Week 6

Sister & my favorite girls 

SARAH: Week summary: Vacation bible school, Serving the City, Women's conference, discovering the cutest Benefit Eyebrow Bar, seeing Jay again at church, and visits from Kenny, Renee, & my family =] If I could describe this week in one word it would be gratitude. I am grateful for the people God has divinely placed in my life. The love and impact my friends from home, everyone I have met here on project, and my family have reminded me how wonderful life is because I have the privilege of intentionally sharing my life with others. Someone, I can't remember who, told me once that the time I have is like credit on a gift card. Every time I receive a gift card (the best gift for picky people) I attempt to maximize its use. I cannot always say I maximize the redemption of my time. In fact, I don't even treat my time as a gift half the time. If anything, I am expecting to live the average number of years an American female is expected to live. But how foolish is this? I could die literally any second. No drama intended. Three times this week a car nearly slammed into my car because they didn't see me. I can have an attitude of entitlement or gratitude. I can feel entitled to my life or grateful that I have life. Ultimately, an attitude of entitlement often leaves a person bitter because more often than not, expectations are disappointed. But gratitude expects nothings, everything becomes a gain. So the fact I am breathing and have loving friends and family (who visits =)) are gains. I am entitled to none of the above. By the grace of God do I breathe, give and receive love, and have life. Full life.

Mom & Sis

This week has been more difficult than most. I admit I cannot always be as sincere as I would like. I admit I do not have enough love, grace, consideration, and compassion. I lack in skill and capability, and I often cover my inadequacy with exaggerated confidence. I am not a profound person with profound words. I only know that there is someone who is more sincere than the heat of the sun. There is someone who is constant in love and grace. He considers my well being when I wake and sleep. His compassion for me never wanes. His skill and capability is beyond sufficient to sustain my life. He is the God I serve. Because of Him my insufficiency does not consume me. He intercedes with His power so that I can give what I do not have. When I find it difficult to love His love overwhelms me, and in His love I find the strength to love. 

Because of His Grace,
Sarah

Serve the City- LA 

MARIO: Hello everyone,
We are wrapping up our six week of project! This week, I volunteered at Trinity Baptist Church, helping to put together a Vacation Bible School for kids. This opportunity was exhausting, to say the least! (I’m not used to working with kids) I was assigned to work with the story team. Working with the story team allowed for me to have a variety of experiences. The theme of the whole VBS was airplanes. It was all just one huge story about a little airplane; by the name of I-431 (the name of the airplane actually stands for Isaiah 43:1).
“But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you be name, you are mine.’” –Isaiah 43:1
The young I-431 was created by a team by the name of the Great Designer. The team consisted of a designer, engineer, and counselor. They built the plane good, and I-431 thought so too. But the I-431 finds himself dissatisfied with the Great Designer’s work when he starts comparing himself to other planes. Things get worse for the plane when different pilots come along and convince him that he is inadequate, the way he is made. The engineer eventually finds the plane down and out decides that he will trade anything to get the plane working the way it was designed to in the first place.

Kenny visited =]

Working on the VBS project reminded me of the simple truths about scripture. We were created good. We found ourselves dissatisfied. We looked to other things. We were doomed to death. Our engineer trades everything to save us from ourselves. The VBS project also reminded me how God made us fearfully and wonderfully, and how we are to ‘lift up our eyes, look to God, and praise God’ for it. Working on the VBS project has also given me the opportunity to work with believers with a different cultural background than what I am used to. The people that I worked with to put the VBS project together were Korean. The way that prayed was awesome. On one of the days that we spent preparing for it, the VBS team decided to pray together. We all sat together in a big circle and prayed simultaneously after one gal gave us something to pray about.
Being in Santa Monica has allowed me to be around a multitude of people. I am grateful for this
-Mario G

CODY: Hello friends.
Time has flown by since the last blog. I think this has definitely been the fastest week time wise this project. I cant believe that I have less than 2 weeks left! I am sad that I will be leaving the amazing friends I am around every day, yet excited to see what the Lord has for me in the next season of my life. Since I last wrote (Tuesday) we have continued our weekly schedule of lead team meeting Tuesday night, date night with Jesus on Wednesday, and ‘Good News, Good Deeds’ on Thursday. I am continually encouraged by the students hearts on project, especially the 5 other members of the lead team who I spend a lot of time with meeting and discussing different things about project. I will definitely miss the openness we have with each other and the flow of abundant encouragement that has come.

On Thursday I got to go out with a group of students to the Ronald McDonald House as a part of our “Good News, Good Deeds’. We helped by cleaning up the outside of the house, sanding benches, painting parking spaces, raking brush, etc. I think what the Ronald McDonald House does is awesome. For those of you who don’t know, it is a place where families can stay for free if their child is in the hospital. It is especially helpful for families who are visiting from another country. After, we had a time to debrief what happened in all the places the students went, and finish with some great worship.

