UNDERSTAND

Student Impact - Sandblast 2007

2007-07-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

Here are the highlight videos from our high school summer camp that took place July 6-9, 2007...enjoy!

for my music friends...

2007-07-18T13:14:00.000-05:00

here are some links to some youtube videos from willow creek. there are three service preludes, all written and arranged by willow artists, and there's one message clip by bill hybels. there's a lot of talent around this place, i hope you enjoy!

music...
Willow Creek Prelude w/ Gene Carcia (latin feel)

Willow Creek Prelude by Dave Garza

Willow Creek Prelude w/ Chris Siebold (May 9, 2007)

message...
Bill Hybels message excerpts (June 3, 2007)

today I read a book and saw a movie

2007-02-19T21:56:00.000-06:00

it's not often that i read a book cover to cover in a given day. i can count on one hand how many times that has happened.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference - i read this book by Malcolm Gladwell today. it's a fascinating book about the nature of social epidemics. Gladwell offers various examples to illustrate his findings ranging from health epidemics to product/sales epidemics. As a student of theology and church leadership, i find it intriguing to consider this epidemiology as it relates to church stuff.

Amazing Grace - after finishing the tipping point, i had the opportunity to see a screening of the new biographical movie about the abolitionist William Wilberforce. The movie highlights how, as a Member of Parliament, Wilberforce navigated the world of 18th Century backroom politics to end the slave trade in the British Empire. Wilberforce demonstrates perhaps the healthiest way in which one's religion and involvement in politics should converge. The movie opens to audiences this Friday, February 23rd. here's a link:

...goodnight...

FINALLY

2007-02-19T10:35:00.000-06:00

today is the first day in three weeks that the temperature rose above the freezing mark...THREE WEEKS! at the coldest, lows were around -11 with wind chills exceeding -30. that's probably nothing for some folks, but for a kid from NC, that's almost unbearable, but i survived.

today the high is supposed be around 38...i just might wear shorts and a t-shirt.

marking a moment

2007-02-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

today...i've been on this earth for 3 full decades...and that's something to be excited about :)

check it out...

2007-02-11T20:23:00.000-06:00

...i'm just sayin'...this is awesome.

winter is here

2006-12-01T12:26:00.000-06:00

i woke up this morning to a lot of snow - forecast: 6-10"; actual: 12-14" (don't believe me?...look at the pics)

this is the table on the back deck...

before...

...after...

...pile of snow...

...ahhhh, hot tea :)
i love the snow...i'm not as excited about shoveling it.

grateful!

thanksgiving trip

2006-11-26T12:58:00.000-06:00

i just returned from a 12 day trip with 6 other guys. this was a time of fun, encouragement, and enrichment. here's a photo that captures the spirit of the trip...

i'm exhausted from the trip, bu so incredibly thankful to those that made it possible for me to go!

"nuclear man"

2006-11-10T17:33:00.000-06:00

[examine the above picture...drawn by my brother john btw]

Do you notice the man sitting beneath the "tree"? he sits contently under the shade of this tree, the seed of which was planted by him. the tree has matured, firmly rooted, yielding much fruit. the tree provides shelter and food in abundance. a blessing?

the roots draw nourishment without discretion, often siphoning resources from the 2nd and 3rd world, depleting and destroying life in places out of sight and surely out of mind.

if you notice, the "tree" looks eerily like a nuclear explosion, the fallout of which is yet to be felt. this explosion and pending doom and destruction is the delayed effect of the man's well-intentioned efforts to sow a good seed, to seek his own welfare.

he will reap what he has sown, that's just the way things are

when i first looked at this picture by my brother, i was curiously captivated and have since failed to forget it. i almost immediately was reminded of the The Wounded Healer, a thin book by Henri Nouwen who refers to a subject as "nuclear man" and discusses the predicament of modern man. these thoughts were reignited by a recent post on a website i read occasionally, www.opensourcetheology.net. in one of the responses was the following quote:

"many of us [myself included] still contribute to the problem! Above all, we can’t “set ourselves apart” by breaking away. The church must suffer with the world, acknowledging that we’re a part of the problem and will face the same consequences for our negligence as everyone else. As Lynn White argued in his touchstone essay, “The Historic Roots of our Ecologic Crisis,” Christianity is a prime contributor to the problem, but the church must be a part of the solution.

