Goodbye Texas, Hello Kenya!

My last great adventure of this summer will soon be upon me. As many of you know, Monday I will be heading to Limuru, Kenya to teach at Kenya Baptist Theological College and do some local preaching. I am going by myself but in partnership with HaMoreh Ministries. While there I will be teaching a course on the General Epistles and Revelation as well as preaching at local churches. Throughout my time there, I plan on blogging and posting pictures and videos on this site - so be looking out! I covet your prayers - and have included (by request) my itinerary below:

* All times are the correct time for location I will be in [Kenya time is 8 hours ahead of US time]

** I do not have any times for preaching, but I am expecting to do some chapels throughout the week (around 9:45 ish) and preaching at churches throughout the week (concentrated on Sunday)

Monday (7/19) - I fly out of Houston in the early afternoon.

Tuesday (7/20) - I will arrive in Amsterdam that morning, and after a short layover will take off for Kenya. I plan on arriving in Kenya late Tuesday night.

Wednesday (7/21) - Class from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. Class from 4:30-6:30 PM.

Thursday (7/22) - Class from 7:30 - 9:30 AM. Class from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. Class from 4:30 - 6:30 PM.

Friday (7/23) - No Class.

Saturday (7/24) - Class from 7:30 - 9:30 AM. Class from 10:30 - 12:30 (AM-PM). Class from 2:00 - 4:00 PM.

Sunday (7/25) - No Class. Probably lots of preaching.

Monday (7/26) through Thursday (7/29) - Class from 7:30 - 9:30 AM. Class from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. Class from 4:30 - 6:30 PM. I am planning on flying out of Kenya late Thursday night.

Friday (7/30) - I am planning on arriving in Amsterdam early that morning, enjoying a layover, and then flying out to Texas where I plan on arriving back home that afternoon.

Again- I greatly appreciate your prayers and cannot wait to share with you all about what God does during my time with my soon-to-be new faith-family members.

Camp Bridgeport 2010 (JH1)

My second great adventure of this summer was my week speaking at Camp Bridgeport, a very nice retreat center that holds summer camps for Methodist youth. I was invited to come and speak at one of the Junior High camps from June 21-26.

While I have spoken at lots of different churches, schools, and youth events- this was my first gig speaking at a full week of camp. That, combined with the fact that the youth were middle schoolers, (what I consider to be the hardest group for me to communicate to) meant that I was very excited and a little nervous.

It was also an adventure to get there. I was supposed to arrive on on June 20 to get to know the other staff and volunteers - but a lack of sleep, some sickness, and some crazy last minute work items kept me away until right before camp started on the 21st. I drove the 6 hours up to the camp, on 4 hours of sleep over the last two days, and stopped repeatedly unsure if I could keep going. A few faithful friends carried me in prayer- and I arrived safely.

For our week of camp, we were entrusted with just under 200 youngsters who quickly became valued friends to me. I have lots of great stories from camp, made lots of great friends, and was overwhelmed with how God continued to increase a love for ministry in my heart. There are few things as life-giving as watching and being a part of God's work.

To my Bridgeport kids- what was one (or a few) of the things that God taught you during the week of JH1 Camp? Comment and share!!

Camp Blessing Texas - 2010

My first great adventure this summer was my week serving at Camp Blessing Texas, a camp for kids with special needs. I volunteered there last summer, had an incredible experience, and was looking forward to another rich time. I was also excited because this time I was taking two friends to experience the week with me- Adam McIntire and Zach Selindh.

It was, as expected, an amazing week. My camper was my little buddy, Spencer, who I had last summer and have gotten to know over the last year. Spencer is a 9 year old with autism. It was awesome to see how much Spencer has grown over the past year- using more words, giving more eye contact, showing more emotion. To the best of my knowledge, Spencer had an absolute blast during the week, and so did I.

One of my favorite memories from the week was the handshake that Spencer and I had (see picture below). It consisted of a bunch of alternating high-fives and fist-bumps, followed by me "head-butting" him in the stomach and saying "Boom!". He would always respond by smiling and saying "boom!" back.

So awesome. Another favorite moment is when Spencer figured out that I was willing for him to run at and jump on me and for us to fall to the ground. We did that for hourrrss and there were lots and lots of smiles and laughs.

In the end, the biggest blessing about spending time with Spencer is the way that Christ reveals himself to me and teaches me important lessons. Lessons about contentment, simplicity, joy, and trust. Matthew 19:14.

My Brother's Baptism

On March 7, I had the privilege of baptizing my little brother Brandon. So I found a guest speaker, took the Sunday off, and headed over to my parent's church to perform the baptism. Here is a short little video I put together to remember the event. Enjoy!

Has It Been a Year?

One year ago, in June of 2009, I took a week-long break from my duties as Lead/Teaching Pastor at Fc3 and headed up to Camp Blessing (then called Camp Barnabas), a summer camp for kids with special needs in Magnolia, Texas. It was a risky move. I had been Pastor for about 6 months and had never been away from the church for that long. I knew no one at this camp and very little about it. I had practically no experience working with severely disabled kids. But I loved camp, wanted an unforgettable experience, and wanted to meet Jesus through selfless love and service. I did.

I've told the story often, the one involving an autistic boy, Spencer, who loves toilets, light-switches, and swinging. The story about a closeness with Christ achieved only when any semblance of self-concern or care disappears in the light of a greater need and purpose. The story of a great organization that Fc3 has had the privilege of partnering with in a small way. The story of an awesome family, the Eichenbergers, who I have had the privilege of getting to know over the past year.

The story continues tomorrow morning as I head back to Camp Blessing for another week. I will be taking two good friends with me, Adam McIntire and Zach Selindh, to share the experience with them. Spencer will be there, as will his older brother. All signs are pointing to a great week. Pray for Adam and Zach. Pray for me. Pray for Camp Blessing. And when I get back, no doubt different from the experience, I will tell you all about it! Until then, much love.

Mike

Summer!

Hey friends!

Summer is finally here for me and with it comes much to do and be. As I was committing myself to opportunities this summer, I may have overestimated just how much I can comfortably take on! This summer will find me very, very busy- but hopefully the kind of busy that is satisfying and worshipful. Here are some of the things that are on my plate for this summer:

- Preaching/Teaching on Sundays (Preaching through Micah at Fc3, various stand-alones elsewhere) [All Summer]

- Teaching a class on the historical Jesus (Join us! 7:00 pm on Tuesday nights at Fc3) [End of May-Middle of July]

- Serving for a week at Camp Blessing! [Early June]

- Speaking for a week at a Junior High camp in North Texas [Late June]

- Take the youth of Fc3 to San Antonio for a couple days (Hello SeaWorld!) [Early July]

- Traveling to Kenya for 13 days! Teaching a class at a seminary over there and doing some preaching at local churches as well! [Middle-End of July]

Whew... I got tired just typing all of that out... Somewhere in that mix I will celebrate my 22nd birthday (June 19), be introduced to some new family members (my parents are adopting!), go to a couple of concerts, and watch Big Brother 12 (my guilty pleasure).

Expect some blog posts this summer about some of the above mentioned things! And while you're here - drop me a comment and let me know what your summer will look like! What is on your plate?

STORY

Here is a video written, directed, and produced by Adam McIntire for Fc3's STORY series. Enjoy!

FC3 Story Video from Adam McIntire on Vimeo.