Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Post-Project!


Hello blogging world; it’s been a while! I was so jazzed when Amber asked me to “guest blog” while she is on her mission’s trip to Haiti. I thoroughly enjoyed my time blogging this past summer while I was on an eleven-week mission’s trip in Ocean City, New Jersey. I found it to be the perfect way to share about my experiences and process through all that was going on. I am now going to take this opportunity to share with you all about what the Lord has been doing in my life post-project.
Before I really dive into it, I want to give a little background as to what Ocean City Summer Project is. It is an eleven to twelve week mission’s trip where roughly 100 students from all over the nation are taught how to share their faith/the gospel (in every day life) and the importance behind it. Ocean City Summer Project has been around since 1965 and is actually the first project CRU (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ) ever offered. Now there are a plethora of projects all over the nation, there are even international projects. Ocean City Summer Project is a life-changing summer – immense growth occurs and a deep love for our Savior is imbedded in the hearts of the 100+ students attending.
My experience was just that: life-changing. I entered project coming off a semester that had been so destructive to my life and my relationship with the Lord. Throughout the summer, he transformed me and provided me with a genuine passion to serve him. When I think about the most positive time in my life thus far, I think about project. I was surrounded by 100 other students who spurred me on in my faith and provided me with the best community I could have ever wished for.
I returned to Chico and found I was no longer living in a “Christian bubble”. I immediately started struggling with past sin. I had to let go of my worldly desires and keep in mind that the person I was before project was a person I never wanted to be again. I am much more aware of the Lord’s presence in my life and how faithful he is (Psalm 40:1-2). One of the greatest truths I learned this summer is that EVERYONE is called to be sent, by sent I mean reach all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Whether you are being called to help send or to physically be sent, all are getting “the call”.
This summer I felt the Lord tugging me to help send others to pursue international missions. I began financially and prayerfully supporting acquaintances, my discipler, friends, and just recently my sister. I have felt great joy in assisting others get to where the Lord has called them. I have always been open the idea of being sent international, but haven’t felt the Lord draw me in that direction. Part way through this semester I attended a summer project meeting, mainly to support those who have never been on one and encourage them to consider it…little did I know, the Lord had something in store for me too. This upcoming summer, Chico CRU is partnering with the Dominican Republic and sending a team from May 25-June 30 to share the gospel with approximately 160,000 students. The directors of Chico CRU are heading the project and the team will be made up of members from CRU and the Latino branch of CRU, Destino.
It was a surprise to me when I was sitting in the room, hearing information about the D. R. project, and feeling as if I should apply. Since then, I have prayed about it and continued to feel it lay heavy on my heart. On December 10 I submitted my application and will hear by January 28 whether or not I’ll be spending five weeks in the Dominican Republic this summer. It is exciting, but extremely nerve-racking. I never imagined I embark on an international mission’s trip…not soon anyway! But as the director of Ocean City Summer Project said, “Risk it all to follow the call.” Thank you so much for reading about my heart change for international missions! It has been so fun being able to share it with you all. I pray that you are answering the Lord’s call for your life, whether it be to help send or to be sent.
Don’t forget…please, continue to pray for Miss Amber’s journey! It is awesome to know others are supporting her and are tuned into what she is doing to serve Christ! She is such a lovely woman of God and an example to me and many others. I am just so blessed to have her in my life!
OCSP 2011.
Love you, Ambs!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Back to reality. :/

Well, project has ended and I'm back in Chico, but before I go into how transition has been, I want to tell you all about the last few days of project!
Thursday night we had our Farewell Banquet. We know how to throw a party! The cars picked us up at the Inn at 6:30 p.m. and headed off to a mysterious location. We ended up at the bay and were directed to a two story boat where we ate dinner, listened to two testimonies and a short message from Bob Fuhs, we watched our project video and a slideshow, then danced the night away. I couldn't have thought of a better way to wrap up project. We watched a beautiful sunset and took so many pictures to remember than night. It was a lovely night of fun fellowship. We all felt so spoiled.