it's a complicated world we live in and we would do well to deeply consider the implications and ramifications or our every decision and action.

for some reason, i think of Adam & Eve in the garden, staring at a piece of fruit that was (1) good for food, (2) was pleasing to the eye, and (3) was to be desired to make one wise (Genesis 3:6). so many "trees" in our lives look the same. just because a "tree" yields fruit, doesn't mean it's good for us or anyone else...some fruit might eventually kill us. we must be wise...huh, but then again, where does that wisdom come from...a tree?

intensives: week 2

2006-11-03T17:19:00.000-06:00

this week's class was 'culture and ministry.' our professor currently lives in the Middle East and ministers among Muslims...quite a remarkable guy. We talked a lot about "intercultural sensitivity" and how cultural diversities (ethnic, racial, economic, etc.) can complicate faith relations and understanding. some of it seemed like good ole' common sense...at other times conversation was quite theoretical and 'heady.' i'm sure i learned something...it's just hard to summarize here.

i must admit...sitting in lecture style classes for roughly 8 hours a day does not fit my learning style, i'm glad i did not enroll in full-time seminary. Therefore this leads to a lot of daydreaming...about what you might ask. well, i did a lot of daydreaming about what life will look like beyond the internship at Willow...where will i go, what will i do, etc...any conclusions? nope, not yet, but possibly some hints which i'll try to share as time goes on.

oh yeah, so our professor had a scheduled flight to leave this morning at 10am, and class would've started at 9am, so we all agreed it wasn't beneficial to have class for only one hour on the last day. long story short, Chris and i headed home last night and i got back to Chicago around 1am.

...it's good to be back...

intensives: week 1

2006-10-25T15:56:00.000-05:00

I'm currently in St. Paul, MN…living communally in a hotel with fellow interns…and logging classroom time for seminary. A major component of the Willow internship is a seminary education, resulting in an M.A. in Transformational Leadership (Bethel MATL) provided by Bethel Seminary. Study is divided into quarters instead of semesters. Though the majority of the coursework is completed as distance work (online), every Spring and Fall we (interns) must come to St. Paul for 'intensives' for two weeks, one course each week. This involves classroom lectures and interaction with the professor.

This week is focused on my Old Testament 101 class - Genesis through Ruth. At this point, we've focused on the Pentateuch (a.k.a. Five Books of Moses, or simply the first five books of the Bible) and themes of 'promise,' 'covenant,' 'law,' 'creation,' etc. This stuff is mentally exhausting and I value my evenings to relax and decompress and otherwise hang out with my fellow interns…running, exercising, conversing in the hot tub, or having chicken-fights in the swimming pool.

Sometimes ridiculous fun is just what it takes to relax and refresh. No?

Student Impact Staff

2006-10-16T12:52:00.000-05:00

i'm experimenting with pictures...below should be a picture of the staff i'm a part of from our most recent retreat (i'm in the 2nd row, 3rd from left) -- (click on image for full size view)

summer re-cap

2006-10-11T18:07:00.000-05:00

It's time to break the silence of summer…and it wasn't really silent…just in the sense that you haven't heard from me. I actually had a full summer and thought you'd be interested to hear about some of the highlights. So…no time to waste here…read on.

I was able to begin my summer with a short visit home in early June. I was only home for a long weekend and I never get to see everyone I would like to when I'm home…I hope none of you felt slighted. But those of you I got to see, it is always special and you make home feel like…well, home - and that's a good thing!

Shortly after I returned to Chicago, I had to leave for a 9-day serving/mission trip to Waveland, MS (Hurricane Katrina Relief) with 20 students and 6 leaders. Although I was one of two co-leaders for the trip overall, there was great team leadership from all leaders which only enriched the experience. There was no drama or (unhealthy) conflict among leaders or students which is not always the case on serving trips like that. We started the week by attending Little Zion Baptist Church which was a moving experience for all of us and really set the tone for our trip (picture is in front of church). I feel like God did more in our team than we saw him do through our team as we served the people there…though I believe we were certainly able to bless those we served tremendously. I would gladly serve with that same team anytime…anywhere.

