Hi everybody!
I apologize for the hiatus I have taken from my blog since coming back from our mission trip to Chicago…my final semester of college has proven to be extremely time consuming and academically rigorous but I am happy to say that I turned in my undergraduate thesis yesterday on water purification in India and only have one paper, two finals and a presentation standing between me and graduation!
I did want to give you an update on what the Lord did in Chicago with our group of students. The morning we left for Chicago, one of the cars in our caravan hit black ice, spun twice and bounced off both guard rails on a major highway. Praise the Lord that no one was hurt and no other cars were involved. I was actually in the car behind this car and although it was the scariest thing Ive ever seen, it was absolutely incredible to see the provision of God in the situation. Everything was in slow motion and we could literally feel the holy spirit hold us back from crashing into the side of the distressed vehicle.
Once stopped, we were able to split up the people in the car into other vehicles we had taken and the parents of the driver involved in the wreck were able to come get the damaged car for us. Everyone was so generous, even after witnessing this scary moment all 37 of the other students jumped right into action and were helping each other, calming each other, and offering to squeeze tight into the vehicles in order for all of us to fit and continue on for the remaining 15 hours of the 16 hour drive.
With this behind us, we prayed for safety and drove on. About an hour later, I got a call from my mom saying that my sister (Bobbi, who was back in Raleigh) had also hit black ice and flipped her truck off of an overpass on I-540. We had no idea where she was or in what condition she was because the EMS hadn’t called my mom back to tell her which hospital they were able to take Bobbi to. For about a half hour I was crying and praying that she had not died, and finally got the call from my mom that she was ok. She had a badly bruised neck and rib cage, a cut on her arm and more cuts on her head, legs etc from the glass but that she was in stable condition and doing fine. From what Bobbi has told me, the off duty fireman who was on his way to work and witnessed the crash was amazed that she had made it out alive. Her truck was completely totaled and the drivers side was dented in almost the entire way down. She definitely could have been hurt much more than she was but by the grace of God she was saved! He must indeed have an incredible plan for her life that he has kept her on earth to fulfill!
After finding out she was ok, I offered to stay in VA where we made a breakfast stop with the caravan and take a bus back to Raleigh to be with the family, but my mom said that I needed to continue on and that they would take care of Bobbi. Reluctantly, I agreed but now I see it was the right decision. After these 2 events, both of which our entire group was entirely aware of…we really grew close. When hardship comes into your life, you draw close to those around you and at this point we are all we had. These 38 students, most of whom did not know each other before now had already become a family just a few hours into our journey.
FUN FACT: My phone stopped working right after this all went down so I literally only had Jesus and these 38 people haha…no texting family or friends or people to tell them about my sister it was just us which now that I look back was a Godsend because techonology would have kept me from seeing the beauty of the wait and the sovereignty of out God in stressful situations
By the time we finally reached Chicago, we are exhausted and spiritually drained but God blessed us with an incredible nights rest on our borrowed not so inflated sleeping pads (practice for the World Race haha) and we awoke for Church the next morning. We drove downtown to attend James Mcdonald’s church, Harvest Bible Chapel and worshiped together. MAN CAN THIS CHURCH WORSHIP. The congregation, though not huge, was filled with the holy spirit. You could tell that satan had no hold on this holy place and that we could be filled here by Jesus as we were being sent out to serve this community for the next week.
Our first day of ministry was spent on the college campus evangelizing to students. We were separated onto 4 campuses because our group was so large but still, we were really able to use our talents in the places we were placed. I was able to evangelize on the same campus I had done ministry on two years ago (The University of Illinois at Chicago) which was a huge blessing. Seeing how the CRU ministry at this campus had grown was incredible. One of the girls I spoke with on the campus had a testimony that resembles that of many American college students…she grew up in church but when she got to college she was surrounded by bad influences and chose to live her own life and separate from everything she had been forced to participate in as a child including church, bible study and prayer. I and another student were able to share the gospel with her, which she was familar with and invite her to attend the CRU ministry on her campus. Although I may never know whether or not she is led back to God and although I may never see the fruit of this labor I am confident that God placed me there in that moment for a reason. I pray that one day I will see her in heaven and we will be able to rejoice in the fact that we are so loved.
The rest of our week was split into various ministries throughout the Chicago area where we went in small groups to prayer for the homeless, evangelize to the subway riders, help churches with manual labor, tutor students afterschool etc. I think it was an incredible time for our students to try something new, especially those who had never been on a mission trip before or who had never shared the gospel before.
The entire week, our group grew closer and closer and by the end I can honestly say that I love each and every one of the students we took with us up to Illinois. These are who God has raised to spread his name to the nations. These are who he has commanded to give back what he has so graciously given. We all are so privileged to be able to go to an incredible 4 year university and receive an education but Luke 12:48 says this “But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.“
THIS, we do should not take lightly. God has blessed us beyond belief and so he expects much from us. As one of the CRU staff volunteers on the trip I pray that as these students return home, they not fall into the comforts of this world but that they take up their staff and follow the direction of the Lord…for while we may know the sacrifice of Jesus Christ there are still so many who have never heard. To Chicago and Judea and the ends of the earth
This is why I am going out and why you are sending me out. I can not thank you enough for putting your trust in me to represent you well throughout the nations, without your financial and prayerful support I would not feel as full and ready to serve as I do right now. Praise God that he is sending us together on this journey called The World Race!
Here is a fun picture a friend took of me at the top of the Sears tower…So cool! Chicago is such a beautiful city!
