Packed up, home, and Reflecting

What an amazing summer God blessed me with! When it comes to sharing it with you, I hardly know where to begin! As a D-Group Leader at Kaleo in Panama City Beach this summer, I grew more than I ever thought possible. My time there was full of making food for celebrities, being challenged in both leadership and personal areas, and seeing people’s lives changed for eternity. I laughed many times, cried a few, and made memories that will last forever. More importantly, however, the Kingdom of God was grown. As a project, we shared the gospel with over 2600 people and saw over 360 come to Christ!! On top of that, every participant was taught how to go home and continue sharing Christ with those around them. The ways God will continue to use this summer to affect His eternal Kingdom are endless.

For anyone previously unaware, I led and discipled three girls this summer, two from SNU and one from Iowa State. It took us some time to get to know one another and we had some rough patches along the way, but by the end of the summer, God really worked in incredible ways in each one of us. I saw them be broken free from burdens, grow committed hearts to honor the cross of Christ, and even one accept Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior!! I was very proud of all the ways God grew each of them. The main thing that God taught me through them was how to lean on the Holy Spirit for every single one of my needs. I knew that if I wasn’t on my knees regularly praying for them, all of my labor would be in vain and anything that I tried to teach them would be worthless because it wouldn’t be from the Lord. God certainly did choose to work in their lives, and I will forever be grateful.

There were so many things that took place this summer that it is difficult to iron out the most important into one letter. I would love to share with each of you more stories personally, but for this letter, I will share about one precious friend named Cansu that I was able to share the gospel with. She worked me with last summer and was from Turkey, returning this summer to get married. I was unable to share with her last summer because I was focused on another coworker, but at the end of the summer, I simply wrote her a card and told her I hoped to see her again and that I could take her to church with me. Little did I know how the Lord was going to use that card. It meant so much to her, that she got my phone number on Facebook, and called me as soon as she got into Florida. She reminded me I had told her we would go to church together and asked to go with me. Of course I took her with me to our worship service, and after one of the participants shared her testimony, she asked me about it. “What was she talking about?” she asked. I then explained to her that the girl wanted everyone to know what Jesus had done in her life. After the service, she asked me more questions, and I ended up sharing the gospel with her in very simple English, as it was somewhat difficult for her to understand. It was the first time she had ever heard it, and her eyes grew bigger and bigger the longer we talked. By the end, she was so touched by what Jesus had done, that she prayed in Turkish to God, confessing her sins and telling Jesus she loved Him. She has grown up Muslim, however, and still has many barriers to overcome. I am still uncertain whether or not she fully understands the gospel, or that there is a difference in Islam and Christianity-that being Jesus is the Redeemer. Regardless, I trust God with her heart and only wish that I had more time to spend with her to teach her about Jesus and that He is the only way to the Father. She now has a Turkish Bible in her possession and I am praying that God will continue to reveal His truth to her. Please be praying for Cansu.
All in all, the gospel was rampant in our project and our group this summer. One of my girls even led her boss to Christ!! A boss that she never imagined would even let her mention the word Jesus in her presence. It truly was incredible to see all the ways that the Lord moved and I hope to tell you all more in person when I see you!

This summer, God now only allowed me to see the truth of His gospel spread, but also grew my heart even more for His calling of discipleship. I know that there are 12 well-equipped young men and women going back to SNU’s campus who desire to share God’s truth and calling with other students. Not only that, but there are also 4 others going into the real world, myself included, who all desire to see both their homes and all the nations changed through the truth of the gospel and the ministry of discipleship. Jesus’ last words on earth, the ones he knew his disciples would always remember, were these, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I am confident that these students will seek the Lord in order to live out this Commission on campus, and I am more than excited about all the ways the Lord will use me to live this Commission out in my own life as well. If anyone asks me what I am going to do with my life now that I am graduated, all I really want to say is, “share the gospel, make disciples, and bring glory to my Heavenly Father, who is deserving of all our praise”. Granted, I know that I must work and seek avenues with which I can bring God glory, but my real purpose in life is to live for something that outlasts it, and that can only be through the cross of Christ. As I pursue a career in nursing and potential mission work, my prayer for my life and yours is that Jesus Christ be glorified in all I say and do. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for all of your loving prayers and support. God truly used each and every one of you in unique ways in my life to carry me through this summer and my life, and I am so incredibly grateful for the roles each of you played. I pray that this update brings you encouragement, inspiration, and a small glimpse of the eternal impact that your support made. May God bless each of you for all the ways you were willing to be used by Him. Glory to God for all that He did this summer! Love you all ☺

