Pictures

Awesome pastor to be, and his wife.  Just graduated from the PM program at Hesston.  We miss you guys!

Sled riding the big man made hill at Hesston.

Crazy fun place.

Piling on the fun with the cousins.

It looks like they are ready to sleep, but looks are deceiving.  I don't think anybody actually slept in these locations by the time they fell asleep.

Sermon from Sunday

I was given the humble opportunity to preach a sermon on Sunday at Hope Community Church in Mt. Eaton.  This is the church that Suzanne's sister and family are heavily involved at.  They have gone through some tough transitions and losses over the year.  I appreciated the opportunity to worship with them and preach what God had laid on my heart.

For those of you who were praying, I feel it went really well.  There was a lot of seemingly heartfelt thanks and praise (praise doesn't sound like the right word, but...)

May God bless the hard work that they have ahead of them, seeking God's leading for their church.

I mentioned that we had some car work done.  My sermon was from Matthew 6:19-24 on Treasures, Eyes, and Masters.  My focus was on generosity and holding stuff loosely.  I had a number of opportunities to practice what I was preaching through our car, and some other things of this world.

May God be glorified through our lives and teaching.

We are still here

Finally a new post.  We have had more sporadic online access for the last week or so.  We have also been making family and friend time a priority.  But I have a down time that I can listne to the girls play and read some blogs.

We are making our 4th move during the last week and a half.  Family has been very hospitable and gracious.   Thank you so much.  We are trying to feel at home as much as is possible, when living out of 2 duffel bags;  two very large duffel bags for 5 people.  Each move makes it harder for me to find my clothes.  Suzanne's keep taking over more of the duffel bag:)  I love Suzanne.  I realize how much more this is true as the days roll by.

We needed a couple repairs on our car while in Ohio.  Nothing serious.  Thank you whomever, for what you did.  You know who you are and hopefully you know how appreciative we are.  It is hard to express in words.

I am just getting reved up.  More posts to come.

We made it

Actually yesterday. A very good trip. We left at 9:30pm on Friday and drove through the night. Being a college student, allowed me to drive till 3:30am, and then get 45 minutes of sleep and drive till noon. We stopped at Tony and Rhonda Doerhmann's for a very hospitable visit in Belfontaine, and then drove the last 2+ hours to Suzanne's parents arriving at 5:15pm on Saturday. The girls did awesome. They slept all night till 4am. Stopped for potty and then slept till 6am, when we ate breakfast on the road. Emberlynn slept somemore throughout the morning, but Alyssa and Courtney stayed awake mostly and they all were mostly fuss free. They did awesome!
Suzanne was also fun to travel with! She kept me awake a couple times through the we hours of the morning. Our conversations kept me alert and made the trip go fast. As fast as 18 hours can be.
Blessings to everyone and the people that you are with.

Cold finals

This is according to a local forcast:

"The arctic air that brought a more than 25-degree temperature drop Sunday will stay in place the next few days in the Wichita area.

And while there may be a few flurries, the forecast through Tuesday does not call for any significant moisture, according to the National Weather Service."

Sunday morning at 6am it was 52, then by church time it was 33, finally by mid afternoon it was 16, overnight in the single digits.  I walked to school this morning and it was a bit cold (currently 3), but not windy so it was bearable.  Last night I walked to Pizza Hut, about 1.25 miles in 14 degrees, but walking into the wind of 30+ mph.  That was cold.  But the weird thing is, when you set your mind to something being doable, it actually becomes doable.  Other than not being able to feel the area around my eyes for a little while, it really wasn't that bad.  On the way home, the wind was at my back nearly pushing me home.  I got home to realize that I didn't have keys with me, and Suzanne and the girls weren't home yet.  Thank goodness for semi-warm garages.

Finals week to go!

This semester has one more day before finals.  Behold it comes quickly.  We are looking forward to spending time with family and friends in Ohio over Christmas break.  For those that want to know, our tentative schedule is to arrive in Ohio on the 20th.

Stay overnight 4 nights at Suzanne's parents.

Stay overnight 4 nights at my parents.

Stay overnight 1 night at Suzanne's sisters.

Then, we'll regroup and see if anyone still wants us:)  I jest.  I would be very surprised to have our parents let us sleep out in the cold.  Suzanne said we should bring our tent along, just in case.

We need to be back out here the first Saturday or Sunday of January 2009.

That's the schedule.  It will be here before you know it, and of course it will be gone before you know it too.

Take time to value family, and worship the Christ of Christmas.  That's our plan.

Sacred Space

For those of you looking for another way to practice "daily devotions" try sacred space.  One of my professors of Faith and Discipleship has used this in class.  I have found it to be a good tool to help me place myself in a position to meet with God.

Thankful to the near end

We had good time with Family and Friends for Thanksgiving.  Here is a sampling of our fun:

The girls, my Parents, and I went on a luminary walk at the Arboretum.  It was beautiful with the thousands of lights.  About half way through they had some fires and smores, which were a hit as you can tell.

This was towards the end of the luminary walk.  The girls were enjoying it much more than their faces show.  We have taken a couple pictures on this bench during the time that we have  been here in Hesston.

Suzanne and I ran in the Howard Hustle.  It is a 2 mile race named after the current President of Hesston College.  I have a special shirt on with a lightning bolt on the back.  I am "Nolt Bolt".  (Back in 95/96 I won the then current races)  Anybody that beat me got their name put in a drawing for a free pizza.  I came in about 12th place overall under 13 minutes and 3rd in my age group.  Suzanne came in under 18:30 in 90th place and 3rd in her age group.  She also beat Dave Greiser, who came in 2nd in his age group.  Well Done DAVE!

We had a good time with the Pastoral Ministry families at the stutzman retreat center.  Here are all but one of the children, notice the strong gender bias toward female.  The newborn not in the picture is also female.

Here are most of the PM'ers and families at our weekly carry-in meal at the Lark's Nest at HC.  As Mennonites, we are big on food and fellowship.

Thanksgiving celebrations

Wednesday night a great number (20-30) of PM students and families are getting together at the Stutzman retreat center for a Thanksgiving meal.  This is a cabin owned by the college.  We are probably going to stay overnight and then hop in the car at 7:30am to come back to Hesston, because...

Thursday morning my parents are arriving on the bus from Kidron, Ohio.  Thanksgiving is a big deal here at Hesston College.  There are lots of perspective students and lots of parents that come out for the long weekend as well.  This place will be jumping.

Suzanne will be working every Supper starting Thursday evening through Monday evening.  She will be thankful for the rest, when Thanksgiving is over.

Trade your weather

For those of you coming on the bus from Ohio, here is your comparison:

Unfortunately, the temperature will drop a little on Friday and it will get windy, and rainy/snowy, possibly.  Looking forward to seeing many of you.

Jeremy Patterson Pastor of Journey @ Yoder

This fine young man was a student at Hesston last year and now he is the Pastor of the second campus of South Hutchinson Mennonite called Journey @ Yoder.  Why am I writing about him?  Well because he and his family are just too cool!  And to make a confession.  Last year about this time, I was giving him a hard time for not keeping up with his blog more than once a week.  I have fallen to the same problem.  I am busy, but that isn't a good excuse.  A lot of stuff is happening on a regular basis, and we are looking forward to a number of things.  As hard as it may be for me to conclude, I think I am getting written out.  I write so much from papers, to emails, to journals, to notes, to reflections, that I just want to read and talk, not write.

