Maybe this is gonna be an annual thing...

About a year ago, I wrote a post about how packed the last month and a half of the year would be for me. Here I go with another one.

About two weeks ago, I flew back to CA for 3 days of Winter Conference planning (it was SO good! aaah I'm so excited about it! get more info at sdwinterconference.com)

followed by a weekend of Crossroads Conference where more than 200 juniors and seniors from around the region learned about making life/career decisions in a God-honoring way as graduation approaches (don't even get me started on how incredible the speakers were at delivering God's word and inspiring us to have the right perspective about all aspects of our life). Then it was Thanksgiving, and then yesterday I came back to Hawaii. On Wednesday I will finally move into my place. Tomorrow-Fri, and then next Mon and Fri make up our last days on campus for 2010, as next Tues-Thurs will be staff planning for the spring semester. And then that Sunday (12/12) is my flight back to CA. The next 14 days will be finishing up Winter Conference planning, working on finishing up my online seminary class (it's so intense! but so good too!), Christmas with the family, and hopefully breathing a little. Cuz then from 12/27-1/1, I will be in beautiful San Diego, CA, emceeing and helping run (and for sure enjoying) our annual Winter Conference!


PLEASE know that this isn't a complaint post. I actually love being busy, and all the stuff that I've been doing and will be doing is stuff that I absolutely love to do! All this stuff invigorates me. But I do ask that you pray for me in this time- that I don't get burned out, that I would be able to live in the present faithfully, that I wouldn't rely on adrenaline to get through the busyness but that I would fully rely on the Holy Spirit to lead me through it as I surrender myself in Christ Jesus to the intimate arms of my loving Father. It's the only way to live, and I don't want the busyness to distract me from that.

Also, happy birthday to my little sister Umi! (well... it's still her birthday for another 40 minutes or so here in Hawaii) Can't believe she's 15 already... But she's an awesome sister and I love her! Can't wait to see what Jesus has for her this coming year. :) Speaking of sister, random side note: I had an AMAZING time getting to spend some QT with both my sisters (Gin's the older of the two) and my mom. I love all these women!

(From L to R- My mom, birthay girl Umi, Gin, my aunt Delia, me)

Arigatai

My friend and fellow CCC staff member Bob Fuhs said it (well... Tweeted it, really) best:
"Thankful today for Gods grace in my life. I am a redeemed mess."

On top of that, this year I'm particularly thankful for the chance to celebrate with my family and friends in beautiful, cool, crisp Southern California. And I'm thankful that I'm going back on Sunday to my new residence in gorgeous Honolulu, HI, where I'm thankful for all the many blessings from the Lord I've been experiencing as I transition to island life.

Happy Thanksgiving day, everyone! Praises to the One who alone deserves our deepest, sincerest, lifelong gratitude.

EXCITING Opportunity

Actually, let's make it exciting opportunitIES.

First, right now I'm in Maui! Shaun, Ed and I are here with a double purpose.
1) To just have a staff guys' retreat. We're taking the weekend to hang out and relax as the guys.
2) More importantly, we're here to help a student named Austin start a Cru movement at the local college (Maui College, formerly Maui Community College). We also met a pastor today who talked with us for a couple of hours about how we can partner to reach West Maui for Christ.
Really exciting stuff!

Second, what I was originally gonna post:
Official as of this past week, I will gain get to serve as emcee of the San Diego Winter Conference!If you followed my blog last year, you know how amazing an experience that was for me last time. I feel so honored, blessed, and excited to again get to not only serve on the programming team, but to also guide the hundreds of students attending through all the content.

Please be praying for both our trip to Maui and our prepping for Winter Conference! Especially as the bulk of programming planning will be happening this coming week.

Cool opportunity?

Why do I always forget that God directs my life and that nothing that happens is a surprise to Him? Silly Gen...

I was on the phone with my dear friend Sarah from SC last night. We were catching each other up on different goings-on in our lives, and I obviously was telling her that I had yet to find a place to live, and explained that I had just been couch surfing for the last four weeks (speaking of which- as of yesterday I've now been in Hawaii for four weeks!) with my director Shaun, my fellow staff team member Jamie, and my fraternity brother Justin. Her response was surprising:
"That's cool! You're living like the disciples and the early believers- what a great opportunity for them to show you hospitality, and for you to live in total dependence on God to provide for you through the generosity of His people!"

