My writing was funneled into my grad-school studies and left me with not much energy to write. I have been busy absorbing and taking in this adventure! It’s like last post was that going uphill on a rollercoaster, and coming over the other side of the hill I could barely breathe for a while. Now I’m coasting all over the place and it’s a blast!
The cool thing about such a gap in writing and setting a journal/blog aside for so long, I am able to see obvious places God is working and showing up.
Things have changed up at work again. I still get the 32 hours a week, but I’m working on Target Stores instead of healthcare. A change of pace, a little less stressful, and doesn’t keep me awake at night problem solving. Which is great for this particular season, because I’m up problem solving ministry things or finishing grad school papers 15 minutes before their midnight deadline, instead.
Immerse! Immerse launched and the first phase is almost done already! 6 people have completed the program and next term we will have 10 mentors discipling 3 people each, as God provides. So amazing! Being beside these leaders and watching them grow has been an absolute blessing and I am so happy to be a small part of it. We had our planning meeting for fall trimester and this house will be bursting at the seams all week long, it sounds. Which brings me to….
Homeownership quickly became a reality. I officially closed on the house June 29, 2012. God has brought a great roommate, Emily, who will now be a mentor in Immerse. We also have another amazing woman, Shalom, moving in September 1, and I am excited also because her sister Christianna will be staying on the weekends as part of the deal. Sweet deal. Christianna is a good friend of mine, and goes to the same school that I do for Grad School as she gets her undergrad degree. Her passion for people and missions work is infectious and she is such an encourager! She has a great idea that I can’t wait to help make a reality… soon I hope. More on that later I’m sure.
I still am in a bit of shock at the swiftness of blessing and fulfillment of the prophetic and words Holy Spirit has spoken into my life. This house has been an amazing provision, not only in itself, but in the roommates, and all I have needed has been provided. I can hardly keep up with the dreams for this place. With the quick expansion of Immerse, projects need to get completed at a crazy pace, and I still am not sure how they will all get completed or where the resources will come from, but I trust they will. The biggest project and biggest impact will be the basement finishing. The fourth bedroom/meeting room, living room/counseling room, and second full bath to accommodate all of the people we are hosting and that are living here. I had a reasonable plan that would do this remodeling in stages and wouldn’t be finished till next spring, but it seems God has other plans. The design work is very close to completion (just need a lighting/electrical plan), I have sources for much of the materials, I am praying for the funds and for direction on who should be completing the work. It also needs a final approval by the city for permit.
The way school has intertwined with Immerse has been profound. The first class was called “Dynamics of Kingdom Ministry” which was a lot of learning identity in the Kingdom, discipling people to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, elements and promises of the Kingdom, and encouraging examples of the faithfulness of God to provide supernaturally in profound and practical ways. The second was called “Intercultural Leadership Development”. Obvious carryovers were easy to spot in the general concepts of mentoring and leadership, but also how to interact with people with a different value system (ie: cultural differences), which these days- is nearly everyone. Being able to jump from one culture to another and still lead effectively is tricky, but required in all sorts of ministry. For me, work, church, and my neighborhood are three very different cultures with different expectations, leadership/follower styles, and much more. Being able to apply these concepts on a small scale, discuss with others, and really ponder what this would be like large scale or on a cross-cultural missions field was so impactful.
Anyways, more later- I know I always say this, but Nate linked in this blog to the Immerse website (www.immersediscipleship.com), so I should be held more accountable to update and get to some of the deeper things of my heart.
intertwined 