I've Changed

            Two days have passed since Project has been over and it all feels surreal to me. I’m sitting in my bedroom, gazing at all the knickknacks around me and none of them have changed, but I have. I have grown not only in boldness in sharing the Gospel, but I’ve also grown in my reliance on God and knowing my identity in Him. Being on Project, I’ve been able to reflect on my walk with Christ and how I came to have a personal relationship with Him. I grew up with a legalistic view of my faith: if I do good, I am a Christian and that my works prove my identity. And as a result, my faith was by works and grace was completely foreign to me. I also grew up in a church that lacked a constant pastor, and so the fact that I had to serve every week without being constantly spiritually fed and that I had the mentality of earning the “Christian” title played a large role in hindering my understanding of what a personal relationship with God looks like. It wasn’t until I was in college, did I start to desiring to be close to God, to trust in His provisions and His great plan. I can’t really describe how it all happened, but from high school to college, God has been chipping away at the lies I believed in and revealing Himself to me. He has been humbling me and making me hungrier for His wisdom and not my own. This is a really quick summary of my testimony and I would love to share it in detail with you, if you would like to meet up with me for tea and baked goods in the future. But yeah… God has been doing so much in my heart this summer.

            The highlight of Project for me was personal growth. I had no idea God would challenge and convict me to do the things that I did, speak to the people that I spoke to, and step out completely in faith. Because I grew up with the mentality I had to prove my identity and worth, it was hard for me to swallow that God completely delights in me. I remember accidentally falling asleep during multiple pastors’ sermons and waking up with a sack of shame crushing me and I thought, “This is not what a Christian looks like. How can I call myself one? How can I be pleasing to God and others?” Of course it’s not ideal to sleep during church, but God does not call us to be shameful of our shortcomings. And through understanding His love for me and that I am perfect through Christ, I also grew to understand He wants to the best for me and that I don’t need to settle for anything less than that. I’m slowly learning how to accept grace and be joyful because of it and it feels so good. God is so good.

            Although I’ve grown a lot personally, I do wish I handled some things differently this summer. I wish I invested in community more. In the beginning of Project, I was dealing with some personal problems and so I withdrew from community and masked my true reason with the fact that I’m introverted. Introversion did play a role, but was not the main reason why I didn’t go out side of my room at night to hang out with other people. In the last two weeks of Project, I was more intentional than ever. Even though many conversations started with awkward, forced starters like, “Hey! I don’t know you that well. Tell me about yourself!” I felt the need and desire to get to know this awesome body of believers that God has placed me with for two months. And I’m happy to say I got to hear testimonies and build intimate relationships within the last two weeks. Also, being a native Southern Californian, I have the opportunity to still grow close to many of the students (and I’m even getting super close to Bruins. God loves them too! =P). On the last day, many people cried when we were all saying our good byes, but I remained pretty composed. I am sad to see many go, but I also realize that this community doesn’t end this summer. It will extend for a lifetime and eternity. We also have Facebook and texting to keep in touch (you wouldn’t believe how crazy our group page is going. People are posting PPD—Post Project Depression).

            I am super excited to bring what I’ve learned this summer to USC. On the second to last day, Scott and I (the only Trojans on SMSP) did a prayer walk at school and it was just thrilling to imagine how God will use us this year. We walked to places we found significant to our past year and places we desired to see God manifest Himself. The film school is my target area this year (through many closed doors, God has shown me to start a Bible study there) and I am anxious, but also super excited. God has been teaching me about His miraculous power and not to underestimate Him. Please continue to pray for me and this new bold step I’m about to take.

            To close off this entry, I would like to tell you that this summer in Santa Monica seven people have accepted Christ in their lives and as a total we have all spoken to about 1,000 people and shared the Gospel to 700+ of those people. I thought Santa Monica was a place that didn’t want God (in fact, I expected to be turned down every single time I went out sharing), but in truth it is a place filled with people who desire to be known and God desires to know them. Keep praying for Santa Monica.

2 Weeks Notice

There’s less than two weeks left of Project. Can you believe that? I’m sorry that I haven’t updated you lately. So much has happened and the business of it all has made me shirk from certain duties, including this blog.

