To all my friends and readers who have been wondering why I haven’t been updating/posting (just in case you did not read my post about the brief hiatus ), the month of October has been a very busy and an exhausting one. With midterms, CFAW, job hunting, and especially Scaremare, I felt that i had to take a break from my FMF ministry in order to honor my commits and responsibilities as a student.

Also, in early October, I had hopes of starting a new job, but they had a seasonal staff meeting and decided that they cannot afford to hire any new people :/ so I am still currently praying for God to open doors and provide.

With the last few weeks being such a hectic one, i feel like i have learned a lot, but also i feel drained. in every sense of the word. Lately i have been feeling very exhausted and weary, and i needed some time to rediscover my momentum in God, i this university, in my calling, and in my relationships. I am still far from perfect, but i know God has big things for me. 

^some of my fellow youth majors preparing for the last Scaremare weekend

Rev Kev.

Dr. Brown, one of the youth professors that lead the entire program

me presenting the gospel to probably the SMALLEST group… they’re usually in hoards of close to 40 people in that one tent. 

The two gentlemen on either ends dedicated their lives to Christ that night. I remember them specifically because they had no idea that this was coming, and i could tell the holy spirit rocked their worlds!

i love my school. i love my calling. i love my God.

how are you?

With midterms, a new job, fall-break (not really a break for me), and Scare-Mare going on this week, I have decided it would be wise to take a brief hiatus from FMF to focus and honor my priorities as a student and a leader. Also to re-fuel for the further FMF ministry during the second half of this semester :D

As I will be in continual prayer for this city and ministry, please support us in your personal prayerful agenda as well :D

*FMF Lemonade Stand #2 pics coming soon!

As I had mentioned yesterday, today was a continuation of a two-part FMF. I had met with CJ at the The Plaza today because we were cut short due to time yesterday. I offered to buy him lunch today as we talked a little more in depth about the things he had on his heart. Here’s a little bit of what happened:

Gen. Tso’s Chicken and Hunan Beef!

Over some (very mediocre) chinese food we just sat there and talked. He opened up to me in a way that blew me away. Out of respect for his trust and testimony, i will not go into huge detail, but this young man’s story is one that will encourage anyone who hears it. And it only further saddens me that this city is filled with many more stories such as his, and SO many LU students and its leaders will never hear it… This needs to change. Meet CJ:

• 18 years old, turns 19 in February 18
• Lynchburg Native
• Has a very complicated family history, but has become a stronger man in his identity because of it.
• Eversince a child, CJ has been faced with many situations, trials, and tribulations that tested his strength, will power, and courage. As we all have, Cj has had his share of bad choices and mistakes, but today stands as a strong young man that has learned from every single lesson and learning experience he has been through.
• Many may have turned away from God in times and situations like this, but these experiences have drawn him closer to God. CJ realizes and feels that there is something more, and wants to take the next step into his growth, but feels very limited in resources due to his family situations and other predicaments that limit him. 
• Feels like his story, experience and passion will make him a good counselor someday, which is what he wants to do eventually.
• CJ sees many LU student’s as proud and arrogant, living out a message that says to the Lynchburg community “We are better than you guys, so let me just quietly get my degree and get out of this town.” People truly fear what they don’t know, and they don’t know what they don’t care about. I want to try and change this…

After lunch, CJ suggested that we go visit his “adoptive” mother at work. This was a crazy experience in itself. Here she is:

She works for a non-profit organization that focuses on helping people with disabilities succeed and become independent as possible. Also they focus on children with disabilities as well, with a special emphasis on literacy.

I cannot type down everything that i have learned from these two today, but i assure you that i have a heavier burden for this city, for CJ, and to see a change in the attitude of ministry here at LU. This is tragic. anyways…

Me and CJ are hanging out all day today. I just want to spend some time with him. We tried looking for a job on campus for him, but no one is hiring. I’m taking him out to dinner and a movie, only in hopes that i can earn some credibility with him to minister into his life to the best of my availability. Please pray for him guys.

***

There’s a new and unfortunate trend here on LU campus. Students walking around with no shoes………………………… what the heck?

Today’s (and tomorrow’s) FMF will be one subject split in 2 parts. Here is Part 1.

