made me wonder how we could ever doubt the existence of God.... could He have made it any more obvious through Creation?


Today, my Nanny (my grandmother) saw the incredible glory and majesty of God firsthand. We're all going to miss her. She was a incredible, godly woman who was an amazing example to all of us grandchildren. I'm so thankful for the influence she had on my life. I'll never forget the family gatherings at Nanny and Grandaddy's house on Norwood Avenue in Savannah, Georgia. They are some of the fondest memories of my life. I now look forward to seeing my sweet Nanny in heaven one day. When that day comes I expect to see her holding the hand of the man she's missed for so many years now. I love you Nanny.

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.

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.