Hey guys. Here are some more pictures of the Aviator Student Ministry and a video that was put together by our church's association.
Teaching...
Playing...
The aftermath...
Yeah, no comment...
This video describes what happened in Derby during the Summer of '08. We're planning to blitz the town again this summer and we expect amazing things to happen!!
-Ben <><
Wow, so we're leaving Wake Forest in less than two weeks. Actually, as of today, we have 12 more days before we set sail on a whole new adventure in life. CRAZY!!
So as of January 5th, I will be serving as Youth Pastor at Aviator Church in Derby, KS. I am super pumped about having a job that I love in a church that I am excited about. BUT... it's so far away from everything that is comfortable to me. I have lived out west before, but not since I was a little kid. I am cozy and comfortable here in Wake Forest and the carnal side of me doesn't want to go.
So, a lot has happened over the last few days. Wake Forest saw its first snow of the year today. A little early and a lot of awesome! It would snow pretty hard for like 2 minutes, then stop, which made it impossible to stick. Hopefully, this will signal a lot more to come.
Some attend for guidance, others for answers — and a few just to vent. But all of the students of the Wake Forest-Rolesville High chapter of the Campus Life program come with an open mind.
Every Thursday night from 7 until 9, almost 50 students convene under the guidance of Christian counselors to spend time with friends, play games and have an open forum to discuss issues of life, love and spirituality.
Although it is a ministry under Youth for Christ and has a feel similar to a youth group, there is one crucial difference — students don’t have to be Christian to join.
“A Campus Life meeting is like a youth group for non-church kids,” said WF-R Campus Life site director Rion “Burns” Bell. “We teach world-view issues — ethics, normal practices — and talk about struggles they are going through. They are able to share their views and share their thoughts without fear of condemnation or judgment.
“At the same time, they know that we as the leaders are going to share our views since we gave them the ability to share theirs.”
Worth-Wade Eaton is a senior and has attended the group for almost a year.
“The counselors are Christian and base reasoning off their ideals, but (they) don’t enforce them,” Eaton said. “Before I came, I considered myself agnostic. This makes me think about Christianity from a different perspective and in a more positive light.”
More than half the students consider themselves Christian and come to deepen their faith or ask questions.
“It’s helped me spiritually to talk out ideas,” said David Glac-kin, who has participated in the group for four years. “All of the teens are in one group and have an open forum. You can share ideas in an open environment without someone thinking it’s stupid.”
Julianne Cantrell, an 11th-grader, attended for the first time Oct. 2.
“I felt called to come as a Christian to answer what questions people may have,” Cantrell said. “I want to make new friends and share my faith in a nonoffensive way, and show what an awesome God I serve.”
For Bell, the mission of the group is not simply to help students grow spiritually, but to build relationships and help them grow.
“We’ve had a lot of students who come in really rough and rugged and really struggling with deep issues — family, depression, cutting, drugs. Hopefully, they can get through and past those issues — and maybe not even become Christians — but at least work through issues they already have,” Bell said.
By building relationships and trust, Bell said, the students may look at Bell’s spiritual views and judge for themselves to see if they are true.
“I’m glad to impact a student,” Bell said. “I can see them change and grow. There are different degrees of success. I have some that have gone on and graduated who haven’t become Christians, but I still consider it a success we were able to help them in their time of need.”
Unfortunately, this group recently lost its regular meeting place due to renovations. Bell said churches seem to be the best fit because of the lack of cost, the size of the club and the club’s mission. A prospective church in Wakefield may be the new location for the meeting; however, Bell said they are open to other possibilities.
Although this chapter is geared toward students of Wake Forest-Rolesville High School, other teenagers have joined. Franklin Academy Middle and high schools have their own chapters. Wake Forest also has a teen parents’ group. Bell hopes new chapters of Campus Life will form in every school, especially in the Wakefield and Millbrook areas.
For more information about Campus Life, e-mail Bell at heavensdeclare@gmail.com or visit www.triangleyfc.org.
So recently, I think God has been trying to teach me a few lessons. Sometimes, it takes me a while to get it, but this time, He's making it clear. He is my provider...period.
Ok, so I'm not gonna do them in that order, but I'll cover all three in just a minute. First off, let me say sorry yet again for not blogging for so long. I don't know what happens to me in the alternate reality that is the blogging universe that keeps me from posting anything in forever. I know that for my 5 avid readers, that it must be intense having to wait this long without hearing from me (except in real life where I probably see you at least once a week anyway).
the ugly:
My car was broken into last week. I never felt unsafe in my seminary apartment until this happened, but Sarah and I have noticed that now, we have a whole new way of looking at the world. My silver watch was stolen, which has set me out on a manhunt for anyone wearing a silver watch with a dead battery (my last little joke on our robber-friend), and a very expensive camera was also taken. Now, the watch I can live without, but the camera wasn't even ours. It belonged to a friend of ours who was kind enough to let us borrow it. Turns out it was a $1500 camera.
the good:
The church has offered to pick up the bill on the camera! I know!! It's awesome, right!? That's what I said. We didn't ask them to, but technically, I was using the camera while working on a promotional piece for the youth group, and they took pity on us since we're starving college kids. Praise the Lord for that because we could not have afforded replacing that thing on our own (not unless we went on a year long payment plan).
the bad:
I don't know. Nothing really bad except the car thing. Since the last time I blogged, I've fixed the one-eyed pirate car. But I didn't have the grill at the time, and to put that on, I have to completely remove the bumper again which I have not had time to do. So our one-eyed pirate car has now evolved into the toothless wonder. One of these days when I have a free weekend, I'll take care of that, but with football season in full-swing, that probably won't be for a while.
