Thank-You

I wanted to once again thank everyone who supported me financially and with their prayers. I love how we are working together to glorify God and support each other as a part of Gods family. Here are some pictures from the trip …

The End of a Beginning

Hi Everyone,

I am officially done with the Acts 1:8 experience. My goal was to keep everyone updated on what was going on and what I was learning. We see how well that went, but I think it was expected of anyone who knows me. This is going to be a longer blog of a very brief description of what we did and then what I learned.

The first week we did discipleship, ministry points, and a worship service called Refresh. The second week we did the same thing and we worked at Jeff Street, a homeless shelter. The next week we worked with the Edge Mission House and Kentucky Changers. The final week before the DR, we work with the Southern Baptist Convention. Then we were in the DR for two weeks, doing water purification, health education, and a vision clinic. The last two weeks were like the first week discipleship, ministry points, and the worship service.

I learned so much over the summer. Community is one thing that the whole team really felt we learned. We did this by serving with the people on my team, eating together, making decisions, and being vulnerable with one another. I felt like I was judgmental to most of the team and I loved getting to know them and their hearts for God and His will for their life. I have come to love each of them. I was interested in what they were interested in, laughed with them, mourned with them, and found joy with them. I am not very open person, but this summer has really opened me up to show people that I am broken. In the beginning, it was hard for me to find my identity on this team. What was my role? Who am I? Once I gave it to God, he showed me that it is not about me, but still showed me who I was in Him. Next, I struggled with giving situations in my life to God; I did not realize He was bigger than any situation in my life. I do this a lot and am now just realizing I do this. However, once I give it to God He brings me peace and helps me to focus on HIm.

One of the biggest things I learned is that my life is for His glory. I know this seems like an obvious statement, but it has come into realistic terms in my life through this summer. I am learning how selfish I am and that I am not really living my life for Him. God humbly showed me this and that life is not about me. I want to bring this back to EKU’s campus. I feel like at our BCM (myself included) we are caught in doing the same thing repeatedly because it is comfortable and familiar. We also are caught up in our ministries and forget the reason we are doing this. I ask for your prayers for EKU’s BCM, and me that God’s glory will shine through us.

ps- There is so much more I could tell you about what I learned, the people I met, the discipleships we did, etc. E-mail me or come and talk to me, I would love to share and hear about your summer.

pss- We had to make a promo video for Acts 1:8, but we also promoted community in general. This is the video… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEVyaTcdbbI

The First Church

One major part of this upcoming summer is community. A big part of us coming together is to be in community with one another.

What does community look like? The first church is an example we should look to on what community should look like. At the BCM, we have a “big bible study” called The WELL every Thursday. We eat food and then someone teaches on the Bible. This semester we are going over the book of Acts.  Daniel and Heidi, the interns at the BCM, live in the apartment above the BCM. They decided for this week at the WELL, they were going to have it in their apartment. We all were squished in their small apartment, fellowshipping, praying, eating, and singing. We tried to follow the examples of the first church. Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37. It is about being together, and building deep relationships, sharing with one another, serving with one another, and sacrificing your time for one another. I ask that you pray for the team that we will be able to have that sacrificial type of love, not just surface relationships. That we will persevere through the hard times and show Gods love. Community is not an easy thing for us to do, but God calls us to be in community with one another. (Acts 2:42)

P.S.-  In the Dominican Republic, we will be holding a vision clinic. Here are some things we are looking to collect…

-Readers (small glasses you can buy at Dollar Stores): need 500+
(best ones are 100s, 125s, 150s, and 200s) Seriously, can be purchased for $1/pair at a Dollar Store

-Tons of pipe cleaners, assorted colors (will use to make glasses with the kids)

–outdated used glasses

Weekend Update

Hey Everyone,

I am excited to work this summer with the people on my 1:8 team. We met this past weekend and had a “get to know you” weekend. It was fun and encouraging. One of the interns at our BCM and for the 1:8 teams, Heidi was talking about how girls/woman can really deceive one another. We like to compare ourselves to each other and jealousy arrives. I see this in my own life; I did not recognize this until Heidi brought it up. I want to be more like her or I am jealous of the ways she looks, etc. Please pray for the woman on the team, that we can see the beauty in others and ourselves. God created each of us special and unique.

Another prayer request is for me, I have a hard time depending on God. Pray that I will give everything to Him and realize He is the only one that can fulfill me. I am nervous about the raising money, so if you have any ideas send them my way. My schedule has also been a little bit tiring; I seem to be going non-stop sometimes. Pray that God will show me anything I need to drop or if I need to prioritize my schedule.

On a lighter note, I have been reading the Celebration of Discipline. It is a good book talking about the spiritual disciplines: meditation, solitude, worship, etc. I have started reading classic fiction books lately (Jane Eyre). I am listening to Jack Johnson right now and I want some banana pancakes!

Anna

Acts 1:8

Hi everyone,

I have been placed on the Acts 1:8 team for this coming summer. Here is a desription of what this is…

This is an eight-week summer lab that focuses on leadership development as expressed through the five purposes of the Church. Business leaders, seminary professors, Campus Ministers and other passionate leaders will provide training. Some of the highlights of the summer will include:

·         Daily leadership labs

·         Study and implementation of spiritual disciplines

·         Guest lectures from top achievers

·         Community service experiences and local mission service opportunities

·         Two weeks in the Dominican Republic, participating in on-going water purification projects with the International Mission Board

 

The trip to the Dominican Republic is in response to the incredible need as represented in the world’s water health crisis. The water health crisis is the cause of 80% of the diseases experienced around the world. Key mission agencies and faith-based groups are seeing this opportunity to relieve suffering in the name of Christ, creating a potent platform to share the love of God. The team and I will be partnering with missionaries of the International Mission Board. Kentucky Baptist Campus Ministry students have already participated in trips to Costa Rica and the DR. In January 2008, a water purification system was placed at the Cure International Hospital in Santo Domingo. This project was discovered and the problem now solved as a result of BCM students responding to this great need. Since then more purifiers have been installed, providing many with clean water. Future projects are being made to take the gift of pure water to Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Africa.