Friday was a project wide clean up day. I would say that was one of my least favorite days of the summer, haha. My Impact Group and another were in charge of cleaning up the Breakfast Nook. In short, this required us to clean out about six refrigerators...absolutely disgusting. We literally had to buy masks so that we wouldn't throw up from the smell which came from mysterious liquid in the bottom of the refrigerators. Rick Brown cleaned out a fridge and the smell literally imbedded in his clothes and he was walking around smelling like a dead animal. We made him leave and change because we couldn't handle it! That night we had our final message given by Hiram Foster. He discussed the divide between campus and project. We have been in this bubble for the past two and a half months. To be honest, I felt invincible, but in reality, my walk with the Lord is going to become much more difficult when I come home. He made it a point to remind us that what we have been doing in Ocean City doesn't stop when we go home, it is important to continue to share and disciple. Just because we are leaving project doesn't mean that growth in our relationship with the Lord ends. Listening to Hiram was really helpful, it mildly prepared me for what to expect when I got home.
Friday night was so bittersweet. Since we started sending people off at 3:30 a.m., project decided to pull an all-nighter. It was hard knowing that this was our last time together. At around 3:00 a.m., we had five individuals from project get baptized in the ocean. It was extremely exciting to see them proclaim their faith and know that they went through so much growth this summer. Right after baptisms ended, the goodbyes began...
Most people left at 4:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m., 10 a.m., and 1 p.m. At about 6:00 a.m., I lost it. It probably didn't help that I hadn't gotten any sleep that night, but the reality that project was ending finally became so much more apparent. It was an incredibly hard day for everyone, a lot of hugs and a lot of tears. We would cry/send a group off, recover, cry/send a group off, recover, that trend continued until about 4:00 p.m. We became a family and knowing that most of us will never associate with each other after departing from Ocean City was sad. For me, I have about five to ten people that I am really going to make an effort to stay in touch with. Plus, we are having a reunion in Illinois in November and I will hopefully see a lot of people then!
Katelyn Phillips, Rick Brown, and I flew out on Sunday. We weren't as lucky as the bunch that left Saturday, they had blue skies and sunshine...we had thunderstorms. We left OC a half hour late, which made us rush for our flight in Philly. Our flight left a half hour late due to so many delays, but the pilot made that time up in the air (which we were very thankful for because when we reached Detroit, we only had an hour until our connecting flight to Minneapolis)...then there was a miscommunication and when we got to Detroit it took us a half hour to get off the plane so we had to run to our gate to catch our flight to Minneapolis. When we got to our gate, they called the three of us up to the podium and offered us a direct flight to Sacramento. They provided us with food vouchers and we would get into Sacramento almost two hours ahead of our original schedule! How could we resist? We boarded the plane in Detroit, flew to Sacramento, reunited with our family, and went to get our luggage...that didn't get switched to the flight we were offered. Sooo, we waited an hour for our luggage to arrive, but in the meantime I showed my family videos and pictures from project and it was fun to reminisce.
Being back in Chico the last few days has been great. I've missed the consistent weather, my house, and car. I've missed my family, the farm, and loved getting to meet my new roommates. I have noticed how difficult it is going to be not living in such a tight Christian community. I don't have the extreme accountability I did in Ocean City. I would love to find that in Chico and I'm hoping I do once CRU and school start up. I would love prayer for the transition here and that I won't experience Post Project Depression (not uncommon!). Ultimately, I am back in Chico! My focus needs to be here now. I have enjoyed sharing my experience with others since being home, and I have especially enjoyed sharing it through this blog.
My Ocean City Summer Project 2011 Journey has come to an end. My blogging days are over...at least they are in relation to project. Maybe I'll start up a new blog now that I'm home. It has been such a great way for me to reflect and revisit truths that I have been told. Thank you for reading my dairy from this summer, it was the best summer of my entire life.
What we do during thunderstorms in OC.
Farewell Banquet.
Cleaning up the Inn!
 Making my mark.
Cali bound.
Waiting for my luggage with my family! :)
Ocean City Summer Project 2011.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

It's all a blur...

I am seriously running off no sleep. I have probably pulled five all nighters in the last week and a half. There aren't enough hours in the day to do all the things that need to get done! I have had the most fun these last two weeks of project, though...despite the lack of sleep.
