Worship

Yesterday was definitely awesome.

Last night I invited some youth to come play music and worship at the church. two of them are seniors named maggie and justin. the other is a junior named sam. we worshipped together for over an hour and sang praises to God! it was awesome.

I talked to them about training up some younger students to lead worship and be on the worship team. You could feel a sense of passion and inspiration in the room. God was moving on our hearts. I believe He is beginning with something this. He is up to something. We all talked about how there is something anointed about worship. You look through all the psalms and it exclaims "sing to the Lord" or make music to Him of some sort. there is something about music, worship, singing, and God that connect. I'm not sure. It just seems that God has ordained that way. Heads were nodding around the room as we talked about leading worship together this summer. But if nothing happens, we are at least worshipping God. no one can take that from us. it was an awesome experience.

also a man in the church, also named Nate, spoke right to my heart. He encouraged me to not make this about a class at all, but about pursuing Christ and impacting these students for Christ. and it was a good timely word. Getting all the internship stuff in can be pressuring and help me to lose focus. This guy spoke a good word and I believe it is because of all the prayer report i am receiving. I can definitely feel a difference! God is at work. Not me. And that's amazing. Thank you all so much.

that's a cool spot andrew and I went to. the waves were so peaceful.

finally some time to relax

Hello all,

wow it's been a busy week! they say life in hawaii is slow and chillax...not so sure about that! it's been real busy this week! did a lot of work. picked fruit. cleaned a cottage. did a lot of summer planning for the youth. hung out with students. went on a huge uphill hike with youth on the colorado trip! that was sweet. im really starting to get to know the youth. what music they listen to. what movies they've seen. it is really interesting to see where they are at. 

trying to plan a lot of things for them for the summer. going to have a bible study. that should be fun. been jamming some with some students. hopefully worship will happen a few times this summer. i think worship is so key. teens should worship together! i pray i can pass on that passion for worship through song. 

prayer needs:

preaching next sunday- that it would be God's words coming through me. wisdom. passion. guidance. unity with God. that the student's hearts would be receptive. 

summer planning- doing a huge summer program. should be awesome. pray for fellowship. new students. good flow. 

summer bible study- God's direction. for spiritual growth in me and the students. 

rest- been busy as usual! 

much love to you all! 

Hanging Loose

Today is my day off. been in hawaii for a whole week now. feels like a lot longer. staying with an elder of the church right now for a few days. he has a beautiful property where you walk out and see the ocean. it is so awesome.

The first sunday at the church went well. we met some more of the youth and got to hangout with them. we did more fundraising at walmart where we sold candybars. we've done pretty well the last two days raising money so that is a definite praise to God!

This week I got a lot to get done as far as internship stuff. planning a bible study and some summer programming.

one phrase i have been thinking about: who you are boils down to the choices you make.

much love,

Nate

quick update

Meeting the youth was awesome!! they are some really cool kids. thank you for your prayers. 

that night me david and andrew went to the lava flow and saw some flowing lava! it was awesome. pictures to follow. 

yesterday hung out with some youth and put up a fence. that was pretty cool.

today working on a fundraiser for the colorado trip. prayers are appreciated for that! also rest for our bodies!

Thanks!

-Nate

Storage Room Done

Well we finished off the storage room. Andrew and I painted it this morning and we spent the day putting everything back in. looks a lot better. probably should have taken before and after pics : )

tonight we meet the youth!!!!! so excited for that.

prayer needs:
body adjustment to time zone still
meeting the youth, connections, love of Christ shown
safety as we travel to play with lava : )
youth meeting tonight

your prayers mean so much.

-nate

Night Diving and Clean Out

Last night i went night diving which is snorkeling with spears to catch fish. it was so awesome! it was hard at first because i've never really snorkeled before or used a spear and it was at night. kinda intimidating at first but i loved it! i can't wait to go again. God's creation is so cool. seeing all the different kinds of fish and animals. i think i saw a couple of eels...kinda creepy.

today helped David clean out the youth storage area. got a lot of work to do on that. praying and thinking about ways to impact these youth. i meet them tomorrow. prayers are always appreciated.

Thankful,

Nate

First Day in Hawaii

Well I made it hawaii safe and sound! thank you everyone for your prayers.

Hawaii is such a different place. It is a completely different culture and not what I expected. It doesn't feel like the United States at all. At times it almost feels like a third-world country. Soccer is king here. I asked pastor david if I could drink the water last night but it was totally fine :) There are lots of different ethnic groups here. Different islands from eastern Asia, Japanese, Chinese, Tahitian, Native American, White (which they call Howley), and native Hawaiians. There seems to be some animosity between white and non-white groups, but obviously that is not the case for everyone.

Andrew and I are staying with the youth pastor David and his wife Kelsi who live an apartment in Hilo. When we step outside we can see the bay (which apparently is inhabited by hammerhead sharks!) and its really cool. There are beautiful flowers, plants, palm trees, exotic birds, trees I have never seen before. At times if you block out the traffic and downtown buildings it seems pretty primitive. God's creation is so amazing. Nothing is the same. It is so diverse and vast. I am just in awe.

My body is still adjusting the time difference, which is six hours behind from home. I went to bed at 10:30 last night to the sounds of loud neighbors and decent traffic. I woke up at 6:30 Am and i thought it was noon. I was so disoriented.

I went down by the bay to take some time with God. Rocks of all shapes and sizes littered the shore. I found a good rock to sit on, but never became comfortable because of all the insects (including huge red ants!) that were around. But I somehow I managed to sit down and be quiet before God and He gave me this really cool image. The rocks closest to the water were the smoothest. The rocks farther away were rougher and more of a pain to climb around. Also the rocks that were farther up in the tide had some type of life growing on them. The rocks on the shore were barren. I felt that God was showing me that the more we are in His presence, the more he can smooth out our lives like the water smoothes the rocks. He can smooth out the character traits, flaws, and habits that are ungodly. And the closer we get to the water, the more that life springs out of us and benefits others, like the rocks that had moss-like plants growing on them. But some people are content to stay on the shore and be "safer." They don't want to get wet. They get harder and rougher. And some people are content with a splash here and there but don't want anymore than that. Sometimes the waves get pretty big and it might be intimidating. But God wants us to just jump right in and be in His presence so that we can be changed and spring forth life. so that is my goal while I am here. To dive right into the presence of God everyday. because I need to be smoothed out and filled up with His abundant life. Hopefully you all can do the same.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Diving in,

Nate