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It seems like a really long time since I was here last, but I have so much to tell you about the summer overall. For the program, we had 40 students and 8 staff. We also had about 10 local people that were constantly encouraging us. The students were divided up into teams of 4 to 5, including a team leader. They were then assigned to 4 different housing places, with at least one staff member at each place. Our schedule was very hectic. All the team leaders put in 24 hour work weeks, basically Friday through Sunday, and then they had training on Monday and Thursday. The team members put in 40 hour work weeks, Thursday through Monday. In the evenings, we had different program events. Thursday night we had Nav Nite, a worship and lesson time; Friday night we had workshop night, where speakers came in to talk about different topics; Saturday night was team night; Sunday night was Bible study prep; and Monday night was Bible study. Tuesday activities alternated every other week between fun days with all the Navigators and evangelism outings. For these outings, we went to Madison twice and once in the Dells for street evangelism, and then we went to different motels in the Dells where there were a lot of bikes and made connections and kept in touch with the people that we met all summer. As I mentioned before, we also had the opportunity to grow spiritually. We had a daily devotional plan that we did with our teams. Each week had a theme and the passages that we read were related to the theme for that week. We would read the passage on our own and then write several observations about it, then discuss it as a team. We also did a Bible study on Colossians this summer. Sunday nights were to be spent, at least two hours of it, doing the prep work for our inductive Bible study and then on Monday, we would discuss it as a team. Our workshop nights were also training nights in several different areas, some of which were evangelism, the Bridge, sharing in different circumstances, and ways to be prepared for different questions people might have. The last thing I’d like to mention is my experience with international students. We worked with two internationals from Bulgaria, Aussia and Rodney. We had fun getting to know them and doing different activities outside of work with them. At the beginning of the summer they had us over for a traditional Bulgarian meal. The first two courses were interesting and then the main dish was amazing! Over that meal and the course of the summer, we had great opportunities to witness to them and answer their many questions and plant a seed. The hotel that we went to evangelize at had a bunch of students from Turkey. We taught them how to play Ultimate Frisbee and they taught us Soccer and about their country. We also had the opportunity to talk with some of them about their schooling, jobs, and religious beliefs on a trip to Madison to see the capital building and do some shopping. While in Madison, we ate at a Turkish restaurant and learned more about their culture. One of the hardest things to do at the end of the program was to say goodbye to the Christian internationals that we had met and encouraged throughout the summer. Several were from Jamaica, Antoinette and Trudy, and had joined our Bible study and attended our Nav Nites early on in the summer. Another was from Romania, Beatrice. She also had the opportunity to join us for Bible study for a couple of weeks, but then her work schedule got in the way. The first time we went to her motel, we took along watermelon and cookies. She saw that from her room and thought to herself, “These people bring food. They are Christians.” She really liked being in America, but not having any Christian fellowship and encouragement was hard for her. She had tried to witness to her roommates and other internationals at the motel, but they didn’t understand or didn’t want to hear about it. Please continue to pray for these students, that they will finish out their time here strong in Christ and that they will be encouraged by other believers.

Human Examples of God's Love

I have heard the story of Hosea before, but have never read through the book. It seems to me as though Hosea was supposed to be a living example of God and His love for us: sinners and adulterers in our relationship with God, the ultimate husband and lover. Just thinking of how hard it would be back in Hosea’s time, to take an adulterous wife, everyone would laugh at you and avoid you, because it just was not done in that culture. Then to have children with her and to bring her back when she went off with someone else, a man who was not following God wholeheartedly would not have done it. I thought about if God had spoken to someone like Hosea in this time, would anyone realize the symbolism, the representation of God’s love for us? No, I do not think they would. Today, I think more people look at the lasting marriages, those who have made it through the tough times together. I am also struck by the depiction of Christ and His love for us, the bride of Christ. Just like Hosea, He could choose to give up on us, when we go back to worldly things, to not pursue us anymore, but He does not; He remains faithful even when we are not (2 Timothy 2:13). I think we also need to be Hosea's in our own circles. Not necessarily with the love of a spouse, but with agape love, sacrificial love, for everyone, not just those we like. I love chapters 11 and 14, which tell of God’s love for Israel and the blessings they will receive if they repent. It is sort of like our salvation and repentance today. Just like Hosea pursued his wife and bought her back, so God pursues us and has bought us with the life of His Son, all we need to do as His bride is accept His love, repent, and then live as His in His blessings.

Not much has been happening around here. Work is the same, though some people are switching tasks in the campground. We have gotten to do some more fun things with our Bulgarian coworkers! Hotel life is the same too, except one of our roommates, Anne, left for RA (resident assistant) training. Pray that she might be a great witness on her floor, in her dorm, and at her college. This Tuesday we will be evangelizing here in the Dells to international students, many whom we have met and interacted with before. Please pray for everyone that day that the message will be clear and understandable.

