Welcome Back

I'd like to provide a welcome to my blog to those who are returning to it after receiving my follow up letter, and also to those who have not yet been to the site! As you see, most of these updates were all written during the first 5 weeks of project, as after my appointment in leadership it became extremely difficult to maintain updates as I had previously. This is regrettable on my part as I enjoyed greatly to provide consistent updates about what we were doing, and regret that I was not able to continue using the blog to convey intimately the things God was doing in my life for all those I was away from. However I do hope that through what is here you can get a glimpse into the things that you were graciously supporting; and certainly I would always be very willing to talk with you personally about this summer.

Follow link below for pictures from project:

Photo Album

To provide some context to a few of the pictures in the above album I'd like to briefly describe our typical method for large outreaches. Each Saturday we would host a large event on the beach, intent on bringing in as many people as we possibly can. Some of the things we did included a large sandcastle building contest, a tug-of-war competition, face painting, football games, dodgeball, spikeball, sidewalk chalking; and our largest event being a mock battle in full (cardboard) armor. The purpose of these events was to draw a crowd to us that we would ultimately seek to engage individually in spiritual discussions. Some students would be participating in the event while others would be actively engaging with bystanders about their lives, who they are, what we are doing; and giving them the opportunity to hear more about what we believe in. Those who were participating in the event would seek to do the same following the completion of the event.

It was amazing to see the conversations that could come out of these events, certainly facilitated by the Holy Spirit to prepare hearts to hear the Good News. The positive rapport building through a fun event and passionate, compassionate people lead many conversations to continue for hours(!) after the completion of an event. There were many times that conversations would continue until somebody decided that it had finally gotten too dark to continue; and even those who were not particularly interested in matters of faith wanted to stick around and enjoy the company we were able to provide. Many people were reached through these weekend events, and even those who were not moved all the way to a saving faith in Christ had something stirred deep inside of them that God will be able to use.

I'd also like to encourage you to take a minute to watch this recording of a very powerful skit from our last "Pac Ave" of the summer. These were weekly meetings open to the public where we would always invite coworkers and people we had conversations with on the beach. A typical Pac Ave would include a short time of worship at the beginning and end, and a sermon style talk on a passage or topic in the bible.

And here below you will find a recording of the previously mentioned "Beach Battle" outreach. This was our largest outreach of the summer; donning cardboard armor and walking the length of the beach before meeting in the middle for an epic clash. Upon a choreographed finish, a lone surviving warrior proclaimed to the audience the battle between good and evil that our battle represented, and posed the question of what is worth fighting for. Immediately we engaged in conversation with the hundreds who had gathered to watch, to find out what they believed and seek to point them to Christ.

Again, I can not thank you enough for the gift that you have given me in supporting my ministry this summer prayerfully and financially. I boast only in my Lord Jesus Christ, and he prepared me good works to complete this summer in Virginia Beach; and truly I experienced what a blessing it indeed is to be a blessing. I thank each one of you for being a blessing that I might also be one, and hope to speak with every one of you more about the things of this summer.

In Christ,
Eric

First day of the rest of project

(Delayed from 7/8 due to Internet outage)

Today was the first day of the rest of project. 

An integral element to project is that the entire staff team leaves at the halfway point and turns everything over to the students for the final 5 weeks. Each student is given a role formerly held by a staffer, and the students will be fully responsible for carrying on all aspects of the ministry. This includes the continuation of all bible studies, outreaches, training & equipping nights, Pac Ave services, men's/women's nights, 1-on-1 discipleship of all students, etc. The continuation of these meetings includes creating a theme and direction for project, and all content for the meetings - from writing bible studies to giving sermons.

The passing of leadership from staff to students is drawn from the Bible in the letters to Timothy and Titus, as well as Jesus' charge to His disciples before his ascension. It is a massive responsibility and intimidating in many ways, but forces a dependence on God that is growing each person in brilliant ways. 

