Ridiculously Important Announcements & Question for You All

So, next week (August 12) is our service night for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission.  We'll be packing backpacks and making sack lunches.  It'll be an incredible opportunity to serve people who live not that far away, but whose circumstances are probably pretty different from our own.  We're still collecting school supplies and cash for MRM.  (If you need another look at the list of what we do and don't need, click here.)  It will be our last week collecting though, so don't forget your stuff!  :-)

Also, because they're going to be doing some work on the grassy area outside later on, our water games have been moved up to next week.  So...bring your bathing suits (modest ones, of course!) and a change of clothes and prepare to get wet!  

One final note: great job all of you remembering what we've discussed this summer!  I talked to a couple of the other leaders after Nexus tonight, and they were super-impressed!!!  

Now it's your turn: what really stood out to you this summer???  Did you have a favorite activity or something new you learned?  We'd really like to know!  

Brandon's Crazy August...

Ok... so what is keeping me from blogging regularly right now is my life....

I was working non-stop on projects, camps and trips until July 12th when I returned from mexico...

During that period of time, I bought a new house and sold my current one...

This buying and selling process has been greatly complicated because someone managed to open a Qwest account in Minnesota in my name. My mysterious doppelgänger has run up almost a $900 bill... which of course happened to turn up on my otherwise perfect credit score in the only 3 month period in the last, or next 10 years that it actually matters...

I have been on hold with multiple companies, collection agencies, and credit reporting companies enough that I now have all of their Musak, menu option, and infomercials memorized... it is the stuff of nightmares...

But... it seems like the house buying and selling is going to happen... We move into our new palace in Waukesha next saturday...

I have lots to write about from things I learned and have thought about this summer... hopefully I will be up and running again soon...

Brandon's Brooklife Sermon: The Murder and Betrayal of Uriah the Hittite.. otherwise known as the Affair of David and Bathsheba

Ok... so my message at Brooklife Church this weekend went pretty well.

If you are interested you can hear it in streaming audio here:

or download it from iTunes here:


This message is drawn from 2nd Sam 11-12, and takes a look at some lessons we learn from David's sin with Bathsheba.

Many people have preached good messages about it, but I really focused on one aspect of the text... David's handling of his own sinful behavior verse the way he responds to the sinful behavior of the "rich man" in the prophet Nathan's story...

The main point that I was trying to make is that when we sin we usually try to cover it up, compare it away (compared to so in so... its not so bad), minimize it (say it in a way that makes it sound not bad at all), claim grace (God loves me and will forgive me anyway), and make it all about me (No one else was hurt by this... it was just my little sin...). However, when we find someone else in a sin, our actions are totally different.

We tend to uncover it (publicize all the details, and look for more), compare (I would never.... like the did), Exaggerate it (Make it sound as bad as possible, even worse than it really it), Claim Judgement (Skip the grace... we want them to be punished and get what they deserve..), and finally make it all about me...(their sin is so huge it effects the entire world... and especially me...).


Here are some questions I am trying to work through... if you have a few minutes, read the passage yourself and tell me what you think...

1. Do you think people are more lenient with their own sinful patterns than those of others?
2. Are Christians overly prone to write off others in Judgement?
3. Do you see people as less valuable because of their sinfulness?
4. Why is it easier to be offended at the sins of others, or to really deal with my own sin and temptation?
5. In what areas of my life and I:
“on the roof”;
“attempting a coverup”;
“killing another”;
“pretending it never happened”
6. Why do we tend to judge the actions of others, but justify our own actions? How do we stop doing both?

7. How do we learn to flee temptation without living in constant fear of our sin nature.

MRM Service Night & Collection

Just a reminder...we have our second (and last) service night of the summer coming up on August 12, less than two weeks away!  We'll be filling backpacks with school supplies for kids at Joy House (part of the Milwaukee Rescue Mission).  We'll also be working on a couple of other projects to support MRM.  

In the meantime, we're collecting new school supplies and cash to donate to the rescue mission.  Some school supplies they need include: red (correcting) pencils, red pens, colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, 3-ring binders, protractors, compasses, rulers, calculators, removable book covers, scissors and flash drives/memory sticks.

Some items we DON'T really need because they already have a lot include: loose leaf paper, spiral notebooks, backpacks, glue sticks, black and blue pens, markers, crayons, folders, and highlighters.

