The First Week

(Friday 8/29) This has been an incredibly tiring, but also fulfilling first week of school for me. Both in a physical and spiritual sense, I feel like God has been teaching me so much, stretching me, and revealing His plan for me. Starting Sunday, I have been meeting the new members of CRU, mainly freshman and transfer students and getting to know them. I can't even count the number of people I have gone up to and started conversations with, and the entire process has been so tiring! It is definitely not my first instinct to go up to people I don't even know and act outgoing and friendly, and to keep a conversation going. God has definitely been giving me strength and the words to speak, because I would not have lasted very long on my own! I have always been so afraid and timid when it comes to talking to new people, but for some reason I have been feeling strangely at peace and excited even to talk new people. Conversation has been something I always considered a weakness, but I know now that God has other plans for me. Just today I was reading in Exodus 3 and 4, where Moses was sent by God to Egypt to free the Israelites. As I read his excuses when summoned by God, I was taken back by how similar they appeared to my own. With God all things are possible, and He desires to use any willing heart to serve Him. Moses felt he was ill-equipped for the task that God has given him, but he ended up being used by God to do miraculous things. I feel as if God has been breaking me down to realize that I can be used, and I desire to be used, and if I allow God to stretch and use me, He will. Yesterday, for example, I went to Jon and Bon's with some of the CRU leaders and new girls from CRU. Then after, Annemarie and I stayed downtown at the Farmer's Market. We decided earlier this week we wanted to begin evangelizing, so we started last night. We prayed before we started, and during our prayer a lady sat down next to us. We decided that this was a sign from God to talk to her, so we went over and started a conversation. After a few minutes, Annemarie brought up CRU, and then we jumped into the new kind of evangelism we are trying out. It involves asking the person if they think they are a good person, then asking the person if they think they are a good person, then asking if we can judge that based on the Ten Commandments. After this, we asked if they think, based on their answer, that they're going to heaven. The story of Jesus comes in next. The first lady we talked to said no to the Ten Commandments question, but we still spent a few minutes chatting with her about the Bible and God. Then, we went to talk to another girl. It was now my turn to bring up CRU into the conversation. At first, I was nervous and stumbled over my words, a bit, but then I suddenly felt this change inside of me, and it was as if God was talking over, I don't even remember what I said, but I kept talking and asking questions. She seemed interested and even said she would try and come to CRU. After we left, I was filled with such joy of the Lord! I have never felt such a joyful feeling, and I felt as if this was what I was made for. God called us to tell others about Him, and the feeling it gave me was indescribable. God has been calling me to tell others about His name my entire Christian life, but only now did I fully try and listen and answer His call. I pray that yesterday would have been a turning point for me, and from now on I would feel overwhelmed by my strong desire to serve Him.