How do you know when to stop?: Justiceworx wk1, day 5

Today was a good day. I woke up at around 9:30 and made myself some breakfast and hung out with the Casa friends in the morning. We took the painters' tape off of the wood borders around the room. Then I went to pick Sean up from the train station and came back only to hang out some more. I'm getting deeper into my book Everything is Illuminated, and it's really good. Then Mop, Nick, Mary and I drove over to the seminary and hung out there for the afternoon. I helped wash the stove in the kitchen and cleaned some other stuff, then went to hang out with Brian's family group. Then I partook in the evening's activities with the staff and kids and it really was a good day. The theme was "My response," and we had them take an injustice that they put on a ceramic tile in the morning and smash it with a hammer. We'll use these tiles to create crosses to decorate the walls of the Casa. 

I had a very good conversation with Brian after the kids went to sleep. We were standing in the game room playing ping pong and we started talking. For some reason we got on the topic of me and he began to evaluate me in a very honest way. He tells it like it is and I appreciate him for that. He acts as a mirror to my actions and allows me to better reflect on how I should act around the kids. 

From this conversation I realized how much growing I have to do in ministry. I need to begin to return to the roots of where my love for youth ministry began and try and bring those forward. To quote the Gospel of John, "He must increase, I must decrease." I must be a vehicle for Christ's love, not a resounding gong. I must bring these kids to Christ, not be Christ for them. 

It was a good day today. I hope I can keep these days going. 

-Jeff

PS: I found an interesting volunteering opportunity after graduation. It's called Heart's Home and it seems like a worthy program to volunteer at. The website is here, just click on it!