Seeing With God's Eyes

My job as a Direct Care Worker with juvenile delinquent males has continued to be a struggle for me. Mostly I've struggled to stay optimistic since often times there is little external evidence of my work making a difference. Also, the guys can be pretty hard on staff and I've had to work very hard at not letting them get to me. Lately, I've found myself praying for patience and peace and a gentle spirit in dealing with the guys. I've been asking God to help me view the boys I work with as he sees them: their hurts, their needs, their gifts, their dreams - and to help me respond to them as he would: with compassion, correction, grace, gentleness and above all love. It is my goal to simply live and work among them as a one who bears witness to the God who loves them and made them and seeks to redeem them. I'm not used to working in a place where I can't just pull out my Bible or lead a prayer time (government laws prohibit active evangelism/Christian teaching). I have to wait for them to initiate those kinds of things, so I am called to live in a way that they see Christ through me. I work to not raise my voice, to not point fingers, to not be harsh. At the same time, when I do have to hold them accountable for wrongdoing, I seek to do so in a redemptive way, to help them learn from and grow from the mistake and prepare to make a better decision in the future. Above all I try to instill in them a sense of worth and value and the idea that they can succeed. Renewing the mind and the way they view themselves is the first step in helping them turn their lives around. The last two weeks were really hard for me and I was getting very frustrated and discouraged. Since last night I have experienced Christ's peace and resolve to simply serve and teach and live as he himself would with these guys. Please continue to pray!

Grace & Peace,

Micah

Monasticism

Many of you know that for that past few years I have had a keen interest in monastic life. At one point in time I even wrestled with the thought that I might be called to live a monastic life as a part of a Trappist community in Kentucky. The main attractions of monasticism have been the disciplined life of spiritual growth, the Liturgy of the Hours, the community life of brothers doing life together, the central place of the Eucharist, and the ideals of living a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. Though I firmly believe that God has called me to marriage (which I am very excited for) I still feel that there is great benefit to many aspects of monastic life, particularly having a Rule of Life that governs us to lead us to greater spiritual depths and simplicity, hospitality and the pursuit of good. I have been exploring a couple of different lay monastic communities that bind together men and women, married and single, ordained and lay under a common rule of life and with the intent of building each other up in the faith using a monastic model adapted for those who live a part from each other. I am prayerfully considering entrance into such a community and ask for your prayers as well as I do not intend to enter into such a decision lightly. One of the communities happens to be affiliated with my sending organization, the Anglican Mission in America and my bishop is the episcopal visitor for it, the Company of Jesus, a Benidictine/Franciscan community of believers. I will post further as the journey continues.

Grace & Peace,

Micah

This past weekend was good. The guys are doing well on the farm and thins have gone smoothly the past few days. A couple of the guys are beginning to open up and share with me and I have had the opportunity to listen and counsel them about some pretty important things. Yesterday Stephanie and I even had the opportunity to take one of the young men to church with us (he asked if he could come!). He and I have had several conversations about faith and what it means to know Christ and live your life for him. Pray that he would keep seeking and find himself in Christ. I have been working the past several days to create projects and programs to help the guys begin to think about and form beliefs about: what it means to be a man, respecting women, setting goals and developing plans to reach them, health and nutrition, and developing morals and beliefs. Last week one young man completed an essay assignment I developed in which I gave him a list of character traits: integrity, goodness, compassion, strength, loyalty, honor, faithfulness, and honesty and had him write a paragraph defining each work and why it is important as men to demonstrate and cultivate those character traits. He did an awesome job and shows so much potential! I've also been posting quotes on a dry erase board and I give the guys the option to memorize the daily quote for bonus points. This has been a fun endeavor as a couple of the guys now wait expectantly for the new quote to be put up so they can begin memorizing it.
I am eager to begin classes after Labor Day and have already begun my reading. I have all my books and think I am going to enjoy all of my classes this fall. Stephanie and I are also exploring a series of seminars at a local Christian counseling center that would equip us as lay pastoral counselors.
Stephanie and I are still looking for a church home and think we probably have it narrowed down to between a couple: Prince of Peace Anglican Church and Grace Anglican Church.
The wedding is only 47 days away and we are very excited to return to Michigan for the big day and the opportunity to see family and friends for a few days. We will return to PA a couple days after the wedding so we can both resume work and I can go back to school! It will be a busy fall but we are looking forward to all that the next chapter of our lives will bring.
We are experiencing very high temperatures and humidity which can make some days very difficult, but we are managing. We are hoping to be able to install a window air conditioning unit in our bedroom. The past week or so my car has been giving some trouble, particularly with the rear suspension and one of the tires is leaking. Please pray that the repairs will not be too costly!!!
Last Friday I went to the home where Stephanie works as a nanny and we babysat the three kids in the evening while their parents went out with friends. It was fun and nice to meet the family Stephanie works for. She continues to enjoy her work and I enjoyed seeing how much the kids love her!

