What now?

I want to use this post to thank everyone that supported me this summer. Your prayers were present over the whole summer. The reason that I know is because God answered those prayers and gave me the energy, words, and actions needed to make the biggest God footprint in Chicago and the students' lives as possible. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to experience what I did, and I wouldn't have gotten to experience God in the ways that I was able to. So I want to thank you for all of the prayers that you offered over the summer and all of the financial support that you were so generous in giving for me to get the opportunity to even go to Chicago this summer.

"So Donnie, how are you different from this experience?"

Well, it's funny you ask. This summer was life changing. No two ways around it. This summer itself was somewhat of a leap of faith. I didn't know what God was going to do with it or what He was going to teach me in the process. He didn't disappoint. I witnessed God working in the lives of so many students this summer. All of the teams that came in, over and over again were answering prayers of churches to further their ministries. We were able to see kids get saved in the Vacation Bible Schools that the teams ran. 

The thing that God was beating into my head and heart all summer was the fact that I'm not here for myself. I'm not in Chicago sleeping on couch cushions, getting 6-7 hours of sleep every night while working intensely long days, and doing all of these work projects for myself. I'm not doing it for the people of Chicago. I'm doing it for God. I tried doing all of the things this summer on my own strength for many days and even weeks. I couldn't do it. I needed to rely on God to do what I was meant to do there. The only reason in my mind that I would need God's power and presence in my life is if I'm doing His work. If I can't do something on my own, that's a good sign, a sign saying I'm doing something right. I'm doing stuff that is above me. Something Godsized. 

Metaphor time! Consider everything that we do, every action that we make, is candy. Everyone loves candy. What's better than candy? More candy! More candy = more impactful actions. We all want to leave an impact. The more candy that we get the more candy we want. Our end goal is to get as much candy as we can. Godsized candy! Godsized candy = Godsized impact! Why can't we focus on this in our everyday lives? Focus on God's purpose and why He's placed us in every situation He has in that given day? That's one of the biggest things I've taken away from this summer. Living life intentionally. I want to have a purpose for everyday that I'm living. At night, before I go to bed, I want to have my Godsized 100 Grand candy bar for dessert.

That's what I need to do this year in order to make a Godsized impact on MSOE's campus and Milwaukee in general. God's ready to move in Milwaukee. He's ready to use this campus to change the world. The only problem that we might encounter is whether or not we're ready for the change and how willing we are to actually act on what we believe God is trying to do through us as His children here at MSOE. I'm pumped to say the least. I'm ready to feast in Godsized candy.