Lewis and Clark Expedition 2014: NGA BCM Spring Break Missions Team

During the third week of March, a team came up from the University of North Georgia to serve with us in Portland; we lovingly dubbed the trip "Lewis and Clark Expedition 2014". I enjoyed serving alongside students from the campus ministry I had the opportunity to intern at last year. Definitely encouraged me to see GA friends!

The team was made up of five girls: Courtney (their fearless leader), Taylor, Katelyn, Stacey, and Katie. Here's a few pictures from their visit, as well as testimonies from two of the girls about how God work in their lives on the trip. 

The team on the riverfront: Stacey, Courtney, Katie, Taylor, Katelyn

"I am so glad I had the opportunity to spend a week in Portland doing mission work. I truly think God is working in the North West. We were able to serve with serval different ministries during the week, including a homeless ministry called Night Strike, Portland State NCM, and a sweet lady named Kelly who organizes community mission projects. It was really neat to see how God was using each ministry in different ways to reach the people of Portland. One of my favorite things we did while in Portland was one of the projects we did with Kelly. We went to a laundry mat and paid for people's laundry and gave out free pizza, doughnuts, and drinks. During this time we were also able to talk to customers who came in. It was always such a blessing to see people's reactions when they realized that we would be paying for their laundry. That also gave us an opportunity to explain why were there. Through this trip, God really opened my eyes to how I could be serving and reaching people at home." -Katie 

Stacey (above) and Taylor (below) loving on children at the Good News club. 

"In one week of being in Portland, I walked all over the city streets; rode the public transit with some interesting natives; found my way all over PSU putting up posters; touched the Pacific ocean; bonded with an amazing team of Christians from Washington; handed out PB&Js to the homeless; threw a party in a laundromat; and had the Lord break my heart with His over the children there. I can't accurately convey what being in the Northwest culture--specifically the "None" Zone--did for my perspective. Too many Christians believe that people who have never heard the name of Jesus (or know of the Bible) exist only outside of America. Unfortunately, Portland rightly earned the title of having the most people check off "none" in a religious survey. Even worse, the culture there has it to where even the politest stranger typically  won't carry on a conversation with you. The entire week I found myself to be frustrated with southern Christian culture in that we have the privilege to talk to strangers, believers and not, and yet so many of us do not ever say a word to anyone new. It made me realize that nearly all the obstacles southerns face in sharing their beliefs were created by the culture itself--their comfort with familiarity contains the Gospel. And we need to change that. One week in Portland allowed me to see the need and the difficulties with reaching lost people there and simultaneously showed me the growing problem at home." -Taylor

(Above) This year Joshua and I have been investing in relationships with students through the environmental club. They needed some work done in the community garden before Earth Day. It was a great way to be the hands and feet of Jesus on campus! 

(Below) On the team's last day in Portland, we invited them to go with a group of our students to the Coast. Haystack Rock didn't disappoint! 

And the Lord said, "Make Vegan Smores!"

Ever have one of those days when you're a jerk and anything but like Jesus? 

Yeah. I had one of those yesterday. 

Worse yet, I had that moment with Joshua, my co-campus minister, and Karissa, one of our leadership students, there to view the whole thing. Goodness.  

Karissa first had the idea of doing an event called "Good S'mornings" a few weeks ago (and I've been proud to see her pursue carrying it out!). The idea is that we will love campus by making s'mores before morning classes, which will open up opportunities for conversing and building relationships. We are planning to do a test run on May 28th, and if it goes over well, we'll continue it regularly next school year as a part of our outreach and publicity. We've been planning our budget this week, looking at costs for not only regular s'mores but also some gluten-free, vegan ones because of the audience we serve here in the NorthWest. 

Enter grouchy Miriam.

It turns out vegan s'mores are three times as expensive as regular ones. And that was frustrating me. In my moment of utter non-dependancy on the Lord for provision and my extreme judgment on people with different values than me, I made a lot of non-Jesus like comments yesterday about the making of vegan s'mores, saying, among other embarrassing things I don't care to repeat, that we should just scrap the idea because those people needed to get over it anyway. 

Bless my heart.

Joshua and Karissa stuck to their guns, correcting me about my non-Jesus-like attitude and claiming that we should still do vegan smores. Praise the Lord for them! As Joshua has said before, they were graciously attempting "to keep me from the whole fish gut experience." I walked away knowing they were correct but still stubbornly claiming, "Well, I don't have to be happy about it while I am doing it!" 

Bless my heart. 

Then...what to my wondering eyes should appear this morning in Bible study? Did you know that there is a verse in the Bible about vegan smores? I didn't either! But apparently the Lord felt it necessary to show me this morning. It actually comes from the passage that was my theme verses for this whole ministry launch back last September. Funny how that works. 

Isaiah 58:6-12:

 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

 Then you shall call, and the Lordwill answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

It was the Lord's way of saying, "If you pour yourself out for the hungry..." POUR YOURSELF OUT, Miriam. Not do the bare minimum. The bare minimum for Jesus was death on the cross. That was Him being your sacrifice. But no. He rose from the dead. He went beyond the requirement of the law (blood sacrifice) to bring you eternal life. Do you love like that?"

And as if that wasn't enough for me to get the point, I am also reading out of Ruth 2 today.  I've read the story of Ruth dozens of time, but what sticks out to me today? The fact that Boaz goes beyond what he had to do by law. Doesn't just let Ruth glean, but gives her water, food, and protection, even telling his servants to leave extra for her. 

There it is. Pour yourself out. Extra.

1Timothy 6:18-19 sums it up: 

Believers are "to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that others may take hold of that which is truly Life."

Pour yourself out. Extra. Generous. Vegan smores. Those are all synonyms for me today. 

What are the synonyms in your life today?