This is my first summer as an "official" intern. However I am not new to our ministry. This year it seems that most of the kids are more receptive to the gospel which is a great encouragement to me personally. Get Ahead went well today I think that we had a record high attendance, 61, which is a hand-full for twenty interns. Especially when individual time rolls around and we each have 3 to 4 kids to minister to. And so with the small exception of overwhelming numbers everything has gone swimmingly.
In Christ,
Jacob Gastelum
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Update from Tyler!
6/23/08-
Last week was one of what I hear is going to be one of the busiest weeks of the summer, and after going through it I can understand why with the schedule that we had here at Springs of Grace (SoG). We had had what we normally do with the “getAhead” torturing program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2-4:30, but in addition to that in the morning we started Vacation Bible School (VBS) which went from 9-12. So as you can imagine on the days when we had both of these events going, it was busy.
Not having much time, or any time at all for lunch or even a break; the week basically took me to the point where I though that I was tired and pushed me beyond that.
I remember having one verse stick in my mind throughout the whole week, and it is a verse that has been coming to mind pretty much since I have been here. The wonderful thing about this verse, and the reason I bring it up is because of the way I got to see yet again how the Lord fulfilled the promise He makes in it. This promise comes from Matthew 10:39 when Christ says “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
I know that many probably don’t think of being an intern for the summer as a way of “loosing their life,” or that having to work with kids from 9-5 is a hard job that is stretching, because it really isn’t the most difficult job out there, and there are many ways that I could probably be “losing” my life in a more physical sense. But, often times when there is no other reason to do something, except with the hope of seeing lives being regenerated through the “foolishness of cross,” often times the littlest thing can be an opportunity to “lose your life” for Christ sake. The reason for this is because it is my tendency to hold onto my life and get frustrated when things don’t go the way I want them to go. So it can be hard to willingly lay my life down as an offering, and loose it for the sake of Christ. Yet, this week God fulfilled His promises made here in this verse, not to the point where I am perfect at trusting in this promise yet, but to the point where I can see Him giving grace to help in the time of need for helping me find real abundant life in losing it for Him.
Lord willing and this will hopefully be something that can continue for all of us here interning at SoG, so when these grains of wheat fall to the ground and lose their life much fruit will be found to the praise and the glory of Him in these kids; and no hope was being placed in “keeping our lives,” so that when we lay our lives down, it would produce much fruit to eternal life.
Last week was one of what I hear is going to be one of the busiest weeks of the summer, and after going through it I can understand why with the schedule that we had here at Springs of Grace (SoG). We had had what we normally do with the “getAhead” torturing program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2-4:30, but in addition to that in the morning we started Vacation Bible School (VBS) which went from 9-12. So as you can imagine on the days when we had both of these events going, it was busy.
Not having much time, or any time at all for lunch or even a break; the week basically took me to the point where I though that I was tired and pushed me beyond that.
I remember having one verse stick in my mind throughout the whole week, and it is a verse that has been coming to mind pretty much since I have been here. The wonderful thing about this verse, and the reason I bring it up is because of the way I got to see yet again how the Lord fulfilled the promise He makes in it. This promise comes from Matthew 10:39 when Christ says “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
I know that many probably don’t think of being an intern for the summer as a way of “loosing their life,” or that having to work with kids from 9-5 is a hard job that is stretching, because it really isn’t the most difficult job out there, and there are many ways that I could probably be “losing” my life in a more physical sense. But, often times when there is no other reason to do something, except with the hope of seeing lives being regenerated through the “foolishness of cross,” often times the littlest thing can be an opportunity to “lose your life” for Christ sake. The reason for this is because it is my tendency to hold onto my life and get frustrated when things don’t go the way I want them to go. So it can be hard to willingly lay my life down as an offering, and loose it for the sake of Christ. Yet, this week God fulfilled His promises made here in this verse, not to the point where I am perfect at trusting in this promise yet, but to the point where I can see Him giving grace to help in the time of need for helping me find real abundant life in losing it for Him.
Lord willing and this will hopefully be something that can continue for all of us here interning at SoG, so when these grains of wheat fall to the ground and lose their life much fruit will be found to the praise and the glory of Him in these kids; and no hope was being placed in “keeping our lives,” so that when we lay our lives down, it would produce much fruit to eternal life.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Update from Jillian!
At getAHEAD, we've been reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe with the kids. Most of us have made it about to the third or fourth chapter, but we wanted the kids to have an idea of the entire story, so we had a movie day last week.
I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia and have always loved those stories, but they've lost the ability to surprise me. Watching it with the kids last Wednesday, though, brought some of the wonder back.