Well, I can’t tell you that it has been super easy without staff. In fact, it’s gotten harder. Many of us have jobs and so it’s been a challenge learning how to juggle them with our new positions in the community. In addition, many of us have felt that we’ve been under spiritual warfare. Despite these lows, I believe we bonded even closer because of them and therefore we have grown stronger as a community. For me, the first week without staff ran pretty smooth. I only had two shifts that week, so I had plenty of free time for discipleship and planning Bible studies. That week we focused on servant-hood and I got to wash my disciples’ feet, which was a humbling and funny experience ‘cause all my girls were giggling (I think it was just a shock of the whole experience and the fact that they might be ticklish). I also was filled with boldness to talk to one of those condemning preachers on the Promenade (the guys that use loud speakers and tell people to repent or they are banished to Hell) and as a result, I met a Christian Lebanese family, who were also compelled to speak to that man. It was just really cool to meet other Christians who wanted others to speak about God’s grace and love. 

And then the past week we focused on our identity in Christ. I think this past week has been especially hard for me because I felt like I was being pulled in all different directions and could not satisfyingly devote myself to every cause. You see, my sister was getting married and I’m her maid of honor so I so wanted to be by her side and comfort her in tough times; and then I have family visiting (because of the wedding) and I wanted to be able to spend time with them and serve them; and I also have Project… so you can see that I had a lot of things on my mind and heart. Oh, and I had a shift scheduled every day of the week. I was just emotionally and physically drained and had to be honest with God and my disciplers that I can’t do it all and I need grace. Grace. That’s something I’ve always struggled with accepting. What was refreshing about this week was actually my sister’s wedding. Just being with family and friends and being able to celebrate my sister and Erick, and Jesus’ love for the church was amazing. I cried more than I thought I would… I think I even cried more than Amy! It was a exhausting, but a joyous occasion.

And now comes this week, a week focused on prayer. To be honest, I am a bit glad Project is ending because I’m getting exhausted. I’m excited to physically rest (juggling two jobs has been more difficult than I thought and they’re only part time! I fear for the future where I have to actually have a full-time job) and also just be by myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love everyone here and I do want to get to more people more deeply before I leave, but it’s tough living in community. I’m an introvert and so I prefer to spend my nights alone and just doing things at my own slow pace, but there’s always something going on here. I’m sure I’ll miss everyone as soon as I’m back home (it only took me two days to start missing USC when summer started).

As for a job update, working at Tilly’s has actually been more difficult than Abercrombie & Fitch (Super surprising, right?!). Last week I realized, at a work-training day, that all of the workers at Tilly’s are super extroverted and I felt like I was the oddball. I didn’t converse with others as easily or build close relationships as I hoped. Not only that, but one of my managers has been giving me a hard time (I work at a slower pace than the rest and I’ve noticed that I easily get exhausted, plus I’ve found that I’m pretty bad at multitasking. I prefer focusing my attention on one job and pouring everything into it before moving on to something else). I’ve been trying to at least meet my manager’s expectations, but my attempts don’t seem suffice. As for A&F, I’ve actually had more opportunities to talk to other coworkers and get to know them on a more personal level. Who would have thought! I have less shifts there, but I’m actually glad when I get to step in that perfume-bottle of a store.

My prayer requests of the week are:

-       I met a Taiwanese girl who is going to Santa Monica College in the Fall and she’s interested in meeting up with me once she moves down here. Pray that our relationship will continue past Project and that I would keep her in my heart and pursue her.

-       I met another girl named Kathryn who is a Mormon. She talked about desiring to get closer to God, but saw it was something she would only earn through works. I pray that she would attend one of our events and see what the body of Christ looks like and how she can have a personal relationship with Jesus. And that she doesn’t have to earn God’s love, but that He freely gives it.

-       For energy. I want to be revitalized so I would be able to set time aside for people here so that I can intentionally get to know them. I also want to end my last two weeks strong by going out and sharing and growing as much as I can.

-       For my quiet times. I’ve been spending less quiet time with God and instead of listening to Him, I started to revert back to my old tendencies of depending on myself. Pray that I will always fully depend on Him and seek Him for wisdom through studying the Word and prayer.

-       Please pray for my jobs. I only have two more weeks to get to know my coworkers more and minister to them. A month doesn’t seem like enough time to get to know people super well in the workplace and share with them, but I know God is all powerful and He can and will move hearts. Pray that I may trust in that and act in boldness.

-       And lastly, please pray for everyone on Santa Monica Summer Project. We’re all struggling with different things and trying to make it through the next two weeks. Pray that we would step out in boldness and love and that more people would get to know Jesus in Santa Monica.

