January '06 prayer letter

Once again, it's been some time since I've posted. I guess I'm just not in the habit of it yet! I hope to post more soon. Here's my current prayer/update letter for partners in the ministry. Enjoy!

Begin prayer letter, dated January 18, 2006:

'We’re off to a great start to the semester and to the year 2006! We have had the most h2o services this school year than ever before, only breaking for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, coming back on January 8th. When we have services that are on ‘break Sundays,’ like the Sundays before and after Thanksgiving, the one after final exams week, before the start of the first week of classes, and surrounding Spring Break, we do them downstairs in the Waterhouse in our open mic setting. These services we call ‘h2o unplugged,’ and I always enjoy them. There is obviously a smaller number of people that come out, but it makes for an intimate atmosphere. The music is very low key, usually just an acoustic guitar (and maybe a hand drum), and Billy (or whoever’s speaking) typically just sits on a stool to give the message in front of the people sitting comfortably on our couches. So on Jan. 8 we opened the Waterhouse doors again and were happy to see about 20 people come in and worship with us. I definitely felt a feeling of newness and fresh hope for the coming year, and for me, after being refreshed by a week of vacation and then inspired by a large gathering for college students and ministry workers in Nashville (Passion06; perhaps I’ll blog more on that later), I felt encouragement and excitement to be back with those with whom I minister.

A retreat was planned for the following weekend, Jan. 13-14, inviting students and leaders out to Mountain Creek Cabins for a time to look at each of our life’s stories as they have unfolded thus far, seeking to determine life lessons that aid in the pursuit of our individual and corporate purpose, values, and vision. There were 14 people that came out, and we had a wonderful time of worship and prayer together Friday night; I really felt the power of God’s sovereignty in bringing each of these 14 lives together for a purpose, and I believe the bond that binds us in Christ was richly experienced. The next day spanned many emotions, as we looked at both the positive and negative events that have shaped our lives and actually wrote them down on post-it notes and mapped them out on poster board, sharing our stories in groups of 2 or 3. Billy led us through processing these ‘time lines’ and showed us the difference between our lives’ purpose statements (which we each wrote out), our actual values (ones we’re currently displaying by the way we live) and preferred values (ones that never change and that we’re always moving toward but that we sometimes fail in keeping), and our vision (very specific dreams God has placed in our hearts to live out for Him). We’ve already seen fruit from decisions made that weekend; one girl who attended had an opportunity to counsel a young girl who needed a friend and then led her to Christ the very next day! Please pray for these 14 souls as they continue to work out all these important things.

Sunday, January 15th marked our official start to the semester since the students are back, so we went back upstairs for h2o and my, my, we had some fun! Back to full band now, we rocked out at the beginning of the service with an instrumental to get people pumped up for some big worship, and there was energy in the air that could be sensed. Billy started a message series called ‘Trust’ that will hit on areas of stewardship during our time on earth with which God has entrusted us. Pray for our h2o services, that we give them excellently.

That’s all for now! See you next month...

In Christ,
Cameron'

December '05 prayer letter

Well hello! It certainly has been some time since I last posted. I apologize! But now I'm back in the swing of things after a lovely Christmas season. I'll blog more on the holidays soon, but for now I'd like to post my first online monthly prayer letter. This is the ministry update letter I send each month to partners in the ministry -- specifically, people who support Great Commission Ministries for the staff position I have on campus at WVU. I am now making this letter available here each month. It will generally appear about mid-month. So if you're a praying person, you can certainly feel free to lift up the things in the letter if you like!

My letter, dated December 19, 2005:

'As we enter this wonderful season of giving, I’m reminded again of your generosity in partnering with GCM and me in making a difference in the ways that we can in this world. I am so grateful for you in my life, and I think of and pray for you often. Please remember that if you want me to pray for anything, I’m always available and would love to; just let me know.

We also remember the miracle of our Rescuer’s entrance into our world this month; we acknowledge the great love his Father poured out in such an act of grace; and we celebrate the ‘beautiful collision’ of his Divinity meeting our depravity (I’ll give credit to David Crowder for that last thought!). Let’s not forget what this season is all about, especially in light of all the news articles we’ve seen about many large retailers banning the word ‘Christmas’ from their stores. Though it’s sad, it’s no surprise to me that the word ‘Christ’ is still one of the most controversial terms in our language and continues to ignite fiery emotions among many people. It recalls to me the comfort Jesus brought his disciples toward the end of his life and the end of the gospel of John: ‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first (John 15:18).’ It is a consolation that Christ has gone through all we do and more than we can imagine. And it is an honor and a blessing to receive any persecution for his name: ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me (Matthew 5:11).’ In fact, Jesus promised his followers that this life would not always be easy: ‘In this world you will have trouble (John 16:33b).’ But in the same verse, just after that, he says, ‘But take heart! I have overcome the world,’ and just before the promise of trouble he gives another, wonderful promise:

‘I have told you these things,
so that in me you may have peace.’