Well, we have one full week left, to witness, to work, to have fun out here. Two last church services to put on. Please keep praying for us and our interactions with the international students, employers, and fellow coworkers. I again want to bring up Colossians verses 2-4, which say, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” I realized that this is really what should be prayed over this program, that a door would be opened for us, that people would be eager to listen to the message of the gospel, and that we would proclaim it clearly, so they can understand. Thank you so much for standing with me in this missions trip and supporting me and the program with your prayers; they have helped greatly!

Rich or Poor?

One day a father took his rich family and his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“Very good, Dad!”

“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked.

“Yeah!”

“And what did you learn?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have a whole horizon.”

When the little boy was finished, his father was speechless. His son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are!”

Rich or poor? How rich are we in life according to this boy’s standards? How poor are we? Money wasn’t important to him; it was the beauty and vastness of nature that drew him, the beauty that God put on earth for us to enjoy and praise Him for. How often do we focus on money instead of family, friends, or a relationship with God? When do we find ourselves focusing more on earthly things than heavenly things, when we’re stressed, discouraged, lonely, worried? In Luke 18:18-25, Jesus talks to a rich ruler, who wants to know how to gain eternal life. After telling Jesus that he has kept all the commandments since he was a child, Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give to the poor, and then he will have treasures in heaven. The man walks away sad, discouraged. I have a feeling that this is how the father would have felt if he actually understood what his son was telling him, that worldly treasures do not matter. How do we store up treasures in heaven? According to this, we need to sell everything and give to the poor. Perhaps it is more than selling all your possessions and giving to the poor. Perhaps it is more about where your focus is. Matthew 6:19-22 talks about treasure in heaven as well. Verse 22 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Since we cannot focus on both God and money (Matthew 6:24), we should stop trying to look toward money for treasures and start looking to God to provide for our needs. If we seek after God, (Matthew 6:33), He will provide. Isaiah 6:33 says, “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”Are you focusing on money, your job, or are you fearing the Lord and gaining treasure? I know I need to focus more on God and less on how I will provide for my future; how about you?

On to the Dells, the staff are officially gone. We still have team leaders and have to abide by the same rules, but we have more time to small group activities or ourselves and more time to hang out with international students, which is what we did last night. A bunch of us taught some students from Turkey how to play ultimate Frisbee. They loved learning and playing. A baseball game was going on in the field beside us, so we got to watch some of that as well and explained the rules to several of them, so they could understand it better.

My time here is coming to a close; we only have two weeks left. Please keep praying for us and our interactions with the international students, employers, and fellow coworkers. Our Bible study this summer was Colossians. We still have a couple left in it, but this week we are in Colossians 4. As I started preparing for it, the two verses that we are supposed to memorize with it, caught my attention. Verses 2-4 say, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” I realized that this is really what should be prayed over this program, that a door would be opened for us, that people would be eager to listen to the message of the gospel, and that we would proclaim it clearly, so they can understand.

Do Everything...

Steven Curtis Chapman has a new song out, Do Everything, in which the chorus says: Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you, Cause He made you to do, Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face, And tell the story of grace, With every move that you make, And every little thing you do. I like the song and have heard it quite frequently on the radio lately, then this morning we had that passage of scripture for our devotional time, and it was in the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, which I was reading this afternoon. 1 Corinthians 10:31, 11:1: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God…Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” It struck me that maybe I should be paying more attention to this, that I need to pattern my life around it, not that I wasn’t trying to already, but it was just something that I thought about every once in a while. Perhaps it should be more of a purposeful thing. It says do all,” not just certain things, not sometimes, but “whatever you do, do it all.” How about you? Are you doing everything for the glory of God? Your thoughts, words, actions, are they reflecting the one who made you? I know I have trouble with it sometimes, but I’m working on it; I hope you are too.

Our parent’s weekend was fun and interesting. I showed my family around the Dells area on Tuesday, did a couple of sight-seeing and shopping things and then went swimming at Devil’s Lake. I’m not sure why they call it that, because the water is so clear and cool and the nature around it is spectacular; it just shouts the glory of God. That night there was a meal and program for all the parents, students, and employers. On Wednesday, we took a Lower Dells boat tour, which I had been wanting to do all summer. I still have the Upper Dells boat tour to go on yet, We toured where I work and then went to a water park. Overall, I think everyone had an enjoyable time, not just my family either.

Soon people will start leaving; the staff has training, some students have college camps or training programs for different activities or their majors. Please pray that they will have safe travels, that their last days here will be full of fun and laughter and great memories. Also keep praying for the international students that we’ve met, that those who are Christians would stay strong in their faith and those who aren’t, that we would find a way to reach them yet, that God would open their hearts more to the gospel.

