We arrived in Kansas City on May 28 and before we had time to settle in the Ascent staff got us together to explain the schedule for the summer. They also explained to us that the house that the Year 2 interns are renting, is pretty empty. They then handed us $200 and told us to furnish the house. We haven't had any time to go out and do some thrifting, but we are all ready to. We are getting tired of sitting on folding chairs and the floor. Luckily we have beds!
On Tuesday we had our day of solitude, which was really
nice. It felt good to just be off
for most of the day, just me and God.
During the day we got to read The Barbarian Way, which is a really great
book by Erwin Raphael McManus. It talks about how
Christianity has been civilized, which is not Jesus or the Early Church had wanted for it.
"The barbarian way is about love, intimacy, passion, and sacrifice. Barbarians love to live and live to love. For them God is life, and their mission is to reconnect humanity to Him. Their passion is that each of us might live in intimate communion with Him who died for us. The barbarian way is a path of both spirit and truth. The soul of the barbarian is made alive by the presence of Jesus."
This is one of the many quotes that I really liked, I think it does a good job summarizing the Barbarian Way. For me the overall theme that stuck out to me the most is that God is inviting me to become the person He created me to be. He wants me to embrace my passions and desires because they are from Him. I think the reason this stuck out to me so much, is because that is something I feel like God has been speaking to me about before moving down to Kansas City, so it felt very confirming.
The barbarian way isn't easy. It is dangerous, and if you choose for follow it, you will be seen as dangerous. It is a hard decision to make, but I believe it will be worth it in the end if I choose to answer this call.
For the rest of that week we began, what will be our normal schedule. In the mornings we spent time serving. A few of us went to a church/women's shelter and helped do some dry walling, which was really fun. Each afternoon was different. On Wednesday we started our Manuscript Bible Study on the book of Ruth, which I think all of the second years are excited about. Thursday we went to the Prayer Room. It felt so good to be back in the flesh, instead of watching it online. Finally, Friday afternoon we received the Story of God teaching from Ryan. The Year 2 interns had already gotten this teaching, but Ryan taught it in a little different way, so it was nice and fresh. It was also good to be refreshed on some of that stuff.
Each night we had free time, but the staff kind of had some different options planned for us so that we could see what Kansas City had to offer. It was a lot of fun to hang out with all of the other interns. On Saturday we went to a craft show and played a little frisbee in a park down town and that night we watching We Bought A Zoo, which is a great movie! Finally, Sunday we went a church called Beggars Table which is a really small church, with a lot of young families, and they were so friendly. It was a great environment.
I hope this gives you a taste of what our first week has been like down in KC. Sorry it was so long, but we did a lot. You can pray for the Year 2 interns as we meet our neighbors, that God would reveal to us how to love them well. It would also be great if we could find some cheap or even free furniture to furnish our house. Those are just a few prayer requests that I can think of right now. Oh yeah and the title comes from a new phrase that we started after reading The Barbarian Way, "That's so Barby!"
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