For my specific role, I was entrusted to be the Project Director along with a female counterpart. It was very humbling to be tasked with such a large role, to be the leader over the entire 63 person project. Things that fall under my responsibility along with the rest of the 6 person "executive team," include the actual decision making of all that we will be doing these 5 weeks, writing and delivering the sermons for Pac Ave, equipping nights, and men's nights (sessions separated by gender based on issues of becoming a biblical man/woman), and personally discipling the Ministry Teams Director and the Director of Spiritual Development. The challenges of this job are significant, and it creates the utmost importance that my walk with God remain close - if I try and take this role upon myself then I will very quickly fail; only by the power of the Holy Spirit can I succeed. 

So for this I ask you to pray. Pray that our executive team will make good decisions and be able to effectively minister the gospel here in Virginia Beach. Pray also for me specifically that I will be able to fulfill the number 1 item on my given "job description": to grow in my walk with God. From this being true, all other aspects will follow. 

Killing the Giants

Today marked the completion of "killing the giants" week. During this week all 63 students made every effort to share their faith at every opportunity, pressing on despite fatigue and desire to just take a nap. Since we don't have free time on weekdays until around 9 o'clock or so, that everybody would pair up to go sharing every night until 10:30pm or so. It was an enormous challenge to be faithful during this long days, but it was ultimately very worth it. While both myself and the project as a while fell short of the goals we set, conversations were initiated with 1525 different people, we were able to explain the gospel in its entirety (the person was taken all the way to be able to accept a saving faith in Christ if they so chose) to 400 people, and 6 prayed with us on the spot to recover Christ, all in a 7-day span. This was a truly exciting and rewarding experience, and there are literally hundreds and hundreds of amazing stories from all of these conversations. Stories of Christ followers we were able to pray with and encourage, of people who had never heard any of the gospel message before, international students here working for the summer (very, very common in Va. Beach due to the J-1 visa program), loads of people who proclaimed a Christian faith but did not have a true understanding of the role of Jesus and his death/resurrection, and many other unique situations. In addition to the people hearing the good news, we each were developed as well by participating so frequently in evangelism.

My most rewarding experience of the week was perhaps with a group of 4 high school age boys. A group of 3 of us initiated, and after a few minutes we split into 2 groups to make for more personal conversation. One of the 2 I was talking to, Tyrone, had never before heard the gospel and had very few preconceived notions. It is always exciting to share the gospel for the first time with someone because they aren't caught up in incorrect ideas about what they think they know or old bad experiences. Throughout the conversation he remained very invested in the conversation which lasted about an hour, and asked many very good questions. By the end he wasn't yet ready to receive Christ as his savior, but i sent him home with the KGP we were using so he has a reference point to all we were talking about, and have no doubt that the spirit was stirring in his heart. There is also no doubt that he had indeed come into new knowledge of who Jesus was and truly has the opportunity now to accept Christ as his savior. 

I apologize for my hiatus from this blog, the schedule has remained highly demanding and time has been at a premium like I've never experienced before. We've had some incredible experiences over the last week; particularly in a very challenging men's conference (mentally, physically, and emotionally) last Monday, as well as one of our largest outreaches of the summer called "Battle of the Beach." Over the next couple days I'll be writing about both of these experiences, as well as taking a look back at the support raising process which proved to be a very growing experience in its very own right.

In the meantime I ask you to join me in prayer as we enter a special week of project called "Killing the Giants." During this week every student will be pushing themselves to go over and above the norm to reach as many people as possible. Each student prayerfully set a target for how many conversations they hoped to initiate during the week, and every spare moment will be dedicated to going out to the boardwalk to talk to people. It is understood that what we will be doing this week would be unsustainable for a whole summer, but we will be trusting heavily in God to give us the necessary strength to make it through.

My personal goals for the week are to initiate with 45 different people, and I'm trusting that God will allow me to share the complete gospel to the point of being able the make a decision to follow Christ with 15. Be in prayer that God will be already working in the hearts of those we'll be talking to so that they are ready to hear the good news we have to share. Be also in prayer for the energy and drive of each student who will be taking part in this, as it will be a truly stretching and tiring experience. I can't wait to see how God uses this time!

Sandcastle Outreach

Today we hosted a sandcastle building contest on the beach as an outreach event. Wearing our blue project shirts, we canvased he beach inviting literally every person we came across (easily several hundred) to a free sandcastle building contest for small teams; 3 categories with the winner of each recieving a $15 ice cream gift card. The idea was that we'd host the contest and engage and get to know the people that came, with the idea that they might stay around and chat afterward.

We had a good turn out, and a number of us joined up to help the teams. I wasn't on a specific team but went around getting to know the spectators. I first initiated with a family on vacation from Oklahoma, there with a couple of kids. Most of my time though I ended up spending with an extended family of African Americans from the Va. Beach area who were just there for the day. There were probably 6/7 young kids there working on the castle, along with 5 or 6 adults who would chip in and help when needed. Over the 45 minutes or so we were together, I got to meet each of them and make conversation; also helping the kids with ideas and a few rounds of high 5's when they finished. I made sure they knew we were with a Christian organization and talked about what we are doing here for the summer. It was absolutely amazing how much comradarie was developed in such a short time as we teamed up directly with all sorts of people that showed up. In the end, my team ended up losing in a very tight race for "most creative" with their turtle shaped entry, "Tim the Turtle." I was nearly as heartbroken as the little kids visibly were after we'd built such a positive rapport; but in a very kind gesture the winning team presented their prize to these kids as soon as it was awarded.

I wasn't able to talk with this family for long after the competition, knowing they were on their way out soon. They were however very impressed and showed genuine interest and gratitude for our group running such an event. They praised what we were doing with regards to ministry and gave many thanks, even asking if we would be around on other weekends throughout the summer. Before they left I was able to ask if there were any particular ways that we could be praying for them (to which they gave a few small things). Our goal is to always point people toward Christ, and even though I was not able to share the gospel with them, this felt like a hugely positive and meaningful experience that will leave them with very good thoughts concerning our group and faith in general.

After the event I could not believe how many people stuck around to talk. For over an hour after the event was finished, dozens of participants lingered to chat and hang out with us - a few of which extended long after the rest of us left. As I walked around I heard multiple places where the gospel was being shared, and other places where people were just hanging out like best friends even though they'd just met. About the time that you see a couple teenagers wearing all black, "goth" style clothes group hugging several project student teammates before parting ways; or watch as big frat guys pose for funny pics alongside project people; or when you finish sharing the gospel with someone who'd never really heard it on the night before they fly back to California; you know that God is very obviously at work. This event provided such an incredible "high" from the very natural relationships and spontaneous comradarie between so many, the simple joy from a fun activity, and the huge success it was that we were able to share the gospel with people who were honestly loving just hanging out and having a good time. 

Project does not stop

Project does not stop. This is an understatement.

So this week has been pretty exciting and very challenging. I started my job at Brooks Storage and Transfer Company on Monday, which has been... an experience. Lots of not being trained or being told what I'm even supposed to be doing. We've slowly been getting it figured out though, not too complicated if you're able to lift lots and lots of heavy boxes. 

The people there have been nice enough to work with, even if a quite rough group. Our project workplace will be a primary ministry focus for each student, and Brooks does have a lot of ministry potential - a consistent group of people to build relationships with and enough chances for conversation that you can get to know them. I say potential though, because it will be a large challenge to get to that point. The workers there are almost all African American which has created a very obvious racial barrier; 2 of us were literally put on a different job because the workers wanted to work with the black seasonal worker rather than us (it wasn't an out-and-out mean gesture, but everybody knew exactly what happened). Coupled with the fact that only 2 or 3 employees have made an effort to know our names (or even ask them), its difficult to establish a baseline relationship to build from. Most of the employees (our boss included) simply refer to us as "campers" and leaves it at that. Such an environment makes it critical to be proactive and take initiative in building relationships and starting conversations, since they won't happen naturally. For the record, this shouldn't read as negatively as it does; there have been some good and helpful people, but it will also be a stretching and challenging place to be an effective minister of the gospel.

