W131-In a nutshell

Wow...to think that this semester is going to be ending in a few short days is difficult for me to fathom.  While it seemed like just yesterday I walked into our W131 class.  After dropping a more rigorous honors course, I wasn't sure what to expect when I came to this new class.

I will never forget this class because the first day when I came to class everyone was talking and laughing together.  This is not a bad thing but in my other classes it just didn't happen.  It broke the "awkward ice" that existed in my other classes.   Then there was Wayne in the front of class welcoming everyone!!!!  

From there the class only got more interesting.  I remember when Ms. Brown gave us an assignment to create a blog;  I thought that this lady is going to be a cool teacher.  The dynamics of the class were unlike any other class.  We would sit in a circle and talk about our writings and have class discussions on how to improve our piece.  I enjoyed the encouragement that I got from other students as well as the criticism that was offered.  

Another funny thing about this class was the size.  When we first started the semester it seemed like every seat in the room was full.  Now as we close the semester of Fall 08, we are lucky to have 15 students attend class.  This presented a new element to the class, because the people that came wanted to be there and therefore allowed student to enjoy class more.  It was also a neat way to build relationships.  This way especially true during our debates.  Because of the low numbers we were able to spend more time helping one another and build stronger arguments.  With more students I don't know how successful that would have been.

We saw dynamics change, relationships form, encouragement take place and all this was done in one short semester.  This semester flew by and it is hard to imagine this semester coming to an end.  But like the english proverb says "All good things must come to an end."

Wrapping the Gifts

While in Africa we handed out over 3000 gifts.  It was over 300 man hours to prepare all the gifts.  

Preparing the Gifts from Joel Hayslip on Vimeo.

This is only a glimpse at the work that was required!

Life in Africa-DAY 4

Our third day with the Give A Kid A Christmas program was a great success!

Today we went to three more locations here in Burkina Faso.  The first place we went to was called Camp Bethel.  The children were quiet yet the impact of the drama was lasting.  We handed out over 250 Books of Hope, which is a picture book that conveys the Gospel message.  Camp Bethel has 4 teachers and a director.  Interestingly enough, Camp Bethel was that it was the site of the first Children's Pastor Conference here in Burkina Faso.  Overall this was a great outreach.

The second school that we

 went to was an Assemblies run, private school.  The facilities were maintained very nicely.  When we first arrived to this school the children  swarmed us as if we were celebrities.  All of the children and the staff were extremely kind and welcoming.  At this school we had the opportunity to share the gospel with about 275 children.  Although this is a private-Christian school many of the students are Muslim.  At this school we did a social drama about hygiene, a skit entitled "God doesn't Love Me", we also presented the Gospel skit.  The children were energetic and involved.  The excitement of the children provided encouragement to our team.  

Our third stop for the day was 

not a school, it was a orphanage.  Along with the orphans there were several other children from the village.  At the orphanage we did two skits;  we performed the chair skit and the Gospel skit.  The chair skit begins to depicts the danger of  sin.   At the orphanage we were able to share the Gospel with 80 children.  Because the orphanage will be having a Christmas party in December, we left the presents to be opened for a later day.  The staff members and children were both appreciative and excited!

On the third day of Give A Kid A Christmas we were able to share with over 600 children, 16 adults, and had an impact on 3 different communities.  Numbers will never be able to express the excitement on the faces of the children and the eternal difference that was made in the life of each child!

Life in Africa-DAY 3

What another great day!

Again, woke up late....I'm starting to notice a pattern.

Anywho, things went great today.  We went to three more schools, and these kids were so grateful and happy to get a backpack!!!  It really enabled me to put things into perspective.  The Bible is so true when it says that the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.  There is so much to be done and so much that CAN be done.  The lifestyle is absolutely indescribable.  There are wild animals everywhere (tell about that in a second), wells that people walk miles to get to, and sickness that can be prevented!!!!

I am on medicine for malaria; the medicine cost me a mere 15 dollars.  There are children dying everyday from a disease that could be prevented with a 15 dollar investment.  The costs are extremely low, so why don't we (myself included) take advantage of that opportunity to give a helping hand?   

About those animals.  Today as we were driving down the street, I saw an animal I didn't expect to see.  I'm getting used to the wild donkey, goat, dog, chicken,  and roosters.  But today I saw a wild pig.  The thing was just running down the street.  It's really not that big of a deal but it was very interesting to me.  

About the events: we hosted 3 events today and gave out over 700 gifts to African children.  It was an awesome day.  We have 3 more schools tomorrow....and a lot more kids!!!

