Happy Fat Tuesday Everyone,
These pictures are from a camp I ran this weekend for Inner City Impact, which is an inner city mission in downtown Chicago where I live. It was a camp for sonbeams, the fourth-sixth grade girls, and we went to Wisconsin. We aimed the camp at our kids who have been saved at ICI over the past year and the lessons I wrote were themed around "Salvation's Journey: The Road Trip of Your Life." Basically, it was salvation theology for kids. I taught on conversion, regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance of the saints, and glorification.
The girls learned a lot, but it was a rough weekend just because they have behavior issues like no other kids I've ever worked with. Most kids you give them one warning and they are in tears, but with these kids I would have given them two warnings and as a consequence they would be missing a fun event and scrubbing the bathroom floor, but they would still be like, "I don't care!"
The truth is that they have major authority issues. Some of them have good reasons, because the only authorities they have ever known have been abusive, neglectful, and emotionally unstable. That doesn't make it any easier to deal with them, however.
After this weekend, I have a lot more respect for the missionaries at ICI who deal with these kids full time. In support letters and church reports everyone wants to hear big emotional stories and to see pictures of smiling little angels lifted out of poverty, but in reality it isn't that easy. The greatest thing these missionaries do isn't so much to have big breakthroughs, but to stand firm day after day and show the kids tough love. Sometimes it's not smiling angels or kids brought to the edge, sometimes it is just hard work and faith that God is working and will prevail even when you never see results or think these kids are just too far gone.
Once, when I was working in the hood with Big Brother Big Sister I came accross this door that said, "Don't Knock, Don't Come In, We Want to Be Left Alone." I think I have come to learn that Jesus ignores those signs on our hearts and on our doors. He stands at the door and knocks, even in the darkest places with the most outcast people. I praise God that He did that in my life, and sometimes when the work is hard and the results seem meager all I can do is pray that some how after my hand quits knocking they will hear His voice and tha He will come in and dine.

I changed the name of my blog today, because I wanted it to be more funny and reflective of the actual content. Anyways, the picture is of me and my room mate (Carissa) after her final recital. I was quite happy because music recitals are quite dramatic and this was the end of all the drama in houghton 325!!! Also, it went well (which is always a plus).
Anyways, this week was Founder's Week at good old Moody, which is like homecoming in some sort of pseudo-weird world where no one has ever heard of sports and all that exists is preaching and traditional hymnody... Also there is no classes for a week (but the catch is that we are required to attend most of these sessions. So, it's kind of like a break, but not really.
Anyways, anyways, anyways, (just keeping my theme) I did get to see the pastor's wife from my church in AZ who went here, which was fun. I also did hear some great messages. I also procrastinated all of my assignments until today. I'm about to do them... Good Night and Good Luck.