So that is where I am at for now, or I could be wrong.

Moving so fast

This semester is moving so fast.  We just finished week 12 out of 16.  In a week and a half, it will be Thanksgiving weekend.  Then 2 and a half weeks later the semester is over and we are headed for Ohio for Christmas break.  We will be in Ohio for 2 weeks, through New Years.

This time has gone fast out here.  We have been in Kansas for 11 months.  We could potentially be out of Kansas again in 6 months.  We are well over half way through our time.  Where are we headed after here?  Very few if any of us know:)  Some of you would have an opinion though, I am sure.

Exciting (busy) weekend

This is going to be a packed weekend, and I am looking forward to it. Our Pastor from Chestnut Ridge Mennonite Church of Orrvile, Ohio, Marvin Zuercher is coming out Thursday evening and staying with us through Sunday. We'll see what kind of fun we can have. There are regular classes, special meals, and of course the AVDS stuff that he is specifically coming for, Hesston College's Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series (AVDS) this weekend. Follow any of these links for a good time. Shane Hipps is a Mennonite pastor the keynote speaker talking about media and ministry. There will be both large group sessions and workshops lead by other local leaders, including some local Beachy Amish church leaders who have cell phones, while I heard rumors that Shane Hipps the media connected pastor of a very large urban church does not have a cell phone. It is one of those great opportunities that only make themselves available once in a long while, and it is right here at the college. Not to be missed.

Here is a post:)

We have been busy, but yet it hasn't seemed real interesting to write about. Maybe more later today.
How are you?

Family Movie Night

Last night all 5 of us curled up on the couch and watched Charlotte's Web. It was enjoyed by all. One especially enjoyable scene for all was when the baby spiders start to fly away, and say, "weeee". The funniest part for the girls was when the sheep started to walk in a circle saying, "weeee".
After tucking the girls into their nice warm beds:), Suzanne and I watched the movie Smile. It was a touching story. We are looking forward to hopefully seeing Fireproof sometime this week.

What is going on

After fall break was over for Courtney and I on Wednesday, Alyssa had break starting Thursday. The weather turned cool to cold this week. Lows were in the mid 30's, highs in the mid 50's. Today is sunny and it looks like a good day to get some outside work done. We are going to mow the law for the last time (maybe) and then clean out the garage.
The house we are renting has been a wonderful thing while we are here. It is a 1200 square foot ranch, with 3 large bedrooms and an attached 2 car garage. Perfect for our family, and well priced to a PM family. Plenty of yard, and a close walk to everything. And pretty well insulated too. It has been a blessing.
Not too much to report about what we have been upto or what we are going to be doing. Classes, work, school, family time.

Fall Break

Fall break started Thursday at 5pm officially, however I was done by 12:15. It is amazing to think that this semester is half over. It has gone very well. I look forward to more learning in this second semester.
Fall break runs through Tuesday, and we start back on Wednesday again. Unfortunately our schedules don't always mesh. Alyssa does not have off today, and her break is on Thursday and Friday, a day after I go back to school.
Since we are here, Suzanne took a couple extra days of work. Thursday, Friday, and all day Tuesday.
We are also looking forward to spending evenings with the Pattersons and the Lehmans. I hope to get some extra reading done, and finish up my MLI.

Rainy weather

The rain and cold temperatures began late Sunday Night and have continued to this point. It is a bit cooler than we are used to out here. We have been told by many locals that trees out here may change color fall to the ground, but it is nothing like back east, where every woods and street is lit up with reds, yellows, purples, browns, and oranges. All at the same time. I guess you can't have everything. We have really enjoyed the weather for the most part out here. Most of the time if we don't like the weather, we have still liked the people and places that we are:)
Just thinking about being in Ohio for Christmas, seems unfathomable. The people, the places, the landscape, the trees, the snow, the cold, the hills; it has been just long enough that I am beginning to forget what it all looks like. It will be here before we know it!

Past family weekend

We enjoyed a lot of time together this past weekend.

• Friday night found us on the couch eating popcorn and watching Mary Poppins.
• Saturday morning found us in the little town of Yoder, KS. We enjoyed the little shops. A furniture shop that carries Amish made furniture was part of our stops. I asked the salesman where the furniture is made. He said most of the furniture is made in Indiana and Ohio. What do you know? Amish made furniture from Ohio, in Kansas.
• Saturday afternoon found us at Applebees for lunch, and Hobby Lobby for some shopping. My patience grew short during the shopping part. Suzanne could have gone all day. I am sorry.
• Sunday morning found us at church together. 3 of the last 5 Sundays were incomplete. Either Suzanne worked or I was visiting a Beachy Amish church or I was on a silent retreat.
• Sunday afternoon found us playing, laughing, and going on walks together.
• Blessed.
  

3 sweet things

Mondays are our busiest days. Rain makes it crazier. An extra meeting adds to the fun. Alyssa doesn't have school today. I went to my morning classes, chapel, and a luncheon for pastors. Suzanne is at work. I am home with the girls all three. They are building tents with blankets upstairs in their room. They don't always want to share. I am refereeing the fights. All is calm. One is missing. Now she's back. Smiles all around. Loads of imagination are being created and dumped upon the floor. It's raining outside. It has been all morning. Peace has left for a few moments. The tent needs to be repaired. Now there is beautiful singing. Charts rule. It is getting hot under here. A window is opened. Now it's cold. A glorious day in the dark.

They grow up so fast

I was struck yesterday how quickly the girls are growing up. They just do things that they couldn't do a day or two before. Our girls aren't perfect, and possibly far from it, just like their parents. However, often when we come home from somewhere that has been longer and more boring than the usual 3-7 year olds can bear, we tell them how proud we are. They do so well. I love my girls.

In talking to a pastor yesterday, he was talking about his children who are in jr high, high school, and college. They have worked hard to not treat their children like pastor's kids. They even work hard to keep the church from treating them differently. I believe they have been successful in letting their children live fairly normal lives, and make typical childhood and teenager mistakes. The pastor said he never told his children to do or not do something because they are the pastor's kids. If they were going to be told something, it was because their were other better reasons to choose the prefered way. Good advice for all, but hard to live. God give us grace.

Loud silence

If you've ever practiced a silent retreat for any length of time, you will realize how loud it can be. Small noises of insects and wind and maybe even your thoughts can be quite overwhelming for some. As part of the community aspect of the silence we had two meals together. This brought some humorous moments. First off you will realize that there probably isn't any louder meal than hard tacos and cans of pop. By the time the 10th person of about 20 had opened their can of pop, the snickers were starting. A few muffled haha's were heard as people crunched their tacos. Some laughter finally exploded as someone broke their plastic fork trying to cut their taco. I guess you had to be there, it was quite funny.

A neat aspect of Breakfast was that everything was on the table and we needed to be aware of what people needed without them asking. If you saw someone pour a bowl of cereal, it was important to notice, because most likely they would need the milk next; and they couldn't ask for it. I think this practice would help us to develop a deeper awareness of others and not be so self focused. I would love to sit through a silent meal at our house, but alas I don't think it is possible, well maybe with some practice.

