Surfing Trauma

This week has been so good- our theme for the week has been "Unashamed", as in Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." We went out to Campus Monday, had a great time, went out evangelizing Tuesday night and Wednesday night which was also really good, and a stretching experience. A guy we talked to on the street actually came to FNL last night, so that was awesome! :)

The most exciting part of this week, though, would probably be my failed attempt at surfing. Since I was all inspired to be "unashamed" I thought why NOT shove my body into a wet suit, go out into the water, and make a complete fool of myself? So I did.

That's Hollie, Ashleigh, Me and Lauren with our boards- we look professional right? Wrong. Not one of us had ever gone out and attempted surfing before. I was about as much as a newb as you can get. Terrible. Already going into this experience I knew it'd be a rough time- I don't like water, I don't really enjoy doing stuff like this and I have terrible balance. All of which are things you should probably like to do if you try surfing. I digress. You don't come to California and not try ya know? Peer pressure. The first fifteen minutes are all fun and games, we're trying to catch the little tiny waves really close to shore and we eventually start going out into deeper water- mind you, I can still stand. As we get deeper I realize that I'm not a good swimmer and probably shouldn't be this far out, especially since up to this point I haven't been able to successfully mount my board cause I keep sliding off the other side, so I decide to attempt to head back in- but I realize I can't. Suddenly I get taken out by a wave, swallow more sea water and who knows what than I'd like to know, and come up choking, completely unable to breathe. I didn't start panicking yet though, because I was trying to be strong and not myself. The second wave that took me out though, drove me to panic.

So now, I can't breath, I can't get on my board, I can barely see cause I got water in my eyes and thus my contacts, and I'm watching the lifeguard stand get further and further away. I see Lauren in front of me and yell her name thinking, "oh good! She can come pull me in." She however didn't realize I was in panic mode and so she ignored me... what a friend. I turn to Ashleigh and Hollie next to me, with an expression of I'm sure pure panic, and yell, "I NEED TO GET BACK TO SHORE! I'M HAVING A PANIC ATTACK!" Ashleigh, bless her heart, goes straight into lifeguard mode and comes to me. At this point, my board has flipped, I'm clinging to the fins for dear life, and she's holding me up and her and Hollie's boards get tangled. It was an intense few moments as we couldn't get any closer to shore instead kept getting pulled back by the waves. Finally she figured out how to get back and so after what felt like 30 minutes, but was more like 3 or 4, we got back to shore where I sat, shaking and unable to breathe, for a good 5 minutes. The thoughts that ran through my head was, "people do this for fun?!" and "Oh no. I've just turned into THAT girl who can't do anything." This, of course, was after I thought, "I'm going to die out here in the ocean cause I have no clue how to signal the lifeguard to come help me."

My friends Angela and Jenny were on shore watching the whole thing and said they saw a struggle but didn't know what had happened. Embarrassing. At this point, my desire to ever try surfing again is about -10%, maybe if I go with someone who can easily rescue me, I'd try again. Regardless, I guess it's a good story.

As I said, my week has been great though. Today I'm going to History Old Town, do some souvenir shopping (get excited family) and hang out. :) Only 2 weeks left- which is so unbelievable. But God is good, and I plan on cherishing every moment I can here. I'll continue to try and keep you posted!

Love in HIM,
Jacks

Day of Celebration

Today, I guess like any day, Angels were celebrating in Heaven. 6 People from UCSD and SDSU accepted Christ today, and I had the privilege of being a part of one of those conversations! It was probably one of the coolest things I've seen in my whole life. I had goose bumps at the end of it all. Tressa and I went out sharing today on the campus of SDSU and we were just walking around, stopped to watch what was going on in the main grassy part of campus and saw a girl sitting on a bench alone. As we went to approach her, she got up and left so we went to plan two, which was approach the girl who was also sitting by herself nearby. We went up, asked if we could do Perspective cards with her and started talking. We got a little back story from her, she didn't really grow up in religion, but knew some because of her Grandmother. We finished Perspectives, asked if she'd like to hear what we believed, and she said sure. So Tressa went through the KGP (Knowing God Personally booklet) with her and we were able to talk to her about what it looked like to have a relationship with Christ and she said she wanted that for herself! She was really genuine in her answers and in her want to do it, and it was an amazing sight to see her come to know God personally in my presence. Praise the Lord- he is working all over and in that girl's life!! :)

