La Noche

Had a great day! The usual classes. Lunch with a friend (it was more fun than i thought it would be). Racquet ball. Shower. Bible study over Philippians (i think the hours of studying might have paid off). Nap. Meeting thing in Longview. Sounds like the typical day- for the most part.

The only thing i find worth elaborating on was my trip to Longview. Not knowing any better, with a set of directions, i pulled out of my driveway at 6:15. I made a phone call to get the last bit of information on where i would be going. (I find it very helpful to have a description of a house instead of just being told where it's located on a street.) 6:27, i arrived at my destination. The words "Oh no..." went through my head. How was i supposed to know that LeTourneau was only a 15 minute drive from my house? I'd only taken the scenic route. That way took about 35 minutes... I wasn't about to walk into a house by myself with over 30 minutes to kill. What did i decide to do? Well, here's the answer- something stupid... I figured i'd go exploring. Thinking i'd never been in that part of town, i figured i'd see where exactly Moberly went. Well, i saw the hospital and turned around. It was nice making the connection in my mind and finding out how the roads all connected together, but it was kinda scary looking out my windows the whole time and realizing it was not the best time of day to be caught in the "South Side" of Longview. How was i supposed to know it was the south? All i knew was that my exit to Longview was always the left one for 259. My entire direction in doing so consisted only of "left..." I eventually headed back towards the house. After doing a few more loops around the neighborhood, i finally gathered enough courage to park, get out of my truck, knock on the door, walk into a house i'd never been to, and meet some people i'd never seen in my life. A year ago, that would have been torture. A month ago, it would have been uncomfortable. Tonight, it was no big deal. Eventually, we got started. I learned quite a bit about Judaism. I got to see them light a few candles. I learned some of the customs. I heard a lot of words that were completely over my head (maybe because half of them were a foreign language). I heard songs in Hebrew. I learned how things that i had learned in the past actually tied together. Got to read a short paragraph from Psalms (used to hate reading out loud. Just like meeting people, not so bad anymore...) Was reintroduced to the OT through the eyes of a Jew. It was awesome. That's who it was written for. All i would have known to say about it is that it's scripture, it's the law, it has some great stories, and contrary to what you probably believe, it does not in any way conflict with the NT. Well, i know a tad bit more than that, but you get the picture... Tonight, i learned about the significance of the Red Sea crossing. I had the point of Passover explained to me. I learned a little bit about all 7 (?) major Jewish holidays. Over all, i had a good time. At the end, we all shared prayer requests. I've never seen 6 people sharing take 30 minutes. I learned that isn't a bad thing. Afterwards we had the best bread i've ever eaten. It had raisins in it, yet somehow, i still liked it. They actually made it better. I ended up talking more than i had anticipated and finally made it out around 10:00. I can hardly wait to learn more about the Messianic Jew concept and really hope that i'll be able to go next Friday And o yea, just incase you didn't notice, i think the word "learn" was the most used in this paragraph. Motive behind that- it's exactly what i did. It was wonderful getting to sit down and learn from people who had no expectations of me in any way, shape, or form. i have had to lead something in one way or another 5 times this week. I had to write out two Bible studies. Hours of work go into each of them. It seems like all i've gotten to do was teach. It was so nice to show up somewhere and not have to do anything. Sometimes, i need a break. I need to just rest for a while and be refreshed instead of constantly pouring myself out into ministry. That's what tonight allowed me to do- even with all the potential it had for being completely uncomfortable.