On Saturday we went out and ‘Served The City’ where the project broke up into about 4 different groups and went out to different places to help out in the community. I got to go with a group of about 20 or so to East Hollywood where there is 1 park for about 80,000 people. The area was made up of about 90% tenants who rented. We went out with rakes, brooms, and trash bags cleaning up the streets and encouraging the local people to help out, as well as telling them why we were out there doing what we were doing. I don’t know how many smiles I saw from people in their yards or driving by. I really wish we all took some time out of our lives to go out and serve your city. After picking up trash, we had a barbeque for the local people and at the same time hosted a 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the park. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed being able to lend a hand and at the same time glorifying God.

Sunday we went to church once again at Trinity Baptist. I cant say enough about the church and the ways they serve us. They open their doors to our project every summer and don’t charge us a cent to use their facilities, and we do a lot there! We got the chance to hear Pastor Trevor speak on trusting God when the storms come in our life and bring chaos. When things are going smoothly it is easy to feel like we have everything under control, yet all it takes is 1 phone call for our lives to be turned to what seems like chaos. He talked about the passage where Jesus walks on water and how the men on the boat were experiencing total chaos when in reality God had everything under control. Trusting God has been a huge thing He has been teaching and challenging me with.

Like I said, I cant believe that I will be coming home next week! I am still hoping for God to do big things during this last leg of the trip, and am excited for what He will continue to teach me. Please pray for strength in our last week and unity of the body.

Sincerely,
Cody

Week 5

Alex & I 

SARAH: I have been learning a ton this week. Interestingly, many of these lessons were derived from the old Sunday school stories that I had often painted, colored between the lines, and done some poor reenactment of in my childhood. Last Monday, we had our first student speaker since staff had left. Greg gave an insightful talk about having a servant's heart and this idea of our mini-kingdom. Jonah was the stubborn man swallowed by a whale. I am reminded that, like Jonah, I can serve without loving, but I cannot love without serving. Love requires service. With that, I am also reminded that above all else, God cares about the heart. He cares more about about compassion than about service for the sake of service. The theme of servitude continued through Wednesday. Wednesdays are our extended quiet time with Jesus, we call them date nights with Jesus. I jotted in my journal that Jesus is the ultimate example of a servant. He serves, leads, and loves in a manner that does not linger,

VBS LEADERS

 anticipating reciprocation. His service, leadership, and love are meek, they have no expectation, and are in no way withholding. That's the heart I desire. On Sunday night, two nights ago, I attended the night service for the first time. Pastor Trevor, is this awesome, definitely gifted by God, dude. I have never been so intrigued by the story of 5 loaves of bread and two fish as I had that night. The basic story is: 5,000 hungry people plus 5 loaves of bread/two fish equals a huge problem of limited resources. We are often faced with situations where we desire to accomplish something, but realize we do not have adequate resources (money, time, ect). We also often respond the way Peter and Phillip do. These men walked with Jesus. They saw Him perform miracle after miracle, yet when a new dilemma arises, they turn to their own confined human logic. Our reasoning neglects the greatness of God's power. The truth is, our resources will always be lacking. We are often faced with having just 5 loaves of bread and two fish. Yet, limited resources in the hands of God are not limited. If God can create everything with just a breath, how much more can He do with little? We often believe that God is powerful, but do not live that way. Finally, this most recent Monday, Cody Schilling himself spoke! He spoke about our identity in Christ-our old and new selves. He did a great job! Identity is also the theme of the children's vacation bible school I am currently volunteering with. I have loved working with the kids. Just 2 1/2 more weeks folks!


Because of His Grace,
Sarah

Cody giving his first talk!

CODY: So this week has been great! The students are really filling their roles and I am excited to be able to help them along and also grow as I learn more and more how to step into the role of a leader. At our weekly meeting, we had member of the lead team named Greg speak on serving. He spoke about how Jonah chose to disobey God’s calling to the people of Nineveh and as a result was a poor example of being a servant. He also went to the other end of the spectrum and talked about the best example of a servant, Jesus.

The week was filled with more meetings with ministry team meetings and making sure that the teams had everything they needed to be successful. I have really been blessed to work closely alongside the 5 other members of the lead team. Although we had been on project for 4 weeks, I really didn’t know the 5 and it has been amazing getting to know them more the past couple weeks. We all met together at a great place called “Urth Café” and spent some good time sharing testimonies and seeing how God has worked mightily in our lives. Gosh it has been awesome!!!

Date night with Jesus was really cool this past Wednesday, as I sat I wondered why it was difficult for me to praise and thank God when things are going well. I questioned whether I felt like happiness was something that I expected from God. He spoke to me when He put Psalm 92:1-4 on my mind which reads:

1“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; 2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, 3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. 4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.”