Labyrinth reflections

The idea of a labyrinth is kind of like a quest or pilgrimage. I found it to be a helpful tool in a guided way to meet God in prayer. Here is an example of the type that we were able to experience.
As you move towards the center of the labyrinth, the idea is to confess sins and give burdens to God, and generally release the things that are distracting you. A neat part of this particular labyrinth is that about half way in you are on the outside loop farthest from the center. Have you ever experienced that in your walk with God? When you don't have the feelings of closeness and connectedness with God that you desire. I was comforted to realize that in those times of feeling farthest away, you are actually on your way in.

A similar thing happened on the way out. The idea on the way out is that you've had this encounter with God, through removing all the distractions, and now you are receiving what is needed from God as you return to the world and ministries. About half way through on your way out, you all the sudden find yourself back in the center again. I liken this to those moments that you have with God, and as you are coming back to the "reality" of all that is messed up in the world, you are surprised by God's presence. Have you ever had that happen?

Blankness revealed

So what's up with my last post?! I was on a silent retreat from Saturday noon till Sunday noon. No talking to other people. Only talking to God. It was a wonderful experience. A time to present myself to God without time constraints (they took all watches) and without agenda. I was amazed at how quickly God revealed a sin to me. It was within the first 5 minutes. The excruciating part was realizing that I was guilty of this sin at least a dozen times in the hour leading up to the revelation. OUCH! It felt like the Chucky Cheese game of Whack-a-mole!

I tried not to seek forgiveness too soon. I wanted to really experience the sorrow of my sin. I had the opportunity to walk a labyrinth, and was able to go deeper in the remembrance and the sorrow of how this hurts relationships and my compassion for people. I was able to experience forgiveness as I arrived at the center of the labyrinth. More thoughts on the labyrinth on my next post.

Shh!

"This space intentionally left blank."

Supervised Ministry Experience

In September, I started a Supervised Ministry Experience at Hesston Mennonite Church with Pastor John Murray. I have been meeting weekly with John to discuss Hesston Mennonite, church structure, and philosophies of ministry. It has been a very stimulating time, but always too short. Hesston Mennonite is a larger church than my home church of Chestnut Ridge Mennonite.

One requirement in choosing a church for SME is to choose one that is different than your home church experience. CRMC is a single staff rural church of about 80-90 attendees on a Sunday. It has a very close knit family feel, with a lot of multigenerational contact. I have appreciated the support and love that has been my experience there. CRMC is truly a unique and healthy church. HMC is a 4 person staff town church of about 350-400 attendees on a Sunday. It has a close knit feel if you get involved in a Sunday School class and/or small group circle. Multigenerational contact requires a bit more work on our part. HMC is a healthy mature church.

Churches all have their strengths and their issues. Hurts have happened and healing can and does take place. I am enjoying the unique place that we are in life. I am assuming that the freedoms, interactions, and experiences that we currently have will be all togethter different (but yet the same) as we move from this place to the next.

Slow poke

I apologize for not keeping up with this. It was been over a week since I have updated. I have a friend named Jeremy Patterson, who last year I gave a hard time for not keeping up his blog. He was a sophomore PM student. He is now a pastor and he keeps it up to date about once every month or two:) Okay, I am starting to understand...

Weekend Wackiness

There are times when life gets a little wacky. This weekend is one of those for us. Suzanne is working this morning at the cafeteria at the college. Alyssa has a birthday party at one of the parks today for a classmate early afternoon. This evening the PM families have been invited over to a local families farm for a hayride, hotdog roast, etc. Tomorrow morning I am attending a Beachy Amish church for my class Anabaptist History and Thought. We are eating lunch with them, and then Suzanne goes back to work for the evening within 2 hours of me arriving home. Sometimes the schedule is not real pretty, but you need to make the best use of the time that you do have with each other. That is what I am going to do, see you later.

Fast weeks

The weeks seem to go by quicker this semester than they did last semester.  I even have 2 less credit hours.  I had my first Bible Study with 5 guys last night.  They are all freshman except for 1.  We are studying the book of James.  I am really looking forward to this time of learning from them, and learning from God.

Last Friday it rained alot.  I believe Witchita had over 7 inches in less than 24 hours and lots of flooding.  The ditch behind our house was atleast 20 feet across and the height was to the bottom of the bridges which is about 5 feet.  Now the sun is back, wall-to-wall and a nice breeze.  We are enjoying time together as a family outside.  I heard that Ohio got a lot of wind with power outages and branches/trees down.  Hope everybody and their things are okay.

Dad

Hopefully you are reading this from home today.  I wish you a speedy recovering.

(Now everybody who didn't know is going to be wondering what happened to you.  How fun!)

Slight adjustment to overwhelmed

I am not overwhelmed, but I am not underwhelmed either.  Just a slight downgrade.  I am enjoying my classes and reading.  So many concepts to ponder and consider, spiritual disciplines to practice, and discussions to have.  It is some times hard to explain when someone from Ohio asks how it is going.  Good, great, wonderful, etc.  Do you have a year to spend with us here? I could explain it much better if you experienced it.  It is made up of so many experiences and slight tweaks, and cyclical loopty-loes...

And the girls continue to grow up into new things.  They tell funny stories, do crazy things, and act profound, and surprise you when you least expect it.  Suffice it to say that we are enjoying it here.

Overwhelmed

Okay, so I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed. The last couple days especially. Can I have moment to complain? Thanks. Between 8am and 8pm, I have roughly 18 hours a week to read and write papers. Factor in 3 hours of Bible Study leadership and 4 hours of Supervised Ministry and that leaves me with 11. Informal conversations with teachers and other PM students probably accounts for a couple hours a week too. I do like to spend time with my family. Each of the girls need individual time, Suzanne needs my time, and we all as the five of us need time together too.
So this is an opportunity to learn how to balance my time and to say "No." I have said no to 2 fun things just this week, and I will have to say "not so much" to something else. This is the reality that people face when they work and minister in places that they feel called. My hat is off to those who are in ministry making these hard choices daily. God bless you!

I want to get back in the groove of writing this

Yesterday I talked with my mother-in-law, Sandy Lehman, who said that she reads our blog before she does bank stuff. I appreciated her making us a priority ahead of banking, but I also realize there is some technical reasons for it as well. We'll take the priority reason:)

She reminded me that I hadn't updated this since Monday, of last week. It's not because we haven't had anything happen, but probably because so much has happened. It has been a busy first week of classes for me, lots of reading. Suzanne is working on Mondays and Fridays, so between classes and Suzanne working (while I have the girls) I am busy from about 8am till 7pm. I really appreciate Suzanne and her loving care for me and the girls.

This week we went to a couple girls and guys soccer games here at hesston college. It is a good time to mix with the traditional and PM students. I am enjoying both types of friendships. I desire to keep a balance of family life, studying, and friendships while here at Hesston College. Why? Because that is what life and ministry are all about. They are a balance of family life, learning, ministry, friendships, and just living.

New Semester

I have had a good start to the first day of classes. This is my Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule:
8am-9am Jesus and the Gospels
9am-10am Anabaptist History and Thought
11am-11:30am Chapel
3pm-4pm Faith and Discipleship

Here is my Tuesday, Thursday schedule:
8am-10am Pastoral Care and Leadership

We have Formation on Tuesdays from 6:30pm till 8:30pm.
Thursday at 5:30pm is our PM supper.
Wednesday Suzanne is helping with Shine (Children's ministry at Hesston Mennonite Church) at 6:30pm

Suzanne is still teaching at the Wellness Center and will be helping with food prep 2 days a week and 1 weekend a month at the College. Our schedules are picking up, but we are looking forward to the fun.

