Summer

It was officially summer in Warrensburg last Monday which means I was able to start on my summer to-do list. It seems for every thing I have marked off in the last week I have added two more things. But I love it! I am excited to have time to think out and make the small changes that are going to have big impacts this next year. One project I finished last night was painting my wing-back chair in my apartment. A couple of years ago I was out for a walk with my friends and I saw this chair out on the curb in front of some one's house. We carried it back to my house. But as you can see it was pink with blue flowers. Ick! So I found instructions on how to paint upholstered furniture here and set off transforming my chair.



Before

After



Haiti update

There has been some exciting news posted on Facebook that I thought I would share with you today. Melonnie is one of the full-time missionaries at Northwest. She does Bible studies at the prison in Port -de-Paix and several brothels in Port-de-Paix and La Pointe. The the past few weeks 114 men and women who have listed to these Bible studies for the past two years have decided to follow God in baptism. This past week there were no more girls working at the brothel in La Pointe so the owner has decide to turn it into a restaurant. Meonnie still plans on doing Bible studies there every week.

Something To Eat

Last week CCH hosted a food packaging event on campus. Through Youthfront's Something To Eat program each student had the opportunity to pay $1.20 and assemble one package of food which would provide six meals. We had a tent set up Monday through Thursday for students to stop by.

Many of our students were able to give a presentation about Something To Eat in their classrooms and invited classmates to the tent afterwards. Several people came with the change they found in their purse or car. We had organizations come together as a group and assemble meals.

Our students did a fantastic job preparing for and running the event. By the end of the week we assembled more that 5,000 packages! That will feed more than 30,000 people!

If you want to watch the promo video click here

Spring Break part 2

We are home and back to work and school.

In Tennessee, God's creation was beautiful and the weather was perfect. The most repeated things students keep saying is how awesome it was that they could be themselves on this trip and were accepted. So many friendships were made this past week. I pray they continue and spread to others in our community.

At the beginning of our trip on Sunday morning we went to Crossings in Knoxville. Caleb taught on the book of Luke. Mark and Caleb came during the week and taught through the book of Nehemiah. I learned a lot and thought I would share a thought from my notes with you.

On Sunday I heard a parable I have heard probably a hundred times (and you probably have too), but this time I heard something differently. Luke 19:11- 24 says,
And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

By investing the money, the first and second servant were telling their master, the nobleman, they believe he will become king and they want him to become king. Because if he hadn't become king the servants would have lost the money. This isn't just a story about how to invest what God has given you. Jesus wants to know if you will risk everything and bet on him. Do you have the courage to risk what God has given you?

Here are a few picture from the trip...


Hiking to Chimny Tops



Just Dance



Knoxville

Spring Break

Last Saturday a group of 33 students and staff  left Warrensburg, MO headed for the a cabin in the Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge, TN. In the past three days we have gone shopping in Knoxville, taken a four mile hike to the top of Chimney Tops, white water rafted down Pigeon River, and played Just Dance. It has been a great trip of building community.

 Mark Nelson from Crossings Knoxville has come up each night to take us through the book of Nehemiah.  He has asked us some challenging questions requiring more than a one-word easy answer. Students are processing trough and asking each other to share their thoughts.

Pictures and more posts to come…

Change in routine

Today was an unusually warm day for February. In Warrensburg it was in the 60’s! I decided to walk on campus and spend some time outdoors. As I made my way to the benches in front of the Union I saw one of my old professors sitting and eating lunch with a couple of other professors. I stopped and said hi. We discussed some of my old classmates and where they are now and what they are up to. I told her some of what I have been doing at CCH and how I love it. We said our good-byes and I moved along.

 I found and empty bench and took The Screwtape Letters, my notebook, and a pencil out of my bag to start reading and writing notes for the community group members to discuss. I got about a chapter read before one of my friends, Jenna, passed by. She was headed inside the Union to get some cake. Apparently for 18 years now the university has had a 90% employment rate after graduation. So what better way to celebrate, then by giving its students free cake! I followed her inside. We each picked up a piece of chocolate cake and found a seat on a sofa.

Jenna told me she has been reading Leviticus, where God lays out the laws He wants the Israelites to follow. The more she read and studied the more she learned the things the Israelites were required to do in themselves had no significance but because God had commanded them was what made the acts worship to Him. We questioned and discussed why God set so many rules and how it is different from today. Beth Moore says, “Relationships are the goal of regulations.” In the Old Testament not everyone could have a relationship with God, but today it is possible.

Support Raising

I wanted to thank Raytown Christian Church for letting me come and speak with them this past Saturday. I had the opportunity to show a presentation about what I am doing as an intern at CCH to about 40 adults in my Grandpa and Grandma’s Sunday school class. There was a great response to what I had to say. I had a great time telling more people about the work I am doing. I hope to meet with more small groups and individuals in the future.