It seems that we really need to do a better job of keeping this thing up to date. We have had a pretty good few weeks here in Columbus. We finished our rice and beans fast on the 17th of March and are all very happy to have fruits and vegetables back in our diet!

One of the highlights of March was a week long trip to Bethel Camp in Kentucky. We went there for our yearly staff work trip in order to help out with cleaning up the camp for the summer. We enjoyed a really good week there and were able to get quite a bit of work done. We also being out of the city for a few days (some enjoyed it more than others) and we were able to hike up some mountains for some incredible views. Once again, some enjoyed the hiking much more than others of us.

We are now back into the full swing of things with outreach and VLI. We started a new quarter of VLI last week and have all different classes. On Tuesdays we have an evangelism class which covers evangelism both in our own culture and in others. It is definitely a lighter class than Pauline Theology and we are all enjoying it a lot and being really challenged by what we are hearing. We are also in an evangelism mentoring class on Saturday mornings.

There isn't much else to say. Spring is showing itself here in Columbus and I think we are all excited for some warmer weather. We are also all very much looking forward to the return of two teams in just under 2 months and the start of City Challenge.

Posted by SEND Staff at 02:15 PM | Permalink

Well, this is my first time posting so i'll try and keep it short and sweet... well, not so much but i thought it'd sound nice...

VLI has been interesting and a challenge. We try to study and read in our spare time, well at least the others do i usually find other things to do that i think may be more productive which is a big fat lie and i definantly realized that after i took my midterm... lets just leave it at 'i passed'. On the spiritual side of things we've battled some funk and appathy... but God continues to show us His faithfulness in the midst of our struggles.

One thing that has been pretty exciting is that we have signed a contract of uhh what shall i call it, hmmm, maybe 'being fruggle' and have committed to only spending $25 of our $200 monthly food budget and giving the rest away to help others who are in need. We have not decided on an organization yet but we'll keep you posted... I bet your wondering 'what in the world??' Well, one night after bible study or should i say during... aahemm (it was my turn to lead and we kinda wandered off course) but needless to say we got to talikng about a speaker we heard at mechanicsburg christian fellowship for "Gospel for Asia" and Anthony Fisher who did something similar and decided we wanted to give it a try... So here are our terms of contract....
- Feb 17 - March 17
- $25 on food for the month
- $175 to somewhere
- We won't go out to eat
- No personal $ on food
- If we taste test for $ the $ is donated
- Any food given or found can be consumed
- Drinks are a personal choice (no alcohol)
So let me tell you it has been pretty amazing, so far we have not had to spend any money, either we still have a little bit of stuff from earlier or food has been given to us or retrieved by form of dumpster diving... one example, last week we went to mana and they sent home with us, 6 cupcakes, fresh veggies, a huge pan of turkey pot pie stuff and 3/4 gallon of milk (the kicker is they don't even know we are doing this and laura specifically prayed that our needs would be provided for earlier that day ... we were def WOWED!!!! anyway, that has pretty much how it has been working, plenty of food for us and the people who continue to stop by in need... So, there you have it. Well, it looks as though rambling may soon ensue so i guess i'll go ahead and sign off... To all the teams, we misssss you soo dearly and you are in our prayers constantly... To all our supporters, THANK YOU, we would not be here without you...

In Christ,
Teresa :O)

Posted by SEND Staff at 07:57 PM | Permalink

We all made it back from break a few weeks ago and are now trying to adjust to a very quiet house. I think I can speak for all when I say that break was very good and restfull, but we are also glad to be back in Columbus. We've been able to keep fairly busy so far and I suppose that the winter will only get busier with time. So far the two main things that occupy our time are VLI and community outreach. We have VLI classes on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings, as well as some weekend intensives now and then. Weekend intensives consist of classes all day Saturday as well as all of Sunday afternoon. We have yet to experience one of these and I don't think I can say that any of us are particularly looking forward to them. So far we have really enjoyed classes, although they are pretty intense, and we have been learning a lot. Our Tuesday evening classes are on Pauline Literature and Theology and our Saturday morning classes are on Preaching and Teaching. We each have to preach three times to pass this class; I don't think anyone is really looking forward to this either.