Praise...

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:20-21) "God, You are worthy of my praise even when I don't have a good day. You never change because of my circumstances, if I have a bad day, if the world is in chaos. I want to praise You just because You are You, not because of what You can give me."

How often do we praise God for the blessings that He’s given us, the opportunities that He’s given us? Probably more often than we praise Him for those that He has taken away to teach us something or the trials that He brings our way to test and strengthen us. I know that I still need to work on praising God for many things in my life every single day. I think praising God shouldn’t be like the “Sunday Christian;” it should be an everyday occurrence.

One of the guys on our brother team, Matt, had the opportunity of sharing the bridge illustration (Romans 6:23) with a granddaughter of the owners of Holiday Shores, where we work. Matt and John had been doing their Bible Study prep at Starbucks when Jaden and a friend came up and asked what they were doing. Matt told them, and then they asked if he really enjoyed reading the Bible, and he said yes. The conversation went on for a while, and then kind of dwindled, and Matt asked if he could show Jaden the main point of the Bible. She agreed, and after he was done, she didn’t have much to say about it and soon after, left. The next day however, Jaden talked with Julie, one of my teammates, about it and was really excited with the illustration, but they didn’t get a chance to talk more about it. Pray that Jaden will continue to be open to what we have to say.

We are having our Parent’s and Employer’s weekend on Tuesday and Wednesday, inviting them out to see what the program is about and what God has done so far. Pray that everyone would have safe travels and that we will be refreshed to finish the rest of the program strong. We only have four weeks left!

Please pray for Beatrice, a Romanian Christian that we met our third week here. She’s been joining us for Bible Study and enjoying it a lot, but hasn’t found a good church close to her hotel yet. Her roommates wanted to move to a new place late Friday night, and she was unsure about it because it lacked furnishings. Pray that this move will be good for them and that God will provide the furnishings or the money to buy them and that Beatrice’s roommates would be open and receptive to the gospel.

This week’s theme is the Great Commission and World Vision, so we’ve had scriptures from Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:6-11, and Matthew 9:35-38. One thing about the first Matthew passage that we noticed was that some of them still doubted. I thought about if I had walked with Jesus three years, if I would doubt that He was the Christ, the Messiah, or would I be one of those who believed without having to see Him. With the second Matthew passage, we noticed that Jesus Himself went out to the towns instead of just sending His disciples. It was something that He cared about, something that He wanted to do Himself, and then at the end of His time on earth, He sends out His disciples. We also thought it was really unique that we can spread the gospel to the world in one place, here in the Dells. It’s amazing how many different countries are represented out here. The one thing that I wish was different was that we’d have more time to spend with them, talking, playing games, going on trips, just getting to know them better and finding opportunities to share our faith. I feel like we’ve been out here forever and haven’t done anything because there’s still so many people that we haven’t met, haven’t talked to, haven’t had the opportunity to share the gospel with.

Our church service is going well. This week the sermon is on Holiness. We’re still trying to work out some kinks so it will run smoother, but everyone who comes seems to enjoy it. Praise God for that!

Great things are happening...

We had as interesting opportunity this last week. On Monday, the fourth, there were fireworks in town and we invited some of the international students that we had met earlier. They had a blast watching them and taking pictures of each other with the fireworks in the background. Afterwards, my teammate Torie treated all of them to ice cream at Coldstone. They were amazed at all the different flavors and combinations they could get. After they got their treats and realized that Torie had paid for them, they started coming up to her and telling her that she could not pay for them that it was too much, that it was the man’s job to pay. She kept telling them that she wanted to do it, that it pleased her, that it was a privilege to pay for them. They just kept telling her: no, no, it is too much, you cannot. It was then that she noticed the necklace one of them was wearing for the second time that evening. It said: Jesus is Life in Spanish. Torie said, “It’s kind of like your necklace. Jesus came to earth and gave up His life; He gave up everything; He sacrificed His life to save us. The least I can do is pay for your ice cream.” And they said, “Where is a church? We want to go to church.” So, Torie told them about our Nav Nite service and when it was and two of them came and enjoyed it!

Tuesday, we took five guys from Turkey to Madison. We saw the capital building, went to the mall, and then ate at a Turkish restaurant. During the meal, they said that it made them miss their families and homes. There were many pictures taken and everyone had a fun time. On the way home, they sang some Turkish songs and pop American songs on the way back to the Dells and seemed to have a marvelous time. Pray for more opportunities to do activities with them and to talk to them as well.

Wednesday, the Nav group went on a canoe trip from 10 until 5, taking breaks along the way, but rowing for roughly 5 hours. Many people were burnt, including me. Pray for fast healing!

