A good reminder.

"You remind me of a guy I went to high school with!"

"Is it because I'm goth?" 

"No, it's just that your face that looks like his."

"Oh. Well I am goth and it's completely different from punk. We're like two different gangs. Punks are rude." This was my first interaction this week with the self-proclaiming goth freshmen who went by the pseudo name "Oliver." As our conversation continued we discussed his love of roleplay, manga, anything goth related, and how he really wanted to eat some beignets. After telling him that we go to the French Quarter on Monday the next thing I knew we were planning on getting beignets and cafe au lait together. He seemed to have a lot to talk about for being the guy who sat in a corner next to his quiet friend, who was engrossed in drawing a sci-fi looking ship. Out of 63 students--17 of them actually attend the youth group--I immediately spotted the loners in the mix. These guys seem to remind me of myself and my friends in high school. 

After leading Club that night we debriefed at staff meeting where I learned that Oliver was considered the "problem" teen and had already broken the strings on one of our guitars. That was when I knew God had led me in some way to talk with Oliver. Out of 63 people I felt like I could connect and get to know the one who was already causing trouble. Due to this knowledge I made it my priority to get to know him which led me to visit the service site he was attending today. 

At this service site they were split up with different age groups and asked to get to know the kids at the site. Oliver and his artist friend volunteered to work with the "high school group" which was 12-14 here; Oliver assured me it would be a good match for him. After a few minutes of checking on the other groups I went and checked on the high school group. Oliver was surrounded by a group of guys, had a huge smile on his face, and was sharing his story with them. 

As it turns out, Oliver has asbergers and told us that he's often negative and does not like people. However, he found his niche at this service site. He found he could share his story with the young kids there and that they could really relate. We learned that this troublesome youth has a lot to him and I am excited for the conversations we will have over beignets. 

Today I was reminded why I feel a call to work with teenagers. It's teens like Oliver who remind me of my passion. It's to the loners that I want to share the good news that they are loved and that they matter. I am thankful for Oliver coming into my life for this week to remind me that people still need to hear that hope and they still need to be able to share their stories. 

Will you tell your stories? 

Unity in the Spirit

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ...in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

    and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

    and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

    in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

        and they shall prophesy 

(New Revised Standard Version. Acts 2:1-8, 11B-18.)

"When there is unity God is present." These were the words preached on this past Pentecost Sunday at Grace Evangelical Lutheran church in the beautiful city of New Orleans. I have found that his sermon has really spoken true to the YouthWorks mission. 

Later that day three different groups of multiple denominations arrived at our church ready to serve together this week. From the first hour on site these groups did an excellent job at intermingling with one another and not differentiating between whose denomination was better. They were all getting to know each other and learning about who would be serving alongside them. It was unity that brought them together.

That night three of our team mates performed our first Youth Orientation of the summer and it was a success but, ended way too early. We had an hour to spare before our next activity so immediately we led them in multiple group activities. After about an hour we were able to start Club, our evening service. There were only minor mistakes and all were one's that were able to be fixed. It was unity of my team that allowed all to go well. 

This morning I rode off with an Evangelical Free and United Methodist church ready to serve at Arc Nola--a nonprofit that sorts and sells recycled Mardi Gras beads and provides jobs for the mentally disabled. It was a beautiful sight seeing the daughters and sons of God working together alongside the employees despite what their backgrounds and doctrines may have been. I was blessed to work alongside Eric and Peter, two of the employees with disabilities. I learned all about their lives and was even taught how to dance to the song Wobble. Everyone had their own part to play in the sorting and everyone used their abilities in various ways. It was unity that allowed this mundane job to be one that flourished. 

God's Spirit empowers us to work together in unity. Scripture says when two or more are gathered then God will be present. When we are willing to allow our diverse gifts to be used then the Spirit moves and we became aware of the Spirit's presence. I am learning we need to allow room for our daughters to prophecy. We need to allow room for our sons to prophecy. We need to build each other up as equal partners to be unified in our diversity. Our God is a God of Unity in Diversity and I am thankful of that.

These are simply my thoughts from the dust during this day after Pentecost Sunday in our first programmatic week of YouthWorks. I hope to periodically update how my summer is going and what the Lord is teaching me in that. May the words of my mouth and meditations of my life be pleasing to our Lord. 

My prayer is that God will continue to breathe His pneuma, ruach, spirit into us and empower us into unity. 

New Orleans: City of Culture and Food

"Ya'll need to try the beignet's and coffee."

This is the typical response we have received when we have asked locals what they would recommend for us to try as we attempt to navigate the culture of the beautiful city of New Orleans. My team and I--Janie Lynne, Rebekah, and Matt--all arrive here about a week ago after a week long training in Birmingham, AL. We had a 5 1/2 hour drive here where we focused on getting to know each other individually. Throughout our training week we were given times to get to know each other, however, we were also trying to get to know our area and others we had met that week. It was an interesting week of trying to find the balance of hanging out with my team from last year and getting to know this new team. I was finding that I often was comparing both teams subconsciously. As we drove through Alabama, Mississippi, and finally Louisiana I began the process of letting go of comparisons to allow myself a 'blank slate' summer. There are times where I will still compare but, for the most part I can tell that we are a very different team compared to last year. We are a great team with very similar and very diverse personalities. We all balance each other out and create a really good dynamic. I am ecstatic to grow closer to this team through the trials and adventures that await us.

We have spent this week preparing the church site for participants to arrive, exploring the city, and truly experiencing Southern Hospitality. We have attended BBQ's, dinners at local restaurants, and have even been invited over to houses that are over 150 years old! From very early on in the week we have seen the European influence here in New Orleans, especially how they view time. Everyone seems to be functioning on event time and are very relationship oriented. Another cultural element I have noticed is how big the food is here! There are all kinds of different foods here especially Cajun, Creole, and French foods. There is one delicacy that I have been especially fond of which is called a "po-boy" or "poor boy." A "po-boy" is like a  sub sandwich but you can order anything on it. New Orleans also has many different "snowball" stores that sell their own version of snow cones, however, you cannot ever call them 'snow cones' because "snow balls" are much better according to true New Orleans.

Other than experiencing the culture here we have been privileged with the opportunity to visit the Lower 9th Ward and Brad Pitt's "Make it Right Campaign." We were able to see the levee that broke during Hurricane Katrina and every Tuesday night I will be explaining to 60 plus teenagers how the "Make it Right Campaign" created gentrification in the Lower 9th Ward--the most impoverished area in New Orleans--and how even though Pitt had good intentions he did not necessarily help those who needed it most. It has been fascinating getting different perspectives from the locals on the effects of Katrina and even New Orleans pre-Katrina. I still have much to learn from New Orleans about all that happened and about the surrounding culture; I am excited to adventure farther into the summer with an open mind eager to learn.

These are my thoughts from week 1 in New Orleans--week 2 for YouthWorks this summer--and I am ready to see what God has in store for my team and I! Hopefully within the coming weeks I will be sharing about the stories that God writes with us. Here's to a great summer serving as missionaries in the beautiful city of New Orleans!