Walking by Faith

Everybody I finally know which campus I will be laboring at.....South Alabama here I come!

I am excited to have a desitination and since knowing for sure where I am going I have grown more and more excited about what's next. Of course it is a new campus so there is a lot of unknown about doing ministry there but I can't wait to walk on campus for the first time and begin to get to know students.

I still have 500 a month left to raise but I'm praying that knowing where I am going will help me find some more partners who might potenitally have a heart for this specific school.

I am planning on spending the last week of July at the summer beach project in PCB. This is the last week of our discipleship training for the summer and both international teams (Students who went to Thailand and Brazil) will be returning this week to the beach project as well. They will put on a "world vision" rally for us to tell about their summers and encourage us to have a heart for the lost all over the world. Mainly this week we will be spending time with the students from each campus. So I will be spending time with the students from South Alabama as we evaluate and look back at what God has done in our lives and also where he is taking us as we move forward. We will be discussing plans for the fall with our student leaders and how we can continue to grow in our relationship wih God and keep community as well.

I am praying to be at 100% by the time I go to the SBP that week. This would enable me to be ready to go when school starts in August and will also give me time to look for a place to live. We will see what God has in store of course but wanted to share the news! Please keep praying for this time of transistion. Thanks so much!
~holly

Jen is a senior at Troy University. She is one of our leaders at the summer beach project and sent this update.

"Our theme for this summer is "Unashamed" and our theme verse for the summer is 2 Timothy 1:12 "That is why I am suffering as I am, yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day."

Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy while he (Paul)was in prison about to be executed, so this letter was his last. Through the whole book, he encourages Timothy to live the life of a disciple - a true follower of Christ who lives for God's glory, no matter the cost, because he should be completely convinced of the work
of Jesus. The message of 2 Timothy is not only a call to live unashamed of the gospel of Christ, but it's also a challenge to examine our faith and think about if we're really convinced of what we believe, even to the point of suffering. God calls us to an extreme,radical faith in the gospel, and personally, I have been very
challenged to pursue this sort of depth in my beliefs.

So for the past week, we have been enjoying the beach project environment, studying 2Timothy, going to nightly training session and talks, having discipleship groups, and learning how to share our faith with others in the city. Please pray for a spirit of brokenness on the project, that all of us, disciples and leaders alike, would really see our need for Christ and his complete sufficiency in our weakness. (2Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.)

I am loving spending time with the girls in my group, and I am very encouraged to see their desire to grow and spend time with God, even while being tired and stressed from work. Please pray that there would be a close bond between us, and that our group time would foster an environment of true trust. For Amanda, Brynn, and Jessica, please pray that they would grow in their understanding of the gospel of Christ and that it is relevant and applies to every area of their lives, including their pasts, their attitudes at work, and the way that they relate with others on the project.

Thank you all so much for you encouragement and your prayers. As Paul wrote "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow,"(1 Corinthians 3:6) so even if we plant and water the seeds,ultimately God is responsible for the growth in our lives! Please pray that he would grow the seeds that are being planted in these students' hearts!!

Here is a little bit of an update from James. He is a student at South Alabama spending his summer with the team in Brazil.

"I have met three (3) Rafael’s. Yes, three. And two of them are bald/shaved heads. But its great. I’ve got to spend a decent amount of time with them the past week and am starting to become close with one in particular.
The whole point of the discussion groups we have every Wednesday night is to get people to ask questions and to think about life and the purpose of it. We might not be sharing the gospel with any method you’re use to but we’re moving the Truth forward slowly. Yesterday, we discussed how short life is and how people deal with it.

Discussion groups are a great time to sit down with different people and share your beliefs. Its really amazed me how open people are to talk about it and how, overall, the Brasilians have loved it. I’ve really started to get a better picture how certain people see the world and who they are and I know this will continue.

This week there has been a futsol (spelling?; its soccer on a basketball court with a goal on either side) tournament on campus. A huge number of students show up for the games. They play two games a day. Right now we’re just trying to meet as many students as we can. I would go into more detail but every day is different. We plan stuff but we have to be really flexible down here. Plans change and that’s okay.

Amber is a junior at Troy...she was recently updating me about her last weekend in Thailand. I think it is interesting perspective on the different culture.
"On Saturday, we went to a Thai orphanage and played with the kids and helped with lunch. we took some of our Thai friends with us so it was good to connect with them in that way. The Thai people are driven by a desire to be good, so going and doing good deeds at an orphanage appeals to them. It took a while for the kids to warm up to us, but through crayons and balloons we won their hearts :)

Sunday we had the privilege of witnessing a Thai baptism. It was so encouraging to see the fruit of the ministry here in Thailand. Several of my close Thai friends were baptized, so that made it even more meaningful. Please pray for Aor and Baan and Ying as they publicly confessed their faith in Christ. It is a bigger sacrifice to follow Christ in Thailand. Aor's family no longer speaks to her because of her belief in Christ."