I am now back at home, finished with Alamo City Summer Project. I am quite sad to leave what we have done in San Antonio, but I am looking forward to God working through each of us on the team wherever we go. (Joshua 1:9)
Before I want to tell you how life changing this summer has been, I want to share with you my journey back to Houston from San Antonio.
On the way back, I made two stops before finally arriving home. I stopped by Sonic to talk with Tino. Tino is the boss at Sonic where the girls on the summer project team worked at. He has been very friendly and kind to us. Each time we go to Sonic, we would have such a great time just joking with Tino, and he would always sit and eat with us. I got to talk with him one last time, just got to know him better, and just give him the reassurance of faith in God during the situations he is dealing with.
Then I stopped by Buc-ee's to use the restroom and get some food. On the way into the restroom, I saw a familar face, but just kept walking. Then I ran into him in the restroom, and it was Principal Salem from Bellaire HS. What a coincidence! haha We chatted, this is my first time talk with him. He was vacationing at San Antonio with family and heading back to Houston. I got to share with him what I did, and he was really chill and nice. I wish I got to know him bettter when I was still at Bellaire.
Now that I am home, completely empty, I will have a lot of time to myself. Please pray for me to use my time wisely this next week. =)
This summer has truly been a life-changing experience for me. I didn't know what to expect, came out understanding better of what it means to be a Christian. I have been challenged, did things I never would have imagined.
I always thought being a Christian would be easy, as long as you don't do anything bad. But I have come to understand that as a Christ follower, we are meant to face trials, difficult times, and persecutions. For 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 says "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." These things happen because God loves us, and he wants us to grow.
I hate confrontation, if you know me well, or just ask me, I would say I hate confronting people. But this summer God has given me the priviledge to serve Him as student director, which is something I never even thought about happening. During these past two weeks, I have been challenged with dealing with people and balancing my daily schedule to where everything works out. I have a better understanding of confrontation, and that it is necessary to to happen, as long as it is encouraging and that you "should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19), especially as a leader. Being the director, the need for Christ to lead me became more apparent. I could see the less time I spent with God, the more frustrated I would get. So I encourage you guys to do your devotionals daily, it really makes a difference in your days.
Now I want to say something to Jay, Erica, Christie Ramos, Sarah J, Patrick, Anton, Emily, James, Sarah H, and Tristan. These are the people I got to work with. I want to say this summer has really helped me mature. I want to thank all of you for bearing with me and just being focused on God. I learned something from each of you, and I pray that our friendships live on. Don't forget what happened in San Antonio this summer, take it with you and use it to reach other people in your lives. Don't ever lose sight of God.
NON-NEGOTIABLE!!(time with God is non-negotiable)
-Kevin
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Broken, I come to You...
These past couple days have been extremely happy days! I am so excited to be sharing my experience.
Before I tell you my happy days, I want to say that I am a person that holds in feelings and emotions. I have learned to numb those emotions to where I, sometimes do not feel regular feelings. (happy, sad, terrified, and etc)
Monday was my UT orientation. Emily and I drove up from our summer project to Austin around 6am, early I know. =) When we got there, we both begin to see old faces. It was so refreshing to see them. I saw friends from middle school, high school, and UTSA. Even crazier was that I got to meet so many new friends throughout the campus, and I am praying that I will see all of them again. I won't keep going with the details, but I will say that it was a day filled with joy and sweat. Later that night, on the way back Emily and I visited Alex Lee at his restaurant. We got to hang out for a bit and just seeing how Alex was doing. He was growing and doing a great job keeping other guys accountable. After we left there, on the drive back to San Antonio, Emily said, "I am so glad to visit Alex, I am so happy right now." She went and talked with her lover Alice, but I was just thinking. All these years, the joy, laughter, tears, rough times, and good times all brought some type of emotion. But each time, I would feel like I would be pushing out each emotion I felt at the time. Randomly, in the car, I started to tear up. I tried to hold it in, but it wouldn't stop. I felt God moving my heart, reminding me of all my friends and family who constantly encourage me, love me, and challenge me. I felt genuine happiness since a long time ago.
At work today, I was reading over an encouraging email sent by my friend Sarah. It was a blog by John Piper. ( http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1890_the_loving_meaning_of_the_leftovers/) I did not get the whole meaning, so I asked Roderick for help. He was able to go through this with a vivid explanation. Roderick was describing how Jesus was testing his disciples before he fed the 5000. Andrew passed the test by bringing over the basket of fish and 5 loaves of bread. Andrew believed, unlike Phillip. When Roderick was explaining, I was brought again to tears. I was thinking to myself, "Wow, I am a cry baby." But I see why, God was at work, moving my heart once again. He was telling me, "Kevin, just believe, I am all you need."
Then later that night, after small group at Alamo Stone. All the guys went to the santuary to watch a skit. It was the Lifehouse skit - Everything. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA) It is an AMAZING skit, if you haven't seen it, WATCH IT! you will love it, but if you don't...umm I'll buy you ice cream, and we'll watch the video together. Anyways, I have seen this video three times, but this time I came closest to actually crying. I was reminded by God, moving my heart another time, saying, "I AM everything you need, Kevin." I felt a powerful tuck on my heart, knowing that He is with me, and how ridiculous I am for putting Him aside at times. I thought about the bad choices and wrong turns I have made in my life, passing by the perfect, loving, wanting a relationship with you God. How pathetic I am to looked away from Him and have such little faith to speak out in His name.