This is just one of the things that I've been able to experience here in San Diego that has pretty much blown my mind about Jesus. He is SO faithful, and SO glorious in all his works. Today we talked about having faith like a child, which reminded me so much of how when we were children, everything we saw was wondrous and new and we were in awe at all that was around us. When I took Astronomy, I was able to go and look through a telescope at the heavens for the first time and I remember the wonder I saw as I saw first hand the majesty God had created. The first night I was here on project I just stood and looked at the ocean and was amazed at God's handiwork- and the other day I simply went, laid out on the beach and didn't even look at the ocean. God showed me that each and every thing he created is something I can experience new and like a child every time I see it. Even in my conversations with people, approaching them like this is the first time I've ever approached anyone, and having the same joy and excitement with it like I did the very first time I went out. It was just a really good day all around of seeing God moving and just working slowly on my heart.

As project winds down (we only have about 2 1/2 weeks!! Eeek!) it's getting harder to think about saying goodbye. I was really homesick a few days ago, but I'm trying to keep it all in perspective. I'll miss the friends I've made SO much. I'll miss the awesome fellowship with other believers, being constantly pushed and pulled out of my comfort zone. Most of all, I'll miss the project as a whole. Being here has opened my eyes in so many ways, and I can't wait to go back and tell everyone about it. I've done some crazy things since I've been here- evangelism, wedding crashed (yes, it did happen, and successfully!), the Zoo, going deep with some awesome girls, trusting God to provide, volunteering at an awesome thrift store, and so much more. I'm going to try surfing on Wednesday- We'll have to see how this goes! So stayed tuned for sure. I am so incredibly thankful for all of your prayers and support since before I got here and since I've been here. They are the reason I've had such an amazing experience here and I am indebted in so many ways to all of you. Thank you, and I can't wait to tell you more stories in person!

GOD IS GOOD!

Jacks

Desperate times call for McDonald's measures

Currently, I'm sitting in a McDonald's. Why am I sitting in a McDonald's for internet you might ask? Because my friend Lauren has coupons for free food and we can't afford to go anywhere else... Oh the life of a college kid on a summer project! But really though, it's free frappe sample day so it's been a pretty pleasant experience so far! Only one creeper...

Gosh, I don't even know what to fill you all in on. Staff have left, leaving just students in charge of the project. Some students, Ethan, Allison, Abbi and Brad are our new directors and they're great. I'm so excited to see how God uses them to direct us and how he grows them in those positions. Pray for guidance and courage for them as they take on this huge responsibility! I've officially taken over my DNA group as "facilitator" which has been a challenge but so good. The girls in my group continually lift me up and encourage me in new ways- I couldn't have asked for better girls to do life with here in San Diego. Here's a picture of all of us at staff banquet before the staff left! It was so legit, we went out on a river boat on the bay at night. Pretty doesn't begin to describe it.
From left to right, Jen, Lauren, Marian, Me and Tressa!

This week has been really busy- I went to campus on Monday, worked Tuesday and Wednesday and then volunteered Thursday and Friday. It's been nice to be so go, go, go, but I'm getting sick so I've also been really tired. I'm ready for a weekend of not doing anything work related. I think we're going to go to the Zoo tomorrow which should be so fun! And I ain't lion... ;) I'm so blessed to be here right now. Yeah, it's been a hard week just with mid project blues, things have started getting on my nerves but I can see how God is working in me and giving me patience I didn't know I could have with some people in particular. He's definitely got my back and I'm so glad I don't have to rely on my own strength. My monday has been really tight lately, but he just continues to provide for me in great ways. I never need to doubt his provision because he will always come through, even in ways least expected.

On the Fourth me and Lauren, Hollie and Jenny made our own celebration dinner of corn on the cob, hot dogs, french fries and potato salad. It almost felt like being home with my family- except I was in San Diego with my new family. :) Tonight is FNL old people theme- should be interesting. I'm going as a caretaker so hopefully there won't be too many diapers to change... awkward.

I'll keep trying to keep you all posted- we tried and failed at getting internet in our condo so that means for the rest of the summer I'll have to tote around my computer for those rare moments I can snag some free wifi. But, feel free to shoot me a text or a call if you want! I'm usually free to talk and I'd love to hear about your summers as well as fill you in on more particulars!
Thanks!
Till I write again,
Jacks

P.S. I recently discovered the joy and greatness of Trader Joe's... now THAT'S a grocery store!