6.19.06

6/19/06

Today was a blast. We started out the day by going to Lutheran Village. I was surprised to see that so many of the people that I bonded with last year were still there. It was nice to be able to visit with all of my old buddies there. We gathered all of the residents up and put them in the chapel for bingo. This was always one of my favorite things last year. Even better, I got to be the caller. It is so much fun to watch how excited the old people get over a game of bingo.

I also took some time today to get to the bank and deposit my first pay checks from Zion and New Hope. That was quite a feeling. While I was there I opened up a money market account and set it to withdraw 200 dollars a month from my checking account. That way I should have plenty of money when it comes time to pay my taxes and such. I was expecting a tough time of it based on my previous experiences at National City, but the process was very painless. Kudos to the people there!

I know that I have said this before, but it bears repeating: the kids that I am working with here are awesome. They are so giving and full of energy. The church is very blessed to have them.

I am not finding quite as much time as I had hoped to do some independent theological reflection. I picked up a lot of stuff this last year that I would really like to take some time to explore. The first thing on this list would have to be Dr. Huffmann’s idea that the new paradigm for ministry is fear and anxiety and how God speaks into that anxiety. He contends that the only one who can make promises about a safe future is the one who holds the future and is drawing the world toward it. I really think that he is onto something with that, but I want to spend some more time wrestling with the issue.

One of the students here, America, led a really great devotion tonight. I’m going to have to get the name of the book that she used. When I get a hold of it, I’ll post the part of it that she used that I really enjoyed.