And it's over...
The semester, that is. And I can scarcely believe it. It's a little crazy, all that God has done in my life in the past few months. I invite you to join me on a journey of relflection on the God's goodness, God's provision, God's steadfastness, and His many other characteristics. Where to start?
Before I get into what God has been doing, I want to ask for some prayer. A good friend of mine, who has truly been a blessing from God to me this semester, lost her baby this week. It has been rough. I am finding more and more that God has broken my heart for others who are hurting, and sometimes it makes life difficult for me too. Please pray that I would have the strength, the love, and the encouragement to care for this friend, even as I am at home for Christmas. Please pray for her and her husband as well, because this was their first baby and they have been trying for a while to concieve. It's particularly hard at this time of the year. I won't divulge their names on the internet, but please just pray. Thanks. Enough sad stuff...on to good things!
I was nervous beginning this semester. I was worried that no-one would come to SWAT, that I wouldn't get along with my new on-campus supervisor, and that working with my new area director would be difficult. I worried about support raising and asking people for money. I stressed out over my leadership team, and I stressed even more about things I did or did not do. But, let me just tell you a little bit about how God has worked through these things.
God has been incredibly faithful in bringing amazing students to SWAT. This group may be smaller, and I may be taking fewer students to Jubilee this year, but it doesn't matter. They are willing to stretch themselves, and they are willing to be vulnerable in a group. But not only did God bring students to SWAT. He brought students into my life who wanted to attend church as well. I have taken at least two students to Pond Bank each week this semester. But God didn't see fit to stop there, even! He brought Angelika into my life. She is a deaf student who really wanted to go to a church that had an interpreter. It just so happens that a friend of mine from Pond Bank is an interpreter and pulled her connections to get me into a sign language class, as well as to get an interpreter there and paid for anytime Angelika wants to go to church. It's amazing the way God works.
Kim, my new on-campus supervisor, is not just an AWESOME boss, but also has become a great friend. I really like the way she thinks, and we definitely work well together. God brings everyone into my life for a reason, and professional development is definitely part of the reason Kim is there for me. She cares about me as a person, as well as professionally. She holds me to a higher standard. It's nice. And she's on my side and will help me out with anything I need, and will let me know if I do something wrong.
The same goes for my new CCO area director (that's CCO lingo for boss). Charity is also awesome. She and I are pretty similar, so she has be pegged pretty well. She can usually figure out what I am thinking and how I will react to certain things. It's nice. Granted, it's tough sometimes to have a boss who holds you accoutable to the things that you are supposed to be doing, as well as challenges you to go a step beyond that. But, I would rather have an involved, caring, questions-asking AD than one who is hands-off. I praise God for working things out to allow Charity to be my boss.
Support raising. Need I say more? Believe it or not, this is not my favorite part of the job. But, God provides. Jehovah-Jireh. So true. I worked my butt off over the summer and at the beginning of the semester trying to get my level of support up. At this time last year, I was barely, and I mean barely, making it. I was hardly at 30% of what my paycheck should have been. After a lot of prayer and prodding, I put the pedal to the metal and worked hard to figure out what being faithful in support raising actually looked like for me. For me, it's about relationships. I couldn't ask for better churches than the ones that take care of me in Franklin County. Pond Bank and Salem just to name two. It's not just about the money. I have found friends and community, and I am thankful for that. I am living in one of the church member's houses for the next three months to save money, as well as she is my support raising accountability partner. She rocks. I am proud to say that right now, thanks to God, Wendy, and lots of hard work, I am at about 50-60% of where I should be support-wise. I have a long way to go, but God is faithful and I am trying.