I have experienced God in the past two days, each time with a different reminder. I encourage you guys to keep your eyes on God and do your Non-Negotiables (your time with God.)
Feel free to give me a call, I would love to talk to you and tell you more about how God has been good to me this summer.
Please pray for my leadership and Sarah's as well as directors for the summer project, may we lead in confidence and making the team finishing well.
God is good,
-Kevin
Before I tell you my happy days, I want to say that I am a person that holds in feelings and emotions. I have learned to numb those emotions to where I, sometimes do not feel regular feelings. (happy, sad, terrified, and etc)
Monday was my UT orientation. Emily and I drove up from our summer project to Austin around 6am, early I know. =) When we got there, we both begin to see old faces. It was so refreshing to see them. I saw friends from middle school, high school, and UTSA. Even crazier was that I got to meet so many new friends throughout the campus, and I am praying that I will see all of them again. I won't keep going with the details, but I will say that it was a day filled with joy and sweat. Later that night, on the way back Emily and I visited Alex Lee at his restaurant. We got to hang out for a bit and just seeing how Alex was doing. He was growing and doing a great job keeping other guys accountable. After we left there, on the drive back to San Antonio, Emily said, "I am so glad to visit Alex, I am so happy right now." She went and talked with her lover Alice, but I was just thinking. All these years, the joy, laughter, tears, rough times, and good times all brought some type of emotion. But each time, I would feel like I would be pushing out each emotion I felt at the time. Randomly, in the car, I started to tear up. I tried to hold it in, but it wouldn't stop. I felt God moving my heart, reminding me of all my friends and family who constantly encourage me, love me, and challenge me. I felt genuine happiness since a long time ago.
At work today, I was reading over an encouraging email sent by my friend Sarah. It was a blog by John Piper. ( http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1890_the_loving_meaning_of_the_leftovers/) I did not get the whole meaning, so I asked Roderick for help. He was able to go through this with a vivid explanation. Roderick was describing how Jesus was testing his disciples before he fed the 5000. Andrew passed the test by bringing over the basket of fish and 5 loaves of bread. Andrew believed, unlike Phillip. When Roderick was explaining, I was brought again to tears. I was thinking to myself, "Wow, I am a cry baby." But I see why, God was at work, moving my heart once again. He was telling me, "Kevin, just believe, I am all you need."
Then later that night, after small group at Alamo Stone. All the guys went to the santuary to watch a skit. It was the Lifehouse skit - Everything. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA) It is an AMAZING skit, if you haven't seen it, WATCH IT! you will love it, but if you don't...umm I'll buy you ice cream, and we'll watch the video together. Anyways, I have seen this video three times, but this time I came closest to actually crying. I was reminded by God, moving my heart another time, saying, "I AM everything you need, Kevin." I felt a powerful tuck on my heart, knowing that He is with me, and how ridiculous I am for putting Him aside at times. I thought about the bad choices and wrong turns I have made in my life, passing by the perfect, loving, wanting a relationship with you God. How pathetic I am to looked away from Him and have such little faith to speak out in His name.
I have experienced God in the past two days, each time with a different reminder. I encourage you guys to keep your eyes on God and do your Non-Negotiables (your time with God.)
Feel free to give me a call, I would love to talk to you and tell you more about how God has been good to me this summer.
Please pray for my leadership and Sarah's as well as directors for the summer project, may we lead in confidence and making the team finishing well.
God is good,
-Kevin
Friday, July 3, 2009
Week of Change
[Jesus']His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” John 2:5
I have been challenged many times this past week. During those times, I was a servant at the wedding in Cana being told by Mary to do whatever Christ told me to do.
On Mondays, I have been having my discipleship with Roderick. Each week, we would head out to downtown San Antonio to talk with the homeless and lead a small group there over the gospel of John. This part of downtown was one of the more dangerous part, and it's definitely a place that is out of my comfort zone. This past Monday, Roderick and I had the blessing to have Alex Liu on the team. We went out, with the intentions of teaching John 2. When we got there, we would do the usual, make care packages for the homeless. We made 20 bags filled with fruits, sandwiches, water, and chips. During our first round of walking around the area, we encountered a man who was drunk and kept telling us, "Go away!" I felt a bit troubled, and later found out that Roderick thought that guy could have been Satanic. For me, I have never encountered anything like this, so it was a little weird for me. When we got setup, about to start our small group, the same guy came over. He was being very disruptive and kept speaking really loudly to distract the group that Roderick is trying to teach. (John Jones and Tim) Alex and I tried to keep the guy distracted, so he won't bother Roderick's teaching. I prayed the whole time, asking the Lord to calm the situation and the man who was drunk and could be demonic. Close to the end of the study, he calmed down, and Roderick was able to finish teaching the chapter. PRAISE GOD! The two people listening to Roderick even got the theme of the subject, do whatever Jesus tells you.
