u2ube

So a lot has happened this past month-ish. Some really shitty things and some really great things. It's been busy, and there has not been much time to write. But here I am with some time... so let's focus on the great things that have happened.

Well most recently I have become a full-time employee of Tyndale as a Seminary Admissions Counsellor. Yay for full-time money! It's going well so far. Lot's to learn, but it'll be good. I'm going to be a recruiting machine.. I just know it! :) Last week, my first week, was a little, or a lot crazy, but now I'm getting more into the role and getting some real sleep at night.

Now that I've had time to sit back and relax (being sick will force you to do so), I had time to re-visit my wonderful experience with U2 in September. Yes that was a while ago, and I did mean to share about it back then, but youtube is a wonderful thing, especially when it airs live U2 shows! boom baby! So I didn't actually watch it live... it was past my bedtime... but I did get to watch the whole thing today, and it was wonderful. Let me briefly tell you of my U2 concert experience back in Sept.

Though the show didn't start until 7:30.. and U2 didn't even go on stage until 9pm, our day started much earlier. I dragged Chris (bless his soul) down to the Skydome at 2pm. And we waited in line.. for a very long time. In total, waiting and concerting, we stood for a good 9 hours. ouch. Anyways, it was well worth the wait, as it always is... :) We got so freaking close! We had one row of people in between us and the outer circle (you can check it out on u2ube for yourself). I got some stellar pictures if I may say so.

There were many memorable moments of the concert, but this by far was my favorite. It was the moment when they began to sing Amazing Grace. I'd say it was quite a worshipful moment. And all of a sudden they began to play Where the Streets Have No Name... by far one of the best songs written of all time.. not just by u2. Just saying. In the moment I felt like I would either puke all over the person in front of me or my heart was going to jump out of my skin.. I was so stoked! It was so incredibly wonderful! And I was reminded of this moment tonight as I watched it again online... though its way more awesome when your actually there.. when the beat is pumping through your body. So great!

That's it for now. I could say more. But I will let you watch and see for yourself the awesomeness that is u2.

Goodbye Friend

I never thought that it would end this way.
I never thought that Wednesday night would be the last time I would talk with you.
But thank you for reaching out to ask for prayer and support.
It was good to be there to support you and lift you up in prayer whenever you needed it.
And thank you for always being there for me when I needed prayer or to vent.
I'm really going to miss our chats.

I want to remember the good times we had together.
To remember the times when we laughed together.
How you told ridiculous stories that made me laugh so hard that I would cry.
The memories I have of you are beautiful and I will never forget you.

You were full of joy and of life.
You were always there to be an encouragement when I needed it.
I just wish that I could have just been there for you that one step closer.
It makes my heart ache that you had to go through this alone.
I knew you were having a rough go at things, but never even fathomed that your heart was in so much pain that you would take your own life.
I just hope that you knew that you are loved and would be deeply missed by an uncountable number of people.
You left a legacy.

A huge community has taken a hard hit because of all of this.
But we'll get through it together.
We'll get through it with the strength and grace from our loving Father.
It's the only way.
Because without Christ working in our hearts, this is just too hard to deal with.

We sang a song the other night as we gathered as a community to mourn and pray.
It filled my heart with hope and peace, in the midst of the pain and heartache that I am going through.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

So now as I and the rest of the community mourns the loss of our dear friend, we will stand strong in the arms of Christ.
As we are filled with sorrow, anger, frustration, guilt, and pain, we will stand together in prayer.
We will move forward in the strength of our Lord, not on our own strength, because really, we have none left.
May Christ be glorified.

As we move forward, and as we continue to grieve and ask questions, this affected community needs to hear in our hearts the words of the Psalmist:

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

Psalm 46:1-3

You are incredibly missed.
Dave, I'm at peace knowing that you are now at rest and free from the burdens of this world in the peace and love of our good and loving God.
See you in heaven buddy,
We'll catch up then.

