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