"Hell, I'll buy her fries."

I moved into my house yesterday. It is so incredible. It was built in the 1920's and has hardwood floors, lots of trees and a big roomie kitchen. Best of all, it's close to everything. My roomie's Dad is putting in this beautiful tile in the bathroom, laundry room, and the kitchen. It's a little bit of a wreck right now as we're still moving stuff in and finishing some projects. Give it a month and it's going to be one sweet little casa.

After a full day of moving in, my roommate Kellie invited me to go downton with her and her friend Kristin. Asheville comes alive at night, boy! It was great. There were people everywhere. We tried to go to this really nice restaurant called Carmelos, but they wouldn't serve us at the bar because, even though we're all over 21, we still have the "under 21" license (PS - they are pretty much the only place in town that has this policy). So then we proceeded to go to Jack of the Wood which is a great little pub that brews their own beer and has great live folk and bluegrass music almost every night. I enjoyed having dinner with the girls. Kristin mentioned something about church and our conversation took a turn that I know was from God. My prayer since I've been here is that God would provide me with like-minded friends and people that I could connect with. Kristin invited me to go to church with her the next day. I decided I would fo-sho. I had prayed about whether or not I should go to church the next day and if I should - where? Well - here was my answer. We continued talking and eating.

Please understand that pride is one of my vices. I have come a long way from where I was in high-school (pretty much a bigot). But, when I take my eyes off Jesus and the cross and focus on myself I tend to get this idea that I'm a lot better person than I actually am. So, despite my best attempts to ward it off, there is still a small part of me that does come to Asheville as a crusader and thinking that I'm a better follower of Jesus than others.

Holy Spirit is really good about knocking me off my high-horse though. After we left Jack of the Wood, we passed a lady on the sidewalk who asked for something. I wasn't really listening to her, and was going to just keep walking, ignoring her. Kristin, however, stopped long enough to actually hear what the woman said. "Can ya'll buy me some fries?" We proceeded to follow Kristin into the bar where she bought the lady some fries. The lady's name was Gladys. I'm sure she was probably just a real person, but a small part of me thinks she was an angel put there by God to test my stupid, uncaring, only-wanting-to-protect myself-heart. So Kristin was Jesus to Gladys. And I was a hard-hearted fool.

I am in the city now, and there are lots of homeless people, and lots of people looking for handouts. I know I have to learn in what way to be Jesus to these people, and how to interact with them. But like Kristin said "I wouldn't just give them money to contribute to some kind of alcoholism or something, but fries? Hell, I'll buy her fries."

We continued bar hopping, which was quite an experience. Formerly, this would have been a very tabboo and terrible thing for me to participate in, but really, it was a lot of fun. I only bought one drink the whole night - alcohol is really expensive and has lots of calories! It was a great time getting to know my roommate and Kristin and then some of their other friends. I am learning to kind of check my preconceptions at the door. I am learning that, in Christ, I do have freedom because He goes with me wherever I go. I could have been a prude and stayed at the house, but I really wanted to hang out and get to know people. So I went, Jesus went with me, and it was a great night.

This morning I went to Kristin's Methodist church. I haven't been to a traditional church in quite a while. However, I really enjoyed singing the hymns. We sang some great ones, including "Victory in Jesus" and "Take My Life and Let It Be." It was an older congregation, and a beautiful church with a huge cathedral ceiling. The sermon was great. The Pastor spoke from John 1 about Nathaniel's response about Jesus "Nazareth? Can anything good come from Nazareth?" It was sort of about how God shows up in the most unexpected places, which is exactly what I've been thinking about lately. I probably won't continue to go there, but I got to meet the Pastor afterwards. He had mentioned this guy in Philidelphia that has a homeless ministry, and it reminded me of Shane Claiborne. Turns out, he knew all about Shane and the Simple Way and knows some people who are wanting to start up something similiar right here, in Asheville. CAN YOU STINKIN BELIEVE THAT!?! For all of you who have prayed, thanks. God has answered. After one day in Asheville, I allready have a contact for like-minded believers.

God truly is awesome. And I truly have to pee after this green-tea.

Peace in Christ alone,
Nicola