George, Ewan, Jenny, and Me

So today I just happend to be shmoozing with the stars, and touched George Clooney's hand and got his autograph. No bigs... :)

It all started when Jenny and I got together for the afternoon downtown to walk around aimlessly. We said a few days ago, jokingly, that we could go around the downtown core and go on scavenger hunt for famous people, well did we ever hint the jackpot of all scavenger hunts! First, we had a nice time together: good drinks in an empty cafe, awesome brownies at the st. lawrence market, perusing through mec, and then a wander to Roy Thompson Hall. We didn't plan on going to the red carpet event... for we didn't know it was happening. There was a big crowd, and we were intrigued. We walked up to the crowd, and all very pretty silent. What was going on? We eventually asked a nice man there who everyone was waiting for. And to our delight, Ewan McGregor and George Clooney would be gracing out presence in about an hour or two. Well Jenny and I thought, 'let's stay and see who we can see'. About 45 minutes later Ewan came by and then 1/2 hour after that the one and only George. It was wonderful. Jenny and I ran all around to get the best shots and maybe an autograph. We got awesome shots. We got so close. We got autographs. And our hand met George's.

What a wonderful day.


P.S. You can read about jenny's account of the day at elementarymydearwatson.wordpress.com

funny adventures at adventure camp

Here are some funny moments brought to you from my days liaisoning for the LITs at Adventure camp.

The first funny moment occurred yesterday as I ate dinner with the discovery kids (the youngest age group at camp). I sat next to a little boy, Elliot (some of you may know him), and as we waited to be served dinner, Elliot decided that he would turn into a giant whale that was going to eat me (with his arms acting as the whales mouth). All was fine. Ha ha, I'm getting eaten by a whale, a moment for a particular bible story to be shared, but he didn't care about Jonah... Anyways, I learned as I was being eaten by Elliot the whale, that whales have SHARP teeth! Yes..... Elliot bit my arm. omg. And the proceeded to begin pinching me as well... I never knew whales had sharp teeth and pinchy little nails. Ouch!

Funny story number two comes to us as I lifeguarded free swim time at AC. I was guarding the iceburg (a big blow up climbing device in the water) from a paddle-type boat. This one boy (maybe 7 years old) climbs to the top after having a difficult time getting there, and once at the very top he announced loudly and in a panic that he needs to pee right then and there. Okay... you would think that the easiest solution would be to slide down the iceburg and just pee in the lake... not so. I tried to get the kid to do slide down and either pee in the lake or run to the washroom, but he wasn't having any of it, apparently he wanted to majically apprear in a washroom... well we eventually got him to slide down and get onto the dock. But because his counselor (LIT actually) had to wait for the othe boys to get out too before he could take this boy to the washroom, the counselor suggested, along with my support, to just jump back in and pee in the lake. Well this kid thought that peeing in the lake was a dreadful sin. These are the words that came out of his mouth. "If we love God, then why would I ever pee in the lake?!" heehee. So cute and funny. He'll be quite the environmentalist when he grows up if he thinks its a sin to pee in the lake. The LIT that was with him tried to explain that God probably doesn't care, but this kid was not going to have any of it. He then said "so what you want me to do is pee my pants in the lake?". At this point I encouraged the LIT to hurry up and run this kid to the washroom. It looked like this little boy didn't have too much strength left to hold it in as we have a theological discussion about peeing in the lake. But this is what the LIT said to the boy, "I'm sure God doesn't like it when we pee in lakes, but He loves us anyways". hmmm.. What a line.

Adventure camp is a funny place to be. I'm looking forward to more humorous moments over the next week!

sick and tired, but still moving forward

(this is my awesome small group! such a great bunch)

As I lay on my bed, trying to get over this cold, I think about where I have just come from and where I am going. I've just come out of a great, yet challenging session at LIT. The session began with me not feeling like I had the drive or passion to give my all for the program. It took a lot of surrender for me to fully allow myself to be used at camp and in the LITs lives, but I got over it. And once I did, the relationships that I was able to develop with some of my LITs was awesome. I'm so excited to see what God will do in their lives if they are simply willing to offer their lives over to Him. Though these were really good relationships and that there were really fruitful conversations that took place, it was very very draining. I really felt like I actually gave all that was within me to these LITs. While I was in the moment, I questioned God if my efforts were worth it or if there was even any point, but I kept on going, and in the end, I think that it was all worth it.

So I ended a session at LIT feeling drained, yet encouraged, but now I enter a new session and a new role. Once again, I find my self seeking for a passion to drive me forward as I continue to serve here at camp, specifically as I now enter a new position which is completely different than what I have done at camp previously. It does not help that I am sick entering into this new session, but I also am finding that I don't have the energy or desire to put the effort into developing new relationships with a new staff and new LITs. I know that this will pass, but it is just easier to hang out with those you have an existing relationship with.

