Leaving the nest...

Last night we had some students over to celebrate (not in a bad way) the moving on of one my wife's graduated senior girls. It was so amazing to see the students rally around her, encourage her and affirm her. She impacted many of their lives while she was in Vegas. Some things that I learned from watching the students last night were:
1. We all want to be apart of something. The students are so connected and they have some really special relationships.
2. God created us to be in those relationships. We were never intended to do life alone, just read about Adam in Genesis One.
3. Students are fun to be around. Students can either charge you up or drain you. Not everyone is called to work with them and when you are it is amazing.
4. Real relationships are formed over time and sometimes over hard times. Charity, my wife, has poured into the girl who left today and you can see the special bond they have.
5. Pour into others with reckless abandon. You can almost never go wrong by investing into the right person and that is how the Kingdom of God has grown.

The Dark Night

So we finally made it back from Hume (it was amazing, I will write about that soon) and then on like six hours of sleep went to Church. After church we all mobbed it to Panera for some grub. I had the Bacon Turkey Bravo and a bowl of Broccoli Cheddar. Then we headed over to Green Valley Ranch for the Dark Night. While waiting we went and played some video games.
The movie was amazing! We went with a grip of students and that made it better. The movie really was pretty crazy and the Joker was a great character. I love the part seeing that Batman is there to protect, but not always loved. That is how I feel as a pastor sometimes. Well its time to go home and see the wife.

Hume Lake: July 20th-26th 2008

This week we are taking a great team of leaders, students and some students who really need Jesus, to Hume Lake. I am super excited to see God work in this week. Hume does a great program that allows our leaders to spend time with students and really invest in them. We have had some last min sign ups, and have some last min drops. Please pray for us this week. Pray for safe travel. Pray for students to have walls broken down in their lives so that the Holy Spirit can really impact them. Pray for me as a leader to set the example to all we take.
Also, I just received a call from a former student in San Diego who her sister just got back from Hume. She told me that there is some sort of stomach bug happening at Hume right now. She told me that about half the camp had it (almost 500 students) which is a huge number. The bug lasts for 72 hours and causes the person to vomit about every 5 min (not sure how much is true, just sharing what I heard). It makes sense because Hume called me this week and told me that health department has asked them to call all the churches and ask them if they have any students with flu like symptoms to please not bring them or the student will be sent home. Please pray for us, I want to make sure that this is an amazing week for students and that God gets all the glory. I am asking all the people I know to pray for us.

The Church being The Church

We have a HS student name Kyle Watanabe who has Cystic Fibrosis, but you would never know it. I remember the first time he came to Mexico with me and I thought he had to do breathing treatments because he had asthma. Since then I have been to the hospital about 10 times for him, but he is a fighter. God has a huge plan for this kids life. He is so full of joy and models the love of Christ to others, he is some we can all look up too. About four months ago he called "Make a Wish Foundation" and they totally redid his 1970 VW Bug. It is amazing. We revealed it at the church and just seeing the people coming together and reaching out the VW community here in Vegas was super cool.
Here is a video of the event.

Worship Tonight

Tonight we had our summer nights Bible study and Marc Faircloth lead worship. It was one of the most moving sets of worship I have been involved in in a while.
We sang Mighty to Save and our church was just singing so loud and you could feel the Spirit of God moving in that room!

Staff Meeting

Today in staff meeting we were going over the new guest report and there was a lady who found out about our church from "a woman sitting at the slot machine next to me".
I love Vegas!

Get Smart

On Monday Charity and I went to see "Get Smart" with Steve Carell and it was pretty funny. The first 30-35 min was pretty tough, kinda like the office. The scenes were great but it was that akward feeling just like watching the office.
All in all it was a good flick. There wasn't much sexual stuff and not much cussing, the movie is not a must see but worth it.

BB is getting bigger

She is just straight cute right now! I cant wait to be a dad!
This is the pic from 28ish weeks ultrasound. This week will be 30 weeks, that is 75% of the way done.

Middle School Camp

We are at Hume SD right now, which is at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. We are here with some middle school students and one of the boys said the best comment ever:
"I am going to sit around tonight and see how many girls I can get to hug me. Last year I got 63"
I am not sure why that made me laugh so hard. Just a glimpse into the mind of a fourteen year old boy.

