Dear Middle School Parent: Since the new year is about starting over, we would like to take a moment and tell you about our fresh start. "Ablaze" is a ministry of highschool teens that love to shine our light and are 'hot on fire' for the Lord. We currently lead Wednesday night worship for the teens, introduce new songs, and lead bible studies on retreats. Now we would like to be apart of your teen's and many other Middle Schooler's Christian walk. Beginning this month, the "Ablaze" Crew would like to restart the Middle School Bible Studies that previously took place last year. We would love to sing, worship, and learn about the Good Book by teaching and leading worship every third Sunday night. We will provide activities, construct lessons, and plan the arrangement for housing and transportation...But WE NEED YOUR HELP! On January 21st, February 18th, March 18th, and April 15th from 7:15 to 8:45, we would like to congragate all Middle Schoolers under one roof for encouragement and revitalization. This is a great opportunity to open your home to your brothers and sisters. If you are able to open your doors on one of these dates, that is wonderful and please let me know as soon as possible. If you are not able to open your home, that is okay, we could use you, too! The requirement for any youth event is one adult for every eight kids. This means if there are thirty-two kids, we need at least four adults... six for security. Also, we will need to provide food. If the host and hostess could provide the drinks and serveware, the other couples could be responsible for picking up pizza, hotwings, subs, chips, etc. and then everyone splits the price. Or if your home is not available and you are eligible to drive one of the church buses, you could provide transportation after church from 7:15-7:30 (teens will be picked up at the host and hostess's house). If you are able to open your home, supervise and provide food, or provide transportation, please contact me as soon as possible or by January 10th...or I will be contacting you. If you are not able to sign up for any volunteering, please be praying for our ministry. Thanks for your support, Jessica Parker AA, Ablaze Administrator Home:(615)824-3894 Cell:(615)604-5063 walking4him247@att.net

My Crisis and Christianity Tears came running down my face for the third time in a twenty-four hour period. "When I don't feel good, I know it sounds weird, but I cut myself--not physically, but mentally," I told the local family counselor for the first time. "And, by the way, the best way to die is jumping out of an airplane." "Why's that?" he asked. "Because you get to freefall for what seems like forever and then not feel anymore pain after the first stop." It was the beginning of my new journey through life. For several years I had been debating about confronting my depression by seeing a counselor. My feelings were always hard to express in words, but whenever I tried, I only shared them with my faithful journal. At the beginning of the year I had written, "Pues, I have concluded that sometime in the near future I shall see a phycologist; maybe sheppard or the like. My depression hath surrounded me for so long, I am getting chaffed." Even then I had realized the need for my church’s family counselor, but procrastination dominated my wants and my needs. Finally on June 7th, 2006, during our church’s youth camp, my actions caught up with my feelings. Focusing on God, my non-Christian friends, and my depression for twenty-four hours a day led to strenuous thoughts and feelings of doubt. After three days of this, I mentally and emotionally exploded. On Wednesday afternoon, I presented my case of grief to the church’s family counselor. "If you want this to get better, I can recommend psychologists that deal with teenage depression. You can participate in talk therapy at Agape, the Babbs Center, or other associations in the Nashville area,” he suggested. “Why can’t you do it?” “Thank you for the compliment, but our families’ places in the church are held too high to be risking a friendship.” “Okay, now what?” “I need your permission to tell your parents what we have discussed.” “Umm, okay...sure.” “Now, right now do you have any suicidal thoughts? Do you want to hurt or harm yourself?” “No.” “Good. Now may I pray before we depart?” After being raised by a pulpit minister and a preschool teacher, I have learned that being held on a totem pole has its advantages, but also its downfalls. One of the disadvantages is being looked upon as a perfect example. As scripture says, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." (Holy Bible, James 3:1) Knowing that the counselor, my family’s friend, also knew the pressure of being a minister, I looked for joy by seeing another psychologist. Life as a PK (preacher’s kid) was anything but easy, but without it, I probably would be dead. As a child, the first thing I would hear early in the mornings would be dad belting out at the top of his lungs, “Rise and shine, and give God the glory, glory!” Stepping out of the car for school, I received a routine questionnaire. “What’s the most important thing?” Then I would promptly reply, “To be like Jesus.” Day by day I absorbed the sermons about “Happiness is a choice” and “you never know who is watching.” Even though I quickly rejected them as a child, in the past months I used them frequently while dealing with anxiety. Without this change of mindset, my chronic depression would have ended with suicide, instead of changed into joy. Fortunately because Christianity was nailed into me as a child, I matured seeking Heaven no matter how lonely I became. On one occasion in the middle of July, I had arrived