10.01.2010

September 2010 Newsletter

Newsletter September, 2010

What's Happenin'?

Three weeks in and already slightly falling for the city of Houston. I technically have only been in Houston for two whole weeks because our first week we took quite the road trip from Houston to Chicago for a week of orientation. Packing almost 25 young adults into one big van and three cars is one of the best ways to get to know people, in my opinion! I enjoyed just about every second of our 48 hour (round trip) expedition, and was awake for the majority of it as well! Oh, how I love a good road trip!

Orientation was such a good experience! Being in a place and knowing that every single person there has been called to the same thing you have been called to is very encouraging and slightly mind-blowing!

I couldn't have asked for anything more with the house we are in and my teammates are all very beautiful people. We like hanging out and having jam sessions on our numerous living room couches and walking the neighborhood unceasingly. We have met many of our precious neighbors and have made many a baked good for them. One of our favorites is Miss Linda. Once, while walking the neighborhood, my housemate, Becky, saw Miss Linda on her porch and asked her if she ever crafts (hoping to eventually start up a neighborhood craft club) and Miss Linda got so excited that she simply handed Becky a purse she had made from scrap couch material and safety pins. Becky promised Miss Linda that we would return the favor, then came back to the house to show off her new style and inform us of the agreement. I jumped at the opportunity and started knitting and sewing up a bag for Miss Linda. A few days later we visited Miss Linda and brought with us our knitted/sewn gift and she absolutely loved it! That was a really fun, tangible way to show Christ's love for her, and our friendship!

Our church and service site – Ecclesia - is like a dream! This place screams all of my passions and it is quite uncanny how close it is to my dreams of having a place that is a coffee house/bookstore/art space/ministry space. God sure gave me some specific dreams and is now showing me that they are quite possible. This past week we have been going through barista training, which will come in handy whenever we have to work in the coffee shop (which I hope is often!). Later on we will be getting quite a bit of training in video editing. We will be coming up with a collaborative event later on down the road that incorporates all of the artistic talent from our team - through music, visual arts, creative writing, etc. I will soon be involved in the Children's Ministry on Sunday mornings, where the children will learn how to listen from the Word and have the chance to creatively respond to what they heard in a way that is not formulaic, which I find to be a beautiful approach to learning. I look forward to seeing how they go about that.

I am just very grateful to be a part of this beautiful call to action and love this year and hope it inspires a radical life change in my own life and the lives of many. Thank you for taking an interest and for reading!

Love,

nicole.

Prayer requests:

That we would have many more opportunities to build deeper relationships with our neighbors, our teammates, our church family, and our God.

Also, that we would be continually energized by our hope and goal and will be slow to becoming weary, tired, and discouraged.

Thank you.

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