On Wednesday, the project team went on the University of Texas at San Antonio campus to do outreach. Sarah Joy and I paired up to go around campus to do outreach. We had the opportunity to talk with five people, each person very different from the others. Throughout the whole time, we both constantly prayed for the people we were going to/and talking to. The first girl we talked to rejected us right away, did not want to talk about religion or anything of this topic. The second girl we talked to was a Unitarian, meaning they believe in one God, and everyone is going to heaven. She had to go take an exam, but she was very respectful and said she wish she could stay and talk with us about faith and her beliefs. I was encouraged by that, just how she was willing, and knowing that God went before us to prepare her heart. Then we came to this guy Jeff. He was an usual person, he worshipped himself and lived by logic. He didn't care about heaven or hell, and time does not exist. I, who is not every experienced, and not very knowledgable did not know what to say or even questions to ask. I knew I was put there talking to Jeff for a reason, so I prayed. Then God started to put questions in my head, that led to a good conversation. Thanks for Sarah for being there to keep the conversation going. I know it seems hopeless, but please pray for him, that God will keep putting Christ followers in his life to make him question his actions. Then we got to talk to a bunch of workers that did not want to talk, but was very polite. Then lastly, a Christian who goes to Campus Crusade for Christ.
Friday, a big day. I slept in till about noon. Got up and went out with Patrick to do some shopping which ended up to be a 2 hour shopping spree. We went to Sam's and Wal-Mart to get everything we needed for our farewell party at dinner time. We bought so much food that we had so much left over. After we finished shopping, we went to the Girl's House (meeting place) to cook. I got to cook Tapioca for the whole team, man it was hard work. But it turned out pretty well, at least to me, maybe not to everyone. We grilled chicken breast, beef patties, fries, and limeades (go Sonic girls, they know how to make all the Sonic drinks!) with an abundance of fruits. The farewell party was a feast!! Toward the end of the meal, Jay and Christie (our directors that are leaving) made an announcement about the new directors. I knew who they were, but I was still nervous. I will be the new director, Sarah Joy will be the other. I am so grateful and blessed to be able to serve the team and lead them through the next 3-4 weeks. I am looking forward to it, but am praying for confidence in leading according to His will. Please pray for me for the next few weeks, that I may lead humbly and could be used by God in every way. I am super excited!!! We then announced the new leaders for Men's (Patrick)/Women's (Sarah Horn) Time , Outreach (Anton&Emily), and Adventure Day(Sarah J&Me). Then we had a little dance party in the backyard, and Emily, Sarah, Patrick, and I went for a little walk in the woods. Woooooo, scary, but fun!
Please pray for the team as the project takes a new turn.
Pray for Sarah and my leadership as directors, as well as the new leadership in the project.
Pray for the people we will be outreaching to, to see God and to have that relationship with Him.
Pray for our focus, devotionals, reading the Word, growing in Christ.
Pray for our small groups to keep growing and for the members to retain the lessons.
Pray for love and encouragement in the group.
Thank you all very much!
In Him,
-Kevin
I have been challenged many times this past week. During those times, I was a servant at the wedding in Cana being told by Mary to do whatever Christ told me to do.
On Mondays, I have been having my discipleship with Roderick. Each week, we would head out to downtown San Antonio to talk with the homeless and lead a small group there over the gospel of John. This part of downtown was one of the more dangerous part, and it's definitely a place that is out of my comfort zone. This past Monday, Roderick and I had the blessing to have Alex Liu on the team. We went out, with the intentions of teaching John 2. When we got there, we would do the usual, make care packages for the homeless. We made 20 bags filled with fruits, sandwiches, water, and chips. During our first round of walking around the area, we encountered a man who was drunk and kept telling us, "Go away!" I felt a bit troubled, and later found out that Roderick thought that guy could have been Satanic. For me, I have never encountered anything like this, so it was a little weird for me. When we got setup, about to start our small group, the same guy came over. He was being very disruptive and kept speaking really loudly to distract the group that Roderick is trying to teach. (John Jones and Tim) Alex and I tried to keep the guy distracted, so he won't bother Roderick's teaching. I prayed the whole time, asking the Lord to calm the situation and the man who was drunk and could be demonic. Close to the end of the study, he calmed down, and Roderick was able to finish teaching the chapter. PRAISE GOD! The two people listening to Roderick even got the theme of the subject, do whatever Jesus tells you.
On Wednesday, the project team went on the University of Texas at San Antonio campus to do outreach. Sarah Joy and I paired up to go around campus to do outreach. We had the opportunity to talk with five people, each person very different from the others. Throughout the whole time, we both constantly prayed for the people we were going to/and talking to. The first girl we talked to rejected us right away, did not want to talk about religion or anything of this topic. The second girl we talked to was a Unitarian, meaning they believe in one God, and everyone is going to heaven. She had to go take an exam, but she was very respectful and said she wish she could stay and talk with us about faith and her beliefs. I was encouraged by that, just how she was willing, and knowing that God went before us to prepare her heart. Then we came to this guy Jeff. He was an usual person, he worshipped himself and lived by logic. He didn't care about heaven or hell, and time does not exist. I, who is not every experienced, and not very knowledgable did not know what to say or even questions to ask. I knew I was put there talking to Jeff for a reason, so I prayed. Then God started to put questions in my head, that led to a good conversation. Thanks for Sarah for being there to keep the conversation going. I know it seems hopeless, but please pray for him, that God will keep putting Christ followers in his life to make him question his actions. Then we got to talk to a bunch of workers that did not want to talk, but was very polite. Then lastly, a Christian who goes to Campus Crusade for Christ.