Adopt-a-cru dinner

We must give thanks to God in all things and at all times, from the morning to the evening. The works of His hands = Everything. Just to top things off, He provided one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen!Last night, I had the opportunity to speak for the first time at a weekly meeting. It was amazing to see how God changed my heart from being nervous about it at first, to being completely saturated in excitement to share what God put on my heart to share with the students. I got to speak on our identity in Christ and what that means. I focused on the idea that when we place our identity in anything other than Christ, it will fail. It was very exciting getting to look into the characteristics of the old self and how they compare to the characteristics of the new self. The night was very powerful. We heard a before and after student testimony, and had the opportunity to confess things that held us back from placing our identity in Christ. During the song “Jesus Paid It All” we would come up to the cross on the stage and pin it to the cross as a representation of us giving these things up to God. Some of the students also put on the “Everything” skit which brought tears to my eyes. It was just another powerful thing to add to the night. I am continuing to trust God as He leads me the last couple weeks of project. I am excited for the things He still has in store for us and the friendships that will continue to grow. Looking forward to returning home and taking what I’ve learned back to campus. There is so much potential and I am hoping God will empty me in the CRU movement at Sac State and in my sphere of influence.

Thanks for reading,

Cody

Photo Cred. - Cody Schilling [he's
becoming quite the photographer]

MARIO: How’s it going!

This week’s theme was ‘servant hood.’ I have been learning a lot about being a servant! This is especially true with my walk with God. I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a servant like Jesus Christ. I was actually trying to come up with a formula, I realized. The Lord has been teaching me to rely on Him in such times.

Let me explain. Servant-hood has been a huge theme in my life lately, not just this week. The reality that God has showed me is that God doesn’t need my help to accomplish His will. He doesn’t need my help to bring people to Christ. He doesn’t need my help to rebuke someone when they are doing bad deeds. He doesn’t need my help to steer people in the right direction. And I found myself asking why. This self-sustaining, self-sufficient God, what does He want from me??!! I can’t let sin rule in my mortal body, yet I can’t be over righteous. What is the formula for doing the will of God, and where have I gone wrong in my calculations?

I have learned God’s desire for me. I learned what he wants from me. He wants me to TRUST Him! He wants me to trust Him in everything.  He wants me to trust him in sharing the Gospel. He wants me to trust Him with knowing who to rebuke and the manner in which to go about it. He wants me to trust others, so that I don’t try to take upon myself the work of someone else. He wants me to trust Him with my relationships, knowing that He will go before me to prepare for me a growing opportunity. I love the Lord. And I have come to realize that He makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him 

Week 4: A Big Week

Farewell to staff banquet

SARAH: My last sharing experience was radically mind-blowing. God shattered all my expectations and stereotypes as I met the most loving, kind, humble, and competent homeless man. Although his life has been filled with unprecedented strife and challenges, he is one of the most wise and content human I have ever known. He was a previous marine, had attended college, held well paying positions, and previously lived in a furnished apartment with a furry cat. He has lived everywhere from New York, Texas, all the way to Florida. But with a passing glance you would notice a man leaned against a palm tree with an array of assorted tattoos, a low hanging beanie that partly covered his eyes, cameo-cargo pants, and few belongings in a neatly arranged backpack (habits of a marine). Even though society labels this man as "homeless" and "hopeless" or even "worthless," I find that he has the richest heart. Jay has experienced both the highs and lows of life. He said composedly, "what I do not understand is the way people tick…why people are so eager to wake-up in the morning to rush into 

The hollywood sign! It was quite a hike!

an often frustrating and chaotic workplace to earn fleeting wealth…there is never enough money to satisfy anyway." Jay reminded me of a Walden in the city instead of the wilderness. He is one of the few people who "gets it" while the rest of society is consumed with carrying about the "correct" progression of life. Contrary to the "correct" progression of life in which one strives to attain a well-paying career in order to acquire a supposed number of possessions that brings happiness, find the perfect spouse and have 2.2 perfect children, and attempt to leave some sort of meaningfully legacy (whatever that means), Jay recognizes this progression is frustrating because fewer than 3% of world even complete. Moreover, upon completion people are still distraught and unsatisfied. Enough is never enough. This begs the question, is this truly the "correct" progression of life? What about life after death, is it just about a legacy? That is if we even leave one that means anything to anyone centuries later. What will our lives mean then? As we carry about this progression of life, does it bother us that people are dying, being enslaved and trafficked in the world just a few longitudes and latitudes away from us? Or are we too consumed in reaching the checkpoints of this progression to think about…to put it quite plainly…other people? And equally important, what is truly the purpose that we are even born into the world? Because if no one remembers us years later, the only evidence we even lived is the trash we produced and our grave site. I understand some people are perfectly content with this fact. In fact, I was pretty content pursuing this progression. But to maintain that mentality and be content with that life, I could not think beyond myself. The second we think beyond ourselves, we question this progression.

