Will You Remember My Blog for September?

October 03, 2020

Will You Remember My Blog for September?

Hi and welcome back to my blog, thanks for being here with me! I have been thinking of you all throughout the month and it has pushed me to work so much harder to know that there are people who really believe in campus missions and that you have trusted me to be a steward of God’s good news to people! SO much has happened this month, so let’s just dive right in!

CORE

My core has kicked off! This year with COVID and because our core time is a little different than usual, my core has stayed tiny with two girls, Mariana and Katie! Even though it’s been small, God has been working powerfully among us and I love our two girls so much. My roommate, Caroline, helps lead us in discussion every week, and it has been a joy to have her as my sidekick as we try to navigate how to befriend, challenge, and help our girls grow in their faith. The funny thing is that we’ve been learning so much more about God through their questions and in the way that they relate to each other, it’s astounding!

This is my core for the year! (Left to right: Caroline, Mariana, Katie)

CLASSES

In our classes this month, I have been challenged to think so much more deeply about evangelism, the Old Testament, spiritual disciplines, and how to relate to God. There have been moments where I have been sitting in class on the verge of tears thinking about how blessed I am to even have the opportunity to take these classes and take these matters seriously, like I never imagined I would. In our evangelism class, we have been talking about what diversity looks like in our evangelism and how we can enter into uncomfortable conversations about race and identity to further love and welcome different people into our community. Our Old Testament class has pushed me to a further understanding of the Biblical story and adopting it as my own.

We're learning under Ms.Repa (She's one of the apprentices and a future educator!)

BEING ON STAFF

I remember one of the apprentices from last year told me “The apprenticeship is HARD!” At the beginning of August, I really couldn’t see what they meant, but this month I’ve thought that same thought pretty frequently!

Every week, we write a report on how ministry went that week and how we worked on different responsibilities like evangelism, studying for classes, and discipling, as well as how we missed the mark that week. I have realized that I hide a lot of my sins and only admit those that I can easily fix, but not the larger impending ones that I have to keep working at. My supervisor, Sarah, has been challenging me to be okay with not having it all together all of the time, and to be humble in acknowledging that I am not perfect, but that she and God still love me. That is one of the biggest things that I have learned so far. There have been so many times that I have messed up this month, but time and time again, those that I am most afraid of admitting my mistakes to are those that have spoken the most truth into my life and have showed me the most grace.

This is my peer team! We're a group of corefas that meet with a staff person every week!

GOD THOUGHTS

In one of our classes, our teacher Ronnie has expressed how we live amongst living and breathing artwork, and that God’s creative handiwork is all around us. It has been so amazing to be reminded of that and to look around and notice how intricately God designed this earth. During one of our Friday live streams where we’re learning about the book of Mark, Rhett (our speaker) led us in an activity where we would fill in the blank “I am afraid of _____, but I will keep going to Jesus”. In reflecting and hearing from different students on how they filled in that blank, I was reminded that we are all afraid of a wide array of things, but that the same God who is the creator of the entire cosmos is the same God that made us. In thinking of how intricate and delicate the Lord is in forming all that is around us, I have been reminded that he made us with the same amount of care and intricacy. If he made us like this then, won’t he all the more take care of us?

I went on a nature walk with my friend David! Here's us in a wooden hut we found.

PRAYER REQUESTS

The students doing online school! So many of the students I’ve spoken to are STRUGGLING to learn virtually, and it takes so much more effort to motivate themselves to learn and get their work done. Pray for mental capacity, discipline, and grace!
We are beginning to do more outreach! Of course it looks a lot different, but please pray that we find ways that are safe and effective in order for us to keep growing for the Lord!
Core leaders and students exclusively online! That they may feel included in the community and that they see themselves just as important as our in person core leaders/students.
Wisdom in answering tough spiritual questions! It’s been difficult navigating when to answer a question with the knowledge I have, and when to take more time to research, or to even answer the question at all! (sometimes it takes more digging to get to the heart of a question)

Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my blog, you are so special to me! Please let me know how I can be praying for you all this month!

Other photos from this month: