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Saturday, 28 June 2008
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Coming back to Xanga after a long time...going with a pre-fab site to make it readable.
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Xanga, don't cancel me!!!
Hello again. I know I don't blog very often (or ever really), but I think I have a good excuse. I'm the father of four kids that are aged seven and under, I'm married, I'm a part-time youth pastor (part-time doesn't mean less work) and have been enduring a grueling three month search for a new full-time job to supplement our income (since I got laid off the last one).
Well, God has been faithful once again (He always is) and staring this Monday, June 30th, I start working at Blue Mountain Community College!!! My official title is Office Assistant/Bookstore Bookkeeper. I know a couple of other people who work at the college and they all love working there. It seems like a really cool place to work. I met with the bookstore Manager the day after I got the job and he seems like a totally cool guy to work with.
I'm totally stoked about this for several reasons: a) they are totally understanding and supportive about ministry, b) college = tons of crazy holidays off...paid, c) the benefits are the best I've ever even HEARD of before, and d) our whole family can take any courses we want at the college for FREE. I'm sure there are tons of other reasons I'll find out to be stoked, but these are the main ones. Oh, and I can't forget, I'm excited to be bringing money into the house again. It's been a rough three months, but God has been faithful and we still have a roof over our head, lights, water, and all the necessities we've needed. The belt has been tightened quite a bit, but God is always faithful to supply all our NEEDS according to HIS riches in glory. Praise God for that!!!
Ok, that's all for now. It's almost 4:00 AM and we have to drive to Yakima tomorrow. Just wanted to post a quick heads-up and let everyone know that even though I don't write much, I'm reading all the time. This is my main venue for keeping tabs on all of my long-distance friends and acquaintences. Keep writing, I'm reading.
Thanks and God bless!
Mike
Currently Listening
Empty and Beautiful
By Matt Maher
Your Grace is Enough
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Tuesday, 28 August 2007
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I feel like I owe Xanga an apology for how long it has been since I posted anything...
A lot has gone on in life since my last post. We have been offered and have accepted the position of Youth Pastors at the church we have been attending for the past three years. The youth pastor that was here for the past three years felt a moving in his heart into young adult ministry, so he moved into an associate pastor role at our church. This left a gaping hole in the youth ministry. We had several volunteer youth staff who pitched in for several months to try and make things still happen. But there was no real leader, so we were a body without a head.
Several months prior, I felt God stir in my heart at the Oregon Youth Ministry's Fine Arts/Master's Student Leadership Conference that we would soon be moving into a youth pastor position (God specifically said within six months). I took it to assume it meant we would be moving on from the church we have called home for the last three years. God had other plans and started laying them on my heart. Our pastor affirmed that God had been speaking much the same to him as well. So, we stepped out in faith.
I'm still working my full-time job at the local newspaper as the church isn't financially able to afford another pastor quite yet. So, where God guides, God has to provide. We're just volunteer at this point, but as things are looking now, they'll be able to give us a part-time salary within a month or two and then full-time within a year's time. '
Please be in prayer that God would lead and direct our hearts to effectively minister to the youth of Pendleton First. I'm so excited and feel like a bomb is going to go off inside me at the awesome things God is going to do in the youth of Pendleton First.
Sunday, 29 April 2007
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What a whirlwind of a week!!!
After church last Sunday night, our band of travelers headed out on a quest of epic proportions. Our group included myself, my wife Becky, her sister Jacky, Daimian, Erica, and our two boys Joey and Seth. We stayed the night at Tyler's house in Tualatin, then drove back into Portland to have breakfast and go bowling with Andy, Becky and Jacky's brother. If you have never been bowling before noon, it's pretty much like bowling any other time...only earlier. We dropped the kids off with my sister, Julie and were on our way.
We then headed down to Keizer to Tony's house, who is pretty much the coolest brown guy I know! That was where we called home until Tuesday. Together, we helped out with the Seven Project at West Salem High School and Jefferson High School. That was totally amazing and I look forward to working alongside Seven more in the future.
On Wednesday, we all headed over to Lincoln City where we frolicked along the beach, shopped at the Outlet malls, and then returned to the beach to witness Tony's mad bonfire-building skills and roasted marshmallows and hot dogs until dark.
After the Seven @ Night rally Thursday we headed to Albany to The Master's Student Leadership Conference and Fine Arts Festival. I judged competitors in the Female Vocal Solo and Worship Team Categories. During the Friday night service which featured the Generation Unleashed Band for worship and lasted four hours long, God laid something on my heart and renewed my burden for ministry. God gave me some short term specifics so I'm awaiting to see how He makes those things come to pass.
Pray for us. Becky and I are both really sick. I'm not sure if it is coincidence or the incredible exhaustion and lack of sleep of such a whirlwind week. And...to top it off, we have another whirlwind week. We're moving this week into a 3 bedroom house that is going to be so perfect for our family. We've lived in multi-family dwellings (duplexes or apartments) ever since we were married over seven years ago, so an actual house is going to be so nice. It has a nice yard for the kids to play in and is in such a nice neighborhood.
Thursday, 22 March 2007
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Update on the Seven Project...So, we're spending this week doing the Seven Project at four local schools and it's totally awesome. You spend the day doing assemblies IN local public schools giving positive, life-application type messages. You offer them solutions to things like peer pressure, sex, making positive choices, etc. THEN at night, you invite them back to a
rally at the school where you offer the REAL solution...a relationship with Jesus Christ.So, today we did assemblies at the combination middle/high school in Pilot Rock, Oregon, a community about 20 minutes
from town. Then we came to Pendleton and did an assembly at the middle school...and then back out to Pilot Rock for the night-time rally.So, we went to the rally tonight, had about 150 students show up, and it went totally awesome. Of those students, I would say about 130 of them at least accepted Christ tonight. I was totally blown away at the response. I was running the video (Becky and I are on the media team for Seven) and started following the initial surge of students
thinking to myself, "Oh, that's a good group of students" when all of the sudden out of the corner of my eye I saw like 80 more kids coming around. I was floored and wanted to just jump (but didn't because I was running the camera). 
So, please be in prayer for tomorrow's assemblies & night rally. We are doing the day-time assemblies at Pendleton High School and Nixyaawaii (sp?) Community School, and then invited both schools, along with the middle school kids from today's assemblies. To entice them, we are giving away Ipod's, Xbox 360s, PS2s, and A CAR!!! So anyway be in prayer.
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About Me
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Who I am...a servant of Christ Jesus. I love my wife Becky. My FOUR kids (Oriyah, Joey, Joshua & Seth) are the best kids in the world. I am currently a youth pastor, worship leader, etc.
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