at the church building after a long day working as a day camp councilor for the church’s elementary kids. All of the day camp councilors had ridden from camp back to the church building together. While traveling, we played our traditional game of Would You Rather. This explicit game compares two people in a sexual scene. Then the players choose one of the two people they would rather see in the given situation. After getting in my car to travel to my vacant house, I realized my car was rushing toward the heavily trafficked street. I caught myself holding down the gas pedal and immediately slammed on the brakes. I sat trembling, breathing heavily, panicking, and wondering what to do. Once again thoughts rushed into my mind of loneliness, guilt, and suicide. "I could have stopped them playing that sinful game," I thought. The Bible does say, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Not should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” (Ephesians 5:3- 4) Would You Rather had triggered my depression for no apparent reason and had turned my scenario into “would I rather live with this feeling of hopelessness, or die and end the pain.” Yet, there was another option. I turned the car around rapidly toward the church building to seek help from my fellow coworker. He then led me to my youth minister’s house where in my cries I was comforted . Because I was raised in the church, I had Christian friends to help me during my lowest lows. After seventeen years of handling my anxiety by myself, my eyes saw, my ears heard, and my heart felt the direction in which God was leading me. Previously I would lay in bed weeping, and my words of sorrows turned into prayers. “Come what may what may, but hold my hand during struggles and strife,” God heard daily. Following the hour talk I had with the minister at camp, I changed my reliance from self to support from others. That minister became the pipe for my feelings from me to my parents. I then privately started seeing a psychologist for talk therapy at a nearby family center once every week. Sessions became a weekly goal for me. The first couple weeks became a process of analyzing my childhood and teenage years. There were always more questions than answers, but eventually God, my psychologist, and I moved on to greater heights. The core of my sessions dealt with conquering the vulnerabilities. How should I handle decisions, great or small? Who can I talk with if problems arise? What can I do besides turning my anger inward? The last session reassured me that I can thrive while dealing with my chronic Dysthymia. Through seven weeks, seven sessions, seven talks, we turned my Christian values into actions. Now, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Holy Bible, Romans 8:28)  Works Cited Holy Bible: New International Version. Barker: Zondervan, 1973.

All for One From listening to AVB’s "U Can't Go 2 Church" to my dad cranking up the radio to Dave Ramsey's speech about "I'm blessed" since the day I was born, I have been influenced to become a missionary. I remember taking notes every Sunday on the sermons my dad would preach and watching my mom prepare for her Wednesday night Bible lessons. Every other night our family would gather around in the living room learning new memory verses, reading scripture, or trying to sing praise to God. Day to day my dad's quote rang in my ear: "If I had one-hundred sons I would want them all to be preachers, and if I had one-hundred daughters I would want them all to be preacher's wives." No matter how annoyed I became with the repetition of quotes and sermons, in the back of my mind I always thought of growing to be a great missionary. When I was a little girl, I began taking every chance to learn about scripture and people. I loved studying God’s word at the annual Bible bowl competitions and the seasonal retreats. Soon I realized that those opportunities were not only about the relationship between God and me, but also between people and myself. Less than a week ago I chaperoned a Middle School retreat for our church teens. As I started upstairs toward our worship area, I saw a pair of eyes glaring underneath the stairs. I looked around the staircase to see who it was. It was my opportunity. “Hey, what’s up?” There was no answer. I sat in the darkness stumbling around for words. “Darkness is comforting, isn’t it?” “Yep,” the voice replied. There was more silence deadened by the muffled sounds of laughter in the background. In my head I talked to God asking for this to be an open door to share my story with this boy. Then I began. “When I was your age I had a hard time making friends. I didn’t think anyone liked me or cared about me. I just hid in the dark from nothing all the time. This went on for years as I continued to hide. I even had night terrors, moments during the night where I would be afraid of nothing at all. Some days I would even pretend to be sick so I wouldn’t have to face the kids at school. (Now my throat is permanently swollen because of it.) Other times I would just hide in my closet in the dark. Then I broke down. I got help and I’m better now. Counseling does miracles. Well, I guess you could say ‘God does miracles through counseling.’ I just finished my eighth session and I love life. It’s great!” “I don’t have any friends either,” he stated. He poured his emotions for another thirty minutes while I listened. Finally the local youth minister took over as I thanked God for the opportunity of sharing my story and learning to comfort others needs. A week later I had another chance to share my story. Every fall the Junior and Senior girls have a leadership retreat, and it is a tradition for the senior girls to lead the Sunday morning worship. I, being the only senior, was given the authority to preach my first sermon at this retreat. On the shore of Centerhill Lake, I taught about “Overcoming Obstacles in Times of Crisis.” Forming an acronym out of the word “CRISIS,” I gave step-by-step instructions about how to conquer what was thought to be the impossible. While learning about scripture and relationships, I wondered where I should put my talents to use. It was not until going into high school that I decided in which mission field I wanted to live. When I was in eighth grade, the high school counselor came to talk about registering for my freshman classes. The basics were necessary, but for my electives I followed my sister in choosing theatre and Spanish. Theatre broadened my abilities in front of an audience. Before taking this class, I would not have dared to speak in front of anyone except my teddy bears, but after weeks of practice, I was always the first to volunteer for impromptus and monologues. In one incidence, I was asked to perform a tragedy monologue. My teacher did not say that it had to be true. Thus, I made up a story about when I was in middle school, I yelled at a boy that got in my way. I told him to get a life, but regretted my decision after the paper was delivered the next day. I read about a boy that committed suicide by hanging himself by the railroad tracks. After further reading I discovered it was the boy that got in my way and was ashamed ever since. (I got an "A" and extra credit because I made the teacher cry.) Spanish, over all, was and is my favorite class. It is not only a subject to study, but has become my way of living. The first two years of Spanish were mostly used for learning vocabulary and grammar. Most likely I would have quit if were not for the coinciding mission trips. During my Sophomore and Junior years of high school, my youth group and I went to Houston, Texas, to teach a vacation Bible school. Eighteen hours is a long time to spend stuck in a van with the same people, but the trip was worth it. Until the first Houston mission trip, I never knew how many Americans are Spanish speaking. Every day I would try to understand and communicate with the kids, but I would fail because of the language barrier. This experience gave me a passion to learn the language my Junior year so I would not fail again. Our mission team and I went back to the same church in Houston the next summer. I succeeded. When the children would talk to one another in Spanish, I could catch words and phrases to make the thought complete. By the end of the week, I had not only reinforced my Spanish tongue, but had bonded with the Hispanic culture. Because of this three year process, my mission field became Latin America. Through all the childhood and mission experiences, all my influences have led to my one mission.

Hispanic "So what is South America? A country where all those Mexicans live?" "No, a continent. Okay, like North America is the United States and Canada, South America contains Columbia, Brazil, and other countries," I tried to explain to my grandmother. "So when you are living there, can we drive to visit you?" she asked. "Well, yah, I guess you could, but it would take days. Look, I'll draw you a map and show you." After quite some time of explaining what and where South America is, I finally turned to my artistic skills by doodling with a Sharpie a map on a Styrofoam plate . Because my career of mission work will probably be south of the border, I was trying to teach my grandparents how to accept the different culture, starting with showing them where I will eventually live. "Okay, here is Canada and the United States," I said pointing to North America. "Here are the Caribbean Islands, including Jamaica (where I was on that mission trip) and Puerto Rico. Now what we call Central America is considered Mexico, right here. And below that is South America and all its countries, not states." "You mean, if we want to see you we have to take a boat? 'Cause Papa is scared of flying and we would have to drive through Mexico with all those Mexicans, and that we just can't do. We've been there before, and Papa didn't like it. Those people were just way to pushy." I finally laughed it off too many times and just rolled my eyes. Why do people use the term Mexican to define every Spanish speaking, tan skinned, black hair person that comes from south of the border? Mexican in the American College Dictionary is defined as an adjective meaning "of or pertaining to Mexico" or a noun meaning "a native or inhabitant of Mexico." This comes from the suffix -an, defined as "'belonging to', 'pertaining to or relating to'" that country named ("-an"). Thus, if an immigrant came from Guatemala into the United States, he can not be called a Mexican, he is a Guatemalan. If a person comes from Venezuela, he is a Venezuelan. Just as all white people are not Americans, but Europeans, Africans, Russians, or of any other people, all people from South America are not Mexicans. Yet, they can be called Hispanic. Hispanic, another meaning for Spanish, is defined as the "Spanish people collectively" or the people from countries that "Spanish is the prevailing language" ("Hispanic"; "Spanish"). Thus, a Hispanic does not even have to be tan, but can be white, black, or any other color. Still when a person describes a Spanish speaking person coming from either the Caribbean islands or Central or South America he is commonly misnamed as a Mexican. Also, many people use the popular term Hispanic, to define immigrants from other parts of America or Caribbean coming into the United States. With this thought, the term Hispanic, or the former term Mexican, has been given a connotation linking with the word illegal. Yet however small the percentage of Hispanic immigrants is illegal, most people still use one phrase to define the other. