Book recommendation - Christians at the Border, by M. Daniel Carroll R.

It's here! (I've been waiting for this one.)

Dr. Danny Carroll, Professor of Old Testament here at Denver Seminary, has written a book designed to help Christians think through every side of the immigration issue - Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible. His study begins with an historical examination of immigration in the United States, an important place to start. He then works through the Bible, exploring those passages that have something to teach citizens and immigrants. He does not make any political policy recommendations at the book's end, rather sticking to his area of expertise (biblical and cultural studies) and trusting that his exposition of the Scriptures and the situation at hand can help to lead discerning readers to see more clearly the elements involved in policy considerations. He does not shy, however, from making recommendations for the churches in our country.

My educational experience has been enriched by Dr. Carroll; even more significantly, my church experience is being deeply enriched through the presence of Hispanic immigrants in our church. Meggan and I are subsequently hoping to explore ministry to Latin American and North African immigrants in Spain this summer. Spiritually, I am an "alien" in this world(1 Peter 1:1); as part of the family of God, my family has been in exile, so I consider it a part of my calling to welcome those who are away from their homeland for whatever reason. I pray that the church will step up to fill that role more and more in our country.

Belated Visit of the Tooth Fairy

Well, it's time.  This little baby tooth has lasted 25 years, and I have it on good authority (the lovely Jill Wiggins, my own personal dental hygienist on call) that that's a pretty good life...for a tooth.

So, this Friday, I'm going under the knife...um...drill (eww!) to have it taken out and what is called an implant...well, implanted.  Luckily you can't see it very well, because I'll have to have an empty space there for about 3 months until the implant has fused with the bone in my jaw.  Who's thankful for anesthesia?

You'd better believe I'll be milking this for all it's worth.  I mean, I need all the calcium I can get!  Ha!  That's one for Dr. Blomberg, resident king of puns.

I'm pretty sure that Ben is getting me a dog.  I think he staged the re-signing of our lease which forbids pets.  So, any day now, I'll come home to find the apartment all packed up.  Isn't Ben great?  The only question that remains:

Whippet, Springer Spaniel, Corgi, or mystery doggie?

What if...?

Here's an idea that I've been tossing around in my head for a day or two. At the moment I won't bother listing pros & cons; I'll just throw it out there for your consideration.

What if a church decided to move its small group ministries to Sunday mornings and its larger worship gathering to a weeknight?

More awkward moments to come...

I'm a little sad that my first contribution to our blog has to be the revealing of a language faux pas. But, when you study another language there are certainly going to be moments of awkwardness along the way. Today, our friend Eduardo was discussing the name WorldVenture, the mission agency with whom we'll go to Spain this summer. In Spain, WorldVenture is called World Initiative (or something similar) because venture/adventure isn't used as commonly there because of connotations it often carries... which are often sexual. My first thought: oh crap. That's the name of our blog. Good grief.

Well...let the awkward moments roll, because we're diving in anyways.

That said, we'll still change the name of our blog :)

Photo nostalgia

Our neighbors Drew and Natalie have a blog, too, and last night Drew informed me that we are grossly negligent in our posting habits. (Is this how it's gonna be? Do you have to write a post every couple days just to keep people on their toes? Oi ve.)

This picture is from Meggan's birthday dinner three years ago. We were here in Colorado over spring break, spending time with my aunt Dedi up in Hahn's Peak and visiting the seminary. It was our first time eating at the Elephant Bar (on Arapahoe west of I-25), which is still one of our favorite restaurants in the area. Try the lettuce wraps... mmm... good memories...

¡Vamos a España! (Our financial support letter for the summer)

Dear friends,

Many of you we have known for most of our lives; others are new to our lives within the past few months. Some have been praying for our ministry involvement since the beginning of our marriage and have witnessed the tremendous growth God has wrought along the way. From Madison to East Asia to Denver, it continues to be an exciting journey!

We have come to the onset of a new stage. We believe God might be calling us to a future in Spain. Once a country alive with true spirituality, the homeland of such saints as Ignacio de Loyola and Bartolomé de las Casas, Spain is becoming an increasingly post-Christian society. The self-identification of “Catholic” is for most Spaniards no more than a cultural designation of the religion of their ancestors, especially for the younger generations. In addition, immigration from North Africa and Latin America provides the small but strong body of believers in Spain with new challenges for multinational outreach and integration.

This summer we have an opportunity to explore a wide variety of ministry opportunities in Spain. We hope to spend the months of June and July partnering primarily with two different organizations. WorldVenture is a missionary sending agency based right here in our own Littleton, Colorado. They have a number of families making a difference throughout Spain in a wide variety of settings – church planting, leadership development, immigrant services, and more.

The second organization we will be working with is Aslan Performing Arts Centre. Run by an actor and a dancer, Aslan puts on dramatic productions intended to spark spiritual thinking and conversations among their audiences. They also provide classes, camps, and workshops in dance and theater as a medium for building evangelistic relationships with community members while enriching their artistic lives.

We have put a great deal of energy into planning this time, and much of it is coming into focus. We desire to spend one week in Málaga, a city in southern Spain, observing and partnering with a WorldVenture cultural resource center for immigrants. Another week will be spent working at a children’s camp run by our ministry hosts’ home church in Madrid. Then we will help facilitate Aslan’s summer arts camps for three weeks. We also plan to meet with representatives from other ministry teams.

Our heart is that this summer will serve to a number of ends: (a) we want to begin the journey of getting to know Spain, (b) we want to serve alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in a meaningful way, and (c) perhaps most importantly, we hope to discern what particular ministries the Lord is leading us to for long-term service. Our belief is that we will go back to Spain to work in ministry after we graduate from seminary.

This is no small undertaking, and we need your help. First, we need your prayers. Please pray for the country of Spain. Ask the Lord to be at work in people’s lives. Pray for the two of us – we need it! This will be an emotional time for us, knowing that our experiences over the summer will have a significant shaping influence on our future. Pray for our spiritual, emotional, and rational well-being.

Second, we need your finances. Our budget for the summer is $7,000. This includes flight expenses, other travel costs, accommodations, food, ministry supplies, costs to our hosts, and administrative costs. A gift of $120 would, in effect, sponsor one day of our trip. Your gift would be a long-term investment in what God is doing in Spain, and it would be an investment in the two of us. For this, we would be greatly honored.

If you feel called to partner with us financially, you may send checks payable to:
WorldVenture
1501 W. Mineral Ave.
Littleton, CO 80120-5612
Please write our name and account number – “Knox / 6154-817” – on an attached note, not on the check memo line. You can also donate online; follow this link to WorldVenture's online donation site, find our name under "Missionary," and follow further instructions.

If we don’t hear from you by your response, a phone call, or an email within two weeks, we will try to get in touch over the phone (if we have your number… ☺). Thank you again for your continued support.

Lots of love,
Ben & Meggan