Post Project Life

Well Project has ended.  Us “projecters” have all gone our separate ways and are trying to adjust after a life-changing experience.  I look back on this summer and sometimes it seems like a blur.  At other times I remember such details my brain thinks I’m still there, living with 50 other college students, sharing a room with 3 precious girls, and serving the public greasy fries etc. etc….  It’s weird now, being in the real world.  On project there was such a tight knit community and a great sense of purpose.  Not to say I don’t have that at school, it’s just different.  The Lord taught me priceless lessons about Himself and living life here on earth.  I want to say a special thank you to all who supported my trip and prayed for me!  I wouldn’t have had these great experiences were it not for y’all. 

 

Over all, Project was great!  From work, outreaches, and from just talking with people, we had 1195 spiritual conversations!!  From those conversations, 34 decided to follow Jesus!  I praise the Lord for all His work in Charleston…what He did and what He is still doing! 

 

I hope to post many memories of Charleston here, reflecting on all God has done.  But for now, thank you for going on this journey with me!  May the Lord bless you!  If you have any questions or would like more details about my trip, just let me know!  

the Life

I am just going to jump straight into my life.  Staff has left and has asked some of the students on this Project to step up and take the positions of Project leaders, D-Group leaders, and team leaders.  It has been such a blessing to have been chosen to lead my D-group.  I have learned so much.  But especially I have learned of the importance and necessity of humility and of asking the Holy Spirit to fill me.  I meet with them all individually and have seen the Spirit move in such great ways.  If you all would pray for the Spirit to continue to move and work, that would be wonderful. 

Work at McDonald’s is still going on as well and it has gotten harder, as energy is low and sleep is limited.  The cool thing about this whole thing is that the Lord provides strength and energy supernaturally! 

As the work load from McDonald’s and Project increases it is easy to focus on the future and the time of rest I will have when I get home.  But please pray I continually live in the present rest in the Lord as I serve.  The Lord can do SO much in a manner of seconds and we might miss out on what God has for us if our focus is not on Him. 

God has really cool, crazy, out-of-this-world things planned for us.  May we be responsive to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who holds all things together, knows all things, and loves us unconditionally.  All praise be His.   

remembering

Well, today is Wednesday, July 18, 2012 and my name is Sarah Elizabeth Massey.  It is currently 10:29 pm and I am sitting in my home for this summer.  During the school year I go to college and for this summer I am attending a Summer Project with CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ).  I have three wonderful roommates, a solid job, and am blessed beyond the moon and back. 

Sometimes I just have to take a step back and live in the moment.

Outreach

Folly Beach!

On Saturdays we do something called Outreach.  It is where we go out and talk with other people to see what they think about God and Spiritual things.  So far we have been to Folly Beach twice and have seen God work in Big ways!  What we do at the beach is set up a tent with a sign that says, "What does God mean to you?"  People can come up and write something down and receive a free popsicle.  They also have the opportunity to take a picture survey CRU has created to get a spiritual conversation going.  Many people have walked up to the tent and have had spiritual conversations with the students there.  Only so many students can be at the tent.  The majority spread out on the beach and just approach people, asking if they would like to take a survey (it's technically called Soularium and it's really cool).  Through pictures, people answer questions about their life.  It's a good way to get into a spiritual conversation quick, but not in an awkward way.  Many people have made God Lord of their life and many have started to think more about Jesus and His awesome plan for their life!  Please pray for the people we have talked to and those we will talk with.   God is so good and faithful to bring people to Himself and it is so cool to be a part of what He is doing!!!

Without Walls!

We also do Outreach with an organization called Without Walls.  They are a part of a church in Downtown Charleston.  We split up and go out into different neighborhoods giving out clothing, food, and playing games with the kids.  Please pray for Charleston, there is a lot of crime, broken families, and a lot of needs...but nothing to great for our God!  Please pray for the church who is heading this up, that they would have wisdom from the Lord and that the Lord would provide all that is needed.  Please also pray for us as we do sidewalk Sunday school with the kids, and minister to the elderly. 


