Sex and the City Uncovered

"Later that night I got to thinking about safer sex...when you crawl into bed with someone, is sex ever safe" Carrie Bradshaw, Sex in the City

Marian Jordan, the Arthur of Sex and the City Uncovered: Exposing the Emptiness and Healing the Hurt, has been traveling around to various college campuses to tell her story to thousands of girls around the U.S. I logged onto our CCC Staff site today and read this very encouraging story:

Girls Night Out

"The day before Cross 09, our students planned a Girl’s Night Out. The students did an incredible job and it turned out to be one of the most powerful outreaches I have ever seen! We had 350 girls attend and 125 of them indicated that they trusted Christ as their savior that night! Wow, praise God!

Marian Jordan spoke to our women about how she spent her life looking for love in all the wrong places– sex, alcohol, drugs, and money– until she gave her life to Christ and found the true love she had been looking for. She clearly showed girls why sex before marriage is not what God intended. Her honesty and vulnerability impacted lives in such significant ways. One student later told me that she felt Marian was telling “her story” and her life was changed that night after accepting Christ!

One of the keys to the success of this event was definitely prayer. Marian had actually been praying for FSU for 5 yrs! In addition the guys in our movement prayed during the event and many others were praying as well. Please be in prayer for us as we try to follow up with these girls and get them plugged in to Bible Study!"

Jordan is coming to speak at a handful of our campuses in Boston in February. Please be praying for her time here and that students will hear the truth about sex and be convicted to give this area of their lives' over to Christ.

If you would like to read an excerpt of Jordan's book, click here (you might have to copy and paste): http://books.google.com/books?id=OJBJvo55-CcC&lpg=PT120&ots=RGCVS1dw2E&dq=sex%20and%20the%20city%20uncovered%20marian%20jordan&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Meet Albert, Ashley, and Others...

Student testimonies caught on tape! View them here: http://www.youtube.com/cccnehq

Exciting Things Happening in Our Region!

God is doing so much in the Northeast! Here are just a few of the things He's been doing:

• At the Boston Metro Fall Retreat over 200 students attended. Fifty more than last year!
  
• At the retreat, 32 students signed up for the Boston Winter Conference!
• The Metro team has been given a generous donation to allot to scholarships. SO, all the students who signed up for BWC at Fall Retreat get to attend for only $50!
• Over 20 students are involved in Real Life Christian Fellowship at UMass Boston. Last year we had less than ten!
• A student from the NYC Summer Project emailed their director that she has been sharing her faith more than ever in El Paso, Texas (where she goes to school).
  
• Seventy students attended the University of New Hampshire Fall Retreat!
• Thirty students are now involved in the movement at the University of New Haven, all because one student attended Big Break and Summer Project last year. Now, she is a leader on her campus!
  
• THIRTEEN STUDENTS have trusted their lives' to CHRIST in Boston over the past six weeks!!!

Praise God for all He is doing!

God is on the Move at UMass Boston!

Soooo many exciting things have been happening at UMass. On Monday we had an Ice Cream Social for students to come meet us, fill out a quick interest survey, and get free ice cream. I was overwhelmed by the number of students that stopped bye our table. We had 63 students say they were interested in hearing more about God and/or getting involved with Real Life! We had at least 200 ice cream bars and ran out of every last one...even the meleted rejects!

Then...we had our first kickoff Real Life Christian Fellowship of the year on Wednesday. Over 30 students were there...that is TRIPLE than what we had at our largest meetings last year! It was a pretty diverse group with whites being a minority, which is cool. We have to reserve a bigger room becasue there was hardly any room to stand!! Students seemed interested in what we have going on around campus and in the Boston Metro area. I am sooo encouraged! God is on the move at UMass!!

2764 Students Ventured Out on Summer Projects

This article is from the CCC Staff website. I think it is encouraging and wanted to share it:

I am much more aware of God and how He is moving on campus. He definitely showed His power this summer, and I have big expectations for what He will do in the coming year! –student on Foot of the Rockies project

Summer project seriously changed my life. My faith with the Lord had been present throughout my life but I had no idea how much I needed to realize that I'm broken and in need of a Savior DAILY in my life. I learned that the Lord is not just a part of my life, but He IS my life. – Miami

I really experienced for the first time ever what a community of believers is supposed to look like: discipleship, accountability, prayer, vulnerability, and loads of fun and silliness. – Santa Cruz

God helped me forgive myself. I learned how to treasure the Gospel. - Wildwood

Launching a movement in Hawaii helped me truly understand and appreciate how our campus is also launching a movement in Sacramento State. It makes me excited to be a part of something new. – Epic: Hawaii

The digits: Students personally shared the Gospel with 47,370 individuals, and more than 20,000 in group settings or through media. 3820 people indicated they received Christ! On 197 global projects, 885 students went overseas, 1880 were state-side.