Her comment left me speechless for about three seconds. She was SO right! I completely trust and believe that the Lord will provide a place for me to live- a sweet place of rest where I can go to at the end of a long day of ministry. And I will continue to faithfully keep on looking for a place. But until the search is over, I also need to totally trust that this time of homelessness is also an intentional part of God's provision. Sarah went on to say that she believes our culture has ingrained in all of us a strong sense of independence and self-sufficiency. We don't know how to live with each other anymore. And yet, in the New Testament, we are exhorted over and over to practice true hospitality, to live in harmony with one another, to bear one another's burdens, to share what we have with those who are lacking. And Jesus Himself commanded His disciples to depend on the hospitality of people of peace when going on mission. Obviously Sarah wasn't saying that we shouldn't ever try to have our own place to live or be able to support ourselves. But I think she has a point- I've HATED having to couch surf, and it's not because it's inconvenient for me, but because it drives me crazy to have to be such a bother to people. I don't know how to let people be generous to me. The people I've stayed with have told me repeatedly that they really are happy to help and that I am not at all a burden or a nuisance. Yet I want to rob them of their joy in helping me by resisting their hospitality.

What a humbling season... but in an AWESOME way! What an attitude shift to go from faithlessness, anxiety, and frustration at my lack of success in house-hunting, to trusting in God's timing and rejoicing in the opportunity to grow in the Lord and learn humility in relying on God's people to bless me!

Put ourselves out of a job

The goal in the campus ministry of CCC is not to have a big movement completely (no matter how well or poorly) run by staff. These are campus movements we are working to launch all around the world, and we want to raise up students to take ownership of what's going on and have it become more and more student-led/student-run. Staff will stick around for continued coaching/training/discipling, etc., but in a way, we want the students to put us out of a job. We want them to make it so we have less and less to do. Not so that we become lazy- but so that we can be freed up to focus mainly on coaching and training and encouraging, while students themselves can get in there and change their campuses for Christ.

Of course, this process can (and usually does) take years, or even yeaaars. But it's always really exciting when you catch a glimpse of the gradual shift towards student ownership.

Today has been that kind of day.

Every Thursday, we have what we call "Talk Story". It's just a time set aside for staff and students to go out onto campus in pairs, find people to talk to, and strike up spiritual conversation with them through spiritual interest surveys/straight-up intentional conversation/evangelism tools, etc. Well, today, Peter- a freshman who is the most consistent student at Talk Story... he's there every week!- went with Jesse- a sophomore transfer- for his first time ever to go do spiritual surveys. Then Donna- a sweet, sweet student girl who also comes consistently to Talk Story- took Hannah- a freshman girl from Virginia- on her first time!

Then I was supposed to meet Gilbert- the student leader at Kapionali Community College, where I work on Tuesdays- and he told me to meet him outside because he had run into Marion- a student at UH who came to Christ at the beginning of the semester. I met up with them, and let them finish their conversation, but it was really cool to get to listen in because it was basically Gilbert getting to speak words of encouragement from the Bible to Marion.

I love it when students feel confident and bold in the Holy Spirit and just go for it! :)

If I were a hermit crab...

At least I'd have a place to live.
Those are hermit crabs right? The ones that carry their shell around as a home and can "move" to a different shell home when they out-grow their old one?

Yeah, I'm definitely glad I'm a human being (made in God's image, and now brought into a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ). But IF I were a hermit crab, I'd have an advantage on me in ONE category- having a place to live.

Yup, I'm two days away from 4 weeks living in Hawaii, and I have yet to find a place to live. It definitely has been frustrating and trying for my faith/patience/joy... But God is good. He knows what He's doing. His timing is perfect. He hasn't allowed me to find a place yet because it's not the time yet.

At the very least, I know that, when He does, I'll be dang grateful for it. Praying that during this time, He draws me to rely on Him so fully that even when I have a place to live, my place of comfort/safety- my "home"- isn't my apartment/house, but my quiet moments of intimacy with Him.