Finished!

After ten weeks my Mosaic Internship came to an end. It was really sad to see everyone go! The days that followed afterwards were especially hard because I finally realized that I was alone in California. I mean, there are people here who I know care about me, but honestly I am on my own. That was a major revelation for me. Before things were done I at least had the title of "intern" and I had nine other people going through most of the same things I was. That all went away and I was just Heather Dye, struggling to survive!

Two Sundays have passed since I finished and life has changed a lot, but my commitment with Mosaic hasn't. I still am serving in Kids Mosaic and I am still helping out at the Mayan. My mom came in to town three days after I finished and it has been so nice having her around!! I have taken advantage of having mommy around more than I probably should! She's been helping out at Mosaic too. She's walked alongside me in everything that I do on Sundays. It has been really neat to see her experience everything the way that I did just twelve weeks ago!

Answered Prayers

I had a miracle happen to me yesterday

I had finally had it with my car. I was going to call a tow truck to pick up my car and take it to the shop. I called one of the guys (Dave, an intern/soon to be protege) who had been with me when my car died. I wanted to know what the name of the road was that it had died on. He offered to take me to it because he hadn't been able to see what the name was either.

On the way there I began to discuss possible problems with my car, and he started coming up with ideas. Long story short, he was going to try to replace my fuel filter. After working on my car for quite some time and not being able to replace the filter, he finally decided to give up. I was so happy that he was even willing to try, that was SO nice! I was about to call a tow, when I figured I had better try to start it once more. I had tried to start it before he started working on it, and nothing had happened, but suddenly, this time, my car started! It was slow and wasn't functioning right, when all of a sudden it just started working like normal!!! I was able to drive it all the way to the mechanic which was about five miles away! The whole time I was praying, "God, let my car make it!!"

I did make it! It was a complete miracle! The mechanic only charged me $50 to replace my fuel filter and change my oil. Problem solved. Thank God for placing Dave in that situation, and working a miracle!! I was so thankful. Praise God! I finally have a functioning vehicle! Thank you for your prayers, our God is so powerful!

Fun times with fun people

Amidst all of the chaos and business that has been my life in California, I have met some amazing people. I love the people who go to Mosaic because everyone is really genuinely nice and caring. I have been able to spend some time with awesome people, and even when I've been working I've been with people who rock. So, even though I do miss home, and I've got car problems, God's still giving me things to be excited and happy about. I'm really going to miss the interns that leave. They all have impacted me in ways they can't even imagine. At the same time though I'm ready to be Heather, instead of, "Oh, you're an intern." I'm so thankful that God continues to put amazing people in my life!


By the way. . .Pittfire Pizza= adequate food, abnormally high price, always a good time

It's HOT!!!

I miss rain. Rain cools things down. Right now it gets to be about 100 degrees at night, and we have no air conditioning. I'm thinking about sleeping a friends house tonight because she has air conditioning. The days get to be about 100-115, and everyone here is miserable. The talk of the town is how unusual this weather is and how it's been going on for so long. I always seem to bring hot weather. When I went to Mexico it was supposed to be the rainy season, one of the coolest seasons they get in the summer. It rained once for five minutes. Thank God for air conditioned Starbucks!!!

The never ending car saga

I will make this brief because this does seem to be a never ending story. Here is what has been happening with my car:

1: When I first came out here my car was making a squeaking sound
2: July 3rd my car suddenly died after making a large "popping" noise
3: I took it to the shop after that noise was made. One of the pulleys on my radiator had completely come off, and broken into two pieces. It was the main pulley and I had to replace it along with the serpentine belt.
4: Once that was fixed my car was still making the squeaking noise. I figured it was my breaks.
5:On the 14th of July I discovered it was my breaks that were making that noise. I discovered this on the freeway when I went to stop. The car in front of me stopped, and I had a good distance between it, but my breaks gave out and I rear ended him, and he tapped the lady in front of him. No one was hurt, and as of right now no action has been taken with insurance. (the guy I hit didn't have insurance so he may have paid the lady in front of him and driven away)
6: I got my breaks and my rotors replaced. The mechanic couldn't get under the hood though, due to the accident.
7:On the 21st of July my car suddenly died at a friends house.
8: I have spent the last two days trying to get my car to a shop, and I'm getting a tow truck to take it to a mechanic just five miles away from where I am at now.


I have been trying to learn how to be at peace with the things God has given me. I was totally privileged to be able to have this car, and I need to learn how to be content with the fact that I actually have a vehicle. I feel like God's stretching me and asking me, "So, when you said 'you didn't care if you were poor or rich, just so long as you were serving in my kingdom'. . .Did you really mean it?"

