Matthew's Update (aka April Newsletter)
As I am focusing on my classes (three weeks till summer!) I had the opportunity to go to the call service for this year’s vicars and future pastors. It was an amazing experience. For those of you who do not know exactly how the call service works, students who are to receive their calls in the service have no idea where they are going (either for their first call or for their vicarage) until they get there. When they get there they have a worship service, a sermon, and finally each student is called up by name and told where they are going to be spending the next long time. It is a wonderful thing. It is also strange to think that both Halle and I will be sitting there at this time next year, finding out where we will be going for vicarage. It really goes by so fast.
Halle is doing well with work, still loving working with the kids. She just got accepted at a masters in teaching program from university of southern California. It is an online full time program that she can do online. The benefit is that she can start teaching vicarage year.
One of my favorite classes is a study of Revelation from professor Louie Brighton. Before I took the class, I had no idea who dr. Brighton was. I asked a professor who described him this way: “He is so old and ancient looking, he could tell me that he studied with John the gospel writer and I would believe him. He was old thirty years ago when I was a professor here, and he has just gotten older.” Dr. Brighton sure is an old man, but he has so many stories and so much wisdom. Nobody has read any book of the bible like I have seen Dr. Brighton read Revelation. If I were to summarize the class briefly, I would say this: The book of revelation gives us a picture of God’s absolute control over the world. Things from our perspective may look like they are out of control, but God really is in charge of everything that happens. There are also no accidents in this world. Earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters are all under God’s control. Furthermore, terrorist acts are also under God’s control. God is in control of everything. He does not let us suffer these things because he is an angry God, but he uses them to teach us to more fully rely on him. Like a parent who spanks a child, God uses suffering in this world to show us that there is nothing that can save us except Jesus Christ himself. Praise be to God he does not leave us alone, but constantly works to save and bring us to rely on his power alone.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
April Newsletter... and Halle's Update
Halle's Most Amazing and Spectacular Update:
Well as you can tell from Matthew's newsletter we are doing well here in St. Louis. The spring has brought on all new kinds of weather perils - it's TORNADO season! We experienced our first tornado a few weeks ago... Well maybe 'experienced' isn't the right word. The tornado touched down at the west county mall about a twenty minute drive from where we live - we were hiding in our basement alongside the other Seminary couple who live next door - it was actually quite pleasant to sit and talk with them for a while during the storm. One thing we also don't understand is that you can't gauge the temperature simply by looking at the sky. If you are inside looking at clouds it could be 80 degrees and muggy or 50 degrees and chill... it confuses me. So we have bouts of beautiful NW chill rain, horrible muggy afternoons, hail, thunderstorms, cool 70 deg. breezy days and a mix of all five.
Other exciting news - I did get into a Master's of Arts in Teaching program which is through the University of Southern California. It is an online program, but unlike a program as I've ever seen. We have a regular class time and communicate through a Skype-like interface. On the screen there are options to raise your hand, laugh at a joke, send private messages to others in the class, view the professors power-point and ask the presenter to speak up. Personally I thought that maybe it wasn't the best decision to put in private messaging, but I guess that means they are endorsing it... The program will take a year during which I will be attending class online and doing 6 months of student teaching, 3 months in a junior high class and 3 months in a high school. By the end of this program I will be endorsed to teach middle school or high school English. Finally I start classes this coming Monday - so it's coming up quick.
Since Matthew's part was in the April newsletter it goes without saying that he wrote it a few weeks back. This week is finals and here come the all nighters again. Currently it is 6pm and he is taking another nap but he will be done with classes on Thursday so no more papers for a while. He did recently have a professor offer to work with him on a paper idea he had so that he could get it published. This is a large honor for him as a first-year student and he is really very excited about it. During the summer Matthew will be working at the Seminary food bank and on the Seminary Security force. The Security job gave him a very special title - you should text him and ask him about it... Also he got a new phone and he doesn't have anyone's phone number so if he asks you who you are that's why.
That is pretty much all the news from this area of town. I enjoy seeing the rampant armies of squirrels, birds and bunnies scatter about and am enjoying the cool days of sunshine.
Much Love
Halle and Matthew Warmbier
P.S. I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice for the at least 14th time and I find that I enjoy it the more I read it - Mr. Darcy just has no equal - well maybe Matthew... but maybe not... :)
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