At any rate, I continue on because I know that the ministry of LIT is vitally important to these teens lives. It is not by my own strength that I continue on, because really I have none left, but it is by the Lord's strength that I am able to continue on and serve. It's sort of freeing to know that you have nothing left, but that God will still be able to do great things through this weak little body if I surrender it to him. So as I prepare and rest for my role to begin in a few days, I will wait here patiently, be still, and know that He is God.

grace and a monologue

Even though this is the fifth time that I have been working with the LIT program at camp, there are some things that never grow old. Sitting through teachings of creation and the fall year after year, some might think that this would not be so interesting anymore. But each time it is new once again. Specifically the FICS (faithfully improvising the Christian story) session on the Fall.

This is a session that hurts to sit through, but each time I do, God speaks in a new way. It is hard to even begin to think of the pain that you and I have inflicted upon one another, all of creation, and God himself. One of the great tools that FICS uses to demonstrate this, but to also show God's incredible grace, is the music video by Johnny Cash, Hurt. It is a picture of the pain and suffering that he has caused throughout his life, but there are quick images of Christ being nailed to the cross interspersed with the images of his life. Even though he has caused all this pain, and has not always put Christ at the centre, Christ was still crucified for all of us. Following this video up with the song How Deep the Fathers Love For Us, creates for a genuinely powerful, yet humbling experience.

In other reflections from recent times at camp, I have just recently (about an hour ago) just finished presenting a four page monologue from memory. I've never done anything like it before. It is a monologue presented from an angels point of view. Done on the FICS day of Jesus and the cross. The angel spoke of what God has done through Christ for us as humans. It was quite intimidating to learn and to memorize, but it was well worth it. I spent every moment of my hours off in the last week to memorize it. And as I did, God has done a good work in me as I have made these words real in my own life. It was not just a preformance, but it was a transformational experience. It was well worth the time spend memorizing. But I m now overjoyed to have my life back again and have my hours off not be spent memorizing!

here we are again

Camp is the best. We are here now!

As I write this, I am sitting on my bed at camp, all bundled up, yet still freezing. I wish July at camp would be a warmer time, but nonetheless, it remains to be the best place to be.

We are in LIT precamp right now, and it's pretty chillaxed. It seems as if it's going to be a good team of staff to serve with this summer. On saturday night all the sites at OPC had a commissioning service together. It was a great night to get focused and in the right mind set to start serving at camp. Seek first the kingdom of God. That was a major point of this service. And that is what we have got to do specifically when working at camp or in any ministry if we really want to make it through in one piece. But really, it is a necessity throughout all of life. I think that sometimes we can forget about this in out day to day life, or at least this is not the focus for us when we're back in the city living normal life. But when we're at camp specifically, to seek the kingdom of God first and to put our complete trust in him, seems to be significantly needed, wanted, and really is the only way we will be able to love and serve those in our care.

But why does it seem like seeking the kingdom of God first is easier when you're in fulltime, intensive, and draining ministry? Why is this not more of a focus when you're at home, writing papers, going to a desk job, etc? it should be. Maybe you're just ahead of me on this one, but this is a situation I am finding myself in. When I'm in a really intentional ministry situation, it seems so easy and natural to seek first the kingdom and to have the Lord as your central focus, but when I'm just at home living everyday life, it seems to be more of a push to do this. Or at least more of a push to see the need in seeking first the kingdom. It's just easier at home to live and serve on my own strength (which will most definitely fail eventually!)

These are just a few thoughts floating through my mind these past few days. It's not that I don't seek the kingdom at home, more the opposite, but my thought is that it is much more defined and specific at camp. It would be quite difficult or even impossible to keep up the strength, love, endurance, and grace needed to serve in a camp context and at the pace that it goes at, throughout the whole year(s), but camp is such a special place where God works in amazing ways in the lives of these campers and LITs. It is a privilege to serve and love these LITs, and I am really excited to see what God is going to do in their lives this summer, and how he is going to continue to transform them for the rest of their lives. Our LITs don't arrive at camp until Thursday, but I'm really excited to meet them and start this program!

I'll continue to write updates and post photos from camp as I take them.

Peace.