Wow, last week. I am totally amazed at how fast this summer has gone.

I emailed L.B. about whether I needed to have been keeping a journal. He emailed me back and said that I needed one. So I'm sitting down with my schedule and trying to come up with a journal. It's actually not too hard. If I wrack my brain enough, I can remember what I did and what I thought about what I was doing.

Today's projects are: duplicating Kids Camp DVDs, working on that journal, taping letters up on the beam for the Spanish version of Heb. 13:8, setting up for Youth Group tonight, and getting to run sound for the last time in there.

Then tomorrow I paint. I paint alot.

I don't know what Friday will bring, but Sunday is my last day at the church.

The plan is that I will pack on Monday, go to dinner with the J's and go to bed really early. I'll then wake up 1amish and try to leave by 2. I want to arrived in Eugene with enough hours to talk to the apartment people, run to the police station and get the background check going, and to meet up with Reece whenever he gets back into town that day. I really want to start moving in by that weekend, but who knows what'll happen... Prayer would be appreciated.

List of things to do before leaving:

- Write Thank You to J's
- Write Thank You to the Church
- Clean out Car
- buy a gas lid
- Meet up with Heidi
- download some soundclick music
- Finish Journal
- Write 6-8 page evaluation paper
- put in orders for as many textbooks as I can

I was bored so I created a quiz about me. See how well you do.

I made a Quiz for you! Take my Quiz! and then Check out the Scoreboard!

My 'new' Car

My 'new' Car
Originally uploaded by jcforgod.

I was thinking about what I could do for a new blog and I realized I hadn't posted a picture of the car that replaced my Mercury. Here is the 1991 Honda Civic that I've been driving around for awhile. I have come to realize, though, that I don't like white at all. So I had an idea. In keeping with the ducttape theme of my life, what if I covered it in ducttape? It'd be unique. What do you think?

In other news... I just finished up a week of dishwashing and food prep. There was a church planters seminar and I got to help behind the scenes. I sat in on one session, but the format was more interactive and not being one of the team made it had to get anything out of the sessions. It was good to connect at meal times with these people.

There was a couple from Bend who are going to plant in Baker City. I got to talk to them and their coach a bit. Also a couple who are going to plant north of here and another couple who are planting in a small town east of here. It was good to hear their stories and their hearts. It was also good to get connections. Who knows, maybe in a year I might be working with one of these couples?

I also got to spend Friday painting. Molly and I put the "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever..." verse up on the beam in the youth wing. It looks pretty cool. There's talk about putting it in Spanish on the other side this week, so I'll probably be painting again.

This is my last week of internship. It amazes me that it's almost over. I've learned a lot and it's going to be interesting to see how that effects the rest of the year.

I definitely feel at home here and if God calls me back to Everett, I won't complain. It's been really good.

Well, I'm going to go vacuum now.

This police background check thing is turning into a pain. I have a link for washington's service, but after looking at it, I realized that it was just for washington state and I haven't lived in washington for five years. So I've been calling around the Oregon police departments - they don't have an online service. The process with them is going into the office, getting fingerprints, and then it'll take 7-10 business days to process. *growls* I'm just hoping that Woodland Creek will work with us and hold the apartment while the background check is on its way. The Assistant Manager seemed to think it'd be a simple thing, but it's not looking that way... Unless he's just thinking about Eugene's records... Hmmm... Well, we just have to pray that everything will work out when we get down there. I don't like being last minute on this...

I'm at least going to try and get the application in beforehand.

Bible in the sunset

Bible in the sunset
Originally uploaded by jcforgod.

Last night I went to the water and took some sunset pictures. There's also a couple of tree pictures from last week.

In other news, it is looking much more promising that we're going to get into Woodland Creek Apartments. There will have to be a lot of connections and paperwork done, but I've been praying about this and I think it'll work out. I've changed my return date to the 6th so that Reece and I will be in Eugene the same day. That'll make it a lot easier. Hopefully I'll be able to move in on the 7th or 8th. I'm hoping I can find a pickup to borrow in order to move.

This week I get to be a dishwasher. The church is hosting a Church Planter Intensive seminar and I get to help the caterer. I'll also get to sit in the sessions. So yeah, I'm busy, but happy.

I have this week and the next and then I'll be done. Hard to believe the summer is almost over and it'll be time to hit the books and study. I've made some good friends up here and I will miss them. Hopefully I'll be able to visit once in awhile.

Well, It's time to eat, make a phone call, and then go get a background check.

Impressions

..crowds of kids excited for camp..adults sending their young ones away for the week..sweat dripping from my brow as I help pack the bus..bus ride of noise..

..silver lake camp..unloading bus..helping with games..filling water jugs..being a gopher..sliding into Yuck..jumping into the lake..making hemp bracelets..tye-dying t-shirts and socks..stirring 20 gallons of oatmeal..avoiding food fight..five hours of sleep a night..watching the mohawks multiply..avoiding getting a mohawk..

..worship..kids with their hands in the air..the Holy Spirit meeting us..praying for Max..getting advice from Kenan..watching kids get broken before God..listening to messages about transformation..

..watching the leaders and their love and passion for these kids..developing that love and passion as well..having kids look up to you and wanting you to pray for them is an amazing feeling..

..Jacob..Nathan..Max..Aaron..Caleb..Riley..Miranda..
..Alyse..Melanie..Tanner..

Reflection on window

Reflection on window
Originally uploaded by jcforgod.