On Project I Learned...

On our last morning together, all the students shared what they learned over the past four weeks and what they want to take home with them. It was a great time of sharing, worship and prayer!

Here are some of the things they said:

"I want to spend more time alone with God. It's been really amazing to talk to God in my rock down by the water for an hour or two every day. I want to devote more time and not just cuz I'm supposed to, but because I want to"

"I used to want and ignore bad, but I've learned to accept bad in people and that is a part of them. I know see why I get along with my friends because I have bad too"

"I've learned that I put way to much on my plate and get stressed out. The boundaries bike ride really revealed that to me. I'm going to take away boundaries and give myself time to spend with God. I also need to let go of control. You can only do so much for people and you can't control them. I need to rely on the Holy Spirit."

"I really learned a lot about adulthood and boundaries. I'm learning to take responsibility for myself and not the growth of others. I've also learned a lot about myself"

"I've learned to be a risk taker: outdoors and in everyday life, like talking to a stranger in the grocery store. It's not always easy, but it can be fun and I like it"

"One big thing I'll take home is everything we talked about on Men's night. It was really provoking." (They talked about rejecting passivity, chivalry, justice, and weakness)

"It is OK and good to be vunerable. I usually keep everything surface level. The group is only going to be as deep as the shallowest person, I'm a leader on cmapus and need to let people really know me."

"A lot about myself. Especially with the solo day and finding out how God's made me, what I'm good at, and where I need to grow. I've been searching for what God wants me to do and really asking for direction. Seeing how God created me and where a job would match up. I know myself a lot more then I did a month ago."

"Taking risks and being vulnerable. It is not something I enjoy, but I've learned it's important to initiate when something is bothering me. Talking is no one of my strong points, but it is the only way you bond."

"I learned what it means to be more of an adult and own my actions and thoughts, what it means to be more of a man and take initiative and not be so passive."

Who Am I?

On our last day of outdoor adventure we put on our rain coats and pants and ventured into the foggy, wet mist for one last hike. Once we arrived at the base of the mountain everyone had a stereotype or "role" taped to their back. All of the roles were either "one up" or "one down" to the students: a homosexual student, a professor, a homeless man, a CCC staff member, your roommate, a grocery store clerk, ex boyfriend or girlfriend, etc. Each person as if they were the person taped on their backs. Everyone could see who others were, but not themselves. The objective of the hike was to show how we subconsciously treat other adults as better or worse then ourselves instead of as equals. The can often do this in our relationship with God as well.

A New Friend...

During a day of evangelism last week Becca and I met a Vietnamese women, Linh. She came to Bar Harbor (the town near Acadia National Park) by herself to work for the summer and have a new experience. It was her first day here! She was very curious and open to Christianity. We got to talk to her for over an hour and share the Gospel! Last night Becca and I went and got ice cream with her. It was fun to casually hang out and learn more about her life. Please pray for Linh and our relationship with her over the next week.

Can You Carry This For Me, Please?!

In Changes That Heal, Dr. Henry Cloud, states that the biblical basis for boundaries “exists between our identities, wills, and responsibilities…when we think of boundaries, we think of limits. Boundaries give us a sense of what is part of us and what is not part of us, what we will allow and what we won’t, what we will choose to do and what we will choose not to do.” It is important to have good boundaries in all aspects of our lives’. Part of having boundaries, is having the ability to say “yes” or “no” to people. We are responsible for our own limits and not letting those be crossed by others.

To help students apply this to their everyday lives’ we did a biking program on limits. Before the ride started we unloaded a bunch of random gear: tents, sleeping pads, gallons of water, kayak paddles, life jackets, etc. The gear needed to be transported by bike from where we were to another destination for a learning activity. Everyone started grabbing their fair share of equipment; strapping things onto their backs, putting on life jackets, hooking water jugs onto their backpacks, and attempted to ride with bag in between their legs. After we started bike riding, the staff (Nic, John, and I) slowly started to unload our gear onto the students. I would say “my knees are really hurting do you mind carrying this for me?” or “I really like this rock, can you put this in your backpack for me, mine is full” and so on…

In the beginning they were all quick to say “yes” to carrying our things. It wasn’t until I was riding without anything that some started to catch on, yet they still continued to say yes. During our debrief we talked about how easy it is to say “yes” to people you know, respect, and trust. Often times, people are stepping over our limits without realizing it, but it is our personal responsibility to stop that. Cloud says, “we decide what limits we will set on ourselves, and let others be responsible for the limits they set on themselves.” Everyone really learned the importance of limits with this program. We hope and pray that they will think back on in the future when they’re asked to do something outside of their limits.