Today, Thursday, I was waiting for some of the guys to get off work so I could give them a ride and flipped open my Bible to find one of the passages that we had read for quiet time, and it opened to Job 37. For some reason, I had the passage underlined. I thought that was somewhat strange because I have not read through Job yet. So, I read over it. It talks about thunder and lightning, snow and rain, and how they are characteristics of God, His breath, His voice, and how God controls them. I was just marveling at how awesome it sounded when I read into chapter 38 and it is almost like God rebukes Job for what his friend had said. I noticed verse two in particular, so I went back to chapter 36 where Elihu started talking and noticed verses three and four. That might be where the problem is. It seems to me that Elihu is claiming to be perfect in knowledge, but no one knows everything but God, which is why He can ask in 38:2 – “Who is it that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” Do we ever act omnipotent towards God? Do we make up stories about God and what He is like to entice people in or scare them away? I sure hope not.

Oh, and back to our Sunday service on July 3, it went great, and we received many good comments about it. Pray for our service this Sunday as well, and that more people will come (we had about 15 at our first one). Also continue to pray for opportunities to witness to our coworkers and the international students that we know. We are going out in the Dells again on Tuesday; pray that the Holy Spirit would go out in front of us and prepare the way, putting people in our paths that He wants us to speak to.

Off on a great adventure...

I’ve had quite an adventure between now and my last note. I ended up getting a 24-hour flu bug and had to miss work last Thursday. Friday and Saturday were real busy at work. Sunday and Monday slowed down enough so I I finally had time to scrub and wash the golf cars and make them all shine. I also got to meet a Christian family who was camping out here for a week. Seeing their boys come into the game room and have so much fun playing ping-pong brightened my days, and being able to talk with their mother was a great treat too! Monday night I made the six-hour trek home to visit my family over Tuesday and Wednesday, making the trip back up here Wednesday night. It was a very welcome break and much needed. I had the opportunity to rake hay, go to one of Lizzy’s softball games, drop off some extra things we didn’t have room for and pick up some more, and bring back some strawberry pies! Now Thursday and Friday weren’t too busy, but they were really hot. I really hope it cools down for the rest of the weekend.

An update on our Bulgarian friends: we continue to invite them to different outings, and they attended a Nav Nite service. Aussia liked it, but said it was different; she likes the idea of God, but not religion. Rodney thought that the speaker that night was a fake, but he still asks questions about how we live our lives and how we are different. We haven’t had a chance to go back to the Lake Delton Motel that had all the international students to follow up, but we are going to try to get there sometime this weekend. On Monday night as I was traveling home, the rest of my team was having a very good discussion and Bible study with two Christian international ladies. They all loved the time together, and I was sad that I had to miss it. Please pray that we will find more time to continue to foster relationships with the international students that we already know. It seems like we are always being pushed to reach out to more students, but don’t have the time to focus on the ones we already know. Also pray for one of our brother teams, Tyler’s team; they are not getting along for some reason, and it has started to affect our team. Pray for the Ward family; they run the campground that we work at. As far as I know, none of them know the Lord. We have a great opportunity to minister to them with our actions and words as each one of us works with a different family member on a regular basis. Lastly, pray for our Sunday service that we are starting on July 3, that it would go well and that we would be allowed to continue it. Oh, and I continue to twist my ankle every couple of days, so pray that it would get stronger, that the swelling would go down, and that I would stop stepping on uneven ground (if that’s possible).

This morning’s quiet time passage was Isaiah 30:8-18. Verse 11 says,”Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” How many times do we feel this way, that the Holy Spirit just keeps convicting us of something and we don’t want to change, so we ignore Him and then get angry because He keeps persisting? How many times do we look back and say, “It would’ve been easier if I had just changed right away and then I would still have my close relationship with Christ?” When we do finally change, do we change with the attitude of the judge in the Parable of the Persistent Widow, who just wanted to get rid of the woman (Luke 18:1-8), or are we like Jesus, who forgets the easier route and goes with God’s plan, no matter what, without complaining or arguing? I’d like to say that I’m like Jesus all the time, but I’m not. Occasionally there’s just some things that I like to hang on to, even though I’m supposed to put aside the old things and put on a new way of life. Sometimes it’s harder than it seems. God doesn’t leave us there though, He gives us second chances. In verse 15 Isaiah writes, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:  “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”” There is hope offered, but will we choose to follow God’s will or go our own way? The repentance and rest seems very easy sometimes, but waiting in quietness and trust for strength is hard. Verse 18: “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!” Even though we may not want to have any of His salvation and strength, He still “longs to be gracious” with us, to show us compassion. What an awesome Father we have!

If you would like to write me a note, my address is: Tiffany Davis, Spring Hill Motel, 400 Vine St., Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965