The Goings on and Work of Sam Mahlstadt

On Thursday, I proposed to my girlfriend of three years at Bistro Montage in downtown Des Moines. The people at Bistro helped get the details coordinated with me, and it was a perfect night. The food was amazing, the champagne was bubbly, and most importantly, she said yes. We are now excitedly beginning to plan our wedding.

Last week, I wrapped up my college career; I can now say that I am a graduate of the University of Iowa. The actual graduating ceremony was not even close to the coolest thing that I was a part of last week, however. Graduation was eclipsed by the opportunity I had to serve communion to two of my closest friends. Although these two guys are un-churched and don’t live lives devoted to Christ, yet, they were more than willing to hear me preach and then to allow me to serve them communion. I truly feel that God was at work in their hearts the last couple weeks before we all went our separate ways following graduation, and being able to serve them communion on the eve of graduation was an honor and a blessing! While I was preparing the elements, I was explaining why we take communion and rehashing to them what the elements represented, and my roommate asked me a hilarious question. “Can we use Goldfish instead of bread for communion?” It was an awesome question because I was able to debunk all of the religious tradition surrounding the Eucharist, and explain that a relationship with Christ is about the heart, not what we use to represent his body that was broken for us. So we took communion, with some red wine and a few cheddar crackers. I believe it changed my life, and changed theirs as well.

P.S. today is my birthday!

So, last Sunday was awesome! I was given the opportunity to preach at church, and it was an amazing experience. Being that I want to preach full-time for the rest of my life, it was a debut of sorts. I am very thankful to Cedar Rapids Family Church and Pastor Daniel Winn for the opportunity and having the faith and trust in me to hand over the pulpit. I was greatly honored and blessed. Here is the link for the sermon, through the church’s podcast; enjoy! I truly believe it was a God inspired word, and I was humbled to present it.
If you take a listen, let me know what you think. I would love the feedback.

With hurricane Katrina tearing up much of the United States border and causing disaster to the people of New Orleans, we should be able to remember vividly the devastation and the need that arose out of that terrible situation. A much more severe natural disaster has taken place in Myanmar, and they need help. Their government is hesitant to let in aid from other countries (especially the US) but there are certain organizations that are already in position and ready to go when the opportunity arises. Here is a link to a list of organizations that are equipped to provide aid. We NEED to help!

Also, I just received this email from savedarfur.org this is going to make this post really long, but please read this – we need to hear this message.

The Sudanese government bombed a Darfuri school on Sunday, killing at least 13 people, including seven children. The international community didn’t respond for more than 48 hours.
The attack—and the miserable response—is yet another example of the world’s failure to protect the people of Darfur. The U.N. approved a peacekeeping force for Darfur ten months ago. Less than a third of that force has reached Darfur.
But we have an opportunity to make sure the world keeps its promise to the people of Darfur when the U.S. assumes the presidency of the U.N. Security Council on June 1.

Last summer, the U.N. Security Council committed to send a robust peacekeeping force to Darfur. There was hope that with the arrival of additional peacekeeping troops, the worst of this humanitarian nightmare would soon be over.
Ten long months later, only 10 percent of the additional 20,000 troops have deployed. Those that are on the ground lack the basic logistical and material support they need to do their job. There is simply no reason why the most powerful nation in the world, together with its allies, can’t find 22 helicopters to help save lives in Darfur.
In last year’s State of the Union address, President Bush said: “The United States … will continue to awaken the conscience of the world to save the people of Darfur.”
If those words mean anything at all, the President will use the leadership of the U.N. Security Council to get the peacekeepers what they need to protect the people of Darfur.

Talk is cheap. The time for outrage alone is over. The time for action is long past overdue. Every day of foot-dragging is another day of unspeakable atrocities visited on the people of Darfur.
The people of Darfur need protection NOW.