Passing the Torch

The staff is gone. They literally vanished.

            I am not sure if I filled all of you in on exactly what was going on with the staff, but basically they were here for a month discipling and equipping us. However after the month was up, they gave us leadership roles and left and we, the students, will be running the Project from here on out.

            We had a banquet on the staff’s last day and at the end of the night, we had a candlelight service where each staff member passed on the torch of leadership to us… quite literally (they passed the flame on their candles to ours). So if you’re wondering which leadership position was given to me, I am now my Action Group’s leader. This means I have the privilege to disciple three ladies (Rachel, Morgan, and Gabby—a new addition from another group) and lead a weekly Bible study. This is the first time I will be discipling other people and I have to say I’m coming into it (surprisingly) calmly. One of my friends actually asked me to disciple her earlier this year and I was apprehensive about it. I didn’t feel prepared. But being at Project, growing as much as I have, understanding and depending on the Holy Spirit, and seeing the value of vulnerability (thanks to Jenny), I know that I will be as ready as I’ll ever be and am excited to build up relationships with these girls.

            Now for the ‘vanished’ bit. In case you were confused about my use of this word, after each staff member passed on their flame (the ceremony was overwhelming and extremely touching), we prayed together and while everyone’s head was down, they exited. They were so quiet! I’m talking about 20-some staff members leaving as silent as a mouse. If anything, I’m impressed they were able to pull it off! By the time we said “Amen,” they were gone.

            Also lately, we had an International Dinner. Now, I’m not suppose to divulge into what happened (just in case any of my readers are thinking about going on Project—they’d lose the lesson and surprise) but I’ll just say I was in Asia and leave you with this lovely picture! ~^_^~

            And now I want to talk about Miss Jenny D’Orazio (and soon-to-be Mrs. Bell! I’ll get to that soon!). I know I’ve already blogged so much about her, but she has been such a blessing and impact on my life. Not only is she so filled with so much joy (which is more often than not a fruit of the spirit that I’m lacking), but also has a deep discernment of people. She is able to connect with everyone she talks to and as a result, is able to build meaningful conversations and relationships. With that being said, I will miss her. And as for the Mrs. Bell comment, she got engaged! The day she was going to drive back to Arizona, her boyfriend Paul came and surprised her. I wasn’t able to witness the momentous occasion, but got to see pictures online and I have to say I’m so overjoyed for her.

            Finally, I want to tell you about the wonderful evening I just had with the Bresnik’s. Trinity Baptist set up a program called “Adopt Cru” where families volunteer to have us over at their houses for dinner or dessert. I was one of six students who had dessert at the Bresnik’s and it was such a wonderful, heart-warming experience. Ruth and Randy are an elderly couple that are teeming with life. Ruth baked lemon bars, lemon cake, and chocolate cake, as well as bought and heated up an apple pie. We got to talk to them about ourselves, but also listen to their stories. Ruth is a bit sassy and adorable while Randy is super grounded and just oozing with wisdom and comfort. We were so blessed to be there and there were times when my eyes started to well up because I thought of how wonderful it is to see a Christian couple so in love with each other and Jesus. I hope I get to see them again. I often forget how much wisdom older people have and how wonderful it is to hear their stories and share my own story with them. 

Prayer requests:

-       I met a girl named Michka today and she was raised Jewish and her dad is actually a rabbi. She said she desired a more intimate relationship with God and sees Him in nature and all around her and that He’s always reaching out to her. She also spoke of how Christians have this innate desire to do good and she respects and admires that. I pray that she’ll have more opportunities to meet other Christians in her life and that she will realize she can have an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

-       Pray for wisdom for all students in how to run the rest of Summer Project and that we will speak to each other with grace and truth.

-       There’s actually so much going on around me right now that it’s a bit overwhelming. My sister’s wedding is coming up so I desire to be there for her and I have to write a speech. AH! Also, I have family in town (‘cause of the wedding) so I want to be able to serve them and take them around town. And then there’s film school and the fact that I need to come up with a full script by August 20^th. Pray that I have wisdom in how to handle each and every situation and that I would be able to lay everything in God’s hands fully.

-       Please pray for my relationships with my new disciples. This is uncharted territory!

