Only two weeks left

I don’t even know where to begin! So much has happened since the last time I blogged. It has been crazy busy here. After the men’s time on July 7^th, I met with the co-director Blake for our peer-to-peer discipleship. We had a soul-to-soul time which was awesome. We got to expose sin and just learn more about each other and how we can help encourage each other as brothers in Christ. Later that night we worked. I got off of work at about 12:30, came back to the resort and by 2:30 I was on the road to Cape Canaveral with a bunch of project friends to watch the shuttle launch. We got to a place called Titusville, FL at about 4 am and slept overnight in our cars. 4 guys to one compact car made it extremely crowded. We woke up a few short hours later. It honestly felt like the end of the world. There were people everywhere; At mcdonald’s there was an hour long wait just to use the bathrooms. Cars were parked everywhere you looked all alongside of the road and people had tents on the sidewalks. We got to the pier which had hundreds of people on it, and at 11:30 we got to see the final shuttle launch ever! It was so exciting and it was so worth the lack of sleep and the 5 hour drive home with all of the bumper to bumper traffic. That night I worked, and we went out to eat with some co-workers including Simon. It’s always fun to go out to eat with our co-workers after work because we always have good conversations. Saturday morning, the women’s co-director and I met with all of the disciplers and we went over the material that they would be using when they meet with their disciples. Afterwards we met as a directors team and talked about how things were going. We didn’t get a lot of time to talk, and it felt very rushed. That night work went well, and we went out to eat again with co-workers. Sunday morning at church, the pastor talked on Mark 6 and just the importance of sharing the gospel and living that out all the time. After church, a bunch of us went to Clearwater Beach and hung out there for the afternoon and evening. It was a lot of fun to be able to relax and spend time with project friends. I was feeling really discouraged and stressed out though, and my friend Nathan who is interning in Florida this summer and has been doing a lot of project activities with us, just listened and spoke some truth to me. I really needed that and it was so helpful.

The next day, Monday, we had our first bible study without the staff present and the 3 student leaders did a great job in leading the discussion. We talked about purity, which is a pretty intense subject to talk about in a co-ed setting but they did a great job and we wound up separating men and women for the more personal discussion part. After that I went out to lunch with my friend Leslie. We had been hanging out more and talked about the possibility of starting a relationship in the near future. And last Monday, July 11, 2011 we went out to eat and we decided to start dating! I’m so excited for this new relationship and what God is going to do through it. God has done so much healing in my life this summer, and I’m so thankful that he has provided me with a relationship with a beautiful Godly woman. She is from California and goes to Chico State. It will definitely be a long distance relationship, but it will work if we are very intentional about the time we spend together. That night I worked, and after work we went out to eat with co-workers again. That night we invited our friend Leon who is from Brazil to come with us. Blake and I got into an awesome spiritual conversation with him, and we talked a lot about his beliefs spiritually, and after we heard his beliefs he asked us to share ours. We got to share the Gospel with him! So sweet! God works in awesome ways. It was a lot of fun just chatting with him and hanging out.

The next morning I picked up Simon and he came with the rest of our project to Magic Kingdom for a prayer walk. A group of 5 of us went to each one of our work locations and prayed over them. It was so cool and encouraging for me to have Simon with us and to hear him pray. God has been working in huge ways in his life the past few weeks. After the prayer time, Simon, Leon, and Alejandra (Simon’s girlfriend) and I hungout in the park and that was a lot of fun. Alejandra left early, so it was just the three of us. I had such a great time with Simon and Leon. It’s been sweet for me getting to know Leon especially because Simon would be leaving soon. Even though he would be leaving, God provided another guy to get to know and invest in! That night we worked, and after work we went out to eat again with a huge group of co-workers including Leon and we had a great time laughing and sharing funny work stories.