There are still more areas of my life where God has been faithful and good when I haven't been. He loves me and cares for me more than I deserve. I have been so selfish this past semester, and I haven't spent enough time with Him. Be looking for more reflections in the next few days. I am actually taking some time off over the Christmas holiday to process my semester and to see what I can do better in the future. Please pray for me as I go through this process. And have a wonderful and Blessed Christmas! I love you all! *hug*
Before I get into what God has been doing, I want to ask for some prayer. A good friend of mine, who has truly been a blessing from God to me this semester, lost her baby this week. It has been rough. I am finding more and more that God has broken my heart for others who are hurting, and sometimes it makes life difficult for me too. Please pray that I would have the strength, the love, and the encouragement to care for this friend, even as I am at home for Christmas. Please pray for her and her husband as well, because this was their first baby and they have been trying for a while to concieve. It's particularly hard at this time of the year. I won't divulge their names on the internet, but please just pray. Thanks. Enough sad stuff...on to good things!
I was nervous beginning this semester. I was worried that no-one would come to SWAT, that I wouldn't get along with my new on-campus supervisor, and that working with my new area director would be difficult. I worried about support raising and asking people for money. I stressed out over my leadership team, and I stressed even more about things I did or did not do. But, let me just tell you a little bit about how God has worked through these things.
God has been incredibly faithful in bringing amazing students to SWAT. This group may be smaller, and I may be taking fewer students to Jubilee this year, but it doesn't matter. They are willing to stretch themselves, and they are willing to be vulnerable in a group. But not only did God bring students to SWAT. He brought students into my life who wanted to attend church as well. I have taken at least two students to Pond Bank each week this semester. But God didn't see fit to stop there, even! He brought Angelika into my life. She is a deaf student who really wanted to go to a church that had an interpreter. It just so happens that a friend of mine from Pond Bank is an interpreter and pulled her connections to get me into a sign language class, as well as to get an interpreter there and paid for anytime Angelika wants to go to church. It's amazing the way God works.
Kim, my new on-campus supervisor, is not just an AWESOME boss, but also has become a great friend. I really like the way she thinks, and we definitely work well together. God brings everyone into my life for a reason, and professional development is definitely part of the reason Kim is there for me. She cares about me as a person, as well as professionally. She holds me to a higher standard. It's nice. And she's on my side and will help me out with anything I need, and will let me know if I do something wrong.
The same goes for my new CCO area director (that's CCO lingo for boss). Charity is also awesome. She and I are pretty similar, so she has be pegged pretty well. She can usually figure out what I am thinking and how I will react to certain things. It's nice. Granted, it's tough sometimes to have a boss who holds you accoutable to the things that you are supposed to be doing, as well as challenges you to go a step beyond that. But, I would rather have an involved, caring, questions-asking AD than one who is hands-off. I praise God for working things out to allow Charity to be my boss.
Support raising. Need I say more? Believe it or not, this is not my favorite part of the job. But, God provides. Jehovah-Jireh. So true. I worked my butt off over the summer and at the beginning of the semester trying to get my level of support up. At this time last year, I was barely, and I mean barely, making it. I was hardly at 30% of what my paycheck should have been. After a lot of prayer and prodding, I put the pedal to the metal and worked hard to figure out what being faithful in support raising actually looked like for me. For me, it's about relationships. I couldn't ask for better churches than the ones that take care of me in Franklin County. Pond Bank and Salem just to name two. It's not just about the money. I have found friends and community, and I am thankful for that. I am living in one of the church member's houses for the next three months to save money, as well as she is my support raising accountability partner. She rocks. I am proud to say that right now, thanks to God, Wendy, and lots of hard work, I am at about 50-60% of where I should be support-wise. I have a long way to go, but God is faithful and I am trying.
There are still more areas of my life where God has been faithful and good when I haven't been. He loves me and cares for me more than I deserve. I have been so selfish this past semester, and I haven't spent enough time with Him. Be looking for more reflections in the next few days. I am actually taking some time off over the Christmas holiday to process my semester and to see what I can do better in the future. Please pray for me as I go through this process. And have a wonderful and Blessed Christmas! I love you all! *hug*