LP RETREAT!!!

Last weekend, every student who is attending the Leadership Project this summer attended a retreat at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church! Students from Wofford College, Western Carolina, Presbyterian College, and Furman showed up bright and early on Saturday for a day full of fellowship, instruction, and preparation for this summer! The picture above of all the balloons is a pic of when students had to pop all the balloons to find out who was in their room!! The whole day we played cornhole, heard a talk about the theme, students applied for jobs, hung out with their rooms, and met tons of new people! I put a pic of us single girls, Ashley, me, Lynn, and Marybeth, who worked hard to keep the day running smoothly and took a little break for some fun pics :)

I love the "LP". If you would have asked me if I would ever do something like it 5 years ago, I would have just laughed at you. I love being comfortable, being at home, and doing my own thing- and those things just dont describe the LP at all. Students live in tiny motel rooms with 5-8 people, work full time jobs, live in a Christian Community, learn how to share their faith, study the Bible, pray together, and minister to those they work with. Its a busy, productive, but FUN summer! When people say theyre going to the beach for the summer, they pretty much mean they might see the beach for a couple hours each week, but don't count on it.

As hard as it is, the LP is really a greenhouse for spiritual growth. It reminds me of Acts 2, where the apostles had everything in common, they ate together, prayed together, ministered together.....this is life changing when you experience it for the first time! This is life on life ministry, and it changes lives! Thats what Campus Outreach is all about, because thats what Jesus was all about!

This summer, the theme of the LP is WITNESS. Our theme verse is 1 Peter 2:9, that says,

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Really, being a witness of Christ means that we are image bearers of God, made in His image, and image reflectors, as we share Him with others!!

Praise God for these students giving up their summer to learn, grow together, and be challenges. Praise Him for the group leaders, which are students that will lead 4-6 students and shepherd them. Please pray for these girls that are near and dear to my heart! Pray for these freshman girls coming from Furman from my Bible study:

Allie, Chelsea, Alyssa, Laura, Emmi

And sophomore and juniors Marilyn, Kara, and Helen

Pray that they would grow in Christ and really know Him this summer.

And pray for these room leaders:

Chelsea, Catheryne, Mills, and Emily- pray they would love Him more than anything, and God would give them strength in Him this summer. Also pray they would KNOW God intimately!

The last pic is a picture of Wendy and me. Wendy will be having a baby, Judah, very soon! Pray for her and for a healthy baby. I wanted to put this picture up because she is one of the reasons I am who I am today. She pursued me, led me, gave her life to me. My best memories my senior year involve Wendy and Jessica. Wendy discipled Jess and I, and together we really knew God better through each other. I miss both of them deeply. Jessica died in a car accident our senior year and was preparing to be a missionary. Her faith impacted me greatly, and as I labor at our alma mater, I tell her story all the time.

Pray for me and these students. Pray that God would do more than all we could ask or imagine!