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, "Persons of Hispanic origin were identified by a question that asked for self-identification of the person's origin or descent. Respondents were asked to select their origin (and the origin of other household members) from a "flash card" listing ethnic origins. Persons of Hispanic origin, in particular, were those who indicated that their origin was Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or some other Hispanic origin. It should be noted that persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race." (Bureau) Does this say that a person is Hispanic only when he is in his native country? No, a person is his race wherever he may be. An American is an American in America and if he goes to Jupiter. He is always an American. In the same way, Hispanic does not just define one kind of immigrant, but an ethnic group that is human, too. Therefore, in saying the term Hispanic, all that should be implied is the ethnic origin and language spoken. If a person wants to make a racist comment, most importantly he should understand the culture that he is insulting, but firstly he should not be made a fool by stating that all Spanish speakers are Mexican. When growing up, I always followed in my sister’s footsteps. If she loved the color blue, I loved it, too. If she fell down, I was right beside her. When she was in the ninth grade and I was in the sixth grade, she started taking Spanish as an elective for high school. I remember sitting in the living room watching my mom quiz my sister for a Spanish test. "Comer is to..." "Umm, eat." "El perro feo means what?" "The ugly dog.” From then until now, I have followed my sister and have fallen in love with Spanish. Every morning I awake to Spanish music; every day I eavesdrop listening to Hispanics talking while passing; every night I await a Spanish dream, and in every way I try to strengthen my foundation of the culture and language. Recently while on a mission trip in Jamaica, I reinforced my knowledge by conversing in Spanish for five hours. Our team was laying concrete for a local congregation when a Hispanic man came to help. “JP, we need your help. There’s a man that can’t understand a word of English that’s outside and no one here except you can speak Spanish. Can you help?” our team leader pleaded urgently. “Hola, me llamo Jessica. Yo sé Español, poco. Habla dispacio, por favor,” I began. For the rest of the afternoon, we conversed about lives, culture, and religion. Small talk is a blessing for strangers. When I met Lari, the Hispanic, I never expected to carry on a conversation about religion or politics, so we kept the topic light by talking about family. As time passed we opened our minds in a discussion about our cultures. I never thought our nation was lenient about dating until learning that holding hands before marriage in some countries is unacceptable. Overall, the most memorable moment was sitting down for dinner after discussing our beliefs of religion. “Gras,” he said. “¿Qué?” I asked. “Gras,” he said again. “Oh, grace.” At the beginning of our stay in Jamaica, at every meal our team would tell the cooks “thanks,” but never gave grace to God. When Lari, a non-Christian, reminded our Christian team to give thanks to God, we never forgot to pray from then on. I have learned after several experiences such as this that Spanish is not only a want, but a need. Because I am a missionary, I need to be able to communicate with the majority. With Hispanics being the largest group of immigrants coming into the United States, and Spanish being one of the top five languages spoken in the world, it is important for me to know Spanish. For me to speak is half of the communication, but the other half is someone wanting to listen to me. If I am ignorant and offend the person by calling him Mexican when he is really from Venezuela, he may hear me speak, but not want to listen to me. If every person offended does not know God because of my ignorance, my life is useless. Resources "-an." The American College Dictionary. 1964. "Hispanic." The American College Dictionary. 1964. "Mexican." The American College Dictionary. 1964. "Spanish." The American College Dictionary. 1964. U.S Census Bureau-Population Division, Ethnic & Hispanic Statistics Branch. Information & Research Services. 2 Nov. 2000

Apprenticing Verse Schooling "Everything one needs to know, he learns in kindergarten." Then why do people pressure students into seeking knowledge in school? Yes, intelligence is significant for success and achieving dreams, but why not extend our intellect by placing youth in worldly situations? Until the world grasps the concepts of apprentices, children will be forced to attend schools. Presently, a high school diploma or a college degree is the basis of occupation and recognition. When a person applies for a job, what is the main question asked? "Do you have a high school diploma or college degree?" When someone goes to a job interview, he must have a legal document stating he is qualified for the job. Yet if someone receives a degree for secretarial work, but has never operated a computer, most likely, he is not the man for the job . However, he will still be considered by an employer simply based on his "education." Yet, if someone who can type ninety-six words per minute with a smile on his face applies to be a secretary, yet he has no diploma or degree, it is probable that he will not obtain the job. Thus, the