The Resurgence

So I've been out for a while. We just got back yesterday from our mission trip to New York. I'll post more about that later. Right now I'm just trying to get back into regular life mode. Sometimes, I think that might be what God doesn't want for us. Life feels so much different when you're on a mission trip.
This trip was interesting because there wasn't a lot of like hard, hands-on, get dirty kind of stuff. It was mainly publicity and direct interaction with people. What I loved about it, though was the time that I got to spend interacting with students, especially the guys that were in my suite late at night. I'd go down and talk to them for a couple of hours each night and just hang out.
I think the key to life change is the stuff you talk about then. When the day is winding down and you can be real with people.
I talk a lot about the moments before sleep. When life is slowing down and you can really think about what is going on. That's one of the reasons that I do my quiet times at night, and the main reason why I blog at night. I just feel it's the most contemplative part of the day.
Spending time with the 9th grade guys makes me really miss them. They are such a great group of guys. It's tough, too, because right now there is just no student leadership in middle school. It's really hurt the direction of our ministry as a whole. I'm trying to assess where we need to go next year in order to recover. I don't care about numbers, or anything like that, I just want to spiritually impact the students that God gives me. The question is how best to do that. JM

Finalizing NY Trip

We're working out the final details of our NY mission trip. We're taking a group of 55 students and adults up to Queens to work with a Messianic Jewish church and a small church plant. I've been in charge of transportation and lodging, which I enjoy because of the organization and logistics involved. The problem that I'm having is that nobody is giving me a firm time on when we need to be anywhere. We are using all mass transit, so we're kind of slaves to the schedules, and I've been asked to make sure it's doable.
But it can be doable at certain times, and not at others. I'm okay with being flexible and having to adapt, I just hope that it doesn't come down to "I thought you said..." kind of stuff.
It should be a good trip. I just wish my wife was going with me. I guess we'll get to hang out more in NY once we move there. JM