In The Beginning: {matul}

So...here's the thing.

I'm starting a Master's program in the Fall.  It's in Transformational Urban Leadership.  Which is kind of vague.  It's really in wholistic development among the urban poor.  Social, political, economic, and spiritual development.  

I've said that so many times in the last six months that it barely has meaning anymore. But it's true.  In September I will be in school again.  Studying the realities of poverty and my part in alleviating it.  (But that doesn't even really explain it.  I don't know how to explain it in a way that really gets at the heart of why I chose this program.  It's bound to be a bunch of ramblings about shalom and justice & righteousness. Nothing that a normal person could follow...only my heart. Maybe I'll try one day. :-/)  I'm going to be a missionary intern.  Living and learning in community so unlike what I am accustomed to.

But...here's the thing...really.  I have to start a blog about it.  I have to.  It's kind of like a missionary requirement.  But I don't want to start a new blog.  I don't like starting things that can't really be finished, like a blog. You can't really finish one.  You just stop using it.  So, I've decided to just put it here.  This blog has always just been about my life, my journey, and it will continue to be.  But my journey is going to be...well...different, VERY different.  And soon.

Okay...time to get down to the good stuff. Or rather, the "mature" missionary stuff.

The program consists of a semester in downtown LA, followed by two years abroad in an urban slum.  While abroad, all our classes are administered online.  We will be working with local churches and ministries while there in ways that specific to the locations needs. You can visit www.matul.org for more info. 


As I'm sure there will be many logistical questions, here are the answers to the predictable ones:

• I am moving to Hollywood on August 1st.  I will be living in Hollywood Presbyterian's missionary housing for very cheap rent considering it's Hollywood. 
• It's only about a mile from where I go to church every Sunday at Reality LA. 
• Classes start September 5th, at APU's LA Regional Center.
• There is a kick-off celebration thing-a-ma-jig on September 7th that family and friends are welcome to come to.  I don't have any details right now, but if you would like to come, let me know and I will get details for you. 
• I don't know yet where I will be spending my two years abroad. A definitive answer will be available sometime in September, I'm hoping.  
• Right now I am leaning towards Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  But don't hold me to that.  God hasn't made this part of my journey clear so I'm kind of like a lost puppy looking for their home. 

What I really, REALLY desperately want from you is prayer.  And I know this probably sounds predictable, and maybe even a little fake, but it's true.  If I've learned anything these last six months it's that this program isn't about what I can do, or where I would like to go, but about God.  Making him known, glorifying him as best as I possibly can even though I'm screwed up, prideful, and inaccurately defined.  So pray for me. Pray that I would be confident in what God has called me too. (I've struggled a lot these last few months with feelings of inadequacy in the call.  But I'm learning that I will always be inadequate in my own strength.  It will always be about what God does through me, which can be all things!)  That I would trust God's guidance with where I will end up, and what kind of work I will be doing.  (This might be trust that it's my choice, or to really grab on to a specific location he has in mind for me.) And finally, for relationships, the ones I'm leaving behind and the new ones I will form. (I'm already starting to feel the distance between friends and I as I continue to prepare my heart and soul for these years abroad.) 

Whew....that was tough. I'm glad it's over. If you need any more grown up info, let me know. :)