On Wednesday our project went to UCF to go sharing the gospel. A lot of us were extremely exhausted including myself, because I was running off of like 4 hours of sleep per night. I honestly didn’t want to go sharing at all. God definitely works even in our brokenness though, and it was so evident that day. Leslie and I met a guy who was about to get on his bike. We asked him if he would be interested in going through a survey with us and he said yes. We asked the first few questions, and then asked him what happens after death and he said that he believed in heaven and God but he wasn’t really sure about hell. He also shared that he used to go to church but got really busy in high school and basically stopped going. He also said that he believed being a Christian was to live a good life. The last question we asked him was his desire to know God and he said a 10/10! We asked him if we could share the KGP (knowing God personally booklet) with him and he said sure. We explained to him the gospel and just stressed that it’s not about works, but all about God’s grace. I read the prayer to him and asked him if he would like to pray to receive Christ. Honestly I was expecting him to say that he would do it on his own time, but he said sure. He also said that he had never heard anything like it before! So we prayed with Jarrett right then and there to receive Christ! God is so good and provides people that are ready to hear at the perfect time in the midst of our weaknesses. Later that day we had a Christmas in July party and a lot of co-workers came to that which was sweet. After the party, Simon got off work and Leslie and I went to pick him up. We played some games and then Simon and I went to the hot tub and talked for a really long time.

The next morning, I went to say goodbye to Simon, and some tears were shed. I hadn’t cried in a really long time. It was so hard to say goodbye already to such an awesome friend. I’m so glad that I was able to get to know him and be his friend at the perfect time. I can’t wait to see him again! After I said goodbye, we had men’s time and played a game and talked about 2 Timothy again and about accepting responsibility as men. Thursday was my day off so a group of us went to hang out at Hollywood Studios, then we got some dinner at Cici’s Pizza and that night a couple of us watched a movie and just relaxed. It was a much needed day of rest!

Friday I slept in for the first time in weeks and that night it was back to work.

Saturday morning the women’s co-director, Ashton, and I met with the disciplers again and it went really well. Afterwards all 4 of us directors had a much needed lunch and meeting. We prayed and went over scripture and just talked about everything that we had been feeling. It was so great. That night was back to work again. At work I invited Leon to come to church with us and he said he would!

On Sunday morning we picked up Leon and went to church. It was the first time that he had ever been to a church besides a catholic mass. The pastor talked pretty intensely on the prosperity gospel, and I was honestly doubting how well Leon would respond. God knew exactly what he was doing though, and Leon asked for a bible during the message, followed along intently, and afterwards he told me that he really enjoyed it! After church a bunch of us went to the pastor’s home for lunch where he spoke about his story. There were over 100 students from Campus Outreach and our project combined! Sunday afternoon Leslie and I finally got to talk after not having seen each other in a couple days. It’s so hard because we have opposite work schedules, so we have to be so intentional about our time together. That night it was back to work again, and afterwards we went out to eat with our co-worker Valentin from France. It was a lot of fun hanging out with him, and I am praying that God will soften his heart because he is very apathetic about spiritual things.

Monday morning was bible study, and we talked about the Holy Spirit and what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Afterwards a few of us guys went to lunch and had a massive bowl of ice cream for our friend Derek’s birthday. We finished it, surprisingly! That evening I met with Kenny, one of the disciplers, and just got to hear his story and how he was doing and we went over some scripture together. It was really good and it was awesome because I was reading right before we met that when we pour out ourselves into others, God will pour right back into us through that. I definitely felt exhausted that day, but after I met with him I felt refreshed! Last night was work again, and it was great except for the fact that I burnt my hand! It wasn’t too bad, just really painful.

This morning we had prayer time and afterwards I went with two other girls to the mall to share the gospel. We got rejected about 5 times, and were about to leave when we came across a guy who said he would do the survey with us. I wound up getting to share the gospel with him which was awesome! After that conversation, the girls did Soularium ( a picture survey) with two girls that are in the Disney college program. One of them works with our friends at Main Street, U.S.A! How awesome is that, and they were able to share the gospel with those girls! Tonight is my 5^th day in a row of work, then it will be 2 days off! Please continue praying for me and my team here and for us to use our time wisely these last 2 weeks of project!

