Cleaning Day!

Unbelievable

There are only a certain number of days in your life that you will never forget.  Some of those days are for the best possible reasons and some are for the worst.  I am not going to dwell on the circumstances of this past weekend as most of you who are reading this blog know them all too well.  I want to reflect on some of the good that I saw admist the evilness.

Sunday Morning my family and I arrived at Church right at 11am.  It was the first time for my kids to be back in Willmar and they were super excited.  One of Alise's good friends was standing on the steps and Alise ran right to her.  Luke bolted out of the car and just sprinted into familiar territory.  I was afraid that he might be sprinting right down the center aisle of Church but figured it would make for some good memories.

It was strange to be there and to not be on staff.  We sat in the very back and looked at things in a much different light then ever before as we were now "visitors" so to speak.  What my family and I witnessed that morning was a beautiful thing.  Pastor Dan appropiately had changed the plan for the services as he dealt with the sudden tragedies and grief head on.  What I saw was a Church living out Romans 12:15 when Paul tells us to mourn with those who mourn.  It was evident on Sunday that the Church's heart was aching with those of its body who were hurting, it was a beautiful thing to see.

It wasn't just Sunday morning either.  The whole week I saw the true love that the people of FCC held for each other.  My family and I were welcomed back warmly by the pastoral staff new and old.  I enjoyed working together with Rocky as he takes the baton and continues the race as he nows leads the youth ministry of FCC.  My family is so blessed to have so many great friends and that was very evident this weekend.  It was wonderful to see everyone and we were so humbled and grateful for the welcoming back that we received.  Cliche as it sounds it blew us away.

All in all there was just a lot of love in the air in Willmar this last week.  It is beautiful to see people allowing God to transform their lives.  People who give control of their lives to God to be used as ministers of his grace and this is what we witnessed.  It was harder than ever to leave, knowing that the people you love and care for are dealing with so much grief.  I can relate to many of our college students who struggle to deal with tragedies such as these as they live in a place where no one really can understand.  However I am comforted knowing that our friends back home who are dealing with so much pain are surrounded by so much love.  Thank you for showing us what a true community of Christ followers looks like.  May we all continue to love and pray for those around us who are hurting.

 

United States of America

I am continually amazed by the number of immigrants that I meet here in Chicago.  The night before the election I was walking to my house, and I passed three adult guys who were definitiely not Swedish.  My best guess is that they were from the middle east or southern Europe.  As I past them, I was surprised to hear them conversing with each other in heavily accented English.  I only heard one sentence as I passed by, but I felt it was an interesting one. The older man said, "This is the only country where you can say what you think."  

In my short time in Chicago I am getting a better glimpse of the uniqueness of our country. From talking to a few immigrants and using my own imagination, I am getting a clearer picture of how hard it must be to leave everything that is so familiar and attempt to take up residence in a distance land.  These brothers and sisters must only do this out of pure necessity for I have to consider what it would take for me to leave the USA and my extended family to live in Bulgaria (to pick a random country).  The USA is still the land of opportunity and freedom which is simply not found in so many other countries in our world today.

This was proved true again last night.  No matter the politics, I am proud that our country has been able to move from slavery to having an African-American as President.  Yes, some might say that it took a long time (and we still have work to do in areas of race relations), but if you take into consideration human depravity, history in the end might look back on this day as happening quite quickly.  Regardless, I am happy that this barrier has been broken and am excited to see what positive effects this might have on the African American community.  May God Bless America!   

Pumpkin Video!

Hi Everyone!

I couldn't get the video to load on the site so here is a link to it. It is about six and half minutes long, but I think you will find it enjoyable.

We intentionally picked the music - extra bonus points for anyone who can name the first number.  Everyone likes extra bonus points!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8O58agv72I

Have a great Day!

Happy Fall to you All!

From pumpkin carving to accumulating lots of candy, our kids have had great fun. They went to Milwaukee over the weekend and got so much candy and it's not even October 31! Here are a few pictures to share.