I love these two!

 I dared to ask, "is my life about my sake or the sake of others?" Jay reminded me that my life is about the sake of others. It is dissatisfying  to be personally rescued while sitting in a warm lifeboat watching others struggle or drown. That's Jay. He's the one willing to risk his life, throwing out everything he has inside his boat to save others. In the eyes of God, to be first is last, and to be last is to be first. Jay will be first. 

-Sarah

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love."

 - 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3

Mario and his peepsters

MARIO: This week has been filled with all kinds of opportunities to be more like Jesus. For starters, this last Thursday, our Staff left the project--leaving us, the students, in charge of the whole thing. The good thing is, they left with a ceremony. They assembled us all in one room, gave us each one candle, and called us up individually to endow us each with specific leadership responsibilities. It was great! It was also overwhelming though. That very moment, I knew I needed the strength of Jesus in order to step up and take the responsibility that I was being given. Please pray that I would know these words of scripture to be true: "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) Not only was I given a specific job title, but I was also charged with making sure I lead my brothers and sisters in grace and truth.
I remember asking God to lead me in the way everlasting. I have a feeling he heard my prayers, but I just don't know how He is going to carry out His works.
Here is an encouraging story: Me and another student were out sharing our faith in Christ, when we ran into this gentleman by the name of Dwight. Dwight agreed to talk with us, but we had no idea of how much time he had to spare. Apparently, he was waiting for someone when we found him. Dwight was a student at Santa Monica College. 

Everyone =]

He was very busy with life. Not only was he a student, but he was also in the process of moving into a new place, and he worked at Bank of America for an untold amount of hours per week. Dwight had told us that he was engaged a year ago and that his engagement ended sadly. I don't remember asking how his engagement ended. I didn't want to pry too much. So instead, I asked about his spiritual life. Apparently he had grown up catholic, and yet still felt unfulfilled.
Around this point in our conversation with Dwight, his friend texted him and told him that he was going to be able to meet up. (God's timing= good). We continued to talk.He told us that he didn't want to convert to Christianity because he had grown up Catholic. But he also confessed that there were some aspect s of Christianity that were appealing to him. He said that he liked the way everyone was so accepting and more joyful. He said he had Christian friends. I explained to him that God loved him so much and that God wanted His people to come to Him with all of their burdens. I tried to say it as passionately as I could, without coming off as creepy. I don't quite know if I got though to Dwight, but my prayer is that he will come to know He, who paid it all, more. if you remember, say a prayer for Him. 

Until next time,
MG

CODY: As you can tell by my late week 4 posting, I have been very busy. A lot has happened over the course of last week. The theme was ‘Engaging Your World’. In that, we looked at what it means to reach the world with gospel and what the Bible says about reaching out to the world. I really enjoyed learning in our action group what it means to become ‘all things for all people’. It seemed almost impossible to be able to do that, yet God promises that He will be with us as we make disciples of all nations. We went out sharing with this in mind and I had some great conversations with some very cool people. It is so great to be able to go out into our world and take time to listen to others story and share a story of hope for the lost, hurt, wandering, broken, or ashamed. I really enjoy sharing the greatest love story ever written! Following the theme of the week we  also had an international which turned out to be a very convicting night and something that I would recommend to you all if you have the chance to attend an international dinner! That’s all I can say about that J

            On Thursday, we had our final staff banquet, as they left that night and handed over the project to the students. Each student was challenged with a specific position to hold for the remaining 4 weeks. I was blessed with being asked to be a part of the lead team as a ministry team leader. Although I wasn’t quite sure what all the position entailed, I have grown to love it even though it has added a lot to my busy schedule. I am constantly reminded that God has me in this position for a reason and will help me to grow through it and help guide the project.

            In church Sunday we continued through the ‘Summer of Psalms’ theme as we looked at Psalm 125:1-5. We learned about the things that made us feel secure, and what it meant to trust God and what trust meant in general. I enjoyed this Psalm because it is a Psalm of belief, trust, protection, help, peace, and stability. The question then was: do you trust Christ with everything you have? Is it a formal (what you say) trust or an informal (how you live) trust? As I grow closer to God and strive to reflect Jesus more each day, I am confident that my trust is growing and that God is able to use me more! ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus!

            As I wrap up I just want to leave you all with a powerful quote that was very convicting to me as I heard it and really thought about how I want to live my life:

"Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that. The saving of souls, if a man has once gained love to perishing sinners and his blessed Master, will be an all-absorbing passion to him. It will so carry him away, that he will almost forget himself in the saving of others. He will be like the brave fireman, who cares not for the scorch or the heat, so that he may rescue the poor creature on whom true humanity has set its heart. If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for." - Charles Spurgeon

Please keep me and the SMSP 2012 team in your prayers! 

