Tuesday March 13th

Today was a good day. I pretty much did the salad bar again. I enjoy fixing up the salad bar. It's so nice to make it all look very pretty. For dinner we were going to have something called zippy beef. It's basically where you cook beef and noodles together and add sour cream.... so yeah.... didn't sound too good.

So, I chopped cucumbers, carrots, and cauliflower. It was my turn today with the radio. So I turned on Jesus Culture in the Pandora app. Pandora is a service on the iPhone where you can make your own personalized radio. I enjoy listening to music while I prepare and cook. It does make the time seem to go by faster. (speaking of that read below for what we talked about during class session today) While I was in the kitchen, one of the ladies comes up and just hands me ten dollars. I asked her if she wanted me to give this to someone because I haven't loaned out any money. That was the only way I could think that I would receive money for. I don't really have the cash to do that. But instead she smiled and said it's treat money. Treat money is apparently what people use when they have to go out and eat lunch or something. She said usually people spend it at McDonalds or the corner store. But I always eat what they have and if I don't eat what they have then I'm usually not that hungry. I am so happy that God gave me treat money, but I'm not going to spend this money on treats. I'm going to see if I can buy a notebook that way I can properly take notes in class instead of taking them on my iPhone and having to transfer them later.

God does know our needs, even when we don't think we know exactly how we are going to have that need met.

Today's class is about a book called Community and Growth by Jean Vanier. This lady who runs a commune similar to Jesus People but it is for mentally handicapped people and their nurses. I am just starting classes here so they are actually in the middle of the book right now. I hope to catch up later. Today we read about the different soils that people fall on and soil that chokes the life out of them. Neil (the teacher) said that living in a commune you have to have one key ingredient when working and that is love. You will always meet people here that get under your skin or that have differences that you don't particularly  like but you have to show them love and forgiveness. We also talked about making sure that you take time for yourself. 

The funny part in class was when Neil said the way he takes time for himself is a cup of coffee while in the  shower. We all laughed. He said that two things he enjoys is a nice cup of coffee and a shower so why not combine them together and get the day off to a good start. 

Class time was until 3 like usual. Afterwards I went back to the kitchen and I got to cook the vegetarian dinner which was tomatoes, onions and noodles sauted together. 

Later on in the evening, we had something called the community gathering. This is where we worship God and also tell everyone about various projects within the community. They mentioned that the protest was a success. Everyone sang happy birthday to a lady and then we talked about Easter weekend and all the festivities going on. It is going to be a big party with movies, karaoke, games, coffee samplings, big dinners and of course the Good Friday service and Easter Service. They have several churches come and help out with that.

They also talked about in May they will have a dedication for the building across the street. They are going to  have three pastors come and I guess help dedicate it. I'm not sure why it takes three pastors. LOL. 

I was going to hang out with Sasha after the meeting but she didn't feel good

Monday Class Notes

John 19:38-42 38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[e] 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Joseph did this in secret. About 80 pounds of spices. This amount was reserved for someone who was a king. Joseph was a wealthy man and convinced Jesus is a King. Joseph doesn't show up in John until these verses. John is involved in putting out heretical fires in the church.  Why did John make sure to say that there is a new tomb. To say that it wasn't recycled. In Jewish culture, tombs were reused. They would reopen tombs and take out the bones and put another body in there.  There was a theory going around the swoon theory that Jesus really didn't die but fainted. John is trying to prove that Jesus rose from the dead. Another rumor is that when Mary goes to the tomb and there was no one in the tomb that she was at the wrong tomb. Their love for Him is still alive even though their King is "dead". The body would disintegrate within the tomb. A stone would be rolled in front of it. In the narrative we the reader are in on things that the people in the story aren't aware of. 

John 20 a woman finds the tomb. Mary Magdalene. Within the four gospels, we don't know the exact order of events. The guys that wrote these books weren't stupid. They left it the way they experience it or from interviews from people who experienced it. A number of Marys show up at the tomb. Mary Magdalene the woman with a bad reputation, Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary sister of Martha. Mary Magdalene is called the apostle to the apostles because she ran to tell the apostles what she had seen. 

They are in despair because they see that the body is missing. They are possibly thinking the romans took the body or grave robbers. 

John when he sees the tomb is now seeing and believing the identity of Jesus. He believes in the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus raised Lazarus, this should have been a clue. Easter is the moment of the new creation. It is finished. Dark is gone and the sun is shining. 

Kinda slow for a Monday

Today was a really good day. I was in the kitchen and my buddy Seda was in there. Seda is my buddy, she is also the one that helped me get to know everything and showed me around on my first day. So, this morning I helped with the salad bar. I cut up carrots and cucumbers.

Afterwards, a  couple that I have been working with every day since I got here, Zach and Sasha. They let me do the dinner board. What that means is every day we have a board that we put up at lunch time that shows what we will be eating for dinner that night. You have a basket full of markers and you can decorate the board. So it's turkey fried rice. I wrote the words and then I drew (to the best of my ability) a turkey, tomato, pepper, and a bowl with a bag next to it. I hope if people can't read they will figure out what we are eating by the pictures.

We got done before 11 am, so I fixed a cup of hot tea and went to my room.

At 1 pm, there was my class. The class today was about John. It's easy to remember the teacher in this class because his name is....well....John. I will include the notes when I am done for today. John...teaching John...was the only class for today.

After that I was informed by my buddy that if I am in the discipleship classes, I don't have to go back to the kitchen until 4. So I went ahead and went up to my room and relaxed a little while.

At 4, I went down to help in the kitchen. As I was stirring up veggies and rice, I thought about the verse that says "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. John 4:34. At first when I came here, I thought cooking and preparing food wasn't a big deal. Sometimes I feel like I'm not helping people, but in reality I am helping them get fed so that they can feed other people (spiritually and physically).

