“Creator God, He is Yahweh, The Great I Am, He is Yahweh
The Lord of All, He is Yahweh
Rose of Sharon, He is Yahweh, The Righteous Son, He is Yahweh
The Three-in-one, He is Yahweh” — “He is Yahweh” by Dean Salyn/Vinyard Worship cover
He will come like showers
It is now coming to the end of another day here on Chicago Summer Project. 10 more days await us to experience God’s grace and power in the city. Then, it is time to head away from the fog covered skyline back to quiet suburbs and college life.
It is hard to believe that I have 4 more days left to be on the University of Chicago’s campus. Our 73 students on this project are split into 3 groups. Each group, or impact team, is assigned to a different college campus in the Chicago area. One group goes to University of Illinois and the other to the Illinois Institute of Technology. We travel to these campuses Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I leave for my campus at 10:30 a.m. and we head for the bus stop at 3:15 p.m., getting back to the South Loop around 4:30 p.m.. Between 10 and 3, we split into pairs and go talk with students about their beliefs and, when we get the chance, we share the gospel with them.
June was the first month we started going to UChicago. After doing research on what the student body is like, we all were not sure how conversations were going to go. Many students were open to talking, but most did not believe in God or were indifferent about the whole situation. It was a dry time. To help all of you picture what it was like, I will give you all a mental picture: imagine a vast desert in the Western United States, preferably Death Valley National Park in California, where the ground is cracked for miles. There is little vegetation and the vegetation that is there is brown and dry like straw left out in the sun for weeks. Now, picture a group of about 6 people with watering cans who are trying to water the vegetation. They keep coming back for about 30 days, pouring fresh water over the plants.
Does the possibility of reviving these plants seem impossible? It’s not.
June was a very dry time for conversations, but at least we were able to show love to the students we talked to during that time. I, however, was getting discouraged about the fact that I had not been able to share the gospel with students. The main purpose of the project is to share Christ with people and I wasn’t getting that opportunity just yet. But I knew that my God is a big God, so I prayed about it.
Since the Cru staff left in the beginning of July, us students have been running the project. Now instead of staff leaders for our impact groups we have student leaders. They all have been doing such a great job leading us at UChicago. There is a sense of freedom and responsibility with our leadership roles which made me start thinking about what I wanted out of project. I wanted to nurture students with the communication of the gospel. I prayed for more fruitful conversations at our campus and every week there have been some.
There have been 3 important conversations since I have been going in July. I talked to a guy and a girl who are agnostic and very interested in philosophy (it was one of the most mentally challenging conversations so far), a girl who is working at UChicago for the summer, but goes to school at Harvard (she never believed in God, but is very open to learning about different perspectives. I am glad my teammate and I got to talk to her because she sounded lonely), and a Chinese girl who studies media in the anthropology field and who is interested in knowing God personally (I gave her my contact information).
Although I have not had many fruitful conversations, that does not mean that God is not doing work on our campus through our steps of faith. Last Thursday, July 24, we had an outreach at our campus. We printed out surveys and whoever filled one out got a free soda. We had around 90 people come fill out surveys. It was a blessed day.
Part of our impact team at our soda outreach at the University of Chicago on July 24
Our work for the Lord has definitely not been in vain. Although we are the ones who plant seeds of the gospel and water seeds with the gospel, God is the only one who makes the seeds grow in the hearts of people.
“[Paul] planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters in anything, but only God who gives the growth” ( ESV 1 Corinthians 3:6-7).
During these next 4 days we have left to go to campus I am going to keep stepping out in faith and trusting in God’s amazing power. I will trust that he will bring us to people with good soil who will “hear the word of God, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience”(ESV Luke 8:15).
God is provider and pursuer. As we press on to know Him and make Him known in this city he will surely bring fresh showers over this desert place and water all of the dry plants that are scattered over many acres.
“‘Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth'” (ESV Hosea 6:3).