Friday, a big day. I slept in till about noon. Got up and went out with Patrick to do some shopping which ended up to be a 2 hour shopping spree. We went to Sam's and Wal-Mart to get everything we needed for our farewell party at dinner time. We bought so much food that we had so much left over. After we finished shopping, we went to the Girl's House (meeting place) to cook. I got to cook Tapioca for the whole team, man it was hard work. But it turned out pretty well, at least to me, maybe not to everyone. We grilled chicken breast, beef patties, fries, and limeades (go Sonic girls, they know how to make all the Sonic drinks!) with an abundance of fruits. The farewell party was a feast!! Toward the end of the meal, Jay and Christie (our directors that are leaving) made an announcement about the new directors. I knew who they were, but I was still nervous. I will be the new director, Sarah Joy will be the other. I am so grateful and blessed to be able to serve the team and lead them through the next 3-4 weeks. I am looking forward to it, but am praying for confidence in leading according to His will. Please pray for me for the next few weeks, that I may lead humbly and could be used by God in every way. I am super excited!!! We then announced the new leaders for Men's (Patrick)/Women's (Sarah Horn) Time , Outreach (Anton&Emily), and Adventure Day(Sarah J&Me). Then we had a little dance party in the backyard, and Emily, Sarah, Patrick, and I went for a little walk in the woods. Woooooo, scary, but fun!
Please pray for the team as the project takes a new turn.
Pray for Sarah and my leadership as directors, as well as the new leadership in the project.
Pray for the people we will be outreaching to, to see God and to have that relationship with Him.
Pray for our focus, devotionals, reading the Word, growing in Christ.
Pray for our small groups to keep growing and for the members to retain the lessons.
Pray for love and encouragement in the group.
Thank you all very much!
In Him,
-Kevin
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Following the 2nd Week
Hello Everyone,
As you can see, I am turned from my own ways and now writing in a blog now. I suppose this is pretty nice, I like it so far!
First of all, I want to apologize for not updating you in what has been happening for the past two weeks. I hope you forgive me and will be encouraged by reading my future updates.
In the past two weeks, I have been able to take all the training (leading a small group, disciple others, discipline) to action. Last Tuesday was Tristan and my first time try to form and lead a small group on the University of Texas at San Antonio campus. Earlier that day, Anton and Tristan went on campus to outreach and see if anyone on campus would be interested. I was told they talked to 10-15 people, and everyone they talked to seem really excited about the small group that day. I was pretty much pumped for the rest of the day after hearing that and expected at least a few people to show up. I had thought, “Tonight, I finally will get that opportunity to lead people to Christ and it’s my time to shine!” When 7:00P.M. came, Tristan and I were sitting out by the Starbucks on campus, we waited. We started talking and praying, 10 minutes passed, then 20 minutes. Around 7:30P.M. we decided that it was time to move and to outreach around campus. For me, I became a little disappointed, but I was not discouraged. I also realized the arrogance of my attitude earlier in the day, and how if I lead a person to Christ, it wouldn’t be my success, it would be His. Later that night, we made some flyers and talked to some people that were just really encouraging to talk to. I knew God was there with us, walking us through campus, meeting people.
For the past four weeks, God has allowed me to disciple a bright boy named Varnell. He is six years old and is really, really active. Each week, I would either take him to eat at a fast food restaurant or bookstore. I met him during this past school year, and prayed that I would get a chance to disciple him this summer. God answers your prayers, always! In the recent two weeks, I begin to mention and bring up more Christ-related topics for us to talk about. Varnell would always give a good answer that makes me go DANGG. He is not shy and enjoys questioning things like angels and death. I am very grateful that I have been there to answer them. I am praying that he will want to learn more and will build a firm foundation in Christ through the times we will spend together. I just gave him his first assignment, which is to read a couple verses from the Bible and memorize John 17: 3. I am praying that he will remember and have the heart to read the Word.
Here are some of the fun things we did on the project as of now:
I learned how to salsa!! hahaha i know right, kevin? salsa AND dancing??? your answer is YES! haha it was really fun, and we all got a chance to dance with each other!
Our adventure days (Sundays):
The team split into two groups and went out to downtown San Antonio to take creative pictures. Afterwards, we had to pick out 10 pictures that are the most creative, funny, San Antonio style, and others to compete with the other team. My team (Anton, Sarah Joy, Patrick, and I) took about 70 pictures and had so much fun. I'm hoping we'll get a chance to post them. Oh yeah, my team won overall as well!
