new year

Hi! I thought I'd post one more little one before the end of the year.

You'll read and hear a lot about new year's resolutions, turning a new leaf (which I claimed to do with blogging a few months ago) and the like this week. You'll read about new diets, new financial help plans, new self-helps of various kinds. Many of you will resolve something or other that you've been meaning to make a habit for some time, and many of you will find success for a time. Some of you will succeed long-term. I've been wanting to run more, drink more water, read the Bible more, make some decent recordings, etc. Chances are, some of these things will happen for a while but then I'll hit the natural downs of life and feel silly or disappointed in myself or like a failure.

Chances are, most of you have gone/will go through these same things. We've all heard this before and we've all experienced it so I don't want too many unnecessary words. But I want to ask: what will it take to break the cycle? Is the cycle meant to be broken? Do we have any hope of ever actually changing for the better and accomplishing something good?

I certainly don't have all the answers or even a few of them, but I think a few things to keep in mind, like perspective, might help. Making attainable goals and going bigger from there. God asks us to be faithful with the small things so He may entrust us with the larger things later. Look back on the last few years of your life and evaluate it a little: what have you done that you're proud of? What have you done that you're not proud of? That you never want to do again?

I try to take things, rather than a year at a time, a day at a time. One of my favorite songs is by the band Five Iron Frenzy and it's called 'Every New Day.' It's better with music of course but the end of the song says:

Freedom means love without condition, without a beginning or an end.

Here's my heart, let it be forever Yours; only You can make every new day seem so new.

Cameron's Nov/Dec 2006 prayer letter

Here's my monthly prayer letter to supporters of the ministry...

A PICTURE’S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

I thought I would give you a letter mostly full of pictures this time so you can get into my world a little more easily. So.zo continues to be an awesome place in which to work and make connections with people and present spiritual ideas in a non-threatening way. I think it’s so important for the Christian to continue to make himself or herself available to non-Christians. I’ve heard that the trend for most people who become Christians is to lose connection with almost all their non-Christian friends within 2 to 3 years after their conversion. This shouldn’t be! Jesus was called a ‘friend of sinners,’ and what a beautiful title that is. After all, we were all dead in sin before He made us alive in Him. Pray that I and everyone who works at so.zo are known as friends to all.

Here, in my opinion, is a big part of the ‘cool factor’ of so.zo: the couch in the window. We have this old brown couch that’s been the consistent favorite of most who’ve been to so.zo or even the Waterhouse, ’cause we made use of it there as well. When we came to so.zo, it just so happened that it fit perfectly in the little raised window section that’s to your right just as you walk through the door. With plenty of electrical outlets and an inviting ambiance, it’s become the most popular place to study or hang out during the day. Though we plan to keep upgrading our furniture and appliances, I wonder if this couch will be with us for a long time to come. The big poster that is hanging on the left side of the window has our name and logo on it, and the smaller posters display our current weekly events: h2o, Open Mic, and International Student Tutoring.

This is the left wall as you come walking through the door. So.zo is a long narrow store-front space, so we have both walls lined with tables and comfy seating in the front part. It’s kind of a café/study lounge in the front and a performance/event space in the back. I’m actually sitting and typing right now on a couch opposite what you see in this picture.

We also keep various original, local artwork and photography on the walls, as you can see. So.zo was actually a stop for a Downtown Morgantown Artwalk in September, giving us some great exposure and allowing us to join the local art community. Karen Gergely, a member of the h2o leadership team and part of my canvas group Exsatio, is our art ‘curator’ and so handles the research and installation of the pieces. Please keep praying for all the events of so.zo and the people who run them.
The chalkboard is another aspect of so.zo that people really seem to enjoy. It’s on the right side after you’ve come through most of the café-type seating. It’s actually just a piece of drywall that was attached to a little office that was part of the previous business in the space and that we demolitioned when we moved in. We bought chalkboard paint, slapped it on there and put a frame around it and it looks like it’s been that way forever! As you can see, it provides a creative way to sign up for Open Mic and serves as a ‘suggested donation’ guide for refreshments, which are all in front of the chalkboard.

We don’t actually have a business license yet so we aren’t able to ‘sell’ anything, but the donation can has made it so we get to at least try to break even with some of the costs of running so.zo daily. At this point we’re typically open 4 hours a day, something we’d like to keep expanding with each semester. Pray for the future manager and employees/volunteers of so.zo, that they become known as the friendliest in town and are able to use their gifts to make people feel at ease.
This last shot is basically from the middle of the length of so.zo, looking down at the far end, which houses our stage. The chalkboard is to the right of this picture’s perspective, and to its left is our soundboard area. This was taken at an Open Mic when my friend Dirk Mercer was performing. It’s a small stage, set up more for acoustic acts, but we hope to bring in more of those and do concerts with some regularity in the spring. This is also where we do the h2o service. It’s been a neat thing musically this semester to refine the quality of our ‘acoustic’ worship leading since we don’t have room for a full drumset (nor would the room be able to handle the sound probably). So we have more percussion than drums, and we also have generally stopped using an electric guitar, going more for a rhythm acoustic and lead acoustic setup. People seem to have really enjoyed this. We still stay quite upbeat, and the h2o community sure loves to sing! But the whole environment provides for a more intimate atmosphere, which has been an advantage over the Waterhouse. Please pray this ‘good vibe’ continues to make people feel at home, whether it’s at h2o, Open Mic or any other event we hold at so.zo.

We’ve got one more h2o service on December 10th and then we’ll break with the students until they come back. I can’t believe the Christmas season is here once more! Merry Christmas to all of you. May I take a moment again and tell you how grateful Sarah and I truly are for you? Though I don’t get to see some of you as much as I would like, I think about you often and I want you to know that your cheerful giving to GCM blesses our lives abundantly.

I do want to ask all of you who give on a less regular basis, like quarterly, semi-annually or annually, to check and make sure you’re still on schedule from when you first started giving. It would be so beneficial for my GCM account if you were able to catch up this month, before the end of the year. One big thing is that I’m waiting for a large reimbursement from my training costs that will expire at the end of the month, meaning I won’t be able to receive it if all your pledged support isn’t given to GCM in the next few weeks. THANK YOU for allowing me to remind you!

Love in Christ,

Cameron

podcast

It seems I don't do a post for a while and then I do two in one day. This is one of those days!

I want to remind you all of the H2O MORGANTOWN LIVE free podcast we do of the h2o message each week. It's a great 'audial' way to stay connected with me and my little campus ministry world that's more interesting than just text. Billy Williams does most of the messages, but I have given a few (one of which was podcasted a couple weeks ago) and Brian Shope, our CCO staff guy, gives some as well. If you have iTunes, you can go to the podcast page of the iTunes Store and enter 'h2o morgantown live' into the search field and find it that way. Or you can go to the H2O MORGANTOWN LIVE website (linked on my blog here to the right) and subscribe from there.

