2010 Summer Intern Blogs

So this entry is a long time coming.  It's been exactly 3 weeks since tour came to a close and I'm sure most of us have already started school or went back to our routine. Fall is just around the corner and that summer "high" is fizzling out. And that's natural. Life has its highs and lows...No part of our lives can escape that! Even our spiritual walks have valleys and mountaintop experiences, and the excitement comes and goes. BUT DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU!!

I've seen God use and work through many people this summer. I've seen hearts change and the mindsets of closed-off people open. Circumstances that looked 100% hopeless couldn't stand a chance to the power and sovereignty of Christ. But the love and pull of God doesn't take a vacation when the summer season ends.

No. He is always at work, fulfilling His flawless and perfect plan for our world:  to draw His children to His throne and to save us from our sins. He longs for us to seek Him. He says if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).

So what are you going to do about this call upon your life? Holy Hands has been such an vital part of my spiritual growth. It was a time of great stretching that prepped me for...MORE STRETCHING! Holy Hands 2010 conditioned me for overseas missions in the Philippines. But it doesn't matter if you're young or old, got lint or cash in those pockets, or if you're flying across the country or just walking down the street. What are you going to do now that God has asked you to "stretch" for Him?

I pray you run after that goal, but even more importantly: run after Him. No one else can know you, love you and direct you like our God can. Take this day to go full-throttle and leave your self-centered, complacent life behind. I promise living a life to reach out to others, TELLING them about the life you have found in Christ, will never be something you regret. It won't be easy, you probably get laughed at, but at the end of your life you'll never think to yourself, "I wish I had never given my life to further God's kingdom!"

So I haven't written in over a month, so I'd like to put in a few thoughts about what has been transpiring over here with Holy Hands and the expeditions.

Today I taught the evangelism session for our training and I cannot begin to explain how much we need to become less complacent about our faith!! There is no room for lukewarm beliefs these days, especially in the Chrisitian community. I'm not saying that we have to be narrow minded, rude and abrasive, but I am saying that the attitude of timidity has got to go! Yesterday Jason spoke to our teams about being revolutionaries.

You may think that you have no impact on the people that surround you. Many of us are thinking too much about what others may say about us if we were to speak up about what we believe in, if we were to say we have dedicated our lives to following Jesus Christ, if we were to resist the cultural norm and go against the grain. But even the most introverted person is said to influence approximately 10,000 people in their entire lifetime! That's 10,000+ people per individual, folks!!

YOU can make a difference! Yes, you! How much longer will you wait to take your stand for something more important than yourself, your reputation, or your own personal desires? Rise up, children of God, the time has come for us to pick up our crosses, to chase after what God dreams about and shake our world, our societies, and everyone's expectations.

Here with the HHEX team, tour is about half way through...and I have witnessed amazing events that I know could not have been possible without our all powerful God and a ragtag team of willing revolutionaries involved. I plead with you to REVOLT and seek to become everything God has ever envisioned you to be today and for all your tomorrows...

I won't hesitate to admit that these past few days have been mega rough for our team. I was talking to my dad last night over the phone, and he brought up a quote that always took extra effort to wrap my mind around: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." This was said by a man named Job who probably had the most difficult of trials in the course of human history. I'm not saying we are suffering from the wiping out of our families, horrible disease and severe depression and feelings of abandonment. But I AM saying that things are not going according to plan.

No, scratch that...things aren't going according to OUR plan. Yeah, I first glance everything seems more stressful than usual and just, well, screwed up. But I know that things always ALWAYS happen for a reason. I don't believe in luck or chance. Nothing is accidental or a coincidence. God ordained everything for an appointed time. Even in the terrible parts there is purpose and meaning.

I was reading in the book of Nehemiah today and something stood out to me that may sound kind of stupid or really obvious--the "heroes" that we look up to in the Bible really weren't all that spectacular. They got angry, cranky, sick, tired, (and sick and tired of being sick and tired!!) and had trials and aggravations just like us. What made them so "heroic" is one thing: they relied on a Person greater than themselves. That Person is Jesus. Without Him they could've been pretty good, but their aspirations and accomplishments would have been for nothing. Sure, there might have been some earthly fulfillment, but it was all temporary. When we work and strive for something because God asked it of us, when we fight for something out the love we have in our hearts for Jesus...that's when we start to feel like we're really living because WE  ARE.

 Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.  (Colossians 3:17)

So yesterday and today have been pretty crazy, if you have read any of the previous entries. Car accidents and having a lot of schedule changes--but none of these things are really phasing us. We still remember that we have a calling, a goal, for this summer and no set backs can set US back!

Despite not having our leaders around us to train us for a day or so, we actually got some garbonics training down. (For those of you who are wondering, garbonics is basically rhthymnic musical performances created with non instrumental objects. For instance, we used buckets, poles and scrub brushes today).

For the past four months prior to this year's Holy Hands I worried over garbonics...I'm not really talented in that area. I was really pleased to find that it isn't as hard as it looks. It just requires concentration on your specific role, and blocking out other parts in the sequence. And it didn't hurt that Andre was our instructor...he explained things thoroughly and was pretty patient with us slowpokes!!

keep us in prayer and check back often for more updates!!!

 On My Knees,

Gina