April... snowstorms bring May flowers?

A lot has happened so far in the month of April.  School is starting to wind down to  the summer.  The leadership opportunity that I have gotten within the InterVarsity chapter here at MSOE has been loads of fun and has required a big time commitment.  One exciting thing that is happening with InterVarsity is coming up this next week. The Social Justice Committee that I'm apart of is organizing a "retreat" of sorts during our rather late Spring Break.  We will be coming back early from our spring break to serve through various churches and organizations in the area to help the burdened and battered in Milwaukee.  We are also going to be doing some team building initiatives and grow in fellowship on this retreat in our backyard.  This is by far the most exciting event that I've been apart of thus far in InterVarsity.

As for this Summer and my internship with LeaderTreks, I am totally excited! A few things about what I'm going to be doing this summer, in case you forgot:

• I'm working with LeaderTreks, a nonprofit missionary organization that focuses on building student's leadership skills to fulfill the Great Commission.
• LeaderTreks has placed me in a neighborhood in the West side of Chicago, Lawndale.
• I will be helping lead these mission trips that high school and junior high students will be going on and helping the students grow in their leadership skills by asking tough questions and being a source of knowledge for them to ask questions.
• Chicago is the perfect site for me to be at because of the Social Justice events I'm helping with here in Milwaukee.
• I will be learning a lot about urban ministries and how to go about that kind of stuff.

This internship will help me tremendously in so many areas of my life.  You wouldn't be able to tell that it's changing me as much as it actually is unless you get some background knowledge on me and my past...

Looking back at my life, I've been afraid.  I've been afraid to take action on so many things that I've seen and gone through.  I've been afraid to stop holding onto my life so tightly and let God take over.  I've been afraid to live.  These last 6 months or so I've been able to grow so much in my understanding of God and my trust in Him.  There are two major examples of this in the near past:

1. This internship. The first time that I heard about this internship I thought that it sounded awesome and a lot of fun.  However, I was used to being at home and I was homesick as it was.  I wanted to be home for the summer.  God had different plans for me.  He started pulling and tugging at the strings He knew would finally get me to apply and eventually accept this internship.
2. "Social Justice League". This is the social justice committee that I'm helping lead this year.  At the beginning of the year I went to a few InterVarsity events and initially I didn't feel welcome there so I stopped going.  I wanted a warm and welcoming place to be my family in Christ.  The problem with that mentality was that I wasn't being very warm and welcoming either.  God was trying to teach me that I can't just sit in the corner all stubborn and wait for things to happen to me, I have to go out and make it happen!  Ironically, I was being too stubborn to see that's what God was trying to show me.  Eventually, I got the message to just jump right into InterVarsity and do whatever I felt God pushing me to do.

Even before this summer starts I can feel growth from it. One thing that God's allowed me to see learn about Him is that He is one persistent guy.  He's been trying to tell me to just let go and trust Him all school year, and I've been trying.  But preparing for this internship has brought a good amount of extra stress in my life that I've been trying to deal with myself.  This is the hard way of dealing with life. I've learned that trusting God and putting all my problems in Him is so much easier than it is to deal with things myself.  

I can also foresee some of the possible growth that will happen on these trips.  One of the main things that I'm looking forward to is getting a better understanding on what God has in store for me later on in life.  I've been wanting to find some possible way to use my Architectural Engineering degree to help people somehow.  I've also had the thought that maybe Architectural Engineering isn't the place for me to be.  I'm sure that being in God's Word and serving people for God all summer will open my eyes to the bigger picture that my future has in store for me.

Update on the support raising

I have been informed that LeaderTreks is getting some of the money that some of you have been sending in and I would like to thank you for that.  Those of you that are supporting in prayer, that's just as appreciated.  I'm going through a lot right now, from school to InterVarsity to preparing for this summer.  I ask that you keep on praying for me, my summer, and my ability to trust God more and more everyday.  There are a few events that are going on that you can do to help with my raising support:

1. Dessert Party. I'm going to be hosting a dessert party at my house in Bloomington.  This is scheduled for the night of Saturday May 5th.  If you're interested shoot me an email or send me a message me on Facebook. 
2. "Garage Sale". If you don't have a lot of money but still want to help support financially this is for you!  If you have anything that you don't use regularly or at all, I'm accepting donations of virtually anything a person would potentially pay for. This ranges from any sort of technology to clothes to food.  I would be honored to take you junk. :) 
3. Rent a Donnie. This is the closest one to now time wise. Since I'm going to be home for spring break this next week I'm going to help out anyone around the house, yard, anything. Any odd job that you have that you don't want to do, no matter how dirty, I'll do it.  The dates this will be happening is this coming Saturday and next Monday and Tuesday.  Times are flexible as of right now but they could fill up fast! so hurry!