One week after, I returned from MS, I left for 4 days of summer camp with roughly 500 students. Chaos and commotion ensued but God was with us and united the Student Impact community (www.studentimpact.com) even more. I am truly grateful for the students I get to serve and team with whom I serve!

Another week after camp…I was able to go on vacation with my dad. We went fishing in Loreto, Mexico and got to experience some world class fishing. At the end of the week, there was a fishing tournament (www.fishinforthemission.com) and 100% of the proceeds (yes, 100%!) went to the local Mision (church), a local orphanage/school, and a new library for the community (a grand total of $24,000). The prizes for anglers are all donated by various companies. Loreto is a small fishing village in the Baja and this tournament is designed to honor and support the local people and economy. Here's a pic from one of our fun-fishing days (1 of 13 sailfish we caught in 2 hours!)…good stuff! - I picked this one because it's a big sailfish and you can see another sailfish that's hooked up in the background…and you could see them swimming in the water around the boat…that's the kind of fishing I like. All in all, it was a great vacation.

The last big event of the summer was the Leadership Summit here at Willow Creek Community Church. Willow Creek was recently selected as the most influential church in America (the church report)…and I would argue, quite possibly the world due to the number of leadership conferences it hosts around the world. The only reason for mentioning this is not to boast, but to give you a sense of the unique environment this internship offers as a place to learn and grow and be exposed to such strong leadership. I do not take this opportunity for granted and if it weren't for the financial and prayer support of many of you…this would not be possible! I am fully aware of and humbled by that fact! Thank you!!!

OK, you've probably had enough for now…I am enjoying not having school work for the month of September and look forward to another short visit to NC later this month. A new ministry 'season' is now underway and I'll bring you up to speed on that next month.

june update

2006-06-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

Hey Everybody,
By the time many of you read this, I will be in NC. I making a quick visit home for the weekend (Thursday-Monday) and I’m looking forward to seeing my family and some friends and hopefully making a trip to the beach. The unfortunate thing is that I won’t be able to see everybody I’d like to see. The next time I will be in NC is September…I think. I wanted to write and give everyone a brief update of what’s going on in my life here in Chicago.

I’m fast approaching the one year date since moving to Chicago and the last year has went by fast and I’ve had lots of fun and challenging opportunities and experiencing a lot of personal growth. I will write more reflecting on the last year in my next update and since this is a brief update…here’s what’s going on.

Last time I wrote to you from Bethel Seminary, where I was for intensives, and the spring quarter is winding up this week. I get a two week break before the summer quarter starts up. High schools here are finished for the year and we have ended house groups for the summer (some of you will remember me talking about our house groups/small groups for high school students) and now our focus is on summer serving trips, summer camp, and getting ready for another year of house groups once school starts back in August. Track season has also ended so I’ve gained back 15-20 hours a week of my time that is quickly being consumed by planning and preparing for the Mississippi trip I’m co-leading and summer camp.

Speaking of Mississippi, I leave next Thursday, June 15th for Mississippi and will return June 24th. I’m going down two days ahead of a team of 25 to visit the sites where we will be working and getting a plan together for the work we want to accomplish. My primary responsibility on this trip is project coordination as the majority of the work we will be doing is clean-up (yep, they’re still cleaning up things down there) and reconstruction. We have a team of 19 students and 6 leaders going down for this trip and appreciate your prayers for safe travels, unity, and that we would truly be a blessing to those we serve whose needs are greater than our own right now. I will definitely report on our experience and hopefully send pictures of this trip in my next update.

That’s the snapshot of what’s happening these days. I have been able to relax and get some rest in the midst of the busy-ness. I spent Memorial Day weekend in South Haven, MI, most of the time on the water…it was beautiful (80+ degrees) but the water was only 60 degrees…for those of you who don’t know, that’s quite cold and makes for only brief swims. All that to say I’m able to balance the work with some fun and play.

I truly hope everyone who reads this is doing well and I love to hear what’s going on in your lives as well. It’s been an honor and a privilege to pray for you as you’ve requested and in closing here are a few things I would love you to pray for if you feel prompted:
-safe travel home and a good visit
-all aspects of the Mississippi serving trip (June 15-24)
-financial support raising for the upcoming year (contact me for details if you’re interested)
-1 year down…2 to go!