I would like to close this post with a little story from today.  As we were handing out gifts in the second school, I was assigned to work one class by myself.  Note that I don't know any French except for what I picked up here.  So I walked into the class and began to hand out the gifts.  The children were ecstatic!!!  Not using 1 word, I was able to communicate with these kids.  It was such a beautiful thing to watch these kids, who know nothing about me, pour out their expression of gratefulness.  It really was a beautiful thing to see....and if I had tear glands I might have even begun to cry!  Until tomorrow, JOSH.

Life in Africa-DAY 2

What a great day.  (Long but awesome)

I started this morning waking up late, although only 15 minutes, I was still late!  I was hurrying to finish up before my ride came to pick me up but I found out that he woke up 25 minutes late!!!  I was a rough morning.  Once everyone was there Joel (missionary) began to speak,  in French, to the other natives that were there.  When Joel finished,  the other Africans began to sing and worship (I am beginning to love African music).

We went to three different schools today, and we handed out approximately 600 gifts!!!!  I was great to see the reactions when these kids got the chance to rip open their presents.  The smiles on their faces were literally indescribable.  And the funny thing is that although I didn't speak a word of French,  it was like we were communicating perfectly.  It was a beautiful thing.

I am beginning to make friends with some of the Africans, as well.  I think it is the van rides and they laugh at me as I try to sing their songs with them.  I was getting tired of them laughing,  so I just decided to clap instead (probably better for everyone)!

I was a long, joyful, and exciting day!  Tomorrow we start at 6:00 AM, and we are going to three different schools.  I will keep you all updated.

Life in Africa-DAY 1

WOW!!!!

I have been in Ouagadougou for an entire day now.  It is very different from America but it is also very different from Kiev.  I am a smell sensitive person.  Kiev smelled like metal in water.  (I don't know how else to explain it) Burkina smells like a constant bar-b-que.  It is extremely hot today; it was about 94 degrees in Ouagadougou.  

Besides the intense heat, I went to an African church service (2.5 hours long).  It was very enlightening.  To see people of a different culture than myself, worshiping the same God as I do, was awesome! 

Tomorrow we begin our outreaches at 6:00 AM, I will need to go to bed now, but I will update again tomorrow!   

Sitting in Paris

I am just waiting for my next flight to Africa in about 30 minutes, so I thought I would jump on and post some of my thoughts thus far. After being on a plane for some time I am ready just to land in Burkina Faso.

My first thought is that I am proud to be an American. So many times we take for granted the things that we have. We complain about security in our airports taking too long. No lie, it took me almost 2 hours to get through security in Paris. I got patted down by a guard (after I walked through the metal detecter with no problem), and then they searched my bag again. They did this for almost EVERY PERSON!!!!!

The airport here, stinks! Like, literally smells bad. I have no idea what it is, but it smells like sewage.

This is a neat place, but I am really looking forward to going to Africa, then coming home. Well, people are starting to line up to board, so I'm out for now! I'll try to keep this updated.

Report vs. Argumentative

When writing my research paper,  I felt as though I had a bias when writing.  It's obvious that I do have a bias, but how to portray the fact without letting my opinion come out is a difficult task.  I felt that my research was more leaned in favor of missionaries.  I don't believe that I spent enough time working out what the opposition could be towards missionaries. Because of my already bias research paper, I believe that turning it into an argumentative paper will come with ease. 

In my argumentative paper I want to definitely spend some more time in research about stronger points for the opposition.  I would still like to use statistics from my report, but utilize new statistics from other sources that oppose the funding of missionaries.  

I also believe that I didn't have a clear focus in my research paper.  I would like to spend more time crafting a strong thesis before I continue with my argumentative paper.  

Overall, I believe that my knowledge of this subject has increased dramatically.  I thought that I knew this subject, but when I finished my first study, I realized that I had a lot to learn.  

Tough Love or Welfare

I have always been against big government and government subsidies for low income families.  Now more than ever, I believe with President-Elect Barack Obama getting ready to have his way with our government, we will see huge expanses in federal spending and we will see the national debt multiply. 

Please know that I am a very compassionate person.  I love to give and help where needed, but I don't believe that it is a job for the national government to address.  In my humble opinion I think that if the federal government wanted to help, then give money to communities with the highest percentage of low income families.  From there let the local government take care of distributing funds. 

We need to overhaul our welfare system, and let's show people where they can get jobs and how they can become active participants in our great democracy.  Enough hand-outs, let's give a hand-up and point our fellow Americans in a positive direction.  

Research Paper

I believe I am going to write my report on the comparison between missionaries on the field compared to the number of Americans who attend church.  Missions have always interested me because I have a natural call on my life to work overseas. 

            My pastor, Scott Miller, has inspired me to dream big and aim high.  He is also the one who first got me interested in missions.  He is a board member for Mustard Seed International, which is a mission organization that sends missionaries into the field. 

