Faith within Discouragement

Hey all! Sorry it has been a while since I've really updated on anything. The wireless here hasn't been so hot, and we are kept pretty busy.

This past week has been pretty challenging. I swear I'm probably the first person from Purdue to say it- Summer Project can be hard! Most of us work during the day, where we are trying to be lights to our co-workers, then we come back and usually have some sort of meeting in the evening. Sometimes, we have to help get these meetings ready ourselves. Then there is making dinner and cleaning up afterwards, laundry, random work, and intentionally pursuing the other men and women on the project. It is really easy to wear yourself out here.

However, it has been so good. The Holy Spirit has really been battling bad attitudes and exhaustion within me this past week. With the Lord's help, I'll have the energy to do whatever needs to be done.

So, a couple updates on what I've gotten to do this week:

1. This past weekend, we ministered to people on the beach by playing a game we call Soularium. The way the game works is that we set up about 50 cards, each with a picture of something random (a elderly couple, a tree, a door). Then we ask passerby's questions about the cards. For instance, "which two of these cards best represent your life?" It gives people the ability to start thinking about their life in a whole new way. If people are willing, we also ask some questions about God and the ability to have a relationship with Him. This is our avenue into sharing the gospel with them.

During our time using soularium, it was easy for me to get pretty discouraged. You see, a lot of other groups were having great conversations and people were hearing the gospel. I, myself, was not. In a way, my heart was basically slumped because I wasn't happy with the way the Lord was using me. On top of that, the Lord has really put me in a interesting place at work. Most of the other male workers work the night shift, while I work the morning shift. This has been making it difficult to really work on my ministry at Surf Style. I'm not sure what the Lord's plan is, but I want to trust Him and be faithful!

2. Last night, I got to Emcee our weekly meeting. This meeting is designed to be a recharge for all of us on project. We usually play some sort of goofy game, worship, pray, hear teaching, and enjoy some socializing. Being able to lead it all was such a fun experience! I can't wait to do it again next week!

Thanks again for all your support and prayers! Pray that I am usable for the Lord in His work down in Clearwater!

Date Night with Jesus

Most of the time, I hate cleaning dishes with a sponge. First of all, you have to keep it (you can't just throw it away). Sponges usually get pretty close looking, and I hate squeezing them all over my hands. Nonetheless, I am in love with sponges right now.

Why you may ask? Well, right now I feel like a sponge. I feel like a sponge that's been covered in hot tap water and then squeezed until every once of gunk has been rinsed from me. I feel totally refreshed and filled with new water. 

Every week, each of us students get away from the rest of the team to have what I like to call "Date Night with Jesus." I'm currently finishing up my own time now. 

For the last 2 and 1/2 hours, I have been in this little jankety coffee and ice cream shop in prayer, the Word, mental process, and contemplation. I even journaled for the first time ever! The result has been totally awesome! I feel like I have just sat throw a long conversation with the Jesus, asking Him questions, pouring out my heart, and working along side Him. I was a little unsure at first how I would spend that much time in quiet time, but it was much easier than I could have ever imagined.

These last couple days have been really reaffirming for my heart. For whatever reason, I was really anxious this past weekend. I'm not sure exactly why, but it caused a lot of unrest.

I didn't have to work Monday, so I spent some of my day meeting with my discipler, Daniel Bass, a father of three and Cru Staff Member of North Carolina State University. I had gotten to share my testimony with Daniel and the men in my LifeGroup (bible study) so we first began by simply talking about that more. As we talked, we started to search for some of the heart issues of the sin in my life. (I've determined it wise not to go into too much detail here, but I would love to share more privately if you would like to ask more.) Daniel and I looked at some cool psychological models of how we determine (or create) false truths in our lives. It was such a great time of meeting and I feel really blessed to have this older Man of God leading me this summer.

Today was also my first day of work! Like I mentioned earlier, I am working at a surf shop called Surf Style. If you've ever been to Ron John's, it is very similar to that. I am the sales associate in the Souvenir department. Basically, I sell souvenirs and beach toys/equipment all day! I think I spent about 5 hours just sorting personalized keychains and shot glasses today. I'm hoping to keep things organized, giving me more time to create relationships with my co-workers and love-on customers well.

I've already began conocer some of my co-workers, but for privacy's sake won't put their names up on here on the blog. Could you be praying for them?

