God knows food is important to me :)

I got to tithe this weekend since I had just gotten paid- I love tithing, and I love how God always provides when we're faithful with our tithing.

Well, on Monday, I actually had to spend more money that I was originally intending to, but it was for good/necessary/ministry-related things. So I started freaking out a little bit, but I remembered God's promises for provision, and I chose to rejoice in the fact that I got to tithe on Saturday and trust God with my finances. Tuesday morning I woke up and was talking with God, and I told Him something to the effect of "God, I really don't have too much money and I had to spend more than 2 days' worth yesterday. I thank You for Your provision, and that the money is still going to be enough. But I would just LOVE it if you would provide free meals for me today." Haha. It might seem like a silly prayer but I totally meant it and trusted that He could and may do that for me.

So I get to staff prayer at 10am, and Heather quickly offered half a breakfast burrito that she'd just gotten at Pete's (AMAZING breakfast burritos- on Hoover just south of 24th); apparently it was too much food for her. "Wow, God, thanks!" I thought. Then I get a text from my friend Sarah, with whom I was supposed to have lunch. "Come to my house- we have yummy leftover enchiladas. Free lunch!" 2 down. I was going to have dinner around 6 when I met with my buddy Matt for our weekly Bible study planning/encouragement time but then I got a text from my friend Christina saying that he and I should go to her (and Heather's) apartment at 7 and have dinner because she and her friend cooked. So we did that.

Seriously, God provided 3 free, filling, delicious meals that day, because He knew that I would be blessed by it, and because He wanted to show His faithfulness to me (and because He's just AWESOME). I obviously don't advocate loving/believing in God for the sake of getting things from Him, but seeing Him fulfill His scriptural promises, and take care of me/provide for me as His precious child is pretty sweet!

SO ENCOURAGING!

None of this is my material- my dear friend Maria (graduated from Cal, was on Project with me back in '07) has been Stinting (one year overseas missions with CCC) in Tokyo, and I get her update letters. This one she just sent out was SO ENCOURAGING that I had to take some of the pictures and share them with you!

1- Japan CCC just had it's National Student Conference where over 100 Japanese students got together to be trained in evangelism and discipleship. I'm sure the time of worship, together with that many Christian students, was super refreshing for them as I'm sure they rarely ever are in the company of that many Japanese believers their age (less than 1% of the population of Japan even nominally claims to be Christian)

2- The students attending the four day conference also spent a chunk of two days going out into parks and shopping areas (ever heard of Harajuku?) and sharing their faith with random people that they would meet. Before they went out, they got together in groups to pray- good plan! :)

3- Whether it was a conversation with people hanging out at a park or with passersby the students would stop in the train station, the Japanese CCC students loved the experience and grew tremendously in their faith and boldness. Over a hundred people got to hear the Gospel, and 12 of them prayed to receive Christ! SERIOUSLY!

Anyone who has been on Project to Tokyo knows how tough ministry there can be. I've been on Project twice now (once as a student, once as staff) and my heart will probably never stop breaking for the people of Japan. Getting to hear these amazing stories from Maria refreshes my soul and gets me so excited I could jump around like a fool! Praise God for being an all-powerful God. He is God of traditionally Christian nations like the US, of exotic countries where the Gospel is spreading fast like China, and, though it's easy to forget it, He is God even of hard-soiled, spiritually resistant, seemingly hopeless countries like Japan.

Praise Him :)

Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling "Yoo hoo!"

We interrupt this string of posts about hot and humid Santo Domingo, DR to bring you a report on our awesome Spring Retreat in cold and snowy Crowley Lake, CA.

This year, for our Spring Retreat, we decided to go back to Crowley Lake, the site for my first two Spring Retreats with USC Cru, back in '05 and '06. It was a GREAT retreat- the weather was just gorgeous, the snow was pristine in whiteness, the fellowship was refreshing, the schedule was relaxing... so much to praise God for.


It was also VERY bittersweet. On the one hand, I was soaking in a sea of nostalgia as I reminisced about my experiences at the same Church on the Mountain (where we stay) 4 and 5 years ago

and thought joyfully through my 6 years involved in Cru at USC. On the other hand, I was oh-so aware of the fact that this was my last USC Cru retreat, and that was definitely sad. But the best part of it all was that in the midst of the sadness, I also felt an overwhelming amount of peace knowing that God is taking such good care of our movement, and that I am, indeed, ready to move on after more than half a decade here.

The worship was led by a team of 3 freshmen and 1 sophomore who brought us before the Lord each and every time we got together to sing praises to Him.

A sophomore and a junior led an evangelism training time and then a bunch of students got together to go out into the city of Mammoth to meet people and talk to them about Christ. Students who were freshmen when I had met them as a 4th year were now Seniors themselves and were giving Senior testimonies that spoke deep encouragement to the hearts of the students and staff.


The movement at USC is in good hands. Our student ownership is phenomenal and it was the greatest blessing to be able to enjoy this retreat as a last hurrah, completely trusting that awesome things will continue to happen because of God's work through the awesome hearts of the students. Praise God!

I was talkative today

I just got off of a ¨gua-gua¨ which are these insanely ghetto and shabby-looking van-slash-buses that we have grown to love so much. They drive aggressively, have total disregard for other cars and pedestrians in the street, and you get shoved into seats that you would never think could fit as many people as are sitting on it. It´s such an adventure every time and it´s one of my favorite things about life here!

I got to have spiritual conversations with 7 students today and 4 of those resulted in me getting to share the Gospel with them and giving them an opportunity to respond! Great stuff.

More to come...

ITS SO HOT

the heat and humidity here in santo domingo are pretty unbearable. but this culture is amazing, this place is amazing, and the people are just fantastic.

went to campus for the first time today- got to share the Gospel with 4 students! it was a great convo and they all had many AHA moments where the Gospel became understandable and clear to them. one of them might have accepted... it was unclear haha. the other three all said they WANTED it adamantly but that they didn´t want to make a decision if they weren´t sure about how true it was, even though if it IS true, they definitely want it. anyway, i have to go but i thought i´d check in and do a quick updated. thanks for your prayers!

loving it.

Santo Domingo, here we come!

Our flight to the DR leaves at 9:40 tonight!

Sonia, Kristen, Christina, Travis, Nick, Nick and I are finishing up final preparations for our Spring Break mission trip. SO EXCITING! Please keep us in your prayers- the travel both ways will be very tiring (as we make a pit stop at JFK both ways), and it's gonna be a whirlwind of a jam-packed week.

Specific requests:

- Safety (travel, in-country)

- Energy

- Spiritual protection (the team's definitely been feeling attack)

- Great opportunities for sharing Christ with students

- Team dynamic

- Whatever else the Lord puts on your heart! Be Spirit-led :)

Be back in just over a week, Lord willing!