Saturday, May 29, 2010
Today was the first full day on Project. I got here yesterday afternoon after a long but enjoyable drive from Huntsville. I made sure that I led the caravan down here so that no one would speed.  Don’t need to start the summer off with a speeding ticket! As soon as we got here, it felt like we were home. It was so good to see the other Room Leaders that I had met at retreat a few months ago. We spent some time reacquainting ourselves and enjoying each others’ company. We went out to dinner with our teams (made up of one Team Leader and 3 Room Leaders) and went bowling. We had a blast. The Team Leaders had already been here a day and were working hard on cleaning out the Sandman where we are staying. Let me tell you about the Sandman: the Sandman is a run-down motel that was recently repossessed by the bank. Thank the Lord (it was through Him) we got the Sandman for the summer. Since they aren’t renting to anyone else, we don’t have to squish 8 people into each room; only 4-5! Each room has a small living/dining area, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. The bedrooms fit 2 full size beds but we will be moving them out to fit in bunk beds.
I found out that I will be discipling 4 girls this summer. As long as the groupings don’t change, I will have one girl from Montevallo and 3 from Samford. I am so excited about meeting them and getting to know them. My fear is however that we will not mesh, that we will have personalities that clash. I’ve been praying though for God to work through me and to prepare all of our hearts. The Campus Outreach staff guy at Montevallo made a point at our Room Leader retreat that out of the 6 billion in the world, God placed the 5 of us girls together. It will be hard though and I know I will face conflict. But the Lord is going to use those situations to glorify Him.
We met this morning to start our training. A lot of the training is just a refresher from what we talked about at retreat. We talked about keeping our leadership SIMPLE: Stay dependent on God; Initiate to them and think for them; Model for them; Pray for them; Love them and serve them; and Empower them. I’m very much looking forward to serving my girls. Jesus said in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (ESV). I am praying for the Lord to give me a servant’s heart. I want to do things like cook breakfast for them on Sundays and Mondays when I don’t have to work, drive them everywhere so they don’t have to pay for gas, and take them out for ice cream or coffee. It will be hard at times; I know I won’t always “feel” like doing it, but it’s in those times that I need to serve them the most. I already bought stuff for our room to make living at the Sandman easier for the girls.
We talked again about engaging the lost (evangelism) and this afternoon got to go to high-profile places in Ft. Walton to be intentional with people. My team (made up of 4 guys, 4 girls, and 1 staff guy) went to the Ft. Walton mall. We paired up and just looked for people to share the Gospel with. It sounds like everyone was successful (and of course, with the Lord, we will always be successful, even when we think we failed). I went with Abby and Rob. We went into a coffee shop and got coffee and then talked to a guy who was waiting for his buddy to get off from work. We just talked about what he does for a living and what he likes to do for fun. We got around to talking about church: he grew up in a Catholic family and unfortunately has had a bad experience. We talked to him a good bit about our testimonies and discipleship. He appeared to be engaged in the whole 30-minute conversation seemed to really like the idea of discipleship. We got his number so he can come hang out on the beach with us. Hopefully, after we get to know him better, we can invite him to our meetings and maybe church. Please be praying with me for our new friend Josh.
The rest of the night we spent in fellowship, the Word, prayer, and worship. It is so good to constantly be around the Body. We spent awhile in “Dream Time” where we all share what we would like to see God do this summer and in the coming years. For example, I want to see more people come to Beach Project from the residence halls on UNA’s campus and for the parents to be impacted by their visit here. I have been tired all day so I was ready to go back to the room. God reminded me that I can find strength and rest in Him:
“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31, ESV).
I know I will be clinging to that verse a lot this summer!! Chris Tomlin sings a song “Everlasting God” that is based off of those verses. Check it out if you can.
We went to Wal-Mart tonight to grab some groceries to last us through the rest of the weekend. I am so looking forward to spending all day tomorrow with the Lord and observing the Sabbath. I’ve had so much fun already and I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for the summer!
I have a prayer request for you: that the Holy Spirit would make us CO staff, Team Leaders, and Room Leaders “others-centered” and that we would learn to love each other and our disciples.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing”
(1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!
Stay tuned and remain steady in your walk with God.
In Christ,
Christine ><>