Speaking of which, how about them Dawgs?!? We are off to an impressive 4-0 start with some tough games ahead. I never doubted we'd be in this undefeated position, but I didn't think the SEC would light up like it has so far. Alabama is gonna be TOUGH!!
I'm going fishin' in GA with a couple friends pretty soon. David Godzisz has invited me to come down with him to Habersham and take some of his youth fly-fishing. I haven't fly-fished (?) since I was a kid, so that'll be a fun experience.
Be praying for us as school comes to an end. It's officially time to start sending out the resumes, so we'll see what God has in store for us next in this crazy thing called life.
Love you guys!!
Ben and Sarah Niemann <><
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
-Philippians 3:13-14
So the last week or so has been one of the busiest times of my life. I kept thinking that this semester was going to be a chance for me to relax as I neared the end of my college life. Well that plan didn't work out too well for me. First off, the plan was to take 4 elective classes that wouldn't be too stressful for me. Instead I signed up for what may have turned out to be the 4 hardest classes I could possibly chosen. Real smart, right? Not really. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.
So I just finished a summer class on Friday which means two great things:
1.) I am officially done with my major. I am not quite done with school, but I don't have to take any more History classes and I'm finished with my Biblical Studies major too! All I have left is a few elective classes and the 2nd half of Greek. Which brings me to number two.
2.) I am SO close to graduation. And it even appears that I have a little more steam left in the tank. I thought I was too burned out to finish, but I actually did well in my summer class. I don't know why I never took a 2 week intensive before, it wasn't that bad.
Our anniversary is coming up!! August 12th is the big number 2! I know that doesn't sound like a ton, but to us, it means 2 years that we've lived together and we haven't killed each other yet. We've come close a couple of times, like that one fight we had where Sarah hit me with a rolled up magazine.
I've also got a birthday coming up on September 15th. With Sarah's guidance and counsel, I made a wishlist, so here goes: http://www.kaboodle.com/ogkbassist/birthday-wish-list.html
I don't think I've done a wishlist since I was 5, but it was fun looking for stuff. I don't expect anyone to buy me stuff just because I've created a list, but at the same time, I'm not stopping anyone from getting me something either. Ye do not have because ye do not ask!
Hopefully, we're getting the car fixed this week! That will be so great! It's been really frustrating and embarrasing to have to drive around a one-eyed car. I keep telling Sarah to just run into people when they cut her off so we can get our insurance to pay for it. But she hasn't done it yet, so I'm just gonna have it fixed.
No word from Lifeway still. I'm starting to believe that it is a dud. But keep praying! If I don't hear anything by the end of the month, I'm going to start sending out more resumes. I'll be looking for a job as a youth pastor or a college pastor. What I'd really like to do is be a BCM or Campus Crusades Director. So if you hear of a job opening, let me know!!
Love you guys!!
Ben and Sarah <><
Ok, so do you remember the days when you were younger and dumber? Well this is an example of my younger and dumber days (like 3 years ago). Duke and I found these mascot uniforms at the college where we worked for camp. We probably shouldn't have been looking for them in the first place (we found them in the back of some half-way locked storage room), but we definitely shouldn't have taken them. Ha!
So today, Sarah has been featured on a church marketing website called Church Marketing Sucks. Now, this does not mean that they think her work sucks. On the contrary, it is a site geared towards the development of a better visual face for the church. It has long been time for Christians to step up to the plate and be as good (if not better) designers than seculars. So the nod to Sarah's work is a compliment. She designed a CD for the band at our church (the other pieces are the work of other designers). You can see it here: http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/archives/2008/06/church_marketin_94.html
And if you click on her CD (the piece they featured), it will take you to her flickr.com profile so you can see more of her work. She's super talented and I am incredibly proud of her!
P.S. I finally got a concrete date for an interview. Tuesday the 8th, I am going to have a conference call with some people at LifeWay. Pray that it goes well!!
Love you guys!
Ben <><
To those who have to wait a few more weeks. At least I hope good things are coming. I got a call from Lifeway today and it was basically to say that I have to wait at least two more weeks before I will hear anything. I honestly believe that God is trying to hold me down and teach me some patience. I've been trying to wriggle myself out, but apparently He's gonna keep showing me the importance of this lesson until I learn it. I am coming to the realization that I am the kind of person who wants immediate gratification in all my pursuits. In school, I want to hand in a paper or a test and immediately know what my grade is. And with this job, I wanted to turn in my resume and know instantly whether or not I was hired. It's been since February and I am getting SO antsy. Oh well. I guess I can wait a little longer. Even still, my mood is optimistic.
My Georgia Bulldogs blew it this past week. They lost the NCAA College World Series to the Fresno State Bulldogs in Game 3. Fresno St was a huge underdog and we should have won in grand fashion, but this time the underdog pulled out a stunning upset. Sad.
Love you guys!
Ben (and Sarah) <><
"I [Darius King of Persia] issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."
Daniel 6:26-27
i'll be putting up some pics of our beach trip on my flickr over the next week. check it out.
sarah <><
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