More than halfway there

So, I realize I haven't kept up with blogging as much as I would have liked, but it's hard to get a good internet connection! I wanted to update yall a bit on what has been going on since last time, even though there is no way all of it would fit on this page! Jobs on the boardwalk have been very eventful to say the least. I have acquired several skills that will hopefully come back into play sooner or later in my life, such as cotton candy making, ice cream swirling and dipping, popcorn popping, cheese fry making, churro making, and one of my favorites... boardwalk beach bottle selling (I'm the 10th best seller in the company, no biggie). Conversations with coworkers have been plentiful and interesting. Santa Cruz has proved itself to be a place of darkness and Christians are few and far between here. When you initiate a conversation about spiritual things here, you have to be specific that you are talking about Jesus Christ because even using God can be misleading since people here have extreme, skewed views of religion. People here are willing to talk, that's not the problem. The problem is that they are so confused and have been brought up believing things that aren't of the Lord. It is challenging, but we have to just keep asking questions and try to get to the root of why they believe the things they do because you can't approach people with a defensive attitude. I've really learned how to share my faith and adjust my story depending on who I am talking to. Some people have never even been exposed to Jesus and have never even looked at a Bible. Your words have to be simplistic and easy to understand. Our job here in Santa Cruz is to carry out the Great Commission and it is important to remember that we may not see fruit from our work here. We may only be another seed in a person's life and that's okay because the Lord will send someone else to water that seed and when the Lord is ready, He will help that person grow, which He tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:7-9. I will blog again soon and tell of how life has been at the Pan since the staff left and this project has become all student led! The Lord has been so good and I can't wait to get back on campus and help others realize how much better life is once you surrender it all to the Lord!

and so it Begins...

The journey to get to Santa Cruz Summer Project (SCSP) was already one of patients, trust and faith, so I felt well prepared to travel across the country with a connecting flight in Phoenix, Arizona and then landing safely in San Jose. This was my second time flying and so I was still getting used to how an airport works…it’s like a miniature city. I was navigating pretty well, but seemed a little off on time management because I missed the lay over and had to rebook for a flight 3 hours later. My first instinct was to freak out, cry and then call my parents. I was a little flustered at first and did call my parents, but God settled all those nervous feelings and I knew everything would work out. I finally landed in San Jose after traveling all day even though pacific time told different. I met my first friends on project and jumped in a shuttle and we were off to meet the Peter Pan and the rest of the 50 students! We were welcomed with lots of love and excitement and everyone met their roommates. I have 4 roommates: Brittany, Beverly, Kaylie and Abby. We planted a love fern by our door and her name is Margaret, but Marg for short. She helps God watch over room 46. Training and getting to know you took up the next few days and an orientation at our jobs. I’m working for Whiting’s Foods on the Boardwalk, which is a great family owned business and knew once I walked in the door and met everyone that I was blessed to be here. I got to experience my first day on the job making cotton candy, churros (apparently a big deal out here and I've missed out all my life) and popcorn, which aren’t very simple tasks, but you’d be surprised at how much of an adrenaline rush making cotton candy can be! 

This past Sunday was our first day of Outreach, which is the committee I’m on by the way, and we decided to split into groups and go to different Laundromats and places around the area. Our location was a Laundromat, so we took our laundry and hoped to engage in some conversations. If Santa Cruz wasn’t already bizarre enough, we definitely found the center of it. A quiet woman was nearby and we started talking to her. Her name was Brenda and she was very friendly and open to tell us about her life and to hear about ours. Brenda shared that she had a spiritual background and was attending church sometimes in Santa Cruz, but she never shared of her personal relationship with the Lord, so we weren’t sure exactly where her heart was. However, she did allow us to pray with her before she left and she seemed very happy about things. The other half of my roommates were talking to a transvestite a few dryers over and were having a difficult time connecting with the woman, her name was Veronica. She seemed like she was on some type of drugs and had strange views about religion. They continued to share because she kept talking and asking questions. The conversation was going in circles, so they left a Knowing God Personally booklet with her and had the chance to pray with her as well. Other stories were shared at dinner that night about how the Holy Spirit was able to work through people and plant little seeds.

