Never a dull moment...

The weekend adventures continue. I neglected to write about last weekend. We had an adventurous time tubing down the White River in NH. What some thought would be a nice, serene drift ended up to be a wild time hitting rapids in deflating tubes that were meant for children! We got rained on pretty good and I ended up on a tube that was meant for two people…and somehow we managed to get 4 on it. I even managed to get myself stuck…I tried to get on it and instead fell inside of the tube…with my back down inside and in the water and my legs sticking out in a v formation. If we only had videos of the day…I’m quite sure we could win money with our footage. The day ended with a damper, however. We got back to the cars to find that somebody had broken into one of cars and stole at least $2,000 worth of the student’s belongings. I was so impressed with their attitudes about it. There were tears, but one of my friends was crying that her Bible and journal got stolen…her iPod, wallet, phone, backpack and clothes were stolen and yet she was crying about her Bible and journal. It was a great example for the rest of us.

This weekend was a little more relaxed…thank goodness! I was at the point of complete exhaustion. We had a Thrift Store formal last night. Each person went to a local Thrift Store and picked a ridiculous outfit to wear. A couple of the men’s teams made dinner for some of the women’s teams (they each have brother/sister teams). It was so fun to watch the guys go all out and enjoy blessing the woman! We danced for a good three hours! I went into the dance not really wanting to be around people. And left the dance completely energized! (being an extrovert is interesting like that!) I have one thing to say about this group: we can DANCE!! There were a few times where I just stood back and watched the students. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched them truly enjoy themselves and each other. It's amazing to see how much they have bonded with each other.

Love So Amazing...

I should be in bed…but come on, first thing’s first…I had to share about my evening. I would have to say that it’s been my favorite night so far with the students. I got to be a substitute leader for one of the teams! Actually, I didn’t even lead…one of the team leaders is away and had one of the girls on her team take over for her. I had the privilege of just being there! This week we did a study on “Relationships and Community in the Body of Christ”. We looked at 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4 and 1 Corinthians 12. They all paint a beautiful picture of the perfect ways that Christ loves us and then how His love compels us to love those around us. Part of the discussion was about how this team of 5 women can better love each other. These women didn’t know each other at the beginning of the summer and yet are willing to be authentic and vulnerable with each other…4 weeks after meeting (three are from PSU, but didn’t know each other well). One of them volunteered to pray out loud for the group because it’s something that scares her, so she wanted to push herself. One of them shared about how she has never been herself in other Bible Studies, but wants to push past that here because she can trust people. I couldn’t help but smile as she finished her sentence: “It’s so freeing.”
I LOVE IT! God’s perfect love has the power to break every stronghold that keeps us from understanding His love for us individually and then extending that love to others. I love that I had the amazing opportunity it see first hand how the Gospel is changing the hearts of these women…they have no idea how much they inspire, challenge and encourage me!

Mercy

Have you ever driven somewhere and then wondered how you actually got there? Might sound crazy, but sometimes when I’m driving to a familiar place I kinda go into auto-driver mode. I don’t pay attention to the drive, I zone out…and then just end up at the final destination. I feel like that’s what happened to me last week. The week flew by so quickly and at the end of the week I realized I was just going through the motions…at times forgetting why I’m doing what I’m doing. It hit me for two reasons. I’m at this unique place this summer-having the opportunity to really live with students. And yet I wasn’t letting myself enjoy the moment-sitting and enjoying a simple conversation, taking in the sound of multiple small groups around me pray together, look around the room and watch people laugh together, shut my eyes and listen to a group of 50 people praise the Lord. And the other reason it bothered me was because I was trying to “do” things to make myself feel better about who I am. In a sense, trying to earn God’s love…and yet never really sitting down to just spend time with Him.
Our Bible study last week focused on Ephesians 2:1-10. I’ve read the passage so many times and as I dug a little deeper, something hit me in a new way. I didn’t do a thing to deserve salvation, it wasn’t based on my abilities. Now that I’ve received this wonderful gift, why in the world do I think that I have to earn God’s love by what I do? I don’t have to jump through hoops for him. He gives me his great love (the word in this passage refers to agape love) and He is rich in mercy (the greek word is “plousios” meaning abounding, wealthy, abundantly supplied. One commentary talked about it being exhaustless). What an amazing truth I can rest in. I don’t have to strive or do things perfectly or try to be the best at my job. I can relax in his exhaustless mercy!

Movin and Shakin

Each Sunday night we have a "prayer and share"....a time where the students can reflect on the past week and share with everyone what they have seen God do. I love Sunday evenings because I love to see how God is moving in the lives of the students here...and using them in the lives of others. Here are a few highlights (I'll just use the student's first initial):

P: "On Friday night during our prayer walk around town, my group prayed that we would have the opportunity to talk to a homeless person. We got back to the dorm and right before we walked into the door, a homeless person approached us and asked us for food. We were able to go inside and get some food for them and then talk to them for a while. It was amazing to see God answer a prayer so quickly."

B: "One night I decided to go down to Church St (the main street in Burlington) and have a quiet time. I sat on a huge rock to read my Bible. A woman who had been drinking a lot approached me. She asked me what I was reading. I'm not used to sharing my faith, but I got the chance to talk to her a little bit about the Bible. It was cool to step out in faith and get to know her."

