Well i haven't posted a blog for quite some time. I got so busy with summer project that I kinda forgot to keep everyone informed of what amazing things were happening in Ocean City. I'm back home now, so this is my first post project blog. There are so many things I could share. I'll start by saying that my project job once the staff left was an action group leader (Bible study leader). I discipled three out of my four roommates and was discipled by one of my friends on project named Jake Morris. I really experienced a lot of growth this summer, but it came in many little ways. There was not one big revelation I had, but an accumulation of pieces here and there that stuck with me. My heart for evangelism has changed, my understanding of community has grown, my knowledge and trust in God's sovereignty has grown, my site of God as Savior and Lord has been amplified and my view of my sinfulness has become more aparent, trusting and putting faith in the promises of God found in his word has been rooted in my head, spending time in prayer and in God's word are the heart beat of a Christ follower, being an exile, alien, and an outcast for the sake of Christ is how we are meant to live.
I am very sad that I am not in community with my 110 new friends, but I am excited to share what I have learned with others, and hopefully build up the body of Christ wherever I am. I pray that the people on this summer project and myself use the skills we have acquired and take them back to our hometowns and campuses, and equip a new generation of passionate Christ followers. Awake American To the Gospel of Christ.

By God's Grace,

Nov

The Fire Part 2

The Fire Part 1

Hey people,

This summer has been so amazing in so many different ways. But I feel like I have become stagnant the last couple of weeks. I have had a tough time focusing my days around God. I've been getting wrapped up in hanging out with the people on project, not saying that it is wrong, but i am replacing my time with Jesus for time with my friends. I could use some prayer to make sure I keep my eye on Jesus all day everyday. Through hanging out with some of my friends I have had some God-glorifying conversations. I've been able to get into some deep theological topics, some deep thinking in general, and being able to confess sins to one another. It has been sweet growing through community. I can't stress godly community enough, because we can learn so much more in fellowship than we ever could on our own. We should focus on keeping the body (church, believers) as one, and stay away from division in the body at all times. This is something I really would like to take back to my campus. the idea of "one" body, because i know there are a lot of cliques in our CRU movement at Ball State, and i would like to get rid of that as much as possible. Hope everyone is having a sweet summer, and by sweet i mean God-centered. stay strong in the faith.

By God's Grace,

Nov

Hello,

I got a job on monday, so i've worked a few days already. I work at Johnson's appliances and bedding, and we deliver appliances and beds to people pretty much all across new jersey. I've seen God work in multiple ways so far. my friends have some great stories about people coming to Christ, and a couple healing stories as well. Recently my friend Jon hurt his knee, and could have torn his ACL, so people have been praying intensely over his knee. We are trusting that the Holy Spirit will heal his knee, and Jon has seen healing for himself and has healed people through the power of the Holy Spirit before. I was kinda skeptical about this whole healing thing at first but after hearing the stories people have told me, and I trust these people and they have no reason to lie to me, I've rethought this whole healing thing. I totally believe the Holy Spirit has the power to heal people. we see healing happening in the Bible and we believe the Bible to be true, so why can't the Holy Spirit still heal people. the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same Holy Spirit that can heal people today. We don't demand that God heal Jon, but we just ask and plea that God will use his power to heal his knee. If it is in God's will for Jon's knee to be healed then that would be amazing. If God shows himself through healing Jon then we pray that we don't become prideful because of anything we have done or prayed, but that we would sing of God's praises, and Jon could use this as a testimony to Christ's glory. God's glory is the only reason we want his knee to be healed. If you guys could be praying for Jon's knee then that would be awesome cause we need as much prayer as possible, and if his knee gets healed then I will try to let you know as soon as possible. talk to you soon.

By God's Grace,

Nov

Hello again,
It is a rainy friday and my friend Megan from BSU and Maggie from Madison, Wisconsin are just chillin at a coffee shop nearby, so I thought it would be a good time to update a little bit more of what is going on. This past Sunday night we had a 3 hour student led prayer time, and it was nothing short of amazing. I believe the day before we had our mens and womens time, and I don't know what the women did, but the men played some intense ultimate frisbee. After the fun time we went back to the house and went into a time of seriousness. A time for guys to open up to other guys about things that they are struggling with in their lives. It was such a blessing for everyone to share and be real with people. A huge focus among the guys on project is to be genuine with one another, and so far everyone has been so open and authentic. I don't have a job yet but I will definitely have one this coming week because things will start picking up, and people will begin hiring more people. It has been frustrating not having a job yet, but it has also been a blessing because I can stay up late and talk to my brothers and sisters about God and life in general. It has been such a growing and humbling time during our late night conversations. The Lord has made himself known in everyone on project, just by the way everyone has been open and genuine with one another. It is so sweet to see the Lord work in other people's lives. That's all for now, but be prepared for my next post.

By God's Grace,

Nov

Hey everybody,

I've been in Ocean City for about a week now, and the first week was like a conference/retreat atmosphere. We've had times of worship, times of learning, mens and women's time, hanging out with everyone and trying to meet everyone. It is amazing how close everyone is even though we have only known each other for a few days, and that just the work of God in our lives. I'm still looking for a job, but I am trusting that God will provide for me, and I know that he will. We did our first day of evangelism yesterday. We went out for about an hour and a half, and my friend Andy and I talked to about five people, and shared the gospel with one of those guys. He didn't pray to receive Christ but the seed was planted in his life, so we leave salvation up to the Lord. If that guy ends up being saved then the glory goes to God, and if that guy never comes to Christ then God is still sovereign, and he saves who he chooses. I'm so glad that God is in control of saving people because there is no way that a wretched, sinful person like me would ever be able to save someone's soul. It is a privilege to be used by God in the process of salvation. God doesn't need us to save people, but he loves us so much that he uses sinful people to join him in his plan of salvation. Glory be to God for the work he does in our lives, the way he uses us, and the grace he shows us every single day.

By God's Grace,

Nov