Monday, January 30, 2012

People to Pray For

These are the wonderful 109 people I will have the privilege of living, growing, loving, working and witnessing with this summer. Please lift them up in prayer WEEKLY! That was the number one thing that I learned last summer. Prayer works. end. of. story. Thanks guys!

ps I will continue to update this list as more people are accepted!

Project Director:
Corey Priebe

Staff:
Sarah Priebe

Alexis Banegas

Tim Casteel

Mandy Casteel

Cate Gilmer

Holly Hoppe

Vincent Hoppe

Becca 'Panoff' Phillips

Doug Phillips

Marissa Rosenhahn

Karen Sharp

Matt Tilley

Ethan Wiekamp

Terah Wiekamp

Student Staff:

Simeon Beardsley

Lance Crandall

Lyric Danielle

Annie Hunt

Dustin Hunt

Jena Sorensen

Lexi Walega

Emilly Watkins

Students:

Jackie Abramovitz

Lauren Acton

Micah Adams

Loura Anne

Conner Ayers

Misty Baker

Brittany Baldwin

Sydney Barillier

Katie Bearden

Carlee Blanchat

Beth Blankers

Amanda Blehm

Kaylee Broome

Lacy Bobb

Brad Buchanan

Brandon Bushong

Erik Cole

Josh Cook

Liz Costello

Caitlin Davis

Brittany Doss

Kristi Doss

Austin Edwards

Katie Farrell

Jake Ferg

Casey Florea

Ethan Hall

Ashley Harvey

Emily Helm

Abbigail Hitchcock

Robert Horner

Brittany Ganzsarto

Olamide Gbenro

Summer George

Jeremiah Gill

Rebecca Gonzalez

Jennifer Goossen

Kelly Grish

Jadee Isler

Tyrel Jackson

Allison Johnson

Betsy Kincanon

Kristen Kingham

Kelsey Klute

Eric Krebs

Jesse Kruis

Cassie Laflin

Zach Lefever

Johnny Lerdahl

Jenny Logan

Anthony Lott

Tressa Lund

Sarah Mayfield

Kayla McKelvey

Connor Meyer

Carissa Molden

Ulises Monarrez

Tyler Mundy

Melissa Munoz

Morgan Myrick

Kelly Neckels

Tyler Nickolas

Ruth Osborne

Matt Pape

Sarah Pierce

Lauren Prescott

Jordan Prescott

Nick Rago

Alexandra Ricke

Michael Riley

Lauren Ring

Marissa Rosenhahn

Bryn Seay

Jamie Siebert

Cassie Street

Rachel Stuart

Caroline Suffield

Nicholas Sweerin

Myranda Tabb

Austin Taylor

Kyle Taylor

Jodi Temple

Matt Tilley

Dana Wong

Krystal Woods

Thursday, January 26, 2012

And so it begins!

So if you dont know the news all ready, I GOT ACCEPTED TO SDSP! And I am kinda excited about it. Yesterday I had the final phone interview with one of the staff that will be out there with me and after all fourth minutes of questions and answers I was accepted! Really cool.
During the interview, Doug shared Ephesians 5:18 with me:
--And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit--
He asked me what a drunk person is like and I gave an answer but what he said is what hit a note with me. He said that there are many different kinds of drunks, you have the happy ones and the sad ones and the mad ones and the quite ones but each one of these "types" are not who that person really is. When someone drinks he/she loses their self or becomes another person, if you will. What Paul is saying here is that we shouldn't try to become someone else through a drink or drugs or anything else of the sort but we should rather be "filled with the Spirit" to achieve this. Paul is telling us that it is a bad idea to become drunk to escape reality but he is also making the comparison of being 'drunk' with the Spirit. Just thought that was cool so I thought I would share that with anyone who is still reading at this point.
OK. Back to SDSP. After the interview he invited me to come to San Diego and of coarse I accepted the invitation. But there is one little detail that concretes the agreement, my first payment of $300 (or 11%ish) of the $3500 that I need to raise. No, I am not going to ask you for any money. What? Yea. What I would like for you to do instead is pray about supporting me this summer. Then, and only then, do I want to you send a support check (any amount you feel lead to send. ie. $0.01-$3500). What if someone already sent the full amount to me? Well that extra stuff will just go on to someone else who didn't raise all of their support. Easy enough.
I am looking forward to getting to know both my supporters and everyone that will be out in Cali over the next few months. Its easier for those that I see in person so PLEASE comment or hit me up on Facebook!

In His Name,
chris

Ps. A few of the people going on SDSP from my Bible study are going to raffle off an IPad! tickets will be $5 so go to my Facebook Support Page and get the details as they are posted!