Our Cru staff impact team leaders going inside of one of the buildings at UChicago
The library study dome where they filmed part of “Divergent”
A pond at UChicago
“The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy” (Psalm 65:8)
Jesus in Disguise
Jesus in disguise
Jehovah passing by
The burden of a tear
Hanging in your eye
Jesus in disguise
A scar across the sky
You were looking for a king
You would never recognize
We often face the burdens in life on our own, trying to carry the weight of it all on our shoulders.
But Jesus took your weight upon himself.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (11:28-30).
So open my eyes wide as I can
Blind as I am
Blind as I am
Open your eyes and see.
Jesus is always there.
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-9).
Chicago: a city, a community, and a center-point in the heart of the Midwest where the world comes together.
This summer I have been blessed with the opportunity to live in this great city and to minister to the people with the gospel. There are over a million people buzzing about each and every day in this city. I get the privilege to take time out of my summer to pour love into the lives of these people who are spiritually dehydrated.
I have been a part of Cru (Formally, Campus Crusade for Christ) for about 2 years now. I got involved during the second semester of my freshman year of college (I will be a junior this fall). During my sophomore year, I heard a lot about Summer Projects which are missions trips across the country and around the globe. At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take my summer off to be a part of one of these projects, but throughout the school year God put it on my heart.
My Bible study leader, Sarah, who is also on staff with Cru at my school, brought Summer Project to my attention many times during the year. I still was hesitant. As I grew more in my faith, I started thinking about my summer without going on a project. I probably would have stayed at home a lot and I probably would have volunteered at my church to lead a Vocational Bible School group. There would have been opportunities for me to grow, but not enough. The summer was starting to look a little dry and I was afraid that the fire inside of me would die down if I stayed home.
So, I started looking on the Summer Project website.
Chicago wasn’t my first choice. I was very interested in the Ozark Lakes project in Missouri. It is an outdoors-y project which spoke to the adventurous side of me, but there was a downfall: Missouri is over 7 hours away. I didn’t know how I would get there. I knew that God would provide a way for me to get down there if it was in His Will, but it made me nervous.
It then came down to two projects: Crossroads and Chicago. Crossroads is an internship project that is also in Chicago. In Crossroads, students participate with the students on the Chicago project, but instead of finding a job they help create and plan a Christmas Cru conference called INDYCC. Since I changed my major to Journalism during my first semester of my sophomore year, I thought this would be a great opportunity to use my skills. The problem was I didn’t have any journalism skills yet.
I applied to Chicago project and got accepted! After that, the support raising process began (and I was DREADING it). The cost for the project is $3,500. This covers housing from May 30 to August 8, meals, supplies, transportation, and other things. The cost is reasonable, but the thought of having to ask people for money didn’t sit well with me. After people started giving support, I became humbled because I started understanding that God already had my supporters picked out and that it was His money that I’d be getting. I am so thankful for my supporters and their selfless donations!
My support came in slowly, but it basically all came in the 2 1/2 months I was given to raise. Today, June 28, is the LAST day for me to raise support and I have $145 left. When I got to Chicago May 30, I had over a thousand dollars to raise. Praise God!
Through the time I have been here, I have been reassured that I am called to be here. If I wasn’t, then I wouldn’t be here! God has blessed me tremendously by softening my supporters hearts, by surrounding me with a sweet community, and by preparing my heart for things to come. After next week, the 30+ staff will be leaving and the 73 students will be leading the rest of this project. I am on the community team where I will help plan the events for our community of students and I will help cater our dinners. I am excited to be able to bring our community closer and to grow in my leadership skills. There will be a lot of communication involved and there will be a lot of details to pay attention to. I love both, so I have no doubt that it will be amazing.
Right now, however, I have been thinking about how important our community is. We spend a lot of time with each other, but as a Christian it is super important to have a group of people who you can be vulnerable with, who you can be kept accountable by, and who you can be encouraged by through prayer and friendship. Although this aspect of project is important, the main thing we are here for is to talk with the people of Chicago — to hear their stories and to share Christs’.