Bonding: Faith, Courage, and Humility

We are now into our second week for project! The first week all of our activities focused on bonding with one another, as well as, the virtues faith, courage, and humility. Students learned practical ways to apply these virtues through rock climbing, boldering, rapelling, and traversing.

The rock climbing program focused on bonding with one another. Before they began, everyone was given a card with various instructions. Most of the cards said "The goal of today is to bond with one another. Talk to as many people as you can, ask open ended questions, participate, and be encouraging." However, four of the students were given "handicap" cards, each with a different stipulation. They were each told one of the following: to not to talk unless someone asked you a question, to always turn the conversation into talking about yourself, to only answer questions with a yes or no, and to only ask others questions, but never answer any about yourself. Also, you were not allowed to tell others about your handicap. This is where the program of bonding came into play! During the debrief the four students revealed that they were "role playing" and talked about how it affected them, the others, and the group. Matt, a student from L.A., was only allowed to answer questions with a "yes" or "no". He said that it was frustrating to not be able to elaborte more and it really affected his bonding. "Eventually, people just stopped talking to me and I felt really isolated" he said. Matt really learned the important of open-ended questions and how you're effected when you don't bond with people. All of the students have various stories of what they learned from the program.

Summer Project has Begun!

As of today, 84 summer projects have begun! From Clearwater Beach to Breckenridge, Prague to Tokyo, students are starting to bond together, take steps of faith and share about Jesus with others they meet. This summer 1800 students will take part in state-side projects, and almost 1000 will be overseas, not to mention the 450 that Korean CCC is sending as well!

I am now in Acadia, Maine for 5 weeks to experience God's grace and truth through outdoor adventure! I am thrilled to be apart of the Lifelines Ministry, a branch of CCC, for the summer. The goal of Lifelines is to help students (and staff :) ) develop:

1. Bonding and vunerability
2. Appropriate boundaries by learning our limits and when to say yes or no.
3. Accepting the good and bad in ourselves and others.
4. Move towards adulthood by taking responsibility for our choices and accepting the consequences.

I am here with 9 other staff members/interns. We are being trained on how to best guide the students this summer. Ten students arrive on Saturday!! I am very excited to grow and build into them over the month of June. Please pray for our relationships and time together.

Jess

Jess is a freshman nursing student at UMass Boston that I've been meeting with all year. In September, she emailed the Real Life Boston address to ask if she could met up with someone on a one on one basis. I was so excited to have a student who was not only teachable, but also willing to be available.

Jess is from Western Mass and lives in the on-campus apartments. Her roommates, Tiffany, is her closest friend at school, but they do not align on many biblical issues. Jess also has a serious boyfriend, Joe, at home. Between school work and Joe, Jess has not been able to branch out that much (but for the most part she is ok with it).

On Thursday, Jess and I had our last discipleship time till the Fall. We had a great hour together at Starbucks, laughing and sharing with one another what God has done in our lives over the past year. It has been great to see how much we've both grown. It has been a joy getting to know Jess over the course of the year.

Twenty Eight More Called to the Great Commission!

The Northeast is blessed to have twenty eight new Interns for the upcoming school year. These students gathered together for three days to bond with their team, support coaches, and others in the region. During their time together they were trained by senior staff member, Kevin Kimball, on how to raise their financial support. They are trusting God to raise a lump some of money, varying from thirty five to fifty thousand dollars!

I am very excited to have 4 new interns joining me in the office! I’ll be working side-by-side with Rachel, Kat, Lorenna, and Sydney. All year we’ve been praying for a graphic and web designer, photographer, and system analysts to help our Regional Team. Now, we’ll have people with those skills!

Many students were initially overwhelmed with raising support, but left the weekend feeling encouraged and prepared to invite individuals and churches to partner with them in ministry. Less than 48 hours after heading back to school, Kat D'Auria, a senior at Brown University, posted on facebook that "the excitement is building and I've been blessed with my first supporter!"

