Sharing my "God Story"

Thursday night, I was invited to share my “God Story” at GVSU Cru. It’s a time to share about how God has impacted and shown up in my life.

I took a picture from the stage at GVSU.

It worked out perfectly, because I was already on the West side of the state to babysit a few days for a fun family I met in college. Note: Props to all moms who manage multiple schedules, clean the house, feed the family, drive children to and from places, all while having her own life. Respect. It takes a lot of coordination, selflessness and patience.

As I prepared for my talk, I obviously spent time looking back on the past, on the journey God has taken me on thus far. Going to Grand Valley. Studying marketing. Getting involved with Cru. Attending various Cru conferences. Going on STINT and moving to France. Interning in Orlando with YearOne.

I enjoyed looking back on all these “life events”, which I now see how they all connected. Each fit, perfect for the story God has just for me. It was also encouraging for me, as I acknowledged God’s fingerprints all over these life experiences, reminding myself that I can trust Him. He’s proved Himself over and over.

It frustrated me how many times I doubt Him and His goodness or if He will come through. And then I realized something. Something so elementary to a modern day Christian believer; Its in those moments of doubt and worry, that I am living out of the flesh. Our of my own ability. Out of my own knowledge (limited as it is).

Clearly, if I solely lived out of my own desires and plans, I doubt I would be in ministry. I credit and attribute that to the Spirit’s working in my life. For this season of life, He has me here. Currently raising support, but eventually to be working with the JESUS Film Project, equipping missionaries with digital tools to reach the nations for Christ! With the eternal perspective in mind, that’s pretty rewarding. He obviously knows what He’s doing, and in my time of reflection, I found myself realizing I need to be thankful for that more and more. And also to absorb the peace that comes from knowing He’s got it all figured out.

Some quotes from our region

STUDENT-LED

“Mohamed is a college student I had the privilege to share the Gospel with many times. After one year and a half of seeking the truth Mohamed decided to give his life to Christ.”

"This year is proving God’s grace and mercy. How unlimited are God’s blessings, that nothing of our weakness can limit the power of God as long as we trust Him.”

LEADER-LED

“Other women who have heard about what’s happening in their city have asked if they can join in.”

CHURCH-LED

“This is my first time I heard about planting churches so I pray to God to give me a vision and power to start to planting a church in my area.”

“Praises to Lord Jesus Christ! He really likes me and other people. He is my Lord and Saviour. I thank him for this.” -

VIRTUAL-LED

“Since I gave my heart to the Lord, I feel lighter – it is like I got rid of seven mountains that were weighing down my back. Before, I beat and mistreated my wife, but now I have peace and I will never go back.”

Campus time!

My STINT team and myself went to “de-code” the local college campus a couple weeks ago. What's "de-coding" you ask? As a team, we observe the campus, students, hot spots, passing hours, fashion, and things like that to help familiarize us with the campus. At lunch, we met some students, which was a bit interesting, as most of them did not speak English! Fortunately, one of my team members, Nalani, speaks French pretty fluently and was able to be the bridge of communication. [Hopefully soon, the rest of us will have the basic conversational skills to communicate for ourselves!] One of the girls we met, Celia, wants to hang out and also practice her English!

Last week, we went into Paris to team up with the Paris Metro STINT team - they are campus staff as opposed to office staff, like me! The campus was similar to the campus we went to the week before. I was paired up with Jen, one of the team leaders of the Paris Metro team. We ventured out into the cafeteria, around lunch time to meet some students. (French colleges tend to have class 9-12, lunch from 12-2 and then class 2-6.) We ended up sitting with two different groups of girls who spoke some english. We casually started the conversation, asking what they do for fun on the weekends, what they are studying etc. As the conversation continued, we explained that we are working for a non-profit organization, asking students their point of view of spiritual topics. Sadly, neither of the girls from the first group had an opinion. As our conversation continued with them, I found it hard to take things to a deeper level.

The second group of girls sat down next to us mid-conversation with the first group. I started talking to them, asking similar questions to break the ice. I learned that each of them were Muslim and also did not really have an opinion of Jesus. They seemed to "bob and weave" the more thought-provoking questions I asked about spirituality.

Later, when I was debriefing with Jen, she explained that is the typical atmosphere on any college campus in France.

If you think about it, it make sense. Logically, if you don't grown up attending some sort of religious organization, you tend to not have a care, opinion or value about spiritual things - why? - because you don't know any better! Europe has been spiritually dead for a long time and it is evident in the responses given by college students.

Fortunately, God is faithful and Sovereign and can do anything even with the brief spiritual conversations we had with those girls.

Please pray for Europe. Yes, that's big, but God is bigger.
Please pray for the 5 girls Jen and I were able to connect with - that God can use anything for His greater good!
Please pray for encouragement, faithfulness and fruit for the Paris Metro team - this is what they face everyday. They have started an "English club" for French students to practice English - great relationship building opportunities!

Campus ministry tomorrow!

Hey Everyone!

Most of my team is headed into Paris tomorrow to work with the Paris Metro STINT team to do campus ministry! Please pray for open hearts, boldness, limited language barriers, and for us to depend on the Spirit! I'll post later this weekend how it goes!

Also, be looking for my prayer letter soon. I just finished "October 2010 Update". I apologize for my tardiness :) If you would like to be added to my email list, contact me with your information and I will make it happen!