Checkmate-d.

I moved here on Saturday, August 15th. My parents helped me unload my stuff (some furniture, some clothing, and box after box of books). We had lunch. They left. And I found myself alone in my room, staring at the makings of my new life.

I had met my housemates only once before. I needed directions to get to the gas station. I remember that for the first month or so that I was down here, my friends from home would call, and say "What's new?" I'd answer, "Well, the cookie sheet is in the cabinet to the right of the stove, and Battlefield runs East-West." Everything was new.

As I sat in my room that first evening, my housemates came in to chat. Leaning back against my great-grandmother's dresser, Mark told me about growing up in Rogersville ("the Rodge"), and the difference between North and South Springfield, and how the fastest way to campus was probably Kansas Expressway.

I asked him about churches. Did he know of a good place to start to get the southern experience? "Well, if you want the big church experience, you should try JRA." He then proceeded to tell me of how he and his fiancee no longer go there because they had been asked to step down from their volunteer positions when a pastor found out they were unmarried, and living together. His fiancee, Marcy, gave me a longer version of the story, involving a few less-than-considerate discussions they had had with another JRA pastor about the issue. She told me they refused to ever go back.

I want to pause to mention that I wasn't there, I don't know what actually happened, and it doesn't really matter to me. Maybe my housemates misrepresented the situation. Maybe the pastor did not act tactfully and lovingly. Maybe a bit of both.

At that time, though, I remember thinking "Oh yeah, a judgmental charismatic megachurch--this is a sociological gold mine in Christian culture." You might guess that I was not concerned with an unmarried couple living together.

So, I mapquested directions to James River Assembly, 6100 North 19th Street, Ozark, MO. Most of that first morning can be found in the first entry to this blog. However, I was too sarcastic then to note that I remember being disappointed that Sunday, the 17th, there was no Sunday night service, only Life Group.

So I went to the next Group Link, and joined a Life Group. Since that Sunday, I've missed only one Sunday evening. Every Sunday morning, every Sunday evening, and Wednesday, I am here. I went to Designed for Life. I met with Tim Keene to talk about salvation. Though my initial reaction to Kristen's interest (www.Thosewhohunger.blogspot.com) was skeptical, I have come to appreciate and cherish her input. I am about to move in with someone from my Life Group.

That's actually what this post is about. Answered prayer. I posted on Saturday about how my housemates have informed me that I'm not living there until June, but only until January. I hate to move, but I'm glad to go. And I prayed for some cool Christian influence in the new pad. Turns out, an outrageously awesome member of my Life Group is looking for someone to share her apartment. And, the weekend on which I'd need to move is the weekend on which my parents were planning on coming down to visit James River with me. AND, I strongly suspect that this arrangement is going to open the opportunity for us to really help provide for another of our LG-ers. God is such an amazing chess player. I guess omniscience does that for you.

However, now in a sense, I am moving from the people, and the "home base" from which it all was launched. As I mentioned the other day, the entire course of my life is changed (that always deserves italics), and it just keeps changing. I've never lived as a full-on Christian with other full-on Christians. I'm a tiny bit scared.

As for my current housemate's promise to never return to JRA, that turned out to be a lie, as I invited her to the final session of DFL, and she loved it so much that she's bringing her Mom and sister-in-law next year.