My biggest ‘praise’ is the completion of my first year here and the growth I’ve experienced and the opportunities I’ve had to lead and the contributions I’ve been able to make as well!

Thank you all for reading and for any support, prayer or financial, you have offered…YOU are making a difference!!!

april update (why i do what i do)

2006-04-28T18:16:00.000-05:00

Greetings from St. Paul, MN

Well, I'm not writing to you "…from the creek" this time, I'm actually writing from Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, MN. I'm up here for the spring 'intensives.' This week (April 24-28) we're studying The Gospels, next week (May 1-5) we're studying "Ministry Leadership Foundations," then its back to Chicagoland.

Occasionally I'll sit and think and try to figure out what in the world I will write each month, or what I think you all might want to hear. Last month a gave you a snapshot of what I actually do, this month I decided to write about 'why I do what I do.' Hopefully this will give you some insight into my own mind and what I was thinking when I made the decision to pursue a master's degree and do this internship thing, and what I think about, among other things, while I'm here.

Why I do what I do

Many people face or struggle with the question(s), 'what am I here for?', 'what is my purpose in life?' or better yet 'do I even have a purpose?', and if so, 'will I ever get a clue?' This is a question people face whether they are people of a faith tradition or not. One of my favorite quotes comes from a book titled Uprising: a revolution of the soul by Erwin McManus, it says:

It no longer matters anymore what anyone else thinks or what others say. It only matters if you live and die fulfilling the mission you were born for.

I can't say I've arrived at a concise statement of my own life purpose, but over the last couple years, and on increasing occasions, I have gotten and am getting glimpses of when, where, and how my unique God-given gifts and talents, interests and passion, and my personal life experiences all align or converge. I feel most comfortable and 'in my element,' so to speak, when I'm one-on-one with a student or leader or with a small group of people listening to their stories, their life, and their heart and helping them see where and how God is active in their life and helping them discover how God has uniquely gifted them and is preparing them for meaningful service (finding their purpose) in the broad realm/reality known as the Kingdom of God (that doesn't necessarily mean serving in a traditional church context, i.e. clergy, for everyone). I love that kind of stuff.

Many of you are familiar with Biblical verses that refer to God having a plan, purpose or will for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) - if you're not familiar with these, I encourage you to read them. A verse I sort of stumbled across but seemed to scream at me came from Proverbs, chapter 20, verse 5, it says:

The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters,
But a man of understanding draws them out.

I want to be a 'man of understanding' who helps people explore the deep waters of their purpose. And I want to surround myself with men/women of understanding who continually challenge me and help me explore the deep waters of my own purpose…and I believe this is a lifelong pursuit.

That's one reason I love working with high school students. They are in a very formative season of life, many are preparing for college where they will continue learning and getting equipped for a career or vocation to which they will devote the rest of their life, and otherwise beginning to consider questions of purpose and life meaning. They are full of life, passion, and energy and there is never a dull moment in the life of high school students. My goal is to believe in them and help them begin to explore and discover how to live in their own unique identity. That, in short, is why and how I work with high school students in ministry and also decided to coach track.

I also don't think we can discover our ultimate purpose and meaning in life apart from God's purpose for the created world, and what he did/demonstrated through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I hope you will be challenged/inspired to consider why you do what you do. How and where do you find purpose and meaning in life? That is, if you think you've found it.

If you’re interested in being a supporter/contributor, or know someone who is, contact me for address information and other details for making contributions…or if you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll explain.

swimming in the deep end,
-jeremiah

march update (typical week)

2006-03-31T18:12:00.000-06:00

Howdy y'all…see, I haven't lost my southern accent yet. Well last month when I wrote, I gave you all a glimpse into the inner journey I'm on. I will continue to share what's happening in my soul as time goes on…but I figured many of you would like to hear some more practical things that I'm doing as a part of this internship/masters program. So I will try to give you broad picture of how I spend my time up here in Chicagoland.