I will be doing my Supervised Ministry at Hesston Mennonite Church, with the great John Murray. I am also serving as a Ministry Assistant on campus which involves being a pastoral presence to a group of guys and leading a Bible Study once a week.

Here we go, full speed ahead. Pray us well.

Last Friday before classes

It has been fun getting to know the new PMers and hearing each others stories. We are all different in what we have done and what has brought us here. But yet we are all very similar in hearing a call and making choices to end up at Hesston.
Yesterday was registration, so I am all ready to go. I will be spending most of today helping students move into the dorms as a "Shaker and Mover". I get to wear a tie-dye shirt, which reminded me of an old friend that came out to visit me in Hesston about a month ago. I miss you Dan Blackford. If you know Dan Blackford, than you will understand.

Suzanne works, I play

For one week Suzanne is working at the college for nearly every breakfast, lunch, and supper. This week the Resident Assistants, Soccer players, Volleyball players, and a Singing group are on campus. I get to be with Emberlynn and Courtney all day. We are playing on the computer in our PJ's.
Alyssa started first grade on last Tuesday and has been really enjoying it. Her teacher is Mrs. Lehman who was a kindergarten teacher last year. Alyssa really likes her. Some of her friends are in the class too. She is starting to make some new friends as well.
This week begins stuff at the college for the PM program too. Tuesday and Wednesday evening are orientation times for PM'ers. On Thursday evening I have a meeting for helping move students into the dorm. We are called Movers and Shakers. Insert jokes here. Friday morning I will help students move in and the evening brings an opening convocation and ice cream social. Saturday will give us some volleyball and soccer games to watch. Sunday throws us the always entertaining Mod Olympics, and Monday is the first day of classes. I can't wait!

Long time coming

I hope to get back to updating this on a more regular basis again. Here's the latest run down:
-CPE ended on Friday, but it doesn't really end does it? It has been a great experience, tough, challenging, painful, but growing, stretching, and more. Hopefully I will find time to write more on this.
-Suzanne's Sister Christa and husband Robert, and their children Emily, Sarah, Micah, and Justin Hershberger arrived on Friday morning around 6:45am and just left on Monday afternoon. We all had a wonderful time catching up and enjoying one another's presence. They are on their way home now.
-Alyssa's first day of school is today. I took her to school on our bikes and now I am hanging out at Lincoln Perk sipping a Caramel Latte blender and catching up on email and some reading for college. Orientation is next Tuesday, 19th. Classes start on Monday, 25th.
-Suzanne is still teaching classes at the wellness center and enjoying the mature participants.
-Courtney will be starting preschool on Sept. 3, and she is excited.
-Emberlynn is excited about going to college this year. She will be spending 2 days a week with me in the Library for an hour or so. She is such a big girl now.

I just can't keep up with this right now

Hopefully you can understand. So what has been happening. My parents and 2 of our girls cousins were here for a week and left on Thursday noon.

Friday at CPE was a conference all day called Heartbreak and Hope and it was focused on Hospice.

I have 2 more weeks of CPE. I am overnight on Sunday night of this week, and Monday night the next week. I will be observing a surgery this week and we are taking a field trip to a funeral home on Wednesday. The final week will be finals week. And then it's done, over, kaput. It has been good. I will have more thoughts to share when I get a moment to breathe when it's done.

I think I ordered my last two books for this next semester today. I am looking forward to starting up in school again, and meeting all the other PM students and families.

5 down 4 to go:)

We had a wonderful visit from the always real Bruce and Jocelyn Hamsher, and their boys Micah, Ty, and Kade. It was really good to see them, and spend time speaking face to face about life, ministry, the future, and other "interesting" things. They have had an important role in our being in Hesston today. We also had Jeremy and Michele Paterson and Greta and Jude over for supper. Here's a crazy thought. All three of us couples are from Wayne and Holmes county Ohio. We didn't know the Hamshers until roughly 10 years ago. He became our pastor, and did our wedding. 3 years later he becomes the Paterson's pastor. 1 year ago the idea that we would know the Paterson's and be in Hesston, Kansas with the Hamsher's and the Paterson's wasn't even on the radar. It was a blessed visit for all.

My parents and Brianna and Brandon (My sister's children, and my children's cousins.) are on their way to Kansas for a weeks stay. Our girls are expecting Grandma and Pa with excitement, but they don't know yet that their cousin's are coming. It is going to be pure insanity when the 5 cousin's see each other. We are looking forward to a great visit with everybody.

Weatherly friends

Here is our weather, for those who want to know, you know who you are:) The weather has been more mild and more wet than usual, the long time locals tell us. We have had days were our backyard thermometer tells us it is over 100, but the official temperatures have only approached 100. It does get really hot, and it has been somewhat humid. We run the A/C more than we did in Ohio.

We are eagerly anticipating the visit of some special friends on Tuesday for the night. I'll give you a hint, the last name starts with "H" ends with "amsher". He has a blog. They are awesome, it will be way too quick, but great.

As they are leaving, another crew will be coming and staying for about a week. They will total 4. Two of them caused my body to be formed in a womb. The other two came from the womb of one that came from the same womb as I did. We all are looking forward to this with great excitement. Our girls are especially excited, although they don't realize it yet:) They know about the 2 people that are more mature, but will be surprised by the 2 younger ones.

We think about many of you from day to day. God bless you.

July 4th update

Last Sunday afternoon we went to King Park in Hesston with our Sunday School class to enjoy a picnic, play, and getting wet.
Monday Night was my overnighter at the hospital. It wasn't pretty. 3 deaths and 3 other tramas. I have had some internal processing to do with a couple situations at the hospital.
Tuesday involved a grocery shopping trip for the whole family.
Wednesday Alyssa had a t-ball game. She is really enjoying this, and so are her sisters.
Thursday we plan to go to some friends to watch them and their neighbors set off fireworks. That is what a lot of small towns do here in Kansas.
Friday the plan is to go to a state park for water fun and camping. The girls are so excited and we are too. I am looking forward to having some time off.
Saturday Alyssa has a birthday party of a friends to attend.
Sunday finds me at the hospital on Duty all day.

Still busy at CPE

The girls are enjoying swimming with Suzanne at the Wellness Center every Friday Afternoon.
We enjoy walks and rides to the Arboretum for fish and turtle feeding.
The girls enjoy the library and it's summer bug program.
We went to the McPherson Water Park for Alyssa's Birthday on Tuesday. We enjoyed the lazy river intertube ride, and Alyssa rode the water slide by herself, over and over and ...
CPE is still enjoyed by me, learning has been great.
Suzanne is doing a Baby shower for Michelle Patterson and Jude Eli this evening.
Suzanne is helping with food stuff for the South Central and Western District Mennonite Conference this weekend at Hesston College and Hesston Mennonite Church.
My next overnight is Monday Night.

Someone's Birthday coming soon

Somebodies having a birthday on Tuesday. They are really excited about it. There is family time planned, I am taking off the afternoon from CPE, and they think there will be a couple gifts. I can't believe she will be 7 year old!
Enough hints?

New look, and the non fairness of life

I decided to try a new look for this blog page. It feels a little cleaner and seems to allow more of the post to fit onto your screen.

