Archive for July, 2009

Let me just say it unabashedly. I think I was the first Twitterer in Monticello, Arkansas. Yup. If you can disprove me, then I will sadly relinquish the self-claimed title. However, I join a host of tweeples here in Blacksburg, VA. Yet there are many who have not jumped on the microblogging trend. I’ve written about my experience with it before, but I saw an interesting thread on Facebook the other day I wanted to respond to.

One of my pastor friends was considering taking the plunge and becoming a twit (officially). He posted that on his Facebook status… Since Twitter and Facebook are probably the two main competitors in the microblogging world, I found that interesting to begin with. He asked for input on whether he should Twitter. What developed from there was even more interesting. The vast majority of respondants (including family members) urged him not to waste his time Twittering.

Rather than defending some of the relational and influential benefits to becoming a microblogger, I think I’ll link to another preacher’s defense of why he chose to capitalize on the Twitter trend. I love how John Piper framed part of his response:

I find Twitter to be a kind of taunt: “Okay, truth-lover, see what you can do with 140 characters! You say your mission is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things! Well, this is one of those ‘all things.’ Can you magnify Christ with this thimble-full of letters?”

To which I respond:

The sovereign Lord of the earth and sky
Puts camels through a needle’s eye.
And if his wisdom see it mete,
He will put worlds inside a tweet.

On tire sounds

Yesterday was T-Day: a day I’d scheduled to get our tires rotated and balanced and Wal-Mart. I felt so Arkansan heading back to Wallyworld to take advantage of their lifetime rotation and balance deal (if you buy your tires from there). I’d hoped that this would solve the developing wah wah wah sound emanating from one of the rear tires.

After 2.5 hours and a hike to Target and then to Chik-Fil-A with Adelyn, we drove away.

The wah wah wah sound was now in the front instead of the back.

Darn.

So the car was back at Wallyworld this a.m. trying to determine if one of the tires is bad. I hiked over to Starbucks from where this beautifully crafted blog entry was written and posted. By the way… Feeling sweet? Copy this number: 6038201464013622, and then reload my Starbucks card here! Since there are three locations in the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area, I anticipate many meetups and office days inside of coffee shops.

I’ll tweet about the results of my tire trials. And if you’re still with me and want eye candy, here is a nice Wordle of my July tweets ala Tweetstats.com.

“I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells.” Psalm 26.8

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.” Psalm 27.4

From my early teen years I have been stunned continuously to discover the inclinations of my heart toward God. I love the Lord and His ways. He is the light and supreme meaning of my life. I did not cultivate this thirst on my own. Rather, it came from outside me and seems to be my very soul’s desire to seek and know God. I say that not pridefully but humbly. When I’m at my very best as a man, I am led to the Source of All Life. When I’m not, I seek to quench my life thirst in the offal of this world.

For more than 20 years now (I’ll pridefully be ambiguous about my age), I have been surprised by the Lord’s graciously consistent call on my heart. He is good, kind, and beautiful. I agree wholeheartedly with David the Shepherd King.

I take refuge in Christ’s love – often to an unhealthy extent. Let me explain that.

It’s very possible for me to lose myself in biblical study or meditations on God and musings about His church. I can retreat into His lap and ignore the world with ease. It’s at times like those that I sense the Father lovingly receiving me, but His silence becomes preponderous. It’s as if He holds me but does not comfort me.

I’ve come to realize that my place is in the world – as much as I desire to be in His temple. He does not allow His people to dwell in the Holy of Holies indefinitely. His glory is too great to simply be gawked at. He desires for His people to enjoy Himself and to spread that enjoyment to a world that still knows only a meal of offal. A banquet of grace awaits them, and it’s our highest privilege to be spiritual waiters.

In fact, I find after being gently “punted” back into the world after times of spiritual introspection that I discover more of God’s heart and will as I interact in His world than I do when I think I’m in the “place His glory dwells.”

It’s not just special “holy” places that God works and appears.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Psalm 24.1

We’re baaaaack.

We arrived in Blacksburg last Friday, and it’s been a whirl of activity, unpacking, fellowship and wrong turns since then. The latter I mean literally. I had trouble figuring out which block the post office was on.

A couple of observations about Blacksburg:

1. My scooter just increased in value. Most speed limits around here are 25 and 35mph, so I can not only keep up but in a nervy, rebellious moment, pass with style.
2. Parking is a premium commodity. I’ve been warned multiple times about being towed. Apparently the local economy is bolstered by the random removal of your auto if you park in the wrong space (or if the towers are having a slow day… or are in a bad mood.) We have not been victim of this, but I’ve been assured I will be. Everyone seems to have a towing rant. This should make David Atwell happy since he recently broke his tow.

