Busy!

I'm starting to get used to the whole full time job thing, but I have certainly been busy trying to get everything done! This week is Vacation Bible School at Mt. Carmel and I am teaching 6th grade. It has been great getting to know some new kids and also hanging out with the youth who are helping out. There have also been a lot of things to get ready for our high school mission trip to Cincinnati, OH next week.

Nolan has been gone for almost 4 weeks now and I sure do miss him! He's working for Youthworks (a short term mission organization for youth groups) in Charleston, WV. He is very busy, but is able to call me every few days and let me know how it's going. Although I have been really missing him, I am so proud of all the work he is doing! If you want to check out his summer blog, go to http://www.nolanpatouillet.blogspot.com/

On the Move by Bono

As many of you know, I have always had a heart for Africa and have spent countless hours reading and learning more about this continent. I, however, have never been so moved by anything written about Africa as I was when I read "On the Move" by Bono of U2. Not only is Bono one of my all time favorite musical artists, but I admire the work he has done in the name of social justice and the faith he displays. Bono also has a huge heart for Africa and has done so many amazing things as a result!

"On the Move" is a short book which includes his speech from the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC in 2006. The book is filled with amazing photos taken while he travelled in Ethiopia.

I certainly cannot explain to you here the magnitude of some of the statements Bono makes in this speech. In his speech, Bono calls for unity among people of all faiths, and all genders, and all races and sexual preferences to intervene where God is moving, "...The one thing on which we can all agree, among all faiths and ideologies is that God is with the vulnerable and the poor...God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house...God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them..."

One thing I really lke about this speech is that it's not just a guilt trip telling us all the places where we are too selfish or too materialistic or too "american" (although I will be the first to admit that I am all these things sometimes), but it focuses on what has been done, and what is in our power to still do if we seek God's heart and love the things God loves.

Although it's difficult to choose the most powerful line in this speech, for me it was "Stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Get involved in what God is doing--because it's already blessed." When I read this line, I literally had to just stop and sit for a minute.

As a youth leader, and simply as a person, it's so easy to get caught up in making sure I am seeking God's plan, when sometimes all I have to do is look in front of me and see all the ways he is moving in my life and in my relationships and in the world around me.

I know this is a long-winded entry, but I hope you won't take my word for it, but you will check out this book for yourself! (You can get it for $5 at Barnes and Nobles, and even cheaper online!) Thanks for sharing in my passion and in my life and I encourage you to keep looking for God's movement in your life!

Car Wash and Slip n' Slide

This was a weekend full of youth group activities! On Saturday, we had a Car Wash fundraiser and raised $700!! This money will help some of the students go on their mission trip and with activities all summer. This was a really fun day for everyone, except for the harsh sunburn which many of us are still suffering from!

On Sunday, we had a special youth group with a cookout and a slip n' slide. This was so much fun!! Some people were better sliders than others, but everyone enjoyed it.

What a week!

This has been a crazy, but very good week. This was my first week in the office at Mt. Carmel and I absolutely love it! I feel like I am beginning to get caught up on things as well as getting new things accomplished at the church.

In addition to starting the new job this week, it has been quite a week of hockey!! That monday night game was long and amazing! Being in Pittsburgh over the past few months has really reminded me of being a kid back in the early 90's when the Pens went to the Stanley Cup and my parents even took me to see the Cup in person!

Many times throughout the playoffs, I heard this song on the radio, and it often made me feel proud to be a pittsburgh sports fan! So here's to the Pens! Thanks for a great season!!

Full Time at Mt.Carmel!

As of today, I am the full time youth leader at Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church! This is very exciting! It is crazy to think that I am old enough to have a real job and even my own office :-) I have been setting up my office all morning, trying to make it my own. I feel so blessed to be here at Mt. Carmel and to be a part of what God is doing in this place! Yesterday was Confirmation Sunday. I have been working with these 9 seventh graders since March and yesterday they became members of the church. I am so proud of each of them and I really enjoyed getting to know each of them over the past few months (even when they asked great questions that I didn't always know the answers to!!)