Hello friends,
I hope you all enjoyed the gorgeous weather over the Memorial Day holiday! I was on a church retreat over the weekend, and I can see that God is moving in this church and in my own heart. In the last few years, both the English and Chinese congregations have been growing tremendously; there are always new faces every time I come back. There was a time of sharing during the retreat, and it was really encouraging to hear how God has been working in others' lives.
Personally speaking, this was the first church retreat I had been on in several years, mostly because until recently, the English retreat was little more than baby-sitting. This year, our youth pastor intern spoke and several of his seminary classmates came to give workshops. It was really good, and I definitely learned a lot. In addition to what I learned, God also broke my heart for the youth. The youth pastor was pleading with them one night to stop being so superficial in their relationships with God and to look deeper, and as I looked at the youth, I saw in them a bit of me five or six years ago, and I saw how far God had brought me since then. I realized with great sadness that they didn't even know what they were missing out on in this journey with Christ, and it is my hope and prayer that they would "[be] rooted and established in love, [and] may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:17-19).
Thank you all for your faithfulness in prayer, and please continue to join me in prayer for the following:
- Praise God for one of the youth who received Christ this weekend!
- Pray that the youth would continue to wrestle with what they have learned this weekend and they would not remain complacent in their walks with Christ
- During the retreat, God confronted me with some of the bitterness in my heart and told me it was time to let go. Please pray for me through this process, that I will open my heart and let him heal me
- Pray for my wisdom teeth removal on Thursday, that God would guide the oral surgeon's hands and that I would heal quickly without complications
- Praise God for calling all of my teammates to this project and the amazing things that He has done in all of their lives.
- Pray for my teammates to trust in God's provision for the support that they have left to raise. Pray that their supporters will give generously for His name.
- Pray that we would all be empty vessels for God to work through us this summer.
In Christ,
Jess
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Dear Ohana
Hello my lovelies,
This is the first of many entries I hope. Even though it has only been a few days, I realize its still very emo time, but I realized something when Lauren called me and I heard her voice for the first time in a week. We were all called to this campus and our lives have linked like a unbreakable web because God placed us here. No matter where we go, we going on a path prepared for us and we have only to lay down our lives for others and trust in the father to find the place we should be. Thus we should still continue to trust god blessed us with this family, so lets continue to be intentional and support each other in prayer, communication, support, or just life in general. I am going to send things out over the summer through this site, and I hope we can use this as a place to know where everyone is and find support. Also a place where you all can share what god is doing in your life. Or to just remember that we are Ohana. In case you don't know, "Ohana means family, and no one gets left behind."
Today's thought inspired by Sunday service at forefront is:
How do we use the things we already know in our life? This refers to serving our brothers and sisters, or reaching out and showing love, which this year I know we saw on campus through Jesus week and the CSFC vision for the year and the delivery of seeing this transpire in our relationships. So today I was walking from bed, bath, and beyond. There were a pregnant young woman on the street. No one stopped by; I don't think I would have had I not had this question in my head. I gave her money, but I also talked to her and asked about her story. Her name is Paula and she fell into very unfortunate circumstances. After talking to her for a bit, I asked her if I could pray for her. She said yes and then explained that she wishes to just see god's mercy and love in her life, even though she is in such circumstances. Her only belongings we're the clothes on her back and a bible. I was really inspired and I will have her in my prayers. Thus, I challenge you all to reach out just to one person; they don't have to be in circumstances such as these. Take care my friends and be strong where ever you are. Good Luck on Missions, at Home, Future plans, Miscellaneous things (i.e work or internship), and __(fill in blank)___
This is all for now.
God Bless,
Sabs
This is the first of many entries I hope. Even though it has only been a few days, I realize its still very emo time, but I realized something when Lauren called me and I heard her voice for the first time in a week. We were all called to this campus and our lives have linked like a unbreakable web because God placed us here. No matter where we go, we going on a path prepared for us and we have only to lay down our lives for others and trust in the father to find the place we should be. Thus we should still continue to trust god blessed us with this family, so lets continue to be intentional and support each other in prayer, communication, support, or just life in general. I am going to send things out over the summer through this site, and I hope we can use this as a place to know where everyone is and find support. Also a place where you all can share what god is doing in your life. Or to just remember that we are Ohana. In case you don't know, "Ohana means family, and no one gets left behind."
Today's thought inspired by Sunday service at forefront is:
How do we use the things we already know in our life? This refers to serving our brothers and sisters, or reaching out and showing love, which this year I know we saw on campus through Jesus week and the CSFC vision for the year and the delivery of seeing this transpire in our relationships. So today I was walking from bed, bath, and beyond. There were a pregnant young woman on the street. No one stopped by; I don't think I would have had I not had this question in my head. I gave her money, but I also talked to her and asked about her story. Her name is Paula and she fell into very unfortunate circumstances. After talking to her for a bit, I asked her if I could pray for her. She said yes and then explained that she wishes to just see god's mercy and love in her life, even though she is in such circumstances. Her only belongings we're the clothes on her back and a bible. I was really inspired and I will have her in my prayers. Thus, I challenge you all to reach out just to one person; they don't have to be in circumstances such as these. Take care my friends and be strong where ever you are. Good Luck on Missions, at Home, Future plans, Miscellaneous things (i.e work or internship), and __(fill in blank)___
This is all for now.
God Bless,
Sabs
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