My CPE overnighter last Saturday evening was so busy that I got two separate half hours of sleep for the whole 16 hour period. Not so last night. It was fairly busy till about 9pm. I did some charting and then went to bed around 10:30. The pager went off at 4:19am, and I was up till 6am. Then I rested, but didn't sleep till the shift change at 7:45am. I feel really good right now and I didn't get a nap today.

Alyssa and Courtney went to a friends house for the afternoon today, while Emberlynn was very sad to have to be with Mommy and Daddy. She really wanted to be with her sisters. After a couple other conversations with the girls in which they expressed their sense of unfair or unequal treatment or number of cookies, it provided a forum for which we could express to the girls the reality that sometimes life just isn't fair, and their isn't anything you can do about. That is a tough concept for a 2, 4, and 6 year old. Giving them perspective of how it makes others feel from the other side seems to make sense to them. I pray that our girls will turn out to be healthy empathetic adults in the end.

Does these posts still make sense

I read one of my recent posts and wondered if it was even that interesting.

Sunday was father's day. Happy Father's Day dad! The girls took me to the outdoor Hesston pool. It was in the mid 90's. A beautiful day for some fun in the sun with my hun and girls three.
In the evening we got together with Nate and Becca Stauffer, and a prospective PM couple and their youngest child, at Dave and Anita Greiser's house. The Greiser children Hope and Aaron were also there. It was fun to be together with some people and tell CPE stories and brag up Hesston's PM program to a prospective. I hope we didn't scare him away with our sensational stories of Trama. It looks like there will be a minimum of 5 new students in the program this coming fall, and possible 8. That is a large group. There are 5 of us returning students too.

On Monday afternoon, I had off from CPE, so I worked on completing some homework and spent some time with the family.

Today is Tuesday. The girls are growing so fast, doing fun things, getting along sometimes, and sometimes not. I feel so blessed to have my family to enjoy life with. Thank you God for my family.

vbs fuel pump rest of cpe

This week is Community Vacation Bible School. 4 churches in the area are involved and host different age groups. So, Alyssa is at one church and Courtney is at another. We try to keep straight who needs picked up when. I am glad to see a community where the churches work together.

Wednesday - Suzanne borrowed a van from some nice people here in Hesston and took her parents to the Airport. I am assuming they made it back to Ohio. I spent the evening replacing a fuel pump and fuel filter on our car. Emberlynn was a "big help" for about an hour, and I finished the test drive at midnight. Seems to be fixed now.

Thursday - Not too much happening except hearing about storms past, present, and future in the area.

Friday - We will be going to a fellow CPE'ers house towards Wichita after work. It will be fun to see each other in a social setting.

Saturday - Help with a fundraiser for a local family, and then go to the Hospital at 5pm to stay overnight as the on duty Chaplain. This will end at 8am, and then I'll hopefully be in the state of mind that I can go to church. Saturday nights are traditionally busy at Wesley Medical.

Sunday - Rest.

CPE is going well. I am learning and growing and knowing. Yet realizing that I don't always learn from the opportunities. I don't always grow as I'd prefer. And as you can imagine, I don't know it all.
Be a lifetime learner. Focus on relationships.

In-laws out of gas

Suzanne's parents are here for a week. We are having a good time catching up and doing things together. The girls are in their glory. I picked them at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, and it went like this:

Temperature was mid 90's and I was running the A/C in our only car. We drove through town just fine, but as we accelerated to 55mph outside of town, the motor sputtered and died. We coasted to a stop, and restarted the car and it drove fine for about 5 minutes and died again. By this time we have the A/C off and the windows down, it's hot. We drove the 33 miles home, coasting and restarting the car and sometimes driving at 30mph, sputtering all the way. Looks like I will be replacing the fuel pump in a day or two when it comes in.

Suzanne's parents have been walking alot of places with Suzanne and the girls. But that's not because the car doesn't run or because their are 6 of them for a 5 seat car. It's because that's how we get around in Hesston. We always bike or walk.

I'm still here

CPE is occupying most of my time. We leave Hesston around 7am each morning and get back to Hesston around 5:30pm.
Last Tuesday I had an overnight following a Chaplain around.
Last Friday I got my assigned day unit that I will visit every afternoon for 3-4 hours.
This Tuesday I had my overnight by myself. I was the chaplain for the whole hospital. All 7 buildings. 8 trama calls including two deaths. God gave the right words at the right time, and may my feeble attempts be construed as helpful.

I am a voice, a hand, a presence, a heart, a spectralink phone, a pad of paper, a prayer, a smile;
no more - no less.

CPE full swing

After a fun weekend that included an overnight at a local cabin with another PM couple, and a lunch with 2 PM families, CPE is in full swing.
Tuesday was our first day. I left at 7am on Tuesday and returned home on Wednesday evening around 5:30pm. Yes, if you do the math that is 33 hours roughly. I did get to sleep from 2:30am till 7am at the hospital. I shadowed another Resident Chaplain as On-duty from 5pm till 8am. We had a number of Trama calls over night and attended to both the patients and families.
This week is orientation, and Friday is our last day of that. We also received our unit assignments, which we can start visiting on Friday afternoon.
So, what do we have to offer? The summer students include 3 Lutheran Seminary students who are in their first year, 4 mennonite students for Hesston in the PM program. We are each a bit different, but yet are growing together, and I imagine struggling together as the summer moves along.
It is not so much what we have to offer, but how open we are to grow and help one another grow. May God be glorified.

Weekly Review

Monday - We went to MMA's office to look at a few investment related things. My 401(k) from VPI is being transfered to a Traditional IRA and then a Roth IRA. In our case their won't be a tax penalty for moving from Trad to Roth because we aren't making enough money to be taxed this year:)

Tuesday - I spent the whole day at Alyssa's school. They had field day. I supervised the bumper bellies (the biggest hit for most children) and then the a water ball slingshot launcher (another big hit) for the afternoon. It was fun to hang out with a bunch of K-4th graders for the day.
Suzanne, Icelda, and Becca had a ladies night out, and walked to the Lincoln perk for some conversation.

Wednesday - Alyssa had her first T-ball practice. The other two girls and Suzanne went over to the circus in town and looked at animals and played in the park. We did some research for car insurance since we sold our van in Ohio.

Thursday - We started the day by going to a video presentation from the whole year of school at Alyssa's school. Then, back to MMA to finish up the investment stuff. Across the hall to MAX to finish up our car insurance stuff. Finally, Alyssa had noon dismissal for her last day of Kindergarten.

Friday - Picked up a mattress and boxspring for one of the girls. Now we have 3 beds for 3 girls, Emberlynn and Courtney were getting too long/tall. We plan to swim at the Wellness Center this afternoon and then Alyssa has a end of school year party at a friends house.

Big Girls

Man, they grow up so quickly. For example:

-Alyssa has 4 days of school left in Kindergarten, then she will be in 1st grade next year. She is turning 7 this summer.
-Courtney wanted her training wheels off this evening and she rode her bike on the first try. We went around the Arboretum 3 times. She loves riding her two wheeler. She is turning 5 this fall.
-Emberlynn is potty trained. She woke up dry, even took a 2 hour nap, and went the whole day without an accident. She is wearing panties to bed for the first night. We started Tuesday. She is turning 3 this summer.

