So most recent update.... I LOVE MY JOB!!!!! I get to meet people from all over the world, practice speaking Thai, make wonderful lifelong friends, and just have fun!
I just got back from saying goodbye to my Chinese friend who came to know the lord this past spring. I have gotten to see her for a few brief moments here and there since then, but saying goodbye was the hardest. I got to pray for her, and she said "God bless you" to me. I am excited because I didn't teach her that, but she is already meeting Christians and going to church without me even helping her. I have just been giving her encouragement. I am so excited for what god will do through that young lady!!!
Just before that we had an ice cream social. well we didn't. the university did, and we kind of crashed it to get to know some students, but it was ok that we were there. Earlier in the day I" realized I had my shirt I got this summer that says "treasuring Christ and making Him known..." on the back, and I thought maybe it's not a good idea to wear that tonight (since some people put up a stick when the "religious" groups show up) but we weren't recruiting people, just meeting them. but anyway, I had forgotten why I was going to change my shirt, and so left it on.
In the middle of a game of "human Bingo" (i.e. find someone who can speak more than 2 languages...find someone who has a younger brother...) a girl walk straight up to me and said "are you a missionary?" Since we don't broadcast that Bridges is actually a ministry - students know we are Christians, but we don't go around saying we are missionaries, I was a little taken aback, but realized if this girl knew what and who missionaries were, and asked me straight up I would answer her straight up. I said yes and she then asked if I knew a good church in the area!!!! I was then glad for my earlier answer and gave her the name of a church I really like that meets on campus.
Later I ended up meeting pretty much the only girl undergraduate student from Thailand.. and guess what?!?!? she became a Christian about a year ago!!!! for a Thai person to change religions, it is a HUGE thing!!!! so not only can I practice Thai with her, but I can encourage her about her faith!
So going back to this afternoon, we had some students that had filled out some surveys we had at the resource fair we had monday and we going back to the students rooms to invite them to come to our welcome party on friday night. Not many people were home, but some of them I got to meet their roommates and one girl said she even wants to cancel her travel plans to Pittsburg so she can come to our party!!!!! I LOVE international students! They are so genuine and real, and just excited to meet Americans! Because classes haven't started and the American students haven't moved in on campus yet, any American that these students meet are like their new best friend!
One girl thought I was a student and was asking me if what she was wearing was ok. she had cross earrings on and I had asked her about it, so I am excited to go back sometime to explain a little more about what is so significant about the cross. :-) I love God! he moves in some crazy ways!
So I am in an interesting place right now. My roommate hasn't quite moved in, and I am in a new apartment. I like having time to myself, and it's so quiet, but I also get lonely too. I feel a lot of freedom though to just get on the floor and start praying anytime I remember some prayer requests ( and I don't need to worry about people walking and wondering why I'm in the middle of the floor!) I also don't get distracted too easily, and so I have been spending me free time at night lately digging into the word.
Our staff team started meeting last monday to start planning for this semester. We will be studying the book of John, and I'm excited to be going through it and get some new insights from it. John and Mark are my two favorite gospels, and I feel like I can never study them enough... actually, the more I study the bible, the more I am ok with studying the same book over and over, I get new stuff every time. In my own time, when I'm not in John, I'm also looking at Ephesians.
We studied Ephesians this summer while I was in Wildwood, NJ and I forgot how much I like the book. Chapter 3:16-21 are some of my favorite verses that have been keeping me company for the past year or so, and so now I really want to dive into the rest a little more.
Well I think that's all for now. hopefully more to come soon, but the beginning of the semester is crazy so I hear, but I'm glad I have one semester under my belt already so I kind of feel like I know what I'm doing!
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