I’m no photographer, and this is just the camera on my phone.. so it does not do it justice, but lynchburg is the most beautiful during the fall season. Today was not even chilly, rather it felt more like a nice spring day. Today, i spent more time than usual in just people-watching/praying over the area. Maybe it was the nice cool breeze, or maybe it was the choking aroma of cigarette smoke everywhere, or possibly the very loud and obnoxious group of high-schoolers skipping school to gossip at the bus stop.. but something made me want to just take my time. The buses came and went for three circuits until i finally decided to approach this young man:

CJ:

• 18 years old, barely a senior in high school
• Lynchburg native
• wants to go to Liberty, but can’t.
• thinks and feels like most LU students take LU and the city of Lynchburg for granted. He said that there are so many young adults in lynchburg that will not or can not do anything truly great with their lives. Wether it be the financial income, certain household situations, etc.. many of them cannot even begin to “dream what ya’ll wake up to as reality..”

thats all he could say until he said he had to go catch his bus. But before he left, he took the initiative and said he wanted to meet me again tomorrow to talk more. This man has something to say. He has a story to tell. At first, he looked at me like he was very unsure of what to say when i proposed to spend some time with him getting to know him. He had a look like “…why?” but afterwards, i can see in his eyes that he has something to say, and hasn’t had much audience to listen.

 I told him that i would meet him at the bus stop tomorrow afternoon, and that i would buy him lunch. I am thinking of bringing him here to LU, and buying him lunch on campus. Please pray for God to plant seeds. There’s a special burden i have for this man, and i don’t know why. Hopefully i can find out tomorrow.

*Lemonade Stand #2: two days.

God loves to surprise us. God loves to blow our expectations away. God loves to remind us in unexpected ways that He is a gracious father who rewards obedience, and when we need encouragement, he sends people to us to lift our spirits. Thank you to all of you that have been praying for me throughout this ministry, especially after the discouragement i felt yesterday, for God has truly blessed me today :D

Today was a chilly day for the most part in Lynchburg. Also, it was very cloudy. The clouds looked very fluffy, and i love it. Then it started to get very sunny on and off..lol

…its the sun, i swear lol ^.^

I went to the Plaza bus stop as usual, and after i got there, i immediately started praying over the area, for the people, the drivers, and the needs of every heart and home represented in this bus stop today. I prayed for today’s FMF subject and for openness and availability on their part, and courage and boldness on mine. I was in for a big surprise. Meet Mr. Cornell:

To be honest, there was very little prayerful thought into approaching this man. I laughed to myself as i was walking to him, as i could hear my good friend Daniel Pyon’s voice saying to me: “DUDE, don’t lie… you just want to talk to him cuz he looks like Frederick Douglass!” 

(HAHAHA…Pyon, you know you would’ve said that!)

In all seriousness, I really did not expect what was about to happen. I approached him with a smile and a handshake, and went about explaining my ministry as usual. I explained to him that I am a student at LU and I have a personal evangelism ministry called Five Minute Fellowship, and that i would like to get to know him just for 5 minutes. That is probably all i said to him the whole time. As soon as i had said that, he burst out into deep laughter, as if he had an inside joke that i wasn’t a part of. It is then that i noticed his eyes were tearing up. My initial thought was “…great, a crazy emotional guy, with a bad hair day.” He then took my hand and started ranting like crazy, to what would become my first FMF day where the ministry was put on ME through HIS words, and not the other way around.

“You’ve got a good thing here son, you see, you’re not judging people’s salvation, you’re not makin em feel uncomfortable, you’re not belittling them for their culture, you just want to get to know somebody, you just want to be kind. Thats the most Jesus’ i’ve seen around here in a long while, son.” (read it in a very soulful Morgan Freeman-type way…lol)

He went on for 20 minutes explaining that He’s grown up in Lynchburg and the surrounding areas for his whole life. Growing up as a child, Christian integrity and morals were a big part of the black community here because that was all they had, and the community was better a whole because of it. But somewhere along the way, Lynchburg (with much influence from Jerry Falwell/Liberty) has become such a “churched” city with so many churches throughout the city, but no one would ever reach out past the churches and into the community because they were afraid to be REAL with their vision and ministry. That Lynchburg has lost their Christian Integrity, and this generation and this city is suffering because of it. 

He said he found much hope for our generation and this city through what I was doing through God’s calling in my life, with FMF and in this city. He said he could see this changing Lynchburg and this impacting LU for generations to come. He will pray for this ministry and for me to be used greatly in times to come. It gave me goosebumps and tears to hear this all from a stranger. It was one of the most unexpectedly humbling experiences ever in my life. To go minister to someone, and instead become the person that receives the encouragement, prayer, ministry and blessing. WOW.

“If you a Cowboys fan, you gonna go out and let people know! You gon wear the jersey’s and get the stickers, and you gonna tell people! You aint gonna be just a proud fan inside your house!”

Man…the things we learn, the things we see, the ways we can grow from just 5 minutes with a stranger. DANG. GOD IS GOOD. GREATER THINGS HAVE YET TO COME.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

*I almost died three times while trying to take this picture :D