Thanksgiving: the downfall of an empire

As usual, the Witte Gingerbread tradition continued to grow bigger and better this year. In effort to up my game, I actually made real gingerbread this year! Only pictures can truly describe the tradition and the night, but if you want a feel for the full history, check out my cousin Jessica's blog from the past week.

At 12:00 on the night before Thanksgiving, I finished baking all the pieces of my creation. I decided to model my "house" after the famous Arch in Antigua, Guatemala. You judge for yourself how I did.

My finished product: Thursday morning version. All the pieces were put together, and I was pretty pleased with my first endeavor into the world legit gingerbread.

I didn't want to completely cover the gingerbread with yellow frosting, so I added yellow accents. At this point, I'm still happy...you can see the chaos developing around me with candy and cameras and glue guns.

Then, the earthquake struck. I have two theories on the fall of my Guatemalan Gingerbread Empire. Theory 1: Similarly to the city which inspired my creation, my arch fell prey to natural disaster/earthquake. Traditionally, Uncle Teunis supplies the get together with fireworks picked up in Indiana. This year the fireworks took a turn toward both some relatives and our house, resulting in a lot of screams, nervous laughter, and a broken window on our porch. About that time my Arch fell apart. Theory 2: I didn't make my house early enough and the gingerbread was too soft. Adding frosting and candy led to DISASTER. Either way, it fell apart.
In order to reinforce the front portion, I hot glued cans of beans to the front and cardboard across the top. Let's just say I dabbled in synthetic material; not kosher, but necessary.

Can you see the comparison? My Arch is complete with the traditional Good Friday carpet and little Mayan Indian Snowmen in traditional dress....or something. Not bad, not good, I have something to work toward for next year.

Jessica's creation

Uncle Dan's creation

Fall Weekend

I spent the past 60 hours at a Young Life weekend...the slogan for Fall Camp is "like Summer Camp but Shorter and Colder." Good sell, right? Our area served as work crew for 250 students and leaders from another Chicagoland area. We served and bussed meals, prepared for and ran events, and filled in wherever help was needed. A few highlights:

1) Because we weren't at a Young Life property, the camp dining hall wasn't necessarily set up for work crew. But, our kids did an amazing job of turning a small job into an art. Work Crew welcomed every camper into each meal with loud cheers, led a pre-meal rendition of the hokey pokey, and had the whole dining hall singing "Build Me Up Buttercup." These kids created energy and allowed the campers to have a true Young Life meal experience minus the Young Life Camp. It was so great to be a part of!

2) We were blessed to serve Capernaum (Young Life's ministry to students with special needs) kids this weekend. From carrying their luggage to their rooms to serving drinks and singing songs, our Work Crew kids helped make the weekend for these amazing kids. A club highlight came when Brian, a boy with Downs, was called to the front to sing Karaoke in a competition. He lit up the stage and won over the crowd; the over accurate applause-o-meter declared Brian the winner. The uninhibited joy that he displayed, and the celebration from his friends was contagious.

Overall, it was a powerful weekend of growth and service for the 18 kids from our areas, and a weekend of clear gospel presentation and crazy fun for hundreds of high school kids!

Blog Identity Crisis

I am a journaler. I love to write. I process in writing. I develop ideas in writing. But, I have a weird psychological block (a family trait inherited from my dad--it manifested itself a lot in my basketball career). I can't write if I don't like WHAT I'm writing on. If my journal is ugly, it remains empty. If I have the same journal for too long, I stop writing in it.

Well, I'm having a blog identiy crisis. I can't get excited about any "look" on my blog; as a result, I don't write. I go to the blog, look at it, and go away.

Thanks for your patience (really, just Phyllis') as I work through this. You'll know when I find something I'm excited about.

This is home

Thought One: I never knew how unsettling it was to be without home until I experienced it. Don't get me wrong, I spent the better part of three months with an amazing family who opened THEIR home up to me, loved me, and took care of me...but it wasn't my home. It left me feeling restless, like I didn't really belong. When I finally was able to make the move into my house, it all changed. I have a place and space that truly is my home. It took an unnamed, often unidentified burden out of my life and has allowed me to feel like the Hinsdale area is not only the place I work, but also the place I can call "home." (I am a MI loyalist, so I say home with the understanding that I still will answer anyone's questions with "I'm from Grandville, MI but I live in Downers Grove IL.)

Thought Two: I was in a meeting yesterday in which people were talking about what it looks like to identify the true need. Example: feeling lonely? The true need isn't activity, food, or whatever we choose to fill the lonliness. The true need is relationship. As the leader was going through all these examples, my rooommate and I kept saying "wrong" "wrong" "wrong." Feeling lonely? True need IS relationship--with Christ. Feeling sad? True need IS happiness--from Christ. Feeling neglected? True need IS assurement--from Christ. It was sad to sit and realize how many people are looking for something and won't find it because they're looking in the wrong places.

Which brings me back to my "homelessness." Did I really need a home to feel at home in IL? No, what I needed was to rest in the assurrance that I was living and working in the place that God had for me and that he would meet my every need. Will I ever be at home and feel fully complete...not until the day I'm back home with my heavenly father.

So, for now, THIS is home...

Grace and Growth

One major aspect of my ministry with WyldLife is walking with the juniors and seniors in high school who serve as WL leaders. We meet every Monday night--club one week, leadership the next, etc. Last night I was intrigued by the conversation following this question: "If God knows everything, then why did he ask Adam 'where are you?' after Adam and Eve sinned?"

In my mind, I jump right to relationship. God, the creator of Adam and Eve, the God who breathed life into Adam's lungs, who walked with him in the garden, comes to Adam with this question because he STILL desire relationship even if its perfection is forever shattered.

Common response from the high school students: To make Adam feel guilty. God, the judge, wants Adam to wallow in shame over his mistake...not far from how I viewed God when I was in high school--if I do this or go to that or say this then I'm good. As long as I'm not doing _______.

Thank God for grace and growth and I pray that throughout this year I will see shifting images of God in the minds of my high school leaders--the true balance of both grace and truth that God reveals throughout scripture.