September 13, 2006

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