Camping!!!

So here's the deal. We are going camping June 25th-27th, up in the beautiful Kings Canyon, about 30 miles past Hume Lake.

We're leaving bright and early, at 7am on Friday, June 25th.

Cost: Not sure yet...but not more than $20.

More info to follow...but put the date on your calendar.

Where do I go during Sunday's Second Hour?

Since the college community is not meeting Sunday mornings this summer, many of you are wondering what in the world you should do instead. Here are some suggestions.

#1 Go to church. Some of you have gotten into the bad habit of sleeping in, missing church, and then going to college group. Less than stellar idea. Go to church!

#2 Visit another ABF. Since the college community is age-specific and temporary, view this as a great opportunity to visit another ABF and meet other people at Grace. The Gathering (Room 202), Open Source (Room 206), and Global Engagement (Room 200) would all be great places to visit and get connected to other people at Grace. They don't bite. If they do, let me know and I'll teach you self-defense skills.

#3 Go to lunch. View this summer as a time to take initiative in creating good habits of friendship. Grab a few others and head over to Baja Sonora and discuss the sermon. The key here is that someone, at some point, needs to take initiative and lead out. Be creative!

#4 Wander aimlessly in your own misery. You could spend the time feeling awkward, pacing the hallways, spending extra time in the bathroom. This is a legitimate option. And one that many of you prefer. Sorry, I couldn't help it!

So When's the Next College Group?

Our next meeting as a whole group is June 17th, at my house (1512 E Roosevelt Rd), 6:30pm-8pm. Bring your Bibles and a notebook, as we'll be studying the book of Revelation together.

We are also still serving at the Lydia House and at Precious Life Shelter on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, like we have been for the last year.

**Remember: We have our camping trip coming up in about a month - make sure you clear your calendars so you can join us as we head up to Kings Canyon, a beautiful and rugged area in the Sierras. It's June 25th-27th. I'll probably do signups via facebook or something like that.

Samaritan House, May 18th

I smelled:

• Turkey
• Mashed potatoes
• Bread

I saw:

• Rows and rows of men eating dinner
• Three children
• A man that I’ve seen many times since the time we started serving there. He used to have a beard. He doesn’t anymore. I think the way he chews his food is funny.
• A few people we’ve never served with before
• The windows in the kitchen are these cubes with a wavy kind of texture. When you try to see out of them it looks like you’re looking out at a hundred tiny beach scenes. It’s weird.
• White rice
• Canned cranberries
• Green beans

I felt:

• For a while it seemed pretty warm in the kitchen, beyond the point of being comfortable.
• Sticky jelly from the lunches we were putting together
• Steam coming up from the trays we were serving food from
• Ice in my hands

I heard:

• Ladles clinking against plates
• Plates clinking against each other
• Plates being put on the metal surface where they’re picked up and brought to tables
• Orders to stop dishing up food from one man. Another man saying, “No, we just gotta keep going, we just gotta keep going.”

Lunch with Scotty

I had lunch with a guy named Scott Jones today. Some of you may know him. He is a man who has dedicated his life to serving and loving the city of Long Beach. He doesn't do this by serving at homeless shelters, or giving his money away to charities. He does it by creating a non-profit organization whose goal is to cultivate relationships with all of the different people and neighborhoods of Long Beach by throwing giant barbecues and breakfasts and other events all over the city, bringing people together into loving communities. He does this by greeting everyone he sees with a smile and an honest "How are you doing?" He does this by moving from Belmont Shore to downtown Long Beach in order to build loving relationships with his neighbors and to open up his home to anyone who needs a friend, a meal, a refuge, or just a good time. He does this by simply caring for the people around him, asking himself what they need, and doing what he can to provide it. He does it by meeting his mailman and offering him a cold drink on a hot day. It's not complicated.

I don't know what I mean for you to get out of that, but I know that if I want to show God's love, and have it change this city in crazy ways, I'm not going to do that from behind a glass counter. Scott certainly isn't.


www.welovelb.org.

Samaritan House April 20th

As McKenzie said, it's hard to know what to write about when it comes to the Samaritan House. People are unpredictable, and it is only when you don't know what happens next that you get a story that's worth sharing. We don't get to deal with people at Samaritan House, and so have few stories worth sharing. We set tables, serve food, and clean up. It's like being a waiter, except we don't get paid and we choose to describe it as service.

Let me just start by saying that Faith, Love, Hope, and Mercy are not strong points of mine. I have never been famed for my outpouring of charity or my eagerness to help others. As someone who has grown up within the church, this is not an pleasurable confession to make, but it's true. I have often asked myself, "Why, then? Why do I bother showing up? Why do I give my service, for which I would demand at least minimum wage if this were a restaurant? Why do I bother?"

For a long time, I had no ready answer. Then I had an epiphany; why do I serve at Samaritan House? It's certainly not out of the goodness of my heart, for there is none in mine. It wasn't for the approval of my friends, for I am stubborn and willfull enough that mere disapproval could be shrugged off and ignored. I serve because I'm bad at loving people. I serve because I genuinely don't care about the people I'm serving. I serve because where the body goes the spirit will follow. I serve because I need the practice.

Lydia House, April 20

I ran across this quote by C.S. Lewis the other day that said "So many people are only concerned with the existance of God as if God could do nothing but exist." A God that merely exsists seems absurd and not much of a God at all. This thought along with a verse in John, "For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does" (5:20), has motivated me to be more concerned with what God is doing around me.

This past week I was asked to step out of the kitchen (which has quickly become a comfort zone for me at Lydia house) and out into the house's living room area to lead the women's bible study. I had never lead a bible study for anyone older than me so I was a little anxious at first. As I began preparing for the women my nerves seemed to lessen as I was reassured by God about the power of His word to not return void, and with a message I had recently become personally passionate about.

The bible study concerned John 4 and the woman at the well. On Tuesday, with all my notes perpared and continuing in prayer for the women I began to think about the complex, hard, beautiful, and not-so-beautiful aspects of these women's lives. These thoughts continued throughout the day. At the beginning of the bible study, my nerves mounting a bit, I looked out at the women's faces and felt that I was beginning to understand a bit more of the immensity of God's love for these women, women with much in common with the woman at the well. These women much like the one that Jesus had revealed Himself to first. I also felt that the story of Jesus coming to the woman at the well had never been more real and clear to me.

The bible study went well. The women were attentive and more or less engaged. After the study and over dinner I was able to talk to some of the women and was struck by the childlike faith that some of them had. I was reassured that many of the women there had been met by Jesus just like the woman at the well had been and had received the grace, love, and reassurance that He offers.

How amazing that Jesus has been, and still is, meeting these women just like He met with and renewed the woman at the well 2000 years ago. How great it is that we can serve at Lydia House and see what God has been doing.

:)