Here is a video I edited for our lockin this Friday!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Hello again! Just a bit of my newsletter to post on here!
October was a very busy month for
me, along with challenging. This was in
a good way though. I think that I have
finally found my niche and role within the church. I find it quiet funny that I seem to have
always run away from working with youth and young-adults even though I had my
mom always telling me I was good at it, well now I am starting to believe
her. I am not sure if it was the fear of
responsibility and leadership or just that I didn't trust God enough in what to
do with my life. Either way I am
continually blown away by what God has been doing with these youth over here.
A staple to the Vineyard Church is to be naturally supernatural. One
of the problems I have always had with so called healing ministry is the
production and pizzazz of so many of its proponents. The whole philosophy here is that we expect
God to heal the sick and hurting because he said he would. Nothing more and nothing less. The focus should always be kept on God and
not on what we can do. One of the things
that has challenged me lately is this thought: We are always asking “What can I
possibly do God?” While God is asking
“Who am I”? I find it really easy to keep my focus on my strengths and failures
instead of finding out who God is. I
truly believe that if we focus on our relationship with God those other things
will fall into place.
Just a few prayer requests for you
all back home:
Continual prayer for the
opportunities to work in the schools.
This has been an amazing opportunity to bring light into the
schools. I find myself being in a
position of running groups 10 -20 kids and it has being amazing to see these
kids asking questions about my faith. I
also look at it as an opportunity to use my social work training as a
councilor.
Prayer for open hearts and safety
with the street work. We are hearing
some great stories of renewal and healing in the community. So continued opportunities and safety for our
teams.
Finances, that God will continue to
provide for me while I am out here. God
has blessed me with amazing friends and family.
I love you all!!!
I guess my last request is for me to
be diligent with school work, so that it does not affect my work as an
intern. I have been finding it difficult
to balance the two of these lately and it has been causing a bit of
stress.
Lastly I just want to mention that I
will be attempting to start up a video blog along side my current blog. I think it would be a great way to just have
some fun with this whole thing. Feel
free to check out my blog as I will be updating that more frequently. Any thoughts on this?!
Skype:
Bigguyjake
jake@vineyarddungannon.co.uk
Monday, October 15, 2012
We have been talking about leadership in youth group the last few weeks. I must be honest and say that it has been amazing. I finally see how my mentors in the past looked at us youth. I am continually blown away by the courage, boldness, and passion these kids have for God and for their community. I think that us adults need to take a good hard look at this. I know I am not the only one who has had the epiphany that you realize that in growing up and experiencing life that it is incredibly easy to become cynical and bitter. I challenge all my peers and elders to look through your life with the thoughts as a youth. I think Paul had some great wisdom when he challenged Timothy to be a leader. We are all called to have the faith of a child, I think for the first time ever I am starting to see first hand what that actually means ;-)
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
So we are working on a new series called Your Not 2 Young 2 Lead. Its gonna be all about encouraging the youth in becoming leaders in their communities and social groups. I am excited because it has pushed me back into a creative element with design work and actually seeing my self in a few of these kids. I remember back in the day of youth group when I was challenged to become a leader. It is almost as if God is gently reminding me of where I came from and how I need to jump back into the path of ministry again. I am very excited to see what is in-store for this season!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Fun old funding!
Hey there,
So this is the fun bit. I just want to give out my contact details to anyone who is interested in attempting to contact me or is interest in supporting me while I am in Ireland. First of all I just wanted to mention that this is a volunteer internship and I am paying for everything with my own funds and support.
Costs of living: Sadly the American dollar isn't worth as much as it used to be so I have been having all sorts of fun with the ever changing currency rates. It is also strange how certain things are cheaper here like food and public transport, but electricity and housing is higher!
So here is what I got so far:
-$300 a month goes to living expenses.
-$100 for food, we are sharing food costs in the house so we can buy in bulk and save money.
-Then around $50 for transportation costs each month.
That is really all that I can think of at the moment, each of those ammounts is an estimate. Most likely these amounts will be lower then what I posted them at. There is also a option for me to purchase a cheap car that I would be able to buy for a year and then sell at the end of my internship. This would actually be cheaper for transportation over the long run because the cars here get around 50 - 60 mpg and I would only be using it to drive into work. The car for a year would run me about $2000 for the year including vehicle and insurance. Thank you for you support everyone and please let me know if I can be praying for any of you back home!
Mobile: +1 218-209-0771 this is only able to work with whatsapp texting app at the moment.
Email: schultz.jake@gmail.com, or jake@vineyarddungannon.co.uk
Skype: Bigguyjake
Paypal: schultz.jake@gmail.com
If you would rather send me money to my Wellsfargo account instead feel free to get a hold of me and I will email you this information
Address: 34 The Majors Lane, Dungannon bt71 7fg
Thank you all so much,
Jake
So this is the fun bit. I just want to give out my contact details to anyone who is interested in attempting to contact me or is interest in supporting me while I am in Ireland. First of all I just wanted to mention that this is a volunteer internship and I am paying for everything with my own funds and support.