New Dad Top 10

Today I had breakfast with a mentor of mine that I really look up too. His name is Rob Hall. He hired me in my current position and now he works at an amazing church in The Bay Area called: "Central Pennisula Church". Rob Hall loves Jesus and really loves his family. I look up to him and the way he balances life and loves people.
Today at breakfast he gave me a list called: "New Dad Top 10"
1. Never stop dating your wife, just plan now to pay a babysitter!
2. When you come home be "hands on" as much as possible. (Diapers, cleaning, babysitting, ect.)
3. Give your wife time off! Let her out by herself from time to time.
4. Pray with & for your children from day one.
5. Read the Word with & to your children from day one.
6. Help your wife establish a routine for your children. (Nap time, eating & bed time especially)
7. With a new baby, your ministry will change...for the better! Parents will respect you more & you'll have to find a better "balance".
8. Say "NO" more often to ministry stuff & life things. You'll need to be home more.
9. Enjoy every moment & season with your kids, they grow up fast.
10. Travel with your kids, its so much fun!

When People Meet Jesus

So last night we started the series: "When People Meet Jesus" by Doug Fields. It was super sweet. It helps to have the graphics and notesheets the have done and be able to put your own stories to it.
We ended the message with a chance to receive Jesus and two girls re-commited and one guy gave his life to Jesus for the first time. It was super exciting! I love working with students.

I need commnunity

I am glad I waited to write this till today. This week has shown me how much we all need community and the relationships of others.
On Sunday my wife had her small group girls over for a luau party to start off summer and encourage one of our other leaders who is moving. Seeing the girls connect was amazing! I normally would not be there, but they needed someone to cook. Then I went and played video games.
That night we went over to a leaders house and played some volleyball. It was super sick. Seeing people connect with each other. This time was more for our college students but some of them are our leaders and it was just fun. Not only playing volleyball but connecting with other people from our church was great for me. I noticed, once again, my need for community and how people thrive in that.
Finally, on Tuesday I had small group with my boys. I have Junior and Senior boys so half of my boys are graduating. Hearing my boys just share their hearts to each other is so amazing. They have learned accountability early and it blows my mind. I wish that I had the relationships that they have when I was 17.
All this said, it made me think that we all need this. We need to pour into others, have people we can laugh with and have people we can share our junk with and pray with.

Valley of Fire

On Friday night Charity and I went to Valley of Fire. Its a place that is like an hour or so from our house and is is amazing. This place has all these crazy red rocks and some super sweet formations. We went out there and walked around just a bit. We saw this petrified tree that was super crazy. I have to say that I do hate the signs that say: "This tree is millions of years old." Not sure why do that.
After our little hike action we found a campsite and roasted marshmallows and made some smores. Then we laid out a blanket and just took some time to star watch. I think we all need to just take some time to watch the stars with someone who means the world to us. We needed that time to just chill and be with each other.

The Investment Mindest

I feel the need to preface this thought, for some reason. What I am writing is something that has been stirring in my brain and I hope that it can hopefully help someone.
About 2 months ago we had our adult leader meeting. We try to do these every 6-8 weeks where the leaders get some time to hang out and just connect. I then take about 30 minutes to share my heart. At this particular meeting I shared about the need for us to have roles that we all fit into. I have felt our leaders not feeling like they have a, “job,” something that they can own on Wednesday nights. After the meeting, which I thought went great, I was really excited to see the buy-in level increase and leaders plug in more. It seemed like neither of those things happened.
All of that said, it got me thinking about what I call the investment mindset. I don’t know if you have a 401K or not, but I feel like my retirement is similar to investing into students (you may think I am crazy right now, but keep reading). Every paycheck I get, 26 a year, I ask my church to take out a set amount and invest that into my retirement. I don’t, “see,” that money so I just tell myself that I never got it. I don’t really miss it cause I never really “see” it. Then twice a year I get a statement in the mail that makes me wonder why I keep putting that money in there. I open it up hoping that, for some unknown reason, my retirement will be huge… but it’s not. Then I have to remind myself that this investment will take time to mature.
That is exactly how I think many of us feel about working with students (and our leaders feel the same way too). How many countless nights have you sat with a student listening to their problems, counseling them, sharing scripture with them and praying with them to only see them make the same mistake? Or what about the time it takes to make camp happen and all the hours you put into it, then you have to leave your spouse for the week and you just wish you could see them. Think about the last mission trip you went on. How amazing was it or is all you can think about is how tiring it was? Does it ever feel like some of this is worthless? We have all been there.
See student ministries is just like my 401K. It would be nice to have that time or money right now. Sometimes the sacrifice doesn’t look like it will pay off in the end, but we need to keep reminding ourselves that what we do is so worth it! If someone hasn’t told you that in while just think about the students you work with that will never forget you, trust me, they will never forget you and the constant time you put into their lives. The investment is worth it!

