And Finally... an Update on the LP!

Now that I'm caught up, I just got back 2 days ago from my three weeks at the LP. Like I said, the Mariner Motel is no Greece, but you just can't help but love it. I wish I had a picture of where I stayed, but I lived in an apartment-style room with 7 other girls, one bathroom, and one mini-fridge. Close quarters but it was so fun!!

My time at project mainly consisted of helping babysit some of the staff kids, spending time with students, and helping the other staff with anything they needed to make the project run smoothly. Because the students work full-time jobs (from Wendy's to Walmart to Sketchers), during the day we had staff meetings and staff training. During staff training we talked about the vision and direction of our ministry and spent time planning for the next year for each of our campuses. It was really fun to be a part of and has made me really excited for the direction COG is headed this next year.

One thing that is unique about a summer at the Project is the schedule. It's busy, fast-paced, and pretty much always on-the-go. This is what a typical week at the project is like for a student:

Monday: work during the day, Theme meeting at night (one of our staff gives a talk that helps unpack the summer's theme and then there is praise and worship)

Tuesday: work, free night

Wednesday: work, Project meal, Discipleship groups (accountability and small group bible study time that students have with the other girls or guys in their room)

Thursday: work, Bible Study Training, Team time (the project is broken up into 3 teams to allow people to get to know each other better. Team time could be planning for a theme meeting, getting ice cream, or playing a game)

Friday: work, Project social (everyone does something fun all together - (putt putt, bowling, slip n' slide on the beach, etc)

Saturday: Evangelism training, free night

Sunday: Church, Sabbath, Prayer and Praise at night

Students have been there almost a month, which means people are getting pretty tired. Please be praying for their endurance, attitudes, and that they would continue to learn and enjoy the Lord and have fun with each other!

A few really exciting things have happened already. Four of the students that are at Project have become Christians! Most of them would have said they had been Christians before, but for the first time the Lord revealed to them the real gospel and called them "out of darkness and into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

A few pictures to give you an idea of what the LP is like:

The Welcoming Committee

Staff girls (and the one staff guy we recruited) the night of our first big meeting - we did a pep rally themed meeting, and the staff girls were all cheerleaders

Field games at one of our Project Socials

One of our first meetings

Putt-Putt! Another Project Social

With all of this going on, it was really sad for me to leave. I just love the environment and being around the excitement and seeing everything the Lord is doing. But, I know that getting back to the office in Greenville is purposeful and ultimately fuels what is going on in Myrtle Beach. We have 7 new staff currently raising support full-time, which means over 200 new supporters for me to contact and keep up with! The sooner those staff members raise their support the sooner they get to be on campus to influence students, and that makes me excited to do my job. Also, I think once I get used to it I will be thankful for a slower pace of life for the next month or so :)

There are 6 weeks left at the LP. I will be going back for the final week, and can't wait to see how the Lord has changed and grown everyone!!

A Breather from Greenville (aka The Trip of a Lifetime)

May was an exciting month! One thing that added a little to the stress (but mostly to the fun) of the month was that I took a vacation in the midst of the chaos. Three of my best friends from Birmingham and I took a trip to Greece! Although the timing wasn't great (leaving right when things were gearing up for everyone to leave for Project), in the end it was more than worth it. I probably will never get to take a trip like this again, and it was unforgettable!! Here are just a few of my favorite pictures:

port in Paros

breathtaking - pictures cannot do it justice!!

at the Parthenon

in Santorini

One of the biggest things I kept thinking about there was beauty. Obviously, beauty in Greece is not hard to come by. The white houses with blue rooftops, the clean streets, the breathtaking sunsets and the crystal clear water were incredible. The first few days there all I could do was think about how beautiful God had made his creation - he created a place like that!! I can't IMAGINE ever seeing anything more beautiful. And yet God is indescribably more beautiful than anything in creation. Creation is only a glimmer of his beauty, a thumbprint of his glory.

I am so thankful that I got to spend 10 days in the most beautiful place I've ever seen with 3 of my best friends! It was such a gift and the trip still feels surreal to me. Needless to say, the poor timing and small bit of added stress were more than worth it.

I came back from Greece, had 6 days in Greenville where we had all day staff meetings to prepare for the LP, and then headed to Myrtle Beach for 3 weeks!! Greece to the Mariner Motel was a little bit of a transition, to say the least...

Next... The Theme of the Summer

One reason I haven't posted in so long.... April and May were insane! The office was busy getting ready for the Leadership Project, which started May 26th. From making notebooks to scheduling events to organizing information from our students, we had plenty to do!