Also, some of the team members are still looking for jobs/ministries for the summer. Could you be praying for them? Both peace and patience as well as the providence of a job. 

Thank you so much for your support, again! The Lord's plan is beginning to unfold!

Suntans, Sharing, and Stingrays

Come tomorrow, I will have been down in Clearwater Beach for a whole week. I will say, this week has been quite intense.

In the past week, we have spent time getting to know the other team members on project. This has been a blast! My roommates are a great bunch of Biblical men, as are the other guys on project. I also love the adventure that a lot of these guys have in their hearts. One of the cool things about project is what is created when you stick a bunch of Lord-loving guys and girls together in a closely knit space. I'm excited to face challenges of the summer with this community.

As I mentioned in my last post, I managed to find work! I'm so pumped for my ministry at Surf Style. Could you be praying for me?

Also this week, we were able to begin our beach ministry in Clearwater. We began by simply walking the beaching, initiating conversation with people, and giving them the opportunity to talk about their spiritual journey. I had four really good conversations myself! One of was really cool, because the guy we talked to, Cameron, was interested in meeting up with us and playing some volleyball over the summer.

Want to hear a funny story? So, like I said, there is a group of the guys with a pretty adventurous streak. We decided one night to go out for a swim in the ocean. One thing that is cool about the beach in Clearwater is that the water stays fairly shallow for about 50 yards at parts. So, in the moonlight, seven of us had waded about 30 yards into the water when the leader of our pack caught a glimpse of a few round shapes in the water. While we were trying to figure out what exactly they were (probably stingrays) something off to our right jumped and splashed. Without saying a word, our pack of valiant men immediately raced back to shore, splash-running in a not-so-manly-way. It was pretty humorous at the time, and I'm sure the couple enjoying the stars enjoyed it too.

I'm pumped to begin work tomorrow. Check my prayer page for updates!

I have a Job/Ministry!

Hey everyone!

It is day three down here on the Island of Clearwater Beach. Things have been so cool down here! Yesterday, we spent a lot of times in our Life Groups, which are the small groups in which we will be meeting with our mentor for the first five weeks of summer. We did a lot of orientation and prep. I'm doing my best to learn names fast, but there are over 30 other students with me and a number of staff and their families. It can get challenging.

Want to hear an awesome praise to the Lord? On my first day of job searching, I have found work! A chain store called Surf Style (www.surf-style.com) has hired a good number of us from the project. Surf Style is a store that sells beach products, beach clothing, surfing gear, and skating gear.We will get to hear back in a few days on our assigned location, but there are three fairly close to our motel.

We studied today how we can often just see jobs, work, or even careers as money-makers. However, the Lord has destined so much more for us! Most of us are not full time missionaries or pastors, but we are all called to GO and make disciples. How can we do that? One of the most obvious places is our workplace. One of the big things we will be studying/practicing this summer is how we can be active Kingdom Workers in our workplaces.

Surf Style is an especially cool opportunity because they tend to hire quite a few international students. Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Central and South America are all represented at Surf Style locations! Working there is going to give me and the other project students an awesome opportunity to share the gospel with our co-workers. Could you be praying for divine appointments this summer?

Thank you again for wanting to keep up with me! It means a lot!

On the First Night

So I figured I couldn't go the first night without posting something to at least say we got here safe!

The place we are staying is a small motel, and the North Carolina people have already filled it with these hammock things called Enos (apparently they are big over there).

I plan on posting pictures of the trip as they come on a separate page of the blog. It will take a little bit longer to do, so check back in a few days.

I'm pumped to get to work and continue relationship building with the team. Be praying!

My Last Moments in Indy

Not going to lie. I barely slept last night, and when I did, my dreams were filled with a lot of random stuff- including my brother and I waging war on all red heads (sorry guys), these things that kept on turning from werewolves to angels, and myself parting the Gulf of Mexico. So, overall, a good night.

But for real! I can not explain how pumped I am to finally be here on this day! I applied to this trip back in October, November area, started this blog back in January, and now here we are! I'm getting ready to head out.

Thank you all for those of you who have supported me financially! Just watching the Lord use you to provide has been so cool. I have raised about $3400!  How cool is that? Everyone take a second to praise the Lord with  me!

The plane that Logan and I will be taking leaves Indianapolis at 1:40pm. We should be arriving to our new home in Clearwater about 4 or 5 pm this evening. If you could all be praying for safe travels, that would be a great encouragment!