Yesterday was our last h2o of the semester (the third service in our Advent series) and we sang carols (including Silent Night by candlelight!) and had a Christmas dinner afterward as per our tradition of the past few years. It was great. We were able to record almost all of the service, including the band doing the carols, and as the band leader I'm really excited about that! I hope we get to do it more in the future with the worship songs we do. Of course you can hear the little mistakes that are inevitable with any live show, and of course listening to it on a recording can never capture the live experience, but I still think it's fun. If we do it more in the future, maybe we'll start stepping our quality even more, but I'm really proud of these guys (and gal) for the quality they bring with only a couple hours of practice a week. Enjoy!

ideas

You know, I think one of the reasons that it is difficult to keep a blog updated regularly is that every time you connect to the internet, unless you are an incredibly focused person, there are so many things to distract and entertain you that soon seconds, mintues and sometimes hours go by, at the end of which you're exhausted and you realize you didn't accomplish anything you set out to when you first got on.

I enjoy learning about other people's lives, what they're doing and thinking, seeing what is in the mind of the creative human. I've never been able to see so many neat ideas and projects. But at some point, I've got to be able to contribute something myself. It's one thing to have beautiful dreams in your head, and some people need to begin there, to rediscover the wonder of a child. However, I think that one of the defining characteristics of becoming an adult is being able to put your hand to something skillfully and diligently and see it through to completion with excellence. To take an idea and produce something from it.

I think this is the struggle for most people about my age, including myself. I recently read an article by Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars, some of the finest guitars in the world, and he was talking about ideas:

I wouldn't want to say that ideas are a dime a dozen, because they're not, but the truly hard part is taking an idea and turning it into a legitimate product and business. Once a person experiences both risks and rewards, they usually have a different viewpoint about how important the idea is.

What do we do with all the ever-increasing amount of information and ideas that is at our fingertips? Do we have the correct filters in place to sort through it all effectively use it? Do we have a good measure for being able to determine what ideas are important?

link updates

Just wanted to give you the chance to see some other music projects I'm involved with if you haven't already.

This is Ryan, me and Bernd (from Germany), 3 of the 4 members of 'Of Things to Come,' a little jam foursome (Billy Williams is the fourth and vocalist with traditional and original chants out of his Shawnee heritage). As you can seek, I try to provide ambiance with the keyboard but I think I'm usually outdone by Bernd who loves the reverb effect for guitar. Ryan gives us the beat on the djembe. So check out our myspace!

Also, me and Ryan get together and record some songs of ours (his words and my music) where I play guitar and he plays percussion, usually his (and I'm not sure how to spell this) kahon that Bernd actually made for him. It looks like a box and has a little pad on top he sits on. He beats it on various sides and it has some things within that make different sounds. We call ourselves 'O Rise Above...' and we also have a myspace. Enjoy!

Christopher's site

Hey. My brother Christopher (that's him with his wife Alice and dog Bob) just made a website to keep up with all us other siblings with sites! He's a Mac user (which I'm growing more and more envious of) and so got a Dot.Mac, I think it's called, software and created a website for people to be able to keep up with what's going on with them. They're a fun couple enjoying the city life in Knoxville, TN. Sarah and I love getting to see them whenever we can! We all got to go to Pittsburgh and walk around and eat last Friday, it was great. I've added his site to my 'Friends and Family' links to the right.

Gratitude

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! It's the time of year when we get together with family and friends, take some time off from work, and enjoy good food and company. We try to remember to be thankful for every good thing we have in our lives.

But what about the bad things?

Are you thankful for getting cut off in traffic? For that terrible hangover you had after partying all night? For the rain that ruins your trip to Cooper's Rock? For not quite making enough money this month to pay all the bills, let alone buy that awesome thing you want so bad? For never seeming to have time to do the things you enjoy doing? Are you thankful for the pain and sadness in your heart that you don't let anyone know about?

Needless to say, life isn't always good. And sometimes it seems like there's not a lot to be thankful for, even on Thanksgiving itself. Yet we are given this admonishment:

'Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' --1 Thessalonians 5:18

'All circumstances' seems like a lot more than taking just one day out of 365 to give thanks to God. And it seems like a lot more than even being thankful for all the good things in your life. It seems pretty plainly to mean that we should always be thankful. Always.

This shows a couple things to me: First, giving thanks is a decision, not a way of feeling. If we have to give thanks to God even when some inebriated person spits on us from a 3rd story window, it sure isn't going to flow out of the emotion we feel at that moment. It is a choice sprung from a strong will that remains in control despite a bad circumstance.

Second, giving thanks requires a deep trust in God. If we're to give thanks even when our income is an amount smaller than what we need to live on, then we're completely trusting and hoping in God to be bigger than our wallets. We give over to Him the responsibility for taking care of us, and we are happy to do so because we have faith that He knows what He is doing and can see beyond this month's paycheck.

So as you gather in your respective homelands to celebrate with loved ones, keep in mind that no matter your circumstance, and no matter what your life is like after the holiday, giving thanks to God should be a regular and willful part of your lives.

Of Things to Come

Hello! So have you ever heard a mellow, atmospheric, tribal jam band perform live, original, improv music? No? Well you have an opportunity tonight!

'Of Things to Come,' the project of me and some friends, is getting together once again to record a live jam, totally made-up on the spot. Check out myspace.com/ofthings to hear some jams from our June 17, 2006 get-together.

We will start around 8:00 PM tonight at so.zo, 473 High St, Morgantown. Come on out, enjoy some coffee and good music!

not a lot to say just now

Hey hey. Just want to try and break my 'post once a week or less' habit. Don't have a lot to say right now really... I'm trying to figure out how to post videos here, 'cause I have a couple funny ones. I think I can do it through YouTube.

Hmm, I'm usually more 'wordy' than this. I guess that's okay though, huh? Well, I suppose I better put a few photos up so you can have a 1000 words or more (get it? picture's worth a 1000 words? AH HA HA HA HA HA HA).

This is me and my buddy Adam. I think he kind of looks like Tom Cruise in 'Minority Report' when he had to change the way his face looked.

And this is my brother Christopher's dog Bob with his ears turned back.

Finally, this is a wild, wonderful West Virginia road, on a route from Elkins to Thomas.

Election Day

Hey all. Well, it's Election Day! Not a presidential year of course but there are races that will affect the outcome of certain issues for our state and country. So, even though you've heard it before, get out there and vote! Do some last-minute studying up on how candidates stand on issues if you need and go to the polls.

On another note, here's my old great-great-great grandpa:

Here's a poop sandwich:

And here's my old great-great-great grandpa stuck in a poop sandwich:

Rodney

Rodney Pose, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Here's another shot of Rodney (see the post below) so you can see his face. He's doing a 'Land of the Giants' pose he saw on my computer; he loves that show!

Happy Halloween

Cam and Rodney, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Hey all! This is my buddy Rodney. Rodney's an interesting guy; I encourage anyone in downtown Morgantown to get to know him. He's deaf and mute, but that certainly doesn't limit his communication much that I can tell. He reads and writes real well and also signs, though faster than I can keep up with (I only know most of the alphabet, though Sarah might eventually learn sign language through social work and I can bum off her).

Rodney comes by so.zo almost everyday just to hang out. Sometimes he asks for money or food and we help him out when we can, but mostly I think he just needs some good friendship. It's been a true joy getting to know him a little bit. He's really funny! Sarah and I both think he has a great smile.

