Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Wrapping things up: a spring ministry update....

Springtime at UCI…

What an exciting quarter it has been, it’s been such a blessing to see the Lord working in tangible ways as He continues to grow our movement and I think it is safe to say that the ministry at UCI is in full bloom.
The South Africa Team
We kicked off spring quarter with a wonderful Spring Break Trip to Port Elizabeth South Africa. Though we spent almost as much time in the air as we did in country, suffered extreme jet lag and went days without sleeping, I could not have asked for more of an amazing trip.  It was undoubtedly a life changing trip for each of us who were blessed enough to go and we got to see the Lord use our team in ways that we could only dream of. God changed lives and while we were in South Africa students gave their lives to Christ and our team of eleven got to be a part of it. We spent our time on three different campuses where we shared our faith daily. We also got to attend 2 weekly meetings and meet the South African Cru student leaders.      

Mackenzie & me on the NMMU campus.
Meet Mackenzie; she is one of my freshman girls and one of the students who came with us on spring break. She had already had her break planned out for months, but the opportunity to go to South Africa was introduced and she couldn't deny the Lord tugging at her heart. She took a giant step of faith, let go of her plans and allowed the Lord to lead her. What a blessing it was to watch her grow as she shared her faith for the first time and stepped out in boldness for the Lord. She came back to UCI with a changed heart, a heart that aches for the world and a heart that wants to reach the world with the Gospel.  Here’s what she shares about how the Lord continues to work in her life after returning home to UCI… “I am so much more willing and excited to share my faith after the trip because I know that at any given time God could want to reach somebody and choose to use me to be a part of it. I am more conscious of the fact that God is with me always and can speak through me and I can now talk to people on campus with full confidence in the Lord.”

So what’s next?...

In just a couple of days I will be heading off to spend my summer staffing the Santa Monica Summer Project where I’ll be helping to train and equip students in evangelism and how to share their faith. I’m excited for what God has in store and know that it will be another great adventure. After project, it is with great sadness I share that I will officially be ending my time with Cru. It is very bittersweet, but I’m excited to see once again what God has in store as I pursue a career in Horticulture. I will be sending out another update with more info on where God is calling me and also about your financial giving.  I do however want to share with you for your giving purposes that your last gift can be made in July. For those of you who are giving in the form of EFT your giving will not stop automatically. To end your automatic donation you can call 1-888-CRUSADE. You may also stop your EFT giving online (give.cru.org) or by emailing Donation.Services@Cru.org with my staff account number (0647322) and your giving information.  

As I sit and write this update I can’t help but be thankful to the Lord for each of you, for your support and your prayers. It is because of you, my amazing ministry partners, that lives are being transformed with the Gospel. God is using each of you very specifically in this ministry and I am so grateful for you. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Please Pray
  •  For the students who came to South Africa, that they would continue to use what the Lord taught them at UCI.
  •   For the South African students who gave their lives to Christ, that they would continue to grow in their new found faith.
  • For my upcoming transition into the workforce.
  • That God would move in big ways in Santa Monica this summer.