Is it worth the time and effort?

Ok so for awhile now Shaun, me and the rest of the interns have been working on a huge remodeling project in the basement of our youth center called The Underground. This has been a huge project with MANY hours spent down in the hot, smelly from paint fumes.. (and a few other things), and even at times wet basement. The whole thing has been a lot of fun even though I dont like the whole working thing all that much. But the thing that i hated the most was painting, I wasn't good at it, I didn't like having to pay attention to detail, and it was so boring. But I hate to admit that Shaun was right and I have kind of grown to like painting.
But anyways back to the point of Was all that time and effort worth it? I mean its not like I was being paid for these hours.... or was it?? I mean I wasnt being paid a dollar wage but in fact im being paid by seeing the the impact in the youth. Getting to use The Underground to minister and impact the lives of the youth I would say that I am more than willing to give up a couple hours of my "busy" day for that.
Even though it has been really stressful at times The Underground is drawing closer and closer to being done and being ready to use, and I can not wait to see all the time and effort that we have put in be seen and used in huge ways!

-Nate Fellman

What is Love?

According to Dictionary.com love means: a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. When I think of the love the first person that pops into my head is my mom. I don’t just love her because she is my mom but because she raised me until I was four alone and made a lot of sacrifices for me. But even through hard the hard times she was always there for me.
My mom was a whopping 110 pounds and 4 feet 11 and three-fourths inches and she would never let you forget the three-fourths. One of the most distinct features that she had was her long wavy blonde hair that everyone knew her by. Even though she was small in size my mom had the biggest and most caring heart out of anyone I know. She was also one of the feistiest people you will meet. In a way you could say that I have lost touch with her because at the age of seven my mom died from e coil only a month or so after my youngest brother was born. Before this we were inseparable, she would spend every moment she could with me. She was the most important person in my life and I was hers, nothing and no one got between us. My mom had the biggest influence on my life and I know that if she had handled our situation any different I would not be the person I am today. She also influenced me by telling me to be the best person that I can be. When my mom passed away it affected me in a huge way because the person that I always turned to and loved was gone.
I believe that I saw and loved my mom in a way that no one else did or even came close to. I was her first child and I got her to myself for the first four years of my life, even though I don’t remember a lot from those years I still wouldn’t want them any other way. She was also more than just my mom she was my best friend. Even though my mom is not with us anymore her memory is still strong in me and it will always be there.
So what is love to me? I would have to say that love is a feeling that you have for someone who has been there for you, influenced you, and that you care for so much that you would do anything for them. That’s how I feel about my mom and I know she felt the same way.

-Nate Fellman