By His Grace, 

Cody 

week 3

CODY: Well we are just wrapping up our 3rd week here in beautiful Santa Monica. I am sitting in the sand leaned up against a palm tree watching the sun go down over the pier and behind the ocean. I wish you all could be here with me taking this in. This past week we focused on reaching our world together. We continued to learn how to develop and be a part of a missional community by looking through Ephesians 4 and understanding our relationship with God and how He created us to be in a community with each other. This is especially important as a college student who will be going back to school in the fall and really trying to push for a Christ-centered community. In discipleship, we focused on grace, truth, and time. 

Cody's creative date with impact group

These are 3 of the most important things in growing our relationship within the community as well as with others we meet along the road of life. All 3 need to be present to have an effective body and to grow and I am very grateful for them all.
     
     We also got a chance to be a part of what we call “Good News, Good Deeds” where we go out and serve the community around us. I got to go down the Promenade with another student with the hopes of interacting with the homeless and buying them a meal and listening to their story. The first 2 attempts we had to this were very short and a little discouraging. As we were walking back up the Promenade, we began to prayer walk. Just as we finished, we looked up and say a lady standing holding a sign that read “Family is Hungry and need Medications”. When we approached her she was shocked that we actually stopped to talk. The first thing she said to us was “I thought I was invisible”. I feel that is the truth that a lot of homeless people feel and it really hit me hard. We proceeded sit down and talk with her and hear her story for about an hour, and was able to go through the ‘Knowing God Personally’ booklet even through she was a Christian. There was mutual encouragement and it was awesome to see that she was continuing to trust God even through her struggles.

Cody's an all star

     Today, we finished out the week with a outreach after church in which we intended to extend the Gospel to our “Spheres of Influence”, or the people we are closest to and interact with often. Because we are so close to these people, I find it tough to bring up spiritual things because of my own pride and not wanting them to judge me. Am I afraid they will know I am a Christian and dedicated to following Jesus? God humbled me very quickly and gave me confidence to reach out to people today. Successful evangelism is taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. I know that through the conversations we had today, although some may have been tough and frustrating, that seeds were planted. Next week our staff leaves and the students will continue the work that has already begun by encouraging each other, growing in our walk with God and the community, and helping each other during the thick and thin. I am still amazed at the opportunities God is placing before us daily. To Him go all the glory. 

     “I [Paul] urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” -Ephesians 4:1-3 

By His Grace,

             
                Cody

This week the students served at different locations
throughout LA. I served at the Salvation Army and
designed a bulletin board for them! Some people went to
the women's shelter, others bought meals for the
 homeless. #awesomeweek

SARAH: Comfort. If you know me at all, I love comfort. I love fuzzy socks, I love the "right" temperature,  balanced lighting, and food that is not too hot or too cold. None of these things are bad. In fact, they are awesome. Though as I let my mind wander, as I often do, I wondered if this is the type of lifestyle I am chasing? Do I desire to live in a perfectly balanced bubble where everything is held in constant equilibrium? A bubble where there is always enough money in the bank, where nothing too difficult occurs, a place that is never too hot or cold, and no one irritates me. I think…yup, that sounds sweet.   

But is that life really sweet? The problem with comfort is that it is often mediocre. Mediocrity is the land where nothing bad OR great happens…ever.

I am..uhh...trying =]. I was doing pretty well
until I tried to run through second base. smh

These past few months have challenged my desire of a comfortable life.  I have learned that only through discomfort have I experienced the fullness of life. It has taken me quitting my job, refusing to stress about school, enduring rejection of employers and people in Santa Monica, and losing my wallet to realize God's faithfulness, His sovereignty is all things, His goodness, and above all, His infinite and deep love. Through these uncomfortable trials, I can say that I would rather be rejected and defeated over and over again and experience true triumph, than to have never taken a chance. I would rather witness starving homeless people on the streets, than live in comfortable blindness. I would rather endure humiliation and suffering because I follow Jesus, than to never experience His love. In what world does a person grow in comfort, learn perseverance in fuzzy socks, or experience victories without taking leaps of faith? 
This week really has been about community. I learned that, "community is not just an aspect of ministry, it is the context in which all ministry takes place." Through grace, truth, and time an individual,  as well as the community as a whole, experiences growth. Grace does not sugarcoat the truth, grace is the vehicle by which truth should be delivered. Without grace, truth comes across as judgement and criticism. The truth: I am not perfect and I will never be. Grace: perfection is not the goal of my life. My life is a testament to the way God has changed my heart;  the way He has worked in my life. The question is not how perfect I am but, how evident is God's love in my life? 
-Sarah

"Bring me joy, bring me peace, Bring the chance to be free, Bring me anything that brings You glory, And I know there will be days, When this life brings me pain But if that's what it takes to praise You, Jesus, bring the rain"

-MercyMe

Mario batting =]

MARIO: Hello,

This week we went to a community center in LA. An amazing thing was happening at this community center. Every Thursday, since 2006, an organization by the name of Impacting Hearts puts on ‘youth night’. That is, they provide a place for the at-risk youth to come and experience Christian community where they can be built up. The at-risk youth present were all African-American. Witnessing this was awesome.