Halloween's gotta be Rodney's favorite holiday, 'cause he's been talking about it for the last couple months. So this morning, bright and early after our leadership meeting, he comes busting through the door with this Dr. Strange outfit on!!! It was hilarious. He's very expressive when he communicates, especially because a lot of people don't know sign language, so he often acts out what he's trying to say.

Anyway, if you're ever at so.zo and you see him, say hi to Rodney. :o)

October.2006 prayer letter

C A M E R O N ' S __ P R A Y E R __ L E T T E R

O C T O B E R ___ 1 6 , ___ 2 0 0 6

S O . Z O
Sarah and I have been busy bees since I last wrote you! And so September passed without my usual correspondence; I apologize! However, it’s been a good kind of busy. The start to the year has been, I believe, one of the best in our history as h2o. The reason I say this is because we at h2o have been able to connect with students and others in a way not previously as easy for us. Much of this is due to the new location for the major chunk of our day-to-day activity: so.zo. I wrote to you about it in my last letter, but that was right at the start of our occupation, which seems so long ago now because of how much of a home it has become in the interim! Just the amount of time we spend in it compared to what we spent in the Waterhouse makes so.zo feel more like a home. We have it open for coffee, studying and just general hanging out from 10AM to 2PM every weekday, and then Open Mic is from 8 to 11PM on Friday nights. It’s closed Saturday and Sunday as far as the ‘business,’ but of course it houses the h2o service on Sunday nights. People have been able to connect more regularly in this space during the few weeks we’ve been there than, I would say, during any same amount of time in our old space. And it’s simply because we are more present.

This is a lesson from which we all can learn. I’m certainly not knocking the Waterhouse; I loved it and I was very sad to see it go (as I said in my June letter). However, as time has passed, more and more I’ve been able to see how little it was able to be used to truly connect with people. You know how a new house feels for a family when they first move in? It’s foreign and unfamiliar. But you start to fill it with things that are part of you, that you love, and you sit and move about in the rooms, just living your life, and pretty soon you stop and look around and say with a smile, ‘This is our home.’ In three years, we never quite got to that point with the Waterhouse, primarily because it was used more as an event location rather than a ‘living space.’ With so.zo, it’s quickly approaching that home-feel already. Our leadership team especially has helped it become this way, constantly giving their talents and time to maintain the warm atmosphere. It’s definitely more work for all of us, but it forces us to be available for anyone who might walk in off the street. We’re right in the thick of the downtown life now, though we’re only about 20 yards from where we were! But people can see us now; that big storefront window makes our lives more visible to anyone who wants to peek in. We get people stopping by all the time, asking what this place is. So pray for those curious people, and pray that we never tire of inviting people to a place of salvation, healing and rescue (which, by the way, is what the Greek word sozo means).
S U P P O R TI wanted to let you know about some awesome extra help Billy, Ryan and I have been given as the staff of h2o. Of course we have a wonderful team of volunteers, comprised mostly of students and young professionals. But so far, there has been no one else able to commit to full time labor with us, until now. I have known Brian and Megan Shope for a number of years as ministry workers with Trinity Episcopal Church (right across the parking lot from the Waterhouse) through an organization not dissimilar to GCM called CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach). Their work has been centered through that church and they’ve always worked with college students, but this year they’ve decided to join forces with h2o and become part of our leadership team. They are passionate about the gospel and transforming peoples’ lives, especially those in this town who have few friends or anyone to care and provide for their needs. They provide a LOT of richness that I believe we needed. And it’s nice for me and Sarah to have a married couple with which to work alongside! Please pray for them in their new roles.

F A M I L Y
October is a great time for family get-togethers for us, partly because my birthday is on the 29th. But even more than that, I always greatly anticipate Forest Festival in our hometown of Elkins, WV. These are 2 of my brothers, Duncan and Christopher, at the event. Thank you for the family of support you’ve become for me! In Christ, Cameron

forestfestival2006.brothers, originally uploaded by camkingh2o.

A New Leaf

Autumn Leaves on a Tree, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

'I'm turning a new leaf.' Have you ever heard people say that? Usually it's accompanied by some action point or resolution to change one's behavior. The person is all excited and determined to bring into reality some dream or vision they've been putting off until the statement is declared and they can begin the new process.

Unfortunately, the excitement almost always quickly wears off and the determination is not as strong as it seemed at the start, especially when failure is first experienced and the weighty responsibility of the task bears down harder as time passes. Then guilt taints the whole project as expectations continually are not met, so much so that it feels better to just free oneself from the original goal and give it up.

The reason I mention all this is because I want to turn a new leaf with this blog, and I will likely experience all and more of what I've described above. Even if very few read my words, I want to be faithful in regularly updating and laying down thoughts and observations as my friend Billy has been so diligent with of late. There's no doubt there will be times when both of us forget our 'duty' and let enough time pass for guilt to creep up, but it is my hope that I (and he) will push through and keep writing.

I hope my words are ones with which you can empathize, be encouraged by, be inspired by or at least laugh at from time to time. Please leave me comments whenever you wish, giving me some of the wisdom you gain as you live your life.

Eye of God

Eye of God
Originally uploaded by camkingh2o.

It's been a while since I've blogged, so I thought I'd make a comeback with one of the most interesting pictures I've seen in a while. A friend sent it to me; it was taken by the Hubble telescope (it's actually a composite of many photos), which is a device we should all work to preserve and support. It was on NASA's website in May 2003 and has been referred to since by the general public as the "Eye of God." It's actually the Helix Nebula and it has a Sun-like star at its center which is dying and emitting gases.

Images like this cause us to realize how small we are. This thing is something like (literally) a trillion miles long! It makes us wonder about the universe outside of our little existence here on earth. It makes us wonder what it's all there for. It sometimes just leaves us breathless in awe. Why do we feel this way? What is it about something in space that looks like an eye that causes us to ponder the meaning of our own lives? In that search, do we find significance or insignificance?

August.06 prayer letter (a little late, I know...)

Boy howdy, it's been 5 weeks since I last posted! I apologize. Though the few people who read this probably have stopped checking for a while, so I might be apologizing to no one! But just in case: I'M SORRY! And of course I hope to update more often now. The beginning of the fall semester is always crazy up here in Motown.

Anyway, it's WELL past time I put up the prayer letter I send to supporters of the ministry. It's dated August 22nd. Though I have no excuse for the lateness of this, one thing that made me not worry as much with the timeliness of it is that all of the supporters have received a paper version of the letter this month. So the posting of it here is really just a formality, to keep the tradition going; also, it's a good way for me to regain my 'semi-frequent' blogging status as opposed to my current 'nearly-never' status. So here ya go!

C A M E R O N ' S P R A Y E R L E T T E R
A U G U S T 2 2 , 2 0 0 6

L T

Sarah and I have been back from Leadership Training for about three weeks now, and it certainly is good to be home! We have a fresh appreciation of our personal space; it’s like our little apartment is brand new again, like when we wereg first married (by the way, we hit one year on July 2nd!). I’ve been reflecting on how good it is for a person or family to have a space they call their own. Good in the same way God called His creation ‘good’ after His work was finished. Good in the sense that it is a sign of the way things were meant to be. This is why it so tragic when we see the homeless walking around our downtowns with no place to rest their heads, and it’s why we do what can to meet their needs. While we recognize that we have not yet arrived at our ultimate home, the place where we will see God face to face, we can experience a taste of that here. And a good earthly home, a safe haven of rest and peace, is a wonderful picture of a little bit of what our heavenly home might feel like. So again, it’s good to be home!