Monday night, one of my very favorite ladies on project (Kristin Reents), spoke about faith, hope, and love (Colossians 1:1-14). She talked about looking to the gospel for faith, hope, and love in order to be a blessing to others. When we speak of the hope that comes from the gospel it provides us with faith. Within those truths, we are able to grasp Jesus' love (agape). Using his example of what true, genuine love looks like, we can love others. In one of my early updates I mentioned Bob Fuhs introducing the phrase, "Lord, I can't, but you can." I don't know about you all, but loving others is generally difficult for me. I get annoyed rather quickly and I don't enjoy being around those who have the ability to get under my skin. Kristin reminded me that I can't, but he can. When I encounter those I have a difficulty loving, it is my goal to pray for them and pray that the Lord provides me with them ability to love them well.
"Out of the Lord's blessings in our lives, we can be a blessing to others."
Our schedule this week has been so funky, due to it being our last. You all know that I'm a part of the Heritage Team and one of our duties is to make project shirts and leave a gift for next year's project. These are the reasons I have lost so much sleep! Wow, we did not think they would be as time consuming as they were. But at the end of the day, they are both finished and we are so thrilled. I'm going to tell y'all a story about these two projects. Okay, so we came up with this design for the project shirt and thought it was going to be a hit. So we went to a place on the boardwalk and had a sample shirt made...horrible. We got it back and hated it. So at 1:00 a.m., we started from scratch. After a few hours, we had a new design! We ordered the shirts and after being delayed a day after they were supposed to arrive, we have them and are handing them out at the Farewell Banquet tonight. I really hope everyone loves them as much as we do.
Now onto the project gift. Basically the same thing went down with the gift that went down with the shirts. We had an idea, got it approved, then decided against it. Our original idea was to get speakers for the porch so that during the day we could have music playing, but I'm sure you're thinking what I'm thinking: that would get abused. We nixed that idea and came up with one blew everyone's expectations out of the water. We decided to redesign the entire Heritage Room, no big deal. Lies. This was not a little rearrange the couches, organize the pictures, and vacuum the floors task. No. This meant spackling the walls, painting them (twice), painting a mural & a Bible verse, organizing the plaques & project pictures, getting new lamps and couch covers...oh and then all the other things I listed in the previous sentence. At approximately 5:45 this morning...our room is complete. Everyone on project LOVES it, which makes these all-nighters so much more worth it. I'm so excited for next year's project to enjoy this room. We want it to be a room where memories are made and people actually enjoy hanging out in it.
This a week of "lasts". I had my last Sunday at OCBC, Impact Group, Action Group study, and shift at McDonald's. Two have already left project and more are leaving tonight. The numbers are dwindling. Most semester students leave Saturday, so that calls for another all-night Friday night. I don't leave until Sunday, so I get to see everyone off. I don't plan on packing to go home until Sunday morning, I just can't bring myself to start yet. I am traveling home with Katelyn Phillips and Rick Brown and Katelyn and I definitely need to warn Rick that will are going to be emotional wrecks on the way home! I can already see it...the first half of the journey home will be us girls crying because we're leaving project...then when we reach Minneapolis and have to sit there for a five hour layover, we will be crying because we can't wait to be home. That young man is not going to know what to do with us. I hope he doesn't mind lending his hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on. ;)
I really wish I could express to everyone how much I have enjoyed project. It has changed my life and I have formed so many relationships that are so deep. My craving for a relationship with the Lord has been magnified this summer. I can't wait to see how he uses all the things I've obtained this summer for my movement back at home. I can't believe I only have a few more days left; this place has become my home and these people have become my family. I feel blessed to have been, "predestined to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will"(Eph. 1:5). We have made an impact here and we now have the ability to go home and make and impact there and wherever else the Lord leads us. 
It all comes back to the verse that lead me to Ocean City, NJ:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith.'" Romans 1:16-17
After a little shopping trip, we got caught in a massive thunderstorm.
Last shift at McDonald's, first time ever getting breakfast there.
(Very impressed!)
My very good girl friend, Miss Alison, getting baptized.
Riding the big ferris wheel with my action group.
Late night girl excursion. :)
Result of multiple all-nighters.
A little taste of the Heritage Room.

Monday, August 8, 2011

The end is near.

Hey family and friends!
We are quickly approaching the end of project and due to that, things have been incredibly busy! Last Sunday we had a $10 prom. What this entailed was going to a thrift store and finding the trendiest (or not so trendiest) outfit you could find for under $10. The outfits were hilarious and the night was filled with non-stop dancing and laughter. I love how goofy we all are around each other and that we feel comfortable enough to embrace our weirdness.
Andrew Kelleher spoke at our weekly meeting on Monday night. I felt like staff had come back, he was such an amazing public speaker, his delivery was phenomenal. I really enjoyed listening to him. He spoke about unity compelled by grace. He made three great points: there is power in unity, sin hindrances unity, and Jesus Christ is our unifying factor. Like I've said in multiple blogs, we were never made to live the Christian life alone. Community is so important, it helps maintain your enthusiasm and within a community you have the ability to expand your knowledge/wisdom. The community I have here is one that can never be replaced, but can hopefully be replicated. My hope is that the six others from Chico and I hold tight to what the community on summer project looks like and return to Chico with a huge passion to have that on our campus. Unfortunately community can be broken, when sin creeps in, it takes our focus off God and puts it on one us or negatively on others. When that happens, it's so important to bring focus back to the one who knows unity best: Jesus. "Our eyes have to be fixed on Jesus in order to unite."
Obviously project is ending within this next week and I have to return to Chico. With that in mind, I have to start focusing on my community there. I definitely struggled last year feeling like I didn't fit in and not making many friends. This year, I am going to get involved and really being intentional with the relationships I form. I feel like Chico CRU needs to regroup and remind ourselves of the purpose of CRU. I have a very positive feeling about this year, my excitement is very high. Many individuals from our movement went on summer project, and I guarantee they share the same vision I do. 
On Wednesday night we had Men's and Women's Time, so we split up according to gender and had a night devoted to fellowship. The women in charge of women's time did a great job. The theme of the night was carrying each others burdens. We started on the beach and filled out a "yes or no" survey then received someone else's survey and stood up when they answered "yes" to a question. It was heartbreaking to see the sin and hurt that my sisters in Christ have gone through. We then filled up gallon size bags with sand and trekked all over the city. Each of us were carrying three or four full sand bags, this was not an easy task, but the representation was amazing. Plus, we had a chocolate fountain after. It wouldn't be women's time without the chocolate! But ultimately, that night reverted back to the importance of community. For me, I want to return to Chico with a huge desire to seek strong woman fellowship. I want to have women I can share my burdens with and can help me work through my sin, and vice versa. That not only strengthens your relationship with your sisters in Christ, but also with the Lord! It's a win/win situation. :) 
At the Thursday night meeting, Lauren Bonanno talked about the importance of community. I won't go into great detail, since I'm pretty sure you've gotten the picture: COMMUNITY IS KEY! But it really is a healthy reminder to see how important community is. I know those of us from Chico that are on OCSP want to pursue deep community when we get home because we have really seen how valuable it is. 
Moving onto Friday, I love Fridays because they are always so relaxing and fun. After work, Katelyn and I went jet skiing in the bay. The water was so choppy, so it made for a good time. That night the McDonald's crew went to dinner at Outback with a few of our coworkers, a last hoorah before we leave. It has been insane to see how far our relationships have come with our coworkers. We are all so close and we have very genuine friendships with them. We only have three more days of work and are all very sad about that. I never really thought about how hard it was going to be to form these relationships and then have to leave. It's worth it though, I will forever cherish these past eleven weeks that I had the time to spend with those wonderful people. 
What else has happened this week...? Well, this weekend was probably the best weekend I have had on project!! Saturday night we held a talent show and it was so much fun to see how many talented people I have surrounding me. Some were just plain goofy, but the number of legitimately talented individuals was amazing. After that, I stayed up all night with a few people on the Heritage Team and we painted the Heritage Room, made homemade donuts, and chatted a lot. I don't understand why I think all-nighters are a good idea, clearly they're not, but in the moment, they're SO fun. It's nights like those that I want to have back in Chico. It was so spontaneous, yet such an amazing time spent together. That night created a friendship that will last a very long time and I'm excited to continue it past project.
We are now in "Blessed to be a Blessing" week. The last week before project ends for semester students. I really have been asking myself where this summer has gone. I would not be here if it wasn't for the Lord's planting the desire to apply in my mind. I still don't understand how I ended up here, it was pulling teeth to get me to leave May 31, but now it'll be pulling teeth to get me to leave August 14. I am very excited to come home, though. I'm excited to use all that I've learned this summer throughout this school year. It's about time to transition from remembering I'm in OC and this is where my focus should be, to I am in Chico and my focus should be on the community there. Before I wrap it up, I want to thank all my supporters again. If it were not for you, I would not have been in New Jersey this summer. I truly cannot express my immense appreciation for your generous hearts. This was a summer that will forever change my life and I am extremely thankful it was in God's will to send me here. I love you all, and thank you so much for allowing me to share my experience with you over these last eleven weeks.
$10 Prom!
Jet skiing. :)
All-nighter, baby.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

"We are not only called to start the race, but we are called to FINISH it."

Before I came on summer project, many people shared fun and exciting stories with me. It got to the point where I just wanted to experience it for myself and stop hearing all these wonderful things. I can truthfully say, now, that everything I was told before coming has been extremely true. Students AND staff will tell anyone that project doesn't really start until staff leaves. It has been over two weeks since staff has left and these past two weeks have been the only time I have said that I wish project would never end. Not to say that while staff is here project sucks, obviously that's not the truth, but now that they are gone, fellowship among students has gotten so strong. I have really enjoyed making this project our own and setting it apart from every other year.
This week has been "Pressing On", putting the focus on pressing on towards our goal: Jesus. I would have to say one of the most moving messages was given during this week by Hiram Foster. His message was about the race that has been put before us. A race that many start, but few finish. The main passage for this message was 2 Timothy 4:6-8. 
"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
This is a letter from Paul to Timothy, he wrote it right before his execution. Paul had finished the "race" and it was time for him to be with the Lord. He was faithful, during his lifetime he proclaimed his faith and finished the task the Lord had given him. We too will be rewarded for our faithfulness. It is so important to have perseverance during our time on earth, because it is so easy to lose sight of the reason we were put here. We have so much potential and we are here for a very specific reason.
"We've been given the most significant position in the universe."
Hiram used the Navy Seals as an analogy for Christians. The Navy Seals have to go through something called "Hell Week". In the span of five days they only get four hours of sleep and are put through extremely intense physical activity. Only those who complete that week successfully have the honor of being called a Navy Seal. "It'll test your soul to the core." They have to ask themselves, "Am I going to quit or pull out of the race?" That is the same question we, as Christians, should be asking ourselves. We started "Hell Week" when we accepted Jesus into our lives, so...are we going to continue running the race for him? Hiram mentioned that over 3,000 people applied for Ocean City Summer Project and only 101 got accepted. As of right now, these 101 people on project are seeking to continue the race we have started, but unfortunately some of us will back down sometime in the future. That scared me, it scared me because I often have a tendency to pull away from my faith. What if I am one of those students who quits part way through? While I was on a run, a Katy Perry song came on my shuffle, and one of the last lines in the chorus was "What am I living for?" I seriously stopped listening to the rest of the words and focused on that question...what am I living for?
On a lighter note, on Friday, I had the opportunity to spend the entire day in New York with eleven others from project. We started out really early and drove to North Arlington, NJ and took a train to Hoboken where we then took the ferry to New York. We started off with Ground Zero and then headed to China Town then Little Italy. We took a subway into the city and walked around Central Park until we started to make our way toward Time Square. While we were walking to FAO Shwartz (a big toy store), a HUGE thunderstorm hit and we were stuck walking/running/dancing in the pouring rain. I had no complaints though, it made the trip so much more exciting. Once we left FAO Shwartz, we went to the best cupcake place I have ever been to: Sprinkles. Apparently, they started in California and have been on the show Cupcake Wars...and I just found out about them now. I literally would recommend anyone to go to Beverly Hills just to get a cupcake from Sprinkles. It will change your life. After that, we grabbed a quick dinner and made our last stop in Time Square. We took a train from Penn Station back to North Arlington and started for home! It was about a 21 hour trip from when we got up to when we got home, I was thoroughly exhausted, but it was definitely well worth it. I enjoyed my time getting to know some of those I haven't really spent much time with.