What a gift! That through it all, when we remember Jesus’ words and love, we can know peace. This reminds me of the oft-quoted verse in the traditional Christmas story of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2, when a heavenly host appeared to the shepherds in the fields, ‘praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (verse 14).’ Please pray that amidst the craziness that regularly accompanies this season, the peace God intended for you finds you (and me!) as you take time to contemplate His highest glory.

Here’s a shot of our next-to-last h2o for the semester on December 11 (notice the angelic shine on my New Balances as we sing ‘Glory to God in the highest’ in Latin as part of the Christmas carol ‘Angels We Have Heard on High’!). The picture was taken by Sarah Meehan, a fellow GCM missionary who was in my staff training class this year and who gave her testimony at this h2o. She had gone to WVU a few years ago and never knew Christ while she was here. But the Lord reached her through a friend of hers and His Word; it’s an awesome story! I’ve actually written about it in more detail on my new ‘blog’ (which is the shortened lingo for ‘weblog,’ an online journal of sorts where one can post writings and photos), which I want to tell you about. Billy and some of our other friends had these blogs of theirs set up, and from time to time I had gone to the sites and read their thoughts for the day, week or whatever frequency they had posted. Lately I realized what a neat outlet this is for creative and essay writing, as well as for ministry, and so I looked into it and set one up around Thanksgiving. Here’s the website:

kingfriend.blogspot.com

You don’t even have to type ‘www’! Please check it out from time to time; it will help you get to know my heart and mind a little better. I’m also going to post these monthly prayer letters there from now on for those of you who are on the Internet a good bit. In fact, if you would like to stop receiving the mailed letter and want to just view my website around mid-month to read my letter that way, please let me know (all my contact information is now listed below). I will, of course, continue to send the ‘snail mail’ if I don’t hear from you. Please pray that my blog helps increase my skills as a communicator and that it is effective in encouraging people that the King has landed and is coming. Tell anyone who may be interested about the site!

So the December 11 service was a blast, being our annual Christmas service (the students leave town for break that week after their final exams) where we sing carols and share a meal afterwards. We had about 70 in attendance, which made us quite happy! Sarah Meehan visiting was a special treat, and she touched hearts with the way God touched her life. Please pray for her as she finishes up her own support raising and will soon head out to El Salvador to minister to a Hispanic culture.
We had one last h2o this week, on the 18th, before breaking for Christmas and New Year’s. Billy asked me if I’d like to give the message for the service, and so I did! It was the third part in a series ‘The Coming Messiah’ Billy had spoken on the last two weeks in which we examined various responses to Jesus’ birth. I looked at Mary’s Song, Magnificat, in Luke 1:46-55. I rather enjoyed studying and preparing for the talk, and I hope to have more opportunities in the future. Please pray that I not only rehearse the words I’m going to speak when I teach, at h2o or in Bible study, but that I take the time to internalize them and meditate on the Word for the value in itself as a very important part of my life.

Sarah and I had a fantastic year 2005, obviously in part due to our union as one flesh, starting our new life together. The year has gone by quickly for me; it began with us being newly engaged and beginning to work out the massive details of the wedding ceremony and subsequent joining of two lives. Most of the spring was consumed with preparation, though Sarah managed the second of a two-semester run of straight ‘A’s (she finished this fall semester nearly perfect, with only one ‘B’). The summer saw our beautiful wedding and honeymoon to South Florida and the Bahamas, as well as Sarah’s Young Life camp trip to Lake Champion, NY and my GCM new staff training in Orlando (which I had to leave early to participate in my older brother Christopher’s wedding, a week before mine). Since then we’ve enjoyed being mostly at home, with me doing support raising and h2o and Sarah doing Young Life and school. Please pray for Sarah’s upcoming GRE as part of her application to grad school here in social work. And pray for us as we, amid seeing family, take a little holiday vacation! :o)
In Christ,
Cameron'
Alrighty! Letters make for long posts. Talk to ya again soon!