Community outreach consists of Manna Cafe on Wednesday nights and The Zone on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Manna Cafe is a meal for the homeless and poor of Columbus at Broad St. United Methodist Church. It's different in that real dishes are used, as well as cloth placemats and napkins, and the food is really good. We all enjoy helping out every week and look forward to forming relationships with some of the guests. The Zone is an after school program at Vineyard. We help out with homework, teaching, or just playing with the kids. We have only gone once, but we all had a good time and look forward to going all winter. We are also working on putting our own meal together in a park nearby for homeless, or whoever wants to come. We are working on logistics right now and getting the word out so that people actually are around. Believe it or not, homeless people do not just hang around in the park in the middle of January like they do during the summer. Who would have thought?

Other than class and outreach we keep ourselves occupied with reading (mainly for VLI), working at the Home (the new building on 5th St.) and various other activities. So far life in 2008 has been good and we're excited about what the rest of the year holds for us.

Posted by SEND Staff at 12:22 PM | Permalink

Well, another month or so has passed at the house and no entries have been made; we are very sorry for this. Since the last post we enjoyed a good weekend at Lake Erie for the silent retreat, the final pray vigil was a success, the talent show was incredibly entertaining, and commissioning went superbly. This past week everyone had off and the REACHers got to spend one last week with their families before flying to their outreach locations. Sunday everyone reconviened at the house and today is the BIG day. Two teams flew out this morning for their locations, not to return for nine months. One other team is leaving in about an hour, and one team will not be leaving until next Thursday. It seems there was a bit of trouble with their visas and so they shall be starting outreach here at the house. As for the staff, well, we have off for the entire month of December, so we will all be leaving in a few short days until the new year.

Other than REACH wrapping up, the big news in the SEND Department is that RMM has purchased a new building to be the training center. It is a rather large building so the department should have some room to expand. This means that, along with taking a few classes and doing some community outreach, the staff will keep busy this winter by getting the new training center ready for use.

Well, this will most likely not be updated during the month of December, so Merry Christmas everyone and we'll try to do better with updating in the new year.

Posted by SEND Staff at 03:13 PM | Permalink

Well, we, as a staff, are all terribly ashamed to say that this, our first blog post, has not arrived until now, over halfway through REACH training. We are so sorry to any of you out there who have been waiting in anticipation for us to say anything. You may have to wait a little longer if you have been waiting for us to say anything of great significance.

Training has been going really well. We've all had a grand time getting to know one another better and it will be a sad day when all the teams leave us, but for now we are enjoying one another's company. Last week was practicum so each team went to a different location (New Orleans; Flint, Michigan; and two teams in Fort Wayne, Indiana) and the staff had a week to go home. It was a good time of growth for all the teams and a good time of relaxation for the staff! This coming weekend we will be having a 24 hour prayer vigil, which we are all looking forward to, and next weekend is our silent retreat, for which we will be traveling to the shores of Lake Erie. All in all training has been really good and we are looking forward to a great month before commissioning.

That's about all for now. Hopefully we will update again in a timely manner.

Posted by SEND Staff at 01:05 PM | Permalink

Her Christian name was probably Margaret, although it could have been Mary. Her name might have been something entirely different: she could have been disguising her identity for her own safety. Kirk does not know and neither do I. All we know is that when we met her she called herself Marge, and now she is dead. We met her when we went out in the winter to visit the homeless camps. She lived in a tent with her husband and they always welcomed us when we came to visit. She made our visits, which could have been awkward, warm and enjoyable.

We lost track of Marge and her husband after the Spring thaw. When the snow left, county workers came with No Trespassing signs and moved the people along. Since then, we have always asked people we met on the railroad tracks if they new Marge or her husband. Until this week, we were always met with smiles of recognition when we said their names. Today, the recognition was still there, but the man, who called himself Tazzer, told us that Marge had succumbed to illness. We do not know whether or not she was a Christian, but we do know that she always showed us warm, Christian hospitality when we came to visit.

We hope to see Margie again in the next life.

Posted by SEND Staff at 07:46 PM | Permalink

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of hosting the Sophmore class at Kingsway Christian School, from the Holmes/Wayne County area of northwestern Ohio. The students surprised us by telling us that Kingsway sends many of their classes out on year-end missions trips. The Kingsway Sophmores came last year also, so maybe this is becoming a tradition.

If it is becoming a tradition, that tradition fares well for future SEND staff, because our week with the Kingsway group was fun and encouraging. After ministry time, for example, all of us guys piled into the 18-passenger van (people at the SEND house inexplicibly call the van 'Ike') and went to Wendy's for some late night Frosties. While we fumbled with our wallets, the school's chaperone, Don, generously produced a $20 and picked up the tab for the whole group. Thanks Don!

All said, we were blessed by having spent a week with these neat kids.

Posted by SEND Staff at 05:09 PM | Permalink