Hey all! What a crazy couple of weeks it has been. I arrived in Florida on the 31st, and things have been non-stop and on-the-go ever since. The first week in Florida involved getting to know everyone, moving in, training, and some fun things. Our housing is great. We’ve been blessed with an awesome contract with the Mike Ditka Resort. They gave us a great deal for our summer project. My team consists of 39 students from around the country and several Campus Crusade staff members. The day we arrived we had a BBQ and afterwards we went to downtown Disney for a scavenger hunt. It was great getting to know everyone and build unity through the hunt. The next day we began “surfer’s training”. The entire day was devoted to learning about ministry at Disney, we also started our “4-sevens” booklet which is a tool that dives into the book of Luke and we use it for our times with the Lord every day. That evening we went grocery shopping, and my roommates and I made our first dinner together. It was a great time of bonding! The next morning we went to the Walt Disney World casting center to get our final paperwork finished so that we could begin employment the next week. After that we got into small groups with our disciple and had soul-to-soul. My disciple is on staff in Denver and is an awesome guy, he and I and three other guys spent the next several hours sharing our life stories and had a great time connecting on a deeper level. It was pretty intense, but it felt so amazing to share what was going on in my life. The next day we had “surfer’s training” once again and talked about how to multiply our faith, and share the gospel relationally which is what we’ll be doing with our co-workers at Walt Disney World. That night we had some fun and went to an indoor surf place. It was fun seeing a few people succeed, and a LOT of people fall! The next day (Saturday) we went to downtown Orlando to share the Gospel. I went with my friend Derek and we talked to a few people. Most of the people we talked to were already Christian. The last conversation we got into was with two college students, a guy and girl. The guy was a Christian, but the girl wasn’t. When we asked the question “What do you believe happens after death?” the girl answered with “nothing”. This broke our hearts. People are hurting and need to hear the gospel, but only God can soften hearts. I pray that God softens her heart, because there is so much more than this life! That night was one of the most intense nights ever. We had men’s time. We were required to run 2 miles, army crawl several feet through sand, do push-ups, squats, and get all of the guys over a raised bar with “burdens” on us. It was probably the most challenging thing I have ever done. We finished though, and had a great bonding time as men of God. On Sunday I visited a church with several students and the pastor knows John Piper well and worked with him at Bethlehem Baptist church. It was sweet visit a church similar to mine in St. Cloud. The rest of the day was time to rest and relax.
Monday was my 20th birthday, so my roommates made breakfast for me and we celebrated with almost the whole project. We had over 40 people in our apartment! It was so nice to still get to celebrate my birthday even if I wasn’t at home. That night we heard from a man who used to be the head honcho at the Epcot park (one of the theme parks at Walt Disney World). He was a Christian. It was awesome to see that God can place Christians in huge roles at a secular company like Walt Disney World. He was even able to share his story with several people he worked with. The next day was Disney Traditions which was technically our first day of work. For 8 hours we learned all about the company and it’s history. At the end of 8 hours we were finally given our badges and Ids and which get us into the parks for free. That night we spent hanging out at the Magic Kingdom. Wednesday we learned about time management in the morning, and then we headed out to the Campus Crusade world headquarters. It was awesome to see and hear about what God is doing around the world in and through all the different ministries within Campus Crusade. That evening the national directors of the U.S. ministry had us over for dinner, and we got to connect with them and hear their story. They were extremely down to earth and easy to talk to, which you don’t see in many people so high up within an organization. Thursday morning we had another men’s time and talked about 2 Timothy and Paul and Timothy’s relationship. Afterwards I met with my discipler and we went and shared the gospel at a mall. We prayed that God would provide someone ready to hear the Gospel. Well, he answered our prayers! The first guy we talked to shared that he was unsure about life and that he thought nothing happened after death, but he indicated that he wanted to know God personally. We shared the knowing God personally booklet with him, and he indicated that he wanted to trust Christ! It was so awesome and encouraging to see someone want to trust Christ right away, and I’m almost positive he had never heard the gospel before. Afterwards Phillip and I just talked about life and looked at some scripture and asked how we could pray for each other. That evening several of us went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios which was a lot of fun. The next day I had to fly back to Minnesota, and I spent the weekend at Shawn’s wedding. Shawn is one of my best friends and him and his now wife (Jayme) are definitely going to glorify the Lord in their marriage! Sunday I flew back to Florida and as soon as I walked back into my condo (the cabana) I was greeted with everyone worshipping and praying together. It was great to see the unity increase among our group, because even if we are all different we are all here for the purpose of seeing lost people changed by Jesus Christ. This morning we had some more training and got to get our costumes. Tonight is our first bible study which I am really looking forward to! Tomorrow is my first day on the job at Cosmic Ray’s Café (the second busiest restaurant in the WORLD)! I am so excited to meet my coworkers and build relationships with them!
Berto :)
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