When I first arrived, I saw some youngsters playing basketball on the basketball court at the center. Someone who was with me told me that some of the youngsters playing were foster youth. I knew, right then, that I was going to be humbled. Almost immediately all of us guys from SMSP 2012 and the guys that were on the basketball court started a game of B-ball (that’s how us guys on project get to know each other!). Boy, talked about being humbled; the guys from the community center were really good. One of them slam dunked in all of our faces.. I call him the mini Michael Jordan because he was a foot or two shorter than me.

After we got dominated in basketball, some really loud guy huddled everyone in a circle. I learned that his name was Shawn, and he was the Impacting Heart’s director for that specific location. I also learned the names of some of the at-risk youth, and I met guys who introduced themselves as mentors. We immediately started their Thursday routine by praying aloud after the meet-and-greet. This prayer circle was stood out for me though because, before we started praying, Shawn asked for prayer request, and everyone who knew the routine—Impacting Heart’s regular attendees—began to name off things that only a family would. That is, they all were connected like a family in that they knew each other’s family situations and hang-ups. I also learned at this time that all were welcomed to the Thursday fellowship, but none were forced to stay. And those who were present showed up because they were receiving a lot more than just basketball-practice.

After the prayer circle, we went inside to enjoy a warm meal together. As soon as we walked in the cafeteria, Shawn shouted “guys! Why aren’t you eating right now?” And all the guys from the community center said in unison, “ladies first.” After the meal, we all engaged in what was called a counsel meeting, whereby anyone who felt inclined can stand-up and let everyone else know what was most important to them at that particular point in time. Everyone shared himself or herself freely, without fear of being rejected.

After the counsel meeting, we all heard a message from one of the staff member of Impacting Hearts. As we listened to the message, I gave the occasional glance to some of the guys’ facial expressions. My heart was glad when I found them intently receiving God’s word!

After the message, Shawn dismissed everyone and asked all of Cru people to come up so he could talk to us. We gathered around while he told us the mission of the organization. Impacting Heart’s focus was on teaching at-risk youth about relationships that are centered on God and His Word. I was touched and humbled, knowing such an organization exists. The rest of the students that were with me were moved, too. We have decided to continue coming to Impacting Hearts every Thursday for the remainder of our project. And I can’t wait!

-Mario

week 2

SARAH:

I am learning much. Growing, as I have come to find, does not complete. It is never perfected.  This week I have really felt the side effects of learning and growth. Some include: great frustration, brinks of defeat, hope, and ultimate triumphs. Growth is like playing multiple video games with infinite levels or building a road with many paths. I have been persevering through a ridiculous job hunt. My tan is even leveling up. I have been battling my pride and learning more about humility. My sense of direction is improving for once in my life (hard to believe I know). I am learning about who I am in Christ. I can now run on ice (thanks to an epic broomball extravaganza)! I am building some sweet friendships with some sweet peeps.

A few days ago I was talking to a lady from France. We, the students and staff, stop along the promenade and beach to converse with people. We use tools such as Solarium to ask people to describe his or her life, what he or she believes, and what his or her perception of God is. Maria was here in Santa Monica studying to be a chef. She considered herself a free-spirited hippie. She shared with us her Catholic background and current disregard for religion. I loved talking to her. To describe religion, she chose a broken bike with no wheels. She feels that religion is not moving forward. She wishes that someone could tell her the right answer. But of course no one, not even myself, can instill in someone the belief of the right answer. I can offer the answer. I can tell you how He has changed my life, but I will never shake you and shove it down your throat. Believing requires openness to consider all possibilities. Perhaps there is a God who intended to create a wonderful world, like the way parents create children with good intentions. Perhaps everyone has freewill to love Him or love themselves. Perhaps because people chose to love themselves, selfishness ruined the world. Perhaps there is a God who loved His children so much, He exchanged His life so that they may have the possibility of sharing a relationship with Him forever. 

