This has probably been the longest I've gone without posting. Things have been a little... intense. A lot has changed... I even have a new computer!! Another HP, of course... my favorite! Rivers, you served me well, and your death was honorable after 4 years... but I have to admit, Gilda is pretty slick. Haha. I'm such a nerd... But anyway, might I update you all with my life? (If anyone even still checks this thing... lol!)
I graduated with a final semester of straight A's, including on my Thesis, so that was pretty sweet. Then, it was straight to Chapter Camp. My experience was different this year than any other year, and honestly, it could have been better... but that's nobody's fault but my own. And through it all, God was still able to teach me and love me, because he's just that awesome. :)
Nadia and Jessica moved in with us, and it's been a little crowded and loud at times, but like I said, it could be much worse. Overall, I think it's going really well, and it's teaching me some about letting go of control, and of not stressing over things that aren't important. But I still can't wait until we move into the new place and have some more space! haha.
Aaaaand I got in to grad school!! USF College of Public Health, for Maternal and Child Health. I was super excited, because it took FOREVER to hear back from them. Now the question is, how will I pay for this?? I have some money saved up, and that will probably suffice for the first semester... but after that, I don't know. I'll either need a full time job on campus so I can have tuition reimbursement (I've already applied for two of those!), or I'll need scholarships... which are pretty hard to come by on the grad level, I'm beginning to discover. Or there's loans. Ugh. I've avoided them up until now... but I don't know if I'll keep that up. We'll see...
And also, Mexico was cancelled. Kind of seems like old news now, but it's worth mentioning. There was a lack of interest (a concept that still boggles my mind), and so they cancelled it... and then the whole swine flu thing happened, so more people probably would have dropped out after that. I've come to terms with it by now... I mean, as you see in my previous post, I sensed that it was coming, so I was prepared to hear it. The good news is, there's sort of an extended JJP type thing for all us college kids, called TMX, that I'm super stoked about. And the price is pretty sweet too... $138 or something (And remember when my parents gave me $150?? How convenient... Funny how things work out, lol). My JJP experience last year was really, really powerful, and it was only a weekend long. It truly impacted and changed my life, no exaggeration... read the post I linked to, if you don't believe me. So needless to say, I'm super stoked about this year! (If anyone wants to register for this year's JJP weekend, it's not limited to our church, so hit me up!! It's slightly less than $40 for the whole weekend, food included... you can't beat it! Check out www.jesusandjustice.com for info.)
Oh, and I'm taking a Summer Institute class with the Underground... I'm taking Brian's class on the New Testament. We've only had one class meeting so far, but I LOVE it already. I'm going to learn a LOT... maybe I'll start makign up for the fact that I don't have years of Sunday School knowledge like so many other people. I'm really looking forward to knowing the Bible better by the end of this, and understanding the culture and history that surrounds the stories of Jesus and of the early church. I love learning. :)
That's all for now. Pretty superficial, just to catch up... hope I can write something more significant soon. And I hope someone still reads this.
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Showing posts with label JJP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JJP. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, December 5, 2008
Short and Sweet
Sorry for the lapse in updates-- I blame finals. Yeah. That word pretty much sums it up.
A couple bits of news:
Jeremy told us at leadership today, and everyone was excited to hear it, but everyone who had gone before was positively ecstatic. Specifically, me and Kim were FREAKING out!! Across the room, she looked at me and was like "Robin... ROBIN!! AAAAHH!!" and then we did happy dances, and I squealed, and then I was bouncing for like 2 hours afterwards!! And Jeremy is gonna go too, which will be really cool, and he might bring one of his daughters, and Stacy I'm guessing will be there, and OH MY GOSH I might get to go back to Mexico!! This is still sinking in. I will, of course, pray about it... but just the thought of going back sends little jolts of excitement through my body. I need to work on my Spanish speaking/listening skills!! Oh, I hope this works out! Please, please God, please take me back to Mexico this summer!!
