It Starts

Hey everyone,

So first of all I had a safe and smooth trip down so thank you for your prayers.  I am moved in (and have two awesome housemates Dave and Bryant), I attended my first Crucible on Sunday (Their church service) and have started working already, oh and the temperature has been an average in the middle 90’s getting up to 100 on Tuesday!  So far I have been working with The Timothy Initiative’s contracting business and directly with the recovering men in the ministry as we pulled up a deck and started construction on the new and improved one.  It has only been four days but it fees like I have been here months.  Everyone is so welcoming and I am a part of the community of guys here at the Timothy Initiative (and specifically their home base “The Pink House”) In the past four days I have had a whirlwind of introductions to people within the underground and to a lot of the philosophy behind the Timothy Initiative as well as everything down here.  Also, the last two nights I have had my first class of my History of Christian Action class, and my Pastoral Care Class.  They were amazing, such a huge blessing and I am being taught by awesome teachers.  I can tell that I am going to learn a lot from the lectures and the readings!    And that is the overview so far... 

Some of the details, 

I am starting a blog and you can go to it following this link: http://kyletampa2011.blogspot.com/  some of you are probably reading this there so you are ahead of the game.  I will continue to send out prayer updates and probably overviews of the action down here by email and facebook but all of the stories and pictures will go on the blog so check that out (I have to update it at least once a week per order of George so you should check it at least that often!!!)

One fun fact about this week is that I have like 7 different books started from all sorts of things like class homework, timothy initiative homework, my roommates, and my library and the list keeps going, and I am not complaining at all I am thrilled to have time to read a bunch of books that I have had but am always way too busy to read at school.

Some of the guys I have been working closely with and who you can be praying for are John, Ricky, Fernando, and Gary.  Today I had a great conversation with Ricky and he told me a lot of his testimony and how he ended up at the Timothy Initiative.  Without getting too much into his privacy what I can say is that he has been sober for 13 months, has found Jesus during that time and is a natural leader and inspiration for the other guys.  He has been taking the lead on the construction site and I have had a lot of fun helping him out.  One of the running jokes we have now is that I am his tool belt (we have fun ragging on each other a bit).  The story behind this is that the other day after I fetched his tape measure for him for about the 100^th time I told him he needs to get a tool belt... he gave me a smirk and said “what do I need a tool belt for,” and when I told him for his tools he chuckled and told me “Why I have you.”  But, I don’t mind.  I am here to serve and actually helping Ricky out has been a lot of really hard work, but a joy and I have had a great time getting to know him better.  This is true with all of the guys here.  I haven’t had a chance to hear everyone’s stories yet but I think one of the amazing things is that unless someone told you these guys were recovering addicts it would be hard to tell.  They are genuinely good guys, they are skilled workers, they are discerning, and they are really trying hard to take steps forward in their lives and their walks with God.  One hard thing that is accompanied directly with this is that they are still recovering addicts.  George has told me a bit of his story in this kind of ministry and over the last 7 years he has lost 14 people two of whom were family, as well as many others who have relapsed, stolen things and left a week after big breakthroughs and what seems like great successes in their recovery.

It’s hard to make anyone appreciate a community like this one without them coming to experience it themselves.  George and Will have laid down their lives for these guys and they are pursuing God in a radical way with a radical love for the overlooked and the unwanted (which by the way shouldn’t be radical, it should be ordinary).  The men in the Timothy Initiative all fit that category (two were even living in the woods, literally, before T.I. welcomed them in) but here they have not only a place to stay and work to do, but family, discipleship, and accountability accompanied by their dignity as human beings!

There is a lot more, but unfortunately I am out of time for right now.  So I will have to tell some more stories later.   For now ...

Here is what can you be praying for:

Please pray that I will be able to develop deeper relationships with the men in the Timothy Initiative as I continue to work alongside them and get to know their stories (and safety on the worksite).  Also please pray that I will continue to grow closer to and learn from my “bosses” of sorts, Gorge and Will.

Pray also for me as I am making a pointed effort to go deeper in my quiet time and prayer life with God.  Pray that I will be able to be still before God, and that I will have the patience and stillness of mind to hear what God is telling me and calling me to!  With my roommates I have been able to pray each night from 10ish-11ish and as of today we started meeting to pray from 7:15-8 a.m. each morning.  Already these times have been a huge blessing and I am excited to dive deeper into Gods word and into prayer!  Also in this pray for me as I work on humility and specifically coming before God not with a list of things that I have done but dependant and fully trusting in him!

Lastly please continue to lift up safety and in particular protection from the devil.  I know that he is not happy about what is happening here in Tampa, and by coming here to serve I recognize that I am popping up on his radar.  So please pray that God will have his guardian angels around me and the guys while we work!

Thankyou for your support and your prayers!  I couldn’t do this without you, yes you.  And again, don’t hesitate to call, write, or text.

                                                             In His Love,

                                                                 Kyle Van Etten

Enjoy the Pictures!!!

Me after my first day of work, dirty and tired 

 Jack the house dog at the Pink House

Mike in the Print Shop 

The guys minus a few at the start of a workday 

Loading the trailer at Home Depot (left to right John, Ricky, Gary) 

Gary is a masterful cutter, seriously 

Happy about a job well-mostly-done.  We tore up the old decking, put in the 6x6 poles and built the wrap around steps that go all the way around the deck!!!