            Thus far I have research some of the numbers of the largest churches in America, I have found out approximately, how many Christian churches there are in the country, I have also research the number of missionaries in the mission field.

            I would like to say that I am going to become an emerging expert in this field, but as of now I am just a small tadpole in a huge pond.  There is still plenty to learn, and many people to learn from.   To learn more I plan of interviewing my Senior Pastor, Scott Miller, and ask him about the success that he sees in missions.  I will also be interviewing a missionary from Burkina Faso Africa, to get another first hand account on what it is like living in another country.  

I Wish

Copy and Paste this site...funny stuff

http://www.news3online.com/index.php?code=25f2AyZ347sg91M84xcm

I Love....ME?

Rapping and Blogging, in many ways walk hand in hand.  As Josh Levin states, rapping and blogging are easy ways to communicate with a vast number of people, in a relatively quick manner.  There is a major disagreement that I have with Josh in his article "Rappers and Bloggers, Separated at Birth." In his article he states that rappers and bloggers and obsessed with themselves and their culture.  Well, I many ways I will agree with Josh about his thought on rappers and bloggers being obsessed with ourselves.  But my question for him is, "Isn't everybody a little obsessed with themselves."  We all love to tell stories about ourselves.  We love to be with our friends and hear about their weekends or their relationships.  No one wants to live in a cave by themselves and not talk to anybody.  It's perfectly OK to talk about yourself and state your accomplishments.  If your not going to tell anyone about the success you have in your life than, who will?  But I also believe there needs to be a balance of yourself with humbleness.  I know, sometimes it is hard for many people to understand, but the would doesn't revolve around us!  The Earth was here before us and it will be here long after we're gone!

When looking at cultural narcissism, I have to ask myself is this really a bad thing.  A personal philosophy of mine is when people are proud of something they will fight for it and try to preserve it to the best of their abilities.  So, when saying that rapping and blogging creates a supremacy felling over others, I don't believe that is true.  Just as Japanese people are proud of Japan, Americans are proud of America and the ideals behind it.  Like I stated earlier, it makes people proud of what they have.

So to say that blogging and rapping create narcissism for self and culture, may be a very true statement. But then to say that is a completely bad thing, I would have to disagree!

Can anyone write?

Sure, anyone can write.  But can everyone write? No, writing is a talent that is acquired with much practice and time.  Writing is a gift that not everyone has, but everyone desires.  Anyone can tell a story, but not everyone can explain and describe a story.  Often we get confused between simple communication and writing.  Writing is the art of extracting thoughts onto paper.  And that is not a gift that everyone has.  Like I stated at the beginning, anyone can write something, but that doesn't mean that anyone will read it!  That is the key to writing; a writer must write with the reader in mind.  Because ultimately if the reader doesn't understand what you are writing about then, that is an unsuccessful writing piece. 

Big Stuff

Ya know, it's funny how the transition between high school and college can make such a deep impact on your life.  As I reflect back on the past 4 years of my life I pretty much got away with whatever I wanted.  Now in college my role has changed, I'm not the big man on campus.  I have a clear understanding of my future goals.  The best is that the decisions that I made in high school, that I thought would change my life, aren't looking so big now.  Now, I have several job offers ranging from New Albany to Louisville and going all the way down to Austin.  How to choose.  I want to be smart and take advantage of every opportunity life throws my way, but I don't want to rush.  

Anyone have some simple advice?  I'm looking for clarity.  I'm looking for the big stuff.

The Life of Josh Kornberg (11/06/89-3/24/76)

Today, we mourn the life of beloved teacher and Christian leader, Josh Kornberg. From early in his life, it was evident that this young man was going to accomplish great things throughout his life. During his high school years, Kornberg was very involved with various activities. His involvement includes Student Council, National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and board member of several councils throughout his community. After receiving his bachelors in Elementary Education from Indiana University Southeast, he went on to pursue his Masters in Organizational Leadership from Vanderbilt, and finishing his education with a Ed.D.Min. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. After completing his education, he founded several international children’s ministry training centers, and became an international figure for introducing Christ to children. It is his determination, hard work and commitment, that makes this man a very special person to many people. It is on this day that we celebrate the life of beloved father, husband, teacher, and friend, Josh Kornberg.

Welcome

Hey, my name is Josh Kornberg. I am a freshman this year at IU Southeast. At this point in my life I am pursuing my bachelors in Elementary Eduction. I am involved on various committees, here in New Albany, including Interfaith Community Council, SURF Board, Youth Count, and I am also very involved at Graceland Baptist Church. If you want to learn more about me check out the article in myLinks.
Thanks for checking in and I hope you enjoy my blog!