Our schedule has been hectic. Almost every night, we’ve taken a break from meetings and/or unpacking to attend small groups, play softball or be a guest in someone’s home. It’s been a happy hectic. We’re extremely grateful for the warm and hospitable reception we’ve received.

On Monday night, I played Settlers of Canaan with one of the small groups. It was the largest group I’d ever played Settlers with due to an “expansion pack” for the game. On top of that, the gals played. That was definitely a new one. How can you be cutthroat and bilk someone else’s wife out of her wheat and be her pastor? I’m working on rationalizing that. I’m sure that hesitancy in my heart was what caused me to lose the other night.

I tweeted earlier this week about the fact that in my Virginia softball debut, I picked up right where I left off in my softball skillset. On Facebook and on Twitter, several “friends” astutely saw through that statement and pointed out ever-so-not-gently that my softball skillset was not impressive to begin with. In my defense, I will say I never struck out and that I did knock Cody in. The ball hit to me in right field that appeared to soar over my head from the perspective of those in the bleachers was actually caught in a major updraft common to the terrain around Blacksburg. Now that I know about it, I’ll be ready…

Since we moved into a new house, we’re still waiting on DirecTV – major snafus in scheduling a home install – and internet. Since no lines were run to the house when it was built, we’re giving Comcast and Verizon a chance to beat each other to the punch. We’ve scheduled both, and the first to arrive to install internet wins our contract. Since we’re Xbox-less, TV-less, and internet-less, we’ve had more time for Speed Uno and board games – not that it’s been a lot of time. We collapse into bed each evening and sleep conquers quickly.

Soooo… welcome back to Notes from the Trail. I’ll be trying to get on a more regular posting schedule here in my new haunts. Welcome to those who were regular readers, and welcome to my new ones. It’s been and will continue to be a wonderful journey. I promise it won’t be sluggish.

It’s a really strange feeling to wake up in a hotel and realize that you literally have no home to go to. With all our belongings in transit on an 18-wheeler, all we have at present is what we packed into our vehicle. It’s liberating in a sense.

We woke up a little chilly from the AC blowing all night in our comfy room. We scarfed down pancakes at Cracker Barrel before leaving Jackson, Tennessee. Yet, while we’ve left one home and are anxious to establish a new one in Blacksburg, the in-transit-ness of our life at this moment is truly freeing. It also reminds me profoundly to enjoy simplicity.

We’ve stopped tonight in Knoxville, and tomorrow will end this small parenthesis of homelessness. These few hours of being “in-between” have been blessed. As the movers arrive and the chaos unpacks, I imagine the next several days will be a whirlwind.

But tonight as the family is lying in bed, with another cold AC blowing, we are… at rest. Thanks for your prayers that have made us so.

If you’re a regular reader of Notes, you’ll know what’s up. If you’re not, you stepped in at a significant time of personal transition. My family and I will be meeting movers this Wednesday as we relocate to Blacksburg, Virginia. I will be pastoring Northstar Church there.

The last several weeks have been an unprecedented whirlwind for us. We’ve not had to move/chunk junk like this in 14 years. Although we moved across town seven years ago, our last major move was from the DFW area to Monticello, Arkansas in 1995. It was at that time that I finished seminary and began a joy-filled ministry with college students at the UAM Baptist Collegiate Ministry.

• But that move was without kids.
• We had only been married 3 years.
• We had just enough to be comfortable with.

This move, however, has been daunting. 14 years of accumulated junk. I have accused Carolyn our entire marriage of being a pack rat and a junkie. I have repented over the past two weeks. I can’t believe what I’ve held onto. The other night, I was sitting on the attic floor, laughing and smiling as I read a letter from a spiritual mentor who taught me how to have a quiet time. I was in 9th grade when the letter was written.

We’ve chunked junk at a faster rate than bailouts have been offered.

Our schedule this week is crazy, and it’s part of the reason for this entry. I’m pulling the plug on computers this a.m., so we’re “going dark.” We’ll be tweeting, I’m sure, as well as Facebooking. I may even find time for a hurried entry or two via the laptop, but for now, the Nobles are off the radar.

Today, we’re headed to Little Rock to eat dinner with old friends. I like them cause they all are really older than me. On Tuesday, we’re going to float the Buffalo River – an Arkansas “have-to,” and since our kids had never experienced it, off we go before we become Virginians. Wednesday, bright and early, the movers begin their challenging task of fitting all our stuff into a semi.