I ate dinner and helped with line cleanup, The food is served in a buffet style manner. So I had to take the leftovers out and put them in the refrigerator. Sasha and Zach helped me take the salad bar apart and put it up.

This evening has been a really quiet evening. It is really cold outside. I'm going to drink some tea and go to bed.

This week

I decided instead of taking each day and making a post I would make it a big journal. All divided by the time of day.

So, in the morning I go and help out in the kitchen. Wednesday I helped make cornbread. Thursday I helped make Turkey Mancotti or some weird word like that. Friday helped make coleslaw. I enjoyed being able to help out in the kitchen. I work with a different cook every day and also there is another couple that just moved here and they are helping out as well.

Afternoon I have classes from 1 pm to 3 pm. Some of the classes I had was Ephesians, John, new testament, and also a magazine class. The magazine class is basically something we are putting together to hand out not only in this community (Jesus People) but also the community in general. It will have poetry and art and articles about different issues in the community. I might contribute some poetry but I don't know yet if I will be able to. I was barely able to unpack.

We had a class that I won't forget. This was one where we were asked a question. Can you stop sinning once you become a christian?  Many people had different answers. We read a story about a homosexual that was able to change. However even if you put a sin behind you the teacher made the point if you put sin out the door, it is waiting right outside the door for you. So you have to be careful not to let it in again.

Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

We also had a class about the parables in John. The lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son. Two things in common. First is that in each parable something was lost, second is that the person went to extremes to find the thing that was lost the woman who lost the coin, the shepherd who went looking for the sheep and the father who saw the son while he was coming down the road.

At night, the second night I was here I went to the cafe with a few friends that I met and had coffee and played games. Thursday I had ladies bible study. We studied the Armour of God in Ephesians. One lady made an interesting point that the armour does not include back pieces. She said she believes that that is because other believers have your back so you don't need back armour. That night I also went to Target and got a little caboodle to put my bathroom things in. It worked out perfectly.

I also realized I'm not used to the big city. You can walk down the street to a main store. That felt a little awkward at first. The snow was still on the ground and it was sooooo pretty.

Friday was a "slow" day. We were only cooking BBQ and coleslaw in kitchen. My roomate went to bed early and I wandered the halls looking for something to do. I finally found something down the hall, a group of girls were having craft night so I joined in. I didn't make anything though.

Protest

I forgot to mention the first night I was here there was a protest that would be taking place on Wednesday. So we all made signs for the protest.

The reason for the protest is because a lawmaker wants the Salvation Army to stop helping in this neighborhood (which is the poorest neighborhood in Chicago). I got to help the people make signs. Here's one I helped design.

It felt so good even being able to help on my first day here. I also got to meet a lot of people here.You can read more about the protest here http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Hundreds-protest-Cappleman-over-Salvation-Army-fallout/41846.html Also another news article with video http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/03/06/protest-help-outside-ald-cappelmans-office/

The second video shows that our protest was a success. I did not go to the protest, but I did pray for God's will to be done in this situation.

Post from Tuesday

Tuesday when I got here, I got to see lots of snow. The snow looked so pretty. It reminded me of the Christmas song I learned from the remnant. Snow is only falling if it falls for Thee when it falls for Thee and it decorates the trees. I know that this is not Christmas time but I don't think God minds us singing His praises all the time. I was really blessed to even get to the JPUSA building. I thought I was going to be stranded. It ended up that I was the last stop during the snow storm. All the other bus trips were cancelled because of the snow storm. When I got to the building I walked inside and was introduced to a lot of people (I still can't remember everyone's name) and I ate dinner that night (after 24 hours on a bus) and took a shower (wow that felt good to take a shower after so long on a bus).

I got to meet my roommate Sarah, who is very sweet. She and I talked for a little bit and also found out that we have a little bit in common. She was moving her stuff from the bottom bunk to the middle bunk. The bunks in our room contain three beds. So by the time she moved them all, I only had time to move my clothes in.

I fell asleep that night and slept peacefully until 7:00 the next morning. I didn't even hear the traffic down below. I only heard the occasional siren. (There is a hospital down the street and a fire station on the other side)

Post from Monday Night

This is an old post that I wrote on the bus trip to JPUSA.


So I am leaving Atlanta heading to Chicago. I had a tearful goodbye, but I know I'm in good hands.

I say this because I feel so much peace right now. I surprised myself actually. I'm going to miss it here in the South. I was watching the Weather Channel while in the Atlanta terminal. They said that Chicago is actually expecting 8-12 inches of snow. I'm excited because I've never seen snow like that. I've only seen snow flurries. A friend of mine says that I will be calling her and telling her I wanna come back to the South. I don't think so. I really want to help and serve people. Matthew 23:40. I want to help people and get away from doing what I want. I have found that we live in a me world. When a baby learns to talk the first thing they learn to say is mine that's mine. They pitch fits in daycare (I worked in one before) saying that toy is mine when they know the other child brought it for show and tell.

Well It's hard to believe that tomorrow afternoon I will be in Chicago. I was thinking recently if there were any songs about Chicago. haha. I don't know any.

I wanted to leave you all with a song that is totally in my mind and heart right now. Even though the name of the song is Welcome to Delaware I believe that as of tonight when I ride past Tennessee I will be stepping out of my comfort zone. Like I said I feel total peace about it right now. Thank you Lord. All Praise and honor and glory to You.

All I really have here now is You Lord

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYYXmzc-qlU&playnext=1&list=PLU5ZrYtbE_qNQkgjBadkZJj8WyXIlAWb-&feature=results_video