the first from Durham

Oh my, where to start? So I’m on day 4 of the City Project (well, officially). Anyway, wow! I am so excited about what God is doing through this, and yes, you read correctly, it has only been four days!

I’ll start here because this is what we started with on Wednesday morning. John 15:4 records that Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you.” Or, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” What a promise! That God will continue to dwell within us if we remain grounded in Him. And that is what this summer is really grounded in. All of this that we are doing is because of our remaining in Jesus. Because He first loved us. Because this glorifies His name.

So, here’s some of what’s going on!

·         We split up into our two teams and did a huge scavenger hunt all over downtown Durham. My team had a little trouble with some of the clues and we ended up walking I-don't-know-how-many miles. Actually, we just went above and beyond the task, and that’s why we got extra exercise. Oh did I mention it was the middle of Wednesday? It was real hot. But so fun and a great time to get to know each other a bit. It was intense.

·         I’m sleeping in a water bed! Four of the 15 girls are staying at Wendy’s house. It’s been great to get to know her a bit more the past few days. She has been so generous to us, and we even went with her to a Durham Bulls baseball game Friday night!

·         I found out my internship position within the Summit Church, and I’ll be working with Jason Gaston, the student pastor! So I don’t know yet what that means exactly, but I’ll be hanging out with high school students I think! So cool.

·         My position with the community ministry in Durham is just as vague at this point. I’ll be working within Bless Durham, which is a sort of hub/connector for churches and non-profits and ministries within Durham. The goal is to have communication in between these churches and organizations so that everyone is working side by side, working for the growth of the kingdom and for the glory of God.

This is a cool verse: “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers.” (1 Corinthians 3:7-9).

So, yes!!! I'm really excited!! I pray for all of us to remain in Jesus so that He will remain in us. Because if we do not, all that we do this summer will not have much value. I'm tired! We've gotten a lot of information and logistics to start off this week. Thankfully I'll be able to sleep in a little bit longer this morning. Until later!