I’m slipping on my camos right now for this special ops excursion. I feel a little like Dudley in Wild Hogs, who upon agreeing to go cross country, asked, “That’s fine as long as I can find some WIFI spots…”

We arrived back in Monticello at 2 a.m. on Wednesday from our trip to Poland. Fortunately, I drooled on the plane from Charlotte to Little Rock, so I was semi well-rested. Our car was packed with my family, Tracy, Becca Sustaire and Lindsey Randall. Needless to say, it was cozy.

Wednesday a.m. played a cruel trick on us. We were up waaay too early. Carolyn had a head full of steam, and we immediately began boxing and packing. The movers arrive next Wednesday to take our belongings to Blacksburg.

Our last day in Poland was so fast, surreal, serious and joyful. We saw the awful horrors of Auschwitz and Berkenauer. The evil that was unleased upon the world in the malevolent intentions of the Third Reich is beyond comprehension. One part of you wants to stop, sit, and dwell painfully on man’s ability to ignore His Creator. The surreal part is that after several hours of immersion in mind-numbing history, well, we were hungry.

That’s where the surreal part came in. We drove across the street and ate kabobs at a tourist trap. On one side is genocide; on the other side is hamburgers.

When we returned to Krakow, we made a quick stop by the Jewish Quarter of town to see the Krakow Ghetto Memorial and Schindler’s Factory. And from there, the mall. Again, a sharp contrast.

Monday evening, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Massengales, our hosts for the week. We started in their living room with our first meal, and we ended there as well. As Shae shared with us about the impact we’d had over the week, we were so honored and humbled. We were there because we love Christ and because His love for all peoples compels all Christians to serve Him in all places.

It was awesome to hear the softball team share all that the Poland experience had meant to them. We cried, prayed, and rejoiced in the goodness of God. To a person, we all were hesitant in our hearts to leave Poland the new friends we’d made.

As I’ve packed boxes and worked this morning in our oven/attic, my thoughts keep drifting back to Krakow. Carolyn and I were so privileged to have gone on the the trip. Thank you all who gave, prayed, and helped in other ways to make our trip possible.

One of the most entertaining parts of the trip – at least for me and Tracy – was our daily video updates. We called them Krakow Live, and it didn’t take long for them to become an evening entertainment staple for the team. One of the more popular featurettes was Tracy’s infamous Tuck and Roll video. 

He still claims it was carefully orchestrated. The girls claim he tripped. You decide.

Krakow Live Special Report: Tracy Reed’s Tuck and Roll from Jeff Noble on Vimeo.

You can view the rest of the Krakow Live updates at my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/jeffnoble.

Sunday night in many ways was a fulfilling completion to our trip to Krakow, Poland. As we were preparing to worship at Compass International Christian Fellowship with our hosts and their families, it delighted us to see several members of the girls basketball and guys baseball teams in attendance. This was their first time in a non-Catholic worship service as far as we know.

As the service began, it was in English, and so we were able to sing with full and grateful hearts contemporary songs of worship to our King. Kayla was asked to share her faith story, and though she did so with an interpreter for those present who needed Polish, it was a dynamic and powerful account of how Christ has worked in her life.

I had the opportunity to preach. It was my second time to do so – my first being last October in Poland. I preached from Luke 18 about Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus. 

• It doesn’t matter what you’ve done.
• It doesn’t matter where you are.
• It doesn’t matter what you have.
• It doesn’t matter who you are.
• What matters is seeing Christ clearly.

The opposite of those first four is also true. (It doesn’t matter what you haven’t done.) The Lord enabled me to preach as simply as I could about the love of God in Christ, and I urged those present to get above the crowd in their life and get a clear view of Jesus. The wonderful thing about Zacchaeus’ attempt to see Jesus is that Jesus saw Him. Just like He does all of us when we turn our eyes upon Him.

That morning we were blessed to attend the First Baptist Church here in Krakow. Though it was a Polish service, two young girls in the church came to sit next to us to interpret and give us the gist of what was being said. As the preacher taught about the family of God, it was appropriate and encouraging for us to realize that these people – thousands of miles away from our Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana homes – were also our family in Christ.

After a great meal at Pizza Hut, we went back to Wawel Castle where the team had the opportunity on this occasion to take the self-guided tour inside the ancient cathedral there. 

Sunday night after church, we headed to Rynek to eat – and eating is much more of a relaxed event than simply a feeding. You’re expected to lounge and visit for extended times during meals here. Sebastian and Erin Vazquez joined us for the first time, and it was refreshing to catch up with them. They had been in Greece this past week and only returned to Krakow on Saturday night.

