I figured this blog should begin with an introductory post just to get you the reader acquainted with who I am and why I have begun this blog. Well, my name is Mat Stan Samuel. People have been known to call me Mat or Stan or Mat Stan. I've decided that all of the above are okay with me. After all, our names are merely just a window to our identity.
I can go on to say many things about myself. I'm a college student at University of North Texas, majoring in General Studies with a concentration in Psychology, Counseling, and Communications (The most difficult major to describe to those that ask), but it is a blend of three distinct majors, and hopefully, it'll be very useful in my life. I can also tell you how I'm pretty active in my church which is St. Paul's Mar Thoma Church, and I can tell you more and more about what I do there. This blog will become a book then.
The reason I created this blog though is to allow you the reader to follow me along my path that the good Lord has prepared for me. I am currently on my way to becoming an ordained minister of the Mar Thoma Church.
First, let me explain what the Mar Thoma Church is. We are an Eastern Syrian Reformed Church which basically means we are from the Eastern Christianity, but we have also blended with Western Christianity. We are most closely related to the Anglican Church.
For me to become an ordained minister of the Mar Thoma Church, there are a few steps to take. I must graduate with my Bachelor's, and then I submit an application which gets reviewed by a certain Selection Committee, and then I'm called for an interview, and if all goes well, I will be in the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary in Kottayam, India. Seminary is about a four year process, and after that, God willingly, I'll be ordained as a Deacon, and soon after, as a priest. Currently, I'm about to enter into my third year for my Bachelor's. During this summer (actually in a week from this post), I will be going to New York which is the headquarters of the Mar Thoma Church in the North America and Europe Diocese. There, I will be doing training under our Bishop Rt. Rev. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius. From what I've heard, when I'm there, I will be doing various things. During the weekdays, I'll be taking care of different things there (i.e., clerical work, filing, typing, etc.), and during each weekend, I'll be sent to a different church. I will be preaching at their events, and participating in their Worship Service and giving the sermons there as well. I'm going Tuesday, June 7, 2011 and I should be returning Tuesday, July 12, 2011. This is my first step into "the road less traveled", and I ask for your prayers, so that God may strengthen me and lead me in His way.
I leave you with a quote from the famous poem by Robert Frost titled, "The Road Not Taken" and my favorite Bible verse.
"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
-Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"
-Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Thanks for reading! Continue to stay updated as I will post more posts as I keep going on this journey.