man most capable of doing the work is forced into scrubbing floors in the local pub. Children of all ages strive for success, but meanwhile are discouraged by the years wasted on unnecessary schooling. For instance, someone may ask what is the purpose of one taking the dual enrollment courses in high school. College is the basis of a good profession, and in order for one to graduate college, the basic classes of English, science, and mathematics must be passed. If these courses are taken at a university, the classes can be costly. If these classes are taken in high school, the price is less expensive. Also, because timeslots must be filled in high school with classes, it is best to fill the time with something necessary for college while also saving money. But if the world practices learning by apprenticing and places children in a their future professions, the effects would outstand the business world of today. In the early centuries when the Egyptians constructed with hands immense pyramids, their goals were accomplished without the technology of today. People also grew in knowledge and skill by apprenticing in their chosen fields. When in the early stages of life, a child would train in a certain vocation by following in the footsteps of a master in that particular profession. If the world reverted to the age of apprenticing, not only would children be willing to work with all their might, but would also overcome the obstacles in their occupation easier than remember some words in an old textbook. When apprenticing was the system for training for an occupation, people did not get a choice at which profession they would master. People would either follow in the footsteps of their fathers or be placed in a profession to study from the time they were born. This forcing of vocation would lead to a hatred of many jobs. However, by changing the format of apprenticing, the new system could work effectively. If the same public schooling system is kept through elementary and middle school years, the basic knowledge needed for every life and government situation is learned. Then in high school, teens would be given the chance to experience several occupations over a four-year period by apprenticing or following a master of a chosen subject. Then after this four-year process, students would then attend a college to master their occupation choice and to study more advanced knowledge. By doing this apprenticing method, any profitable effects would be produced. Presently in high school, students are so eager to be in the business world that they drop out of school; if teenagers are place in this new system, the percentage of high-school and college dropout rates would decrease. During college years, the average student changes his major about five times. One of the significant reasons for this is that the students do not intern or role play until their junior and senior years, just as in the case with my sister. My sister decided her freshman year of college that she would major in broadcast journalism. She skipped all of the necessary courses and took her journalism requirements instead. After a year of classes, she began to work at the local news station after school...and hated it. So after weeks of complaining and crying, she changed her major to child and family studies. Fortunately, she made this decision her sophomore year so that she will be able to finish college in four years. Also if this system changes, people would be more professional and content with their jobs by studying books after experiencing occupations. Yet if we keep the present schooling style, students will keep dropping out, professionals will still be discontent, and workers would still be inexperienced. Yet if we turn to the old ways of apprenticing, everyone may resent whoever chose their job and may be uneducated for life and government situations. Thus, we must change the system. In my future career, I will travel to the mission field in South and Central America. To succeed in this vocation, I must be able to communicate with churches and other donators in order to raise money. In the past years and even in the past months, I have been apprenticing at the church whenever time allows. Also, I have led Bible studies in my home and even have translated for a Hispanic. Yet as I prepare to be a fulltime missionary, people and churches expect me to have a degree from college, even with all the previous training I have completed. Thus, I will attend Freed-Hardeman University in the Fall of 2007 to acquire a double major in Spanish and Bible. Through the years I have learned through several experiences how to listen and help people through tough times, how to communicate through a language barrier, which strategy is best for sharing the Gospel, and many more necessary skills for mission work. Yet, as I think back through my last few years of schooling, the only information profitable to my future occupation I remember learning and retaining is Spanish. This means, if my calculations are correct, if I take four Spanish classes out of twenty-six courses I complete, more than eighty-four percent of my time will be wasted in high school. Yet there are still infinitely many areas of expertise in the world. Which ones should students study during the years of schooling? What is considered necessary? What would happen if every specialist had an opportunity to teach his subject in school? Are their enough specialists to teach every student every subject? Why not let the students who want to learn a subject ask the specialist instead of the specialist enforcing his subject on an ungrateful child? Why will we not learn "to live is to learn"? Why not risk it?