Last week, we got the opportunity to go canoeing at the Guadalupe River. We rented 5 canoes and Emily was my rowing partner. We were on the river for about 3 hours, too bad the river was too shallow, which meant walking a few times and rapids full of rocks. This caused Emily and I to have to push the canoe. I had a great time rowing and enjoying the scenery. A few of us swung off trees into the river, and swam in the water. It was a beautiful day to go canoeing!
Sorry for dumping so much in one post, I will try and update every couple days from now on! That's a promise!
Please pray for the team:
Pray that our walks with God with keep growing
Pray our relationships with one another will grow and no tension, and be full of encouragements
Pray for the small groups to keep growing and that we will speak the truth
Pray for the stress, jobs, organization of the project
Pray for our mentorships, that it will help us be better equipped in many ways, and also the ones we are discipling, like Varnell for me
Thanks for reading,
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”- 1 John 4:11-12
God bless
-Kevin
As you can see, I am turned from my own ways and now writing in a blog now. I suppose this is pretty nice, I like it so far!
First of all, I want to apologize for not updating you in what has been happening for the past two weeks. I hope you forgive me and will be encouraged by reading my future updates.
In the past two weeks, I have been able to take all the training (leading a small group, disciple others, discipline) to action. Last Tuesday was Tristan and my first time try to form and lead a small group on the University of Texas at San Antonio campus. Earlier that day, Anton and Tristan went on campus to outreach and see if anyone on campus would be interested. I was told they talked to 10-15 people, and everyone they talked to seem really excited about the small group that day. I was pretty much pumped for the rest of the day after hearing that and expected at least a few people to show up. I had thought, “Tonight, I finally will get that opportunity to lead people to Christ and it’s my time to shine!” When 7:00P.M. came, Tristan and I were sitting out by the Starbucks on campus, we waited. We started talking and praying, 10 minutes passed, then 20 minutes. Around 7:30P.M. we decided that it was time to move and to outreach around campus. For me, I became a little disappointed, but I was not discouraged. I also realized the arrogance of my attitude earlier in the day, and how if I lead a person to Christ, it wouldn’t be my success, it would be His. Later that night, we made some flyers and talked to some people that were just really encouraging to talk to. I knew God was there with us, walking us through campus, meeting people.
For the past four weeks, God has allowed me to disciple a bright boy named Varnell. He is six years old and is really, really active. Each week, I would either take him to eat at a fast food restaurant or bookstore. I met him during this past school year, and prayed that I would get a chance to disciple him this summer. God answers your prayers, always! In the recent two weeks, I begin to mention and bring up more Christ-related topics for us to talk about. Varnell would always give a good answer that makes me go DANGG. He is not shy and enjoys questioning things like angels and death. I am very grateful that I have been there to answer them. I am praying that he will want to learn more and will build a firm foundation in Christ through the times we will spend together. I just gave him his first assignment, which is to read a couple verses from the Bible and memorize John 17: 3. I am praying that he will remember and have the heart to read the Word.
Here are some of the fun things we did on the project as of now:
I learned how to salsa!! hahaha i know right, kevin? salsa AND dancing??? your answer is YES! haha it was really fun, and we all got a chance to dance with each other!
Our adventure days (Sundays):
The team split into two groups and went out to downtown San Antonio to take creative pictures. Afterwards, we had to pick out 10 pictures that are the most creative, funny, San Antonio style, and others to compete with the other team. My team (Anton, Sarah Joy, Patrick, and I) took about 70 pictures and had so much fun. I'm hoping we'll get a chance to post them. Oh yeah, my team won overall as well!
Last week, we got the opportunity to go canoeing at the Guadalupe River. We rented 5 canoes and Emily was my rowing partner. We were on the river for about 3 hours, too bad the river was too shallow, which meant walking a few times and rapids full of rocks. This caused Emily and I to have to push the canoe. I had a great time rowing and enjoying the scenery. A few of us swung off trees into the river, and swam in the water. It was a beautiful day to go canoeing!
Sorry for dumping so much in one post, I will try and update every couple days from now on! That's a promise!
Please pray for the team:
Pray that our walks with God with keep growing
Pray our relationships with one another will grow and no tension, and be full of encouragements
Pray for the small groups to keep growing and that we will speak the truth
Pray for the stress, jobs, organization of the project
Pray for our mentorships, that it will help us be better equipped in many ways, and also the ones we are discipling, like Varnell for me
Thanks for reading,
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”- 1 John 4:11-12
God bless
-Kevin
Friday, June 26, 2009
Week 2: Training
So our second week of project just passed. I have to say the week has been really crazy, and God has been really faithful and good to everyone on the team.
When the second week started, i was ambushed with a lot stress, and I was thinking to myself, "Here we go, it's only been a week and Satan is already going to make everything difficult." But throughout the week, I have been challenged in so many ways.
First, my mom. I received a call from my mom in tears telling me her job might be on the edge of being fired. I tried to calm her down, but I was scared myself, too. She said she will find out tomorrow for sure if anything will happen to her job. That night, I couldn't sleep well and the next day I couldn't really concentrate. I called her right when got off work, but she wouldn't pick up her phone, so I got even more scared! I started to think of really bad consequences if her job was gone. I prayed pretty all night and all day, asking friends on the team to pray for my family, and later my mom called me back, saying things were alright, that she still has her job and things worked out. I think for the first time, I was able to feel what it felt like to pray with your whole heart, and how God is always there, listening, and He DOES answer your prayer, in HIS timing.
