betty's church

"my problem is i want a church that has everything in it i want, and nothing in it i don't."


ok, so this is more of a joke... but the reality behind it is that this is what the majority of the world thinks of a church. church is a casserole delivery. its fashion and a pep-talk. there are alot of stereotypes and truths baried in this piece. good for discussion. what are the things we, as a body, can get out of this? i think there's alot, and if it was in german, i would preach on it..

master und sklavejesu

i have been thinking alot about going for a masters over the past few years. and it hit me recently- why not? now days witht the internet, there are alot of good programms that i can do from home. the thing is, i dont know which to pick. does anyone have experience with a theology program? i've been listening to lectures from a seminary in the states for months now, before it hit me to enroll somewhere and get credit for it! thanks

jonothan- called to be third

this sunday i preached again- in a rather chaotic service. the key to our room was on vacation, so we met in a hallway and i had to compete in vocal ability with a group of african children. the topic was jonothan (1 samuel). i think it turned out well- i was even asked afterwards by a friend who was just visiting, if i would be interested in preaching at the international bible church sometime this winter! several said they'd never heard the topic from this perspective.

i talked about jonothan's personality. the thing that impressed me about him is that he is a background character- we hear about davis and jonothan, but always from david's perspective. yet when we read the story, it is jonothan who exhibits remarkable qualities. or, as my roommate says "he's a man to marry." he does everything he can to support and help david. and the whole time, he knows that david is going to move into the position that should, according to all of humanity, be his. but jonothan trusts in the Lord, and he accepts the Lords choice of david as king, and swears to support him. wow. there was more, but thats the drift.

bambelela, jabulani, and more

saturday i was invited by silke (our old housemate) to a south african concert. it was at a church about an hour and a half away. walking up the sidewalk, i could already hear them singing- "ai ai aii, ai ai aii, yo-o.." my heart beat louder. i am sure anyone one who has spent any amout of time in south africa would know this chrisian version of the macarena.. its song and dance, and very infectious. immediately images popped into my head of zuki calling out the text and the rest of our dts jumping on the "amen". the night went on with bambelela, a tune dani and i used to change the words of, followed by jabulani- or sing for joy. and that is what this night really gave me- joy. i reeeeeaaaaaalllllyy miss south africa sometimes- even though it was a hard year.

so i went up to one of the guys from the band at the break and said "molo." he gave me a starteled "EH! molo! umjani?" and i of course said "ipilele." then we changed over to englisch as he admitted to not being south african. he said he's from northern nigeria, so i said "yah yah dei?" (i know i am misspelling these things..) and his chin just about dropped to the floor. "you did NOT just say that! you DID NOT just say THAT!!" my mind was racing, i thought i'd asked how he was doing- but its been along time since i learned that- was it wrong? did i just insult his mother?? no, it was right- he just couldn't believe some little white girl in a small german town would hobble up to him and speak in his native language. so it turned out, he even knows gideon, a friend of mine from dts time and film school. we laughed a bit about the ways of the Lord and how small the world really is, and then went back to singing and dancing.

so if anyone is in south africa and has contact to some african worship and wanted to bless me, i'd really like a cd of some of these songs. that worship really did good.

baptising the tree on water

sunday was a great day.. we baptised matze! alot can be said, but i think it's easier to show:

Click To Play

afterwards i preached (at matze's request) on his baptism-verse (a tradition i wish we had in america.) i got to choose it, and it was easy to pick.. in prayer for matze i got Jeremiah 17:7-8
7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

to my sermon muck once again painted his impression:

the picture is now hanging over matze's bed as a reminder.

i also ordered him a cross online, but since it didnt get here in time, i substituted it with a pink fluffy one. it'd been an insider joke when he found out what i was planning- he got really excited, because he had had the impression that he shouldnt buy himself a cross. but he said "just make sure it isnt pink and fluffy or anything like that." so yeah, i had to. ;-) and he is wearing the pink fluffy one for real until the other one comes.

trust, tree, thoughts?

hey.. i am preaching sunday. its been a few months since i the last time i preached, so i am a bit nervous and having trouble consolodating my thoughts. maybe you can help? yes, you. its the baptism service for matze (two posts ago). i am honored that he badgered me into the sermon. and i chose his baptism verse (we dont do that in the states, do we? i like the tradition!) it's Jeremiaha 17:7-8...

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

eyesore

the past few days my eyes have been really itchy and burning. nothing helps! baah.

(2m+2f)-(f+m)+(2m+f)= us

so now its official. hanna and matze are hope housers! and so i thought yall might want to see them.

matze was a real birthday gift from God. he showed up on my birthday and stayed. since then he has been granted a sublease contract from our landlord and is in the trying process of getting it approved by the government. (he is currently on unemployment- but that's a good thing. it means he is helping me fix the house up alot, and he will have a shot at his vision.) he was an electrician, but his heart is in working with kids. and he has a real talent for the more difficult cases- in kids and adults. he sits in on alot of my counseling, so that i dont have to talk alone with some of the guys that come.

hanna is just starting university in bremen, so we get her for the long haul, too. she has a heart for ministry and led a youth group in hessen that is pretty well known. it will be great having another girl around, and hopefully we will be able to find a good noise balance (our rooms are connected). we've only spent a few days with her so far, so we'll see how it goes. i am excited!