LT was a great time, however. There were 22 students from Virginia Tech and 3 from Ball State in Indiana. Besides the two main teaching and worship sessions during the week, we all got to be together on Sundays for ‘Project Day’ where we did various things like painting a school, cleaning up a park, or serving dinner to the homeless. We also met for Bible studies that day and ate our meals together. Throughout the week, when students were off work, Sarah and I hung with them poolside, beachside or just alongside anywhere, whether it was at a café or on a volleyball court. When we weren’t with them, we were meeting and working with other GCM staff to fulfill the needs of the program. I enjoyed getting to know the staff. It was good to see other men and women who had felt the call to vocational ministry and were living it out with Great Commission. I feel a definite bond now with the pastors from New Life Christian Fellowship at Virginia Tech and from the Revolution at Ball State and am glad I’ll get to work with them again at future LTs.

I’ve inserted a little magazine that was put together at LT so you can experience a little more of it. Enjoy! And thanks SO MUCH for all your prayers and support. Say a prayer for the 25 students who attended, that they can use what they learned back on their college campuses this fall.

S P A C E

Speaking of appreciating space, I want to let you know how AWESOME our new meeting place on High Street is turning out! Last week, much of our congregation worked VERY hard to get the storefront ready for our first event, which was Open Mic on Friday night (we’re continuing weekly open mics this semester). After the demolition of a small office and wall paneling that were in the space from previous renters, we were scraping glue off walls, spackling them, sanding them down, and painting them for many hours each day. Finally on Friday we moved in furniture just in time for people to enjoy some coffee while listening to some good, live music. We’ve still got some things to work on, but the space is pretty much ready for h2o on Sunday nights and Open Mic Friday nights until it’s fully renovated for a café this winter!

These small pictures don’t do it justice, but take my word: the transformation of the room was incredible. Please pray for God to use this place. It’s called so.zo, and it’s a neutral space in which we can do ministry and just live life, inviting anyone who passes by to come in and live it with us. I’ll keep you updated!

In Christ,
Cameron

hey there!

Hello friends. Just thought I'd post again and try to get in the habit once more. Life can easily pass us by if we don't stop and reflect a little and try to articulate our experience. Granted, some experiences can't well be articulated because words are sometimes inadequate. But it's almost always good to try and at least give an image or two to help someone (or perhaps yourself) understand better. This is why I love to songwrite. Some of the most beautiful songs really don't say very much verbally, but point to something else great and breathtaking, inviting us to use our imaginations and engage the subject on a different level.

What are some ways you can express a current or recent life experience you found to be profound? Have you stopped long enough recently to realize there are profound occurrences in your life? Leave a comment if you like.

... I also wanted to point out some new links I put up. h2o has a new website! And there's a few more blogs of friends I've discovered as well.

randomness...

Hey there peeps! I haven't posted in a while. Hmmm, how many times have I said THAT before? I was just looking at Billy Williams' blog and he's really kicking my butt in the blogging area! Isn't that weird that my butt has a blogging area? Anyway, he takes a lot of cool pictures, and me and my wife got a camera last year based on his recommendations and, while we haven't neglected it, it seems like we haven't had it a lot of times when we've wanted to take some neat pics. So hopefully this will motivate me to carry our camera around a little more. By the way, if you haven't checked out Billy's blog, do so; he really enjoys and appreciates life and has a great way of communicating what he's learning.

So I thought I would post some funny pictures my sister took a couple months ago. We went to a David Crowder*Band concert (which of course was great) and I got to eat two of the band members' heads.

Here's me eating David (it really hurt when his hands poked through my chin):

And here's me eating Jason (he was a little easier):

Horses of North Carolina

Hello hello! It's been a great time down in Wilmington, NC so far. Sarah and I have really enjoyed working with the staff of LT (Leadership Training) and getting to know the students from Virginia Tech, Radford and Ball State. It's been a relaxing time as well as a productive time. But I am looking forward to getting back to WV in a week and a half and getting ready for ministry there in the fall.

Just wanted to show some pictures of an AWESOME time Sarah and I had last night: we got to go horse riding! I've always dreamt of someday having a horse and some land, and so this was neat to finally get some experience riding. Interestingly, my horse's name was Sarah. How about that?! Sarah (my wife) rode Star. We loved it.

My view from the saddle:

Sarah on Star:

Me and Sarah (the horse):

After the ride, back at the barn:

L T

Hello! Just wanted to say sorry for not updating in a while. Been busy! But that's no excuse of course. Sarah and I have been in Wilmington, NC for a week (we traveled down on July 2nd, our 1st wedding anniversary!) and we'll be here the rest of July helping with Great Commission Ministries' Leadership Training [LT] program. It's for college students, to give them 10 weeks of a summer to maintain a job in different setting, to grow in their faith and knowledge of the Word, and to have unique opportunities to have a positive impact for Christ in the lives of new friends they meet (on the job or on the beach!) in an 'aggressively relational' approach. Sarah and I assist in a few different areas of the program; I'll blog more on that later.

For now, for your viewing pleasure, I'll leave you with a seagull on Wrightsville Beach for whom I waited patiently to stand on one leg as I've seen seagulls often do. It took this one a while to get comfortable enough to do so. I think the one-leg position is a relaxed posture for the seagull, and I don't think they settle into it until they feel pretty safe (which can be hard with us humans hanging around). The reason I think this is that they have slightly less time to prepare for flight when they're on one leg. Any seagull experts out there want to confirm or deny my theory?

June.06 prayer letter

Hello! Here's my June prayer letter for supporters. Enjoy!

________________________________________
C H A N G E S

It has been quite a month for h2o! There are some things on the horizon for the ministry of such significance that I thought I would give the look of my prayer letter a slight makeover! Hopefully this will help as you read it to organize my thoughts and updates into different topics or ‘articles’ if you will.

Well, as many of you know well and as a number of you know only from my letters over the months, h2o has always operated under the umbrella of ministries in association with Chestnut Ridge Church here in Morgantown. We were intended to be a downtown church plant of Chesnut Ridge, a ‘next generation’ church that would be in great position to reach the campus and the residents of downtown Morgantown, and I believe that’s what we became, and the Waterhouse has been our church’s home. Our small congregation has always been a part of Chestnut Ridge as a whole, committed to the church’s vision for reaching the state for Christ, functioning under the leadership and guidance of the church’s elders, and upholding the same values that bind all Great Commission Association churches and ministries together. However, it has been a joy for Billy and I to serve and grow with our brothers and sisters at h2o in a different environment from the ‘big church’ that is more in line with who we are according to our personalities and backgrounds and preferences.

