And the Summer Begins...

So I just got back from intern training this afternoon. It was an incredible time, yet another year with another great group of college students. I feel privileged to work along side them and to have them a part of the LeaderTreks team. A lot was learned and not just about LeaderTreks and our program but each intern grew and was challenged before heading out for the summer. Team Costa Rica (my team) is headed out is a few short hours, we leave at 5:30 AM! I just got back from hanging out one last time with all the girls before we leave. I love how quickly we have gotten to know each other on such a deep level, I wish I could take them all with me.
Well that is all for now I need a few precious hours of sleep before we take off. Please be praying for my interns and myself. I will share more about Kerri and Kaitlen later, but we are going to be a great team. I'm anticipating the many stories of growth, challenge, and seeing God at work.
Thank you for your prayers!
Next blog will be from CR at the Aspegren's house (our missionary partners).

Prayer before the Summer...

So it's been a little while since I've been on here again. But I would like to share about what God has been laying on my heart for this summer.
You may have read on the SummitLive blog that we had a morning of solitude at work this week where we went to a forest preserve and spent some time reflecting on the past year and upcoming summer. God just really laid on my heart to pray for the students this summer to be hungry for God's Word. Please pray with me as if students come hungry for His Word, there are no limits to what God can do!

At work we have been going through one of our new curriculum pieces written by students for students to become aware of poverty. Each day of this past week we have given something up to help us identify with the poor. It has been interesting and given lots of insight into being poor in America where we are still expected to function as everyone else does. Today I have been fasting all day and it gave a new perspective to being "hungry" for God's Word. I also asked for prayer at church this morning. I love the way church of the Rez has prayer ministers every Sunday and we are invited to be prayed over. Such a neat ministry. Each time I have asked for prayer it has amazed me how God speaks through the person praying for me for such meaningful things and exactly what I need.

As I head off for the summer in just 11 days please pray for me for wisdom and discernment, for a hunger for God's Word, for the ability to use Scripture to speak truth, encouragement, and prophecy into students lives. There will be 90 students & adults coming through my site in Costa Rica this summer, 10 weeks, 5 teams, over 425 Costa Rican kids at VBS. There is a weight of responsibility that comes with those numbers. But with the weight comes the assurance that God will be at work. Pray for myself, my two college interns, and the students that we may taste "life to the full" that Christ has promised in John 10:10 and that we may "live a life worthy of the calling we have received." (Ephesians 4:1-3) so that we may "stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy." (Jude 1:24)

Dare to Disciple

This week in the office we are spending time studying up for this summer. For ten weeks I will be in Costa Rica with 5 different teams this summer, starting June 3rd! Anticipation for the summer has kept me on my toes. I’m excited to be with students seeing God work in powerful ways through the students but also in them. This summer we will be using a trip book (which is a Bible study) called Dare to Disciple. My boss and I spent lots of time researching in order to put this Bible study together. The process was challenging but fun and I am so excited to use it.

This week we are watching a DVD series that helped inspire our idea of studying passages on being a disciple of Christ but then also becoming a messenger of Christ. The DVD series is called In the Dust of the Rabbi with Ray VanderLaan. It is as close to a tour of Israel I may ever have, but has made me want to go even more. I highly recommend the series, not only does it bring lots of historical and cultural aspects of the first disciples life, but it is challenging me to dare to be Christ’s disciple. Today’s session was on Christ’s belief in the disciples, He truly believed He could use them and work through them. I don’t know that the disciples really got it until Christ left earth. At first (John 21) they go back to fishing, but eventually they receive the Holy Spirit and began to realize God could and would work through them, and the Acts church begins.

The disciples came from a small fishing village and had already taken on their family trades. They had been schooled in the Torah and perhaps had even followed a Rabbi for a time but didn’t have what it took to continue to be a disciple of a Rabbi. But Christ came to them and called them to follow Him and be his disciple!! Incredible! Christ chose them and He chooses us as well, He wants to use us to carry out His work! We also talked about fear today in our staff devotions. It made me realize once again that so often I fear because based on my own abilities I should fear! But when instead I focus on my Christ who chooses to work through me, my fear should subside, because it is Him who does the work. Good reminder though of my need to be disciplined in my time with God so I truly am relying on Him and not myself.

An attempt to revitalize my blog...

So I know I'm not the best blogger out there...but this is my attempt to bring it back to life. I hope to be posting on a more regular basis. Lately I have really enjoyed reading my friends blogs as they share what God is doing in their lives so I'm going to attempt to do the same. As I have this next week off I'm hoping to be able to get off to a great start.

SERVING THE JR. HIGH AT CHURCH OF THE REZ
Tomorrow at church in the Jr. High classroom we are teaching through the story of Esther. I'm excited to see the story come to life as we not only tell the story but then discuss it. Over these past 6 months I have come to love serving at Church of the Resurrection. Brett the youth pastor along with the two other volunteers have been a great team to work with. The method we use is called storying which at first I was rather skeptical of,but have seen the impact is has on our students. They are making deep connections and are seeing the Bible as a continual story that builds towards the coming of Christ. The jr. highers' love and knowledge of God's word is unbelievable and they ways they see it connect to their lives reminds me once again of Hebrews 4:12, God's word truly is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword.
Be praying tomorrow as we split up the guys and girls that God will be at work in their hearts. Spending time discussing the story and the application with just the girls is always an eye-opening time. The girls are really open and I am continually blown away by how God uses His word in their lives.