Two, I got a great job at BIF Technologies this past week, and I love the people and the work I have done. It was really ironic that the first day of my job might have been the last day for my mom's job. I praise God for my and my friends answered prayers! I am able to serve Alamo Stone Church during work, and develop my skills in certain areas at my job. So God has blessed with the job at BIF Tech.
Three, before the summer project started, I prayed that I would have a mentor that is knowledgeable, wise, intelligent, and is willing to help me grow in my faith. I actually prayed specifically that Roderick would be my mentor, and guess what?! God is good, and my mentor for the next 6-7 weeks will be Rod. We had a talk and I just told him what a privilege and blessing for him to teach me and walk me through my spiritual walk with Christ. I am looking forward to be working with him, cause BIF Technologies is his company, and learning from him.
Four, our team is reading a booked title Spiritual Discipline by Donald Whitney. Each of the students will be meeting with each mentor to go through the book, chapter by chapter. While my mentor, Rod, is just too awesome, suggested that I read a little more than a chapter. I, who doesn't like reading, took this as a challenge. I have been reading a lot more than i used to, and it has helped me a lot of things. I learned so many applications, wisdom, scripture knowledge through reading. We all have so much free time in our days, you just don't notice it. If you read a book, you really see that. I encourage you guys to maybe pick up a book that you like and just read, it will help you grow in some way!
Please keep me and my team in your prayers!
Prayer requests:
My family, my mom's job, their safety, and finding God's love somehow.
My friendships with others on the team, and everyone's relationships with one another.
Patience with one another
Everyone with the commitment to read God's Word and the book, Spiritual Discipline.
Our relationship with Christ
Safety, outreach
Small groups that we will be leading
Our faith in Christ, having confidence in God for all things
Thank you for reading,
God bless - read God's word!
-Kevin
When the second week started, i was ambushed with a lot stress, and I was thinking to myself, "Here we go, it's only been a week and Satan is already going to make everything difficult." But throughout the week, I have been challenged in so many ways.
First, my mom. I received a call from my mom in tears telling me her job might be on the edge of being fired. I tried to calm her down, but I was scared myself, too. She said she will find out tomorrow for sure if anything will happen to her job. That night, I couldn't sleep well and the next day I couldn't really concentrate. I called her right when got off work, but she wouldn't pick up her phone, so I got even more scared! I started to think of really bad consequences if her job was gone. I prayed pretty all night and all day, asking friends on the team to pray for my family, and later my mom called me back, saying things were alright, that she still has her job and things worked out. I think for the first time, I was able to feel what it felt like to pray with your whole heart, and how God is always there, listening, and He DOES answer your prayer, in HIS timing.
Two, I got a great job at BIF Technologies this past week, and I love the people and the work I have done. It was really ironic that the first day of my job might have been the last day for my mom's job. I praise God for my and my friends answered prayers! I am able to serve Alamo Stone Church during work, and develop my skills in certain areas at my job. So God has blessed with the job at BIF Tech.
Three, before the summer project started, I prayed that I would have a mentor that is knowledgeable, wise, intelligent, and is willing to help me grow in my faith. I actually prayed specifically that Roderick would be my mentor, and guess what?! God is good, and my mentor for the next 6-7 weeks will be Rod. We had a talk and I just told him what a privilege and blessing for him to teach me and walk me through my spiritual walk with Christ. I am looking forward to be working with him, cause BIF Technologies is his company, and learning from him.
Four, our team is reading a booked title Spiritual Discipline by Donald Whitney. Each of the students will be meeting with each mentor to go through the book, chapter by chapter. While my mentor, Rod, is just too awesome, suggested that I read a little more than a chapter. I, who doesn't like reading, took this as a challenge. I have been reading a lot more than i used to, and it has helped me a lot of things. I learned so many applications, wisdom, scripture knowledge through reading. We all have so much free time in our days, you just don't notice it. If you read a book, you really see that. I encourage you guys to maybe pick up a book that you like and just read, it will help you grow in some way!
Please keep me and my team in your prayers!
Prayer requests:
My family, my mom's job, their safety, and finding God's love somehow.
My friendships with others on the team, and everyone's relationships with one another.
Patience with one another
Everyone with the commitment to read God's Word and the book, Spiritual Discipline.
Our relationship with Christ
Safety, outreach
Small groups that we will be leading
Our faith in Christ, having confidence in God for all things
Thank you for reading,
God bless - read God's word!
-Kevin
Week 1: Welcom Week
Alamo City summer project/missions started on May 27th and it will go until July 22nd.
This past week was a week for all of us on the project team to get familiar with one another. Our team consists of seven students with three awesome staff leaders.
Just within the last 5 days, I have to say everyone on the team has been getting along better than anyone could have expected. I thought there would have been awkwardness, and it would take us like a couple weeks to get comfortable with each other. But it took about a day to get comfortable with each other. God is good, for my prayer was that our team was able to bond smoothly and quickly.