The theme of our project this summer is "Witness."

What does that mean?...

God is writing the story of creation with a specific purpose in mind and our part in this story is one as a witness. Playing our part as witnesses begins with being image bearers. God created us with a purpose. Genesis 1:28: "Let us make man in our image..." We were created to reflect the image of God before all creation. We were to bear the image of God. Where does this begin? How were we supposed to bear the image of God before all creation? By beholding Him and worshiping Him. As we behold who God is and are led into worship as a result, we begin to reflect the glory of God to the rest of creation.

This leads to the second part of what it means to be a witness. We are not only image bearers of God through beholding him, but we are also message bearers of God as we are led into worship of Him. We will share with others that which we treasure most. If we are beholding God and worshiping God, we will be sharing Him with others.

This theme is what our talks, training, and teaching will center around. The theme verse for the summer is 1 Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Going Back to Spring

I know it has been way too long since i've posted. I am about to post about 5 things to catch up :)

First, I will start with a great opportunity our staff team had in April. All 25 of us travelled together to Louisville, KY to participate in a conference called Together for the Gospel (T4G).

7,000 people were there (mostly pastors). It was huge. I had never been to a conference other than ones hosted by Campus Outreach, so it was fun to get to see the differences. Obviously size was a huge difference, but it was also really nice to get to sit back and enjoy everything and not be thinking about details.

Here are a few highlights:

- Getting to hear from speakers like John Piper, CJ Mahaney, Matt Chandler, Al Mohler, Mark Dever and John MacArthur. So much great teaching from very gifted and faithful men (all the talks are online at www.t4g.org)

- Walking away with 20 free books! I'll probably never get through them all but I'm going to try

- An 8 hour road trip with some of my favorite people. Here is a picture of us when we reached the Kentucky state line:

- A week with our staff team - just getting to be around them and have fun and learn together and meet others who also work in ministry

- Being in the minority as a girl, and for once in my life, watching guys have a line out the door for the bathroom and getting to get in and out of the girls bathroom really quickly

- 3 other Campus Outreach regions were also at the conference, and our last morning there we had the privilege of hearing from Matt Chandler over breakfast. Matt Chandler is the pastor of the Village Church in Dallas, TX and this past November was diagnosed with brain cancer. He shared with us what the Lord had been teaching him through it, and it was really encouraging to hear. The biggest thing that hit me was how he explained his suffering through a passage in Matthew 7:

²⁴"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Matt talked about how the point is that yes, we build our houses on the rock - we place the fullness of our hope in Jesus, in the fact that life here and now is temporary and fleeting so we live as exiles waiting for the life that is to come. But even though we do that, the flood still comes! Life with Christ doesn't mean things go perfectly. Hard things happen. Christians suffer. But we have the power to withstand the storm because of Jesus. It was so powerful to hear that from someone who is in the midst of so much uncertainty about his future.

If I lost the things dearest to me tomorrow, would I stand firm with that kind of hope?

Learning by Paradox

This is a prayer from The Valley of Vision that I came across today. It stuck out to me because the idea of paradoxes in the Christian life has been on my mind a lot as our staff team has been preparing for our Christmas conference, the theme of which is "paradox." I love how this speaks to the complexity of God's character and the way he uses trials, sin and sorrow to show us more of himself, not less. Everything good in me is a gracious gift from Him. So often I try and try to confine God into a box, to get him in a place where i can understand him. This reminds me that I am so glad he is not like I think he is! I am grateful that he is a God who is immeasurably more powerful, humble, gracious, and sovereign than I can imagine. This prayer reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, which comes after the theme verse we are using for the conference (1 Cor. 1:18):

"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

So here it is- hope it encourages you like it did me!

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold

thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter

thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

Thy life in my death,

that every good work or thought found in me

thy joy in my sorrow,

thy grace in my sin,

thy riches in my poverty

thy glory in my valley.

Highlights from the past month!

• Halloween- a few of us went trick-or-treating with the Josephs and the Creasmans. You can sort of see, but the kids were adorable- a lion, a dragon, and Elmo. It was so much fun! Our adult to child ratio was about 3:1, so we switched off the kids so that everyone could get some candy J

• We also had a Halloween party at our house for Furman students to come to. There were some great costumes- Juno, mail order brides, jazzercisers, a cow, and a polar bear, to name a few! My roommates and I dressed as a pumpkin patch:

• I painted my room! Maybe it wouldn’t be a highlight to some, but I am all about decorating and making things feel homey, so I’ve been dying to paint my room since I moved in. Definitely not a professional job, but with the help of a couple of my roommates we finished it pretty quickly!