As Chestnut Ridge has grown, the need for a new building for the main congregation has prompted us to design and begin construction on a mammoth project out at Cheat Lake, and we’re set to move in to the 2000-seat, campus-layout building this November (again, many of you are quite familiar with this!). As costs of construction have increased along with the size of the project, we have had our faith stretched as we have sought the Lord for funds and asked people to give to complete the building. However, a deficit of a few hundred thousand dollars has remained, and the staff has had to look for ways to erase it. An idea came up a few months ago to think about the possibility of selling the Waterhouse, which belongs to Chestnut Ridge, and the funds from which would more than cover the deficit as well as provide for some options of other meeting places for the campus church. Of course no one highly desired this course of action, and Billy and I were willing to do anything to help raise what was needed for the new Chestnut Ridge building, if only we could save the Waterhouse. But as time passed, fewer and fewer alternatives presented themselves, and we at h2o were given the opportunity to reevaluate a lot of things, including our identity as a ministry and our purpose on campus.

We came to conclude, through many discussions with Chestnut Ridge’s senior pastor Tim, that though we had been operating as a distinct church as a result of being planted downtown, it would be better for the church as a whole if we focused less on providing a separate Sunday service and more on what we consider (and what I’ve affirmed to you all along) to be the ‘heartbeat’ of who we are: canvas groups and soul groups, the small environments where life-change really occurs. There are a few hundred college students and young professionals who attend Chestnut Ridge on the weekend but aren’t plugged in to any meaningful small group during the week. So our main function is to connect with people in this phase of life and get them involved with people who can sharpen their God-guided lives. What atmosphere would be best for such connections? Well, h2o has always wanted to have a café of neutral ‘churchiness,’ and the storefront you see to the right has recently popped up on our radar.

The storefront is actually quite near to the Waterhouse. While the Waterhouse sits at the top of High St. on the perpendicular Willey St., the storefront is in fact on High St. near the top, on the right side of the street and to the left of the pizza place Casa D’Amici, which is next to a building on the corner of High St. and Willey St. opposite the Waterhouse. Basically, a stone’s throw away! We had originally wanted a café to be inside the Waterhouse, but the truth is the Waterhouse has always been a somewhat imposing and uninviting edifice, and it would have taken quite a lot of time and money that we may have never had to get it the way we wanted. This unapproachable nature of the building I believe has perpetually been to our disadvantage as a church and is further enhanced by a near lack of windows.

Don’t get me wrong; I love the Waterhouse, and I hate to see it go. I had a lot of big dreams for it, including (but not limited to) an art gallery, a reading room, a study hall for students, a recording studio... I was very distraught when the proposition to sell it first came up, and I prayed very hard that we wouldn’t lose it. But I begin to see God’s hand in all of this, and I’m actually very excited about the future of our campus ministry. I believe we can accomplish most of the above-mentioned endeavors as well as others and everything we’re doing now in the café environment. There is actually a great advantage for many of these things in the café due to it being smaller; it actually becomes more intimate and friendly for conversation. And it’s definitely more visible than the Waterhouse with nice, big storefront windows. College students and young people in general are hard to ‘pin down’ to come to meetings with set times, so a café that’s open a lot where Billy and I can work and other leaders can come and study or chill or whatever is ideal to connect with people in a more spontaneous, casual way.

Another huge positive as far as the operation of our ministry is that Billy and I will be working more closely with the members of the Chestnut Ridge staff team as the ministries of the entire church move toward greater centrality of vision and purpose. It’s nice being part of a team, and it’s hard being kind of a ‘satellite’ out on your own, connected by some communication but not much else. We had a great meeting with Pastor Bill (the associate pastor and other elder of the church) and Trey (the technical director/executive pastor who helps advocate needs of various ministries and who has a been a huge help with our transition; he also is who I used to work more closely with for h2o and who I’m looking forward to reconnecting more with again) about programming for the café and philosophy of ministry. They, along with the rest of the staff, will help lead and guide and work with us through this process and as we carry on in ministry.

I’ll let you know in a future letter more about all the ‘goings-on’ of the somewhat new look of h2o as we sort through it. Though as a congregation h2o will be joining the big church for services on the weekends, much of our thrust will remain the same. We want to help independent young people truly embody Christ in all they do, or INCARNATE Him in the flesh just as He was God incarnate, and to live out their Kingdom lives together, becoming fully human, as Christ was. I bolded this because it will never change. And actually, we will still put on a low-key small service on Sunday evenings, starting this fall as an alternative for those who don’t prefer a very large service.

________________________________________

H O P E

Well, normally I’ll have more than one article in my letters as I alluded to in the beginning of this one. J But obviously this is such a big thing, so I wanted to devote a good chunk to it and keep you informed. What should you pray for, you ask? Probably the biggest things right now are that we can sell the Waterhouse, start renting the café, and get it all set for the fall. Through these changes, Sarah and I have great hope for the future. Thank you for hoping with us.

In Christ,

Cameron

10K part 2

Please read my previous post to get a little more insight into the few words posted here.

I had a few more thoughts about running and the race, but they seem to have disappeared. But that's okay. I'll let you draw out the parllels between running and this life for yourself from my last post. Running is so pure; I can see why it was the only competition in the beginning of the Olympic tradition. And I can see why it's used so much in Scripture to give us a great image of our job here. In fact, before I leave you with some pictures from the run, let me quote another piece of the Text that very much sums up running and life; it is one of the earliest passages I remember memorizing:

'...one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.' --Philippians 3:13b-14

Here's me and Ethan and Drew in the 2 miler we ran after the 10K.

The 10K, when we were still with the 60 minute pace guy! (We finished 10 seconds after him.)

'Pressing on toward the goal.' Near the end of the race, which, incidentally, is the best part of any race!

Ten Kilometers

'Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.' --1 Corinthians 9:24

On Saturday, I ran the Greater Clarksburg 10K. It was the 10th annual for this run, and it was also the 10th time me and my dad have run it together. It may be the last. We'll see. We think we're in a group that may be as small as 20 who have run all 10 10Ks, and we think we're likely the only father-son duo to have done it. Here's a picture of us from the 2004 10K:

I also ran the accompanying 2-mile run with my dad and little brother Ethan, who hadn't ever run that far before. So all in all, I ran about 8.2 miles on Saturday (though when Ethan said he had to stop and walk a few times on his run, let's just say my dad and I didn't oppose him in the least). The kicker is, I don't run! This 10K and the Charleston 5K we do in the fall are pretty much the only times I run during the year. I used to do a little more, but it mostly was related to training for the 10K and other 5Ks me and my dad would do over the years. Since I've been in Morgantown, I've run less and less until I pretty much find myself lacing up and donning the bandana to run only for the 10K and 5K.

It's not that I don't enjoy running. Actually, during the 10K this year, I went through the spectrum of emotions and thoughts, some of which were quite satisfying and others that were somewhat painful. There was more than one time I was tempted to quit, and often it would be the sight of my dad still straining on that would keep me in it. Usually after the painful and uncomfortable feelings would dissipate, a warm sensation would fill my entire body, and though I certainly wasn't totally free from the stress of the physical activity, a joy so deep welled up inside that it's hard to describe. It's as if I could feel Life, with a capital 'L,' the objective sense of being that only God can give, coursing through me like never before. Other times, water stops (teams of friendly volunteers holding out cold water in cups) would come at just the right time and give me the little relief I needed to go a little further. There was a particular heavenly place along the route that we had the privilege of passing twice (since the course was 2 laps) which had a lovely man with a lovely water hose that he would spray lightly but refreshingly on any runners who beckoned him. Passing through that Life-giving mist was indescribable each time, and I felt renewed like never before.

I noticed that there were times when I wanted to close my eyes and other times where I wanted to strain toward a goal with all the strength of my vision. The most memorable of the first was when we were climbing 'the hill' for the second time; this is one of the hardest places on the course because of the steepness. I didn't have a whole lot left and I was dreading it. I closed my eyes and prayed for energy, and when I did, somehow it seemed a little easier. I didn't know how much further I had to go because I couldn't see it, and all I had to do was listen to the sound of my dad's footsteps to stay in line. It was almost as if I had transcended my body, which I oftened desired to do to be free of the pain. But then at the end of the race, once the big FINISH line banner came into view, my eyes were sharp and never looked down or any other direction. That banner was pulling me toward it, and if only I could keep my gaze fixed on it, I would be sucked in by something greater than myself.

To be continued...

MySpace

And hello again! I promised I would make another post this week, so here I am! I've got some exciting news. As you know (if you read this blog), I'm a big fan of music and love to create songs. Well, now I have a great outlet for some of these songs to be heard. I've created a music profile on myspace.com! I really had no idea how many artists (and people) are on myspace; everybody from the most well-known artists to tiny little independents like myself. So it seems a great place to share music and let yourself be known to people who never would otherwise! I've got a couple ROUGH songs on there right now, but hopefully later this summer I'll have a few more (slightly) professional ones done. I've added the link to the page to the right: it's www.myspace.com/cameronkingmusic. Please check it out and tell some friends! My siblings have myspace accounts as well as a number of friends, and you can view their profiles from my page. It's a great way to stay connected with people.

I wanted to paste the little bio I wrote up for myspace here as well, because it expresses well (I hope) some of what drives me toward songwriting and music. Enjoy!

'I love Melody. No, not a girl (my wife's name is Sarah), but Melody, that mysterious and beautiful vessel on which is carried the tones and sounds and rhythms of Song which every human being finds elemental and substantial in life. What culture or people group or tribe of any era in history doesn't have songs and arrangements and chants that tell the story, with or without words, of their time? Song is something, I believe, that goes beyond our subjective experience here and speaks (or sings!) of something distinct and original and wholly other than us, 'further back and higher up' to quote a great mind of the 20th century, into the very throneroom of He who boomed forth the first Song which now reverberates through everything into eternity.

The pursuit of Melody in song, which is ever new and ever elusive, is something I find to give me some of the greatest joy in life. To attempt to echo, however pale it might be, but to echo nonetheless back to Him some of what He's revealed to us of His Song is exciting and fulfilling for me. Thus the new creation of a song will always supercede in importance its skillful performance; the latter may happen with a broken voice on an out-of-tune guitar in the corner of a dark room, but the song itself will still be intact, just as strong and just as whole. I am a songwriter.

I write songs about life and love and pain and mystery and joy and beauty, trying to touch on what we're all sorting through and hopefully giving someone something they can take hold of, something that connects them with Truth in a way that is hard to define but is perhaps more real in the realm of Music than anywhere else. Sometimes the subtle and haunting turnings of a melody can be more powerful than the words attached to them. I will occasionally leave the fashioning of these words to others more talented, as I will with the performances of some. But some will be my own feeble offerings and will be what they will be. I hope my songs help my life and others' lives to be more rich and colorful and reveal a bit of the world as it truly is, which is often hidden.'

Nags Head

Hello! If you're wondering why I haven't posted in over a week (which you may not be since I often do so; but just in case--), it's 'cause I've been at the beach! Sarah and I went with my family to Nags Head in the Outer Banks (OBX), NC. My family loves the Outer Banks. We have in the past gone more to Duck Beach, which is to the north of Nags Head, as you can see in this nifty map. Nags Head is home to Jockey's Ridge, the largest sand dune in America, and our house was literally right across from it! When we stayed at Duck in the past, we would always come down for an evening at the dunes and at the store Kitty Hawk Kites which is right next to it (even though Kitty Hawk is the name of another little town to the north -- confusing, I know). Anyway, it was so cool being right by the dunes because we could go whenever we wanted; they're awesome. The beach was right behind the beach house we rented as well. That's what's so cool about the Outer Banks: they're just a narrow strip of land with the ocean and the sound on either side. You really feel like you're just floating on some kind of ship made of land. We were also nearer to Manteo, which we visited more than once. It's this beautiful, quaint community with a great bookstore and coffee shop. I think it still has somewhat of a colonial feel. It's named for the Native American who was a great aid to the Englishmen who established the first English colony in the Americas there on Roanoke Island in 1587. It's also the home of The Lost Colony, America's first and longest running (now in their 69th season) outdoor drama, which recounts and dramatizes the events of the strange disappearance of the 120 people who occupied the colony. To this day it's still a mystery what exactly happened. The drama was beautiful; it was set among real trees and you could see the water of the sound behind the stage. It was dusk when it started and as the stars came out and the sky darkened... it was quite something to see.

Anyway, Sarah and I had a great time on the vacation. I'll put some pictures up of it next week. I have to wait till then because Sarah has the camera this week at Young Life camp (Rockbridge) in Virginia, which she went straight to from the beach. I miss her very much, more than I can express, and life feels quite empty without her. But I'm so proud of the work she's doing with the MHS girls, and camp is an amazing week in an attending high school student's life. All the same, when she gets back late on Friday I will be giddy as a school boy!

More later this week...

h2o morgantown live

Hello people! I just wanted to note that I've added another website in my link section to the right. This is exciting! It's 'h2o morgantown live.' Billy has set up his h2o messages this summer as a podcast for iTunes. You can listen to them from the site, or you can subscribe to them FOR FREE in iTunes! Just go to the podcast section of iTunes and enter 'h2o morgantown live.' Aren't we technologically savvy? Right now there's 2 messages on there, the first of 8 on the great I AM. I might in the future have a page of my own on the site with some of the live h2o worship music, so keep an eye open for that! Anyway, this is a neat way for some of you who aren't in the area to get a small taste of h2o or to stay connected with us and our heart. Enjoy! (Be sure to check out the other pages of the site too.)

conGRADulations, colleen!

My sister Colleen graduated from high school yesterday! It's so cool (and unbelievable) to see her complete high school. She'll be up at WVU this fall, which I'm very pumped about, and she'll be helping with a lot of our tech stuff at h2o. She's very good with all things 'video,' from filming to editing to compiling and utilizing for different purposes, like a presentation of a mission trip to Haiti or moving background images for a worship set. She's super COOL!

Here she is with her siblings:

And here we are in our true form:

May.06 prayer letter

Hiya! Here's my prayer letter, dated May 19, for supporters of the ministry:

'Summer is here! Well, sort of. I guess it’s not ‘technically’ summer till mid-June, and anyway, the weather this week feels more like ‘April showers’ than ‘May flowers.’ I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to some warm weather!

However, as far as college students are concerned, summer has been here for almost two weeks. Many, including my wife, finished their last exams on Friday, May 5th. Sarah’s were her last of her undergraduate career! She won’t officially graduate till this December, but this fall she will begin work in her Master’s of Social Work. I’m very proud of her as she surpasses me in the world of academia. Pray for her as she fills her time with other endeavors, whether it’s reading some books she’s wanted to or discipling the high school girls she works with and getting them out to Young Life camp in June.