On Wednesday, the 27th, everyone figured out their housing. I was staying with Anton at his apartment, which is a blessing. The girls had a HUMONGOUS house to stay at. and James Ward had the privilege to say with the Saliceti family. We all pretty much just talked and tried to get familiar with each other. I met Sarah Joy who is from Wisconsin, far right? She talks just like ROBIN from How I Met Your Mother! haha Anyways, everyone was really friendly, and I got to meet Christie, the women's staff leader. Right when we met each other, a few of us went to Target to buy grocery, what a nice way to bond with each other! We then had pizza for dinner. The rest of the night we just relaxed, a lot of us were pretty exhausted from driving.
The next day, Thursday, the whole morning, the team went to the Girl's House (that's what we call our meeting place) to go over the schedules and layout for the next seven weeks! It was extremely long, took us like 5+ hours! It was as boring as you would think, we made jokes out of the rules and such, so it was pretty funny. Anton got us Subway for lunch. Then after our orientation, we had pretty much the rest of the afternoons to ourselves to relax. Emily and I jammed, which was umm...not a success? Sarah Joy joined us and played around with the keyboard. At night, we all went to the Riverwalk Downtown. Everyone was nice enough to take me to see the Alamo for the first time! (I actually saw it three times that night. haha) The Alamo was really pretty, too bad it was closed when we got there. We then walked around downtown, visiting stores and hotels. We ate dinner at Casa Rio. We ate next to the river and fed ducks. haha I had a huge dinner, too much that I couldn't finish. Later at home, Anton, Pat, and I watched Perfume, a really creepy and great film! you guys should watch it! The movie was recommended by Pat, so if you don't trust my taste, you should trust his!
Friday, we went to Shavano Baptist Church or Alamo Stone to go through evangelism training. Everyone new in San Antonio met Rodderick Barnes. We over over our devotionals together on 2 Chronicles 7:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." We then went through the 4 spiritual laws, Solarium, and short film evangelism. For lunch, we went to Chick fil a because apparently Wisconsin doesn't have Chick fil a. I got a job at BIF Technology as well for the summer, so I am excited for that! I went home and worked out with Anton, then met up at the Girl's House to barbecue. James did all the bbqing, it was really good, and we had tacos too!! After dinner, we went to Woodhill apartments to drop off a friend and walk around the neighborhood. Our team will be serving this complex this summer, it has three sections. Downhill, middle, and uphill. It is huge! We met a few people, got to see a few people out drinking and just talking. I am really excited to see how God uses us to work throughout this neighborhood. Afterwards, we went to a prayer drive, we drove around just praying for the people, the project, and ourselves. It was such a great opportunity to talk with God. Anton, Pat, and I watched Spirited Away, a awesome Japanese animated movie, watch it! it was recommended by Pat!
On Saturday, all the MEN came to Anton's house to share about our background and history. We used a packet as our guide. Jay and Anton shared their stories, and it was really great to listen and just really understand them two so much more. We were distracted quite a few times by different things, but we are men, what can we do? We then went to Olive Garden to eat lunch. Seafood Alfredo was goooood!! We ran out of time, so Tristan, James, and I will share on Wednesday this week. We all went to Alamo Stone's service at 5:30pm. Daniel Brown spoke a great message on spiritual discipline. Today was Emily's birthday. So friends in San Antonio had a surprise party for her, then our project team had another surprise for her. I tried to find a way to combine both. I took Emily and a few other friends to Jiwan's house to surprise her, I was so glad that she was surprised cause I thought my excuses for her questions gave it away, but it didn't! haha Joann decorated Jiwan's place really nicely, then we had a cake and played with the balloons. Later at about 10:30pm we went to UTSA field to play Ultimate. We had 20 people, and it was a crazy game. The field was dark and we used a lighted frisbee, haha it was cool. After we all sweated and exhausted, we went to Sonic to hang out for bit. Happy 19th Birthday Emily! Anton, Pat, and I watched American History X, a really long movie! Anton went to sleep before the movie ended AGAIN! haha and I fell asleep during the end of the movie, so only Pat finished the movie.
Sunday is our adventure day. We went down to New Braunfels to go tubing. It was a beautiful day to go outdoors and tube. We had fun going down the shoots and watching crazy people doing crazy things. Tubing was really relaxing and all of us were able to just talk and let the river take us to the end. We finished around 6 and ordered pizza hut, mmmmm. I found out a lot of people know Francis Chan. We listened to his CD for dinner entertainment, it was great! The at night time, we went to watch UP at the Palladium theater, it was so big! good movie, really funny! My name is apparently a bird and a girl, haha
I will keep you guys updated during this project!
Prayer Requests:
Friendships, Relationships among the team, Leadership, Attitudes, Serving Heart, Safety, Daily Devotions, Communication, Health, and lastly, may God be glorified
Thanks for reading, and please keep us in your prayers!
-Kevin
This past week was a week for all of us on the project team to get familiar with one another. Our team consists of seven students with three awesome staff leaders.
