I pointed up to the apartment complex across the street and told my teammates, “Make sure no one ever lives there!” The bright fireworks exploded with deafening sound for several hours around midnight of the 9th, ringing in the new year, the year of the snake. Many of the explosions (some ours ;)) came close to hitting buildings, cars, even people, as young and old, at least those left in the city, celebrated in traditional ways.
We returned from our retreat a few days ago, and most of our new workers are off visiting friends and their families in various parts of the country. For this week, nearly all the students have gone home, shops and restaurants shut down, and it seems like a ghost town. Our time in away was great! It’s always super encouraging to be together, sharing testimonies, worshiping, breaking bread, and gearing up for the next few months. I had several days of meetings with CT leaders as we evaluated where we’re at with our vision and receiving fresh words and direction from the Holy Spirit…
The big news for me personally is that we have decided to send a team back into K-Town this coming fall, of which I will be the leader! K-Town has been on my heart for several years now, and I’m so excited to move there this summer to reach university students for Christ!!!
***Please be praying for the right people to be called and prepared for this work, and that He would anoint me for my role as well.
Next week, we will be using our time to hold what we call “Winter Sessions,” which include some looking back/processing, lots of soaking in His presence, some teaching – including a small team from the states who will come and minister to us – as well as setting goals for the coming semester. Please ask that God would come and fill us with power and love for what’s ahead…
It’s a new year, a new season for us, and He is making all things new!
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come!”
Honestly, I don’t always feel like I am a new creation. Certainly, there has been much change in me since I started following, and every day, if I am obedient, He brings new opportunities for transformation. There is really only one direction we can go with Jesus, and that is deeper, deeper into the love that is our God. Or, in the words of my favorite, CS Lewis, “Further up, further in!” Praise God that He will not leave us as we once were, or even as we are today. Though I don’t always feel new, I believe I am new. I long to be new, and that too, is part of the newness. Do you believe you are a new creation? that the new has come? Let’s say it together according to His perfect Word –
“Therefore, because I am in Christ, I am a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come!”