I will probably try and avoid Facebook over the summer. Facebook has proven to be a huge time-waster in my life, so if you want to get in contact with me, give me a call or email! I should be posting on here at least once a week, probably more.

If you would be willing to pray for me throughout the summer, there is a page that I will use to update prayer requests and praises. Check it out!

Once again, I want to thank everyone who has supported me! I can't wait to see what the Lord does through your provision.

Who is Cru? : Send

Before I begin explaining more about Cru- A support update! I am currently $475 away from being fully supported! Thank you so much for everyone who has graciously joined my support team! Please be praying for the last amounts to come in before the 21st of May.

Now, the third point of Cru's montra -Win, Build, Send- is Send. Cru's heart is to send out disciples in the same way that Jesus sent out disciples in both Matthew 10 and 28. Cru trains believers to not only grow in their faith, but to also preach the gospel wherever they go.

For many, this point draws out contempt and a little animosity. You see, Cru is daring enough to promote what we call "intentional evangelism." No, intentional evangelism is not knocking on someone's door, asking if they've "heard the good news," and leaving them with some pamphlets about their unavoidable doom. Intentional evangelism simply means that in the process of forming relationships and loving-on others, there is an attempt to verbally share the gospel.

In my experiences with Cru, I have gotten to share the gospel while passing out food to families in poverty, talk about Jesus with students after taking one of our faith surveys, answer difficult questions with non-believing friends who accompany me to church, and evangelize to my friends in my dorm, classes, and student organizations.

What makes this different than other Christian orgs? What often turns people off to Cru's method of evangelism? Honestly, it's the "sharing the gospel" part. I can say that with confidence because I myself was not a huge fan of Cru's evangelistic style as a freshman.

Have you ever heard the saying, "Preach the gospel, and if neccessary, use words"? If not, it is an old saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi (though no historical or legal evidence supports this attribution). In recent years, it has become the rallying cry of Christians in their approach to spreading the gospel in a world pretty pissed off with religious bigotry.

Why do people love this? Why was I willing to live and die by this saying?

Simple, it's easy.

It seems that the church has allowed itself to adone a gospel presentation that consists only of smiling 24/7, being very loving and kind, and doing a lot of good works. Now, many of these things are not bad in and of themselves. Paul himself wrote that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). Furthermore, it is true that one would have a difficult time sharing the gospel with friends if one's own life did not reflect that very gospel. However, this does not make living a good life an evangelistic strategy.

Here's why. Let's set the scene:

I am with some of my non-believer friends. We are at yet another fraternity party and once again they are slowly losing all self-inhibition sipping on that magic stuff and grinding up some lovley ladies. I, however, dressed in my hipster-esque, leather flip-flops, washed-out jeans, button-down shirt, and WWJD braclet, sit calmly at the side of the room, smiling politely and denying any offer of alcoholic beverage. Seeing this pattern in my life, my friends have always wondered what makes me different. They all suddenly deside to stop dancing, walk over to me, sit at my feet, and accept Christ.

What's wrong with this picture? I bet a life truly living out the gospel will be noticed. I bet it will make people think. We hit the snag, first, at the coexistant culture we currently dwell in. Remember, there is no universal truth anymore. The idea of our society is "what works for me may not work for him" or essentially "my idea of truth may not work for his idea of truth." Being different is no longer different anymore! (Sorry hipsters).

Secondly, the gospel has, essentially, four main points:
1. God is our creator and has a plan for our lives.
2. We have sinned and separated ourselves from Him and His plan.
3. Jesus died so that God's just nature could be satisfied and we could reenter a relationship with Him.
4. In order to do this, we must be willing to give control of and the rebellion in our lives over to God.

The problem with refusing to go past living a gospel-centered life is that there is NO WAY a person just watching you is ever going to understand these four points. They may see that Jesus gets you through hard times or that He has helped you become a better person, but how are they supposed to lead themselves down the path of thinking listed above? At some point, you have to open your mouth and say the J-Word!

Romans 10:17 - So, faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of Christ.

To "Send" in Cru is the idea of sharing this message, intentionally and lovingly, with the people the Lord has placed in our lives. For some, this will mean traveling across the world. For others, this will mean sharing the gospel with their own families. Either way, Cru hopes to raise up workers for the Kingdom, disciples unafraid to proclaim the Word of God.