From Philly: A Quick Update

Greetings, good folk!

A lengthier report I would love to provide, but a succinct summation will have to suffice. I will confess that I feel a tad self-indulgent posting such detailed accounts of my activities and ambitions with the expectation that people will take time out of busy schedules to read them. But, I guess I don't feel that bad because I'm doing it anyway... ;)

It's been a wonderful two weeks since I first arrived in the city of brotherly love. I've been enjoying the luxuries of little accumulated schoolwork and few nagging commitments, though I'm getting anxious for more to do. That said, in addition to the ever-present excitements of exploration and the thrills of navigating a new school, I have these things upcoming...

I'll be hosting some Messiah chums on their J-term break this weekend.

A tutoring ministry at a church across the street is beginning next week, and I'll be there Tuesday and Friday evenings.

I'm going to help lead some of the worship at our weekly community gatherings (aka. chapel).

I'm contributing some articles for the Broad Street Journal, MCPC's* student paper.

I'm looking forward to church at Epiphany Fellowship again this week. It's a really neat place, with incredible music, a young congregation (ha not that that is any indication of a good church, it just helps us belong), and a really solid pastor who consistently delivers refreshingly biblical teaching. Apparently this pastor, Eric Mason, speaks with such respected Reformed preachers as as John Piper. I believe it.

And lastly, and probably most exciting..ly, there's this program called LIFT down the street from here that I might be volunteering a few hours with each week. It's an organization that partners homeless and low-income folks in the area with students from Temple. We work with them to provide services and help them find jobs, housing, etc. Needless to say, it sounds awesome.

Last lastly, classes are great.

As always, thanks for reading! Your prayers and concerns are greatly appreciated. Know that I'm praying for you too.
jmb

p.s. Here's something that really spoke to me today. Let us not forget what we're working for!

* MCPC = Messiah College Philadelphia Campus

Intro to Philly Time

There are too many "producers" out there for a little guy like me to contend with. It's way too easy for one to become a very invested "consumer" of opinions and information and quite quickly forget why one ever bothered to produce one's own content. But alas, here I go again. Thank you to the few of you that convince me I have something worthwhile to say.

I'm treated tonight to the steady whoosh of cars whizzing past, the shrill choir of sirens distant and near, and the discordant hollers of excited frat boys. It's an unfamiliar neighbourhood in a city different from and far from home. And yet, this place is home for the next few months. Welcome to North Philadelphia.

Something about leaving all that's comfortable for a new place leaves you exhausted -- mentally, physically, emotionally -- but oh so excited. It's the overwhelming new sights, sounds and smells; the fascinating people you meet for the first (and last) time; the swelling sense of accomplishment you gain as this strange place becomes a little more of who you are.

So that's where I'm at. I'm spending the spring semester of my sophomore year studying at Messiah's Philadelphia Campus. Philly is comparable in size to Toronto, but I'm quickly discovering how incredibly different it is. The "Jane & Finch" area of Toronto is reputed as a neighbourhood rife with crime and danger, the no-go-zone in the minds of suburban kids across the GTA. Well, now I've been supplanted into the middle of a city with its fair share of "Jane & Finches" and I can't wait for all that's in store.

The tranquility of Grantham is long gone for now. I'll be sure to face plenty of challenges along with everything else this semester, but you grow the most when you're uncomfortable. So bring it on.

I have plenty more I could say now, but I'll save all of that for future musings. So stay tuned!
God is good, all the time.
jmb