The Master Archer

So ends the second to last week on campus. And it has been a dramatic week to be sure! It started if you remember with my presenting the gospel to a room full of Muslim men and women and having an Algerian man come to Christ, which according to our director, never happens! Apparently, algerian people have a reputation for hating the gospel and anyone who preaches it. But, Christ is stronger than that reputation as He has shown! Tuesday, we had our coffee time, and two of our friends came! Charlie and kleanthis. They were some of the very first people we met. Anyway, the video we watched and then discussed was a very random and silly presentation of loneliness. The questions were very up front and in your face with spirituality and at first the guys were nervous that we were going to force something on them. Once that fear was dispelled we had a great conversation about God and we ended up sharing our testimonies and the gospel with them. While they didn't accept Christ then and there they loved the discussion and were asking the "right" questions by the end. After the discussion time was over, we played a new game called Jungle Speed, basically a game of attention and reflexes, a cross between ERS and spoons. Each player has cards and if the one the turn over matches the shape or color of another, the two of them grab for the wooden pole in the middle of the table. There are other rules but the important thing is that I won two out of the three games with only a slightly loose tooth and a bloody lip ;) the guys said they had a great time and wanted to come back again.

So that was Tuesday. On Wednesday, we had a date with the group of girls that gave such encouraging answers when we played soularium with them the week before. It turned out to be 8 girls and me eating deserts in a very nice cafe. It was uncomfortable at first but it got better when we started talking about movies and not nail polish shopping etc. I had to leave early but Cari and Keegan stayed with them till almost midnight. Keegan shared her faith with them and from what I heard they were totally open to it!

Thursday I woke up with a bad attitude. I didn't want to go to campus, I didn't want to be with the team, everything about everyone was bothering me. When we got to campus, the conversations we had went nowhere and were tiring. We ended up finding Charlie and kleanthis again and they wanted to get coffee so we went to a little hole in the wall place at they like and talked for two hours. About life, music, family, and even though we didn't bring up spiritual things, we got to love them and hang out with them!

Then tonight was "Date night with Jesus!" And did He rock my world...again! On Wednesday morning, our director, Guff, talked to us at development time about calling and what that means and some misconceptions. At the end he challenged us to decide whether or not we really want to give up our lives with no knowledge of what God has in store. That is the scariest thing that I have ever considered, and it's not even a new concept to me. If you know me, you know that I almost require a plan to be laid out before doing anything, I love to strategize and control. This is COMPLETELY opposite of that instinct. But tonight Jesus laid it out for me in a very logical, merciful and beautiful way. My mom highlighted 10 passages of scripture, I'll just list them and hope that you will look them up in this order and God will show you what he showed me. Romans 8:35, 38-39; Galatians 1:10; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 3:20; philippeans 1:6; philippeans 1:9-10; philippeans 4:4-7; Colossians 1:9-14; Colossians 3:12-17, 23-24; and 1 Thessalonians 1:4-8. I am chosen, by my Creator, for a specific task, for this life I have been given. He knows my skills, talents, personality, aptitudes, weaknesses, dreams and fears. Who better to give my life to and know without a shadow of a doubt or fear that He knows where I will flourish the best? He is the master archer. I have been chosen, I have been equipped, I have been sighted, I have been drawn, I have been launched, and in Jesus' Name by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in me, I WILL HIT MY MARK, He does not miss!