The video I edited for the church service this past sunday.
It’s pronounced Koh-sheets-say…
Another story in our summer series “Laborers Sent”
Lindsey, by her own admission, is getting used to having her plans changed. Plans like where to attend college (College of Charleston became her hometown school of Clemson) and what to pursue a degree in (Medicine became Elementary Education). But it is safe to say that no plans changed more drastically than her plan to never become a missionary.
That’s not to say that she was extremely against the idea. More like it never crossed her mind. Through her involvement with Campus Crusade during her four years at Clemson, she gained a lot, but nothing sticks out more in her mind than developing a heart to see others impacted with the gospel. On a summer missions trip after her sophomore year with CCC to Kosice, Slovakia, God interrupted her plans for a safe, “normal,” suburban American life by giving her a glimpse of his heart for the nations.
The Lord changed my heart from one who never, ever saw herself as a missionary, to one who was passionate about going back to Slovakia one day to live and minister to Slovak students. Now, two years later, this call from the Lord is being realized. I’m going back to Slovakia for a year!
Lindsey is eager to get to Slovakia to minister hope to the students there. And it looks like those plans won’t need changing.
If you’d like to help Lindsey financially, check out this link, and tell her I sent you.
This is eerily similar to my experience at the Dr today.
Be Careful What You Pray For.
This is another story for the summer series “Laborers Sent”
When Will enrolled at the University of Memphis 4 years ago, he had just committed his life to Christ, and was eager to grow. But as with many new believers, he was terrified at the thought of sharing his faith with others. Through his involvement with Campus Crusade over the past 4 years, he has learned to share his faith, been given boldness by the Holy Spirit to engage with others to tell the story of the gospel, and had many opportunities to talk with others about Christ.
In September of his senior year, Will’s campus director Nathan shared of the need for folks to intern with the ministry in the coming years, and asked the students to begin praying. Will, never imagining that he might be the answer to his own prayers, began asking the Lord for people to come and invest in the lives of the students in Memphis.
Will is not big on planning. When folks asked what he was going to do after graduation, he’d shrug off the question, saying “I honestly have no idea,” with a grin on his face. He’d cross that bridge when he got there, he reasoned.
As time went on, he sensed that God was indeed calling him to be the answer to his own prayers for laborers in Memphis. How could he expect others to come, if he wasn’t willing to go himself?
He has committed to intern for the next year in Memphis, and has been in the process of developing a team of financial partners for the journey. If you are intersted in helping financially with Will’s ministry, you can click here.
Using Her Degree
This is the first story in our summer series “Laborers Sent.”
Erin was rounding the corner toward her final semester at the University of South Carolina when the big unanswered questions about her future started to cloud her mind. What was she going to do when she graduated? As a nursing major, the “tentative plan”—as she called it—was to get a job at the local hospital. After all, she had put all this work into her degree, so it would be a shame to not immediately use it. So each time the idea of doing an internship with CCC came up, she would mentally change the subject. She was a nurse.
That was all before she met Trang. Trang, a female student who comes from a Buddhist background, got introduced to Erin through a dorm outreach at the beginning of the fall semester. Erin got the opportunity to share the gospel with Trang, and she began meeting regularly with her to study the Bible. Trang had almost no knowledge of Christianity, making each meeting a great opportunity for Erin to rehearse the foundational truths of Christianity.
Then a funny thing started happening. Though she had known all of these truths, something about sharing them with the intrigued Trang began to work into Erin’s heart a passion for sharing the gospel, or good news that Jesus offers his record in exchange for ours. She might be a nurse, but with this new passion to invest in the lives of students, she has decided to take a year to intern with Campus Crusade back at USC.
She’ll still be a nurse when she gets done interning. She’ll simply be a nurse that has a passion for investing in the spiritual and physical lives of people.
If you are interested in supporting Erin financially (she’s in the process of developing a team of financial and prayer partners this summer), visit this site.