Please be praying for this. I need all the help I can be getting. I know you all are prayer warriors, and I feel like my battle is becoming too overwhelming to fight anymore. I know God has plans though even in the midst of all of this!! God is always faithful. . .even if I'm not.

Illuminate

Illuminate: to bring light to, to sharpen contrast so that something can be seen

The past two weeks have been a great pleasure for me. I have had the privilege of teaching a photography class for a free summer arts camp, called Illuminate, in downtown LA. The area that we were in was a really bad one, children lose their lives every day just walking down the streets because of gangs. Illuminate lasted two weeks with two and a half hours of class time each day. The kids who came had the possibility of being in several different artistic classes. There was dance, drama, music, photography, art, and creative writing.

I cannot begin to express how much this stretched me. I don't know that much about photography and the first few days that I was at Illuminate I longed to be in the drama class. Eventually though I gave up my selfish desires and began to realize that God needed me where I was at. I was working with a girl who is fantasically talented at photography and she taught all of the photography curriculum. We made a great team.

About halfway through the first week I became frustrated because our class didn't seem to be making as much spiritual progress as the other classes were. By Wednesday of the first week all of the other classes were teaching the kids about Jesus, and we hadn't even mentioned his name yet. Instead, we were focusing on the principles of God. We talked about how beauty comes from the inside, and what makes us beautiful on the inside. The kids were really grasping onto these priciples, but I wasn't satisfied with that. I wanted them to be on the same level as the other classes were. The girl I was working with reminded me that I couldn't compare our class to the other ones, but I continued to do so, nonetheless.

Thursday of last week I decided, (notice that I wrote I decided, not God decided) that it was time to inundate the kids with scripture. Instead of playing fun games I sat the kids down and told them bible stories. It wasn't that this was a bad thing, but it wasn't the right time. I did this for a couple of days. Things weren't going that great. The kids just seemed to be, well, bored.

I was talking to my intern director about the situation, and she knew just what to say. She helped me discover that it was my own personal/selfish desire to see these kids do as well as the other ones. It's part of my pursuit to be perfect. (that has been something that I've been struggling with out here, learning how to be content with being normal) She encouraged me to relax and to keep my focus on what God wants, not what I want.

The next day I had no plans for the class. In fact up until an hour before I had to leave I was just planning on bringing Cranium and letting the kids play that for two and a half hours. But then God began to speak to me. I got an idea to take the kids on a scavenger hunt. Illuminate's theme was "discovering the treasure within", so all of the classes had little treasure chests. I hid ours and wrote rhyming clues to tell the kids where the chest was located. They had so much fun with it! After they found our treasure we took them back to class and I began to use the chest as an illustration for inviting Christ into our hearts. We told the kids about Jesus and what He did for us. We told them though that unlike our treasure hunt we never have to search endlessly to find God because He is there waiting for us just to ask Him to be with us. We said that God's love is full and sweet, just like the treasure chest was full of sweets, and that all you have to do is ask and He will give it. We then had all of the kids ask if they wanted a piece of candy. Afterwards, we prayed a prayer inviting Jesus into our hearts, asking Him to come in.

This is the part that astounded me, seven kids accepted Christ! We discussed with them afterwards to make sure they understood what they had done, and it was clear that they did. The change was almost immediate. It was fantastic!! God showed up that day, and He did it at the perfect time. It reminds me that His ways are so much better than mine, and instead of trying to rush Him along I should just wait, because it is so much better when it's the right time. (Kind of like opening presents on Christmas. It's just not as much fun if you don't wait to open them)

So in the end, I've seen God's faithfulness over these past two weeks. It made all the exhaustion completely worth it! The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. The harvest is plenty. That makes me happy. :-)

SO BUSY!!!

Well, I've made it to the final lap in the internship. We only have two more weeks remaining and I am exhausted! I knew that my life would get busier the closer I got to the end of this program, but I don't think I realized how busy it was going to get. I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get back on here. I want you all to know that I still love you, and am so very glad for your presence in my life!

Best July 4th EVER

Just wanted to let you guys know that July fourth was a blast!! My day lasted almost 24 hours! I woke up at 6:30 to help with the churchwide picnic that the interns put on. Everyone in the group worked so hard, and it came off really well. We had probably close to 300 people there. It was so neat. After that I had the privelage of going out with a group of amazing people. We went and had dinner, then went to the beautiful beach late at night, and then went swimming in a pool at one of the guy's apartments. It was a great time of fellowship and I was so thankful that God put such awesome people in my life to enjoy that night with. It was a complete blessing from beginning to end. However, going to bed at five AM the next day and waking up at 9 AM was a little hard, but I love a challenge!!