-       And lastly, please pray for my relationships with my coworkers. I’m finding it hard to have deep conversations with them and time to even get to know them. One coworker named Clinton actually sat down with me for lunch and I got to know a bit about his background. He told me that he works at A&F because of the people, which surprised me because I feel like the people at A&F seem a bit distant. Pray that I will be bolder in getting to know them and that there will be opportunities to share the Gospel with them. 

Work It!

            Here I am sitting in a laundry mat with a telanovela blaring in front of me and the smell of warm laundry sweeping over me in waves—it’s a good day. Actually, this is my first day without work since Abercrombie & Fitch and Tilly’s hired me a couple of weeks ago. I want to thank you so much for praying for me and my job search for the past few weeks. For a couple of weeks, I walked into practically every store on 3^rd Street Promenade picking up and turning in applications. And if I wasn’t on the Promenade, I was sending a mass amount of applications online. I believe I applied to 40+ jobs total! I’ve never hustled so hard for a job (granted, these are my first official jobs) and it was an incredibly humbling experience.

            A&F were the first to offer me a job and I admit I was a bit hesitant. A&F is the one store I actually avoid at the mall because the shop never seemed to be “my scene.” I didn’t own any A&F clothing and thought the store was repulsively perfumed. Plus, I personally did not like how they have half-naked men in the front greeting customers and asking them if they’d like a picture with them. The shop is very image-based and I just applied out of a whim, not really taking it seriously. Well, as God always does, He surprised me with this job opportunity. I joked with my sister that half-naked men need Jesus too, but is actuality A&F might be a place that does really need Jesus and it’ll be interested to develop relationships with my coworkers.

            As for Tilly’s, I actually love this store and thought the whole interview process was extremely fun and reaffirmed for me that this is a place I want to work. During our interview, people kept on cracking jokes and the hiring manager, Nicole, kept emphasizing building relationships with each other and the customers. Perfect! That’s exactly what I want to do and unlike at A&F, I wouldn’t be stuck in the back room (at A&F I’m an Impact Team Member, which means I work in the back and don’t really get to talk to customers. Only Models get to do that). When Tilly’s called to hire me, I was excited because I could see how at this job relationships would easily and quickly form. My only hesitation with working at Tilly’s is that I would be balancing two jobs, but both are part time.

            After working for a week, I have to say I enjoy working at both shops. A&F has longer shifts and less opportunities for employees to talk to each other, but they are pretty organized and I like how I’m constantly on my feet doing something. As for Tilly’s, I fely like they didn’t really train me (despite the fact that I spent four hours reading their manuals and watching sexual harassment videos). I was kind of was placed in the middle of everything and had to learn as I went. However, I get to talk to customers and coworkers all the time and everyone is friendly. We even have walkie-talkies and are constantly updating each other on what’s going on the in the store. I love helping customers, remembering their names (“Thanks for shopping here Andrew!” “Whoa! You remembered my name?!”), and just getting a chance to find out why they are in Santa Monica. I didn’t realize how many foreigners come to Santa Monica! I even got to use my Mandarin (which I admit isn’t very good) and helped a mom buy four pairs of jeans for her son.

            As for an update on everything else that’s going on on Summer Project, the staff is going to leave by the end of this week. Time really does fly by here and I am sad to see them all go, especially my discipler Jenny. She is an amazing woman and she’s helped me so much with knowing who I am and how to find my identity in Christ. No other person has ever affirmed me as much as she has. One particular memory that stands out to me when thinking about her was our first discipleship. Growing up, I never really felt beautiful for who I was and struggled with finding my worth as a result. I tried to find my identity and worth in accomplishments and found affirmation through those means. As I was sharing this with Jenny, she started tearing up and said, “I don’t understand how anyone could ever not think you’re beautiful. You are so beautiful.” And then I cried. Here is someone who I just met, but who saw me as a beautiful child of God, something I couldn't fully realize until coming on Project. It will be interesting to see how students will run the rest of Summer Project and I just pray that we will be able to love each other and speak truth and grace so that we may grow as a body. Some of us have already been given leadership roles, but we’re not announcing anything until tonight (so that means I won’t even been blogging about which roles I have until my next entry!).