Please Pray For:
- our health and safety
- for God's financial provision with getting the car fixed
- for Stephanie's work as a nanny to three young children
- for developing relationships with the guys I work with and that they would make positive decisions
- for Stephanie and I as we get closer to the wedding
- that God would lead us to the right church where we can find a Christian community to be a part of


Grace & Peace,

Micah & Stephanie

Lessons

Well, I've been moved to Clinton, PA for three weeks now. Life is good, a little bit of a slower pace right now than I'm used to, but that's ok. I've been working at Alternative Energy Youth Farm pretty much since day one and I find the work challenging but good. Basically I spend 25-35 hrs a week (during the school year it will only be 25 hours) overseeing the guys while they do their chores, help me prepare diner, work on resumes and job applications, and do work on the farm. I also am beginning to develop opportunities for them to explore what it means to make good life choices, take responsibility, set goals, select positive role models and learn about characteristics of what a man should be. In addition, a couple nights a week I take the guys to a State Park which is close by so they can swim and interact with other people in a supervised setting. I am hoping to find some other places to take them for outings as well. The work is mentally and emotionally challenging. These young men come from hard backgrounds. For the most part they haven't had a father figure in the home, and the few who have had not had positive ones. Crime and gangs are the only life they have known. In general they don't want to be known by the staff or get to know the staff, so relating to them is hard, plus it's just hard to always know where they are coming from since they have grown up in such a radically different way. Tempers, attitudes, and testosterone keep things pretty interesting and I've learned to have thick skin and a lot of patience, while also having to learn to speak and act with authority, even in the face of confrontation, which isn't always easy for me. Last week was a rough one as many of the guys were seeking to push the limits as far as possible and see what they could get away with from "the new guy." I was very glad for the weekend! I am finding that I want and need to find ways to let these guys know that more than anything, I'm there because I care about them and want them to succeed in life. In their eyes I'm simply there to limit their fun and represent "authority/the law" and they don't like that. I'm making more progress with some of the guys than others. One thing that has been exciting for me has been the opportunity to share the Gospel with some of the guys and answer some questions they have had about God and faith. I am allowed to take the guys to church if they want and a couple have expressed some interest.
In other things I'm really enjoying Pennsylvania. Stephanie and I have already made many wonderful friends with other people from the seminary and from the churches we have visited. We are still in the process of visiting churches to find a church home and a place where I can complete the discernment process as I seek to be ordained as a priest in the Anglican Mission in America. Twp churches that we have really liked so far are Church of the Savior in Ambridge, PA (near the seminary) and Grace Anglican Church in Edgeworth, PA just a couple miles away from the school. We've explored Pittsburgh and some of the surrounding areas as well.
I am all registered for four classes beginning September 7. I will be taking Systematic Theology 625: God the Father, Pastoral Theology 500: Spiritual Formation, Biblical Interpretation 600: Introduction to Biblical Languages and Interpretation, and Church History 625: Early Church History. I have all of my books and have begun reading them and am very excited for classes to begin.
Stephanie is really enjoying her work as a nanny for three young children in Pittsburgh and is doing a great job! We are hoping that next summer when her time with them is done we can find work for her that is closer to where we will live as she drives about an hour to work right now.
God is providing for us financially with a full tuition scholarship at the seminary and work for Stephanie and I that pays the bills. We are still hoping and praying that the house in Michigan will sell soon so we can stop paying on it.

Below are some ways we would very much appreciate your prayers:
- For our health and safety
- For the start of the school year at Trinity School for Ministry
- For the boys living at Alternative Energy Youth Farm
- For Stephanie and her work as a nanny
- That our house in Michigan would sell


Grace & Peace,

Micah & Stephanie

Getting Settled

Well, I made the move to Pennsylvania on Saturday July 17 and have begun settling in to the next chapter of life. Some wonderful friends from the seminary helped unpack my car at the farm and had Stephanie and I over for dinner Saturday night. On Sunday Stephanie and I worshiped at Prince of Peace Anglican Church where we experienced uplifting worship and a good, Biblical sermon followed by the celebration of Holy Communion. It was good to worship in an Anglican church again! Monday I got started at my new job as a Direct Care Worker at Alternative Energy Youth Farm. This is a totally new field to me and has been challenging so far as I have had to learn to work in a whole new context than I am familiar with. The young men who are housed here come from varying backgrounds and have been incarcerated for various reasons. It is a challenge sometimes to relate to and interact with them. I look forward to learning and seeing how things go. My supervisor is great and is a committed Christian. He and I and the weekend Direct Care Worker are starting a small group Bible study. I look forward to that fellowship. The wedding is only 71 days away and classes start the beginning of September. I will share more soon.

Please pray:
- for establishing good relationships with the boys who are here at the farm
- for trust in God in all things, even when they are uncertain and challenging
- for Stephanie's job as a nanny for three young children
- for the students and faculty and staff at Trinity School for Ministry.
- for my candidacy process in the Anglican Mission in America.

Grace & Peace,

Micah

Holy Trinity

In two weeks I will have a major transition in life as I pack up my life in Midland, MI and move to Clinton, PA where I will be working as a mentor to male juvenile delinquents and attending seminary at Trinity School for Ministry. I am pursuing ordination as a priest in the Anglican Mission in America, a missionary movement of the Anglican Church of Rwanda. Stephanie and will be getting married in October and beginning our life together.
The future is still not clear to us. The Lord has placed a passion in my heart for reaching the lost and broken in the inner cities of America. I will be concentrating on church planting and evangelism in my graduate studies. Perhaps an inner city mission/church plant will be in the future. That will be up to God to reveal to us. We expect that during these years in school God will continue to reveal to us what his plan is and equip us to do the work he has in store for us.
I hope for this blog to be a place where you can keep up with all that we are doing. I would ask for your continued prayer support as we journey with God's direction.

Grace & Peace,

Micah