Sorry...

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I seem to be getting busier as the year goes on. I have several things to share with you all.

The leaders of Campus Crusade at Bethel have been praying for revival here. We read a book called Fireseeds, which is all about revival and the prayer process. One of the things that a revival on our campus would require is that a few people must be stirred for revival and must begin to continuously prayer. We have that group on our campus. The next thing that is required is that those few students ask others to join them in prayer. That's where we are currently at. Usually our weekly meeting lasts about an hour, but since the beginning of March they have gone over because students have felt the need to stay and pray. It encourages me to see so many students begin to really have a heart for prayer. Doors are being opened and the spirit is moving.

Also in March, I had spring break. Usually I don't do much over spring break, but this year I decided to go on a mission trip with Campus Crusade for Christ. We made a trip to Chicago where we stayed in the Agape Center on the South Side of Chicago. I had an amazing time. I got the opportunity to choose three ministries sites to work with. I worked at the Pacific Garden Mission, Kids Club Cabrini, and Roseland Christian Mission.

Pacific Garden Mission is a homeless mission that houses approximately 1000 people a night. I had the opportunity to work in the kitchen for the day where we served between 250 to 300 people just at lunch. After we were finished working they gave us a tour of the facility. They offer a Bible program that allows people to earn a degree in Bible study while they live and work at the facility. That have a lard library that contains all donated materials, computers, and software. They also have a full medical clinic where people who don't have insurance can come and get free medical services. There are two doctors and a few nurses who are employed there and several volunteers doctors and nurses. One of the ways that they raise money to run the mission is through the broadcast of their radio show "Unshackled." Which shares stories of some amazing conversions.

Kids Club Cabrini is an after school program that about 100 kids from the Cabrini area participate in. It gives the kids a place to come that is safe. One of the Kids Club principles is that they want to build the kids' mind, bodies, and souls. They expand the Kids' minds by providing tutoring after school for them. They help the kids take care of their bodies by providing them with healthy snacks, teaching the kids to brush their teeth and providing them with fun activities that allow them to exercise. Each day the kids have a chapel service where they get the opportunity to be involved in every aspect of it to help them build strong souls in the Lord. The Kids Club theme verse is John 10:10 b. The volunteers want the kids to have life and have it abundantly.

At the Roseland Christian Mission we spent the morning just talking to the people who come in to get out of the cold. They had so many different stories about where they had come from. It totally changed my perspective of homeless people. There were so many people who came to get warm and eat and then go out and look for a job. One of the men I talked to was so excited that he had a job interview. He asked me to pray that he would find a job and so we prayed together before he left. I don't know if he got the job or not, but I know that as long as he puts his trust in God he will be provided for.

While in Chicago we also got to do some sight seeing. The first day we broke into groups of about ten and got to ride the EL to a certain community in Chicago. My group went to West Ridge, which is a Pakistani, East Indian, & Jewish Community. While there we got to interact with the people in the community. We ate at an Israeli restaurant which was delicious but quite spicy. So we then made a trip to a Pakistani pharmacy to buy some tums. We also stopped at a Jewish bakery where we all shared a chocolate baklava (I'm not certain how to spell that). We finished up the day at Water Tower Place where we ate at food life and shared the stories of our day. We also went to China town for an evening meal at House of Fortune and we had Chicago style pizza. All in all, it was a great experience.

Now that there are only about two weeks of classes left things are getting incredibly busy. I'm getting ready for finals and getting ready for a lecture that I have to give in my Cancer Biology course in place of a final. The Campus Crusade leadership team is currently planning the first six weeks of the fall semester. I would appreciate it if you would keep us in your prayers as we continue to brainstorm for ideas that would provide us with opportunities to create relationships and share the gospel.

Now I'm tired and I believe I'll go to bed.