The Hands and Feet of Jesus

On February 28th, a group of yam members went over to Camden to help out with a ministry there. They passed out clothes and food to those in need, and were able to talk with some of the people there. Deb wrote a bit about it in her monthly newsletter, and this is an excerpt from that:

"This weekend I was able to deliver the quilts (from Quilts of Love) to Brenda and had the opportunity to meet two of the prostitutes she is working hard to get off the streets. As I sat talking with them, my spirit ached for them. They were both coming down off crack and were in desperate need of a long sleep and hot shower. The described the place where they live: a drug house that just got hit by some 'stick-em-up boys' (thugs that hold up drug houses to steal all the cash). One of the girls had been raped the night before, and the other hasn't seen her 4-year-old twin boys in over 2 years. Both had been disowned by their respective families.

"After they ate breakfast, one of them said to me, 'Why would you come down here and do this for us?' I told her that it was only by God's grace I wasn't in her shoes and that I wanted her to know how much He loves her. That she matters to Him. She let me paint her fingernails and pray for her."As we were leaving, I stood on the curb with them as Brenda had to physically hold one of the girls upright. I began to wonder if Jesus did that for Mary Magdalene. I am so thankful to serve a Master who made friends with prostitutes and touched lepers. The religious elite were not for Him....He had very little time for their rubbish. But the sinners...that's where His heart was! What a joy to know we have a God who doesn't just love the pretty ones!

"In my version of the story, when all those little children came running toward Jesus, He spotted the most un-cute of them all and hugged that one first. So if you get the chance, find a way to put your faith into action. Remember, you don't have to go to Africa to find yourself a leper to love!"

Pass the gluestick

Last night was the third Girls Night Out. Our assignment: make encouragement cards for the Ladies Retreat. We didn't need to write out encouragements, but rather make cards that the ladies would use to encourage each other.

Our tools: fancy shmancy scissors, stamps, paper, and glue.

Doesn't sound too complicated. And really, it wasn't, although the first card a little rough. I learned a quick lesson. Stamp last. Otherwise, in the gluing process one can end up with an awful lot of ink on one's hand. I also discovered that I love the combination of blue and white. Simple, yet sophisticated. Most of the cards I made consisted of those colors. And it was so fun to see each person's individual style. Such creative people!

It was a really great time to get together, fellowship, and help out a fellow ministry in the church. Between the 6 or 7 of us, we made 170 cards. Other people are making more cards, but I thought that was a great amount for the number of people and hours involved.

If you are of the female persuasion and a young adult, please come to our next Girls Night Out. It is a fantastic time! The next one is March 11 (Wednesday, not Thursday). We would love to see you there!

~Jen

PHANTOM'S GAME!!

Tonight is the last night to sign up for the Phantom's game!

Monday, February 16 (President's Day)

If you want to carpool, meet at the church at 4pm.

$25 - includes a meal option

Watching the tube....

The last couple weeks have been reasonably quiet as far as yam events go. The LOST premiere party was on Jan 21st, and man! It was crazy! I really don't know what I would do if every few minutes I jumped in time - backwards or forwards. I'm thinking I would rather go backwards, because at least that way you know what's coming.

Anyway, January ended and February came in (and although it's snowing now, the first two days of the month were rather spring-like). We watched Groundhog Day at Lee's last night. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen it all the way through. When I was younger, I would watch movies on tv on Sunday afternoons. Unfortunately, I would either miss the beginning and only see the end, or watch the beginning and miss the end because of Awana (I've watched the middle of Dances with Wolves innumerable times). All that's to say, Groundhog Day was one of those movies. It was nice to see the whole thing through, and without any commercials!

Sunday (Feb 8th) is our next Sunday Lunch. Remember: 12:30-2:30 in the Common Grounds!

~Jen

Who woulda thunk...

The Girls Night out was a ton of fun on the 15th. Thirteen of us worked together to cut about 200 squares for making quilts for My Father's Hands ministry in Camden. Being raised in between two boys and prone to tomboyish behavior, quilting was not really up my alley.

