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