-Sarah

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

-C.S. Lewis


CODY:

Well this past week has been a challenging week, but in a good way. I have loved the sermons on Sunday mornings from a young pastor who really understands that Jesus + Nothing = Everything. He has a great gift in being able to show how we are able to do so much with Christ alone. "Whoever gets the Son gets the Father". We often fins ourselves chasing after dead stuff, separating us from a true relationship with Jesus. Since when is Jesus not enough? In our weekly meetings, we have learned about God's forgiveness of our sins, and what it means to understand fully what this means. Every time we get on our knees and ask God for forgiveness, we fail to understand that we have already been forgiven for our sins past, present, and future. Instead, we should confess our sins and ask Jesus to wash our feet, to  purify us, and to grow us in our walk with Him. I have also been challenged in understanding the fullness of salvation, justification, glorification, and sanctification. These are big words that we read in the bible but may not fully understand. I think they are very important in understanding what God has done, is doing, and will do in His people. Another thing I have thoroughly enjoyed is our dinner with Jesus on Wednesday nights :) This is a time where we get out dinner to go at the church and take it wherever we chose and eat and just spend time with Jesus reflecting on the things He has been putting on our hearts. It truly is some of the most peaceful times. We also learned about redeeming the time God has given us, and using it as a resource that He has blessed us with. Sunday we had a sort of all churches day in which all of the different congregations that use the church came together to worship God as one body. It was very powerful and was followed but a great barbecue. Finally, we had our mens and womens conferences that really opened my eyes to understanding how sin affects us and how we are to respond to it and what the Bible says about it. We were challenged to work together as brothers to accomplish tasks and encourage each other through them. I feel the conference was one of the best experiences I have had on project so far.

       So I know that all of this came pretty quick but God is really using all that we do together and growing each and every one of us. I wish I could go into more detail on all of these things, and hopefully I can, you just gotta ask :) Evangelism has been a huge turning point as well, we have had several people that we have talked to on the 3rd St Promenade and the beach accept Jesus as a project! I got a sweet vintage bike to ride here donated from the church. It had a flat tire but shes got new wheels now and rides like  a champ! That's all for now! Until next time.......

-Cody


MARIO:

Howdy! So this week has a new focus. This week’s focus is on reaching those with a lower socio-economic status. We heard the message yesterday and immediately went to engage with those who are less fortunate afterward on the promenade of Santa Monica. While out, we spotted and began to talk with this guy who was confined to a wheel chair. He had a dog with him. We have seen him around before, but he refused to talk to us last time we tried to connect with him about spiritual things. The person I went sharing with, Kara, came up with the brilliant idea of buying this fellow some food for his dog. We went to a pet store to buy it, and the most amazing thing happened. The owner of the pet store and a couple that just so happened to be in the store decided to generously donate two bags of dog food after over-hearing Kara and I talk about our cause (God’s timing was, and is, great!). When we got back to the guy in the wheel chair, we handed him the dog food. He received it with gratitude. I didn’t want to push spiritual things on him right away. Instead we just asked him questions about his dog. We learned that his name was Joel, and his dog’s name was Carboni. We didn't get deep with him, because he cut the conversation short after we started asking him questions about his family and spiritual life. He didn’t say much, but we did learn way more about him than we knew before. We learned that he went to the church to pray often, but didn’t know the names of any of the churches that he went to because he couldn’t read. While talking to him, I felt his pain and emotional guard. After he scurried away in his wheel chair, I got the feeling that another reason he didn’t know the names of the churches that went to was because he had little interaction with the people he ran into while there. My heart goes out Joel. If you remember, say a prayer for him.
….
After departing with Joel, we continued to walk and ended up running into another gentleman who was holding a sign that read “Need help pay for surgery. I have rheumatoid arthritis. –God bless.” His name was John, and he was originally from Hong Kong. Our initial assumption was that he was homeless. But as we talked with him, we learned that he wasn’t homeless. Actually he was just trying to raise money for his surgery. He had about 20 thousand raised, and 80 thousand more left. We received quite the surprise when we asked him about his spiritual life. He was a follower of Jesus, and he had some words of wisdom to share with us. He knew that Jesus was the way and the truth. He talked about his relationship with God. He knew about the world’s brokenness and God’s patience toward His creation. He spoke to us about having patience with the Lord’s provision. I have heard these things before from many others, but they somehow carried more meaning this time. This guy was in a far worse situation than me. His hands were deformed, so he couldn’t work. And here he was—carrying a sign with an earnest cry for help from the people passing by. John’s joy was apparent in our conversation. He 
was content with waiting for the Lord to provide for His surgery.

Both of these guys held up mirrors to me. They both showed me things about my own walk God that I need to work on. This was a reminder that we all need way more grace than we think. This week, I am going to guard my joy, and push forward with perseverance. May the Lord be with me, and may the Lord 

be with you.