The gals hung out with members of the basketball and baseball teams, and then beat Tracy, Lou and me back to the hostel. Carolyn had gone back to the castle with the Massengales to take their family photos. She also was at the hostel.

When we got there, the girls immaturely decided to dump water on us from the top floor balcony. It was only my amazing reflexes that prevented me from getting a dousing since I went first. I don’t know what I heard first – water hitting the sidewalk all around me or cackling from on high.

We spent the rest of the evening as we have almost every night since our arrival – visiting, laughing and enjoying our God-given and blessed time here in Poland. Again, thank you sincerely to all those who made this trip possible with your generosity. Our Lord really is doing big things through the talents and witness of our team.

Friday

“If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So goes the saying. The reality is that God often throws in cake as well. We awoke Friday to a steady rain. Our plans had been to go to the park for our last day with outreach and softball with kids. His plans were better.

During our week, our presence in the park drew the attention of the director of the YMCA here in Krakow. He brought dozens of their kids over to participate in our program. As a result, he urged the missionaries here to please contact them if we needed to because of inclement weather.

That’s exactly what Shae did on Friday a.m. 

The team was able to spend the entire morning with 50+ kids, working on softball basics and playing games with them. The real fruit however, is a valuable and blessed connection with the YMCA that the missionaries now have. The personnel there invited them back once or twice a month to do more work with the kids.

Also on Friday, we toured (quickly) Wawel Castle. You may recall my visit to it back in October. It’s no less majestic on the second go-round.

After a looong walk, we met the guys baseball team for a scrimmage that evening. It was a great way to allow them to see what a game would feel like. It was their first opportunity to put into place what they’d been learning and practicing over the past weeks.

In a matchup of girls vs. guys, the UAM Cotton Blossoms won 6-5. They had a little help from McKenna Massengale, who belted several beyond reach of the guys, and yours truly… who was asked to play catcher.

From there, we went to Friday night coffee house. It’s a weekly event that the missionaries host. This Friday was line dancing. We weren’t quite sure how it would go over, but we discovered quickly when the place packed out just how excited the Polish people are about opportunities to fellowship and build relationships.

We had a great time… watching the team line dance. 

Saturday

We were thrilled to have the morning off on Saturday. After three consecutive days of nonstop action, walking, relationship-building and softball, it felt good to sleep in. Unfortunately for me and Tracy, we’ve had problems sleeping since the sun comes up at 4:30 a.m. So we find ourselves cruising the streets of Krakow on trams, waiting for coffee shops to open. (They do not open until 7 a.m.!) If you follow me on Facebook, you can catch some of our daily video updates that we’ve been making. Saturday’s was our favorite so far.

After lunch, we went to Jordana Park for a cookout with all the new friends and contacts that we’ve met this week. The park itself is incredible. The equipment for kids, basketball and tennis courts, rock climbing wall, skateboard park, and pond and trails are really very impressive. I haven’t seen anything like it in the States. And it’s well-used by the folks here in Krakow. It’s always full.

At the cookout, we played wiffle ball and treated everyone who came to grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. It was a big hit. The main thrust, however, was to allow the team to share a little about the “why’s” of their visit to Poland. In interview style, one of the missionaries facilitated a Q&A time. The girls were able to share about their love and with relationship with Jesus Christ clearly and passionately in front of the group as they reclined on blankets in the grass. It was a beautiful scene.

Afterwards, we trammed it to the mall where we ate and did some shopping. We retired back to the hostel for a devotional time and an exhausted lights out, or so we thought. After devotionals, it just seemed that it renews our strength and perspective. The laughter and general goofiness lasted well into the wee hours of the a.m. 

We were quite sobered by the fact that we only have two more days in Krakow. Time has flown. God has been good.

Thursday was another amazingly full day. The members of the UAM Cotton Blossoms who are on the trip with us – Becca Tipton, Kayla Temple, Savannah Morin, Lindsay Randall, Amy Mardis and Becca Sustaire – have been simply incredible. We all knew their team was fantastic, but what we were unprepared for was just how good these girls really are – not just at their sport, but in their love and work ethic.

They have burned the candle at both ends and served long, hard hours in kids camps and practicing with a newly-formed baseball team here in Krakow. All at their own expense and from the donations and love of others. The end goal is to honor and bring praise to Jesus Christ here in this beautiful city.

They’ve built relationships and opened several doors for the missionaries to continue their work and ministry. I’m also grateful for the parents and families of these girls who have trusted us and Journey Church. They helped contribute and encouraged us as we pressed forward with this trip – even with scant details.