Costs of living: Sadly the American dollar isn't worth as much as it used to be so I have been having all sorts of fun with the ever changing currency rates. It is also strange how certain things are cheaper here like food and public transport, but electricity and housing is higher!
So here is what I got so far:
-$300 a month goes to living expenses.
-$100 for food, we are sharing food costs in the house so we can buy in bulk and save money.
-Then around $50 for transportation costs each month.
That is really all that I can think of at the moment, each of those ammounts is an estimate. Most likely these amounts will be lower then what I posted them at. There is also a option for me to purchase a cheap car that I would be able to buy for a year and then sell at the end of my internship. This would actually be cheaper for transportation over the long run because the cars here get around 50 - 60 mpg and I would only be using it to drive into work. The car for a year would run me about $2000 for the year including vehicle and insurance. Thank you for you support everyone and please let me know if I can be praying for any of you back home!
Mobile: +1 218-209-0771 this is only able to work with whatsapp texting app at the moment.
Email: schultz.jake@gmail.com, or jake@vineyarddungannon.co.uk
Skype: Bigguyjake
Paypal: schultz.jake@gmail.com
If you would rather send me money to my Wellsfargo account instead feel free to get a hold of me and I will email you this information
Address: 34 The Majors Lane, Dungannon bt71 7fg
Thank you all so much,
Jake
Hey everyone!
I just want to start off by saying thank you to everyone for your support with prayer and finances without you this journey would have not been possible. I feel completely and entirely blessed by those who have been brought along side me in my walk of life.
I guess I suppose I should just tell a bit of my story to start out with. Earlier this summer I decided to go and visit my friends Bill and Katie (they are married :p) in Northern Ireland. Bill was doing his internship with Youth for Christ and Katie was doing volunteer work with them as well. This was one of those instances where when the idea is brought up your thinking "YEAH that sounds like an awesome idea!", but in reality your thinking that it most likely wouldn't work out. Well...it did and it totally caught me off guard. It was strange because part of me was almost scared to go out there. I felt that if I did I would be different. In a way I suppose that was some foreshadowing. Up until jumping on the Megabus did those jitters and doubts go away. By the way I would not recommend taking an 8 hr bus ride before 10 hrs of flying.
After landing in Dublin I was just filled with a spirit of adventure and excitement. Something stirred in me, maybe it was all the Irish accents, being a different country, getting out on a good vacation, or a sense of freedom from the daily grind. I am not gonna lie, it was all of those. Well, that and I felt that something out there was gonna make a big impact on me.
I spent two weeks experiencing one of the strangest, yet most pleasant vacations that I have ever been on. I got to meet some amazing people as well. I ended up helping two people move, went to church multiple times, some how got invited to a small group, and helped out at a father's day event for the Vineyard church. I will be honest those would be some of the last things I would consider doing on a vacation, but for some reason I was happy to join in. During this time God started knocking on the door...I started to just be awoken to things around me. I realized how complacent and bitter I had become, that I was getting restless with where I was at, and that I was really missing being involved with ministry work. I felt that I was supposed to be here, that this whole trip was something to get me hooked.
I started to journal (which hadn't been touched in possibly a year or two.) and pray. Honestly it was really all I could do to figure out what was going on in my heart and my head. It wasn't until my buddy Gary and I had a conversation out side. Actually it was a very short comment that hit me hard. Gary looked at me and said "Your coming back, your supposed to be here." I must have been looking very confused at this moment. He then said "Your got that look in your eyes."
To avoid writing a novel I am going to try and keep all of this short. As soon as the plane lifted off from Dublin I felt my heart grow heavy and burdened. I felt that as though I was running away from something important. This was one of the more confusing points in my life. I kept thinking that I was supposed to be back in Ireland, but I didn't want to do something stupid or irrational. This battle was going on in my head for several weeks, until after many nights of prayer and conversation I decided why not just go over and take some online classes and see what happens. The next day I got a text from my friend Karen telling me that the church was really needing an intern, the one they had set up had to back out last minute. I was a bit blown away...ok maybe this was a sign. It also happens that Gary had told me I could live with him if I ever wanted to move out to Ireland.
So the next bit was getting my visa super fast and just everything falling into place, well except for finding a place for my dog, but that worked out in the end. It's just a reminder that even thought your on the right path, not everything is going to be easy. I even had a vivid dream about trying to cross this giant highway. No matter what I tried doing, I failed at it. In the dream I got very angry, then realized that I needed to give it to God, then a bridge appeared right in front of me. It was right in front of me and next thing I know I'm in Ireland on the coast in awe of the glory of God. In all honesty you would be a fool to expect following God's direction to be easy and have everything work out for you in the way you think it is going to.
