"see i am doing a new thing! do you not perceive it?" {+ extras}

 

this is emily.  i can't wait to tell you about her.  but first some background.  this picture is from the first week that we met.  i went with a middle school here in town (jessie clark) that feeds into the high school that i was transfering to that fall with a group of 8th grade girls on a wyldlife summer camp trip in 2008.  it was such a blessing to get plugged in with 10ish girls that would be starting high school at the same time that i would be joining the mission at that school.

if you would have told me that week that i would be walking with most of those girls for the next 4 years as great friends and/or sisters in Christ i'm not sure if i would have believed you.  not because the week wasn't awesome, it definitely was, and not because i don't believe that God can do mighty things, i do!  i just don't think i could have dreamt this story up.  if you would have told me that a few of those girls in particular would get it and want Jesus like crazy and would lay down their lives for their friends, well i would probably still be just as floored as i am now.  i wasn't prepared for this.  you pray to see this but i've never actually experienced it myself like this. 

if you would have told me that those few girls would introduce me to such a broad circle of friends at the school, i would probably cry {and i have}.  i have been so blessed by knowing this group of junior girls.  i obviously have a heart for the entire school to know God's unfathomable for them but there are about 30 of these junior girls that my heart just breaks for; i think God has given me His heart for them.  just knowing these girls & their lives, living without hope, makes me more dependent on God every single day.  i so desperately want God to grab their hearts & give them eyes to know true things.  i am spurred on to know the Lord more because of these girls who are clinging to death.

i am also encouraged beyond words because like i said, there are those few - those who have heard the gospel & have responded to the grace that has been lavished on them.  they live as new creations.  and they are our partners, battling for the salvation of our friends, asking God to let us be a part of what he is doing. running with people like that - joy.  extreme joy.

emily is one of those people for me.  this year Christ has fully become her treasure and you can tell.  she is so hungry to know God.  know him for real.  God is doing something big in her life and it is so awesome to be a witness to that.  i have been meeting with her and some other girls over the past 2 -3 years and this year something clicked for her.  i really feel like God became her Lord.  she became passionate about his word.  and passionate about the things God loves {like people}.  she even asked if we could meet an extra morning in the week so that we can talk more about life & scripture.  she's 17.  how awesome is that?

two mondays ago we had our last club of the school year.  each week a leader gives a talk clearly laying out the gospel.  in the back of our mind this year, our theme has been redemption.  it was our absolute honor to be able to let one of our students give the last talk of the year, their personal story of redemption.  God buying them back from the slavery of sin at a great price. emily got to share her testimony with her friends.  she was real and bold and honest and my favorite part of it all...as she stood in front of 60-some of her peers claiming Christ as her King she told them that she wanted them to have it.  she wanted them to have life like God intended for them - full real life...forever.  God is so good.  i know that he is doing something big and that he will use that night for the kingdom & for his glory.  i'd like to remember that night always.

in much less important news...

we made this ridiculous video for club as the finale of our run-on for the year.  i don't know why i'd subject you {or myself} to this but here it is just in case.  casey & fran have a life-long dream of joining the lafayette cheerleading team to be a part of some pep, have some friends, catch the eye of a special guy & get to go to summer camp.  warning: fran is pretty squeeky & casey has a lisp - that is all.

{watch here}

and for this week we had the grand idea of a mall scavenger hunt.  kids try and find as many leaders in the mall as they can in 45 minutes.  and we don't look quite like ourselves.  enjoy.

ben hates me right now.