Just within the last 5 days, I have to say everyone on the team has been getting along better than anyone could have expected. I thought there would have been awkwardness, and it would take us like a couple weeks to get comfortable with each other. But it took about a day to get comfortable with each other. God is good, for my prayer was that our team was able to bond smoothly and quickly.
On Wednesday, the 27th, everyone figured out their housing. I was staying with Anton at his apartment, which is a blessing. The girls had a HUMONGOUS house to stay at. and James Ward had the privilege to say with the Saliceti family. We all pretty much just talked and tried to get familiar with each other. I met Sarah Joy who is from Wisconsin, far right? She talks just like ROBIN from How I Met Your Mother! haha Anyways, everyone was really friendly, and I got to meet Christie, the women's staff leader. Right when we met each other, a few of us went to Target to buy grocery, what a nice way to bond with each other! We then had pizza for dinner. The rest of the night we just relaxed, a lot of us were pretty exhausted from driving.
The next day, Thursday, the whole morning, the team went to the Girl's House (that's what we call our meeting place) to go over the schedules and layout for the next seven weeks! It was extremely long, took us like 5+ hours! It was as boring as you would think, we made jokes out of the rules and such, so it was pretty funny. Anton got us Subway for lunch. Then after our orientation, we had pretty much the rest of the afternoons to ourselves to relax. Emily and I jammed, which was umm...not a success? Sarah Joy joined us and played around with the keyboard. At night, we all went to the Riverwalk Downtown. Everyone was nice enough to take me to see the Alamo for the first time! (I actually saw it three times that night. haha) The Alamo was really pretty, too bad it was closed when we got there. We then walked around downtown, visiting stores and hotels. We ate dinner at Casa Rio. We ate next to the river and fed ducks. haha I had a huge dinner, too much that I couldn't finish. Later at home, Anton, Pat, and I watched Perfume, a really creepy and great film! you guys should watch it! The movie was recommended by Pat, so if you don't trust my taste, you should trust his!
Friday, we went to Shavano Baptist Church or Alamo Stone to go through evangelism training. Everyone new in San Antonio met Rodderick Barnes. We over over our devotionals together on 2 Chronicles 7:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." We then went through the 4 spiritual laws, Solarium, and short film evangelism. For lunch, we went to Chick fil a because apparently Wisconsin doesn't have Chick fil a. I got a job at BIF Technology as well for the summer, so I am excited for that! I went home and worked out with Anton, then met up at the Girl's House to barbecue. James did all the bbqing, it was really good, and we had tacos too!! After dinner, we went to Woodhill apartments to drop off a friend and walk around the neighborhood. Our team will be serving this complex this summer, it has three sections. Downhill, middle, and uphill. It is huge! We met a few people, got to see a few people out drinking and just talking. I am really excited to see how God uses us to work throughout this neighborhood. Afterwards, we went to a prayer drive, we drove around just praying for the people, the project, and ourselves. It was such a great opportunity to talk with God. Anton, Pat, and I watched Spirited Away, a awesome Japanese animated movie, watch it! it was recommended by Pat!
On Saturday, all the MEN came to Anton's house to share about our background and history. We used a packet as our guide. Jay and Anton shared their stories, and it was really great to listen and just really understand them two so much more. We were distracted quite a few times by different things, but we are men, what can we do? We then went to Olive Garden to eat lunch. Seafood Alfredo was goooood!! We ran out of time, so Tristan, James, and I will share on Wednesday this week. We all went to Alamo Stone's service at 5:30pm. Daniel Brown spoke a great message on spiritual discipline. Today was Emily's birthday. So friends in San Antonio had a surprise party for her, then our project team had another surprise for her. I tried to find a way to combine both. I took Emily and a few other friends to Jiwan's house to surprise her, I was so glad that she was surprised cause I thought my excuses for her questions gave it away, but it didn't! haha Joann decorated Jiwan's place really nicely, then we had a cake and played with the balloons. Later at about 10:30pm we went to UTSA field to play Ultimate. We had 20 people, and it was a crazy game. The field was dark and we used a lighted frisbee, haha it was cool. After we all sweated and exhausted, we went to Sonic to hang out for bit. Happy 19th Birthday Emily! Anton, Pat, and I watched American History X, a really long movie! Anton went to sleep before the movie ended AGAIN! haha and I fell asleep during the end of the movie, so only Pat finished the movie.
Sunday is our adventure day. We went down to New Braunfels to go tubing. It was a beautiful day to go outdoors and tube. We had fun going down the shoots and watching crazy people doing crazy things. Tubing was really relaxing and all of us were able to just talk and let the river take us to the end. We finished around 6 and ordered pizza hut, mmmmm. I found out a lot of people know Francis Chan. We listened to his CD for dinner entertainment, it was great! The at night time, we went to watch UP at the Palladium theater, it was so big! good movie, really funny! My name is apparently a bird and a girl, haha
I will keep you guys updated during this project!
Prayer Requests:
Friendships, Relationships among the team, Leadership, Attitudes, Serving Heart, Safety, Daily Devotions, Communication, Health, and lastly, may God be glorified
Thanks for reading, and please keep us in your prayers!
-Kevin
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