Hey all,

  Just thought I'd let everyone know that my retreat out in the woods went well, except for the fact that I ALMOST DIED!!!!!  Yes, tis true, and tis tragic too.  Basically, I woke up the third morning of Niko (that's the name of the retreat) and I had a little blister on my arm.  I noticed that it was sore when I was putting on a long sleeve shirt.  It was about the size of a baked bean.  I let the Niko staff know just to see if they happened to recognize it.  They didn't, but they said to keep an eye on it.  So, we then had a time of worship and prayer which lasted about an hour or so.  I was sporadically checking my blister, and it seemed to me that it was slightly growing, but then again I thought I could have just been paranoid about the whole matter.  Having mysterious sore blisters show up out in the woods will do that to you.  I asked the staff if it looked any bigger and they informed me that I was definitely not paranoid and it had infact at least doubled and maybe trippled in size.  By this point a red ring began to form around the blisters, which can be a sign of blood poisoning.  Yep, I was basically freaking out at about this time.  About an hour later it had for sure trippled and was the size of an awkwardly disfigured quarter.  What's more, the blister was between 1/4 and 1/2 inches thick.  It was very grotesque.  The thing was all translucent too (meaning the light went through it), which made it even grosser.  Now I'm thinking I have a poisonous spider bite and am going to die.  The red line is becoming more defined, and my friend is telling me he had a similar looking thing appear on his arm when he got bit by a poisonous spider.  Now, to understand the full gravity of the situation in my mind, you must know that I hate spiders.  I have always been afraid of being bitten by a black widow, brown recluse, or some other crazy bug I can't figure out why God created.  When I was alot younger I saw a black widow in a metal pipe at a play ground, and this summer I saw a huge one in a parking lot in California.  I HATE THEM!!!  So this is all going through my head.  They decide to take me into the hospital because this could turn into a very serious, quite possibly fatal (if nothing were done) situation (it kind of stinks that you all know the end of the story because I have to be alive to be writing this entry).  So we have to travel by car about twenty minutes away to the nearest hospital...remember, we're out in the middle of the woods.  We get there and I'm deeply disturbed inside.  Although I'm concerned for my health, I am beginning to be more concerned with the fact that I'm so unsettled inside.  I knew that I needed to trust God, but I was still afraid.  I even knew that I did trust God, but I was frustrated at myself for being scared.  So, continuing with my story, the nurses have me sign a bunch of papers (I'm thinking..."Are you crazy, I could be dying and your making me sign a bunch of stuff and answer silly questions...let me see the Doctor!").  Two nurses told me they had never seen anything like it (was that supposed to be comforting???  Oh, and did I mention that I HATE spiders!)  So I finally go into the Doctor's room and sit on one of those uncomfortable bed things waiting for him to come see me.  I finally have time to really think about all my fears and issues I'm having trusting God.  I realized that the issue is control.  Put me in a life and death situation where I can affect the outcome and I'd have a whole lot more peace than making me wait to hear a diagnosis of something going on inside of me.  This was out of my hands, and I had to let go of my fears since control had already been stripped from me.  God was in control.  That being said, I was still freaked out.  The doctor came in, asked a couple questions, pushed painfully on my blister, and said he thought it was just an allergic reaction to an insect sting.  He was in and out in like a minute.  And I must say, the fact that he merely thought it was a bug sting didn't leave me with peace.  He prescribed benedryl and told me to watch for signs of infection, especially a red line beginning at the blister and moving up my arm toward my heart (that's blood poisoning, and if it reaches your heart, you can die.)  He also warned me not to pop the blister.  So I went back to the woods, still feeling scared, but a little relieved, and guess what happened.  The dumb thing popped.  Except, it didn't just pop, but it refilled within two hours.  That sick blister pop and refilled at least 7 times over the course of 2 days.  GROSS!  That afternoon of the final day we had a time to go off and spend some time alone with God.  Now All me fears and thoughts came colliding together and ended in tears (yes, that's right, I cried, and I'm not afraid to admit it.)  However, I wasn't crying because of pain or fear of death, I was crying because I just had a massive revelation hit me.  Even though I have all these great things I want to do with my life, I have to be content to let God pull me from this life any time He wants.  I think for a long time I've thought that if I didn't accomplish a bunch of awesome things for God, then I will have failed Him.  But it doesn't work that way.  Just being His little boy is enough.  So through my tears I told God that even though I want to do alot more stuff before I go home (Home in the eternal sense), I give Him permission to take my earthly life away from me whenever He wants to, and I'll be content with that.  Phew...it actually felt really good.  When it all came down to it, it was an issue of surrendering control, and that's what I had to do.  Who'd of thought I could learn so much from a sore little blister on the side of my arm.