So what exactly is it that I do?
I will walk you through a typical week, but before I do so, it'd probably help to have an idea of my role within the church and stuff. As most of you know, Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN) is nowhere near Willow Creek Community Church (S. Barrington, IL)…so I live in Hoffman Estates (really close to the church…like ½ a mile actually) and take my classes via the internet…however we, the interns, have to go to Bethel twice a year for two-week intensives, so I'll be heading up there in late April. I spend 25-30 hours a week involved in church ministry activities, 10-15 hours a week reading/studying/writing for school, and another 5 or so on personal development. I am considered 'staff' with Student Impact (aka simply 'Impact'), the high school ministry at Willow Creek, my primary responsibilities within impact are leading a "house group," helping develop and write curriculum for house groups, screening and interviewing potential volunteer leaders, and otherwise spending time in the lives of students, as you'll see. So below is what, for many of you, your financial support allows me to do.

OK, a typical week…
Sunday
There are two Impact services on Sunday AM (designed just for HS students) at 9 and 11:15. I show up at 8:30 and mingle and socialize with the students…I don't have responsibilities during these services, but before and after I'm meeting and greeting students and some parents as well; afterwards I have lunch with friends and/or students…the rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing; currently, I'm part of a volleyball league, so I play volleyball ever Sunday afternoon/evening
Monday
I usually spend the morning doing school work, 1-2 hours after lunch preparing for Tuesday's house group (HGs are explained below), and track practice in the afternoon (more on track below), then maybe some reading later in the evening.
Tuesday
I spend 4-6 hours in the office on Tuesdays to do administrative tasks (phone calls, emails, etc.), we have our 'community life' meeting every Tuesday (community life is a team within impact that oversees spiritual formation, house groups, campus groups, parent connect, etc. - as opposed to worship, programming, and operations), then I go to track practice, and then to house group for the night.
Wednesday
Wednesday seems to be the biggest meeting day, every other week I have a 1:1 with Scott, the internship director, for 1.5 hours; every week I have a 1:1 with my ministry supervisor, Todd; then we have our Impact staff meeting where everyone attends; once a month are 'all staff' meetings for the whole church staff; leader development opportunities are usually on Wednesdays; then on Wednesday night is New Community (dinner with friends afterwards…every week), the mid-week service at Willow Creek; oh yeah, I forgot to mention track practice.
Thursday
I show up and one of the local high schools at 7am for their morning campus group where students pray and study the Bible before school starts, this is 100% student led, I'm only their as support; the curriculum team meets for 2 hrs this morning to brainstorm and develop ideas for upcoming HG curriculums, then we delegate parts for each person to write; afterwards I begin writing my part of the curriculum; Impact staff gathers for weekly prayer in the afternoon; track practice; more reading and study for school in the evening.
Friday
My intern small group meets for 2.5 hours every Friday, we laugh together, cry together, play together, and fight together…and yes, we've done all of those…we know each others lives really really well; Friday afternoon is spent finalizing the week's school assignments and submitting them…before or after track practice that is; some Friday nights, me and some friends will head out for dinner or go downtown to hang out.
Saturday
This day is FREE…I do whatever I want…I'll browse book/music stores, sit and drink coffee and read, play guitar, ride my motorcycle, etc.; during track season, there are a few track meets on Saturday which take up most of the day. I'm usually hanging out with friends on Saturday evenings.

So that's my week…here's a little more information on a couple of the things mentioned above:

House Groups
House Groups are where HS students meet for medium/small group time, the HGs are geographically based, so students attend HGs with students they go to school with. HGs are a time for students to go deeper in study and explore in depth topics taught the previous Sunday during the program. There are a total of 10 house groups for all of Impact and I lead one of them. There are students from 2 different high schools that attend my HG, so it's slightly mixed. These nights involve food, hanging out, worship, teaching, and small group time. In addition to leading the HG at large, I also lead a small group of guys. We also hang-out quite a bit outside of HG. HG meets every Tuesday night. Here's a picture of some of the students from my HG at BLAST, our winter retreat…I'm not in it.

Coaching Track
If you're wondering about track practice…I'm helping coach boys track at one of the local high schools. We have practice for 2 hrs. every day of the week with the exception of meet days…so that adds a considerable amount of time to my week. It's a great way to be involved in the lives of students…and I've gotten into better shape as I do some of the workouts with the guys. There are two guys on the team who are also involved with Impact and house groups, so that's kinda cool. I work specifically with sprinters (100m, 200m, and 400m, and relays), hurdlers, and high-jumpers. It's been a lot of fun and a great time investment.

