Finally Back
Well, I've been out of Brownsville for three weeks and am finally back! I took one week vacation, which I spent with my extended family on the shores of Charleston, South Carolina. It was a wonderful week.

I cut that vacation time short, however, to hop aboard a plane in order to join the youth group of Cordero (the church) for a 40 hour van ride out to San Jose, California. We went to convention. What an experience! It was great to be at convention, although very different to be in the role of a sponsor rather than volunteer or youth. The kids are good, though, and didn't cause too many problems. :) In reflecting on my time at convention, the thing that comes to mind the most is the tension I felt while I was there that dealt with the Mennonite Church USA and even the broader, global Mennonite Church.

Let me explain myself...Our Mennonite conventions are full of a 'mennonite culture' that we have developed over the years. It's impossible to escape it, in fact. We play the Mennonite Game and eat the same foods and have the same vocabulary, etc. If you're Mennonite and live in Goshen, Harrisonburg, or Hesston you know what I mean (just kidding...its actually a bigger world than that). But this 'menno culture' does exist. THe problem is that it is so exclusive. We stand to sing 606 and it brings tears to my eyes because I am moved. Yet, to my right and left are young 15 year-olds from Brownsville, Texas, asking me what this song is and why in the world I like it, because they think it sounds boring. The point is, this Mennonite culture does not exist everywhere in the world. In fact, when we look at the global church, those of us who cook from More With Less because of a conscious decision (not because of necessity) and can rattle off hymn numbers or play the 'mennonite game'...we are in the minority! We seem to forget this at times, though. I loved being at convention. I loved being immersed in the Mennonite World. Yet, I questioned what we do about the fact that it is difficult or even impossible for some people to ever fit into that world of ours. What of our sister congregations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America? I don't have answers, but convention brought these questions forward again to me and thus, the week of San Jose was both incredibly refreshing and very challenging.

The week following convention the youth group travelled. We went to Sequoia National Park, the Grand Canyon, the Carlsbad Caverns, and Enchanted Rock State Park. So we took a week to come home. This was a great experience for the kids, and we all learned something about living with each other, which challenged everyone some days. :) We had some great worship and discussion, however, especially at places like the ridge of the grand canyon. It was a very rewarding week.

And finally, as I said at the beginning, we have returned. I am glad to be back, and know that my final 5 weeks here are going to fly by. This week I am busy leading a Summer Bible School and preparing to preach on Sunday as the youth are doing their 'convention feeback' Sunday. So we'll see how that goes. It was wonderful to get back and see people again, though. I realized how much this place feels like a home of mine when I returned and was so glad to be reunited with the congregation. It has definitely been a great summer so far, and I look forward to the adventures yet to come in the next few weeks!
Posted at 17:34 #

Time Flying By
I have been in Brownsville for almost three weeks now, and it hardly seems possible. The summer is simply flying by. I have managed to keep myself fairly occupied and I find I am really enjoying mixing between all sorts of ages and groups in the church, definitely seeing many apects of it.

Suprisingly, I do little work directly with the pastor. It does feel nice, however, to be trusted to create and organize things in a congregation where I have been so recently welcomed. As I spend more and more time in this congregation I see more and more that is different from my home congregation, which has been a great experience to understand a different way of doing church. Things small, even down to the way potlucks are carried out. :)

Another interesting dynamic is the church being situated in the location that it is. Of course, there is a very large Latin@ population here, which is traditionally catholic or otherwise. The "Mennonite culture" that I am accostomed to in Goshen is completley absent here in the community. The understanding, even, of what it means to be Mennonite varies, as it does anywhere else within MC USA. It makes for wonderful learning experiences, however, as I see what biases I have been raised with and as I continually think of the broader church and what it means to be a global Mennonite church, or even a continental one.

The youth group and I are preparing for a trip to San Jose which I am positive will be both rewarding and stretching for everyone on the trip. We are very much looking forward to it. The day to day continues to be enjoyable and challenging. I am certainly enjoying my stay here at Brownsville, three weeks in.
Posted at 17:22 #

A Hot Beginning
So-Brownsville, Texas. I've been here almost two weeks now and the time is already beginning to fly.

The church I am working with is Iglesia Menonita del Cordero. The church has about 120 members and one pastor, Rigoberto Negron, who is originally from Puerto Rico, but has been pastoring this congregation for over 10 years.

The experience thus far has been great. Because Brownsville is so close to the border, the majority of the church (and city, in fact) are hispanic. The different culture brings a very different face to church, and I am learning a lot in that. My academic faith and organized ideas about church are definitely being challenged as I am pushed here to be much more charasmatic. Already I can see that we (myself and the church) are learning from one another.

Upon arrival, I discovered a very laid-back pastor in his approach to church work. Thus, I fell into place quickly and easily, although with somewhat little to do at the beginning. Furthermore, there are not worship leaders or music leaders in the sense that I (and many churches in the North) know them. Church just kind of "happens without a very organized approach, as I am used to. For example, at my church at home we meet together during the week to talk about the Sunday morning service and such, but that does not happen here. God is definitely moving in church, however, its just a different way to do church.

...with that in mind, however, I have little required of me in terms of church work for Sunday mornings. Thus, I have created some work for myself. There is a homeless shelter across the road, which I volunteer at one day a week, and I also spend one day a week in the shop behind the church with the maintenance guy, a retired member of the church, doing odd jobs around the church. I lead a Sunday School class and attend meetings on Wednesday nights, and I am part of a cell/small group. I have begun to get to know many of the members, and have started to do visitation to elderly and sick people's homes on tuesday mornings with some of the women of the church. And lastly, I am an assistant youth sponsor with the high-school aged group of youth. Although I had at the beginning not wanted this to be a youth pastor experience, I am finding that it is one place where there is a lot of need in this congregation-- kids that have some deep needs and problems. Thus, I've started to take them out one-on-one for conversation and support, and I can tell already that we will both grow emmensely from that experience.

The members of the congregation are wonderful. They speak spanish slowly so I can understand, and a few of the families have kind of adopted me, as I am living alone in a small apartment on church property. I feel like I'm starting to end the beginning stages and am beginning to feel at home here with this new congregation and people for the summer. I can see that it is going to be an extremely rewarding summer.

Posted at 17:28 #