So, this past Sunday I got to have a very familiar activity.  About 1/3 of the way through the service there was something called a "Child Dedication."  At this dedication a pastor came up as well as 10 infants and their parents.  The pastor then went to each child individually and essentially made a promise to the child to be raised in Christian fellowship and family.  He would then ask the parents questions similar to that of a baptism in our church, and then one question to the congregation.  It all seemed ominously familiar, but under a different name.  The difference here is that the child is merely looked at as a hopeful Christian down the road.  The child can not be a member of the church until that time.  It then confused me how this child can be raised to feel like part of the Christian body if he is seen as a non-member?  Then later in the service John Piper was actually present and gave an excellent sermon on John 1:1-3.  While that part was very exciting and encouraging, I could not get out of my head this idea of a "Child Dedication."

Hello everyone, I am just putting an update up so that you guys can hear from me. The latest happenings up here would really just be change in weather. While today is nice, most days have not got into the 70's and it has been raining a lot. As far as church, Piper started a series on the book of John this past week. He admitted to having done topical sermons for the past several months. I am excited that he is back to expositional preaching, and last week's sermon was very good. School is going very well, and I am staying busy with activities and homework. The RUF is getting started up very quickly and we meet tonight for the second time. Last week there were three of us, but we are becoming an official campus ministry. We need 5 signatures and 5 officers (they can be the same 5) in order to be recognized on campus, allowing us to advertise. I will probably be an officer, because I am an over-achiever. I will try to keep updating this blog more often than I have been. But, I often get distracted by other things in my room. My attention span has been shortened quite a bit by college. I am missing Kansas very much, but I make my first trip home on the 26th to be at home on the 27th for thanksgiving and I can hardly wait. I look forward to seeing everyone while I am there, and have a few stories worth telling, I just need to remember them.

I finally found the cord, actually while in class today. It was in my backpack and it fell out while I was getting my calculator. Yes, I had to use my calculator in my very first class. Anyway, I am now having issues uploading directly, so I will have them on flickr. Just for an update, I went to John Piper's church on Sunday. The PCA is not quite ready yet. Piper was, once again, not there, but his recording was not as aggressive this time around. The freshman orientation was a very busy week and I was forced to meet a lot of people, which I am thankful for. I am getting along well with the people I am meeting, but not many people get my sense of humor. I realized yesterday while playing scategories that no one can tell if I am being sarcastic. It should be a fun year, and I am anxious for the rest of my classes this week. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30119326@N03/sets/72157607074937079/ Thats the site of the pictures, but my computer does not want to hyperlink.

Today I moved into my dorm room. My room mate is very nice, and our room is set up well. I have pictures, but everything is still a jumble and I can not find the cable connecting my camera to my computer. So, they will have to go up later. Today was something called convocation which was a very interesting experience. 6000 other freshmen and I were led to the hockey arena (its pretty huge up here) and then had to find a group leader who had a similar number as our nametags. My number was 71. I was following the tide of students around the arena looking for 71 and then I found it. Down literally on the rink right up front. I weaved my way down, and upon arriving was directed to the second row front and center. The only people who were in front of me were in reserved seats. They know how important I am and picked me to be the front of the 6000. Then the ceremony started and we learned about traditions (nothing compared to A&M) and all those great things. After they provided us with supper we were entertained by various clubs such as Juggling, A cappella groups, and Frat Stompers. I was close enough to get a wicked headache. So far I am loving the college experience, all 8 hours of it or so, and am looking forward to a great year. I will keep you guys updated on welcome week here.

I now have a room mate for the school year named Evan. I know he is from Minnesota about 40 minutes out of Minneapolis. I am excited to learn more about him as my knowledge is obviously still limited. I have also received a parking spot from the lottery, and that is excellent news because without that it would be difficult to have a car up at campus. I move in on August 27th and will possibly put up some pictures of my room, unless of course it is dirty within the first few days - and I really hope it isn't.

On July 31st I will be officially assigned a roomate for my dorm. Needless to say, I am nervous not knowing very many people. I have been praying to have a compatible roomate, but I know that whatever God may throw my way I am capable of handling. I will update again once I get back from Juarez about who he is, and what I know about him.

That is the EE building And that is the Gopher shaped Union Here is the IT mall And here we have me standing on top of the bookstore. It's underground.

This past weekend I went through orientation up at the University of Minnesota. While the majority of my time was consumed with information sessions I did find time to meet people. Part of my time was with a group of 21 electrical engineers (only 2 of which were girls). All day we were stared at and then asked "Wow, all guys?" To which I replied, "IT," and that was enough. Then we got time to do anything we wanted. This is when I went out to find more people. I ended up finding some friends with which I could have fun (not using a calculator). There are now many faces I have with people. I do not yet know what will become of these 48-hour relationships, but it is reassuring to know some people. I am now more excited than ever for the fast approaching reality of college. I will attend a freshman orientation from August 27 - September 1 where I will learn my way around and, once again, meet some people in the same boat as me. Following that experience was my class registration. My advisor was advising 25 other students as well as me. When I got my tentative schedule I was signed up for Calc 2. The only advice I received from my mom was to be in Calc 1. So I went to change classes and the lady who changes classes didn't think I should change out of Calc 2. So she sent me to the "Math Guru" who then after 45 minutes of waiting told me Calc 1 was a much better idea. With this newfound knowledge I went back to the original lady who now had a rather lengthy line, and waited to have it changed again. I ended up in Calc 1, and 2 hours behind everyone else. I am glad I got to have this experience because it really built my self-confidence. With the remainder of my time in Minneapolis I met with Chad, the founding RUF leader on campus. The program is set to start this fall, and he is very excited to get going. Sunday morning we planned to go to John Piper's Church in Minneapolis. We arrived knowing that John Piper was not going to be present and at a sister church this week. The service was primarily music oriented. Then when it came time for the sermon, Piper's recording from the previous night was played. The subject was church membership and he made some very strong and biblically sound points about the importance and need for church membership. However, the way the sermon started was a discussion on an ongoing issue with the body accepting new members. It has been long debated whether believers who have been infant baptized should be accepted. Needless to say, we were all fidgeting in our seats. It was an interesting subject and good to know that such subjects are taken so seriously. Once I go up I will be deciding between Piper's church and a PCA plant that will go up with the RUF plant. I have a lot heading my way, and I feel like my upbringing has given me the right stuff to go out into the world and make an impact for Christ. No matter what I decide to do, whether its deciding between classes, churches, friends or some other part of my life, I am confident that Christ will aid me.