But it was really fun! Of course, there wasn't any sewing involved, which is probably a good thing considering my sewing skills (or lack thereof). And the rotary cutters are sweet! It's like a glorified pizza cutter, only waaaaaaaay sharper. Perhaps lethally sharp. Fortunately, no one was injured, and I was only concerned for the safety of a few girls a couple times throughout the evening. Usually the risk was due to high levels of laughter and thus a slight loss of control over one's appendages.

It was nice to be able to get together with friends (and meet some new people to) and serve in such a tangible way. Looking at the example of Christ, we see that he didn't just go into ministry and meet people's spiritual needs. He also met their physical needs (feeding the 5000, healing people). Quilts will meet a physical need and open the door for addressing the spiritual. I'm very excited to see how God uses this for His kingdom and thankful for how He has already used it to teach us.


~Jen

Oh, and the apples and caramel dip were delightful.

Rest in Peace, Mexicana Rose...

On Friday, Deb, Mike and I went to lunch after running some errands. We drove by this little Mexican restaurant. Having previously gone to said restaurant, I blurted out (in a very excited manner), "They have all-you-can-eat tacos on Mondays!" Which got us thinking, wouldn't it be great to go there for YAM? Because seriously, young adults tend to like things like all-you-can-eat Mexican food.

Then I went on a retreat.

I returned and watched the end of the Eagles game at a friends house (yay Eagles!), and lo and behold, Deb was there! And she had made some fabulous little flyers about our forthcoming taco adventures. I asked her a simple question, "Did anyone check to see if they do in fact serve all-you-can-eat tacos on Mondays still?" No. No one had. The nasty monster we call doubt barged into the room.

Hmm...investigation into the taco situation would be necessary. And then the Eagles won, Rock Band ensued, and the potential taco predicament was nearly forgotten.

There was no further investigation until the following afternoon. I was in the area, so I drove by the place. Few signs are dreaded more than the one I saw in the restaurant window. "Space Available."

No. It couldn't be. We drove by it on Friday. This was MONDAY! How, how could this happen?!?

Unlit cactus and sombrero lights still hung from the overhang and posts. Salt and pepper shakers could still be seen waiting patiently for the next customer.

But the next customer would never come. The Mexicana Rose Cantina was no more.

Well, this called for a backup plan. We didn't know who all was planning on attending the dinner, so there was little choice but to meet up there and then head somewhere else. Not too bad of a plan, except it was like 2 degrees outside (at least it felt like that. I think the actual temperature was 26 degrees warmer). We waited and waited. Three people came and went ahead to plan B- the wings place down the street. A few more minutes pasted.

Deb's phone rang.

The wings place - closed. I haven't done any further investigation into that situation, but I sincerely hope it was just closed for the night (although it was only 6:15ish), because I really like that place.

Plan C - The Rustic Grill.

We piled into the car and headed across the street. As we passed the front of the Grill, I breathed a sigh of relief. The sign was lit up. The lights were on inside. And people were there! Now, we did realize the possibility of people only being there because it was the only thing open in the area. But finally, a place to eat (we were all very hungry by this time).

I tried their Smoked Capri Panini. It was deeee-lish.

And it ended up being about the same price as the all-you-can-eat tacos that we didn't get to have.

Moral of the Story? If you are going to plan a spontaneous eating-out experience, try to do it when it is warm, because waiting in the cold in front of a closed restaurant isn't as much fun as you might think. And you look kind of shady just standing there, waiting.

~Jen

"Check out my triple salchow!"

Anyone who knows anything about ice skating would know that my "triple salchow" was no where near the real thing. And to include that quote, I had to look up how to spell it, and found out what it actually was by doing so. My "salchow" was missing the jump, triple spin, and anything else that would make it resemble what the pros do. But I had a blast skating on New Years Day. We went to the River Rink in Philly at Penns landing. Was it cold? Yes. What is worth it? Definitely.

About 24ish people went, which was a great turn-out. Thanks to everyone who came! And I'm almost positive that no one was seriously injured. There were, however, a few bruised knees. I guess they have that "no playing tag" rule for a reason....

It was awesome to see some new faces there and to spend time with people that are home for break! We also have Sunday lunch this weekend, so join us in the Common Grounds Cafe after the 11 o'clock service. Yay lasagna time!

~Jen

The Triple Salchow: