My Ocean City Summer Project 2011 Journey: "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!!