Week 6 as a CMI08

Monday
What was supposed to be our day off didn’t really turn out that way. We ended up having class with Dr. Pipim to conclude our studies on Nehemiah. After class, everyone started to feel the intensity of the past week catch up with them. I was exhausted and decided to take a nap for about an hour but ended up sleeping for three. Everyone was passed out all over the house. I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is this what it will be like all year?” I had heard horror stories about the missionaries from last year. They lacked a lot of sleep and were constantly sick. Hopefully that won’t be us this year.

Tuesday
Today, we character development class which was led by Justin. It was really interesting. We learned that the glory of God is his character and how the 10 commandments are a reflection of his character. To give God glory is to reflect his character through your life. I was definitely rebuked during that class. This class is supposed to teach us more about ourselves- good and bad. I can tell that it is going to be a humbling experience. We were also given the book Education to read. After class and lunch with Justin, we had our weekly family meeting. We planned our menu for the upcoming week and reflected on the previous week. We talked about the areas that we could improve on and the areas that we did well in.
After our meeting, we started massage which was pretty slow in the beginning but got busier as time went by. We met a lot of cool people today. We met a group of three girls who were terrified to come in at first. After they all got massages, they were so happy they came. They loved it and they said that they would come more often. We also had a student come in who said that she had been thinking about us all day because she was really stressed. It encouraged us to see the word getting out about massage.
After massage was Tuesdays with Jesus. Dr. Pipim talked about forgiveness which is something we all need to hear every once in a while. Although we had a good turnout, I was a little worried to hear that some of our students are stressed out. It’s only the third week of school, students are getting sick and really stressed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such diligence in students before, including freshman. I’m just hoping they get better soon. Most of the students who are sick are the ones who are working, leading out in a bible study group or is a student leader. They’re so on fire so I know the Lord will take care of them.

Wednesday
Today was Amy’s birthday and of course we had fun. We got her a cake and later attacked her with water balloons before taking her to a favorite hangout place. After eating, a few of us went to Wednesdays with Jesus where Pastor Conway talked about submission. When I don’t submit, I’m expressing a lack of trust in God and pride issues on my behalf. It was a very relaxed day but still very productive. I think days like these are going to be rare occasions so I made sure I enjoyed it.

Thursday
Today, I was able to go to my small group bible study for the first time. I couldn’t go last week because I was at MSU so I was very excited to go. Only one person showed up but it was fine. She was so open. She decided to do bible studies with us because she wants to get a better understanding of the bible. She was struggling with her trust in God and the bible. She wanted to find a way to really know that God was real. I told her to try God out and she said that she would. I’m already looking at her as a baptismal candidate. There’s an indescribable feeling about meeting someone who is sincerely searching for something more knowing that you can lead them to what they’re looking for. Though it is definitely out of my control, I can only pray and believe that she will get to know Christ for herself.

Sabbath
Today, I taught adult Sabbath school for the first time. We talked about taking God for granted, rebelling against him and then asking him for his forgiveness after we made the mistake. Because of human nature, we want to try things out on our own even if they’re known to be bad for us. So when God tells us not to do something, we want to do it anyway but then after rebelling, we ask for God’s forgiveness. We shared stories about times that we intentionally rebelled and what we learned from it. For my first class, it went pretty well.
For church, I sang special music. I was rebuked and blessed at the same time while singing. Before singing, I was nervous and worried about my voice. I was worried about messing up and making a fool out of myself. I went up to sing with the wrong intentions. I was focused on myself. About halfway into the song, I looked out at the congregation. Some people had their eyes closed, some were looking down and some were looking at me. I saw a girl in the very back who had her eyes closed and was clearly enjoying the song. That’s when I realized that my special music was an offering to God. It is only by his grace that I can sing. It wasn’t about me. It was about being a blessing to others. The very moment I saw that girl in the back row, all nervousness left me and I was able to sing with a joyful heart.
After potluck, a group of us went to the hospital to visit the uncle of one of our student’s roommates. While singing to them, the wife started to cry and they all expressed their gratitude. After singing to them, we went to another room. While singing, a woman and her two kids were passing by and her kids were so in awe that they requested us to go to their room afterwards. What turned into one more room turned into about five or six more rooms. It was definitely a blessing to see so many people encouraged because of our singing. Today was my favorite Sabbath so far.

Sunday
This morning, we had a ladies brunch. It was so nice to have girl time. We were able to talk about any and everything. It did get pretty silly but I think it was needed because the stress of work, school and ministry was starting to catch up with everyone. We’ve decided to start a women’s ministry on campus because we’ve realized that there are so many women on campus struggling with difficult issues. After brunch, we played tennis to work off some of the calorie intake from the morning. After tennis, we went canvassing. I’ve come to the conclusion that canvassing is not really on the list of my favorite things to do. Today was interesting though because I actually enjoyed it and I’ve figured out why. In character building class, we were talking about how when we are in a bad mood, we should serve others to get the focus off of ourselves. After tennis, my mood drop and I was so discouraged. While canvassing, my mood got better and better and I realized it was because I was serving others. God also blessed that day with books. Now whenever I’m in a bad mood, I’m going to make it a priority to serve others to get the focus off of myself.