            This past week I only went out sharing once. Chris and I met this man named Gary who was raised Catholic and fascinated with history. He believes in the Gospel, but is more apathetic towards whether or not the Gospel needs to be shared or that other people need saving. Rather, he thinks everyone has his or her own truth. I think he lacks a personal relationship with Jesus and I pray that he will seek that relationship and that the Holy Spirit will convict his heart to believe in the one Truth. I also, in a sense, went out sharing this past Sunday but used phones and letters as a medium rather than physically going out. We focused on our spheres of influence—people who are involved in our lives, who we have personal relationships with. For me, this is one of the most difficult groups of people to share my faith with because there seems to be more on the line. There’s a relationship you built that could possible be changed for the worse, broken even. Funnily enough, I kind of ranked the people I was going to call based upon who would be the most open to hear what I have to say and every person, except for the last one, was unavailable to talk. God was really challenging me and I ended up having a great conversation with that person. I didn’t get to share the Gospel, but did share what I was doing this summer and got to pray for her. I hope that God will continue to foster this relationship and I’m excited about that.

My prayer requests for this week are:

-       That I will develop close relationships with my coworkers and be able to eventually share the Gospel with them

-       That we, the students, will work well together and build each other up seeing as the staff is about to leave

-       Pray for boldness with sharing my faith, especially with those close to my heart

-       Pray that we will be able to raise $36,000 before the staff leaves. Many other students haven’t finished raising support and we need as much help as possible. You can give online—just go to the website provided and choose to “give a gift” (the money will be under my name, but go to the other students)  You can give here: https://give.cru.org/give/View/5630184?pp=

-       Oh! And I’m recovering from a cold right now. Actually many of us are sick. Pray for our health!

            As usual, I’m writing a super long entry. There’s just too much to say! Along with working and evangelizing, we’ve also been able to have lots of fun and build community. With that being said, I’ll leave you with these pictures...

 Love love love,

Cindy

*AH! I forgot to mention that some USC kids came and visited me! Oh my goodness, I was so happy they came and love them all so so much. I am so blessed to have such an awesome family at USC Cru.

**I realized I have too much I want to share... this entry is long, but not LONG ENOUGH! Oy... if you have the chance to meet up with me after Summer Project, I'd love to go through the 1000+ pictures I've taken and share with you every last detail. =)

***If you do feel led by God to support the other students financially, please give me your name so I can thank you!

He Won't Relent

“You won’t relent until You have it all. My heart is Yours.”

We sang “You Won’t Relent” tonight and these specific lines touched me personally. I came into project with my mind a bit preoccupied with things of the past that I felt like I couldn’t shake. I was having a difficult time focusing on God and I wasn’t fully surrendering to Him. I wasn’t offering up all my anxieties and worries as He commanded me to (Philippians 4:6). With that being said, I am learning to be more present. I take it one day at a time.

Already more than a week has passed and I feel like I’ve been here for months. You saw my last entry; I had so much to say in only four days! I basically get to work six days a week and in the evenings there are activities and meetings planned. On Mondays we have our weekly meeting, which looks like a mini church service. We worship, a staff member gives a message, and worship some more. On Tuesdays I personally have discipleship time and then we all have Action Group get togethers. Action Groups are basically our small groups. My leader’s name is Jenny and I’m a group with Morgan and Rachel (we also, sans Jenny, live together so we’re getting real close). Wednesdays are reserved for Jesus Nights; we spend two to three hours by ourselves meditating on the Word, journaling, and praying. Afterwards, we get together for worship. On Thursdays, we have Campus/City Focus where we learn from staff and discuss how we can make a good impact on campus and in the city. Fridays are our day of rest and we hang out and have fun activities on Saturday nights. Sunday we go to church and then have evangelism training and apply what we learned on the Promenade. What a schedule!

I want to thank you all so much for your prayers! Someone actually accepted Christ this week, which is pretty amazing. A staff member and student were sharing at Santa Monica College and the girl they talked to chose to accept the Jesus into her life. God is truly at work here. I also want to update you on more people I’ve got to talk to and share about Jesus this week. Jenny and I went sharing at Santa Monica College and we met a couple of guys that just met each other. Clayton was raised in the church, but still have many questions and Blake was raised Jewish, but seemed very receptive to what Jenny was saying. Jenny is great at engaging people in conversation, so we got to know about their views about the world and who God is. Morgan and I also went sharing together this week and we got to talk to two people. One person we talked to was Patricia, an elderly woman who has a little stand set up on the Promenade. She reads tealeaves in teacups to predict people’s futures. She believes in Religious Science and says that she points her customers to God (Morgan and I are a bit concerned about how she goes about doing that). She wasn’t as approachable as other people, but she allowed us to talk to her and she didn’t do so with Jenny a couple of weeks ago, so who knows how God is working through her! And lastly, Morgan and I talked to an older man named Greg. We didn’t get to say much because he talked the whole time about conspiracy theories, but I honestly think he just wanted to be heard. I was glad we got to offer that and Morgan was even able to give him a prayer card (one of the newest tools we are learning to use is called, “Perspective Cards.”).

