Planning, blah, blah, blah

I started to write a post last week but soon realized it was not necessarily the most interesting or exciting. It kind of went something like this:

Planning, planning, blah, blah, blah, planning, blah, blah, blah...

I am still in the planning process, but I wanted to update everyone with whats been going on here in Pittsburgh. It has been a strange time of ups an downs. While my life has remained rather steady in the past few weeks, family, friends, and some of our Urban Impact kids' lives have been rocked. Rocked by great things like my little niece and the sudden barrage of lots of little nephews (all of which I am trying to instill a love of Star Wars), but also rocked by many unexpected health problems and deaths. All the while I have been an onlooker, while crying at times, but really spending a lot of time listening and mulling over what's happening. Although this is a time where I have seen the fragility of life I have even more overwhelmingly seen the strength of God in those who know and trust in him...

In this spot I tried to write something really "deep", but it sounded really cheesy. So this is the bottom line: knowing that I will see someone again in heaven, after death, comforts me. Yes, I still grieve and probably cry more than most other men, but I know what God has promised to be true. This is why I am here.

God's promises make all the planning blah, blah worth it.

Prayer Request:

• Summer Programs: Tuesday Nights and Young Men's Bible study!
• Summer Concert at my College Church
• My Grandma
• North Side Neighborhood Renewal Project (The Urban Impact Drama Team will be Performing Thursday Night)

Thank you,

eric

"I'm just a chicken with a bow tie" --- Ben Doohan

The past couple weeks have marked the end of the winter/spring Urban Impact Programs. This includes Global Impact, Play Ball for Kids Luncheon, Performing Arts Academy Parents' Night, the Urban Impact Choir singing at Christ Church at Grove Farm, and the Urban Impact Arts Gala. Usually these events are spaced out over a month but this year four of the five landed in the same week! So it has been quite the happening place here at Urban Impact. My part in these events have varied from directing theatre students, making graphics for tee shirts, to dressing up in a chicken costume and dancing for youth groups arriving at Global Impact. Yep, nothing says being a missionary like being tackled by a bunch a kids because they thinks that's the correct way to greet a giant yellow chicken. As interesting as sweating profusely inside a wrap of yellow fur and latex is, most of you are probably wondering how the PAA Parents' Night went.


PAA Story of the Week
If you have been following the North Side Stage you have probably noticed that Parents' Night has been one of the top prayer requests. Every Thursday night and many Tuesday evenings North Side students came and fine tuned their creative and artistic gifts. This all came to a beautiful conclusion last Thursday night at the Parents' Night. The children displayed artwork , performed to a very enthusiastic audience, and made all their teachers and parents very proud.

By far the coolest moment of the night was when the high school students performed the Lifehouse "Everything" drama (it is a popular gospel drama that can be found on youtube). During the drama the audience was yelling at the stage, cheering, and some even crying. It was like a rock concert (minus the fog machine). The kids did a really great job even our little elementary drama queen held it together only taking five extra bows leaving the stage. All in all thank you to everyone who was praying for the event God was very gracious and hopefully very happy with the event.

Prayer Requests:

• Planning for Summer Programs (Urban Impact Singers and Tuesday Nights)
  
• Summer Small Group Bible Study
  
• My Grandma
  
• Macy's commercial audition
  
• Support Raising (The business of the past weeks have put me a little behind)
  
  God certainly hears your prayers! Parents' Night is a testament to that.
  
  thank you