That's all for now. Not quite as short as I had thought. But that's okay. :)
A couple bits of news:
- I have just today learned of an AmeriCorps opportunity with a school in the Ybor area. They sound amazing, and I'm definitely gonna research them more. Check out this article about the school... it's worth your time! The school is quite unique, and reading about it just excites me. :)
- Theresa and I created a dessert: Chocolate Chips-n-Dip. It was decent, but could stand some improvement. Basically, chocolate chip cookies crumbled in chocolate pudding. It probably would have been better if we had whole milk on hand to make the pudding... On a side note, I made grits for the first time in my life, and absolutely ruined them. Haha. They were so salty they burned my throat... I think they got saltier and saltier as they thickened though, cause when I first tasted them, they weren't bad at all!!
- Biggest news of all: I may have the opportunity to go back to MEXICO CITY this summer!! Oh my gosh. I am so so so excited for this, and I hope and pray I will be able to go.
Jeremy told us at leadership today, and everyone was excited to hear it, but everyone who had gone before was positively ecstatic. Specifically, me and Kim were FREAKING out!! Across the room, she looked at me and was like "Robin... ROBIN!! AAAAHH!!" and then we did happy dances, and I squealed, and then I was bouncing for like 2 hours afterwards!! And Jeremy is gonna go too, which will be really cool, and he might bring one of his daughters, and Stacy I'm guessing will be there, and OH MY GOSH I might get to go back to Mexico!! This is still sinking in. I will, of course, pray about it... but just the thought of going back sends little jolts of excitement through my body. I need to work on my Spanish speaking/listening skills!! Oh, I hope this works out! Please, please God, please take me back to Mexico this summer!!
That's all for now. Not quite as short as I had thought. But that's okay. :)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Good news!
I'll make this quick...
we have a room!! not only for next semester, but for the rest of this one as well!!
Hooray! Thank you JESUS!! :)
Common Ground with the Voiceless went very well, for being in the food court...
...but I am soooo happy that we will be back in 3707! The people at the MSC really had grace on us... amazing. God provides.
What a relief!!
:) :) :)
we have a room!! not only for next semester, but for the rest of this one as well!!
Hooray! Thank you JESUS!! :)
Common Ground with the Voiceless went very well, for being in the food court...
...but I am soooo happy that we will be back in 3707! The people at the MSC really had grace on us... amazing. God provides.
What a relief!!
:) :) :)
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Power of God...
This weekend was incredible. I am changed as a result, and I hope the change lasts forever.
My weekend was spent in Ybor Heights. You may be familiar with the area. If not, you've probably driven past it on the way to Busch Gardens or something. When you're traveling north on 275, just after you pass the I-4 overpass, look to your right. See those houses? Off of Nebraska, MLK, Floribraska? That's where we were.
Part of the weekend was spent in small groups. In each group, there was a leader from the Underground Church, and a homeless or ex-homeless mentor. They were our guides through the city, and were there to tell us what it's really like to live on the streets. Our mentor/guide, Danny, was absolutely amazing. He used to work for gangsters in New York in the organized crime scene. His boss was John Gotti's nephew. Somehow, he came into hard times, and found himself homeless, on drugs, and struggling to survive. A few years ago, he came to Florida and got hooked in with a church who reached out to the homeless... and the rest was history. He says he used to chase after diamond rings, $40,000 cars, and girls... and now he chases after Jesus, and he's never been happier. Every person we passed on the street, he smiled and said hello, and reminded them that they were loved by Jesus.
Part of our tour through the city involved prayer. Sometimes we would stop and talk to people that were on the street, or hanging around on the front porch of their homes. Everyone was so welcoming and eager to talk to us. We asked if they needed prayer for anything, and they would explain situations in their life. We'd pray with them, and just try to express that God cared so much about them. It was really awesome meeting people that way.