We, students, are split up into Impact Teams which are teams that go onto various college campuses in the area to talk with college students about their beliefs. My team and I go to the University of Chicago and Columbia College. Since Columbia has been pretty dead this summer, we have been spending our Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at UChicago’s campus.
Since I have been going there, I have not shared the gospel completely. It has been so sweet to be able to hear about the different beliefs students have, though. I dream and pray for a chance to share the gospel with a student and to watch him/her grow in interest for the Lord. I can’t wait for the day when I get to witness someone accept Christ into their life. Even if it doesn’t happen this summer, I hope I will be able to experience this moment back at my campus.
For now, I am going to keep trusting Jesus and following him. I know he has great plans for me and I don’t want anything less than what he has ordained for me. There are so many adventures ahead. There are so many people to pour into along the way. Without Jesus, NONE of this would be possible. Because he is in my life, I am here. This is only the beginning, but God has been working in the city longer. His light is shining brighter every day in Chicago. My prayer is that the people of this area, who are running about in a haze like fog, will slow down and be able to see the golden sun behind the grey smog of life.
To Offer Ourselves to Grace
“Come Lord Jesus” by Dustin Kensrue
This song came to mind after I finished my devotional a few minutes ago. I have been reading through the book of Romans, which is as tough to get through as a Roman blockade, but God always seems to reach out and tune my ears to the message he wants me to hear.
The key verse from my devotional is Romans 12:1-2:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of you mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
You can give yourself to one of the two: Sin or God. If you are not giving yourself to God, then you are giving yourself to sin. Do not offer your body to sin, but offer it as a living sacrifice to the Lord. In sin we worship death, but in grace we worship life that flows from the palms of Jesus Christ. “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). “…[T]herefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).
Come Lord Jesus, come
Come Lord Jesus, come
…
It’s to you that we belong
It’s to you we lift our song
How our spirits look and long for you
Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United
A beautiful song filled with encouragement. Take a listen and let the Lord speak to your heart.
“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever you would call me.
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my savior.”
When I learned the truth at a conference
From December 28th – January 1st I was in Indianapolis, Indiana for a CRU conference called INDYCC. It was my first time going since I’ve been involved wit CRU. Throughout my whole winter break I struggled with certain things and I was so ready to go to this conference. At first, I thought that maybe it would be too much for me to handle, but I couldn’t have been more ready — it was like I was returning for the 3rd time.
The theme for INDYCC was “Make Me”. All of the sessions, worship, bands, and other seminars had the theme linked throughout. Before coming to INDYCC, I was dealing with the lie I once believed about myself and this lie shaped me as a person during my middle school and high school years as well as my first semester of college during my freshman year before I came to Christ. I believed my talents and skills weren’t good enough. The world told me what I had wasn’t enough to be successful, so I had to go above and beyond to make it. I took this lie with me as I grew up. I was on the honor roll from 6th grade to 12th grade. I spent many nights working hard on my homework and studying. This behavior is desirable in a student, but it crushed me like a soda can under the weight of a muddy sole. I was worn.
God spoke to me during INDYCC. My soul was crying out for answers, for comfort, and for direction. Who was I supposed to become? Where am I going? Am I enough? As I sat through 10 sessions, listening to many great speakers, I started realizing the truth. Our God who created us is also making me today. When you let the world control you, it stunts your growth because you are restricted from the freedom Jesus gives. Your sin crushes you, but from redemption we are able to yield our rights and let God shape our lives as they were meant to be from the start.
One story, spoken by Dr. Tim Elmore, caught my attention. To keep it brief, he talked about how he surrendered to the Lord and obeyed his command to speak to the band KISS about the Gospel (true story). He was 19 years old and he made a huge impact for the Kingdom. One band member gave his life to Christ and before every show they pray. Dr. Tim Elmore believed he did not have much to offer, but with faith he gave much more than he ever thought possible.
Instead of believing in the lie that the world tossed into my heart, I now believe the truth that comes from God: I do not have to be amazing to share my love for Jesus. God will meet me where I am at and use what I have for his glory. Throughout this adventure I will grow and I will be made into the woman I am meant to be.