I sat with two girls I've known all three summers I've been here. One had never seen it before. She kept looking at me with huge eyes full of wonder. At the beginning she was excited as she saw things we'd read about in class. As the story unfolded, she kept turning to me with questions or just with a look of amazement.
At the climax of the movie, where Aslan is killed in Edmund's place, she snuggled close to me and whispered, "He isn't really dead, is he?" But he was. And as she turned back to the screen, I could feel her sense of loss. I felt it myself. And then when he came back, she jumped a little from the excitement. "I thought he was dead!" I explained the resurrection and she made the connection. "This is like Jesus." We whispered about the cross, and how we, like Edmund, had to die. We talked about how Jesus died for us, how His power conquered even sin and death. And I think she really got it.
It was one of those times that makes the long hours of interning completely worth it. You never know if you will get to actually see a child's life transformed by her understanding of God, but we keep teaching and loving in the hope that it will happen. I haven't seen yet if her life is transformed because of the cross, but I have seen her get a little bit of a clearer understanding of it. And I pray that it will take effect in her life.
Please pray with us.
I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia and have always loved those stories, but they've lost the ability to surprise me. Watching it with the kids last Wednesday, though, brought some of the wonder back.
I sat with two girls I've known all three summers I've been here. One had never seen it before. She kept looking at me with huge eyes full of wonder. At the beginning she was excited as she saw things we'd read about in class. As the story unfolded, she kept turning to me with questions or just with a look of amazement.
At the climax of the movie, where Aslan is killed in Edmund's place, she snuggled close to me and whispered, "He isn't really dead, is he?" But he was. And as she turned back to the screen, I could feel her sense of loss. I felt it myself. And then when he came back, she jumped a little from the excitement. "I thought he was dead!" I explained the resurrection and she made the connection. "This is like Jesus." We whispered about the cross, and how we, like Edmund, had to die. We talked about how Jesus died for us, how His power conquered even sin and death. And I think she really got it.
It was one of those times that makes the long hours of interning completely worth it. You never know if you will get to actually see a child's life transformed by her understanding of God, but we keep teaching and loving in the hope that it will happen. I haven't seen yet if her life is transformed because of the cross, but I have seen her get a little bit of a clearer understanding of it. And I pray that it will take effect in her life.
Please pray with us.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Update from Julie
Last Thursday at getAHEAD I had the opportunity to talk to three little girls in a group about the Lord. One little girl who was nine years old asked me some good questions about God. She started out by asking me if who decides where we go after we die. We talked about how each person has a choice to follow God with their whole life or turn away and reject Him. Through that I was able to share with the three girls the story of Jesus...who came to die for us on the cross.
All three girls had heard the story before, but they continued to have some significant questions. Most of the questions were about sin and death and why God would allow people to die. We were able to talk for about twenty minutes and the conversation ended with two of the girls asking me if they could have a bible of their own. It was hard to hear some of the things these girls were going through in their own homes and the racism that they encounter. In fact, racism existed within that small group. One of the girls believed that only white people were able to go to heaven. I hope to continue to talk to these little girls and on Tuesday and I have two small bibles to hand out. Please pray for them and that the Lord would move in their hearts!
In Him,
Julie
All three girls had heard the story before, but they continued to have some significant questions. Most of the questions were about sin and death and why God would allow people to die. We were able to talk for about twenty minutes and the conversation ended with two of the girls asking me if they could have a bible of their own. It was hard to hear some of the things these girls were going through in their own homes and the racism that they encounter. In fact, racism existed within that small group. One of the girls believed that only white people were able to go to heaven. I hope to continue to talk to these little girls and on Tuesday and I have two small bibles to hand out. Please pray for them and that the Lord would move in their hearts!
In Him,
Julie
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The Summer Has Begun!
It is possible and necessary to be as strong and rugged for truth as a redwood and as tender and fragrant for Christ as a field of clover.
-John Piper
God is even bigger than I thought. Interning has been going on for about two weeks now and our getAHEAD (summer tutoring) program is underway. The first day we had about 24 kids. We picked them up from different apartment complexes and neighboring houses. They were so excited to see their classrooms, meet their teachers, and receive brand-new journals. The oldest class (mine & Jillian’s class) was entirely empty the first day, so we prayed God would bring an older crowd tomorrow. On Thursday we had 49 kids show up! Our cars were running back and forth from the church to the apartments. By the time I got back from picking up the kids on my block, there were 9 twelve-year-olds in my classroom, waiting to listen. Jillian and I had them pass around C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, noting how the reading skills varied dramatically from one student to another. We had them journal about what their secret world would be like if they were to open a magical wardrobe door, like Lucy had in the book. Their answers were amusing, having mainly to do with oceans of money or being reuinted with deceased family and friends—but a girl named Rebecca wrote that she would want to be in a place where she could get away from all of life’s problems and finally get a chance to sort things out with God. I hope God will use me to help her see that she can have God now, in this world.
