Snipe Hunting

OMG! Man, I am usually the one pulling the pranks on people but today was the day that I got got for sure. Some of my youth group kids have made it their goal to expose me to as much country crazy activities as possible. I went carpe catching a few weeks back and that was really funny and scary at the same time. I couldn't believe that these kids wanted me to grab these huge fish out of this muddy water and then play with it. So weird, haha but anyways, I had been hearing about snipe hunting for a while now and I was excited when Bryan, my prankster of a friend told me that we could go tonight. So, I get all dressed up in camo gear, grabed my sack0 and got pumped to see and catch these "rare" birds. Little do I know, that the plan is to bring Joe out to the woods, scare him by claiming that coyotes and weird animals were out near me, have me sit on the ground holding a stupid sack and leave me there. That's snipe hunting at its best! A prank to prove how gulible someone can truly be. I feel like such a fool and if it wasnt for my roomie Jered telling me about the real snipe hunting, I probally would have been gearing up for more hunting tommorrow. It was really funny though and I love my youth guys for doing it but I feel bad for them because they might have just started a war. I don't know, maybe I will have mercy on them....NOT! haha. Today was a fun day; myself and the other interns met with, Paul, the senior pastor at Metro and asked him different questions about Metro and ministry in general and it was so cool. I felt like I learned so much time in the short time that I had with him. One of the most important things that I felt like he said was to "make sure you know what you want in a church" I think this is great because going into any church position interview, you are trying to sell yourself but the church is selling themselves as well so as a canaditate you have to word your questions in a way that they have to be honest and real. Just things like this make me think so much about the future and the oppertunities that I'm going to have in the future. It's exciting stuff. After the meeting, I went to Buffalo wild Wings with Jordan and Connor (other interns) and it was so good. If your wondering what kind of sauce I get at Bdubs, I'm a honey barq and mild kind of guy. They never let me down. I also had the first practice for the youth worship band and that was great. We have some talented kids and with some practice, they will sound awesome in a couple of weeks. Well its crazy but tommorrow is Thursday already and I have tons of stuff to do, but I'm pumped to getting back to drumming after a week off. It will be great. I get to play with an awesome and hilarious group of people. Oh yeah, something really awesome happened on Monday. JERED AND JORDAN GOT ENGAGED! I was so excited when Jered told me about the ring a few weeks ago and then this weekend when he told me that monday was going to be the day. They are great together and God is at the head of their relationship which makes it amazing. Can't wait to go to their wedding. I will always remember the day they met...they almost shared a half baked potato and the rest was history! Congrats guys. Well thats all for now folks. Until next time...

In Christ's Name
Joe
Philippians 4:13

An eventful week to say the least.

Well, this week was amazing week! I spent most of the week in Vandalia for Kids bible kamp, which is the awesome day camp for kids grades pre k-6th that Metro puts on every year. I stayed in Vandalia Monday thru Thursday because not only was I an assistant teacher for the 5th and 6th grade class but I also had to coordinate a service project for the teens that came over from Edwardsville to help us and I had to lead a devotional for them in the evenings. It was a busy week but man did I have fun and I was truly blessed by the awesome kids that I got to work with and teach about god. Cool stuff. We worked in downtown Vandalia on some landscaping projects that I think the kids enjoyed and also greatly helped the people down at the Mainstreet Vandalia program. It was so cool. We talked about Legacies and ultimately what kind of legacy were we all going to leave. What kind of impact are you making on the world. That was my challenge to the Eville teens and I really hope that they think about and understand the potential and plan that god has for each of their lives because we all have the ability to leave out mark on the world in a positive way that is pleasing to god and the quicker that we figure out how to do that and do, the better off we will be. I don't know about you I dream about making the type of impact that Michael Jackson made on this world. Instead of music, could you imagine that some made that kind of lasting impact on the world through Jesus Christ. The kind of impact that would move 20000 people to attend your funeral. The kind of impact that would move millions upon millions of people to publicly and privately mourn your passing, all because you touched peoples lives through the love of Jesus. How cool would that be? What kind of Impact are you going to leave? How will they remember you? Such a great topic and I enjoyed talking about it will the great guys and girls. I also edited the highlight video for KBK and that was cool but also a bit annoying. I love video editing but for most of my life I have been spoiled and have been blessed with being able to edit with Final Cut Pro which is for Macs but the camera that I was using this week wasn't compatible with the IMac so I had to use movie maker and it isn't nearly as cool. Luckily it came out okay and was a big hit at the carnival. Despite being really busy and working pretty hard all week, KBK was great. The highlights were definitely hearing about the 8 teens that gave their lives to the Lord. Amanda was in my class and it was cool, seeing her receive Christ and really be interested in learning more abotu him. That's what makes it all worth it. There was also another kid named Caleb who is the 3rd grade brother of a high schoolers in my youth group. Caleb heard about God through his older brother and then decided to ask God into his heart at KBK. So cool. God definitely moved at KBK. I mean from kids getting saved, to parents being now dragged to church because their kids, it was a great week to be apart of the kingdom of God for sure. I was blessed and privilege to serve this week. Here are a few pics from the week.



Well after KBK I went home for my bday which was Saturday and that was fun. It was great to see my friends and just to be able to laugh with them and catch up a little bit was great. I have been home very little this summer so whenever I can get away for a few days in da brook, I take advantage of it for sure. We went to Mangolian Grill for dinner and man was it amazing! Here;s a pic so you can be jealous....


Well this summer has been flying by and I'm starting week 8 of the internship tomorrow. I'm excited to get back to the office and see the staff tomorrow. I also get to meet with the other interns and Paul, the senior pastor which should be real insightful. He's been in ministry for over 20 years n will have some great advice for a newb like me. Anyways, my goal is to blog everyday this week but I can't promise anything. I'm really gonna try. Well until next time...

In Christ's Name
Joe
"All can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"