I may not have to be a Beach Bum after all!

It always seems to me that there is a recurring theme in my life, and that theme is that God provides. I have been super frustrated over the past few days because I have been so concerned with what the future outside of the internship holds for me. In fact one day I woke up so burdened by the idea that it took me reading a certain story in Matthew over and over again to calm me down. I kept reading in Matthew 6 where Jesus talks about how he takes care of the Lilies of the field which are here one day and cast into the fire the next and how much more our Heavenly father cares for us than those. That was reassuring to me.
God is taking care of me too. My car died the other day in traffic, and that was a little scary. Fortunately I was able to start it up and I will be taking it to a shop first thing tomorrow. The problem doesn't even seem major and the mechanic down the road is reliable. God provides. Another way God is providing for me is that there is a possibility of me getting a place to live! One of the women I work with on Kids Mosaic offered me a room in her condo, which, by the way, is amazingly gorgeous. I would have a roommate but the rent is extremely affordable, and it is in a very safe neighborhood. I am excited to see if this is where God wants me to be. If you all would continue to pray for discernment and wisdom in decision making, I would greatly appreciate it. I love seeing how God is always moving. Never forget, we serve a living movin God. That's exciting.

Mosaic's Social Security

There are many times when I find myself stuck in a situation where there is nothing good to talk about. I'm sure you probably know what I'm talking about. These are the conversations that seem to be meaningless because you are just trying to grasp onto something to discuss. Well, at Mosaic these situations can easily be taken care of, and that is due to the universal language that all Mosaican's share. That language is MYER'S BRIGGS. We jokingly tease that this is the "social security numbers" of mosaic. For those of you who have never heard of Myer's Briggs, it's time you became edumacated.

Myers Briggs is a personality test that was developed by a mother and daughter team. They developed this test during World War 2 because they saw the vast amounts of human potential that was wasted during that time. Essentially this test should be used as a tool to help unleash your full potential.
The entire test lasts about twenty minutes. In the end you are given a result with four letters. Each one of the letters gives you little insight into who you are. Each one of the letters represents some category of your life. The first letter shows you how you relate to people. It helps determine if you are Extroverted or Introverted. The next letter stands for how you perceive things whether you are Intuitive or Sensing. The third letter shows how you make decisions, whether you are a Feeler or a thinker. The last category comes down to how you work and organize, whether you are Judging or perceiving. Now let me see if I can break this down a little more for you.

Extroverted (E) Introverted(I)

Surprisingly enough this category has nothing to do with whether or not you like people, or if you do or don't have social skills. This category is all about where you get your energy from. Are you refreshed and renewed after spending lots of time with a group of people? Then you might be an E. (extroverted) Or, do you enjoy spending time thinking, reading, and being alone? These are the typical characteristics of an I (Introvert). People who are extroverted need time alone, just as much as those who are Introverted need time with people. It really is a matter of what energizes you the most. Trust me, I have met extreme introverts with great social skills, and total extroverts who can't speak a sentence without stumbling. It's all about what gets you going.

Sensing (S) Intuitive (N)

When you look at a rose what do you see? I see passion, love, excitement, and romance. That is because I am an N. I am an intuitive thinker. Whenever I perceive something I tend to see the big picture instead of the details. Now if an S (sensing) person saw the same flower they might mention the red color, the thorns, the petals. This scale measures how you take in information about the world. A Sensor is concrete, seeing details and what is actually present. Most people are sensors. Intuitive, on the other hand, see possibilities. Sensors and Intuitive living together often clash in this respect; Sensors feel it is more important to take care of details like cleaning and paying bills on time, while Intuitive are more interested in starting new and exciting projects and endeavors than taking care of mundane tasks. So, when you look to the forest do you see the forest (N) or the trees?(S)

Feeling (F) Thinking (T)

When you make judgments do you first consider others emotions or do you think through the situation to the logical answer? Those who are Feelers often make decisions based on how they feel or how those around them feel. Those who are thinkers make decisions based off of what would make logical sense. For example, we were presented with the idea that our company had just finished a large project and were being rewarded with free tickets to Disneyland. However, as the tickets were counted it became apparent that we were one ticket short. What would you do in this situation? A lot of the F's in my group said that they would give up their ticket so that someone else would go. My immediate response(being a T) was to ask if anyone had already been before and didn't want to go this time. How do you make your decisions?

