All geared up, ready to go

We are rounding the corner on summer in Azusa and getting ready to launch a new school year into full swing. It's pretty crazy. My senior year of college is at the front door about to slap me in the face when I answer! I went by the APU bookstore on Wednesday thinking I could pick up my books early before the freshman rush hit today. They only had half of my books in stock, classic APU bookstore. And to be speaking of APU and freshman. Today I was on campus with some of my other staff friends from Glenkirk Student Ministries networking with students. It was really interesting trying to connect with college students and get them connected into a ministry that doesn't really have much of a college ministry at the moment. The long end of the story. I will now also be taking on the Glenkirk-APU college Bible study. Hope I am not getting in over my head at Gkirk.

Our roommate Matt made the move from his hometown, Monterey, into the house this week. It is just so good to have the guys getting back. I really missed them and forgot what a blessing my friends are in my life. Tomorrow the four of us (myself, Nick, Conner, and Jay) are going out for a nice breakfast before Jay's big game. It is his senior season game opener against rival University of San Diego. APU football is pumped and ready to go he says and I just can't wait to be his biggest fan out there blowing my vuvuzela and being as obnoxiously rowdy as possible, in a God First kind of way as APU would want of course.

Class and Glenkirk Student Ministries Fall Kick-off are in a matter of days! Next wednesday I go from 0-100. I really can't wait for the day though. I am at that point where I'm excited for classes again and am especially glad to launch our fall programs at Gkirk.

Home sweet home

I have been all over the place in the last week. I went home for the weekend and spent some time with my mom and my buddy Dillon who I met in South Africa. It was a nice little trip home but it was short. Sunday morning I got to hang out with Lisette, who will eventually be my boss at Glenkirk once her religious work visa is approved and she can move down here from Canada. She is awesome. Her sense of humor seems great and she has a lot of energy and ideas. It'll be fun to work with her for the year as we try to build up the Glenkirk high school ministry. We have got a week and a half until our Fall kick-off at Glenkirk. The night is themed "revenge of the nerds," it is going to rock, I'll fill you all in on how it goes!

Today, we got Verizon Fios installed at the house. Their tv and internet is supposed to be top of the line... we'll see how that goes. I typically have mixed feelings towards Verizon. Other then that, things are really going well at the house. We are getting moved in and more guys will come down this week and move it. It becomes my new home. School starts next Wednesday!!! AH! Senior year is finally on the doorstep. First day of classes are the same day as fall kick-off at Glenkirk which means it will be a crazy day! ha.

Homeless no more!

Today we closed on a house. It is not the house we would have loved to have, but it is going to be great for us in terms of practicality and location. Three good sized bedrooms and walking distance to classic coffee... my addiction to that place will only get worse this year. My goal... to get all the baristas to know my preferred drink upon my arrival--the iced chai latte (1/2 vanilla, 1/2 spice) if you really wanted to know.

I am home for the weekend. Tomorrow is grandma Lambert's birthday and Saturday is my mom's birthday, figured it would be fitting to come spend some time at home with the family before move in day on Monday. Don't know what exactly the schedule will be for the weekend but I was just once again taken aback by how wonderful the central coast is. LA, as much as it becomes more and more my home just can't match the central coast.

I have been finding my thoughts going back to South Africa a lot this week. I just miss it so much. I was talking to my good friend Keith over at JAM and they are doing a camp this weekend. As I write this they are prepping for the camp at Apostle, I wish I were there. We didn't do any camps while I was there and I really wish that I could have done that, among a few other things. Oh well, I'll have to save all that fun stuff for my next trip!!!

The continued ramblings of a homeless college student

Hullo. Have survived a week and a half living off the couch of my dear friends. I am very thankful for their loving gratuity towards me during this time. The house that we were all very excited about and believed that we would be getting fell through on us this morning. It was very frustrating for us, seeing as we lost a couple of weeks time in the process. After this morning's bad news that the landlord of our dream house wouldn't rent to us we found a new house and have a meeting tomorrow with the owners of the house. It is a nicely sized, well priced place and I just hope that they like us and agree to rent to us, seeing as we are drawing on desperation in terms of finding a house.

In better news, planning for Glenkirk this fall is going awesome! I am so excited for our fall kick-off on Sept. 8. It is going to be amazing! I don't want to leak too much information on what we have got planned at the moment, so be sure to check back for the post on the fall kick off in the near future! I just hope we can put together the resources to really pull it off in an awesome way!

Please be praying for us on the house, we need and want it soon.

Pool Party

The pool party was awesome. Small in numbers, but large in entertainment. BBQ burgers, homemade cookies, and high school students jumping off the roof into the pool. I had an awesome awkward moment with one of the students, Nathan--who I have learned today via facebook goes by peaches, he looks at me and asks, "Johnny, you are from Cambria?" At this point I answer yes hesitantly wondering how someone I've known for 2 minutes knows where I'm from. Turns out he was one of the students who friend requested me on facebook beforehand and had "facebook stalked" me. Classic ministry awkwardness, I'm so blessed.

Tracking with me

So, the whole blog thing was really a helpful and successful tool for me when I was traveling in South Africa. Ironically, it is probably harder for me to keep in touch with people when I get busy at school so I've decided to do a blog on life for any who may be interested in tracking with where God is taking me.

So, here's what's been going on. We are currently in the process of trying to find a house. There are seven of us, and don't get me wrong we're a legit group of guys but it's difficult to convince landlords of that... apparently a group of 7 college guys just looks like a party moving into your house instantly...thanks for that stereotype MTV. We found a sweet place that is willing to rent to us and all our credit checks are going through right now. Be praying for us that this house goes through! It would be such an amazing blessing to have this place!

Currently, me and my roommate Nick will hopefully be living in a mobile-home owned and parked at his Aunt and Uncle's house near Azusa. College life, I'll really miss it when it's gone.

Glenkirk. I have started working at Glenkirk Church. I am really excited for the new challenges. They have hired me as a sort of interim High School director until the new Student Ministries Director arrives sometime in early November. At that point I will work under her as an intern of sorts... not really sure what my role we be when she gets here, cross that bridge when I get to it. I'm off to a high school pool party tonight. This will be my first meeting with the high school group and I'm really excited to start hanging out with the students. Today I went on the high school websites and was taking down information like football schedules are terms for campus visitation. I am officially a Glendora Tartan fan now! I don't even care that I dont' know what a Tartan is! Thinking through lessons for our youth group meetings, Element, this fall. Going to take it back into the Sermon on the Mount. Praying Jesus rocks our small little worlds!

The Unlikely Disciple is a book that I have started reading. It is written by a 20 year old journalist from a secular school called Brown University. He does a semester at Liberty University--a huge conservative Christian school in Virginia. Through I am realizing how bizarre the Christian sub-culture can look to an outsider. This is a bad thing, we gotta reach people who think that we are crazy. hmm... in this world, but not of it, gotta figure that one out. That's all for now, I gotta bounce out to the pool party. Much love.