As you know, we had a fast this past week. It was a very positive experience for everyone. It was a great thing to participate in and really helped me realize how much energy I can turn a focus towards prayer. Fasting is something I really never considered doing, but I now see it being very useful for strengthening my relationship with God and reliance on the Lord. I am very excited to continue to fast throughout my life. I encourage all of you to do a fast too! Maybe you have a big decision to make and need guidance, it's a great way to devote legitimate time to prayer and seeking wisdom from the Lord. Saturday night we ended our fast with the best outreach we have ever done. We split up into two groups and hit the boardwalk, but we didn't all go sharing at once. One group paired up and went sharing while the other group paired up and walked up and down the boardwalk praying for the conversations going on. After an hour, the groups switched roles. It was so encouraging to witness all the conversations and be able to pray for them each individually. Prayer was such an important aspect to that night. One conversation my two partners and I got into last close to forty-five minutes. We went through the survey and the Knowing God Personally booklet. At the end, one of the girls said, "I'm going to have to show this to my mom." I was so thrilled when she said that. I don't know exactly where she is at with her belief in Jesus Christ, but she already has the desire to share the good news with others. I can't even imagine what she would do for the Lord's kingdom is she had a full understand of his love and grace and the importance of sharing that with others. After the outreach we went to the church for a time of worship, eating meat and sweets, and fellowship.
I will finish up this update with what we learned about today in Sunday school. Michelle and Brandon focused today's lesson on how to effectively lead a small group. In the fall I will be leading a Bible study, so it was so helpful to have a lesson about it, especially it being so close to when we go home. The information will be fresh in my mind and I will be able to easily remember what I learned. It got me extremely excited for the fall and gave me a new perspective on how to approach this leadership position.
This current week is "One Body" and we're starting it off with a wonderful bonding experience: $10 Prom. :) I'm excited to have this week focused on community, especially because it's our last week together before we start gearing up to go home. Continued prayers are very much appreciated. 
P.S. If you have something you want me to pray for, please email me at: jprentice30@yahoo.com 
I would love to know what I could be doing for my friends and family back at home. Love you all!!
Ferry ride to the city.
Ground Zero.
China Town.
Little Italy.
Subway Ride.
The ladies in Central Park!
After the thunder storm.
St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Time Square.
Empire State Building.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Wishing this would never end.

Hey friends, I had some spare time and thought I should write a little update on these last few days. I have come to the point where I am really wishing project would go on a few weeks longer...I cannot believe I take off in two and a half weeks.
This week's theme is "Pressing On". The idea behind it is that we would continue to "press on" towards our goal, Jesus. In some ways this relates to my last post about holiness and always striving for it. This week our focus is on Jesus and full reliance on him. With that in mind, on Monday night Tony Abiera gave a message on "The Mirror of the Gospel". We were made in the likeness of God, but because of our sinful condition, our view of ourselves has become distorted. Tony picked apart Colossians 3:1-4
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
He used the concept of a mirror throughout his entire message and it really helped understand the meaning behind this passage. In order to be a true representation of Jesus, we must "throw away the old mirror of Adam and pick up the new mirror of Jesus" (verse one). Remove yourself from sinful behavior and look to the Lord for a heart change. It is so easy to change your behavior, but that is an external action, in order to truly change, there has to be something done in your heart. I struggle with disconnecting myself with the world and living solely for my creator. Tony made a statement that is such a healthy reminder to all those who believe in God: "We have a purpose here on earth. We may be in this world, but it is important to remember we are not of this world." This correlates with verse two, we are to "angle our mirror upward to set our view heavenward". We still have the ability to be involved here on earth, but our view is ultimately on the Lord. Keeping an eternal perspective, knowing that life on earth is not the end, is so helpful in keeping my gaze heavenward. 
While I'm writing this, I'm just thinking about how many people in my life I look to as an example. That mindset can be so dangerous. My view of what a Christian looks like becomes skewed and I begin to compare myself to others. Looking through my notes again from Monday night has allowed me to refocus. Who should be my ultimate example of a Christian? JESUS. Like I stated earlier, I really struggle with getting caught up in what's going on around me instead of centering my life around Jesus. I am so impressed with these student directors. I wish I had podcasts of their messages. It is truly amazing to see how the Lord is leading them and speaking through them at every weekly meeting. I am so blessed to be here and getting to gain so much knowledge from these wonderful individuals. I wish I could relay it as well as they deliver it.