Carolyn and I have been grateful and so blessed to see how the Lord has used every member of our mission team so far on the trip. Lou has been simply incredible with the kids that she has taken under her wing. She’s been a constant strength and source of help at every phase. Tracy has continued to battle with me for title of funny man of the week. Too bad he’s losing so far. Seriously, I am so grateful for his presence and his witness and leadership. As a campus minister, trips like these not only help him connect with the students with us but capture a vision for ministry on the campuses of the world.

After another jam-packed day of ministry and softball, we cleaned up and ate at a Chili’s-style restaurant called Yummies on the Rynek, and it was delicious. Two of the baseball players joined us and then took the gals around after dinner while us old folks searched for an ice cream stand before heading back to the hostel for a rousing game of Phase 10.

Truly, there is nothing more surreal than walking around the Rynek at night with the gorgeous lights on the St. Mary’s Cathedral and seeing the carriage rides lined up along the cobble stone roads. Thanks to those of you who gave so generously to make this trip possible. We are supremely grateful at every moment for the sacrifice and generosity that you displayed.

We had a blast.

We were amazed.

God is good.

When you bring a mission team overseas, you always emphasize the “F” word. That’s flexibility. You just never know what will happen or how your plans will actually turn out. 

Our hope all along for this trip was for the UAM softball gals to be able to conduct a sports camp for kids here in Krakow, to teach and demonstrate the sport of softball to a European town that cherishes soccer above all else and doesn’t even have a baseball field. That was our hope, and it was high.

We actually didn’t know if anyone would show up. The missionary team who are in Krakow had worked hard the last few days, passing out fliers and creating a buzz, but they too, had no idea if anyone would show up. That was until 11:00l 11:00
English: World English Bible - WEB
Štetje svetopisemskih vrstic se začne z ¹! Vrstica ⁰ ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plugin a.m. yesterday. It was then that more than 50 kids showed up, full of excitement and enthusiasm.

We were so proud of the girls. They were more than champs. Not only did they conduct this impromptu, unstructured camp in a setting that was challenging, but they did so with joy and deep character. They showed the kids softball. But larger than that, they showed them their hearts.

And while they were swinging bats and throwing balls, the Lord was behind the scenes hitting homeruns. One of the leaders of the Krakow YMCA “just happened” to be in the park, and he offered the use of their building this week should it rain. He also wanted to coordinate future things with the missionaries here. A great contact!

After a wonderful afternoon in the Rynek Square, we went to another location, and the girls worked with a newly formed guys baseball team. Baseball was new to them. So were girls who could outplay, outhit and outthrow them. I think it was a little difficult on them in this culture getting trained (and schooled) by girls. 

One of my favorite moments of the day was when Becca and Amy suited up and threw pitches. The loud pop of Becca’s glove hitting her leg after her pitch, followed instantly by the louder pop of the ball in Amy’s glove was pretty awe-inspiring. The kids and later the guys watched in awe. So did we. 

All the girls found key roles to play, and when we had our devotional time last night in the hostel (the Techno Twins weren’t around), we celebrated and unpacked a full day of ministry after Tracy shared about Elijah from 1 Kings 18. 

We are all grateful for your prayers and your generosity that got us here. God is at work. Will you please continue to join us in this great work with intercession? More later!

I woke up in Krakow. At 4:50 a.m. local time. Wiiiiide awake. So off to the shower and then to find Coffee Heaven – my favorite coffee hangout here in Poland (that I know of so far). I was looking forward to seeing if I remembered how to navigate the tram ride.

Imagine my surprise to discover that Tracy was up and showered as well. I didn’t think campus ministers knew that the sun actually comes up after it goes down… ;)

So off we went. First stop was an ATM machine. Next stop. Buying a tram ticket. It all came back. It was a flawless ride to the Rynek Square. Imagine our disappointment to discover that coffee shops in Poland don’t open until 7:00l 7:00
English: World English Bible - WEB
Štetje svetopisemskih vrstic se začne z ¹! Vrstica ⁰ ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plugin a.m. It was 5:30 a.m. 

We wasted time by exploring some side streets and discovering free WIFI zones with my iPhone and Tracy’s iPod Touch.

Finally… 7:00 a.m. and hot coffee and muffins. We both took some time to look at the team’s scripture reading for the day: John 6.26-51. The questions: Why did Jesus say He was bread? How does manna relate to Jesus? What is your own hunger level for this bread of life?

Finally.. back to the hostel to discover all the girls, including Carolyn, still in bed. This should be fun… More later.