Berto

Mid-Project

Every week God has shown up in so many ways. On Saturday we met as an entire project to find out which students would be taking on what leadership roles because the staff leaves mid-way through project. I was selected to be one of 4 project directors. I am so excited and yet nervous at the same time for this. Leading a summer project is something that can only be done by depending on God. God has been teaching me so much this summer on how a leader should be. In the past I’ve always seen leaders as people who have it all together and seem like they are on a higher spiritual level. The very first week of my summer, that image of leadership in my mind was drastically changed. My discipler, Phillip, was so open and vulnerable in our soul-to-soul time. By sharing his story with us, it was so much easier to relate to him and his struggles. I look up to him so much more for sharing all of his junk with us than if he seemed like he just had it all together. That’s what I want to be as a director this summer. The staff directors even told us that they didn’t choose us because we are more spiritual or have it all together, they chose us because of our openness and vulnerability. I want to continue to be open and vulnerable as I help lead this project. I’ve also been learning about Christ’s ultimate example of leadership. He was a servant, and he humbled himself. As I lead this project with 3 other students, our goal should be to serve the students on project and glorify God! I am so excited for our leadership team because the 4 of us are so different in our gifts and abilities, but we complement each other and get along so well. Ultimately this isn’t about us at all, but it’s about what God is going to do this summer and knowing that it’s a lot easier to step into this type of role. At work on Saturday night, my friend Simon from Colombia (the one who I mentioned before who has felt such distance from God since being in the U.S.) and I talked for a long time as he was leaving work. We talked about hanging out more and he said he was going to come visit me in Minnesota and that I should come to Colombia! That night a bunch of us went to IHOP after work. We invited our friend Romain from France and got to get into a great conversation with him. He asked us why we didn’t live in the normal Disney housing and we told him we were with a Christian organization called Campus Crusade for Christ. He said he hadn’t been to church in over 2 years. He really wants to come to church with us sometime!

At church on Sunday, the pastor talked on how the Jewish authorities rejected Jesus’ authority and how that relates to the way we are today. Even as Christians, we reject Jesus anytime we sin. I reject Jesus so many ways in my life and it is so evident that I am in desperate need of a Savior! Later that afternoon, Danny and I met with our friend Tyler and continued talking about spiritual things. I was able to share my testimony more and the way God has transformed my life and how my views of God have changed. Meeting with Tyler has been a huge challenge and an opportunity for growth for me because I have never had an atheist friend before and he asks a lot of questions, many of which I don’t know the answer to. Ultimately though, no matter how smart I sound or how much I know it’s only God who will change his heart and the gospel is what is the power of God unto salvation! Work went well that night, even though it was extremely busy being the day before the 4^th of July.

On Monday, we had bible study and we continued talking on Ephesians. It was the first student-led bible study and it was really encouraging to see my friends step up and lead. Later I met with my discipler for the last time to go over a vision plan. He made a binder with all the strengths He sees in me, as well as areas I need to work on. It was pretty sweet and the nicest thing a discipler has ever done for me. I look up to Phil so much, and I’m really going to miss having him around. Monday night was another good night of work. I washed trays like I do almost every day, which is awesome because it’s my favorite job to do. We didn’t get to see the 4^th of July fireworks, but we did get to hear them, so I guess that’s okay. After work on Monday, we went to Steak N Shake. Some friends from work came. One of them is mormon, and we got into a good conversation on just what she believes, and I’m praying God continues to give us open doors so we can continue to share the gospel with her. One of my other friends, Alex from Minnesota and I got into a good conversation and he shared with me a little bit of his involvement with cru back at his school in Wisconsin. It was a really fun night!

Tuesday morning we had prayer and share time and Phillip and I got to go sharing together one last time. We talked to a lady from England who was a solid believer and we got to share a booklet on the Holy Spirit called satisfied. After that we talked to a young boy about 14, and went through a survey. When we asked his desire to know God he said a 6. We asked him if he would like to read a booklet called Knowing God personally. He said yes and by the end he indicated that He wanted to trust in Christ! This same kid earlier answered that he had never thought about God or what happens after death. God is so good and provides people all the time that are ready to hear the gospel, we just need to step out in faith and do it! Tuesday was my day off, so several of us went to the theme parks, along with Phil since he had an extra pass to use before he left. It was great to be able to hangout and relax and spend the day with Phil. That night I picked up Simon from work and we went to Applebee’s for half-off apps. We continued talking about spiritual things and I got to share the satisfied booklet with him on the Holy Spirit, afterwards he asked if he could keep it and that he would read it again!