I’ve never felt so much love and so much frustration. They don’t even know me, yet I feel them grabbing my hands, sitting in my lap, or clinging to me as if I were their mother. At first it’s adorable and flattering until you realize that a healthy child doesn’t latch on to strangers. Miriam reminded us that a healthy child is attached to its family and reluctant to run to an outsider’s arms until a relationship is developed. But these kids don’t have healthy families. Yesterday I met ******’s dad when I dropped her off. He was sitting in front of the television while his three sons (all under the age of 7) ran around the house with dirty clothes on and no supervision. I thought, at least this girl has a father. ***** and ******* have different dads that they never see, and a mother who is the primary drug dealer in their apartment complex. One morning ***** discovered a dead body outside her door. What these two sisters are absorbing at home continues to undo so much of what they hear at this church. God is, of course, able to save to the uttermost those who are perishing. But I will admit that it is hard to send these kids home. It’s hard to think about what they are going home to. Every day Alicia begs me to take her home with me. Sometimes I plague myself with the reasons why, but have to stop because that is forgetting who God is. He is bigger than people’s circumstances, and He saves who He wills. Each of us has seen God save that person who seemed past the point of redemption, the teenager who said they hated God, or the relative who was wholly devoted to a false religion. That same God knows and loves these kids. My love is only a fraction of His love for them. I know I will cry over the hard hearts and the blind eyes. But at the end of the day, I will have to give each child over to His compassionate, gracious, and forgiving arms. Therein lies safety. Therein lies faith.
There is always so much to pray for. But would you pray for these kids?
Love,
Rachel
-John Piper
God is even bigger than I thought. Interning has been going on for about two weeks now and our getAHEAD (summer tutoring) program is underway. The first day we had about 24 kids. We picked them up from different apartment complexes and neighboring houses. They were so excited to see their classrooms, meet their teachers, and receive brand-new journals. The oldest class (mine & Jillian’s class) was entirely empty the first day, so we prayed God would bring an older crowd tomorrow. On Thursday we had 49 kids show up! Our cars were running back and forth from the church to the apartments. By the time I got back from picking up the kids on my block, there were 9 twelve-year-olds in my classroom, waiting to listen. Jillian and I had them pass around C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, noting how the reading skills varied dramatically from one student to another. We had them journal about what their secret world would be like if they were to open a magical wardrobe door, like Lucy had in the book. Their answers were amusing, having mainly to do with oceans of money or being reuinted with deceased family and friends—but a girl named Rebecca wrote that she would want to be in a place where she could get away from all of life’s problems and finally get a chance to sort things out with God. I hope God will use me to help her see that she can have God now, in this world.
I’ve never felt so much love and so much frustration. They don’t even know me, yet I feel them grabbing my hands, sitting in my lap, or clinging to me as if I were their mother. At first it’s adorable and flattering until you realize that a healthy child doesn’t latch on to strangers. Miriam reminded us that a healthy child is attached to its family and reluctant to run to an outsider’s arms until a relationship is developed. But these kids don’t have healthy families. Yesterday I met ******’s dad when I dropped her off. He was sitting in front of the television while his three sons (all under the age of 7) ran around the house with dirty clothes on and no supervision. I thought, at least this girl has a father. ***** and ******* have different dads that they never see, and a mother who is the primary drug dealer in their apartment complex. One morning ***** discovered a dead body outside her door. What these two sisters are absorbing at home continues to undo so much of what they hear at this church. God is, of course, able to save to the uttermost those who are perishing. But I will admit that it is hard to send these kids home. It’s hard to think about what they are going home to. Every day Alicia begs me to take her home with me. Sometimes I plague myself with the reasons why, but have to stop because that is forgetting who God is. He is bigger than people’s circumstances, and He saves who He wills. Each of us has seen God save that person who seemed past the point of redemption, the teenager who said they hated God, or the relative who was wholly devoted to a false religion. That same God knows and loves these kids. My love is only a fraction of His love for them. I know I will cry over the hard hearts and the blind eyes. But at the end of the day, I will have to give each child over to His compassionate, gracious, and forgiving arms. Therein lies safety. Therein lies faith.
There is always so much to pray for. But would you pray for these kids?
Love,
Rachel
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