Judging (J) Perceiving (P)

This one comes down to how you function best within a working situation. J's are typically more organized. They love checking things off of their to do list. They get a thrill out of accomplishing tasks that they have set before them. P's are a little different. They work best under pressure. They have a tendency to keep their options open until an exterior force makes them do something about it. J's tend to be more organized while P's tend to be more adaptable. A Judger like to have things settled and planned. A Perceiver likes to feel that there are still many options.


So, now you understand some about the Myer's Briggs security code that we speak here. It always provides for interesting topics of conversation. If we have nothing else to talk about we ask, "So what's your Myer's Briggs?"

I recommend that everyone take this test. It makes life so much easier. When you know how to function within your strengths life seems simpler. Not only that, but you can understand those around you even better. In case you were wondering, I am an
ENTP
If you would like to take a free sample test you can go to
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
I would love it if you all would e-mail me back your results!! Trust me, you probably know yourself well, but it is always nice to have understanding like this. It really has changed my life!! So please do it, and e-mail me your results!

Missing home?

The past four weeks of this journey have definitely been interesting. I have a lot of things that are constantly going on. God is stretching me and showing me new things every day. I do absolutely LOVE it here. There are a lot of things that are different from home, but even that makes me so much more appreciative of what I do have. Every now and then someone will pose the question, "Do you miss home?" My first response is always yes, because I do miss the people and the love I had back home. However, I miss the small things too. For example, I always find it funny when I consider that back home 15-20 minutes was a long trip to me. Traffic is so crazy here that even the closest location is a 30-45 minute drive!! Just to go one mile away from where I am living takes about 3-5 minutes. There are stoplights about every five feet and traffic still is heavy at 2 AM!

While I do miss the quaintness of home, and the gas prices back home, I do really love it here. God is showing me how to be content with what He has for me. I am so thankful for all of your prayers, because I can feel them. I pray that God would begin to give you the same sense of contentment that He has placed in my life, because it feels great to be thankful for what has been given you. I don't think I can miss home because I carry your prayers and your love with me everywhere I go. Thank you for helping me make this journey possible.

My Sunday Schedule

Things get really busy here, especially on Sunday. I just thought I would share with you a little glimpse of what I do on Sundays, not to make you pity me or even admire me, but so that maybe the next time you're at church you will take time to thank those people who really work hard to put things in motion.

Sunday
5:30 AM- wake up, get ready
6:30 AM- go to the grocery store to buy snacks so that they teachers can eat
7:30 AM- Begin setup for Kids Mosaic. (this means lifting boxes, and setting up tables)
8:15 AM- All of the teachers and worship band meets for prayer
8:45 AM- I scarf down some of the snacks I purchased in hopes that I won't get hungry during the day
9:00 AM- Students begin to arrive
9:15 AM- Worship starts to be followed by a lesson and sunday School.

11:00 AM-The second childrens group comes in, and we have worhip through the arts
12:30 PM- We begin to take down everything we set up that morning
1:30 PM- This is the time we are usually finished cleaning up by. However, most Sunday afternoons we have Illuminate meetings. when we don't have meetings though I use this time to drive to the Mayan (a night club/Bar where Mosaic has its Sunday night services)

2:00 PM- The ten interns, along with a few others begin to clean the Mayan and setup for services. I usually clean the bathrooms. . .I have a few interesting stories
4:30 PM- We finish cleaning and greet members coming to the service.
5:00 PM- this is the First service at the Mayan
7:00 PM- This is the second service at the Mayan
9:00 PM- We begin taking down chairs and stage equipment
10:00PM-We're usually done with clean up at this point. We sometimes go to dinner because we are starved
11:00PM-If we go out to eat this is usually when we leave to come back to the dorms
12:00AM-We arrive back at the dorms and get ready for bed!
12:30 AM-goodnight!



Sundays are probably my most fufilling days. I enjoy getting so much done. There really is no time to stop. Also, I LOVE being at the Mayan because there are so many people to meet. So far every time that we have gone out to eat after services we have always had at least 7 people come with us that we just met that night. It is so much fun!!!

What I'm doing at Mosaic

This summer I have the privilege of working with Kids Mosaic. It is a program specifically designed for children in K-4th grade. Every Sunday, beginning at 9 AM, a group of about 50 kids get together at Pasadena. There is a worship team that leads them in a few songs, and then usually there is a skit of some kind. After that there is a group lesson. When the lesson is finished everyone divides into age groups and goes to separate classrooms where they talk about the lesson. It's really neat! The 11 service is similar, but instead of a group lesson the group of about 50 kids goes to do worship through the arts, which usually involves some art project with a global outlook to it. It is so neat to see these kids worship and praise God, but probably one of the most compelling things is their hearts. Whenever a group leaves to go on a mission trip, or just leaves permanently the kids get up and put their hands on them and pray for them. In the same sense they also give as much as they have financially to help support those teams which go to other countries. Their hearts are astounding.