During the last day of INDYCC, I signed a “contract,” persay, letting God know that I am giving him full control because I realized I really have NO IDEA what to do with myself. On this designed card stock it says:
“Lord Jesus, I surrender to you and in the power of your spirit, I will…
GO where you want me to go
DO what you want me to do
SAY what you want me to say
GIVE what you want me to give.”
I do not know where I am going, but the Spirit does.
I do not know what to do, but the Spirit does.
I do not know what to say, but the Spirit does.
I do not know what to give, but the Spirit does.
Philippians 4:3
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”
Let the adventure begin.
Rejoice and Lament by Josh Garrels
“Learn this lesson well my friend
There’s a time to rejoice and lament
Every season will find an end
All will fade and be made new again”
Progression
It has officially been more than a week since I got out of school for break. I have had 8 days to think freely without having to cram my mind full of information about theater and commas. It is amazing what you can realize in a week and a day.
Recently, I have been struggling with a couple things: Waiting and my talents and gifts. It is always a reoccurring cycle that comes to mind and it beats me down, but God shone his light over the horizon like the sunrise on a summer morning over all of my questions and anger. I’d like to share what he told me to all of you.
Waiting is the most annoying thing to do when you are wanting something to happen really bad. Do any of you recall creating plans with a friend/cousin when you were little ? Do you remember the pain of having to sit around for the whole day while waiting for it to be the next day to see them? Waiting is never fun. I’ve been waiting for many things: How God views my beauty; an amazing Christ-centered man; a laptop that will not give me constant problems, and answers that reveal who God designed me to be. At first, I was impatient. I was just sitting around like a child waiting for their play-date the next day. Why can’t they happen now? Waiting sucks. But then I figured out something. I’m not waiting, I’m progressing. Instead of sitting on the sofa, staring out the window, I am learning how to find beauty in waiting. It seems like nothing is happening — that none of these things are on their way — but that is never the case. I’m progressing in faith before each and every point on the road. I’m being prepared to take on the next gift bestowed by my Father. I’m excited to see what is coming my way. Waiting becomes a lot more fun.
The second topic I have been struggling with is about my gifts and talents. I went out for a run a couple days ago but stopped because I wasn’t feeling very fit. I started thinking about my talents (or what I am not good at). I got mad at God. “Why didn’t you make me athletically inclined?” Everyone else has great gifts. She can dance. He can sing/play an instrument. What can I do? I write. While still angry, I asked, “Okay, what am I going to do with that, God? There are many writers who are better than me. Who is really going to read my writing?” I didn’t get it. I felt that it wasn’t fair. At that moment, I remembered a verse that talks about the gifts and talents that the body of Christ (all of us) have:
“12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
The Spirit has given each and every person a gift. Everyone has a different function, but we all work as one body. I knew this, but I didn’t understand my function and how to function either. I asked God to show me why he gave me the talents that I have and do not have and what to do with them.
While I was driving home today, I was listing to 88.7 (AIR ONE), as usual, and an artist was talking about the reason behind the song that she wrote. As I listened to her explanation, tears came to my eyes as I realized God spoke to me through it. She said we all make plans when we realize what gifts we have. “I can write, so I guess I will be a Journalist. Seems fair enough.” She also stated we should leave our hearts open for God to write his plans upon them because God will use our talents and the talents we do not think we have for his glory and his kingdom.
I may not be the best writer, communicator, or photographer, but God thinks likewise. He takes you just the way you are because he made you that way. He will multiply all that you are so even the smallest of talents will create a large impact: “The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master’, he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more” (Matthew 25:20).
This break has me thinking about waiting and my talents. However, as far as I know, I am not waiting, I am progressing. My gifts are numerous and important just like a singer and a dancer. So, what do I do now? I will leave my heart open for God. He brings me joy in my waiting. He knows the plans he has for me. Lord, take my heart between your nurturing hands and increase all that I am. Write your will on my heart so it may be done. You have this all figured out and under control. I just want to watch it all enfold like the rising sun on a summer morning.
Living Life Accordingly 