Back Home

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!