Pray Time (this is going to be on most posts so look for it!)
1. Supporting me this summer
2. That God will provide in every way this summer
3. For me
4. For all of the people I will get to talk to this summer

Sunday, January 15, 2012

God's massive web - us

So last night I got to talk to my friends Emily, Lyric and Kelsey about summer project (they didnt know that I had already submitted my application) and I asked them why I should go because they had been saying that I should over the past few days. Emily basically said exactly what I posted in my blog a few days back about how I wanted to learn to share Jesus with a wide verity of people at all different points in their life's. She also paid me one of the greatest complements I have ever received while she was telling me about why I should go on project. She told me that I am mature in my walk and that I am pursuing God before anything else and that I should help teach the younger guys on project how to do that when pursuing a godly woman. Thats not word for word but I still was blown away by that comment. Thank you very much Emily, that really really ment a lot to me. I pray that I will continue to look like this.
Lyric my new friend from Abq was telling me about how God was teaching her different things through and since she has been on project. One of the major things she shared with me is how we need to look at how we are glorifying God rather than in what ways will we provide the most outreach in God's name. In short, she made the point that we need to focus on what God wants for us rather than what we want for God. That really hit home as well. It got me thinking about this summer and if I was making the right decision or not. Am I doing this because I want to Cali or am I doing this for God? After thinking it over today and what little was left of last night I concluded that this is defiantly for God.
I told the girls when I was talking to them last night that this summer is pretty much my last summer of my life. From here on out, I will mostly have a job that requires me to work summers (one of the perks of school I now appreciate). So, I wanted to make the most of my last summer and the only way I can really think of doing just that is doing everything for God. I dont know where I am going with this but at lest you can see another reason why I had this debate about what to do with my summer.
In other news, I start my new job at DG's Deli on Tuesday and start my last semester of college on Thursday. I dont want this semester to be about passing classes and graduating (all though I full intend to do just that) but I want it to be a semester that is God filled. I read today in a book called "Not a Fan" by Kyle Idleman and one of the chapters was based on the question "self-empowered or spirit-filled?" I want this semester, or from here on out, to be Spirit-filled. So keep me to that if you see me in any other way, deal?

Thanks for reading!




P.S. I am thinking of doing a raffle to help me raise the $3100 I need to go on project (if I dont raise it, I pay for it and thats hard to do when you might not have a job). If you have any ideas or would like to donate something to be raffled off please post to my Facebook Support Page! Thanks!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

I think I have made a really great decision.

As of a few minutes ago, I submitted my applcation for San Diego Summer Project. So I guess that means that I will be needed $3100 worth of support. Send me an email if you want to come with me (via blog, prayer & support) with your support amount (one time or weekly or monthly). GOD IS SO AWESOME and if you didnt know that ask me about it some time.

much love,

Chris






chriswall626@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Options, options, options

This last weekend I went to the Ranch for a weekend retreat. We hosted a group from Roswell, they were a ton of fun just as they have been all of the other times I got to hang out with them (5 or 8 times). While I was there I got to talk to the camp director, Steve, about all of my options that I have after I graduate and he basically thinks that as far as the summer goes, it would be wise to go and see how another ministry works. That makes sense. I mean I do what to know how to approach a wide verity of people rather than just Middle school and High school aged people.
If I go to San Diego that would put me in a postion that would basically force me to do just that (and I want to be). I would still have to make a decision on whither or not I would go on as Staff for Cru or just as a "student" but ya. So many options.
While I was up at the Ranch, Steve also offered a position as a full time staff that would start in Aug. So, that helps with the whole will I have a job after summer ends problem. It wont pay much but I will have a place to live and a steady (tiny but steady) pay check. I would also have to raise support (about $200 - $300/week) for half of my paycheck before taxes. I do know that if you help me with that it is tax deductible because Lone Tree is a non-profit (this could be a thing for you to start praying for).
Well thats an update on my life as of yet. I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with the Holy Sprit. (let me know if He tells ya anything about me!)

in much love
Chris

Monday, January 2, 2012

Its like going from a 16mm to an 85mm

I just got home form a regional conference put on by Cru called Denver Christmas Conference. There, I was challenged to look at life through a whole new lens. Before DCC, I basically was viewing life as how I thought that God wanted me to live in the future. Not the close kind, but the in maybe 4 or 5 years kind. But this new lens that God has installed on me is much much more practical, I need to just focus on what I am doing today

One of the things that I am finding myself looking at is what am I going to do after I graduate. 
GRADUATE
Thats a huge thing that is happening in my life in 5 months...... 

God has given me three options that He showed to me over the last week: 
1. Go get a job in Albuquerque {make money},
2. Go back to work for Lone Tree someplace (Lakeshore, making more promo videos, what ever Tim thinks of....) {requires $2500 in support} or
3. Go on a Summer Project to San Diego {requires $3100 in support}.

Each of these options will be within God's will because He has given me the choice between ministry, ministry or ministry. The first option is what my parents want me to do as soon as I graduate. Makes perfect sense to go out and do that but I have the rest of my life to get that figured out. The second option is something that I know and can do very well and have done for the last 3ish summers. But the third is the wrench that just got tosed into my decision making process. I dont have any idea what to expect from it or what I will learn but I know God shows up in big big ways. As of right now, I am leaning toward 2 and 3.

This is what I am working through right now so if you would leave some advice on what to do, send some support money or hook a brotha up with some prayer that would be wonderful.