I am working for a woman named Eileen Lu. She's great! Since I am working for Eileen I get to help her with the many projects that she is involved in. Coming up on July 10 we will begin a two week children's camp called, Illuminate. It will be an arts camp that will provide children with an opportunity to hear about Christ and learn some really neat things. I will be teaching a photography class, along with helping out wherever I am needed. Needless to say, things are busy!

About Mosaic

Mosaic is a community in every sense of the word. The church as a whole functions properly due to its core values. In order to understand the church a little better it is important to understand the core values on which they lean. So, here's a little bit of info on what they believe.


the Five Core Values of Mosaic

1. Mission is why the church exists
2. Love is the context of every mission
3. Structure must submit to spirit
4. Relevance to culture is not optional
5. Creativity is a result of spirituality

Mission is why the church exists

At Mosaic this value is probably most widely represented. Each year Mosaic sends out the more missionaries through the Southern Baptist Convention than any other church. People are constantly leaving to spread the message of Christs love to others. Even the church itself is all about mission. They are driven by the belief that church is not about you. Instead it is all about finding those who need Christ and bringing them to find Him.

Love is the Context for every mission

Mission may be why the church is here, but how do we become "missional"? This is where the second core value comes in. Mosaic is all about love. In order to bring someone to Christ we must first show them Christ. The people here try in every way to help wrap those around them in the arms of love. It is very encouraging.

Structure must submit to spirit

Sometimes it seems like things are a little crazy and unorganized around here, but that is the complete opposite of what is really going on. Routine can sometimes stifle the Holy Spirits movement, and Mosaic firmly believes in listening to the Holy Spirit. Erwin will change his entire sermon in a moments notice if he finds out that there is a non-believer in the crowd. They are completely open to the Holy Spirit's direction, and know that there is no way to function outsided of that.

Relevance to culture is not optional

This was probably one of the core values that I personally had the hardest time accepting. That is only because LA's culture really shouldn't be mimicked. But that is actually why I have come to love and embrace this value and that is because Mosaic doesn't mimic LA, but in a sense, inspires it. When Moses came across the burning bush he was attracted to it. Why though? It was because it had a fire burning around it, and yet was not consumed. This is the way that Mosaic works. There is a fire consuming the culture around here. Mosaic partakes in that fire. They use acting, dancing, painting, singing, and speaking to, in essence, attract the culture around them. However, there is truth at the core of Mosaic.

I heard one of the long time staff members explain it this way to me,

"I can always tell the difference between a Christian and a non Christian at Mosaic. Whenever I talk to a Christian after the services they will rant about how fascinating the skit was or how thrilling the dances were. Occasionally they will mention the sermon, but usually in reference to the fact that they have already heard Erwin speak before, or something to that effect.

However, whenever a non-Christian comes to Mosaic their response is completely different. They usually discuss the flaws of the skit, or how the dance moves were strange, but most of all they rant and rave about the truth that they heard in the sermon."

I think Moses would probably thoroughly agree with this value. :-)

Creativity is the result of spirituality

The Holy Spirit connects us to God. Because there is that innate connection between us there are gifts that we are given. Creativity doesn't always come naturally to people, but when the Holy Spirit is involved it tends to flow a little more freely. Since Mosaic is a rather mobile church there have been many times when there has been a change of venue. Within minutes people are scattering to discover where it is that they need to be. Sometimes they will have to find a completely new location, and notify over two-thousand members of the change, within an hours time. Creativity flows freely here!!

Well, I hope this helps you understand Mosaic a little better. If you have any more questions feel free to ask me, but you can always go to the source. www.mosaic.org is the website that they have. Not only can you access more information on the church, but you can also download podcasts, and videocasts of services. It's really neat.

The battle between organization and Chaos

Most of you who are reading this know that I am taking part in a ten week internship at a church called Mosaic. In fact, most of you who are reading this have helped provide a way for me to be out here. I would like to thank you all. I am now entering into my fourth week in the program and finally decided that it was way past time to start talking about the amazing things that are happening here. This is my one attempt to actually become semi-organized. . . (I will never reach the point of organization!!) Thank you for your love, prayers, and kindness!