Here are my latest prayer requests:

-       Many students, including myself, are still searching for jobs and it can be discouraging. Please pray for a joyful spirit and that we may be all able to find a jobs so we can share the Gospel in the workplace.

-       Please pray for Clayton, Blake, Patricia, and Greg. Pray that Clayton may have his questions answered and build a more personal relationship with Jesus; that Blake would look through the KGP book that Jenny left him and desire to know Jesus and possibly contact us so we can talk to him some more; that Patricia would see the fallacies behind Religious Science and that her tea readings won’t lead anyone astray; and pray for Greg to have peace. He seems a bit paranoid about our world and I believe God can give him peace if he would turn to Him (he says he believes in God).

-       Please pray for my classes for next year. This might sound a bit out of nowhere, but this actually has been on my heart for a couple of months now. My current class schedule prevents me from helping lead Cru Bible Studies and from attending Cru’s weekly meeting. Cru has be such an impact on my growth with God and its my family at USC. Please pray that someone would be willing to switch classes with me.

-       Lastly, please pray that my focus will be on God always and be able to hold everything with open hands to Him.

I am so blessed to have you in my life and I plan to keep updating you every week!

Love love love,

Cindy

In Only 4 Days

It’s only been four days and I can’t believe how much has happened! I not only have a handful of new friends that I feel like I’ve known for months, but also have learned so much about evangelism, the Holy Spirit, Godly relationships with women, the culture and spiritual climate in Santa Monica, and myself. I’ve even cried a wee bit already. Wow. All in four days? I’ve got two more months to go!

I actually just finished student orientation. Basically it has been a draining four days full of evangelism and culture teachings, cold contact evangelism around 3^rd Street Promenade, and womanly bonding. It’s been not only spiritually, but physically tough. Before Project started, I was always staying up till 2 am and waking up at 11 am the latest, so getting to teachings at 9 am has been really rough. Also, if you know me, it’s already a bit of a struggle for me to stay awake in any type of lecture or church service.

The teachings so far have been really good. They are the basics of evangelism, so we’ve been using KGP (“Knowing God Personally” little notebook) as well as world view surveys. Then we go apply what we’ve learned and walk to and around the Promenade. Due to the spiritual climate of Santa Monica, we learned the best way to approach people is through conversation and relationship building.

The first time I went out to evangelize was with Sean, a staff member. We got to talk to three people total. The first person was a girl named Ty. She’s had a rough upbringing, but has a pretty positive outlook on life. She was pretty funny and open to sharing her ideas as well as hearing about our world view and the Gospel. She thought she was atheist, but Sean corrected her and said she was agnostic because she’s open to believing in God. I think many people think they’re atheist, but in reality they don’t fully understand what an atheist is. She also is an aspiring cook and wants to cook because food unites people in happy times as well as comforts them in sad times. I got to share with her my love for baking and we said we would meet up again. The other people we met up were two girls, Daria and Mina, from Russia and Tajikistan. They actually go to Santa Monica College, so we might see them sometime soon when we evangelize at the college. They had a colder perspective of life. They think everyone is two-faced and the only way to know anything is genuine is through some kind of proof (they didn’t specify exactly what kind of proof or give us an example). They also just adopted a puppy that day to “do some good in the world.” Today (or rather yesterday), I went out with a Hawaiian girl and boy named Hannah and Chris and we got to talk to two guys. One man, Daniel, was raised in the church but strayed due to laziness, not disbelief. He grew apathetic over time and then placed himself and his comforts before God. He and his wife were actually considering going back to church and he said our timing is really interesting. The other man, John, had a more free-spirited world view. He believed that the reason we’re on this earth is “to do the dance of life.” He thinks that people need to be in tune with themselves, rather than over thinking about the reasons why we’re here. He is concerned about the what, but not the why. Hannah did a great job trying to relate to him, but then tying it back to the Gospel, but he was pretty rigid in his beliefs. It was really interesting talking to him though. I haven’t had many rejections so far and I think it’s because of how we approached people. We have the intention to hear them out and to build a relationship with them and everyone really just wants to be known (like God! Afterall, we are made in His image and are mirrors of Him on Earth). I can’t wait to meet new people and continue to pray for all of them.