(P.s.  The next morning I woke up with a red line going from my blister to the middle of my arm pit.  Once again, I temporarily freaked, but when I got to a mirror I realized it was just a crease from sleeping on it.  That'll teach me to not jump to conclusions)

So, that's my exciting story for the week.  I think that's the closest I've ever come to actually thinking I might die.  Now, the fact of the matter is, I probably severely over-dramatized this story, but I wanted you to see it from the perspective of my head.  I was tremendously scared.  Did I mention that I hate spiders?

InHim,  Andrew<><

Well, I suppose it's about time I updated.  I must apologize to my untold numbers of fans because I've kept them on the edges of their seats waiting to hear about the unfolding events of my life.  August was an amazing month.  I was a youth pastor for a month!  Wow, that's so weird to say, but God did so much amazing stuff!  I can't believe how much I ended up caring about the kids in my youth group...and I can't believe how much they liked me either.  There were several who I didn't even know if the liked me who told me they were really disappointed that I was leaving.  So, God taught me alot through this whole process.  First of all, you don't have to be like the people you minister to.  You just have to love them and show that you truly care.  Be real...none of this fake friend patronization stuff.  Secondly, I totally just need to trust Him when it comes to being used by Him.  For a long time I've worried alot about preaching.  I knew the day would come when I'd have to be up there on the platform, and I was terrified of it.  But when it came down to it, God was so faithful to show me exactly what He wanted me to share about, and He was faithful to let His anointing and Spirit flow.  My final night I gave a salvation message, and 2 kids accepted Christ for the first time, and 4 others recommitted their lives to Him!  Hallelujah!  Seriously, thank you Jesus!  You are amazing!  Isn't God awesome.  It's so cool that He chooses to use us, the very people He has miraculously saves, to save others.  I could go on about this topic forever, but I won't.  There are tons of other amazing things God did too.  Oh, and I totally had a blast hanging out with Cole this summer.  If you're reading this Cole, I want you to know that I'm so glad we got to spend so much time together this summer!  It's so rewarding to see the people you are closest to encounter God in new and exciting ways! 

  I'm back out in Oregon for those of you who don't know.  It's beautiful here, and I had forgotten how much I missed it.  I remember thinking at the end of the school year that it seemed like I'd spent my whole life out here.  At the end of the summer it felt like I could hardly remember college life...but it all came back to me real quick!  I'm in alot of meetings now training for the year ahead.  We're all leaving on a leadership/team building retreat tomorrow.  It's gonna be crazy.  It's a massive time of surrender and letting go of control, and I'm not just talking spiritually.  They give us a packing list of things to bring...and that's all we can bring.  When it comes to Hygiene, all we can take is a toothbrush, a comb, and a towel/washcloth.  Yes, that means no deoderant or toothpaste...and no shaver...Augh!  Oh, and there are no showers (this is 7am Sat.- 2am Wed.) and possibly no bathrooms...unless you count the forest.  Wow, it's gonna be an experience, but I know it will be really good too.  Everyone who goes ends up loving it and learning alot. 

