Slovenia Summer Project 2012

The Staff Team

Lake Bled: A popular day-trip destination

When I left Slovenia in 2010 at the completion of my rst summer project, I told myself I would never set foot in that country again. I said this not realizing how jealous I would be when another group of students would go the next summer, how much I would appreciate the city, and all the ways God would work through me if I ever went back again. God has a way of closing doors and opening others to guide the paths of his children; this has been obvious in my own life. Going to Slovenia as a member of the staff team this year was yet another example of his clear direction because I denitely would not have chosen it for myself ! Even so, I realized how much I absolutely love Ljubljana, the capital, and what God is doing there. I have you to thank for making this summer possible! Within the rst week I was blown away by how much work God had done in just two short years. This was not the groundbreaking trip I had experienced in 2010. During my rst visit, we did not even know where to nd students, who to talk to, and what their spiritual barriers were. We started from scratch, including small things like nding Sharing with a student at a cafeteria transportation and where (and what) to eat. At our weekly outreach parties in the "Central Park" of Ljubljana, we bubbled with excitement when just one student we had Book Recommendations from the Summer: met during the week joined us. Twenty-four short months later, we now have a growing Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian movement of Christian students, teams of one-year "Stinters," two long-term staff The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn members, an ofce for gatherings and administration, and many new friends at our outreach parties! With all that has happened and is happening, it is abundantly clear that God wants people in Slovenia to know him personally through Jesus Christ. My main focus this summer was my role as a staff team member. Each week, I prepared and led a bible study for six men who will return to campus as leaders within their Cru movements. I studied a passage from Colossians and created discussion questions that would point them to the message, "Jesus + Nothing = Everything." I also mentored three men from Ohio University by spending time with them one-on-one, teaching them to share their faith, and digging deep into their lives to help God transform their hearts. One man I discipled, Max, showed incredible growth throughout the summer. Max took steps of faith and demonstrated visible life transformation that proves why summer project experiences are so priceless. He even got to lead a Slovene to Christ! During our debrieng at the end of project, Max shared how he had been set free from destructive lies by believing that in the gospel, God delights in him and loves him completely. I also created "Vision Plans" for each of the men I discipled, sharing with them how I see God working in their lives and some goals to keep them growing in their relationship with Jesus. They were all inspired to become the kind of faithful men Jesus wants them to be. Their unanimous response was, "Wow, no one has ever done this for me before!" Personally, the summer was challenging because I was in the difcult position of being both a student and a member of the staff team. This caused me to learn how important it is to protect my personal times of prayer and devotion and to have peers that support my walk with the Lord. Staff life is a lot different from being a student on project, but despite the challenges I faced, I know this is where the Lord wanted me this summer. I only need to look at the ways I poured my life into other students and how they were transformed to be assured of this! Randy Alcorn said, If we give instead of keep, if we invest in the eternal instead of the temporal, we store up in heaven treasures that will never stop paying dividends. Thank you for giving instead of keeping, for investing in the eternal instead of the temporal, and for enabling me do the same with my summerI am so blessed by you!
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