• We had a staff women’s retreat for 2 days last week. Once a month, our entire regional staff team comes together in Greenville for an all-day meeting. I love these meetings because we get to see all the staff, but by the end of the day everyone is pretty exhausted. The staff women had the privilege of getting a 2 day retreat after our staff meeting this month! One of the families at the church has a beautiful lake house on Lake Keowee, and we went for 2 nights and had some time to rest and hang out with each other. It was huge for me- not only to get some time away and spend extended time with the Lord and with friends, but also to get to know some of the staff women better.

• The office team has been busy planning for our annual conference over the New Year holiday. Each year, we plan a 4 day conference for students to come to to get great teaching, connect with students from other campuses, and grow in their relationship with Jesus. I went to this conference all four years as a student and LOVED it. Not only did I always walk away having learned a ton, it is also one of the most fun weeks ever. Last year, we moved the conference from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., and we will be returning to DC this year! The theme of the conference is “Paradox,” taken from 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” If you are interested in learning more about the conference, the website is www.paradox2009.com.

• This weekend Jacqueline and I are driving up to Western Carolina to help with a women's retreat for one night. The retreat will focus on Jesus being ENOUGH for us- enough to satisfy all of our needs and desires, and how that influences all of our relationships and friendships. I am excited to get to spend some time around Western girls and experience their retreat with them!

Genna's wedding and first weeks of work!

It has been a crazy last couple of weeks, to say the least! Three weeks ago, my older sister Genna got married. The wedding was in Greenville and was so much fun! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

My beautiful sister and me!

My discipleship group from Furman- so fun to see them!

My best friends from Birmingham who made the trek to Greenville :)

Adding to the craziness, I moved to Greenville for good when we came for the wedding. Let the post-college transition begin. I am definitely not a fan of change, but God has been really gracious in making things transition pretty smoothly so far. It has been so fun moving into my house and getting settled, and it is nice to be in one place for good! I am still raising support, but have started work in the office and am working on support from here. The Lord has brought my support to 95%! I am so thankful. Please continue to pray with me that he would provide the remaining amount!

The past two weeks, I have been sort of “learning the ropes” of the office. One of my roommates, Jacqueline, has been working in the office for the past 4 years, so she has been teaching me her ways. It’s going to take me awhile, but I really like it so far! I have been helping with making Bible studies, processing people’s support, doing communication/email stuff, and planning for our upcoming staff days (full day staff meetings that happen once a month).

Part of my job is also to babysit for staff families' kids a couple of days a week. This frees them up to meet with students, connect with each other, and do whatever else having kids makes it hard to get done! I love this part of my job so far- not only are all of these kids absolutely adorable, but it has been a huge blessing to spend time with each of these families as a whole!

So... with all of these different elements, my schedule is different from most: Here is a typical week in case you are curious!

Sunday: help with Sunday School, work on office stuff from 1-5

Monday: work in office, 9:30-5:30, babysit Josephs (directors of COG) at night

Tuesday: work in office 9:30-12, Sabbath Tuesday afternoon-Wednesday morning

Wednesday: Sabbath in morning, then babysit Lightcaps (campus directors at Wofford College) from 12-4

Thursday: Babysit Josephs in morning, lead discipleship group Thursday night

Friday: office from 9:30-5:30

Saturday: free!

This semester, my friend Sarah and I (also on staff with CO) are leading a discipleship group of 5 junior girls- Hannah, Julianna, Andrea, Sarah Grace, and Marilyn. We have met twice so far, and it made me so excited for what the Lord will do through this group. We will be studying the book of Ephesians together this semester, and a verse I have been meditating on the past few days is this: “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” –Ephesians 1:5-6

So much of my life is dictated by fear and a hesitancy to trust God fully. I read this and am reminded of his character- he is a loving Father, he works ALL things for the good of those who love him, and he chose me to be set apart- it was nothing of my doing, and his grace is more abundant and marvelous than anything I could imagine. I love meditating on the fact that I am God’s beloved, but this emphasizes that Christ is THE Beloved, and yet through him we are made co-heirs of the inheritance only he deserves.

Please pray for both Sarah and me and the girls we lead- that we would pursue God through his Word and be struck and changed by the worthiness of Christ!