After the meeting, we were told that we were going to fast for this week. It is a "meats & sweets" fast. That is correct, no meat or sweets from Tuesday night until Saturday night. I am going to be honest, I was not thrilled when I heard that. Tuesday night was date night with Jesus, and we were provided with articles about fasting and the reasons behind it. Leadership believed that due to this week's theme in pressing on towards Jesus, that fasting would be a great way of doing that. Unfortunately, the Lord has blessed me with the largest sweet tooth of anyone I know, plus I was planning on going to Carlo's Bakery on Wednesday, so this whole fast was definitely going to put a damper on that. Our God is sovereign though and after reading the articles, I came to realize that if this is what is going to draw me closer to the Lord, then I need to do it. The fact that I was upset about giving up those things for a few short days shows that I will definitely have a huge craving for them and that during those times I will have an opportunity to seek the Lord for strength and not summit to my desires to find satisfaction through meat or sweets. Prayer for our entire project during this week is much appreciated and I'm excited to see how we're all going to be stretched.
Well...today I was able to take a day trip to Hoboken, NJ and New York! How fun, right?! When I found out I got accept to Ocean City Summer Project, I knew I was not going to leave New Jersey unless I visited Carlo's Bakery from the show Cake Boss on TLC. My dream came true today. Although I couldn't indulge in all the sweets I had planned to, I ended up buying a little treat that I will keep hidden in the freezer for Saturday night. I bet it will taste even better then than it would if I had it today. :) Katelyn, Alyssa, and I actually got into two spiritual conversations with a couple from Ohio while waiting in line; it was so sweet. After that we made our way to New York, where we spent the rest of our time in Central Park. If I could spend an entire day anywhere, it would be strolling the paths in that park. I had so much fun stopping every few feet to take pictures with the girls. There is so much different scenery, we really enjoyed our time there. We even stuck to the fast and found a little organic food stand and ate a vegetarian soy hotdog (or something of the sort) and it was actually really good! On our way out of the city, we (meaning Katelyn, she is such an experienced driver now!) drove through Time Square and then we picked up her boss. On the way home we talked about an assortment of things, but many of them centered around our lives, CRU, and other spiritual topics. Us girls had such a great time off the island and it was even better being able to continue what we're here to do in OC on the little trips we take.
Thanks for letting me share about what has been going on in Ocean City and my most recent adventures. I really am having a hard time coming to terms that this is all coming to an end in two and half weeks. Continued prayers for those on project, especially with this new challenge put in front of us this week, that Satan will not get a foothold in our times of weakness. Pray that our minds and hearts maintain in Ocean City until we return back home and that we continue to share the good news of the gospel. I love you all and thank you again for your support throughout this whole journey.
I just wanted to add something I came to realize during Bible study tonight that I didn't want to put off until my next post. It's the concept of the Trinity. I have not noticed the importance of each aspect until tonight. God sent his son who died on the cross for our sins, therefore, we experience grace. Through Jesus' death on the cross we are able to have the Holy Spirit dwell within us and we can have a personal relationship with the Lord. I just thought that was really awesome how each individual piece is part of one and through that we can have a personal relationship with our creator.
"Give Me Faith"

Monday, July 25, 2011

We survived! :D

If you're reading this update, you are well aware that Ocean City Summer Project 2011 has officially survived its first week being student led! Right now I'm sitting on the porch after a huge thunderstorm, listening to some country music, and my heart is so happy. I absolutely love this project and all the people here.
Monday night we had our first student speaker deliver a great message about God and his ability to love so well and keep his promises. He is the ultimate reason we are able to love in the first place.
"When we realize the amazing grace of God, it should be uncontainable - it should over flow to others."