I was really impacted by the homeless mentors, however. They were so eager to share their lives with us. Most of them are now Christians, and the hope and joy they expressed was simply astounding. Brian explained it this way. They had seen the bottom, they had seen despair, and they had been saved by Jesus. After that, what is there to fear? Danny, for instance. He told us that there were two separate times he flatlined after a drug OD and was brought back to life in the hospital. He also stole from the gangsters he worked for... not a smart idea if you value your life. He said again and again that logically, he should not be alive. But God saved him, and he owes his very life to him. Eddie, Mike, Charlie, Lloyd, April, Indio, and the people whose names I did not catch-- you have impacted me so much. You have broken down barriers and stereotypes that even I had about the homeless. You have shown me your individuality and your personalities, and taken away much of the fear and nervousness I had about talking to homeless people. I will be forever grateful for how you have changed me.
We felt the power of God so strongly all weekend. Brian's talks were fueled by the raw power and passion of God's heart. There was so much emotion in him as he talked about the children he has met over the years who are stuck in absolute poverty. He was on the verge of crying multiple times, and I've never seen him get like that. But the stories of Rafi in the Philippines, Geraldine in Haiti, Rafael and the street kids in Rio de Janiero, and Telandro, who lived (and tragically died) right here in Ybor Heights, illustrated so clearly the tragedy of poverty, the sin of the Western nations as they ignore it, and the anger of God over this injustice to his beloved children. I can't even express how convicted I felt.
The very heart of Jesus Christ is with the poor and the broken. Luke 18 illustrated this. There are four small stories; read it if you aren't familiar with them. The persistent widow was rich in spirit but poor materially, and the parable indicated that God hears the cries of people like this. The tax collector was rich materially but poor in his broken spirit, and God accepted his humility. The little children were poor in every way possible, and Jesus accepted them and showed that they were especially valued by God. But the rich young ruler... the one who wanted to follow Jesus, and even gave the "right" answers when his knowledge was tested... couldn't bring himself to give up his possessions. He was spiritually rich with a wealth of knowledge of God, and he was obviously materially rich... and it was THIS PERSON of the four who was denied by God! Our God is a God of the poor and broken, and this was made so, so clear to me by the Holy Spirit himself this weekend. I can't even express it.
This weekend re-ignited the passion in my heart for God, and the hope that is found in Jesus alone. Only through him can this broken world be transformed. And if we ignore it's brokenness, we ignore the very things that break God's heart. How, then, does this show that we "love" him??
I don't know exactly how this weekend has changed the course of my life. But I feel that it has. On Sunday, after it was all over, the USF kids ate lunch at Jeremy's house. It was really crowded, but eventually everyone trickled out except for me, Ryan, Nadia, and Jessica R. We sat with Jeremy and just talked about God, about the weekend, and about our four friends who had just decided to follow Jesus after experiencing the conference. I laid there on the floor in his Ybor Heights home, and I felt so perfectly content. I wondered why, and here's what I gathered.
Jeremy doesn't have really anything in excess, materially. I mean, he has a TV and computer, lots of books, and typical household furniture... his kids have toys... but they're not super expensive, and there's not excess. But Jeremy DOES have his amazing wife (who I admire so much), his family, and a passion in his heart to follow God anywhere, and to serve His people the best that he can. This, I believe, is all I will ever need to be truly happy. I dreaded returning to my apartment and all my useless things and obligations. But I know that if I let him, God will lead me where he needs me to go. I trust him. My faith has grown so much...
.
My weekend was spent in Ybor Heights. You may be familiar with the area. If not, you've probably driven past it on the way to Busch Gardens or something. When you're traveling north on 275, just after you pass the I-4 overpass, look to your right. See those houses? Off of Nebraska, MLK, Floribraska? That's where we were.
Part of the weekend was spent in small groups. In each group, there was a leader from the Underground Church, and a homeless or ex-homeless mentor. They were our guides through the city, and were there to tell us what it's really like to live on the streets. Our mentor/guide, Danny, was absolutely amazing. He used to work for gangsters in New York in the organized crime scene. His boss was John Gotti's nephew. Somehow, he came into hard times, and found himself homeless, on drugs, and struggling to survive. A few years ago, he came to Florida and got hooked in with a church who reached out to the homeless... and the rest was history. He says he used to chase after diamond rings, $40,000 cars, and girls... and now he chases after Jesus, and he's never been happier. Every person we passed on the street, he smiled and said hello, and reminded them that they were loved by Jesus.