Pimentos, Braves, and a lot more Jesus :)

I know the burning question on all of your minds… what did you cook at work this week???? Well, search no further. It is now official that I am an expert at making Pimento cheese. That’s right, I don’t even have to look at the recipe…woah. Honestly the thought of ever tasting it makes me sick, so maybe I can’t say an expert due to my lack of willingness to actually stick it in my mouth. Regardless, you may all be hitting me up for some good recipes when I get home ☺ I’ll be taking numbers ☺

So, what all has been going on since the last time I wrote? Basically a whole lot of everything you could imagine. Due to the amount of things I have to write about, we’ll start with bullets for now, and then expand on the important things ☺ In a nutshell, here are a few Kaleo moments:

• I have been more incredible busy than I ever thought I would be!! Being a leader has many challenges, time management being one of the worst ones.
• The fellow greeters and I decided to dress up "frat" one night- so much fun.

• On June 10th and 11th, we had what’s called Relationship Conference, where we participated in a few activities and seminars all about the talk of God-centered relationships.
• One of my girls, Anndrea, made it into engineering school at Iowa State. Now before you say, "Oh that's great...", you should know she made the top 80 OUT OF 400 APPLICANTS!!! We were so proud we threw her a surprise party, to which her first response was, "It's not my birthday." Haha.

• The following weekend, all groups went away for the weekend to their desired location for the purpose of group bonding. Our group chose to go to Atlanta, Georgia, where we attended the Braves vs. Rangers game, shopped in Atlantic Station where we also saw a fun street magic show(first time to IKEA!!!!!, and yes, I bought my first toilet bowl cleaner for a dollar), and tasted some Georgia peaches ☺

• My group watched the Passion of the Christ together and it was one of the most moving experiences of my Christian walk.
• One of my coworkers from Turkey who worked at Five Guys with me last year came back to Florida and I got to share the gospel with her!! She prayed in Turkish and it was so great! I wouldn’t say she accepted, however, because she is very grounded in Islam. She is extremely excited and interested, though, and we will continue to meet and work through things during the summer.
• I have shared the gospel on the beach with each of the girls in my group now and it has been incredible to see how God is growing them in their ability to share.
• I am building really great relationships with my current coworkers and God has really shown me what it means to be controlled by the Spirit and initiate spiritual conversations with people in my life. Sharing about Jesus is not just about an illustration, but a lifestyle and your mouth overflowing with what’s in your heart.
• Last night, all of the D-group leaders got to hear a guest speaker at the Destin project on the topic of discipleship. We have been watching his videos in our Monday training times and it was really great to hear him speak in person.

Now, what to elaborate on?? I must choose carefully, as I could literally talk all night about my experiences so far this summer.

First off, Relationship Conference. The major thing that I learned from this was my true purpose in life: to daily become more like Christ. Regardless of my status in life, single of married, the purpose is to be made more like Christ. Both statuses are temporary, as we all shall pass from this earth, and whatever status God has me in, I will find complete and utter contentment in Him and Him alone, as He alone can satisfy me. In a sense, this conference caused me to long even more for marriage, but I truly feel that God is teaching me how to truly be thankful for every day that He has given me to serve Him. Being single, I have so many ways that I can be used for ministry that I can’t be once I am married, and I pray that I will be single as long as God needs me to be. I will cherish every day that is given me to serve the Lord, regardless of my marital status, because every moment of those days will be used to make me more like Christ.

Second, watching the Passion of the Christ. Now that I have a much deeper understanding of what Christ did on the cross for me, I could not watch that film without my heart being completely broken and all that Christ went through for me. His love stretched that far and reached even me. We all watched the film with complete solemnness, and when the credits began to roll, we were all speechless. It took me a good few minutes to gather myself emotionally enough to lead us in prayer thanking Christ for His deep love for us.

Third, sharing the gospel with my Turkish friend, Cansu. She texted me when she got back to America, I picked her up one day after work so she could come to our service that night, and she reminded me that I promised her I would take her to church with me last summer, and it was truly a great experience. I wasn’t able to share with last summer or spend any time with her outside of work because I was spending so much time with my Indian friend, so this past Tuesday was a huge blessing. Besides witnessing someone hearing the gospel for the first time and seeing her amazement, she shared many things with my about Islam and God revealed to me the areas I will need to address with her in our next meetings. Be praying that I can get a Turkish Bible to her and that she will understand that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.

