I just realized I haven't been giving you readers any updates! So I'm going to give you guys the last two email updates that I sent back home.
From July 9:
Sunday, I taught my first lesson. After debating for the past few weeks on what I should teach on, I believe the Richmond youth needed to hear about making biblical principles a priority. So I have started a six-session series I am calling Priorities: Six Godly Principles As Exampled By Jesus. I feel many of these kids are truly born again believers, but they aren't focused or don't know how to follow Christ. By taking the title of Christian, you are calling yourself a follower of Christ, and I want them to see how they can do that by simply applying how Jesus lived to their own lives. A lot of the kids also don't really put spiritual things at the top of their list of important things. They may or may not come to church or other church related events, simply because they had other plans that sounded better, or because they just didn't want to.
So pray for the youth that they would open their ears to what God wants them to hear and that God would take hold of their hearts and threat they would feel the urge took truly build their relationship with God.
Also pray for the first Friday session coming up this week. We had ten kids on Sunday, which is a pretty big group for them. Fridays, however, they don't really have a core group. This bothers me. Their Friday nights are like our Wednesday nights, except they meet at other people's houses. I know Fridays are the night to go on dates and have fun, but I would love to see some more people come. So pray that they feel the need to come on Friday.
In other news, we (the entire Vancouver intern group, there were ten of us) went and climbed the Grouse Grind, which is an intense trail up the Grouse Mountain. So I climbed another mountain. It was pretty hard, but not nearly as hard as The Chief in Squamish. I was still at the end of the pack with one of the other girls, but we had a nice time all the same. This time, we hiked in the evening, and we got to watch the sunset from the top and rode the lift down. Needless to say, I am very sore and tired.
Also, I believe I am getting sick. I woke up with nasal drainage and a scratchy throat, so please pray that it doesn't get any worse and that I heal soon.
From July 18:
First of all today, I would just like to say thank you. Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement you sent last week while I was feeling icky. I truly believe it helped me recover faster. Thank you to everyone who has been diligent in prayer. I'm sorry I haven't been able to send updates and requests as often as I'm sure you would like.
Thank you specifically to the youth group. I finally picked up the letters you sent me yesterday, and I read them while waiting for my bus. I truly miss each and everyone of you, and am honestly surprised by the impact I have made within the group. I never realized the role I played in the youth group, so thank you for helping me see that. Thank you for stepping up and praying for me while I am here, it means the world to me that my friends are actively working to help supply me with the strength and energy I need to continue my work each day. I love you all and cannot wait to see you again soon.
Update time. This past week has been incredibly busy, and I don't think there will be any slowing down until I'm done. Last Friday at small group, we talked about reaching out to the outcasts of society like Jesus did, and the students really took that to heart and showed an interest in wanting to reach out to homeless people. Sadly, there is an overwhelming number of homeless people in Vancouver and the surrounding suburbs. You can't go to the sky train station without seeing at least one. You can't go down Granville Avenue without hearing the sounds of young homeless buskers hoping to make some cash. You can't go down Hastings without seeing all of the homeless people, stuck in their squalor and addictions. And these students, many of whom came from very well-off families, who have never truly known hunger, have found it in their hearts to reach out to them. We continued this discussion Sunday during Sunday School, and we talked about the first steps in helping to restore the broken lives around us. While we by no means are miracle workers, we all agreed to take on the mindset that Jesus had: That we must operate on the assumption that we have a wonder working God who delights in restoring lives that seem irrevocably shattered, and that the people around us are a miracle waiting to happen. So pray for the students and for me as I begin to look for ways the group can go downtown and minister to these broken people.
Also, please, please pray for the Chinese Christian Gospel Church. Seth (the youth pastor) and his family are moving back to Texas later this month. Seth has been going through some things and he needs to take some time away from the ministry. The church is now looking for another pastor, or someone to fill in until they find a pastor. Pray for Seth as he continues to recuperate over the next year, and for Meredith (his wife) as she goes back to teaching in Texas. Meredith and their son Monte leave sometime today, so pray for safe travels for them.
Finally, I want to ask you all to not only continue praying for me as I work here to do God's will, but that I may have a clear direction to go after I return home. I have fallen in love with these students and this city, and in all honesty do not want to leave, but I made a promise to finish at least one degree, and will have to return home to complete my Associate's degree. After I graduate, there are so many different paths I could take, so many different experiences, and all of them seem inherently good, which makes it all the more difficult to see which one is not only good, but which is the right one that God would have me follow. Please pray that I find the emotional strength to carry on while here, as there have been several day recently where I have felt stuck in a rut of emotional indifference, and do not want to do anything at all. This is not a new feeling for me, as I deal with it quite a lot at home, but please pray that I find the strength to fight against it for the sake of my students, if nothing else.
Continue to pray for Stephen and Morgan as well, as they take on teaching at the other three locations. They are also hosting a game night tomorrow night, so pray that it all goes smoothly for them.
So, that is what has been happening lately. I have 9 more days of ministry with CCGC, which means my time is coming to an end. Please pray for me as I start to wrap up my lessons.
In Christ,
Emily E.
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