I didn't have work on Tuesday, so I was able to sleep in a bit then get up and have time with the Lord. I told you all that I have been reading The Pursuit of Holiness and that it has been so refreshing to read about how perfect our God is and how we should mirror that. God says, "Be holy, because I am holy." I have noticed that I compare myself to others and base "holiness" off those I believe are really strong Christians or those who seem to have "it" all together. What I forget is that those individuals are sinners, they can't obtain true holiness. Reading through this book has helped me realize that my definition of holiness should be based off the only one who perfects it, God.
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." Revelation 4:8
Although it is expected of us to be perfect, we were made in the image of Jesus, unfortunately...we fail. Every single day consists of sin, after sin, after sin. It is inevitable, we are going to sin, but that does not give us permission to be okay with it. "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner." We should have that same view, we should hate sin and try to run from it. I remember my youth pastor in high school said something that I thought was really cool, "When you become a Christian, it does not mean you become SINLESS, but you do SIN LESS." We should continually be trying to reach what our God has always had, holiness.
Thursday night came along and our other student director gave a message on...the gospel. There were a few individuals who came to that meeting who are in desperate need of the gospel, so I was so over-joyed to hear what we were going to be learning about. I prayed the entire meeting for their salvation. Michael (student director) emphasized that there is no greater sign of God's love than what is written in the gospel, that life is meaningless if we are apart from Christ.
"If there is one way to heaven, there are a million ways to hell."
God is pursuing the people I work with and I know he is sovereign. Michael's message spoke truth into their lives and I pray that the Lord's beauty was revealed to them.
Along the lines of coworkers, the CRU members that work at McDonald's have made leaps and bounds with those we work with. Our relationships with them have grown so much over this past week or so. On Friday night a group from project went to The Band Perry, Luke Bryan, and Tim McGraw concert. We brought along one of our coworkers and had the best time getting to know him better and just hear about his life. Some of us were able to share a little about CRU and even bits and pieces of our testimony. Plus, the concert was PHENOMENAL! Tim McGraw was the best performer I have ever seen (by the way, he as a Jesus fish tattooed on his inner right bicep. I love him even more!). Fireworks went off during his encore, even though they were for a Philly's game, but it was still magical. :) On Saturday night, we had a cheese cake social and a few of our coworkers came to that. We then went and walked around on the boardwalk, went to Wawa, and then parked ourselves on the corner of 13th and Asbury and stayed there until two of them had to go to work. Haha, yes, we pulled an all-nighter laying on the cement a block away from the Inn. The same undercover cop came by twice to make sure we were staying out of trouble, which of course we were. We literally laid there all night and talked, were goofy, and simply growing our relationships as friends. It was great at the time, but I was definitely struggling to keep my eyes open in church the next morning!
I love seeing what the Lord is doing in Ocean City, but especially at McDonald's. I truly feel like I have the best coworkers. One individual told me that if it wasn't for us, he wouldn't go to work. When it was brought up that we were leaving in three weeks, they changed the subject because they didn't want to think about it. We are loved and we love them and I honestly hope through our close bond with them that they will come to know the Lord.
Going back to Saturday though...during the day my adoptive dad took me and four others to Philly. It was so fun seeing the history there, such as the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We grabbed lunch at Reading Terminal Market (shown in National Treasure, I might add) and then headed off to lose some calories by running up the steps Rocky did! Hahaha. Lastly, we went to South Street, it was a very interesting street, very trendy. It has been fun to get off the island once or twice and see other places nearby. The east coast really isn't that bad! Hah, but I still favor the west...
I love the people here and can't believe our time together is becoming less and less each day. I feel incredibly blessed to have gotten the opportunity to come here this summer, thank you all who helped in that process. I know I am going to take so much of what I've gotten out of this project back to Chico. Please continue to pray for everyone's work places, that we will be effective in sharing the good news and that even after leaving OC we will maintain friendships with our coworkers. The Lord is doing wonderful things here and it has been so fun to witness. By the way, today we are having Christmas in July...so, Merry Christmas!
The Band Perry, Luke Bryan, and Tim McGraw concert!
McDonald's crew at the concert.
After accomplishing running up the steps like Rocky!
South Street in Philly.
Clearly exhausted. Haha.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1072879438001/prominent-christian-ministry-drops-christ/
As many of you have already heard, Campus Crusade for Christ has made a name change: CRU. It has been very publicized since the decision, please watch this video for clarification!