And Lastly, all that God is teaching me about evangelism, discipleship, and leaning on the Spirit in ALL that I do. In leading other girls, evangelizing at my job, and simply in growing in my walk with the Lord, I have learned that none of if counts unless the Spirit is involved. Jesus came that we may be able to have relationship with God through the Spirit, and when we aren’t living by the Spirit, then we are the ones controlling our lives and all labor is in vain. God is constantly reminding me that every conversation at work and all my discipleship meetings with my girls must be sourced in the Spirit if I want to see the Lord work. John 15:5 says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Before I go to work in the morning, I pray that the Spirit will sit on the throne of my life and guide my conversations that day. The same goes for my meetings with my girls. I have truly struggled in the past with leaning on my own strength, but anything I do apart from the vine of Christ means nothing. In allowing Him to have full control of my day, I am learning what it means to truly live the spirit filled life and it is truly the fullest life I have ever known.

I am growing in my walk with the Lord in incredible ways and I am more privileged than I know how to express. I am blessed enough to see Him working in the lives of so many around me, and learning so much about my own faith through the process. I praise God for His deep love for me He showed on the cross that leaves my heart longing for more of Him daily.

Thank you to each one of you for your prayers, love, and support. I am honored to be sharing this experience with you. God bless each of you and may God show you how to live in the Spirit this week. See everyone soon!!

Croutons, Cowgirls, and a little bit of Jesus :)

Well, here we go for round two!! I am back in Panama City Beach, Florida, serving as a Discipleship Group Leader at Kaleo!! I've only been here a week and a half, but God is already growing me so much and beginning to pave paths for all that He is going to do through our project this summer, it's really so incredible!

So, I'll start with the particulars and then see where the road leads :) There are three girls in my group, two from SNU (Brooke and Crosbie, who I also like to call giggles, haha) and another from Iowa State (Anndrea- makes me laugh so much!). We are already getting along so well and I can tell we are going to make incredible, lifelong memories. We all already have jobs and that is such a blessing! I was praying that God would provide jobs for all of us within the first week, and He went above and beyond that request, opening a door at Red Brick pizza for Anndrea WITHIN THE FIRST HOUR (I know right?!), at Alvin’s Island for Brooke, and Five Guys for Crosbie (following in my footsteps, I’m so proud ☺). I got a job at a cute little restaurant called Cowgirl Kitchen in this adorable town called Rosemary Beach. It seriously reminds me of Slovenia and just being in Europe. Yesterday, I was honored to make my first-ever batch of homemade croutons, and they were quite delicious if I do say so myself ☺. I am still getting to know the staff and learn my way around there, but working in food last summer definitely makes things easier.

Every Monday, all of the D-Group Leaders meet for training and one-to-one time with their team leader and team time. My team consists of two OU girls and my fellow Five Guys employee from last summer, Lindsey ☺. Our leader is from OU as well and she is really incredible. God has already been using all of them in my life in incredible ways! Starting with Leader’s week (the week before all of the participants arrived), God began to work in my heart and give me so much peace and comfort with the other leaders and with the project as a whole. Through this, I felt more “myself” than I ever did last summer and I know that God brought my heart to the place that it needed to be in order to be able to pour into these girls.

Coming back to Kaleo this summer was a difficult decision to make, but I am confident that I am right where the Lord wants me. Our second day here, we jumped right back into beach evangelism, and I felt like I was at home again. Fulfilling the role of disciple-maker for 3 girls is not going to be easy by any means, but it seems like few things with God are. When I envision what the rest of this summer will hold, I can hardly even imagine it my heart is so excited about getting to see the Lord work. This past Monday, we were doing a small study over the Great Commission, and as we discussed it, my heart just soared. I knew, as we were going over the call that Christ gave as His last words on this earth, that God’s plan for my life is being fulfilled this summer. I find peace knowing that my Heavenly Father has revealed to me His specific plan for all of our lives and has completely fulfilled me through it. Discipleship was God’s plan from the very beginning, and now I am a part of it- even someone as unworthy as me. I look forward to sharing more and envision the rest of this summer and my life with great anticipation. May God bless each of you as He reveals His plan to you as well.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." –Matthew 28:19-20