Field Notes

The Best Christmas Card

Dan Marotta — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:27:07 +0000

A few days ago I received my favorite Christmas card of the year. Was it a picture of a JCrew-esk model family at the beach wearing matching khaki shorts and while button-downs? No. Was it a 3 page letter describing someone’s epically interesting accomplishments of 2011? Nope. It was a simple holiday card in a simple white envelope from one of the students in our church. Scrawled in black ink in big block letters across the inside of the card were these words…

Dan, I hope you have a great Christmas. Tell Rachel and June “hi” for me. Thanks for being an awesome friend and youth pastor. I have a great time hanging out.

from,

_________

- If you know this guy, then you’d understand how much these 4 sentences mean. He and I have probably had breakfast at Bodo’s Bagels on Preston Avenue over 50 times in the past few years and I’ve been praying for Jesus to work in his life for much longer than that. Through it all, I have often wondered (and doubted) whether our time together was as important to him as it was to me. For those of you who work with teenagers, you know the feeling.

Lesson re-learned for the 371st time: God is working even when I don’t see it.

To all who are giving away your time because you love Jesus and his people – “thank yous” and “well dones” are few and far between, but God is constantly working!

And in case the author of that card is reading this – thanks again for the card buddy, it was super encouraging to me.

Day 5: Nicaragua Worship Project

Dan Marotta — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:13:16 +0000

Time to record the vocals! We got a bit of a slow start this morning but things are off and running and going well. Unfortunately, as I write this, JT and I need to leave for the airport in less than half an hour. We both wish that we could stay for the whole day and see this project through to the finish, but I think our families are ready for us to come home! We are so proud of the band and so blessed to work with Nicaraguan brothers and sisters. As soon as the mixing/mastering is finished and the video editing is complete, I will post some footage here. Stay tuned!

Day 4: Nicaragua Worship Project

Dan Marotta — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:41:03 +0000

Part 1: The day is only half over, but so far so good! Not much has gone according to schedule, but what kind of Nicaragua trip would this be if it had! We are in the studio and currently working on recording the first song “Cuentan de Tu Gloria” – and original written by one of the drummers, Luis.

Part 2: Wow, what a day! We left Granada at 7:00am and returned at 1:00am! Everyone in the band did a great job, worked really hard, and pushed through to the end. We have recorded almost all the instruments and are poised to dive into vocals tomorrow. At this point, I think folks are tired and really worn out. Please pray that we will rally and find the energy to enjoy the long process of working in a studio.

Day 3: Nicaragua Worship Project

Dan Marotta — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:37:51 +0000

Today we piled the band into a “microbus” and drove an hour to Managua to practice in the studio. After getting lost for about 45 minutes, we finally found the place and were able to get the guys all set up. Practice went about 4 hours and we really feel like the songs are starting to come together. Moral is high and we’re having a great time communicating in the universal language of music!

Day 2: Nicaragua Worship Project

Dan Marotta — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:24:52 +0000

I have a love/hate relationship with Nicaraguan mornings. The sunrise is always beautiful and the air is nice and cool, but the roosters wake up at 4:00AM and insist that everyone else wake up at the same time! Worship at El Puente was fun and refreshing as always and JT & I got some good down time in the afternoon to rest and prepare for a whirlwind next 3 days. We were able to meet most of the band and practice with them from 6pm-9pm. Things are definitely off to a good start.

Day 1: Nicaragua Worship Project

Dan Marotta — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:20:39 +0000

So JT and I flew into Managua airport at 1:06pm and were picked up by Amber Royal – one of the excellent interns at E Puente in Granada. After getting situated, we got to talk with a few of the band members before heading over to the Kaye’s beautiful home for dinner. The food was great and the company was even better, but we were so tired from a long day of traveling that by 9:00pm we said our goodbyes and returned to El Puente to hit the sack.

12 Things That Won’t Earn God’s Love.

Dan Marotta — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:49:37 +0000

High SAT scores.
Having really cool friends.
Doing your chores before anyone asks you to.
Obeying your parents.
Winning anything.
Working out.
Being the best.
Impressing your teachers.
Never missing a D-group.
Going on a missions trip.
Memorizing the Bible.
Eating local, organic, sustainably-produced food.

Your heavenly Father has loved you, is loving your, and will continue to love you. His love is past, present, and future. Jesus’ sacrifice for you occurred BEFORE YOU WERE BORN: before you made your first A+, before you learned how to read, before you made your first good or bad decision. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

Take 3 minutes today, 120 seconds, and REST in the security of a God that unconditionally loves you.

New Orleans: Day 5

Dan Marotta — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:54:17 +0000

Well today certainly was interesting to say the least. It turns out that a few of the local neighborhood children that stay at the mission during the day came down with a stomach virus that then spread to many of the teenagers and leaders – including our team! So far – Jennifer, Henry, Kurt, Kristen, Maddie, and Jamie are all still healthy, but Dr. Gaston, Zach, Kara, Ashley, Jane, Katie, and myself have all spent the day in bed sipping gatorade and waiting to feel better. There are about 50 other people here besides our team and about half of them are sick as well – turning the mission base into something of an infirmary.

Now – I don’t want anybody to be too alarmed. The stomach bug seems to run its course in about 24 hours or so and already the people who got sick first are on the mend. A full day of rest and staying hydrated seems to do the trick. Plus – even in the midst of upset-stomachs, we are seeing the Lord at work. The healthy members of our team have shown a lot of maturity in stepping up into leadership without having to be asked. They are doing a great job taking care of us!

One prayer request that we have is that no one would get sick during our travel back home. That would NOT be fun!

in Christ,

Dan

New Orleans: Day 4

Dan Marotta — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:01:42 +0000

Boy do we have a hardworking team! Today we dug in the dirt. No, I’m serious, we dug in the dirt all day long. Our assigned task was to assist a new charter school in building garden beds for the upcoming school year. It’s a pretty cool thing they’re doing – the idea is that the school yard will be used to grow vegetables and herbs to be used in the first New Orleans culinary institute for high school students. Students will learn how to plant, nurture, harvest, and cook with their own organic produce. The only difficulty lay in the fact that the gardens needed to be planted in space that was made up of concrete, asphalt, rock, brick, and dirt. So out came the pick axes, shovels, hoes, rakes, and wheelbarrows! Our team sweated through the day and really accomplished a lot – I was very proud of them.

I can’t believe the trip is already half-way over! We’re having a blast getting to know one another, working hard, and studying God’s word together. Thank you for your generous prayers.

in Christ,

Dan

New Orleans: Day 3

Dan Marotta — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:41:28 +0000

It is HOT down here! We divided our group into two teams today – one team cleaned up a neighborhood playground for kids and the other painted the outside of a community center. With the hot sun beating down and 97% humidity, we were grateful when it started raining at 4:00pm and we had to end the work-day early. Everybody worked hard and did a great job. One thing I am noticing about our team is that I have not had to remind anyone to have a good attitude – not even ONCE! Everybody is cheerful, upbeat, and we have spent so much time each day just laughing together.

Some highlights from today include:

-Kurt accidentally painting the top of Maddie’s head with a paint roller.

-Hearing stories of hope from the missions director about what life in New Orleans has been like since Hurricane Katrina.

-Making a late night trip down the street to Wendy’s for frosties.

-Jane learning to play the African drums for our team worship time.

Thank you parents, friends, and family for your prayers!

in Christ,

Dan