Now that I'm into the swing of working and the project weekly schedule is established, I'm finally getting a feel of things - my conclusion being that it never ever stops. My schedule yesterday was work 8-5, bible study 6-8, and impact group 8-9. Today was the same work schedule with our weekly "date night with Jesus" from 5:45-7:45, prayer and praise from 8-9, and optional student lead beach evangelism for about an hour once that was finished.

I've been very blessed by God during these busy days; all metrics say that I should be exhausted, but God has been such an incredible strength to sustain me through it. I've been focusing a lot on Jesus' words from John, that His food is to do the work of the one who sent Him; and also remembering that true rest and refreshment does not come from sitting on the couch or sleeping in, but from drawing near to God and basking in His presence.

Just a little cool moment this evening was when it came to that optional evangelism time ("golden hour"). I had just today taken a look at the rest of the summer during my bible study/prayer time, and recognizing that I could pretty easily fall into a routine and not continue growing; so I prayed over what I could do to continue being stretched and how I could find more ministry opportunities. So then tonight it's announced that people were going out sharing on the beach as soon as prayer and worship was over. I didn't want to go really at all as my day had already been so crazy, but realizing this was the very opportunity I'd just asked God for I decided to go for it - banking heavily on the promises that since I have God taking care of and providing for me, I am free to minister for others. And by going, my roommate Will and myself were rewarded with a fun conversation with a couple of Naval Academy students who seemed to already have a good grasp of the gospel, even if they were still learning what it was to walk closely with God. We were able to pray for them and hopefully offer encouragement for their own walks and gain more insight into the military world (which encompasses a massive portion of the population here in Virginia Beach).

Also, got up at 5 to catch the sunrise this morning with Will and neighbor Emma

Week in Review - Week 1

We've finished up our first week here in Virginia Beach, as well as orientation. Looking back I am very blessed with everything that has happened.

The most impactful thing to this point has been the people, every one of which has been straight up amazing. The relationships formed here are unlike almost any other, that you can actually be friends with every person of a large ~63 person group; and at any moment go deep with your story and experiences with any one of them. Our room has formed a natural subgroup with the ladies next door, initiated by doing joint dinners between the rooms 5 nights a week. After dinner tonight we went for ice cream, and then spent the next several hours playing a game where each person wrote down an anonymous question that all 11 of us had to answer. Midway through we talked about the "facebook stalking" we all did before arriving and laughed at the crazy days just a week ago when we didn't know each other. As we went our separate ways for the night, we got back to our room and said to each other "wow, we lucked out and got an awesome group of girls next door."

God moving this week has been amazing as well. The staff team did a brilliant job in every session this week to teach the gospel and the spirit filled life, always pointing us towards Jesus. There has been many opportunities to focus on God and be in the word both privately and with others, and every person has made efforts to create those opportunities when they aren't readily available.

Being orientation week, we haven't yet thrown ourselves fully into evangelism and outreach like we will moving forward. We got out on the beach on Wednesday for a short while. I was able to have 2 spiritual discussions; one with a family vacationing from Pennsylvania, and another with a retired man from Roanoke, VA. The family was very open and easy to talk to; they proclaimed a catholic faith but didn't express any real understanding of the gospel message or faith playing any role in their lives. I had difficulty transitioning from spiritual* discussion to sharing the gospel* with them, but as we left my discipler, Hung, who has been amazing so far, discussed with me what type of questions might have helped the conversation and how we could improve in the future. He is a good teacher and I'm certainly learning from him. Our second conversation was with a retired man who was in the navy during Vietnam (though he was never deployed). His life seemed very empty: he had no ambitions or goals beyond exactly what he was doing at the moment, and claimed his life to be incredible because "It's just me. No one to answer to, count on, take care of, go home to or tell me what to do." There was no room to share the gospel with him, having no interest in spiritual matters; so prayer was the most we could do. 

There's certainly much more than I can fit in a blog post, it almost seems a disservice to all God has done to try and summarize it like this (I didn't even mention God holding back Andrea for us!). I'm really looking forward to what is to come, because I know it will be amazing. I'm also pretty sure it will be amazing beyond anything I could build up or expect.