This is a brief description of what we do every Saturday, if you have any questions just let me know!

Real Life

Tomorrow will be four weeks!!!!  I'm well into my job at McDonald's now and have started some really solid friendships that I hope will last post project.  I feel like just bulleting some points....I'm not the best writer and I don't have all that much time right now.  So here goes! 

-We have done a lot of training on how to share the truth of Jesus with others and have been blessed with opportunities to share! We have gone to Folly beach 2 times and have connected with a local church in a program called Without Walls.  I hope to give more detail about these tow types of outreaches we do real soon!

-My D-group is AMAZING!  We are talking about the Bible and how to apply what God says in a realistic way.  It's been challenging being real with people, but so very rewarding.  I challenge all who read this to be open and honest about your life with a mentor, discipler, or anyone who you can trust.  Trust me, it's hard...I've done it and hope to continue doing it...but the Lord demands holiness and real talk.

-There has been a lot of fun things we have done too!  Like swing dancing, games night, prayer and praise on the dock, and much much more.

Please pray that as I continue working at McDonald's, going out into the nearby Charleston community, and grow deeper with Jesus, I would find my strength in Christ, pray consistently, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for your prayers and support!  Hopefully I will do some more posts about specific things we are doing here!   

Jesus is Everything

“But from that Garden beginning, God has had a different purpose for us.  His intent, since He bent low and breathed His life into the dust of our lungs, since He kissed us into being, has never been to slyly orchestrate our ruin.  And yet, I have found it: He does have surprising, secret purposes.  I open a Bible, and His plans, startling, lie there barefaced.  It’s hard to believe it, when I read it, and I have to come back to it many times, feel long across those words, make sure they are real.  His love letter forever silences any doubts: ‘His secret purpose framed from the very beginning [is] to bring us to our full glory’ (1 Corinthians 2:7 NEB).  He means to rename us –to return us to our true names, our truest selves.  He means to heal our sole holes. From the very beginning, that Eden beginning, that has always been and always is, to this day, His secret purpose –our return to our full glory.  Appalling –that He would!  Us, unworthy.  And yet since we took a bite out of the fruit and tore into our own souls, that drain hole where joy seeps away, God’s has this wild secretive plan. He means to fill us with glory again.  With glory and grace.”  - One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

I read this today unexpectantly at the Young’s house.  Natalie (one of my precious roommates this summer) and I weren’t able to spend the day with our host family, so Chad and Elizabeth Young welcomed us to their house so we could do laundry and chill.  When I was checking out their movies I saw the book One Thousand Gifts on the shelf and read the first chapter.  What truth marks these pages!    

The Lord has been teaching me much of Himself this past week, giving me glimpses of what He loves, what He hates, what is true of me, and what is true of Him.  And I have come to this conclusion: Jesus is the only One who gives me true joy, satisfies my soul, and will never leave me. 

Since my last post, we have done much in Charleston.  We went out on Folly beach and gave out free popsicles, talking with others about God.  We shared with them about CRU and what the Lord has done in our lives.  As a group we have also worked with Without Walls.  This ministry builds relationships in the community by giving out groceries and food.  My group went out to a part of downtown and played with some precious kids –they were so much fun! 

On Sunday’s I go to a church called the “Dream Center.”  I am helping out with the kindergarteners.  They are so precious!!!  This church is awesome and helps the community out in BIG ways!

Work for me started this past Tuesday.  It has been hard, exciting, fun, tiring, but most of all it has been such a great learning experience already.  The Lord has granted me opportunities for talking to my coworkers and I have started making friends!  Please pray healthy relationships form at work so that others will come to know the Lord!!!

Another thing we do at Project is Discipleship.  Through group time and one on one time the Lord has shown me what it looks like to walk in the light, be held accountable, and what community looks like. 

Praise be to the Lord who has brought me here.  Please continue to pray and I work at McDonald’s and share the love of Jesus. 

It's a McDonald's life!!!

Today was our day of orientation for working at McDonald's. It was great! Learned a lot and start work tomorrow at 8 am!!! So surreal!