10 months ago
Summer Project Website!!!! «
Further updates about the summer and as pretty sweet website to get to know the team and what has been going on!
11 months ago
I know its been a while since I have posted and there has been so much that has happened so I’ll try to fill you in with the past events that have been occurring.
Students stepping up: Since the staff is leaving tomorrow we had to challenge the students to step up and take our positions of leading the different ministries. In order to celebrate and encourage the students we held a dance party for to announce the new positions to the team. We wanted to help the transition as much as possible so for our last mens time the staff team ended up leaving half way through and let the new leaders take over. It was a very encouraging time as we hiked Mount Davidson (a beautiful, lush, green hike in the middle of the city that has an 100 foot tall cross at its peak) and got to speak into all of the men’s lives about what we witnessed in their lives over the past three weeks.
Salvation:One of the students on project is from the south bay and had a friend come visit a couple of times. They go to UC Berkeley and have been long time friends with our student and through interactions with the team and God working in their life, they accepted Christ! Our student has been praying for them frequently because of their close friendship. Praise the Lord!
Personal Growth: Throughout this project, most of the training times have been dealing with family and feelings. I never really enjoyed talking about feelings and my family has always been great and I never had much to talk about when they were brought up. Recently on project I felt pretty numb emotionally, I would hear or see painful things and never really feel anything at all. We sadly had a teammate go home early due to unfortunate circumstances and honestly I didn’t really feel anything at all about the entire situation. I don’t believe God created us to be numb. He created us to live full of life and life includes emotions of joy, happiness, gratitude, as well as pain, sorrow, and everything in between. Sharing this with a few friends helped me identify what was going on in my heart but didn’t bring around any solutions. Answers would only come through prayer and God answering those prayers. And He answered in a big way. I was talking to my parents last night about some pain that our family was going through and suddenly started crying… for the first time in a while I felt broken for someone. It was weird but encouraging to feel again. I am still processing through what to do next and how God is growing me though this but It felt good to feel again.
11 months ago
831
This past week we got to serve at Glide Church where we helped feed homeless people meals. For one dinner shift we served 713 meals to people in need while most of the other meals were around 500 meals. We didn’t get to many opportunities to talk to the people we were serving but we did get to interact with the other volunteers a good amount. One of the leaders (J.) grew up in Salinas and we he found out that I was from there as well, he instantly started calling me Salinas (or Salas on some occasions). It was interesting to be associated with my hometown but it was not the first time this trip that I was able to connect with someone about being from Salinas.
I got to talk to another volunteer over the few days we served and he shared a bit of his story with me. He grew up in the Church but found himself in trouble and ended up in jail. He was recently released right before Easter this past year and went to Glide’s Easter service. Please pray that he finds employment and that he truly lets Jesus be the Lord of his life!
Other updates include campus time! We have been sending multiple teams to SFSU this week while we set up our partnerships with other ministries. This time has been very up and down for the students and they have either faced multiple turned down conversations or had one really deep spiritual conversation during their time on campus. But throughout all these trials, 2 people have accepted Christ!!!!
12 months ago
The People of SF
This city is made of people and each person has their own story. During this summer (and the rest of my time in the Bay Area) I will try my best to listen to the stories of the people God places in my path. So far I have had multiple conversations with people I come across and I wanted to share a little bit of their stories (while keeping their names anonymous).
A- One of the first men we met down at the Ferry Building. He was half Filipino half Black and had a HUGE family (100+ including all his aunts, uncles, and cousins). He was a God fearing man who lives very sacrificially. He has given up multiple jobs just to spend more time with his family and help out around the house. Pray that he continues to seek after God and that he doesn’t feel like he needs to be perfect for his family, but to keep his faith in God to provide for all of us.
N&C- We met these guys during our campus time and had a great conversation with them. N was on the football team and was just starting college while C was his older cousin who was the assistant manager for the team. We found out that they were believers who grew up in the Church and me and my partner were definitely encouraged. N had to meet with his counselor about his classes but we got to talk to C a little longer. C recently has been going through the book of Job during Bible Study and can relate to Job’s story. When C was 13 he was diagnosed with cancer and just like that his physical health was taken away. But crazy enough, through prayer and faith, He was HEALED!!! (the cancer has been in remission for the past three years!) Pray that he really discovers God’s calling for his life and not just listens to those above him.
These were just a few of the conversations that I have been apart of thus far. Please continue to pray for all the students and the city of SF especially during this weekend. The SF Pride Parade is on Sunday and please pray that we can love like Jesus does in tangible ways in this city.
12 months ago
The Fifth Full Day! Update on the recent adventures include going on campus today! The team divided up in our church groups and went to 3 different campus to stir up spiritual conversations and share the Gospel. We had teams go to Berkley, SFSU, and SF Community College(my group went here). Overall the team had a very positive experience and got to talk to many different students and love on them in a very unique way. At SF Community College my partner and I got to talk to and encourage two cousins who were both Christians. It was a blessing to hear their stories and one of the guys has be healed for the past three years from cancer after being diagnosed with in when he was 13. We also got to talk and listen to a staff member of the science office who shared about some of her trials she has gone through. Please keep them in prayer along with all those who we got to talk to, preach the gospel to, and love on today at the three colleges. Please also pray for the end of our first week together and that the team continues to dwell in the Lords presence and bond together. Thanks so much!
The picture is a scenic view taken from the new metreon that I stopped at on my way home one day.
12 months ago
1 year ago
The Students are here!!!!!! Today was our first full day of project and it was full of adventures. Today we got to go to our assigned church and for our first rotation, my group is going to Reality SF! http://realitysf.com/ I was very moved by the message (on Genesis 38 which is a pretty interesting passage for sure) and really felt challenged to love this city and when I was receiving prayer from one of the pastor he really encouraged me. He told me that when I witness the brokenness of the city, no matter how bad it might be, to always have hope that Jesus can redeem this city. He also encouraged me to keep worshiping all throughout this summer and really seek after intimacy with the Lord and to continue to love on his creation made in his image, mankind. After church we went to Chinatown and got an insiders tour of all the back alleys and tragic stories of pain and racism. God has definitely been growing my heart for this city and its only the first full day of project with the students!
**This picture was taken 4 days ago on a random adventure we had as we walked 7 miles around the city and got a free ride back from a friendly tour bus guide after we walked across Golden Gate Bridge! More adventures to come!
1 year ago
WE MADE IT!!!! After a rush of a weekend, SFSP has officially started for me. Today I drove up with two other project mates from Cal Poly and made it to Golden Gate Hall this afternoon . there was a mix up in the rooms and it turns out that each staff member got their own room (see Picture), which I feel is a blessing and something that can hinder community if we aren’t aware of it. The team is from all over the US (TX, MA, NY, CA are all represented!) and has bonded pretty well so far! We received our ministry roles and I will be serving on the Men’s time and Outreach/Campus teams along with other staff members. I am excited for the challenges that these roles will bring and I know I will be growing in these areas of my faith.
Prayer
For me as I plan out men’s time or lead campus outreach.
All the students still raising support.
Praises
I am completely supported thanks to everyone who partnered with me on this trip!
All the staff made it to SF safe!
1 year ago
Love this song
1 year ago
