Pictures and Final Thoughts on Denver

Hey everyone! As I sit at the Sacramento Courthouse (serving jury duty) I figured now would be a great time to share some pictures with you and my finals thoughts on my time in Denver.

First, let me introduce you to our leadership team. Sol is on the left. He is our OPD (Operations Director). I'm the shorty in the middle (Project Director). And James is the other PD (Project Director).

This picture is hilarious to me. I really think it captures our personalities. I have no clue what I was thinking but apparently the boys were more intent on listening than I was in the moment.

This is our view when at breakfast. Over a mile high! We ate on the 38th floor. This is a sweet view of Denver with the Rocky Mountains in the back.

Kim Johson and Emily Shand

I know these beautiful ladies from when I went on project to Ocean City, NJ. Kim was the PD and Emily was staff. So fun to see them again! Read more about my thoughts on that project here.

Jenna is on staff at Cal Poly Pomono. We had a lunch date at Taco Bell.

Lobsters Protesting?

Do sheep have fluffy faces? No one knows.

Lydia is one of my dear friends, past resident, and current disciple. She applied originally to Ocean City but God has really put it on her heart to trust Him and to apply to come with us to East Asia. After prayer and careful consideration, she changed East Asia to her first choice on her application. She's 100% in! This girl is so encouraging. 

Just a little taste of the weather. 

Natalie, Me, and Casey all bundled up walking downtown.

Colorado State Capitol

A "Before I die..." wall in downtown. We took a few moments and wrote on it.

The PSW teams going to East Asia

Remember when we went to Buenos Aires? We saw Robbie in Denver! He was on STINT in Argentina when we were there last spring. So good to see him and catch up! Read about that trip here.

My final thoughts:

I am so thankful for my time in Denver. Every PD from Cru in the US was there...stateside projects and global missions. I met so many cool people and was encouraged by all of them and their willingness to lead. 

James, Sol, and I got a grip on what needs to be done, and how we can do it. Please be praying for us and we set out to plan this trip.

Most importantly, we learned more about why we go on missions, more of who God is, and how we can walk in His Spirit. We were told that we are going to make mistakes, and that we have the freedom to fail. God is ultimately in control and as we continually look to Him for guidance, we will be successful PDs. 

Adventure is one of my favorite blessings. What adventurous blessing has God placed in your life where He is asking you to simply trust Him?

Please feel free to leave a comment below or subscribe. I'd love to read your feedback! Your encouragement is so valuable. 

Inadequate

Greetings from Denver, CO! We arrived yesterday and have already learned so much. I'm happy to be here and happy that the Lord has been showing me new things.

One word has been swimming through my mind the entire day: inadequate.

Yup, that sums it up.

This morning, I was just thinking "Wow. Look at all these things I'm in charge of. I've never been to this part of the world. I've never been on an International Summer Project. All these staff people are here and I'm a student. How am I supposed to do this? I can't do it. I'm inadequate."

I've been wrestling with this word/concept all day. And here's the thing: I really am inadequate. But the beauty of it is that God uses people like me to bring the story of redemption and hope to others. Crazy. Humbling. 

We've been told over and over in the past two days that we are going to make mistakes. We are going to make bad decisions. However, that is when God is most glorified. The speaker this morning reminded us of the story in Judges 7: Gideon's Army.

Here's a super brief summary (Audrey's Version). Gideon is leading Israel's army against the Midianites. Gideon has an army of 32,000 men. God tells Gideon that he has too many men...and that if they won the battle, Gideon's army would think it would be because of their own strength. So, Gideon sends 22,000 home and is left with 10,000. Guess what? God still says that's too many....make it 300 men. So, Gideon now has an army of 300 men. The battle rages and God defeats the Midianites with just the 300 men. God uses the inadequate to show his glory. And I'm thankful for it.

God will get so much glory from our team because of how BIG of a commission it is to take the gospel to the nations. 

Thank you for your prayers as we continue to figure out what it will look like to take a team of students to East Asia this summer. How has God been challenging you lately? Where do you feel inadequate? 

How can God use you to change the world for his glory?

Go. Do. Say. Give.

This week Cru at Sac State got home from San Diego Winter Conference (Winter Conf)! #sdwc12 We were blessed with the opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers, worship our holy God, pack 100,000 meals, build friendships, and learn more about being UNDONE for God. Undone was the theme and each speaker did a great job relating back to what that means and challenged us to allow God to work in and through us. 

Let me share a few highlights:

The second night, I was in the Summer Project promo skit and had a blast. Jonathan (OCSP11) did a great job as an extra too. ;) It was a great opportunity to get students talking about Summer Project even if it was silly and dramatic. Here we are before the meeting! 

The "Day of Faith" included three parts. One of the parts was packing 100,000 meals for children. Here is a pic of most of Cru at Sac State who attended Winter Conf. Don't we look good in those hairnets? It was so fun working together to accomplish such a task.  

A song that was played throughout Winter Conf was "Where you Go I Go" by Jesus Culture. Listen to it here:

The last meeting,  four big graffiti boards were put around the room titled: go, do, say, give. Students used chalk and wrote where they would go, what they would do, what they would say, and what they would give to God. It was incredible to see how the Holy Spirit was stirring in students.

  

I wrote: East Asia 2013 on the "go" board. I know I had already committed to being a Project Director, but throughout Winter Conf, I was reassured that this was exactly how God wanted to use me this summer. 

Students had the opportunity to sign this and surrender all of these things to God for a lifetime.

Finally, it was time to CELEBRATE!

The New Years Eve party was a whole lot of fun. The theme was #bestof2012 so you know this girl rocked Giants gear to celebrate the World Champions. I was not alone.

Aubrey, Me, Collin, Cody

 Me and Lydia

At midnight the dance party stopped, and worship began. An hour and a half of worship to our Creator and Savior to bring in the New Year.



Overall, Winter Conf was a great time and experience. It was first one and it was totally worth it. One of the speakers, Michael Oh, spoke a lot about missions-and tithing our time to missions. I am thankful for the opportunity to tithe part of my summer to East Asia.

God answered a BIG prayer of ours by providing an Operations Director.

Things you can be praying for:
1. Our trip to Denver-safe travels and that we can leave feeling confident and equipped to lead to East Asia
2. A team-trusting that God will provide students that will join us in East Asia
3. Wisdom-that James and I use wisdom when making decisions for our team

Thanks again for you support-can't wait to see what God has in store for 2013!