CUATRO!
…At least I learned something from four semesters of (online) college Spanish.
Only 4 more days until I board the plane for Santa Cruz, CA…and I couldn’t be more excited. I made this blog so that you can keep up with how God is using your prayers and financial support to change lives in California this summer.
To my ministry support&prayer team: I can’t thank you enough for your generosity. There are two parts to every mission: the goer…and the senders. THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for sending me. I’m so looking forward to sharing this experience with you.
To those of you who are wondering what on earth summer project is, this part is for you. This past semester, I got involved with an organization at UT called Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU, for short). In trying to think of how to explain CRU to y’all, the only words that came to my mind were “AWESOME,” “LIFE-CHANGING,” and “seriously, SOOOO SOOO AWESOME,” so I thought you’d get a better idea if I shared with you an excerpt from their website:
“When Bill and Vonette Bright first launched Campus Crusade for Christ as a campus ministry in 1951, the underlying concept was to ‘win the campus today and change the world tomorrow.’ More than 50 years later, the mission remains the same. Today, the campus ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ is a network of vibrant, growing movements on 1,029 campuses in the United States and beyond. CRU now has 26,000 full time staff and 550,000 trained volunteers worldwide serving on campuses and in community based ministries in 191 countries. The goal of the campus ministry is to help reach the 110 million college students of the world with the message of the gospel.”
Now onto answering the question “what is a summer project?”: summer projects are CRU’s summer missions that take place every summer. Students travel all over the world sharing the love and good news of Christ with all types of people in all types of places, not just college students on college campuses. Last year, 3,500 students participated in Campus Crusade summer projects in 216 locations in 51 countries. In January, I applied for the Santa Cruz summer project. About two months ago, I was officially accepted! Since then, I have been thinking about summer project day in and day out and constantly thanking God for choosing me to go to Cali for 10 weeks to love on the people of Santa Cruz. Naturally, it was a bit scary at first. 10 weeks…a few states away from home…a city weirder than Austin (however, I’m learning to appreciate and love its weirdness). But then I came across this verse, spoken by none other than Jesus himself in Luke 18:29-30. “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.” I believe that was His way of saying “GO! This summer is going to rock your world.”
Sooo, here I am, 4 days away from departing my longtime home sweet country home for my temporary home sweet beachy home. My support is here, I’m half-way packed (maybe not), and any fear I had before has vanished out the window. The Lord has made it so clear to me that He wants me there this summer, so I finally accepted the fact, gave up worrying about it, and booked my flight! I’m looking forward to serving, growing, and living in community with all 75 Santa Cruz summer projecters from Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Hopefully they, too, will have such charming accents….
For all of the state-side summer projects, the students hold jobs all summer long. I’m proud to say I’ll be working at Marini’s Candies (yes, the same one as featured on the Food Network channel) on the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk. If you’d like me to bring you anything back to Texas: http://www.mariniscandies.com/ …and you’re welcome in advance. Chocolate covered bacon, anyone? Since I’m graduating in December (hopefully) and will begin working in the real world sometime over the next year(cross your fingers), my experience ministering to my co-workers at Marini’s will surely equip me to minister to my future co-workers in Austin.
I’m not a poet (and I know it), or even “into” poetry for that matter…..but this is beautiful…and a big thanks to Lauren for letting me share this! This is what I want to share with the people of Santa Cruz: freedom. Because it really and truly exists, and for the first time in my life I have begun to experience it.
”No More Sacrifice”
by Lauren Elise Nanson
I thought You wanted sacrifices.
Drowning my brain for too many years,
The floods cried, what will you offer?
What will you give up for God?
I thought it was a trade-off.
The passion of the Nazarite,
Good-intentioned,
Desperate for the best thing,
But without understanding.
I was one of the crazy ones.
I would have done anything.
I would have followed the whole law of Israel
If I had to.
I would have been Samson if it were BC.
I had that sacrificial zeal.
Anything for God.
Brainwashed with false ideas,
But then You washed my brain.
Stop dying. You already died.
Stop sacrificing. It’s already done.
Stop buying. It’s already purchased.
Stop death. I offer you life.
It offended me.
And it will always offend the zealous ones.
But whatever gain I had with my self-consecration,
I now count it loss.
I fasted the most,
I prayed the most,
I did the most,
But I now I boast
In Christ.
I would rather be Yours because of Christ,
Than be Yours because of me.
I would rather know Christ
Than live perfectly.
I would rather receive by faith,
Everything. Freely.
It’s all on you, nothing on me.
And now I have all of You.
For nothing.
I have all of You.
It’s free.
I have all of You.
And it’s not because of anything I did.
I didn’t fast.
I didn’t pray hard.
I didn’t obey in a crazy way.
I didn’t give up my favorite things.
I just believed.
And now my heart leaps with joy,
My soul spins with freedom,
My life SCREAMS
I LOVE YOU GOD!
To hell with religion.
I have the intoxicating fullness of Jesus… for free.
And all of a sudden I am living holy easily.
All of a sudden I am praying constantly.
All of a sudden I am enjoying everything.
All of a sudden I am touching many lives accidentally.
Lovers always outwork workers.
And I find myself laying down
Everything.
A love offering.
No matter how many times you give it back to me.
A love offering.
And I will give my whole life away beneath the heartbeat of
LOVE.
I charge his people
To stop your guilt offerings.
Stop your earn-offerings.
Stop your trade-offerings.
Stop your cross-stomping.
If it’s not a love offering,
Don’t offer it.
Learn what this means:
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
They worship with their lips,
But their hearts are far from me.
They worship out of obligation,
Not out of response.
Can you reduce yourself to the weakness
Of being only a responder?
Refusing to give it,
Until your heart is in it?
This is the true worshiper.
And believe it or not, it works.
I cross out my titles.
Servant, Missionary, Holy One, Intercessor.
Whatever.
The things I do or don’t do, don’t matter.
From now on, I am Freely Loved Foolish Child Forever.
———————————————————
Go Lauren, it’s your birthday. She’s a poet and she’s got ta know it.
And I wasn’t kidding about the chocolate covered bacon.