Wednesday morning we took our project picture with all of our costumes. Afterwards he had one last meeting with the staff and talked about conflict resolution. Then I went to pick up Simon, and the rest of the afternoon we did a relay race with the whole project then hungout and relaxed. Several friends from work came, and it was so awesome to see the fruit of what we’re doing finally here. That night was our mid-project banquet. It was so bittersweet. We shared stories of what God has done, especially at work. I shared the story of how I met a guy from work, and randomly sat by him in the break room one day and he told me he was a Christian. I also said that we hungout and he said he had been feeling very distant from God since he’s been here. I then shared that that friend was Simon and that he was sitting right next to me. It was so emotional because Simon was crying as I was talking, and I teared up to. I am so thankful to the Lord for providing the friendship with Simon (he is in the picture with me above). We also said our goodbyes to the staff who would be leaving the next morning. My friend Derek, from my soul-to-soul group shared how much Phil had meant to him and his walk with Christ and crying. I began to tear up as he shared about our time with Phil that first week and how it really set the tone for an awesome summer. Later we all went back to the resort and hungout.

This morning was our first day without staff, and my friend Chad lead our men’s time. I already feel our unity increasing on project, especially over the last day, and I am so excited to see what God continues to do here this summer.

Berto

Week 5

God continues to do awesome things here in Florida! Last weekend was pretty challenging for me. It was really hard to find joy in my job. Working fast food can get very disgusting and I was also getting impatient with people. Definitely evidence of how sinful I am and how I won’t meet my expectations of how I should act. Sunday however, something changed and I started to find a lot of joy in working. Before work on Sunday I went to Celebration Church and the pastor went in depth on Mark 5 and on Jesus’ healing ministry. After church, a family invited all college students who were in Florida doing ministry projects over to their home for lunch. It was such a blessing to get a free meal and we got to connect with other students who were working at places like Sea World and Universal Studios with the same mission that we have: to see lost students trust in Christ! Sunday night we went out to eat with some of our work friends at IHOP after work and that was a lot of fun to be able to hang out with them outside of work. Monday morning we had bible study and we talked about Ephesians 2, one of my favorite passages of scripture. We talked about what it meant to be dead in sin, and that only because of God’s love and mercy does he send his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross and that salvation is a free gift, not by our works. It was so great to be reminded of that. Tuesday morning we had our prayer and share time, which was really encouraging. During share time, we sent messages out to friends over facebook so that we could start spiritual conversations with them. After that, Phillip and I went sharing and we got to talk to a man from Brazil! He couldn’t understand the questions on the survey very well, but then his wife came over and helped translate. His desire to know God personally was a high 9, so then I asked him if he wanted to go through the knowing God personally booklet and he said yes. I explained the gospel to him, while his wife helped translate a little bit. In the end I asked him if he wanted to trust Christ and he said yes! It was so cool to see that because this man was on vacation in Florida for just one week, and he had probably never heard the gospel before. It was also great to have a good conversation after getting rejected a few times earlier that day. On Wednesday we had our project men’s and women’s days. Us men went to a state park and went canoeing for a while down to a rope swing and jumped in and swam. The way back was a race. It was intense because it was down pouring and the water had alligators in it, but It was sweet! My team won the race because both of our canoes finished before other teams. After that race we had some down time and then had another race that included a long distance run, a short sprint, a downhill run, a long swim, and another long swim. I swam the first distance, and it was so tough! My team wound up winning again because we got our time cut off because we won the first race. After the races we had a cookout and talked about what it means to be a man in God’s eyes and connected our races to the R.A.C.E model we have for the summer: Reject passivity, accept responsibility, courageously lead, and expect the greater reward! After our talk, we were all blindfolded and were taken in cars, then walked a long distance in a line. We then took our blindfolds off and we were challenged to each of the 4 points in the race model. Yesterday I was able to spend the afternoon with some of my coworkers, which was a lot of fun. I got into a really good conversation with one of them that was a Christian, but had been feeling really distant from God since coming to the U.S. He seemed so happy to finally be with Christians again after so long, and he is planning on coming to church with us on Sunday! I’m really excited for that. Today I was able to finally sleep in, and tonight I go back to work! Please continue to pray for our team here that we would depend on God and walk moment by moment in the Spirit. Also, our staff is leaving next week and the project leadership will be handed over to us as students. We are both excited and nervous about this!

Berto