Training
What began as 3am send-off in Hattiesburg, Miss. (with my intern pal-Molly Griffith), ended as a week full of new friends, amazing stories, seminars, and a confidence that the Lord is working all things out for our good and his glory. Our intern class was able to spend a lot of free time together which was encouraging and a lot of fun (note the pictures below taken by an intern friend Rachel Hagan [graduate of A&M no less!] at the cookout we had on the last night).
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| Some of the boys grilling |
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| Our Intern class! (All 62!) |
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| Some good RUF hymns thanks to Abbey and Haddon |
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| A group of us eating |
It is so awesome to see how the Lord brings people together from all walks of life in something as unique as the RUF Internship. We are all so different but united in Christ. It really was a wonderful reminder that the Lord is working in intimate ways in each of our lives while also being the God of the universe. He has put us together in this experience for a very specific reason and he has promised to equip us and qualify us to share the Gospel on college campuses around the nation.
Newsletters
As of last Thursday, all of the newsletters I sent out should have arrived at their rightful destination. I could not be more excited/nervous. A lot of it has to do with the idea that this process has officially begun; a process that I have been waiting for since, well, a really long time. Yet, now that it is here, I am met with two different emotions: joy and fear. There it is!-the "fear" cat is out of the RUF Internship bag. Both of these emotions meet me daily and kind have a of tug-of-war over my general demeanor. Thankfully, we serve a God whose perfect love casts out fear- fear of failure, fear of vulnerability, fear of inability, fear of the processes associated with support raising, fear of the unknown. Also, what greater joy could I have than sharing how the Lord has been faithful through RUF? This is such a door for his name to be lifted up and how selfish am I to claim these opportunities as my own? Again, thanks be to God whose mercies are new every morning; whose steadfast love never ceases. (Lamentations 3:21-26) So as the support raising continues, I look forward to the days and weeks ahead in which the Lord will work and ultimately bring glory to his name.
Summer-ing
This summer has already been so different from my last one with MTW in Brasov, Romania. But the funny thing is the theme has been exactly the same: Trust God. I have been reading Trusting God by Jerry Bridges (which is one of our required books for the Internship) and it has been such a gift during this start-up period.
"It is just as important to trust God as it is to obey Him. When we disobey God we defy His authority and despise His holiness. But when we fail to trust God we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness." p. 16
"God will allow nothing to subvert His glory, so He will allow nothing to spoil the good He is working out in us and for us." p. 24
Bridges also refers to the verse I used as my theme verse for last summer:
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
(Psalm 18:30-32 ESV)
I can't wait to share more with y'all in the weeks to come!
Anna