You raised over $150 to support the Invisible Children of Uganda.  Let's see what we can do for kids in our own backyard!

Nexus Worship Night with Chad James

Hey all,
Just wanted to remind everyone that this week is the Summer Nexus Unofficial bring your Parents to Nexus night. We will be playing some games on Elmbrooks new lawn and then Chad James (www.chadjamesmusic.com) will be leading us in a worship. Feel free to bring your parents with.

See you on Tuesday!

Drew

Home again

we landed in Milwaukee on sat evenng around 5. The trip and flight was uneventful, and it was good to be home.

This was a great trip in so many ways. That said it had several unexpected costs:

-I chipped my nikon camera lense
-my laptop stopped working on the way home
-my video camera needs profesionally cleaned.
-can you say international roaming?
-I broke my sun glasses
-my digestive track may never recover from it's current state.


But all in all it was an awesome trip!

TECATE 08 Day 6: Finishing the houses and saying goodbye

We did it... we finished all five houses today. I spend the day riding around in a truck with Anna our translator as we went from site to site so I could video the dedications and be there as we presented out completed houses to our families... Through many tears of sadness and joy we prayed for and shared final blessings with the five families that we were privileged to build houses for.

The one that stood out to me the most, was when we presented a new house to Carolina, a grandmother who lived alone in the remnants of her house which burned down in April. Our students and leaders donated additional funds so that we could buy her a bed and a propane stove in addition to her new house. She looked on in tears as our students told her how much that she meant to them, and how much her story had changed them. It was cool to see her new house rise from the ashes of her old one.

A similar scene was played out at all 5 of our sites. Our students were amazing this week, and have blessed the lives of the people here immeasurably. At the same time, we have been so deeply changed by the image of God that we saw in the poverty and beauty of people who have nothing. We have been blessed more than we could have ever blessed the people we served.

So many cool kids that we have met... so many ways God has helped us in our work... so many lesson about life and our hearts... and we have learned so much about what it means to be blessed.

Thanks for your prayers....

(Because I was video taping all day, I sorta slacked on the pictures today... I only took about 600... Click here to see them.)

TECATE DAY 5: Market and Beach Day.

Today was a lot of fun, and a great cultural learning experience. In Rosarito the beach was beautiful and the market was full of lots of fun stuff to buy. But really the highlight was just being together as a team and experiencing more time together in Mexico.

I had an incredible burrito for lunch, which I took a picture of and posted on flickr in case you want to see what i mean.

Tonight in our chapel session we spent time talking about the Beautiful world that God has made. He has hidden beauty all through his creation... even in the midst of incredible flowers, their are beautiful flowers, and beautiful people, and beautiful children and smiles and laughter. God has placed Beauty everywhere.

Our job is to work with God to add to the beauty. We do this by being good caretakers of our stuff, and of the people who God places in our lives. We do this by talking and living in such a way as to leave people better than we found them.

Not a bad thought to live by...


TOMORROW is our last day on the worksites... we will dedicate the houses, present some gifts to the families and day goodbye.

Check out our beach day pictures here:)

Day 5 Market Day: Morning...

So today is market day. This means that instead of working on our worksites, we will travel to a nearby city and spend time in Rosarita. Options in Rosarita include authentic Mexican food, a sweet marketplace, and a beach. The beach is great, but the water is cold. Today will be a great chance for students to further experience the Mexican culture.

Please pray that our students make wise decisions and stick in their groups today. If these two things happen, it will be an awesome day!

(I added 65 more pictures from yesterday, Check them out here:)

TECATE DAY 4: ROOFING, VBS, AND FUN TIMES.

Day 4 is done, and so is much of the work on our houses. 2 of our five house building groups have their roofs on and almost complete. The other three are all well within reach of finishing. On friday we will have no problem getting the work finished up for the families with some extra time left over just to be with them.

Today our teams worked together in amazing ways as our students and leaders constructed walls, put up roofing trusses, worked on paint and trim. At the same time may of our students spent the day building relationships with kids playing duck duck goose, soccer, and just being with them doing whatever. It is always so amazing to watch our students love so selflessly when given the opportunity.

I spent a little time with each group today taking pictures, filming their progress, and helping out in whatever way I could. I saw God at work at every job site... he is using middle school students to proclaim his name in mexico this week. AWESOME!.

Once again I have taken over 700 photos, which you should most definitely check out.