So Much!!

It has been such a long time since I have been able to update. I am telling you everyone, the last few days have been, how do I say it, INCREDIBLE. It just seems wrong for me to sit here at a computer to even try and explain it to you in words. The best analogy to give to the last few days is “a picture is worth a thousand words.” In the same sense, the only true way to appreciate all the things we did is to have a video of it all or just to experience it yourself. There is this deep desire within me to just sit down with each and every person that wants to listen and just share what has been happening. While I know that is impossible, I will try to make due and attempt to explain some of it through words.

Last Friday, I was able to have dinner with my adopt-a-parents from my church, Ocean City Baptist. The church set up this program where a few members of the church “adopt” a few of us who are here on summer project. Basically, we hang out with these members so we get to know some people from the congregation well and feel more connected. My parents include a deacon of the church (also the piano player), his wife, and a one of their family friends. Their names are Paul, Helen, and Elsie. I must say they are some of the most personable, older people I know.

On Saturday night, we had the annual Staff vs. Student softball game. This was the culmination of “All for One” week. The entire week was focused on the importance of fellowship and community. As many of you may have guessed, I totally loved it. There were various activities throughout the week to make us all depend on each other more and to work as a team. The softball game itself was a bit varied from a normal game. The final score was a tie, a bit of a bummer but still good.

Monday’s dinner was pretty sweet because three random guys were paired with three random girls. It was also July 4th so we watched the fireworks as a project. Probably one of the sweetest parts was after the fireworks we played a game called “Buck, Buck.” I am unsure if I even spelled that correctly, but basically what it is is a group of guys making a human “base.” Basically about 5 guys locking arms in a semi-circle shape while being bent over. Then, one guy at a time jumps on top of their backs. Ok, now I am thinking to myself that this explanation is not that great, but I must say, it was tons of fun and actually drew a huge crowd of people.

This started our week of “International Vision.” Basically, the entire week is focused on the importance of spreading the gospel throughout the world. Tuesday night was one of the most creative things I have done since being on project. However, I cannot share the details because there may be people reading this blog who may go on a summer project in the future. Some of the things I learned though is how spiritually blessed the US truly is. We have so many churches, worship styles, bands, and even a ton of different versions of the bible. There are many locations that do not even have a bible in their language.

Wednesday night’s talk was on our perspective when thinking about our lives. One of the biggest things that hit me is our perspective of God’s will. Often times we ask, “What is God’s will in my life?” One of our challenges was to ask, “How do I fit into God’s will?” This statement alone just blew me away at how selfish I approached even my prayer life.

From Monday to Wednesday, I was blessed with having my mom and dad here. It was great to just catch up with them and just share what God is doing in my life. One of the verses my bible study leader told me today was Luke 12:48. Jesus is talking and saying: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much MORE will be asked.” Thinking about how much I have been blessed with, especially with my parents, I know I need to do much more then just make money with my life. Over the past two years of college, I have become more and more appreciative of the background I came from. I am blessed with an incredible set of parents and supportive siblings and family. People have been placed in my life at the right time to carry me through my spiritual trials. By being blessed with all this and more, I know I need to “multiply” my life.

Lastly, I found out today what my Project Job will be for the rest of the summer. To give some background, next week Friday all 35 or so staff will leave for the summer. From that point on, us students of the project must take over the emptied positions. Each student is given a job assigned to them by the staff team. While I do know my job, I cannot reveal it until Friday, so I will not write about it until then. I will tell you that I am excited but also a bit overwhelmed and will need tons of prayer.

I apologize for this blog being so long, but I wanted to give you all a glimpse of the last few days. They have truly been the most exciting and challenging times of project so far. One of the biggest things that have been made real to me is that the Spirit works in so many different ways then just the traditional preacher’s message, church, etc. With that, I will leave you and hope you are all well.