Redux: restored, brought back, revisited. As we begin this new year of 2011, that is what has happened: the beginning has been revisited. The cycle has begun anew as we count down towards the next year. As always, you can learn from the past to help you in the present and future. As such, this post will consist of the top moments I can remember in my life from the past year, in no particular order (though you may find that some of them are listed chronologically as per my natural tendency), excluding those things which have yet to be finished.
First off, my graduation from Cornerstone: School of Ministry. From fall 2009 to spring 2010 I studied under some wonderful people in the faith in a small building located on my church's beautiful property in Corvallis. I can recall 25 students who either graduated at the end of the school year, or left as God called them elsewhere, not counting the many people who came to classes part time to learn in areas where they felt God's call. The whole school body was amazing and I appreciate every one of them. I learned a lot about myself, God and Christianity as a whole, while being built up through the fellowship of my friends. Through it, God showed me where to go next, and possibly where I might stay for quite awhile: children's ministry. Lots of thanks to Alyssa Blythe, Amy Knight, Jessica Erhardt, Marvin Watts and Tim Vreeland, the members of my house group; Ben Lyon, Jeremy Bible, Jordan Gerding and Tom Cox, the members of my small group; Andrew Garver, Kene Panas, and Bill Vreeland, good friends who helped with various things: You all made a difference in my life, whether you realize it or not. Thank you for not giving up!
The summer of 2010 marked my 6th year of volunteering with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), my 5th year as a Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) student, and my 2nd year serving as Summer Missionary with my local CEF chapter. I have learned a lot through working with CEF and it has changed how I viewed ministry starting back when I was 14. Special thanks to Karis Monroe, my Open-Air partner; Elise Andersen, my Team Trainer; Joseph Mansanti, Angela Kirschner and Hope Schmeltzer, my fellow members of Team #6 (The most awesome team ever!); and the many faces of the worship team: All of you guys & girls rock!
In fall 2010 I began working with CEF as a Ministry Intern. Basically, I work part time and help out with any office work, computer work or various other things that need doing. As well, I help teach at two classes: A Released-time class Mondays for the Philomath Middle School, and an After School Good News Club Thursdays at Franklin Elementary in Corvallis. The work is awesome, as it combines my two favorite things to do: work with computers and teach kids. The goal of my Internship is to: 1. train me to be a better teacher & 2. raise the needed money to pay for me to take a course at Children's Ministries Institute (CMI), which is located at CEF HQ in Warrenton, Missouri.
To top everything off, we have the surprise New Years's Eve party thrown for my best friend, Andrew Bullock. After some 3 weeks of talk over what to do, the day arrived and the plan went into motion. Andrew's girlfriend, Jo, would accompany him to the store to pick up the pizza for the party attendees (which he believed was going to be just his family and Jo). While they did that, my brother and I would arrive, deposit the multiple 2-liters of soda on the table and await Andrew's return in his bedroom. This was all done, and Justin and I waited patiently for the cue from Andrew's mother. He returned, dropped off the pizza, and was told that he needed to put his coat away in his bedroom before they could proceed with the eating of said pizzas. He opened the door to his room, turned on the light, saw Justin and I standing there...and exploded. (In a good, overjoyed Andrew sort of way. You really had to be there to get the full reaction.) The night continued, full of pizza, soda, Halo, Inception and pure awesome. I do have to say that so far, that was the best New Year's Eve I have had. If that ends up being the last time I see Andrew before he leaves for CMI in a few weeks, I'm confident that was the most awesome send-off we could have mustered.
So there you have it, the top moments I had during the last year. Now that it is 2011, I look forward to continuing my work with CEF, my time at CMI and maybe, just maybe, finding out what lies behind that stained glass door I mentioned so many posts ago. Happy New Year and Godspeed!
PS. If you're lost of any of this, chances are I mentioned in my previous posts so look there first. If you still can't seem to find the path you were looking for, leave a comment and I'll try and clear up whatever may be causing your lost-ness. (No, lost-ness is not a word...)
