Given that I am completely exhausted from a day spent at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure, I apologize for any parts of this blogpost that look poorly written. I will also get to why I was at Islands of Adventure later.
So, on Monday we began with a topic that is truly a great challenge - other-centered living. And just in case anyone, for some bizarre reason, needed a reason to believe that other-centered living is important, consider this: Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your mind. Then he said that the second was like it - Love your neighbor as yourself. On Monday, Ben, the campus director at the University of Florida, came up to talk to us about this topic. He outlined the need for us to consider others' needs to be more important than ours. He also pointed out that humility does not mean lying down and being a doormat, but loving our neighbor and considering them before ourselves.
Which led to Tuesday, where I had more great one on one discussion. This week it was not only one on one with my team leader, but also with a friend here in Jacksonville over struggling with past sin issues. It was encouraging to hear his story and hear how his struggles were very similar to mine. It's amazing how God is using the people here in Jacksonville to show me how much he loves all of us.
On Wednesday, we were again talking about other-centered living. A lot of it was very similar to stuff I had heard in the past. In fact, I'm sure that the speaker probably would not have affected me or caused any change had he not said this: Unless we are transformed [the word I prefer is moved] by how much love Jesus showed us by dying in our place, we can't have a real change of heart when it comes to serving others consistently. That hit me hard because I realized that the reason I struggle to consider other's needs more important than mine is partially because I've become numb to the story of the Gospel. This week, I've had to remind myself over and over what exactly it was that Jesus gave up just so He could have a relationship with me.
Thursday, we had our Bible Study. We brought up this same point about how we need to be moved by the Gospel, but we also brought up the interesting question of when one is being smart and looking out for his/her needs vs. when one is not trusting God to provide. It was a great conversation, and it was concluded with an agreement that we, as Christians, need to be more attentive to each other's needs especially when we realize them at a moment's notice.
Friday we had our program-wide Amazing Race. As a person who loves the TV show, it was a lot of fun to take part in the race. We had to find the oldest oak in Jacksonville, ride the tram across the St. John's River, eat a whip cream pie in search of marbles, and locate Mario and Luigi in the middle of a giant strip mall. It was so much fun. We didn't win, but we finished in the top 25%, so I can be pretty happy with our performance.
Yesterday we visited Wycliffe - a Bible Translation organization. When I first heard we were going here, I kind of thought the day would be boring, but I would be polite. The day was way better than I thought. I felt like I had my eyes opened to the need of people to have a Bible written in their own native language. Of the 7,000 living languages of the world, only about 2,700 have a New Testament or Bible written in their language. It blew my mind when I thought of all the places in the world that did not have any way to understand God's Word in a way that we English speakers take for granted.
Part of the reason we were at Wycliffe, though, was because this weekend was our "weekend away" from the program (Wycliffe is in Orlando). After Wycliffe, we spent the night in Orlando and spent all day today at Islands of Adventure. It was so much fun. I got to visit Harry Potter World, drink pumpkin juice and butterbeer, ride the Hulk, ride Dueling Dragons, and do so many things that I still can't believe that we fit them all into one day. I know that when tomorrow comes, I will be incredibly exhausted, but hey, maybe God is giving me a chance to rely on His provision. Until next time...
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