Well, I'm off tomorrow to Junior High Camp. I'm a bit nervous just 'cause I haven't been to camp in a long time, but also that I'm a runner and will be working my tail off. I'll be exhausted by the end of the week. Pray that I'll be able to make an impact on somebody's life, that I'll be able to help bring them closer to God.
Check out my Flickr. I have quite a few new pictures up.
Oh and tomorrow is Melissa's BD! Happy 19th!!
Have a great week and I'll be back online and writing next Sunday.

Okay, I need to post something about this weekend... I think I'll do it by topic...

• Driving a Stick-Shift Car - Starting out on Thursday, I had about three hours or less of driving time in my new car. I was a little nervous, but I knew that I would get the experience fast on a 6 hour trip. Yep, I was right. I must have stalled out 20-30 times. I got into Eugene and did not want to drive any longer. My nerves were shot! So that night and the next two days my friend Ryan got to help me out. Then I drove a lot more and by the time I got back up here in Everett, I was pretty comfortable with the car. That's not to say that I don't stall out or jerk around, but I'm getting better.



• Bachelor Party - I probably shouldn't say much about this, except that it was fun. Just think ducttape, blindfold, and graveyard. *grins* No worries, we didn't do bodily harm to Jason...



• Apartment Hunting - Yes, Friday Josh, Brittany, Ryan and I went looking at apartments. For those of you that didn't know, Josh, another guy - Reece, and I are planning on rooming together next year. It was interesting, we went to three places that I had found on forrent.com and talked to them about getting a 3 bedroom apartment. One would be incredibly expensive (huge deposit and lots of paperwork) and the other two didn't have any three-bedrooms open. So, we're kinda up in the air about that. Especially since Josh and I don't have any credit history. Josh is possibly going to live at his dad's this year so that he can save up money for his wedding in June. So that would help things as far as Reece and I finding an apartment. (Josh, if you read this, remember, I'm totally okay with either decision you make). Reece doesn't return from Malaysia until the first week of September and I don't get back in town until the 8th. It's going to be interesting to see how the apartment hunting goes in the middle of everyone else looking for a place.



• Jason's Wedding and Reception - This was a blast! I wasn't in the ceremony, but I did hang out with those that were. Got to see a few people that I hadn't connected with in a long time, such as Brian. Anyways, the ceremony went really quick in comparison with the other two weddings I've been to this year. The pastor didn't even give a sermonette. I think Jason and Michelle just wanted this to be done with. Right before the ceremony I went out and "decorated" Jason's car. I also filled the back seat with balloons. What's funny is that I got a compliment on it from the bride herself... Heh. We then went to the reception out at her church. That was a lot of fun 'cause I got to socialize with three couples from school. It was a time for reconnecting and fun. One of those couples is getting married in a couple of weeks and they really want me to be there. I'm looking at the price of gas (2.75) and thinking that it probably won't happen. I could get down there before they have the ceremony 'cause it's an evening wedding if I really wanted to spend the money. Oh well, that's still in a couple of weeks.



• Christ Fellowship - I went to Christ Fellowship for church. Wow, it really felt like I was home. Everyone was really glad to see me and hugged me and talked to me. Service was excellent, all about forgivness and how much God forgives us. Forgiving when you've been let down. It really made me think.



• CF College/Career Group - What was cool is that I get the update emails from CCG and I read about this picnic they were going to have. Lo and behold, it's the same weekend I'm there. So I spent all Sunday afternoon at Emerald Park. I don't play volleyball (certain experience back in the day dealing with a popped out shoulder makes me leary of that activity), so I played some games, ate food, talked, tossed around a frizbee and generally had a great time. Then a group of us went over to Jason and Kristen's and we talked, goofed off, played a game and again, had a great time! I went back to Jack and Lisa's for the night and then left the next morning.



• Heidi - Heidi called me while I was on the road and she told me that today (Monday) was her day off. I mentally did a break down of all the days this week and Monday was the only day I could get together with her. So we hung out in Edmonds. There's this sweet antique mall that we spent time in - looking at all the old stuff, finding old books that were way out of my price range. Then we found this cool little woodcraft store. Most of it was exotic wood imported from Indonesia. Cinnamon wood - a table made out of cinnamon and teaque (sp)! It was a great design too, all curvy and the chairs were curvy too - for a space saver. If the price tag wasn't over two thousand, I would get that table... *grins* Then we went to the mall and had Orange Julius. All in all, a good time meeting with an RIer.



• Future thoughts - Just under a month until I return to Eugene and start preparing for my last year of school. It's an interesting thought that the four years I knew exactly where I was going to be are coming to an end. I still have no clue what I'll do afterwards. I'm very tempted to stay in Eugene, get a job to pay off loans, and minister in the church I'm in right now. *shrugs* We shall see, we shall see. There's a lot that could happen between now and graduation. Who knows, I could be an associate somewhere, or planting a church, or something along those lines.

Copied from my brother's (David) weblog. It applies to me as well.

Could you all start interceeding in prayer for my family? Satan has been pounding us a lot the last couple of weeks. My brother got into a car accident and had to get a new car, Suday I did the same. Though I should be able to get my car fixed enough so that it just looks bad. Plus, yesterday, Dad and I were bumped from behind in the van... Also, the loans for my college have been taking forever. We have been trying to get them for a month or more and they keep having use refax stuff. It is really annoying.

Also, pray for our church here [Madras]. A lot of our members have been having problems too, especially bad backs... Three of our men have bad backs right now and can't work well.

Thanks.

On a different tone, this is actually kind of exciting. Because when Satan attacks so obviously, it means he is scared. :D So God must be doing something big!

Also pray for me this weekend. My new car is a stick and I don't have much practice drivng it... and I'm heading down to Eugene tomorrow. I realy hope I l\get more practice.