Surprises & Lessons
Today was an interesting day... turned out nothing like what I had thought it would be. Deborah & Philip are moving tomorrow, and so I dropped by around noon to see them off as well as to help with any last-minute cleaning up. To make a long story short, the moving company underestimated the space needed to pack all their stuff, and they ended up not being able to fit a whole bunch of things into the van. We spent the afternoon making phone calls and exploring options, in the end soliciting the help of a couple other families to temporarily store the leftover furniture, until I drive up in August to move down and I can move their things up for them at the same time.
Though unexpected, it was a good day. I really enjoyed getting to know the parents that were there, as well as the youth & children milling about. It was one of those hidden graces of God... where I thought I was just going to say bye and to offer a little help, and yet instead I find that God had much bigger plans for me. Getting to talk to parents helped me to build relationships with them, and in turn get to know their kids better. Some of the not-yet-in-youth-group siblings of current students were also there, and between them & their parents, I'm glad I had the chance to start getting to expand my borders to know the people of the church, not just the students in the youth group. And even just how God had me there during the afternoon to be of assistance- having just moved from Chicago myself and having experience in this area- and being around.
We went over to Al Chen's home for dinner, and during dinner I had more opportunities to talk and get to know the adults, learning more about their famlies. The "bonus" blessing was getting to know Aaron, the Chen's youngest son, who is a special needs child, but who is also such an encouragement to me. Already he has a lot of enthusiasm when he sees me... he's very outgoing & very likeable kid. At one point in the evening, he wanted to show me a Carman worship CD (side note: if you know something about the history of Christian music in the late 80s/early 90s, you know that Carman is a hilarious character :P). Anyway, as the first song was playing- Lord I Lift Your Name On High- Aaron was singing along as best he can, and dancing around the room. It was pretty funny, but also incredibly... insightful. Here was a person whom the world considers to have "lower mental capacities" and "not normal"... and yet, he listens to a worship song, and I believe worships perhaps more than those of us who have no physical or mental limitations. I mean, when was the last time, as we were singing to God, that we displayed great enthusiasm, and just wanted to run around the room, arms waving, acting all “silly”, but at the same time be what King David said as being “undignified" as we worship God... where we don't care about what people think when they see us, but unashamedly we worship. Aaron, being a person without the same inhibitions and social "conditioning" as some of the rest of us, is a great example of that, I think.
Oh, and I also ended up inheriting some random food items as well as a bookshelf in the process.
In the end, I didn't get any of my "planned" work done... but building these relationships, learning from others, and serving a family... that "work" is the more important work, and the real task of ministry.
Normalizing...
Returned Sunday from the beach trip. Now finally I get a long stretch here in town, though the pace of things will still be pretty full. There's much to do in terms of prep work for the fall, as well as the weekly responsibilities. This week will be full... Wednesday Bible Study, Friday youth group, and Sunday School.
As far as the ministry update goes: Crossroads went very well... I feel like I received more out of it than I gave, which is always a good sign. It was a great opportunity to get to know the 22 youth who went, and to live, eat, pray, worship with them. It was a good type of tired that I felt at the week's end. The beach trip was a more mixed trip for me personally. Some of it was just my lowered energy level going into it. Getting to know the upperclassmen was a distinctly different experience than getting to know the underclassmen at Crossroads; it is plainly evident that within the one youth group, there are two distinct subsets of students, with different worldviews, different spirituality.
Still, I'm thankful that in the midst of all that activity, I have good friends & healthy boundaries. My living arrangement with Dan has been mutually beneficial, and I'm able to establish healthy boundaries between my service for God and the rest of life that involves simply being a person... resting, playing, reading :)
[Prayer Requests]
- Pray that I will be able to find rest as well as take care of miscellaneous things in the midst of all of the things I have to do
- Pray for continued opportunities to build relationships with youth, parents, and church members.
- Pray specifically for college students and/or young adults who have a burden to serve in the youth ministry, to be shepherds to the youth.
- Pray for planning for the fall semester: curriculum, Sunday School teachers, calendar/scheduling
Quickie
Back from Crossroads Friday
Leaving for beach trip tomorrow till Sunday
First weekend
Friday was my first day, running youth group. Spoke to them on active listening, which they did well.
Today went well, my first Sunday here. Taught half of the Sunday School time, and mostly just said hi to a lot of people and had a lot of people say hi to me.
Tomorrow (er, today I guess), some of us leave for Crossroads camp.
[Prayer Request]
- Safety going to/from Crossroads, as well as there.
- Times for God to meet the youth there & impact lives
- For Eunice and myself to be good facilitators & counselors to the youth.
- Physical strength & stamina
First encounter
Tonight I went to the summer midweek Bible Study where I met up with the youth again for the first time this trip. I spent the past month learning names/faces, so at least I was a little prepared. It was surprising to see 30 youth there, considering the youth group is only about 60 or so.
Good group... I'm going to enjoy getting to know them.
New beginnings
Arrived here in North Carolina yesterday with my car packed with stuff I'd need for this next month. After moving my stuff into the house, Dan & I decided to have an impromptu "potluck" with Joy & Vinny, Sean, and Ed over. That was really encouraging for me to be in the company of old friends; dinner was simple, but we talked & laughed, and it was good. I thank God for community.
Still in the process of settling in; I imagine I won't feel "settled in" until a couple months from now. But it's ok. For now, I have a temporary setup that is familiar enough to provide some semblance of "home."
I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to ease into the goings-on here. Most of the scheduling and planning groundwork has been laid at least for the short term. I'm thankful for Pastor Dick, his leadership and vision. Especially the "vision" part. It's more than just having things planned out and being capable; it's looking ahead, seeing where to lead this church, and dreaming about the possibilities.
[Prayer Requests]:
- This Friday's youth group: lesson prep, getting to know the students.
- Physical strength for next week's Crossroads Youth Camp and the following week's Beach Week trip
- Opportunities (kairos moments, if you know that is) to build relationships with both the youth and the young adults here during those two events.
- The ordinary things surrounding moving to a new place (i.e. moving stuff, setting up bank accounts, not getting lost, etc.)
Andy at RCCC
This is the new account of my beginnings as the youth director of Raleigh Chinese Christian Church
