Community & World Vision

Dear all,

I don’t even know where to begin. The past few weeks have changed my life. I wish I could go into detail about everything that’s been going on, but I’d probably end up writing a novel. I’ll do my best to fill you all in on how God has been moving here since project started.

The theme for week two was “all for one.” To be honest, this week was so challenging for me. Although it was hard, it was so incredibly impactful and vital for my walk. It’s one thing to simply say that community is important, but it’s another thing for that truth to pierce deep into your heart. That’s how God used this week in my life. He revealed to me that I constantly keep others at a distance and fight this battle called life on my own. I rely on my own strength and don’t open up to others. Although it is extremely hard for me to let people in, God has been making it known to me that I literally can’t do it on my own. He has showed me that I have so many people in my life that want to pursue Christ with me and that it’s about time that I let them. He’s right (Duh, he’s God). Reflecting on this week made me think of a sermon I heard by Tim Chaddick a while ago. During his talk he focused on these two verses: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:24-25). Tim digs deep into these two verses, but I just want to leave you all with one thing he said that really stuck with me. “Is Jesus the Good Shepherd who loves you and pursues you so much that he leaves the 99 to go after the one? Absolutely! But he doesn't leave the one by himself. He takes the one to the 99. He is the shepherd of the flock and his concern then is not only for us to grow as individual people, but to grow together.”

The theme of week three was “world vision.” Before I explain how this week impacted my life, I want to share a few verses:

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mark 16:15).

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24: 46-49).

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:21-23).

Wow...let's just say I didn't expect world vision week to affect me the way that it did. This week gave me a better idea of the cultural barriers that hinder the gospel from reaching the hearts of people around the world. We did an activity which was such a great parallel of sharing the gospel with different countries around the world. I'd share specifics with you all, but I don't want to spoil it for future Ocean City students. Basically though, God showed me His heart for the nations; He showed me that He wants me to be a part of His mission to reach others around the world. God has been continually breaking my heart for the lost during this project. He has been giving me compassion for His people. At this moment, I do not know where or how long God is calling me to go on mission, but I do know that He is calling me. Through this week, God showed me that I desire comfort. It's so easy to get caught up in the American life. It's so easy to chase after things in this life that don't have eternal value. It's so easy to make excuses of why I shouldn't live life on mission. I want to share something one of the staff members said that really hit me: “Move from I’m gonna stay unless God gives me a special call to go, to I’m gonna go unless God gives me a special call to stay.”

There is a lot more I would like to share with you all, but I’ll have to wait until my next blog post. Thank you for taking the time to see how God has been moving in my life and in Ocean City. I’d really appreciate it if you guys would keep me and this project in your prayers. God is moving in incredible ways here and I can’t wait to share how He uses the rest of this summer.

In Christ,

Daniel

Hello Ocean City!

Hey everyone!

I’m officially in Ocean City, New Jersey! I’m here for the summer on a mission project until mid-August with about a hundred other students from colleges around the nation. I’ve been on project for a full week now and so much has happened already. As a quarter student, I arrived on project about two weeks after it officially began. To be honest the first week of project was a bit overwhelming. There was just so much going on at one time so trying to balance all of it wasn’t the easiest thing to do.

Each week on project is given a specific theme which is meant to stretch us in a specific area; for example, this past week was “Killing the Giants” week. We were being stretched in the area of evangelism. We were asked to make two personal goals: (1) the amount of spiritual conversations we hoped to have, and (2) an evangelistic fear that we hoped to conquer. An evangelistic fear can be something like sharing the gospel to a large group of people or with someone close to us. I don’t have much experience with sharing my faith with people so last week was a huge learning experience.

It was really intimidating to be jumping in on project during this week. I tend to have a lot of fears when it comes to sharing with people, but God used last week to put a lot of those fears to rest.  Our goal as a whole last week was 5,112 spiritual conversations. We ended the week with over 5,300 spiritual conversations. Out of those conversations, 149 people indicated decisions to accept Christ into their lives!!!

The more I go out sharing with people, the more I realize that it can actually be a really fun experience. Although I have been rejected by well over 100 people by now and have had some pretty tough situations thrown my way, it’s all worth it. A few nights ago I was with my friend Jeff; we were able to go through a picture survey called Solarium with some guys. We talked to them for quite a while. I’ve learned that people are willing to be extremely open about their lives if you show them that you care and that you’re willing to listen and to be patient with them.

I went out sharing on the boardwalk the other day with my buddy Jeremy from UCLA.  We got rejected a few times but eventually we ended up talking to these three guys. After we went through a survey and shared the gospel with them, they all prayed to receive Christ into their lives! That was the first time any of the conversations I have had with people ended that way so I was so stoked! I am so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to be a part of the work He is doing here in Ocean City.

I also wanted to share that I finally got a job!!! I’ll be working part time at a local grocery store called Super Fresh for the rest of the summer. I start tomorrow as a grocery clerk!

One last thing before I let you all go: I still haven’t raised all of the support I need to pay for project yet so if you all could be praying for me I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. I’ll definitely post more blogs so I can keep you all updated on the rest of my summer here in Ocean City.

With Love,

Daniel