Smyth 312

It is so funny how God uses the craziest things to do work and to teach me so much! So many of you may know that God called me to be an RA this past school year on the 3rd floor of Smyth. I built relationships and shared Jesus with so many of my freshmen girls and it was a hard, challenging, frustrating, and joyful experience. God shattered so many of my prideful expectations that this job would be easy and that sharing Jesus with these girls would be easy. He is so good to break down my pride and remind me that sharing the gospel is NOT about me; it's about the one who chose to be my ransom, who chose to give his life on the cross for my sake. I know that God worked past my pride to move in some of these girls hearts just as he moved in my heart almost 3 years ago with my RA on the 3rd floor of Smyth.

The girls that take the position of RA on 3rd floor Smyth live in room 312. My roommate and I so much enjoyed living in this room this year despite some of the not to so great aspects of it. The ladies that have held this position and lived in this room for about the past 4-5 years have all been such great women that love the Lord and have shared the gospel of Jesus with so many of these girls. I cannot count how many of us girls that love Jesus, are Christ followers today because we lived on the 3rd floor of Smyth and our RA loved Jesus enough to share Him with us! It is so awesome to think that for the past 5 years I can be attributed with these other great women of the Lord that have discipled freshmen girls on the 3rd floor and invited girls into their lives. We have used the Smyth 312 to usher girls in, wiping tears and sharing Jesus' love, addressing frustrations and reminding that God is faithful and sovereign and the command that we have to follow Jesus. It is so awesome to see how much God has done work on this floor, through this room and through these women!

I pray for the girl that will be the RA next year on this floor. I pray that God might give me the opportunity to share Jesus with her or that God would place someone in her life to share Jesus with her. I pray that he would build up a laborer for this floor next year and that his gospel would be made known among these women!

God's Doing Work!

An update on me bloggers: this year I am having the joy, the privilege and the challenge of being an RA on a freshmen hall. It is a privilege that God has called me to love these girls, serve these girls, and minister to these girls in the name of Christ. It is a privilege to see the work that God is choosing to do in these girls hearts and on this hall. I think the more I minister to these girls this year the more God shows me that He doesn't have to use me and that although He has called me to be an RA this year on this hall, He doesn't call me to minister more to them than anyone else. He has shown me already how He is and is not choosing to use me on this hall. He has shown me the passion some of these girls have come in with and the struggles some of these girls have come in with. I have to fight the mindset that every freshmen coming in is an unbeliever, know and claim the mindset that there are many unbelievers in general on campus, not just freshmen and not just upperclassmen.
But it is a joy to see how God is using me to spur on these girls: talking to them about how to share their faith, how to build a relationship with God, what it looks like to dig deeper in the word, the importance of community, and the benefits of community. And it is a joy to see how God is using me to show some of these girls a picture of what it looks like to worship the Lord and truly have a relationship with Him. However as I see that God chooses to use me in some of these girls' lives and not in some of the others, I also really saw tonight how at times I find joy and put faith in numbers. I am thankful and joyous that 8 girls went to Campus Outreach tonight and thankful and joyful that 10 came to bible study last week. However, I should be just as thankful if just 1 girls had come to each because it means that God is working on this hall. And although I am praying for these girls and praying that their lives would be radically turned upside down by the true image of God, He doesn't promise that He will use CO in these girls lives, even if they come to every meeting and every bible study session. He is definitely using it in some of these girls' lives already, but He doesn't promise that CO is what He will use. So I can rejoice in numbers but pray for true transformation of their hearts through whatever means!

Being a Camp Counselor vs. Being an RA - Who Knew They Were So Similar?

So after leaving Camp this summer, I knew that God would continue to teach me things about myself and Himself through my campers and through my experience. But these past 2 days as an RA, God has shown me so much how being a camp counselor prepared me for being an RA. Praise God because He is good and always knows what He is doing! He has truly shown me how much He will be using me this year to share Him with my girls whether just through loving on them or serving them in whatever ways necessary - in small ways and bigger ways! I am praying that God would do big things this year on my hall through me and that my girls see my love and devotion to the Lord and recognize it as something unlike anything they've ever seen!