Doing This Camp Thing :)

June 5, 2009
“So teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
This passage is really just so realistic. The psalmist in this passage is very descriptive, and I believe this passage could very much be attached to a sermon on Ecclesiastes thematically. He describes the grass and flower withering and dying away. The life of any human being is that of a vapor, and this verse really showed the grace in God allowing us to live on Earth, and that there is a specific purpose for us being here ( and that God cares about His children in the little things… like who we room with in college or what food we eat daily). God’s grace is so abundant in the fact that we might gain wisdom… which the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1). Fearing the Lord only occurs once we have been completely redeemed in His grace, mercy, and love.
June 3rd I read this passage in the Psalms and I heard a sermon that very day on the things a Christian sees as being completely centered in the God of the universe and seeking His face which beholds the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the small things. (2 Corinthians 4)Paul Washer said that as a Christian we see the grace of God and the beauty of God in stalks of wheat blowing in the wind and minnows swimming in a tiny creek. I agree with this and praise the Lord for the assurance in this. Katy, Hannah, and I were driving from Texas to Georgia June 2nd and even until today I am continually amazed and how honkin’ big these clouds are! The trees are quite large as well, but it was definitely a blessing to behold the majesty of our King in the clouds that His very breath has formed. I have been able to praise my God in the eyes of the interns and seeing their hearts in their faces.
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” Romans 12:9-13 (I would highly encourage you to read the rest of the passage… I cut it short for the sake of length.)
This is a constant prayer for me in my friendships with other people. Dear friends, I encourage you to read this and to never think that you have done this in its sufficiency. Please remember the grace of God to allow you to read this passage and to know evil in a new way than when you were a transgressor. (Once Christ does a regenerating work in us, we not only have a new relationship with Christ and holiness, but we have a new relationship with sin that directly correlates with that.) I ask that this would be one of your prayers for me brothers and sisters. With fourty-something interns working around me, and each of them being my brother or sister in Christ, (we are living with each other 24/7 basically)… I need this to be worked in my heart, and I know this cannot be done without the work of the cross being central. Please pray this passage over my heart.
Just to give you the “down low” on what has happened so far… Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009, Katy, Hannah, and I (with Ali’s help) packed my little red neon versa stuffed full and began our 14 hour drive to Duluth, GA for training week with Go Tell. We arrived in Duluth and landed at La Quinta (our hotel that we were sharing with Kaye and Lindsey, two other interns who we had never met before). That night was quick, and we went to training. Rob and Jenny are just amazing, godly people centered in truth, and there is honestly much this summer that is so much different this summer (which is a good thing!) God’s glory is so centralized and I cannot stress how beautiful of a change that is. The truth of the gospel has been laid out by Rob and Jenny in the packet that they gave all of the interns in training. Chic-fil-e was the first meal of the whole summer (what a God sent meal sent straight from His grace! And what a way to start the summer off! I mean really?!) It was good meeting all of the new interns and fellowshipping with the oldies. About four other girls and I practiced that night to worship the next morning and it was BEAUTIFUL (we had a cello player named Sabrina/Sabby) She’s so beautiful , her heart is beautiful, and her music is absolutely breathtaking. It was a blessing singing with her Tara (T.D’s younger sister), Kerri Lynn, and Jenny. Absolute blessing. I was picked to be on the drama team again this year, and we are actually being trained by one of the Skidiots from previous years so that was a complete priviledge. (It’s really funny because he’s from Fort Worth.. his wife works at the education building Redeemer uses, and their church is maybe 15 minutes from where I live. Crazy?!) So my next training day was filled with skits and ideas/ improv stuff. (so fun!) We then decided to go to a baseball game that got rained out, but there were several opportunities on the train to speak with people (and just get to know some). These were all so providential. I met a woman from Hawaii, a man named Wes (who blatantly said that he wasn’t a Christian, and that all people were children of God… it was a brief convo), and a woman named Mary from Zambia (which reminded me to be praying for our missionaries from our church in Mali and the others from RCB in Tanzania.) Then I ended up getting a henna tattoo with 2 Corinthians 5:21 on my hand and the woman asked what that means. I had the opportunity to halfway tell her about the cross (the bus was being held for us), but she had claimed to never hear the name of Jesus. Sad that we had to leave.
The weekend has just begun, but we are praying for how God is going to work in and through us, and camp is starting Monday! Please pray that God really uses the skits we will do. The two most important ones are “Chisel” which is a skit concerning the sanctification Christ uses in our life to conform us into His image, and the Lifehouse skit that really presents the gospel. (I would check it out on youtube… or something… we might have the videos on for sale on the website or something, but I will definitely be putting that up soon.)
I do have a wonderful praise that Jonathan and others will understand. There is a handful of people here from Southeastern who are reformed and it’s a blessing to have the same theology as others you are working with because of the very fact that orthodoxy and orthopraxy go hand in hand and it is reflected in the way they conduct themselves. Please be praying for my brothers and sisters in this. Melissa Clift, Blake and Amber (a married couple this year..precious!), KerriLynn, Katy Camp, and Nick Majors. For those of you who are reading this, I plead with you that you would not take offense to these statements, or think that I love them more or treat them with more respect than with the other interns, but it has humbled me to see the humility within a true belief of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these specifically.
I love and miss you all at Redeemer Church; I’m listening every weekend… I have to be fed solid food somehow. Mom and dad, I miss you so much and I’m praying for you. Your text messages truly show your love and desire to communicate with me. Because for you guys it’s not easy to text. Haha. Drewjy Chan I’m praying for you and your family. That your time in the big J-AY-pan would not be wasted but used solely for His glory. Friends from Southwestern, I cannot describe how much I miss you. I am so grateful for the ability to spend the summer with Hannah and Katy for the summer. I plead that you stay focused and centered in His Word. My sisters on the islands, I PRAISE THE LORD FOR OUR OHANA IN HIM! I hope to meet you all face to face before the Earth dies and to fellowship in the Father (either way Jesus comes back and He will surely do it!) Love you all (everyone mentioned here.)
Prayer:
-Total dependence on God,Rest, Alone time with God, Rich fellowship (in patience)
-I am leading a discipleship group with two girls (sarah and shelby)Please pray for this time to really grow us and to encourage each other in the blessing of this time in prayer and going through the book of Micah.
-Pray for the interns to constantly remember that everything we do is for the fame of Jesus. :)
Aloha ke akua.