-Mario

Week 1

So looks like we made it down here safe and sound. It was quite a packed car and quite a packed week! Besides meeting the people on project, this week has been about getting to know the people of Santa Monica. Surprisingly, Santa Monica is incredibly diverse. People range in age, color, orientation, SES, style, and beliefs. I feel like I am in the shrunken, to scale, version of the world. I got to ask people about what they believe is the purpose of life. Some people answered to love, some said to work, and some believe this question is irrelevant. Personally, I would agree that to extend love to others is a great purpose of my life. I think if anything, love increases the quality of life. While it may be scientifically argued that love is unnecessary to sustain life, I think life would be unfortunate without love. My question is, what is life apart from love? Reworded, what is life without relationships? I think one of the greatest blessings about life, is the privilege of "doing life" with others. I love chatting with people while running errands or even just sitting in silence as I wait for my clothes to dry at the laundry mat next to my roommate. I have been learning a lot about love and experiencing the author of love Himself. It is incredible to be in a place where such great Love resides. I am excited for what is to come and how God plans to use all of us this summer.
-Sarah


#lovin'&livin'life





Hello all! I want to start by saying that I am so grateful for where God has placed me this summer. I'm still not quite sure how I ended up here, but I know that it is where God wants me. I know some of you may think that I am on a spiritual high right now as a missionary in Santa Monica, and its true, but I want to clarify. I know it is easy for people to have feelings of being so close to God when they spend a week or month or year serving Him, and I do, but I am not saying these things because I am in a "moment". God has shown me His love, grace, power, friendship, among many other things in the week I've been here. I have been trained in evangelism, been out finding peoples' worldviews, sharing the gospel with strangers, praising God through prayer, fellowship, studying His word, being discipled, and just spending quality time with Him, something I think that if we really asked ourselves if we do it enough, would say no. I have also had a great time getting to know the other 80+ students and staff, playing frisbee golf on the beach, touring Santa Monica, and playing guitar. Well that's it for now! Gotta go early and set up for dinner, finally gonna ride my scooter out to the church, something I've been waiting for Hope you are all well, and please continue to pray for Santa Monica Summer Project 2012. God Bless!
-Cody


Hey, everyone! I'm having a God-centered time so far! We are all finishing up our first week of the project; And I have to say, This is turning out to be more than what I bargained for. So far, we spent our first week very structured. During the day, everyone goes out and looks for a summer job. The rest of the day is spent in fellowship with one another. Everyday at 5:30pm, we have dinner together at a Church nearby, called Trinity Baptist. And that's how it's gonna be for the rest of the project. What a great way to live in community! I really am hoping I find a job soon. Yesterday, God beckoned me to trust Him more with such areas of my life. I'm still not quite sure what that looks like, but I have an idea... We have gone out to get people to take surveys of their worldview in the Santa Monica area. I have witnessed the climate of Santa Monica. It's a lot like the one at Sacramento State. Haven't been given the opportunity to share the Good News with anyone willing to listen. But I know that tis' the Lord's will that we still move forth with the Good News. Of all the people I spoke to, none know the Lord and His goodness.. Please pray for this mission. And pray for the people I reach out to.
-Mario

|START| - Team CruatSacState

Welcome to our Santa Monica Journey. We are three students from a ministry at CSUS called Cru. Cru is "a community seeking to know and trust Christ and be empowered to love and impact others throughout Sac State, the Capitol and the world." This summer, we have the privilege of joining the Santa Monica Summer Project for eight weeks with 75 other college students from across the nation. Some of you may be wondering what summer project is and why we chose to apply to Santa Monica.


Well let us give you the scoop. To concise our reasoning and explanation into two words, we are going to Santa Monica to: serve God. Our desire is to love and impact others. So this summer, we are STARTing in Santa Monica. We don't know what the next stop is yet, but when we figure that out, we will be sure to create an appropriate blog =]. We all applied to this specific project for various reasons. But honestly, for most of us, we were not even sure if we were willing to drop all our plans this summer, QUIT our jobs, and seriously consider surrendering everything. However, what we can testify to is this: we believe our life, our dreams, our talents, our money is minuscule in comparison to the abundant, joyful, COMPLETE life found in Christ. 


Some of you are probably thinking we are crazy as to give up everything and may think that the existence Jesus is an even more ridiculous thought. We invite you ESPECIALLY to follow our journey =], because we cannot wait to tell you about how He will be working in our lives and the lives of others this summer. We are literally bursting with excitement. We are unashamed to let you know that our life, this project, is about sharing the love of Jesus to others.


Our journey officially STARTs June 15th. Some of you may have already received a letter from one of us regarding this project. We need all your prayers, support, & encouragement. We each must raise $3100 to be able to live in Santa Monica for two months [travel, housing, &food]. If you would like to support us financially you can do so online by the following links:


Sarah Nguyen: 
https://give.ccci.org/give/VirtualCommonLinks/process/newGift/5656268?Desig=5656268
Cody Schilling:
https://give.ccci.org/give/VirtualCommonLinks/process/newGift/5650639?Desig=5650639
Mario Gonzales 
https://give.ccci.org/give/VirtualCommonLinks/process/newGift/5621413?Desig=5621413
*all donations are tax deductible if you did not know


We truly appreciate all our family and friend's support. We can not express enough gratitude for enabling us to fulfill God's calling and purpose for our lives. 


Because of His grace,
Sarah, Cody, & Mario