BB is 24 weeks... and a GIRL

So we just had the appointment and got the final word that BB is a girl. We were told at 15 weeks that BB was 90% a boy. We went back at 18 weeks and saw nothing (by the way, our doctor is rad and does an ultrasound every appointment). For the 21 week visit BB had turned into a girl... WHAT??? Are you sure?
Then we just went back on tuesday and its for sure... BB is a girl!
I'm gonna be a dad. So many thoughts to hit my mind.

Greek: my life today

Today I am working on HW for my Greek class. We are translating the book of Ephesians and I am just in awe right now of the power of God's word. It is so easy, I think, for us to read the Bible and just take certain words for granted. When I have to look at the words and sentence structure in Greek it gives me such a deeper appreciation for Gods word. Next time you are reading, take it slow and ask God to show you what He wants you to learn, I think you will like it!

Rome

So today we landed in Rome. The train ride was short and we are both sick of public transportation. I would love to drive my Tundra right now! The train got in around 11 am and we walked to our room, its pretty sweet. From there we head to the Collusem, that place is super big! (I just tried to do spell check, and that doesnt work here. Sorry) I was in awe of how massive the place was. We heard the line was long, but we got hooked up. Just go in and buy the audio tour and you can get your ticket there. We were both so impressed with how the building of that structure took place, it was crazy.
After that we took a nap (I love vacation!) and now we are chilling just doing some laundry. Tonight we want to do the Trevi fountion and thats about all.

Off to Florence

On Monday morning we got up and caught a train into Florence. From there we headed to a small medieval town called: San Gimignamo. This town was super cool. It was a good stop on our trip. We have both been going so much and really caught some down time there. We had no internet in the town and basically just went to the supermarket to get meals. The first day we walked down the main street (thats all there really was) and checked it out. The next day we chilled some more and really got some relax time in. The town has a bunch of towers there and I went into one (charity is too pregnant to walk up the stairs now). The towers were once used to pour boiling oil on anyone who attacked the town!!!
The next day (Wed) we headed into Pisa. That tower is amazing. We were both not too sure what to expect but it was great. The town was so amazing and we both just loved it!
On Thursday we headed into Florence to check out the David. I didnt realize how big it was. The statue is about twice the size I expected. We walked around, saw an amazing church, walked around, did some shopping and then headed back to our little town.

Venice Day Two

So we havent been around a comp for a while so here is what has happened. Our next day in Venice was great. We went out to an Island called Murano. This is the place where they hand blow a bunch of glass objects. We actually got to see a man make a horse out of glass, it was so crazy. Venice has been great. The water system is a new idea to both of us, they have no cars there at all.
Later in the day it started to sprinkle a bit so we headed to get a Gondola ride. This is what Chartiy has dreamed of doing like her whole life. We LOVED it. The ride was so amazing. We started on the Grand Canel and were able to take the back streets the rest of the way. Venice is so beautiful. We had a great kiss under the lovers brigde, cuddled close and saw something not everyone will get to see. Venice was great!

Venice Day One

I normally dont Blog this much at all. I honestly only blog on random occasions but I feel that for this trip I really need to write this down so I wont forget it and its so amazing I want to share it with all.
Today we got to Venice by train. The transportation here is all by water. We got the youth pass (last time for me) that allows us to go all over. The Islands are not really that big. We got to our room (after wondering for a bit) and headed out to Saint Marks Square. The view was amazing. The Cathedrals here are all so rad. We had so much fun trying to kick the pigeons (maybe that was me) but I got one. We just got lost for the next 2 hours or so and wondered around.
We ended up finding the Rialto Bridge at just the right time, Sunset. We headed to that and it was amazing. We got some pics and then strolled the shops. The city began to close so we came home. I forgot to tell that I acutally wanted McDonalds for dinner and that is what we had.
Chao for now!