First Blog

Hello World

yay it works! (those of you who know computer programming may get that little joke)...ANYWAY...So i'm new to the actual blogspot world, tho i used to blog on xanga. remember that? that was like 4 years ago. anyway. you may notice the title of the this whole deal is "Buckeye in the Northwest". in case some of you didn't know I'm the youth intern at the Sunnyside Grace Brethren Church out in Sunnyside, WA. Those of you who know the Zakahi's, I'm workin at their church, as the father, Nathan, is the head pastor and I am good friends with his sons Joel and Micah from Grace College. This experience already has been a time of growth as i've had to genuinely been getting to know people on a pretty fast-tracked basis, as well as taking responsibilities I have had to do some "how-to" research on before taking care of them. also just learning to prepare messages is a lot harder than just a 1-night homework assignment. It's like i keep coming up with material and prepare a message, then i'm told, ok break it up more, ok break up more. So basically I've taken 1 message and now i have to break it up into 8. man. that's like writing a history paper on someone or something, then breaking it into 8 more papers. i mean it's definitely possible, but just takes a lot more time. but it's good though, it's awesome to be able to brag about something like i get paid for growing spiritually, yet at the same time that's the attitude i don't want to have, nor should i have. but really, i get to sit in an office, well-library-all to myself, and just read books about areas in the Christian faith I want to learn about, and just gaining more knowledge about who God is and who He wants me to be. Who he wants me to be-that's a scary thought. about a year ago i would've called the asylum if you were to tell me i'd be a youth pastor in washington. now it's something that's starrin me in the face, if this internship goes well. Thus far i've been through 3 youth groups, 3 sunday schools, and approaching my first sunday of playing, not leading, just playing/singing with the praise team sunday morning. Also on the "free-time" side i've been to a Mariner's game, camping, fishing, 2 movies (both night at the museum and terminator are recommendable), and lost of video games. mostly rockband2 and halo3, with some MLB the Show. so yea my time here has been appreciated, and i look forward to the rest of the summer and possibly beyond. i know there will be things ive never encountered before, from talking to students about the secrets of life-like i know any, to things of less importance, like encountering a rattlesnake (which i hope to-honestly). well i'm going to do some more research on worship as a lifestyle and the aspect of prayer. i hope to update you on a consistent basis...whatever that means. i look forward to the weekend, but also look forward to what God has me learn today. Til next time...

God Bless

Nate
James 4:7-10