Monday, March 14, 2005

Love Inclusively. That's what I'm talkin about!

Hey everyone if anyone reads this...(lately I'm not sure) but either way it's great therapy for me! If you have not read my previous entry, please do and let me know what you think. I'm in the middle of studying God's will and what it is. I need any insight, book recommendations, inspirational quotes, a smack up the side of the head, anything that may aid the situation.
I wanted to give any SAMS people who read this and update as to what's going on in the Tallahassee Corps. OH MY GOSH! God is moving like a mighty force throughout this crazy town. Well, first of all, we love it here. We love the town, we love our new friends, we love that its 30 degrees (Celsius) in March...We love Tallahassee. But above and beyond that, we love that God has chosen us to be apart of his re-facing the army here in this town. On our first Sunday here, there were about 10 adults in the congregation and about 20 children. What a beautiful sea of children the army has here. They are AMAZING kids too. So warm and welcoming. They'd rather minister in a nursing home then go to the movies...But I'm getting side tracked by their coolness. Yesterday we had a little over 60 people in church! AH! God is just blessing this corps like crazy and the best part is, people are coming here from literally ALL walks of life. We have a large group of professional business people, we have homeless from the Shelter and the new HOPE community center, we have young families and some elderly. IT"S CRAZY! And we are all worshipping our God together. It's almost becoming this surreal utopia worship center where all people gather together. Now don't get me wrong, change always brings a little growing pains, but this past Sunday was an overwhelming experience for me because people seemed to leave their skepticism and their discomforts and their uncertainties at the door and we all just came together in His name. We had people here who had not been here in several months, and 10-12 who were here for the very first time. One was a family of 8 who are the most precious people you could ever imagine. It's been insane! It's been such a blessing for Jason and I to #1) invite people to church #2) have them show up and #3) Get paid to do it. Sometimes I feel guilty, but I know I should just feel blessed because having the time and ability to create these relationships is what God is blessing and the corps IS growing. PRAISE GOD! Our Tuesday night youth programs are growing too. I ask that you pray for the new members of our corps, that we may effectively meet their needs and fulfill the mission of the Southern Territory, "Salvationists of the Southern Territory USA are answering God's call to make radical followers of Jesus Christ who love inclusively, serve helpfully and disciple effectively in the communities where they live." I think I may have mixed up the order of the verbs but you know what I mean!
Yesterday after our amazing day in church, we had a potluck with all of the people, eating together and getting to know each other. Then Jason and I went to the beach with our dog and we took pictures of alligators. There's a sentence I thought I'd never say! Hey if you read this, leave me a comment to boost my self esteem. I determine my self-worth by my blogspot comments...Sniff sniff...
Ok, Ok maybe not but I'd love to know who reads this. Take care!