I am trying to take one day at a time with them. I love my girls. I love my wife.

Spirtual Retreat

I took a Spiritual retreat on Tuesday to Stutzman's Retreat Center. It is a cabin owned by the college about 7.4 miles away. It was a good day of reading, praying, journaling, and reflecting.

I started off by riding my bike there on the back country roads; all sand and gravel. I walked around the grounds and enjoyed the quiet of the cabin. I was mostly quiet during the day, with a few vocalized prayers, and a song of praise.

I wrote a lot of thoughts as they came to me. It was confirming to look back at a journal from April of 2006, and see the intense struggle that I was going through. It was a fight with myself to come out here to Hesston. I found a list of things from that journal entry that I needed to expound on. Some of them were excuses, some where doubts, some where areas of growth. The neat thing was to look at the 10+ items and see that each one had been changed and confirmed in the last 2 years. None were left in confusion.

The great writer, theologian, and encourager - Bruce Hamsher - said, "It is of utmost importance that we record these moments of obvious confirmation." Why? "Because the following years of ministry will bring times of question and doubt, and I will need to be reminded of these moments of surety."

The only disruptive part of the day was a snake that was watching me a little too closely. It happened to be in the cabin, and then it was out. Unfortunately, without it's head. (That is a very short version of a long struggle that ended in death.)

Reading list change

You may notice that my list of things that I am currently reading has changed. Instead of roughly 2 dozen books, there are a handful. This is my summer reading list for now, with a couple highlights below.

I am reading the New Testament straight through this summer. It is neat to pick up things that I have forgotten, and to discover new truths.
I am reading Crucial Conversations for CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) this summer. It starts May 27th. I wrote about it here earlier if you're not familiar with CPE. Here is how my interview went. For those of you who asked. They usually take 3 students from Hesston each year. There are 5 of us. We all got in. They are taking 4 of us, and the 5th one is doing his at another location.
I am reading A Hidden Wholeness for next Semester's Pastoral Care and Leadership class.
I am reading Jesus for President because it sounds really interesting.

These are big goals for summer reading, but I hope to accomplish it while doing 50+ hours of cpe, enjoying time with my wife and girls, entertaining the wonderful visitors who brave 100+ F temperatures this summer, and taking in all that is life during this unique time of our lives.

Family Fun

We had a great weekend! Suzanne and I and the girls went camping from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. It was such a good time to be us. We have camped a lot, but this is the first time we have camped just the 5 of us. Quick run down of highlights:

Friday- arrive, choose site, setup tent, make a fire, explore campground, eat pizza pie irons, eat smores, go to sleep in the tent

Saturday- get up early, eat pancake breakfast, play a game of wiffle ball, take a drive to Russell Stovers candy outlet, eat candy samples, and get some free and low cost candy, drive back to camp, enjoy a simple lunch, play on playground, ride 4 wheeled bikes, ride paddle boat, feed ducks, drive to mall, avoid storm, buy some shoes, ride little train, play in mall play area, look at aquarium, head back to camp, roast hotdogs, ride 4 wheeled bike in the rain and wind, secure tent to trees, secure tent to picnic table, hunker down for the night, receive "knock" on tent door, go to cabin, bounce off the walls, sleep soundly

Sunday- wake up rested, walk to tent, shiver, make fire, make bagels over fire, girls crawl in and out of car, ride 4 wheeled bike, take a paddle boat ride, feed ducks, pack up everything, play on playground, head home

Awesome. We had a really good time together with nothing to do, but whatever we wanted to do. That was a nice change. As you may have noticed, it got a little windy on Saturday night, 36mph, and it got really cold 37 F, feels like 30 F. A nice lady and her husband who Suzanne met earlier in the day, decided to go home early and not stay the night on Saturday. We were planning to stay in our tent overnight and freeze, but they offered us the little cabin they were staying in. It had a full bed, and a bunk bed, perfect for our little family. The girls loved it. The girls really enjoyed the 4 wheeled bike and the paddle boat. It was a cute little KOA in Salina. Check it out sometime. They also have a pool that opens beginning on Memorial day weekend.

I am home, Suzanne is not

This week, I have been Mr. Mom. Suzanne has been working at the college this week from 8am till 3pm. She is helping with the year end (intense, meticulous) cleaning of the Lark's Nest. She is having fun getting to know some more ladies, and usually comes home with a bunch of food that would be thrown out if they didn't take it home.

I have been taking care of Emberlynn and Courtney, and Alyssa is at School. We play and read and go on walks. I do laundry and make them lunch and then at 3pm we go pick up Alyssa.

Tonight we are having a Pastoral Ministries cookout for those of us that are around at Tony and Rhonda's house here in Hesston.

This weekend we will be camping in Salina, KS, about 1 hour North of here. I am so looking forward to just hanging out with the family, without having any responsibilities other than eating food, wearing clothes, and being comfortable. It's been a long time coming.

Next week, I will be gone Monday afternoon to help a church with their website, and I will be gone all day Tuesday for a Spiritual Retreat at a local hidden spot. CPE starts May 27th.

Well that's what we are up to for the near future. Feel free to let us know what you are doing, we'd love to hear from you. Dot our coms to (slnolt at juno) or (slnolt7 at gmail).

Done

This morning, I turned in my final paper for the semester!

Ministry opportunity - Thanks for praying

I accepted the position and am really excited about next year. Here is the job description that I was given after accepting (my comments in parentheses):

Organize a Bible study for Erb Hall men (4 mods)
Meet regularly with other Bible Study MA's and Campus Pastor
Build relationships and be a Pastoral Presence (this will be good practice)

We also sign you up as a Mover and Shaker to help you meet students. You get paid by admissions to move students in the dorm and a T-shirt. (sweet, oh the hardships of ministry:)

I am sure you will get some free donuts. (Like I said before, oh the hardships of ministry:)
I would suggest that you would play some intramural, (once again, this is going to be rough:)
walk through the dorm once a week.
Chat with your guys when you see them on campus
Lead a Bible Study.

It is pretty relational, and it as much about presence as program.

All joking aside from above. I am really looking forward to being able to practice a ministry presence and interact with some awesome students. I am sure that I will learn as much as they do, if not more.

It is refreshing to look at next year and see that I will have ample opportunity to begin doing ministry. More on that in future posts.

Winding down

Finals week is coming to a close. Monday, I worked on a paper. Tuesday, I worked on my paper and took an evening final exam. Today, I took another final exam and am now working on my paper. Tomorrow, I will work on my paper, take a final exam, and work on my paper. Anybody else sensing a common theme for this week?

I hope to be done with my paper this evening or tomorrow, so that I don't have any school work on Friday. We will see how diligent I can be:)

Ohio Visitor Alert

Some wonderful family friends are stopping by for a visit again. Joe and Lori are going to be here around noon. This is their 3rd visit since we moved out here in January. I wish I could say they come out here exclusively to see us, but even though that's not the case, we still really appreciate that they take time to see us when they are here.
We feel blessed! It is so good to see ya!
We joked the last time they were here that they have been to our house more times in Kansas than they were when we were in Ohio. (That may not be true, but it is fun to say:)

We have found that people are quick to just drop in out here, and we are quick to just drop in on people too. That is two things we want to take with us.
-open invitation for anyone to stop in anytime
-freedom to stop in at other peoples houses anytime

Weekend Family Fun

Saturday morning at 9:30, Alyssa and Suzanne ran in the Emma Creek Classic. It is the largest women's fitness event in Kansas. It is a 5k race here in Hesston. They had a record of over 1,000 women registered to run this year. That's a lot of ladies!
Alyssa and Suzanne did very well, with Alyssa beating Suzanne by 1 second! Alyssa finished her first 5k with exactly 43 minutes. Courtney, Emberlynn, and I waited at the finish line and cheered for everybody. After everybody finished, we ate a lot of donuts:)

In the afternoon the college offered $4 admission to all college students and their families. So, we took in an afternoon of lots animals at the Sedwick Zoo in Wichita. We really enjoyed this family time together. It is what memories are made of. The girls slept most of the way home.