Fun fact! The first time I evangelized (on Sunday), I walked barefoot! I just got these sparkly flats and thought I would wear them to church. Sadly it turns out they are uncomfortable and a bit too small for me (should have realized that at the store…), so I got a bunch of painful blisters. I ended up deciding barefoot was better than wearing those shoes, so instead of bleeding blisters, I got raw red feet. I’m convincing myself that this builds character. Hopefully my feet will heal soon so I can wear closed-toe shoes again (still so painful).

Also, the church we go to, Trinity Baptist, is pretty awesome. It’s a really cute church on 10^th Street and California Street. Their worship team is awesome (there’s a 50 some-year-old woman playing bass!) and they started the first song with a trio going “ba-da-da ba-da-da!” I felt like I was in a ‘Glee’ episode. The pastor, Keith Magee, is speaking on Psalm 119 and is going take two years to go through the entire Psalm! It’s really interesting going to a different church, but I’m also a bit sad because RealityLA, which I consider my home church in LA, is so close by and I am drawn to go and be fed there. I’m glad I get this experience though and I will continue to be listening to Tim Chaddick speak on Matthew through the RealityLa podcasts. There’s no such thing as too much Jesus-learnin’!

Tomorrow, I will start feverishly looking for jobs. Lots of places are hiring, but I still haven’t gotten any call backs from the places I’ve already applied to. Wish me luck! Or rather, please continue to pray for me.

Here are my updated prayer requests:

-       Please pray for boldness in faith. I think we can all get pretty discouraged when people turn us down when we want to talk to them.

-       Also please pray for Ty, Daria, Mina, Daniel, and John. Pray that they would have a curiosity and desire to know God more.

-       And again, please pray for all of our job searches. About 25 of us still need jobs. Please pray that employers would be understandable about our circumstances and that we would be able to minister our coworkers.

-       Lastly, please pray for the relationships that are forming between all the students—that they would be God-centered and that we would sharpen each other.

Oh, and lastly (I know I have a lot to say! I have so much more really… I suppose I have to save that up for when we get to talk in person and I get to share!), I just wanted to let you know that I have an awesome discipler here (Sonia’s still my discipler back at ‘SC, but we also have one on Project) and a wonderful small group or ‘Action Group.’ My leader/discipler’s name is Jenny. She’s got crazy fro-ish hair and a big personality to go with her big hair. She’s up for anything and has this child-like eager and enthusiasm that uplifts everyone around her. She’s also an extremely strong woman who has been such a blessing in affirming me. The other two ladies in my group are Rachel and Morgan. Rachel is from Hawaii and actually went to another Project in the Dominican Republic with the lovely Melissa Hughes last year! Morgan is from San Jose and she’s just a plain sweet heart. We’re all getting along and it’s been such a blessing to be vulnerable with each other and learn from one another.

Okay, this entry is over! I hope you are doing well and please please please do not hesitate to send me any of your prayer requests!

Love,

Cindy

Here I Go!

Tomorrow I’ll be driving me and my little blue Nissan Versa up to Santa Monica! I can’t believe its finally happening and I’ll be spending the next two months growing in my faith as well as sharing it with dozens of other college students from across the US. I had this notion that I would be “ready” for Summer Project once it finally came around, but I can’t say I am. I don’t really know what to expect and how to prepare myself other than through prayer. I still haven’t finished packing yet (packing for 2 months isn’t as easy as I would have hoped) and still have many things to cross off my checklist, but nevertheless IT’S HAPPENING! Here are my prayer requests:

-       I’m still looking for a job! I’ve applied to a handful of cafes and bakeries and still no one has gotten back to me yet. Please pray that God may provide a job where I will be able to minister to other coworkers.

-       Please pray for the relationships that I will be building with my SMSP discipler as well as the other brothers and sisters on the Project. I hope we can build God-glorifying relationships.

-       And lastly, please pray for my heart to be focused on God and making Him known in Santa Monica. I consider LA my home and would love to see God at work in more peoples’ lives here.

If you would like to be updated about each entry, please email me personally and I’ll make sure you’re on the email list.

Much love,

Cindy