After a few weeks of living with my parents and running around trying to see people before moving, I am now here just starting up this internship. I will be helping out Bryan the youth pastor at the church. My main focus will be on our weekly training, Lava (which is a typical youth hangout night on Fridays), Explosion (a worship service for the youth on wed. nights), and co-leading a small group which meet before Lava on Fridays. There will also be the small group that meets at the house I'm staying in on Tuesdays, going out into the community to pray for people and to be a presence in the community, and there is the days in the office helping out in any way I can...or told to :-)
My goal with this blog is to keep you all up to date as much as possible. I will also be putting up pictures and possibly videos of everything. Also feel free to make any comments or chat if you like, but please watch your language. I will also not put up with people starting up fights on here or talking down to others. With that said welcome!!!
I just want to start off by saying thank you to everyone for your support with prayer and finances without you this journey would have not been possible. I feel completely and entirely blessed by those who have been brought along side me in my walk of life.
I guess I suppose I should just tell a bit of my story to start out with. Earlier this summer I decided to go and visit my friends Bill and Katie (they are married :p) in Northern Ireland. Bill was doing his internship with Youth for Christ and Katie was doing volunteer work with them as well. This was one of those instances where when the idea is brought up your thinking "YEAH that sounds like an awesome idea!", but in reality your thinking that it most likely wouldn't work out. Well...it did and it totally caught me off guard. It was strange because part of me was almost scared to go out there. I felt that if I did I would be different. In a way I suppose that was some foreshadowing. Up until jumping on the Megabus did those jitters and doubts go away. By the way I would not recommend taking an 8 hr bus ride before 10 hrs of flying.
After landing in Dublin I was just filled with a spirit of adventure and excitement. Something stirred in me, maybe it was all the Irish accents, being a different country, getting out on a good vacation, or a sense of freedom from the daily grind. I am not gonna lie, it was all of those. Well, that and I felt that something out there was gonna make a big impact on me.
I spent two weeks experiencing one of the strangest, yet most pleasant vacations that I have ever been on. I got to meet some amazing people as well. I ended up helping two people move, went to church multiple times, some how got invited to a small group, and helped out at a father's day event for the Vineyard church. I will be honest those would be some of the last things I would consider doing on a vacation, but for some reason I was happy to join in. During this time God started knocking on the door...I started to just be awoken to things around me. I realized how complacent and bitter I had become, that I was getting restless with where I was at, and that I was really missing being involved with ministry work. I felt that I was supposed to be here, that this whole trip was something to get me hooked.
I started to journal (which hadn't been touched in possibly a year or two.) and pray. Honestly it was really all I could do to figure out what was going on in my heart and my head. It wasn't until my buddy Gary and I had a conversation out side. Actually it was a very short comment that hit me hard. Gary looked at me and said "Your coming back, your supposed to be here." I must have been looking very confused at this moment. He then said "Your got that look in your eyes."
To avoid writing a novel I am going to try and keep all of this short. As soon as the plane lifted off from Dublin I felt my heart grow heavy and burdened. I felt that as though I was running away from something important. This was one of the more confusing points in my life. I kept thinking that I was supposed to be back in Ireland, but I didn't want to do something stupid or irrational. This battle was going on in my head for several weeks, until after many nights of prayer and conversation I decided why not just go over and take some online classes and see what happens. The next day I got a text from my friend Karen telling me that the church was really needing an intern, the one they had set up had to back out last minute. I was a bit blown away...ok maybe this was a sign. It also happens that Gary had told me I could live with him if I ever wanted to move out to Ireland.
So the next bit was getting my visa super fast and just everything falling into place, well except for finding a place for my dog, but that worked out in the end. It's just a reminder that even thought your on the right path, not everything is going to be easy. I even had a vivid dream about trying to cross this giant highway. No matter what I tried doing, I failed at it. In the dream I got very angry, then realized that I needed to give it to God, then a bridge appeared right in front of me. It was right in front of me and next thing I know I'm in Ireland on the coast in awe of the glory of God. In all honesty you would be a fool to expect following God's direction to be easy and have everything work out for you in the way you think it is going to.
After a few weeks of living with my parents and running around trying to see people before moving, I am now here just starting up this internship. I will be helping out Bryan the youth pastor at the church. My main focus will be on our weekly training, Lava (which is a typical youth hangout night on Fridays), Explosion (a worship service for the youth on wed. nights), and co-leading a small group which meet before Lava on Fridays. There will also be the small group that meets at the house I'm staying in on Tuesdays, going out into the community to pray for people and to be a presence in the community, and there is the days in the office helping out in any way I can...or told to :-)
My goal with this blog is to keep you all up to date as much as possible. I will also be putting up pictures and possibly videos of everything. Also feel free to make any comments or chat if you like, but please watch your language. I will also not put up with people starting up fights on here or talking down to others. With that said welcome!!!
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