Sunday afternoon brought the Puppets of Praise to Hesston Mennonite Church. The girls enjoyed the puppets singing and dancing, and the ice cream afterwards.

We finished out the evening with a visit to another PM'ers house to work on his computer and visit with the family.

Ministry opportunity - Please pray

I have been asked to consider a ministry opportunity for next year, during the school year. It would involve relating to a number of students and having weekly Bible Studies in a mod. Please pray for me that I would sense clearly if God is calling me to this for one year. This would be in addition to my class studies, Supervised Ministry Experience, and living a semi-sane life as Husband and Father.

If God impresses something on your heart that you should share with me, please contact me via email or phone. Email is slnolt7 at gmail dot com.

Getting myself out of the way

I did it! Tonight I had my 3rd sermon in preaching class. The first two attempts were well written and theologically sound. They even had some humor and interesting illustrations. But the presentation was very boring and stiff. Well tonight I did it. I preached a sermon of which my wife was proud of. My professor was surprised and pleased by. My fellow students were excited for my presence and the volume of my delivery.

So what made the difference? I have been struggling for the last 2 years with getting myself out of the way. I have been overly conscious about myself in public situations, and I would compensate by trying to remove my personality and passion from what I was doing. I have been realizing this as the semester went on that in removing my personality, and trying not to be showy that I have been unauthentic to who I am as a minister. It has been counter productive. I have been so aware of myself that I have been absolutely boring.

I have been praying that God would free me; release me to be myself. And somehow still work through the imperfect and human me. Tonight I felt free, I moved around the pulpit at appropriate times, I spoke loudly and with feeling, I used hand gestures, I trusted myself to not use my notes too much, I didn't worry about saying things just right, and it felt really good.

Praise God!

Good growth

Where has the time gone? One week of classes, and one week of finals. That's it, no more. I have a lot to accomplish yet in these 2 weeks, but yet it has gone so fast. I feel like I have learned a lot of things and that I have grown in helpful ways.

How about you? Have you learned anything in the last 4 months? Have you grown in helpful ways? I shouldn't have all the fun! We all need to grow as individuals. Just as importantly, if not more, we need to grow corporately. Have you grown as a church? Have you grown as a company? Have you grown as a team? Have you grown as a family?

In all healthy areas of our lives we need to grow. It is a proven fact in nature (water those plants), our bodies (eat), relationships (time, love, and forgiveness), and business (invest in people and tools) that we don't stay in the same state without energy expended. We either improve or we deteriorate. We can only stay in a stasis for a short period of time. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we have arrived and it will stay the same for eternity. That is when it starts to slip. Desire Growth!

Ouch! I am talking to myself too. I have grown in some areas, but their are other areas that I have neglected where I need growth too.

What do we do in Kansas for fun?

Here are some random pictures giving you a rare opportunity to see us in Kansas doing stuff:)

Here we are with some friends hanging out at one of the 5+ parks in Hesston.

This is a beautiful shot across the arboretum one evening. A place that we like to go for walks and duck and fish feeding, as you will see in some more pictures.

Anybody watch VeggieTales, do you remember the silly song of the Zebu? The first time I heard it was before we had any children of our own. We were "borrowing" 2 of Suzanne's sister's girls, and I thought to myself, "Is there really an animal called a Zebu?" Well, here is one at the free zoo in Hutchinson.

A fowl shot from when my parents were here, and we got to enjoy an afternoon with them at the free zoo.

One of our girls, wait a minute that would be a monkey in the free zoo. Emberlynn wanted to hold it. They wanted to take it home, and were telling us how they would take care of it:)

Hail from an 04-07-08 Kansas storm that brought wind gusts of 70mph, and sustained winds for about an hour of 40+mph. Needless to say, when the hail came the girls were in our bed. It was really loud up in their room. They didn't wake me though, I was already up working on finishing a paper:)

One of my favorite shots from the arboretum, when my parents were here. Let's just call it a Father-Son moment.

Alyssa contemplating the meaning of life in the arboretum.

Courtney hanging out at the park.

A cold, chaotic easter egg hunt that lasted 5 minutes, if you were lucky. If you got there late, you missed out.

This is Lake Vista, part of Showalter Villa Retirement center. Walking by the fountain at the far end will get you wet if the wind is blowing. I guess that would be always.

How to tell if it is garbage day in Hesston. Everybody has one of these blue barrels. They have a cool truck that pulls up, and an arm comes out and picks up the barrel, dumps it in the truck, sets the barrel down, and then they drive off. It is fun to watch.

Did I mention that sometimes it is windy in Kansas? These barrels are quite stable when it isn't windy. But how would we know that?
Oh, the arboretum. I will cherish these moments!

This is probably about the only time that they sit still even for a moment. I would call this photo tranquility or "Ready, set, ....."

Another fun photo of the arboretum. Memories.



Well that is it for this time. I hope you get something out of these. Even if you don't, I still enjoy writing them.

Kansas Relief Sale

We were at the Kansas Relief Sale on Saturday. It is held in Hutchinson at the State Fair grounds. They only use about 5 of the buildings. It was kind of interesting to note the different feel of the relief sale, when you don't know very many people. I really only knew people that were from the college. Back in Kidron, it is a lot of fun to go and see people that you haven't seen for a year or more. Well maybe some day we will get back there again.
Here are a couple pictures that we took, just to get a little picture of what things look like for those of you who are familiar with Ohio's relief sale:

First we have the "feeding of the multitude" area with random strangers. They did a real good job of moving people through this area. We got to enjoy Verenika with ham gravy, a sausage, and a bohne berrogi for desert. These were all new for us and really good.

Next we have a picture of the girls on Saturday morning waiting for me to finish the 5K race. I had a personal best, beating my time from 2002. I ran a 21:31 and it felt really good for 3 weeks of training.


Here I am finishing the race. It is a little smaller than the Ohio one. My time of 21:31 would have got me 35-40th place in Ohio. In Kansas it got me about 7th, but unfortunately my age group was well represented. I got fourth in my age group:)

This next shot is just one of the buildings, specifically the one that housed the Children's games and auction.
The awesome barrel train! The girls really enjoyed it. My girls are the three with their backs too me. I have tried to keep from posting pictures of our girls due to this being a public site, and they turned their heads at the same time without my prompting.


Here is a final picture of the awesome (and fast) feedbag slide that the girls and Suzanne just loved! I enjoyed it too. Random strangers again.

If you want to see more pictures from the official relief sale sight, check out this link.