I wanted to let you know that all of our end-of-the-year stuff went real well. I also wanted to show you some pictures; here’s a shot of the candle arrangement from the Seder:

Here’s Sarah and me at the ‘Stache Bash:

And I don’t think I’ve ever shown you a picture from our canvas group, exsatio, that we started this semester. It’s been a great time of Bible study and friendship development. Here’s a bunch of the boys playing guitar:

All our canvas groups are meeting in one group for the summer since there are less people here; it will be called ‘The Well’ and it’s starting next Wednesday at the Waterhouse. I’d love to see the committed students and leaders still around stay involved with that, so please pray they come out. It will help us all stay connected. In the fall, we’ll branch back into the Monday renovaré, Tuesday veritas and Wednesday exsatio, and hopefully start one more canvas group, as is our goal each semester.

I have some news about LT (Leadership Training) that I’ve been able to share with some of you already. Sarah and I won’t be going for as long a period as we thought when I wrote you last. The LT program people had some housing fall through; they were able to make other arrangements, but it is more expensive. So, since they are well-staffed this summer, they offered for Sarah and me to only come for 4 weeks instead of 10. We happily agreed, because this will give us opportunity to both help the summer activities here in Morgantown get established as well as get a taste of LT and the work there. We will be in Wilmington for the four weeks of July. This also means that we have to raise less than we thought for the cost of LT! But we’re still in need of some, so thanks again to those who have already given extra to GCM for this cost and for those that are still considering doing so. Remember, always send extra gifts to GCM and not to Sarah and me personally. If you wish to give above and beyond your current or past giving, please just send it in to GCM either this month or next. Thank you!

On that note, I want to take a minute and attempt to encourage all of you for your generosity! I recently saw a letter from a friend who is on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, and he talked about how we all, as Christians, are called to fulfill the Great Commission in Matthew 28: ‘...go and make disciples of all nations ... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ He referenced Romans 10:15 as well, which says, ‘And how can they preach unless they are sent?’ speaking of those who proclaim the message so that others may hear and believe. It is God who sends all of us, but He also has enabled some of us, like you, to ‘send’ others, like me, to ‘go’ in specific ways. Both jobs are equally important, and I want you to know I truly believe that and hope you do too. Thank you for ‘going’ in your lives and also by your ‘sending’ of me!

You may wonder what exactly I do with my time now that a lot of students aren’t here and now that I won’t be at LT for as long. Well, a lot, surprisingly! I got to give my third message to date at h2o on May 7th. As I’ve said before, I don’t aspire to be a regular speaker in ministry, but I do enjoy filling in here and there when Billy is out of town, and it is always good for the mind, heart and soul to engage Scripture in serious study. Study in general is what I’m looking most forward to being able to commit more time to this summer. There are a lot of books I’ve been meaning to read, some of which I’ve already started, like The Provocative Church by Graham Tomlin and Simply Christian by N. T. Wright, which both speak of elemental themes of who we are as Christians and as the body of Christ and our role in His Kingdom and this world. I’m also going to read and complete the study materials for Living by the Book by Howard G. & William D. Hendricks; it’s been recommended in the highest degree by scholarly friends for revealing how we are to read the Bible to derive the most meaning from it for our lives. Pray for me: that I devote the personal time needed, that I open my heart and mind to what God is teaching me through these texts, and that I am willing to let Him shape me from His very heart and be sharpened by Billy and others by discussing what I’m learning with them.

And of course, as I’ve mentioned, we are continuing h2o every Sunday this summer, which I’m helping with as usual, and we will have our weekly Bible study, ‘the Well,’ every Wednesday, which I will help lead. Please pray for our increased efforts this summer to remain connected with students. And also pray for our place of meeting, the Waterhouse, that it may continue to serve our needs and that we can keep improving it for God’s purposes.

IN CHRIST,
Cameron'

Spiritual Formation

How about that: two posts in two days! I think this is a first. Just wanted to share some thoughts about something I just read.

Today I kind of organized my and Sarah's bookshelf. We've got classics, both old and contemporary, in the upper left. My extensive fantasy/sci-fi collection fills the rest of the top shelf. The middle shelf is Christian reading and study, and pretty much the right half is all Bibles of various translation and focus. Sarah's collected quite a few over the years! And the bottom shelf has duplicate copies we've acquired, blank and filled notebooks of Sarah's, and devotional-type reading.

One of the Bibles we have is the NIV 'Spiritual Formation' Bible in which I just read part of the intro. Even in this moment as I look over the words and the Scripture it points to, I can feel the work God is doing in me. Which essentially is what spiritual formation is. Billy (of the 'billy williams' link to the right) first really introduced spiritual formation to me. The idea and the language used to describe it really speaks deeply to me, as do any commentaries or books about the epic scope of God's story and our part in it.

Here's an extensive quote from the introduction: 'What is Spiritual Formation? Human beings are creatures of the future. Unlike other inhabitants of creation whose lives are fixed within the boundaries of genetics and instinct, human existence is open-ended, laced with mystery, like moist clay in a potter's hand. We are works in progress, shaped by the constant rhythms of nature and the unexpected turns of history. Sometimes elated and sometimes burdened by our unfinished condition, we live our days conscious that "what we will be has not yet been made known" (1 John 3:2). A sense of our true identity is always just beyond our grasp, always awaiting us, it seems, just around the next bend in the road.

'As nature and history interact with a human existence that is incomplete, pliable and rich with significant potential, personal formation occurs. Human beings are formed by the sculpting of will, intellect and emotion into a distinct way of being in the world. Such formation of personal character will assume a wide range of expression depending on our location geographically, socially, economically and culturally. Family values, social conventions, culturual assumptions, the great turning points of an epoch, the painful secrets of a heart -- these and many other factors combine to form or deform the direction, depth and boundaries of our lives. Formation is therefore a fundamental characteristic of human life. It is happening whether or not we are aware of it, and its effect may as often inhibit as promote the development of healthy, fulfilled humanity.

'For people of Biblical faith, nautre and history of themselves are not the final sources of personal formation. Rather, they are means through which the God who formed all things molds human beings into the contours of their truest destiny, the unfettered praise of God (see Isaiah 43:21). To be shaped by God's gracious design is a particular expression of personal formation -- spiritual formation.'

And I could go on. I'll probably share more in later posts. It's an excellent essay. And I haven't even gotten to Jesus Christ, the 'human being fully alive, fully open to God's work in the world.' Until next time...

hello there...

Hi everyone. I received a comment from my friend Adam that said, 'update update update,' so here I am updating. Again, I'm sorry that I can't seem to break my average of three posts a month. And this one's short; I want to gather my thoughts and write some more in the near future.

Upcoming this week: May prayer letter! And I'll also try to put some recent pictures of me and Sarah and some of the things we've been doing. Until then...

