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."
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