Student Impact
As mentioned above, Impact is the ministry for high school students at Willow. I'm part of a great team of people and they're not just co-workers…we are all good friends and it's some of the people on staff that I actually hang out with the most and have become some of my closest friends. We all love high school students and try to spend the best hours of our day trying to serve them in some way. It has been a lot of fun to be part of this staff team. Here's a picture of the Impact staff during a recent staff retreat (I'm in the middle).

Interns
I can't go without mentioning my fellow interns. There are eight 3-yr. interns (including me) that started with me in June 2005. This is my small group I meet with on Fridays. We all serve in different areas of the church, although there is one other that serves in Impact with me. Here's a pic (includes the internship director and one 2nd-yr. intern).

In closing…
Well, that's a lot so I should wrap things up. A new quarter of school starts Monday (4/3) and I'll be studying The Gospels and Ministry Foundations. Please feel free to forward this email to family or friends who you think would be interested in knowing what's going with me in Chicago…also, if you didn’t receive last month’s update, let me know and I’ll send it to you.
Prayer Requests:
-new quarter of school and upcoming intensives
-financial support raising
-my house group leadership
-my role as a track coach
-upcoming “sex” series in House Groups
Praises:
-great living situation
-another quarter of school under my belt
-connections between ministry and coaching track
-mom and my brother John both got to visit me in the last month and a half!!!

Alright…that's it…I'll write again before I leave for intensives at the end of April

Much love, blessings, and peace!!!
-jeremiah

february update

2006-02-19T18:10:00.000-06:00

To say this communication is overdue would be the understatement of the year, and I don't just mean the 'new' year. As I sit down to assemble some thoughts on paper that are worth your time, I am overcome with a mixture of emotions ranging from elation (that I'm here) to confusion (where in the world do I begin) to peace (sensing God's presence) to guilt (that I haven't written this letter before now). Huh…I just realized as I typed that last sentence how loaded it is with hidden meaning. Eight months ago (yeah, it's been that long) before arriving in the Chicago suburbs and embarking on a spiritual journey like none I could have ever imagined, I may not have even been attentive to such emotions, and if I was aware I probably would not have known how to verbalize them. The 'journey' is real and I have no doubt I'm traveling the right path.

If I were to simply convey my thoughts with clarity and record the steps of my journey over the next two and a half years with accuracy and shared them with you regularly, it might make for semi-interesting reading or, if I'm lucky, it might be somewhat endearing. But if I fail to invite you along the 'journey' as well, I'm afraid my words will have been in vain. I pray that all who read this may be equally comforted and challenged in their pursuit of God and the realization of who they really are in Jesus Christ.

For those who haven't heard me talk about it, the heart of the internship/master's program is the intentionality of the personal spiritual journey, what we often refer to as the 'transformational' journey. Theological education and practical ministry experience are significantly important, but not near as important as the work that takes place in the heart. We are called to identify areas of brokenness, wounded-ness and suffering in our own lives, own them, embrace them, and make them our point of reference for serving others. Whether you’re a pastor/minister or not, we are not to put on as though we have it all together and everything is fine in our lives…if we do, we're living a lie. If I ever expect to be an effective spiritual leader, then I must first travel the course. I've heard it said, "you can't give somebody what you ain't got, no more that you can come back from where you’ve never been," so I can't authentically offer people salvation, hope, healing, redemption and restoration unless I've experienced it and I don't think I can lead people on a journey I haven't been on myself. In the words of an author we've read…"we heal from our wounds."

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."
2 Corinthians 1:3-5

I'm not trying to say I'm in the midst of trouble and suffering, but it is from this posture of vulnerability that I hope to share with you in the coming year not only my "sufferings," but also the "comfort" I have received from God. I pray you'll be encouraged to do the same with those around you.

A final word of gratitude

Many of you have been incredibly generous with your finances, prayer, and encouragement, and I will always be grateful for what you've given me. Part of my gratitude is due to the joy with which many of you have given. The outpouring of love I've felt expressed in various ways has been a tremendous blessing to me and pray that I can extend a mutual blessing to you in return.