Today I started the work week off at Pizza Hut and soon found out I’d be jumping around behind the counter to Senor Teds Mexican Food and Burgers as well. I loved interacting with the public on the Boardwalk. The crowd ranged from locals to kids to vacationers. I also got to meet some employees named Jasper, Stacey, Eric, Mike, Carissa, and Anthony. Everyone was nice and I soon learned the people from Campus Crusade working on the Boardwalk were called the “Crusaders,” but apparently this was a good thing because we had a reputation to be friendly, southern and hard workers. It is so great how this summer project has impacted this place so much! It wasn’t long into my shift before Jasper asked me why I believed in God and what this whole life with Him entailed. We have been learning about initiative evangelism, but this was such a blessing for him to be the one to blatantly be the initiator. He told me how he had heard of the Crusaders last year, but never really got involved with them. We are famous on the Boardwalk for inviting coworkers to our dinners we have in the courtyard of the Pan (Peter Pan), which is one of our main ways to get them exposed to the Gospel. I prayed God would give me direction in the conversation with Jasper and I actually got to share a bit of my testimony with him. He asked me if the happiness and comfort I felt was due to the other Christians around me or if it was just God that made me feel that way. The questions kept coming and conversation kept rolling and I found out he wasn’t sure what he believed, but he would identify as an atheist. I believe that the Lord brought him back to work at the boardwalk, so he could continue to interact with the Crusaders and it was almost as if he had been saving these questions he had for the whole year. I just thank God for bringing Jasper into my life and I’m really eager to get to know him more and hopefully be able to share the Gospel with him. I later found out his girlfriend works for Whitings as well and she told another Crusader that Jasper told her about me on their break together. All these things have happened and we have only been in Santa Cruz for a week and I’m so excited to see what else the Lord has planned for SCSP. If you could just pray for those mentioned and for the Lord to soften their hearts and allow them to continue to be receptive to His word.  I just praise Him for the opportunity to serve Him and help carry out the Great Commission! 

"I don't wanna talk about you like you're not in the room. I wanna look right at you, I wanna sing right to you. You won't relent until you have it all, my heart is yours. Come be the fire inside of me until you and I are one." 

Girl Meets Peter Pan

Hey everyone! Tomorrow I will arrive in Santa Cruz and my journey will begin! I will be meeting my first summer project mates at the airport and taking a shuttle to the Peter Pan Motel! It will be a red carpet arrival! Raising support has been a journey in itself. Last time I blogged I still had hundreds of dollars to raise and now I'd like to praise God for helping me raise over four thousand! My support team includes teachers from high school, aunts & uncles, grandparents, friends of my parents, friends of my grandparents, pastors, hair stylist, friends parents, cheerleading coach from high school, Bible study leaders, CRU staff, high school principal, UNCW professors, church members, my boyfriends church family and parents and their friends, neighbors, my dentist, my dental hygienist, UNCW staff, YoungLife leaders, my sister's husbands family, my sister's dad, coworkers of my parents, my coworkers, my parents, my dad's Sunday School class, my dear friends from high school and my friends that attend class with me at UNCW and friends that attend CRU with me! Not to mention everyone who has been praying for me and will continue to pray for me and the hearts of those in Santa Cruz! What a team, huh? God has shown me how powerful and mysterious His works are, which has really helped strengthen my faith in Him. Raising support has given me the opportunity to reconnect with friends and loved ones I haven't been able to stay in touch with over the years. God has brought family back together and opened doors to new friendships that will last forever.

Anyway, I can't wait to get there tomorrow and spend 10 weeks with 60 other amazing college students that share the same love for the Lord that I do! Together, we will "crusade" our way through Santa Cruz and spread the love of God wherever we go. Please pray for our safety as we travel and that the Lord will prepare our hearts for what we are about to encounter.

12 Days!

     Today marks 12 days until I fly from the East Coast to the West Coast for Santa Cruz, CA Summer Project. Since this is my first post, I'd like to explain the background behind SCSP and all the other summer projects. It happens because of a great organization on college campuses across the US called Campus Crusade for Christ, aka: CRU. CRU brings thousands of students together, allowing them  to grow together. This organization is very welcoming to Christians and non-Christians who are seeking to know more about the Lord. They have staff members on campus throughout the day. The staff does a great job at getting to know students and mentoring them through their walk with Jesus.
     CRU holds many conferences during the year to bring students from all over the region together to hear from well known speakers, worship, and perform outreach in the community. After the winter conference, Encounter, I felt called to go on Summer Project, specifically Santa Cruz. This was my first experience being "called" to do something for the Lord, so I very enthusiastically responded to this calling by first applying to the project. I knew this was the most popular project to go on and was trying to keep faith that if God wanted me here, He would allow me to be accepted, which He did. I found out about my acceptance early March, which meant I had a few months to get all my support raised. I started writing letters and sending them out to everyone I could think of. My goal was and still is $3,400, but including food and transportation, the amount needed increased to $4,500. I've never had to raise support before, so this was definitely a new experience, which I'd also describe as scary and a complete leap of faith. So with 12 days to go... God has helped me raise $2,705- praise Him! I still have a good bit left to raise, but I'm not giving up because I know God will provide for those that do His will. So please if you are reading, stop and take a moment to pray for me as I continue to raise support and as I prepare for this mission trip. I'll write soon and give more details about what exactly I'll be doing in Santa Cruz this summer. God is good!