  I started reading this book called The Spiritual Man by Watchmen Nee.  It's amazing; you should all read it.  It's really old, and really big, but it's worth it!  It's about living a life in the spirit.  I'm not talking about the Holy Spirit, but your own spirit.  So many Christians are content to live life in the realm of the body or the soul (lust, passions, emotions, intellect, etc.)  They never get to a point where their entire life is governed by their spirit man, and their spirit is in turn governed by the Holy Spirit.  Paul wrote to the Corinthians about being carnal Christians, of the flesh.  So many Christians don't realize that Christ not only died for their salvation, but to break the power of sin in their lives.  When that "old man" was buried in baptism, he was meant to stay there.  It's time for God's people to stop being "fleshly" and become truly "spiritual."  While it is important to realize the power of sin is broken in our lives, it is also extremely realize we fight a daily battle against "self."  Are you living for yourself, or for God?  Are we making decisions based upon what we want to do, or what the Spirit would want us to do?  Read it...it'll take you a loooonnnggg time, but it's so worth it. 

  Well, it's time for me to bid my Adieu.  So, farewell all, and I'll talk to you later.  Bye bye.

InHim,  Andrew<><

(A Tribute to my Dear Friend Nancy)

Nancy, Nancy, what a true and loyal friend.  She is so significant and wonderful.  She loves to dance in show choir and DDR, and singing with her in choir can only be described as bliss.  She is a wonderful MOW player, and she has many other talents.  But most importantly, she is an amazing friend.  This concludes my tribute to my dear friend Nancy. 

InHim,  Andrew<><   (p.s.  I'll try not to overlook you anymore : )

Well, hello again everyone.  Ok, I forgot how much fun it was to be a kid until, well, I started doing "kidish" things again.  Last night my next door neighbors, Cole, Colin, and Alex, and I played laser tag in the back yards in our neighborhoods.  I don't know if you've ever played before, but usually the guns make that annoying "BEEP" noise, so it's impossible to play "stealthily."  So, we decided to get creative and use TV remote controls for the guns (they send out the same infrared waves).  That way, you wouldn't know where anyone else was simply because of the "Beep, beep, beep."  We did when it was completely dark, and we all dressed in black.  Wow, I forgot how fun it was to roll around in the grass, duck behind trees, and snipe out your friends...ha ha!  It was a blast, and I totally miss doing things like that.  I hope next year at EBC we all make more time to play capture the flag and stuff like we did that one time.  Oh yeah, and sand volleyball (including all the diving that goes along with that) has to be one of the most fun games ever created.  It's great.  Well, enough about games.  Katie, it was way cool to hang out with you the other night.  Kristin, my deepest apologies for not saying goodbye...I sort of forgot I was talking to you since...YOU failed to write me anything for like 30 minutes.  Nevertheless, I should have said goodbye, and I'm sorry.  Kasey, I doubt I'll be doing worship team next year...but who knows!  I do love to sing, especially to God.  Lizzy, I totally thought it was awesome to see you the other night, and thursday is gonna be so much fun...maybe we could get everyone to add in a little game of hide and seek around the neighborhood after Immersion.  Well, for the rest of you, I love you, and thanks for bein' there for me.  Adios.

InHim,  Andrew<><

Well everyone,  thanks for your advice/encouragement.  You were totally right.  It is a huge responsibility, but if I am loving God and loving others, and if I'm just going after Him with my whole heart...He honors that.  Last night went so well, and the cool thing is that I really think God spoke to the kids.  I didn't have to be anything I'm not or try to impress anyone; I could just be me and allow God to work...it was way cool to watch.  One quick really cool thing that happened last night was...

   So, my youth pastor had me sing on worship team...and I only knew one of the four songs we were doing.  But I picked the others up pretty well in the 45 min. of practice before.  Things were going well, until my youth pastor dropped out and expected me to keep going.  Wow, did I biff it big time.  I mean, I tried, but I just couldn't keep it going well.  Anyway, at first I was feelin' kinda nervous and embarassed...but then it hit me.  Who really cares?  I'm up here loving Jesus, and I don't care how I sound or what the world thinks.  I'm just gonna sing my guts out and worship like crazy.  And you know what?  Randy, my youth pastor, dropped out a couple other times but I wasn't even thinking about it.  I was just focused on loving God, and it was great.  Another great lesson that God taught me.  He's been doing that alot lately...

   So, focus on God, not the people who are in front of you (whether you're speaking, singing, or something else).  It's all about Him, and I love Him for it!  Adios amigos.  Love ya all!

InHim,  Andrew<><