Part of our tour through the city involved prayer. Sometimes we would stop and talk to people that were on the street, or hanging around on the front porch of their homes. Everyone was so welcoming and eager to talk to us. We asked if they needed prayer for anything, and they would explain situations in their life. We'd pray with them, and just try to express that God cared so much about them. It was really awesome meeting people that way.
I was really impacted by the homeless mentors, however. They were so eager to share their lives with us. Most of them are now Christians, and the hope and joy they expressed was simply astounding. Brian explained it this way. They had seen the bottom, they had seen despair, and they had been saved by Jesus. After that, what is there to fear? Danny, for instance. He told us that there were two separate times he flatlined after a drug OD and was brought back to life in the hospital. He also stole from the gangsters he worked for... not a smart idea if you value your life. He said again and again that logically, he should not be alive. But God saved him, and he owes his very life to him. Eddie, Mike, Charlie, Lloyd, April, Indio, and the people whose names I did not catch-- you have impacted me so much. You have broken down barriers and stereotypes that even I had about the homeless. You have shown me your individuality and your personalities, and taken away much of the fear and nervousness I had about talking to homeless people. I will be forever grateful for how you have changed me.
We felt the power of God so strongly all weekend. Brian's talks were fueled by the raw power and passion of God's heart. There was so much emotion in him as he talked about the children he has met over the years who are stuck in absolute poverty. He was on the verge of crying multiple times, and I've never seen him get like that. But the stories of Rafi in the Philippines, Geraldine in Haiti, Rafael and the street kids in Rio de Janiero, and Telandro, who lived (and tragically died) right here in Ybor Heights, illustrated so clearly the tragedy of poverty, the sin of the Western nations as they ignore it, and the anger of God over this injustice to his beloved children. I can't even express how convicted I felt.
The very heart of Jesus Christ is with the poor and the broken. Luke 18 illustrated this. There are four small stories; read it if you aren't familiar with them. The persistent widow was rich in spirit but poor materially, and the parable indicated that God hears the cries of people like this. The tax collector was rich materially but poor in his broken spirit, and God accepted his humility. The little children were poor in every way possible, and Jesus accepted them and showed that they were especially valued by God. But the rich young ruler... the one who wanted to follow Jesus, and even gave the "right" answers when his knowledge was tested... couldn't bring himself to give up his possessions. He was spiritually rich with a wealth of knowledge of God, and he was obviously materially rich... and it was THIS PERSON of the four who was denied by God! Our God is a God of the poor and broken, and this was made so, so clear to me by the Holy Spirit himself this weekend. I can't even express it.
This weekend re-ignited the passion in my heart for God, and the hope that is found in Jesus alone. Only through him can this broken world be transformed. And if we ignore it's brokenness, we ignore the very things that break God's heart. How, then, does this show that we "love" him??
I don't know exactly how this weekend has changed the course of my life. But I feel that it has. On Sunday, after it was all over, the USF kids ate lunch at Jeremy's house. It was really crowded, but eventually everyone trickled out except for me, Ryan, Nadia, and Jessica R. We sat with Jeremy and just talked about God, about the weekend, and about our four friends who had just decided to follow Jesus after experiencing the conference. I laid there on the floor in his Ybor Heights home, and I felt so perfectly content. I wondered why, and here's what I gathered.
Jeremy doesn't have really anything in excess, materially. I mean, he has a TV and computer, lots of books, and typical household furniture... his kids have toys... but they're not super expensive, and there's not excess. But Jeremy DOES have his amazing wife (who I admire so much), his family, and a passion in his heart to follow God anywhere, and to serve His people the best that he can. This, I believe, is all I will ever need to be truly happy. I dreaded returning to my apartment and all my useless things and obligations. But I know that if I let him, God will lead me where he needs me to go. I trust him. My faith has grown so much...
.
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