Global Night Commute

Hello! Remember my 'Invisible Children' blog a few months back (check it out in the archives to the right). Well, the cool thing is that there is always something going on with the movement in which to participate. The most current upcoming event is the 'Global Night Commute,' which is happening all over the world on the night of this Saturday, April 29th. It's also happening at the Courthouse square in Morgantown, WV! What is it, you say? Well, you can visit invisiblechildren.com (also featured in my links to the right) to find out everything you need to know. But in brief, we (as in the public in general) are being asked to 'commute' to somewhere in our city (it's happening at various locations in various cities in the U.S.), in our case the Courthouse square, at 7 PM with our sleeping bags and spend the night there until 7 AM Sunday morning. WHY in the WORLD do THAT??? Well, it's what children and families in northern Uganda have to do EVERY night (i.e. commute to a place many miles from their homes on foot to find a safe place to sleep so that they will not be kidnapped by bands of militia in the night and forced into service as a soldier and told to kill their friends and family or else they will be killed), and we want to show our support of their necessary hardship. The more awareness is raised about this injustice in the world we share, the more action will be taken to help make it right, and the less necessary it will be for these children to have to flee their homes every night just to feel safe. Come out for a while even if you can't spend the whole night.

April.06 prayer letter

Here's my April prayer letter for supporters of the ministry. It's a longer one this time, so make sure you don't give up before the end!

'With only two ‘regular’ h2o services left (April 23rd & 30th), it definitely feels like the end of the year is upon us. But as with many endings (which of course are really only beginnings of other things), the activity seems to exponentially increase right up to crossing that finish line, like a runner’s last burst of speed at the end of a long race. In other words, it’s a busy season around here and we want to go out with a bang!

Some of the upcoming events: tomorrow (Thursday the 20th), we are hosting at Billy’s house perhaps my favorite few hours of the year. It’s the annual Passover Seder dinner, and it’s grown so popular that this year we’ve had to limit attendance to ‘invitation-only’ due to space constraints. We set up low tables, as close as we can simulate to a traditional Jewish setting, down in a lower room in the house, light candles, and have people gather ‘round on pillows. Lamb is served of course, along with any other ‘kosher’ dish (meaning no yeast, no dairy products, and a number of other restrictions). We are led through the significance of each part of the meal by an awesome guy, Jerry Haynes, who is a friend of ours and who leads Seders all over the country (and he says Morgantown is one of his favorite places to do it!). It’s truly a remarkable experience, and it greatly increases one’s knowledge of Jewish history AND how Christ fulfilled all the prophecies about himself, ultimately as becoming the Passover lamb. I’m greatly looking forward to this special night.

The following day, Friday the 21st, our next-to-last ‘regular’ open mic of the year will take place at the Waterhouse, and I’m particularly excited about this one because I’m debuting a few songs I co-wrote with my friend Ryan Huffman. Ryan is an artist as well as a ‘lyrical poet,’ and he’s put together two booklets of his ‘lyrics’ or poems that he has graciously let me read, and I’ve been putting a few of them to music. I’ve mentioned Ryan before as a great friend and leader, and now I want to let you know that he also has come on staff with GCM as a part-time intern as he finishes school. So please pray for him as he raises support and continues to serve in our faith community.

Also on Friday is my friend J. Nicholson’s CD release concert at Chestnut Ridge Church. I make note of it because, for one, he’s my friend and I’m proud of him (he hired a producer in Nashville and recorded the tracks professionally down there over the last year) and also because he’s the first recording artist in our fellowship to put out a CD under the name ‘Deepwater Media Group.’ DMG is a project of Chestnut Ridge and h2o that has been in the works for years and is now taking shape through things like J.’s CD and monthly gatherings called genesisarts community where artists in various fields have discussions and workshops. I’ve written a little about Deepwater Media in my latest blog (kingfriend.blogspot.com), in previous prayer letters, and I’m sure I’ll write more on it in the future. I’m thrilled to use my songwriting in community this way. I may get to offer a few songs for J.’s next CD! Please pray for Deepwater Media as we grow and seek to utilize the arts to express God’s amazing story of which we’re all a part.

Okay, so we’re up to Saturday, the 22nd! Some of the h2o worship band and I are going to Alderson Broaddus College in Philippi, WV to lead worship for Omega, a West Virginia American Baptist day-event for youth from all over the state. My sister Colleen is on the Youth Ministry Planning Team responsible for such events, and when she asked us to do this I was so happy to be a part of it in this way (I used to go to Omega every year in high school and then was on the planning team my senior year just like my sister!). Please pray for our safe travel and that we inspire the youth to experience God in rich, authentic worship.

When we get back Saturday evening, many of us will go to Billy’s house for the Mustache Bash, h2o’s spring party. Last year we did the Napoleon Dynamite party, which turned out to be quite a hit because of all the thought put into the themed decorations and activities. We’re hoping this will be just as fun. (If you’re wondering, basically the Mustache Bash is just an excuse to get together, eat and have fun. The ‘plus’ is that we’ve been encouraging guys to grow facial hair to reveal some crazy mustache that night, and for anybody else, including gals, to come up with some creative way to wear a mustache. There will be prizes in many different categories.) Please pray for the leadership team as we get everything together to make this happen, and pray for the students who attend h2o to invite people out to a positive environment where it’s okay to be a little silly. J

Then of course we have the last 2 h2os, this Sunday and next, and we really want them to be memorable and full of energy (which can be tough when your leadership team is already tired from writing end-of-semester papers and studying for final exams!). So please pray that we end on a high note; these last services are usually some of the best-attended of the semester. We will actually continue h2o into the summer for the first time ever this year, so praise God! The summer services will be more like our ‘h2o unplugged’ services we sometimes have due to lower attendance, but there is a team of people who will be here over the break and so I’m glad for continuity’s sake that we’re doing this. Pray that whoever is in town will continue the fellowship with this community during this time and that we can plan some great things for the fall semester.

Speaking of summer, as I mentioned last time, my (and Sarah’s) summer will be spent in Wilmington, NC at GCM’s ‘Leadership Training’ or LT. We have a few students from WVU and Fairmont State attending it, so we’re pumped about that! So what is LT? Well, basically it’s 10 weeks of intense fellowship and faith-stretching training. It very much reflects some of the values of which I’ve written before: ‘soul connection’ and ‘faith ventures.’ Students will get jobs in Wilmington, either at hotels and grocery stores or something in their major. They will live in apartment buildings together and meet in small groups through the week. They will receive training in the Word and evangelism, among other church leadership qualities. They will have many opportunities to share their faith and grow in their walks with Christ. Sarah and I will help facilitate the program in any we can, whether it’s listening to and ‘counseling’ students through their experiences, leading worship times, or just offering an encouraging word. I’ve seen students come back from LT with a fire and passion they didn’t previously have, and so I’m so excited to be a part of this life-change.

As I close this letter, I have a special request for each of you who support GCM for my staff position or have supported in the past: I need to raise funds for the cost of the program as well as living expenses for Sarah’s and my participation in LT. It comes to between two and three thousand dollars. I would like each of you to consider sending in an additional gift to GCM in May, beyond what you already give or have given. If you give monthly, consider giving a double amount in May. If you give with some other frequency, please consider how much you may be able to send in during May. If all of you who read/receive this letter give something, this need will easily be met. Thank you for your faithfulness and generosity! Contact me by e-mail, letter or phone if you have any questions.

In Christ,

Cameron'