This week the Lord is really teaching me a lot. He is reminding me that He is the only one who truly satisfies and fulfills our lives.
Monday is our rest day, so we rested! Which was very needed! I am still learning a lot about how to truly rest. My team, the GenSend team, and one of our local friends went to watch Inside Out 2 that night and eat God's chicken at Chick-Fil-A! On Tuesday we had our weekly meeting to discuss what we have for the week. Then we went to Yreka, California to the church plant. Our task that day was to go through the last five years of checks for a organization that rents out some rooms from the church. We organized the files, found all of the checks, and copied them. It was cool to get to see the behind the scenes, financial side of ministry. We brainstormed upcoming ministry and outreach events for the church for when it opens. The church will hopefully open on Easter Sunday! There is a lot of work that needs to be done before the church will be able to open. We went back to Living Hope Church and worked on mapping out routes for the mission teams coming in a week! Living Hope's Mission is to reach the Nones and Dones. That means people who don't come to church and people who used to go to church but are now done with church because of something in the past. We colored roads for the mission teams to go on to invite people to our upcoming outreach event, Christmas in July! That night we went with the GenSend team to a local small group. They go weekly but the group was having a fun night so we tagged along with them. It was a much needed time of worship for me, and I got to meet some other believers here in Medford!
Wednesday we made a lot of phone calls and sent a bunch of text messages to families to invite their children to Christmas in July. At Christmas in July we will have many different camps for kids who are in kindergarten to eighth grade. There will be three different mission teams coming over to help with those. For lunch Miah taught Collin and I how to make yellow curry, a signature Thai dish. We had a meeting with the guy over the college ministry we go to on Thursday nights. We talked about an upcoming event we are planning to reach people who are in our community. Later that afternoon we had worship band practice for Sunday morning worship. I have loved getting to use my talents to worship here at Living Hope! Later we went to play volleyball with some friends and was able to make some deeper connections with people we already knew and some we didn't know that well!
Thursday was the 4th of July, so we had the day off! We spent the day at a nearby lake called Lake of the Woods with such a sweet family here in Medford. The water was so cold compared to the south, but around three I got a little used to it and could stay in the water for longer than a minute. Haha. We got to tan on the dock, play in the water, go on a paddle board, play card games, have good food, and be in company! That night we got to see a spectacular fireworks show in the middle of the lake. It was so nice to not do much and just have fun! I've caught myself even on my Sabbath days doing some kind of work that could wait until it's not the Sabbath.
On Friday, we met our friend for coffee for the third time. We always have really deep conversations to where before I answer her question, I have to pause and think of my answer. She is a really deep thinker and is really smart. She asked us the question "What makes you different from other girls", so we asked the question back to her. She is so involved with persuasion that she thinks that persuasion is her identity and mission in life. She seems so blind to her need for the Lord, but each week I can see the Lord softening her heart for the gospel. After coffee we headed to the church to decorate for Christmas because it is Christmas in July time! Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I loved getting to decorate the church! We went to lunch with a college student at the local college here in Medford. It was so fun getting to learn more about how Engage, the college ministry at Living Hope, has impacted her life and been a vessel to grow her closer to Jesus! We went back to the church to clean the church by mopping, sweeping, and all the normal cleaning stuff. The girl that Miah and I disciple came to the church. I taught her the piano, and then we had discipleship. That night Miah, Kennedy, Leah, a lady at the church, and I had some girls over for a paint night! The girls we invited are all not Christian. We were able to have some good conversations about Christianity. They mentioned something that really caught my attention. They said that even though they are not Christians they enjoy being with us because we are so positive and have good morals. As much as I wish our words could make them realize how much they need Jesus I realized that our actions are just as important to. Our actions are a tool to share the gospel!
On Saturday we had the day off. The month of July is going to be very busy for us, so we are switching our Sabbath to Saturday. I got to rest which was so nice! That afternoon a family at the church invited us to come to write scripture and blessing on the foundation of their new house. They cooked food for everyone who was invited! It was so nice to get some free food, and the family was so kind to us! There are several families we have met here who are so kind and generous with what they have, and I am so grateful for that!
What you can specifically pray for:
· The church plant in Yreka, California as they continue to try to reach the community and prepare to open by Easter.
· Christmas in July because it is next week!! There are many children who will hear about the gospel for the first time, so pray that children and adults will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
· The mission teams coming in a week for Christmas in July! Pray for their safety as they travel here, and wisdom as they interact with the people of Medford.
· The local college ministry on Thursday nights. There are a lot of students who go who have hard home lives and their family does not attend church. This ministry is a safe place for them. Pray that the ministry can continue to pour into people who need to know the love of Jesus!
· The friends we play volleyball with. Playing volleyball has allowed us to meet a good amount of people who don't know the Lord. Pray that we will continue to have gospel conversations with the people we play with.
· The girls we met with on Friday night will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Pray that the blinders will be taken off of their eyes, and that they will realize how Jesus is the only one who can fully satisfy them.
· The girl that Miah and I are discipling will continue to desire to learn more about Jesus. Pray that her family will start to come to church regularly and get plugged in!
I still think that it's so crazy that I have the opportunity to live here in Oregon for two months and serve the Lord and His people! Thank yall for encouraging, supporting, and praying for me!
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