 

The kids emptied out their buckets and wow, Aunt Sarah, you really know how to get the candy.

Coke & Sin

Emily loves Coke and I do too.   For the most part Emily puts up a fight when it comes to household chores except for one specific chore that she will always do willingly and with much excitement.  The chore is pouring her dad a Coke when asked.  Of course there is something in it for Emi as she collects her "payment" by swallowing at least two ounces of my beloved beverage, but this agreement has worked quite nicely for us for a while now as it allows me to remain seated on the couch.  Emily's other habit is not looked upon so fondly though.  If I look the other way or leave the room for a moment, she preys upon my vulnerable glass of Coke like a lion does a vulnerable zebra.  She evens gets so desparate for the delectable concoction that she will at times just take the glass out of my hand and help herself!  Lets just say we have had some stern conversations about these manuevers.

Last night Anita and I were cooking supper which consisted of hamburgers and chicken.  On the stove was a glistening red can of Coke.  I'm sure Emily was secretly eyeing it for a while. Suddenly the moment of opportunity arrived as I went to the sink and Anita opened the frig. Like a lion pouncing on her prey, Emily darted in and grabbed the Coke anticipating the satisfying taste of the forbidden fruit.  Unfortunately for Emily in her haste to commit the crime, she ignored all of the warning signs.  Why was the can sitting on the stove?  Why was the can rather warm?  Why was the top of the can all dirty?  Maybe it was because there was not Coke in the can after all but about 4 ounces of grease!  Oh yes, we did laugh heartily as she scurried to the sink to spit out her "Coke" and hurriedly drank about 20 ounces of water!  

Thankfully the grease was no longer boiling hot and hopefully Emily learned a valuable lesson the easy way.  In this everyday occurrence can you see some similarities to the Adam and Eve story?  You see, ultimately I am for Emily.  I want the best for her, as God wants for us.  And so a sin against God is ultimately a sin against ourselves as Emily found out in trying to "steal" my Coke.  Adam and Eve's downfall in Genesis 3 really came down to a lack of faith - a sin against God that ultimately hurt themselves.  They did not believing that they had real freedom.  Some people, like Adam and Eve, might think that real freedom is being able to choose between good and evil.  Maybe real freedom is only found when one can only desire the good?  Adam and Eve certainly appeared more "free" before the fruit. 

Escalators and Germaphobes

We encounter more escalators in Chicago.  The new adventure for five out of the six Ostercamp's is to see if they can get on and then off the escalator without ever touching the railings. At first I thought this was a test of their coordination and over-all physical abilities.  I was all for this training as it was at least one redeeming thing to do while immersed in the otherwise unredeemable activity of shopping.  

However, after inquiring about the activity, I found out that the source of it came from our friend, Janell, and did not have anything to do with athletic training at all. No, I guess Janell is a germaphobe (one concerned with germs) and convinced my kids and my wife that the rails where filled with germs and that one should risk falling and breaking an arm, neck, or worse yet getting sucked into the undergirth of the escalator beast in order not to contact a few measly germs.  

To prove the irrational thinking behind this, my common practice is to now firmly plant both hands on the escalator rails, ride it safely, and then lick my hands. Yeah, I know it might seem a little gross, but I strongly believe it is the responsibility of a Father to make sure their kids understand the truth.  So if you hear any reports of any escalator related injuries involving Ostercamp's, you will know why and I should be exonerated of any fault!

Changing the subject, but I would appreciate your prayers.  All of the sudden on Monday I came down with a horrendous cold. It is taking all of my energy, and I really want to be out and about with the rest of the family. Praying it won't last too long!

Blessings,

Dave

PS.  Anita thought that I should not joke about prayer.  My disclaimer is to state that while the story is true, it is intended to be humorous.  I always covet your prayers.  Just reading this story should show you how much I need them! It is okay with me if you pray for wisdom rather than health.  :)