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August 24, 2005
August Newsletter!!!
(If you would like to receive our newsletter every month email paul_@_rockisu_._com)
Native Missionaries
Ames, IA has many strengths and diversity is certainly not one of them. We have been back here for two weeks and are still adjusting to country life. SALT and Chicago have given us a different view of Iowa. Everyone here is so much the same. Same age group, same attitudes, same dress, even same life goals. In Chicago you can stand on just about any street corner and be approached by someone who probably hasn’t taken a bath in several months and asked for spare change while a multimillionaire gets driven by in his limousine.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
~Romans 12:2
But, God has called us to be native missionaries in Ames. People who know the culture have that x-factor that makes them more relatable to those around them. We can identify with the struggles and victories of those that call Ames and Iowa State University home. We have the same accent and dress much the same as most of them. We know what they are talking about when movies or music comes up. Obviously there are differences in the way that we live our lives but in a crowd we blend in pretty good. In my case I have taken a lot of the classes that the students are struggling through, eaten in the cafeterias, lived in the dorms and walked the sidewalks more then enough to know them all. Christie has had much of the same experiences even if they were at another Midwest public university. We are natives to this culture and these people are our people.
Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.
~Jeremiah 9:1
Chicago was an expedition into the unknown and God brought us success there. In the future God could call us to be part of a team to plant a church there or somewhere else. But, for now the ball in Ames needs people to keep it rolling; and that is where our responsibility lies.
We have already been integrated back into the chain of service. I am picking up on my duties as the Rock Chief Operations Officer and producer of our Friday Night Worship Service. This means lots of catch-up needs to be done through numerous meeting with students and other leaders and constant emails and phone calls. Life here in Ames is a different sort of busy.
Christie is also quickly getting loaded down with all manner of tasks and duties. She is the new Rock member manager, which means that she keeps track of where everyone has moved over the summer and their new phone numbers. In college ministry this is an extremely important and time consuming job as most students move every spring and fall. She is also continuing to build vital relationships with other women.
All in all we are glad to be back. We will miss the excitement of Chicago but not the traffic. We will miss the chance to hear the stories of those who’s lives are so very different but are excited to reach out to those that are so like us in many ways. Ames, IA is our mission field. +
Our SALT Staff
Luke Anderson
The interns helping us out during SALT were great. Luke Anderson grew up outside of the Chicago area but his family moved to Ames while he was in high school, so, he has ties to both Stonebrook Church (here in Ames) and Glen Arbor Church (in West Chicago). Luke is just about as loyal as they come and has a real heart to reach out to those around him.
His prayer for the summer was to be able to reach out to three guys and share the gospel with them. He was able to do that with David and Carlos (on Luke’s right and left) whom he met through a martial arts self defense seminar that SALT sponsored. Luke continued to meet with these guys and one of their friends a couple of times a week to hang out, practice martial arts, and talk about life. Luke was a real example of perseverance in reaching out to those around him. +
Jackie Myers
Jackie was the other summer intern working with the SALT program. A native of New York State, she moved to Ames three years ago to be a part of the church.
Having another girl on the team was such a blessing to me! And Jackie, with her outgoing, fun-loving spirit, was a perfect balance to my administrative, task-oriented self. In spite of our differences, we became fast friends and a support for one another when things got rough.
I learned a lot about evangelism from Jackie. She loves to just go out and meet people! Several times a week she would go to campus and have conversations with people from every background imaginable. As a result, she was able to share the gospel and start relationships with numerous students from the University of Illinois - Chicago. +
Mike Biang
Mike is a Chicago transplant in Ames. (Even though I claim that he is more Iowan then I am because he likes country music.) His Dad was the SALT director and is a pastor at Glen Arbor Church in West Chicago.
While Mike worked a full time job all summer doing web programming he was an invaluable resource and un-excludable member of the staff this past summer.
Mike headed up and managed the different worship leaders at SALT and helped organize our Saturday outreach and service projects which in itself could have been a full time job if Mike had let it swamp him.
He also managed to be a stabilizing force, mature influence, and counselor who helped smooth the whole program out and make everybody more successful. +
Love,
Paul & Christie Johnson
(If you would like to receive our newsletter every month email paul_@_rockisu_._com)
Posted by paul at August 24, 2005 10:42 AM