Church Visit part 2

Our second visit for the day was very different at First Presbyterian Church in Wichita. This service was much more liturgical and for the head instead of the heart. The sermon was very much a teaching time entitled "The Heidelberg Catechism". It was interesting to learn about some of the pastor's perceived differences between Lutheran and Presbyterian beliefs surrounding the the Eucharist or Communion. The main difference being whether the bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Christ or if they actually become the body and blood of Christ.
The focal point, physically, audibly, and seemingly spiritually of the church service was the organ. It happened to be the day that they were dedicating organ enhancements as they moved from a complete pipe organ to a combined pipe (5) and digital or electrified organ. Rather interesting theology as they said the organ calls us to worship, leads us in worship, and sends us out into the world. The only thing that kept us safe was that they didn't say they worshiped the organ, but you could probably make a case for it by the applause and teary eyes as "Nimrod (Enigma Variations, Opus 36)" was played during the dedication:)
Although this was a very liturgical service it was a good learning experience, and the church building was very beautiful. The congregation was much older than the first church we visited, but they also seem to be very much involved in community ministry. Not necessarily focused on youth though.

Church Visit part 1

We did two more church visits today. The first one was a very growing and high class Westlink Christian Church in Wichita. They have a real focus on children, jr high, an Sr high schoolers. Their Children's area is huge, and colorful, and well staffed, and it has at least a half dozen gaming consoles. Their jr and sr high area looks like a bar and grill or trendy coffee shop and has at least 2 dozen gaming consoles, plus 4 wii's. I think their idea is to attract the students and then give them what they need. Just to give you an idea of their focus on youth. They are having a huge event at the end of this month called the Freedom Experience which includes a illusionist/escape artist, a professional skater, a bmx stunt team, and some pop and rock artists. The event will cost around $75,000 and they expect many teens to come and many commitments to Christ. We enjoyed the worship service which was very well done, and very worshipful. The pastor had a great sermon including stories and illustrations on possessing childlike:
humility
strength
honesty
love
faith
Great experience despite the overwhelming feeling of extravagance at every turn, and we had to boogie out of their right after the service and head for our second service of the day.

Free Youth Ministry Materials

There is a website maintained through some Hesston College personnel that gives free youth ministry Bible study materials. It can be found here: http://ymroadtrip.org

One source of these materials is writers in a Christian Education class at Hesston College. I will have to tell you that these writers are really good. Disclaimer, I am one of the writers. But non-the-less, the other writers are really good. Michele Hershberger, the teacher of this class expects the very best. Please use these materials and pass on the link to every youth leader you know, especially those of an Anabaptist persuasion. The site is regularly updated with new lessons. My class specifically has done the "side roads" section.

If you really have to know, this one was mine. The other ones really are better:)

Soccer Champs

Hey Venture Products, Soccer team, how is the season going? I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves again this year, and beating all the young teams:)

I played intramural soccer this year at Hesston College. Our team played really good together, and ended up winning both the season and the after season tournament. We went undefeated all year. Here is a picture of our proud team after winning the championship at 11pm. I really enjoyed playing with these people.


(front) Abenezer Daniel, Janell Maust, Kendall Landis, Amanda Yoder; (back) Shawn Nolt, Elliot Wilder, Kevin Wilder, Josh Boese, Tim Horn, Zach Fretz; (not pictured) Joseph Spory

You can also see this picture here: http://hesston.edu/academic/depts/physed/Intramurals/0708.htm

Happy Birthday Dad!

I love you, and that's no joke.
Son Shawn

Thoughts on Church Visits

Some things that I would take away from our visits.
-The physical posture that we have when worshiping does say something about our hearts.
Standing, moving, smiling, raising hands; they aren't indicators of worship taking place in the heart, but they can be. Distracted looking around while singing, not singing at all, lots of glum faces, reluctantly standing; they aren't indicators that worship isn't taking place in the heart, but they can be.
-Greeting visitors and regular attenders that you don't know does say something about Christ's love in you.
If the only person that talks to me in 30+ minutes of trying to get people to talk to me says, "Would you like a survey?", what does that say about peoples love for others?
-Use of our physical facilities says something about our focus.
Is it about nice, pretty, well-kept facilities? Or is it how can we use what God has given us to reach those around us? I would suggest that in this case it is the latter.

What is so hard about this, is that I can come up with what I think are the right answers. But I also know how much work it can be to put into practice. The more involved we get in the world, and in peoples lives, the messier it gets. Sometimes we prefer to stay on the surface, because it is cleaner and more comfortable there. I believe God calls us below the surface, and into the depths. That is where God is working, and he wants us to join him there. "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief."

Church Visiting Sunday

This last Sunday, we visited 3 churches for our Evangelism and Church Growth class. Each one was a very different experience. There were about 11 of us, and Suzanne and the girls didn't go along.

The first church we visited was an African American Methodist Church. There were roughly 2,500 people in attendance that morning. As you can imagine, the service was much more lively than your typical Swiss or Russian Mennonite service. The singing was very powerful. Lots of clapping and swaying, and impromptu runs and repeats. The drummer was drumming and the piano was playing. During the preaching service, the organist was playing little notes and runs to keep time with the pastor. The youth choir had a very moving song, with a couple of the singers in tears by the end. There was also a testimony song, by a lady from the audience. During the greeting time in the service, we got a number of hugs and I even got a kiss from an older lady. At most there were 2 dozen non-African American people in attendance, but we felt very welcome. Many people invited us to come again.

The second church we visited was an Evangelical Free Church. This church was made up of mostly white middle and upper class people. There were also about 3-4 dozen Chinese people, some of which had earphones on as they listened to a Mandarin translation of the service. There was a stark contrast in the friendliness of this congregation or lack thereof. No one greeted us, I was hard pressed to get an usher to give me a bulletin, and the service lacked any sense of emotion or movement. An ironic comment from the pastor at the beginning of the sermon was about how awesome it is to see God orchestrate the service. Most of us found this to be funny, knowing that services like that are usually planned to the tee, and the previous one we were at had lots of unplanned elements. After the service we continued to encounter little friendliness. It is not my nature to be overly outgoing, but I actually walked up to conversations to get people to talk to me. Most people just made eye contact and went back to their talking. I even walked in front of people as they hurried excited the service. Most people just sidestepped you and said, "excuse me." Where were the "Hello's", the "Welcome's", and the "Good to have you here"? We did share our experience with a member and they were embarrassed, and promised to share it with leadership. At the very least they need to have a couple people whose "job" it is every service to know the congregation well enough, that they can spot the visitors and welcome them.

The third church we visited was only to look at it's sports facilities. It was a Baptist church that took up a whole city block. They recently built a large sanctuary that seats around 3,000, but their Sunday attendance is only in the 750-850 range. The rest of the facility is also way under used. They have 2 full basketball courts, a 6+ lane bowling alley, a weight room full of nautilus equipment, a cardio room, a large dining area and kitchen, and many other amenities. Unfortunately, they only allow members and their guests to use it. It is kinda like an exclusive country club. Most of their members are from the suburbs and it is too far to drive in to use the facilities. They only come for church to this intercity neighborhood. Most of us thought that they should open up the facility for the neighborhood, maybe after school programs, or community ministry. I know it would cause a lot of extra work for the church to let ruffians in, but it's about ministry and impacting those around you. It's not about just having nice stuff and keeping things for ourselves.

I know, we are idealistic college students. More thoughts in the next post.