P: "Two years ago I had a major surgery and almost died. I've had a lot of health issues since then. Today, on the two year anniversary of my surgery, I climbed Mt. Mansfield! It is so amazing to see how God has worked in my life and helped give me the strength to climb a mountain rather than lie in a hospital bed."

P: "During our prayer walk in Burlington, we approached a man who was by himself. He was looking out over the lake and seemed to be in a contemplative mood. At first I didn't want to talk to him, but I knew God wanted me to. After talking to him for a while, he told us he was a Christian. He comes from a hard background and has a hard life. That evening before we met him, he had a disagreement with somebody from his Bible Study. He was going to go back out to the bars, but decided to first stop and think about things. While he was sitting there, we came to talk to him. He told us that he believes that God brought us to him to help him. We're looking forward to going and visiting with him and getting to know him more."

A Thousand Words

Rather than try and explain my week, I'll just let the pictures do the talking:

MONDAY:

We have a flare for drama and food. This is one of our food purchases for the day (we also hit the local grocery store)...it will feed 56 people for 3 days.

TUESDAY:

We had a huge thunderstorm on Tuesday night and the sunset afterwards was AMAZING. We had a workshop going on, but I ran upstairs to take this picture from my room. The entire sky was orange.

WEDNESDAY:

DAY OFF!! I had one of the most relaxing days since I've been here. A friend here in Burlington took my co-worker, Caitlin, and I on a hike and then to see an amazing mansion/farm. For those of you who know me well, you will be able picture this: I was pretty much giddy as we drove around the property. I had my car window down and pretty much just giggled and let out little yelps the entire time! The scenes seemed as if they were straight out of Pride and Prejudice.

FRIDAY:


I spent the morning with Lorielle, one of the team leaders I meet with weekly. I took her to Shelborne Bay Park and we found a beautiful spot on a rock that overlooked the Bay.


I spent the afternoon at the beach. Emily was in my freshmen Bible Study this past year. We got to take a long walk as she shared what God has been teaching her. It's just so fun to see what God has done in her life in just a few short months.


SATURDAY:


I got back from dinner to this scene...a group of students enjoying rain. I'll put it in their words: "We're pretending like we are little kids again"!!

Weekends make me tired...

I’ve been meaning to post for over a week…now I wish I would have done that because now I forget a lot!

Let me begin where I would have started…last weekend. We try to have events planned for the entire program on Saturdays. Last Saturday we decided to start with a big bang…hike the tallest point in Vermont…Mt. Mansfield. No problem, I like to hike. Well, at least I thought I liked to hike. People say that when you turn 30, your body just can’t do the same things it used to. Maybe that’s what can explain why the mountain dominated me! I made it to the top and was elated (as you can see in the picture with the team leader women). I figured the worst was over. Wrong. Somehow the hike down was not what I expected..isn’t it supposed to be easier? I can’t say I had the best attitude…and vowed I’d never, ever hike it again (just for the record, I’d totally do it again now that I forget what the pain felt like. I’d do a few things differently….simple things, like eat a real breakfast before I decide to hike a mountain.). There were two good things about the hike down: realizing how amazing it was that I actually got up that thing and hiking with the students…they helped me so much! So humbling and so good! I love that a group our size all did something that was so difficult for so many of us…and we couldn’t have done it alone. We needed each other. If we didn’t have each other, many of us would have given up long before we reached our goal.

Today we spent the day doing service projects. We did a ton of work outside for a local church (gardening, painting, fixing up a playground, cleaning the church, etc) and at a nursing home. As I worked alongside my friends, I thought about how amazing it was that this group of people were giving up their day to do work for others. They did it with a joyful heart. It again made me realize what an amazing group of people I am blessed to work with this summer. I left the day exhausted and need a nap…just like I did last week!

Beautiful

How do I put this week into words? So much has happened already. The wide range of emotions—from laughter to tears. A room filled with 50 students…students who could have internships, who could be making a lot of money this summer…and instead chose to spend a summer being intentional about their relationship with Jesus. I walked down the street with one of the women I’m meeting with and 50 yards in front of me there were two men from our program…going to do the same thing we were doing…taking time to talk about who Jesus is in their lives. I sat with a girl today…a girl I thought I knew well…and as I asked her lots of questions about who she is, I realized there is so much I don’t know about her. How fun to have the opportunity to get to know people…to enjoy the way God has created us each so differently!

It’s hard living in the dorms, but yet it’s amazing to have the opportunity to live with the students…the women can pop in when they need to talk. I just sat on my bed with a girl as through tears she told me “I just want to know Jesus”. What beautiful tears. What beautiful words.

I feel like I’m wrestling through a lot personally. Trying to sort through some things. We had an amazing speaker come this week and share about spending time with Jesus. He was brutally honest…which allowed me to be honest with myself. About where I am and where I want to be in my relationship with God. I don’t want to just see him do things in the hearts of those around me…I need to be transformed. As soon as I sort through some notes and thoughts, I’d love to share some of it with you. As I sat on a swing, overlooking Lake Champlain at sunset tonight (I took the picture above from my swing!), I read a Psalm that I love…Psalm 34. I love verse 4 & 5 and I usually stop there. But I read further tonight.

“The poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

I love it….an angel encamps around me…is stationed around me, fighting for me, protecting me…I’m not alone and can take refuge in Him. Praise God that I don’t have to fight for myself…He is a far greater warrior than I am.