Planning this conference was one of my biggest responsibilities this Spring.

"And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Farther and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" ~Matthew 28:18-28

Solarium

One of our methods of initiating Gospel conversations with students is through a picture survey, Solarium. The 50 pictures range from a flower, to an airplane about the take flight, to a glass of wine, to a girl dancing in the rain. I love doing this survey with people because everyone has such a different interpretation of what each photo means.

April Showers mean SPRING is here!

People are smiling, birds are chirping, pedicures are in high demand, t-shirts are starting to get some use for the first time in 6 months...and it's raining! Despite being a little damp, Boston is starting to come to life. I have never appreciated rain and 50 degree weather before. The season of Spring has a whole new meaning to me. The rain means the warmth of May is on it's way and the anticipation brings hope to all of us pasty Bostonians. :)

Emily's Visit

A little over a year ago, Emily found out that she won a free plane ticket to anywhere in the U.S. We were both really excited about this because she could use her ticket to come visit me in Boston! We picked a random weekend and she booked her flight! Thankfully, the timing worked out perfectly...a year flew bye and she was just in Boston for 5 days visiting me!

Emily and I have known each other since we were born (literally). We grew up playing dolls, going on family vacations together, surprising one another for our birthdays, and many hours chatting on the phone. We both ended up going to Cal Poly and joined AXO. Emily was my "little sister" in the sorority, roommate my senior year, and co-leader for the All Sorority Bible Study. She is one of my closest friends.

We had a great time together walking around the city, eating great food, having good conversation, and seeing all of the sites. It was so so nice to have Emily in town and get to show her my life on the East Coast. I wish I could convince her to move here and live with me next year! :)

BIG Break

Over 975 students attended week 3 of Big Break, a record in Campus Crusade history. Throughout the week, students learned how to share their faith and apply it on the beach by talking to thousands of college students from all over the U.S. vacationing for Spring Break. I was blown away by how many people were there to party and take a week off school. The 8 mile stretch of beach was wall to wall people, ages 18-23, playing beer pong, dancing on the MTV stage, listening to loud music, doing beer bongs, and having the "time of their life".

Throughout the week, the Gospel was shared with 5,562 people, with 674 indicating that they placed their faith in Christ!! Very cool to see God working in the midst of brokenness.

One student shared about how he and his friend approached a man on the beach with a beer in each hand. After some conversation, the man (Jason) seemed interested in the gospel. But was too drunk to talk at the moment. He told them to come and find him in his hotel in the morning. The next morning the students went to the hotel room. Knocking and calling for Jason, there was no answer. After a short prayer, they saw a key on the ground. And they tried the key. It opened the door. Walking in, they saw 3 young men passed out on the couches. Calling for Jason, one man woke and replied that he doesn't know who Jason is. But just then Jason woke and still hung over recognized the two students. They began to talk and went outside to get some privacy. Outside they noticed that Jason's truck has 2 tires that were flat, ruined. One of the students called AAA and offered Jason a free tow. When the AAA towing company arrived, Jason and the students went with the tow truck and the car to the garage. But, for some reason, the tow truck went to the wrong garage, which took a lot longer than was expected. But, it was this extra time that gave the students the time to share the gospel with Jason who was now finally sober. With a clear mind, and the kindness of the students, Jason accepted Jesus into his heart.

This is just one of the hundreds (literally) of stories that students shared each night about their experiences.

Outreach at UMass Boston

Last week, we had an outreach at UMass Boston, the campus I work at on Mondays. About 50 staff and I went to the campus for the afternoon to reach hundreds of sut

Growing in God's Grace; Truth, Peace, and Knowledge

At our Staff Conference, the speaker focused on 3 key elements of God's Grace: Truth, Peace, and Knowledge. I am also reading Changes That Heal, by Henry Cloud, who also addresses this topic. Here are some points that really stuck out to me.

Grace is the unmerited favor of God toward people. We don't deserve God's grace, but God gives it to us because of His unconditional love and acceptance. Both love and grace are characteristics of Christ. Romans 5:8 says " God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Truth is what is real; it describes how things really are. Just as grace is the relational aspect of God's character, truth is the structural aspect of God's character.

Grace without truth has not power. Just like truth with no grace has no compassion. There needs to be a balance between grace and truth to display God's love, and law. Together, they have the power to bring people to God. John 1:14 says "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory; glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

A good example of how Jesus lives out both grace and truth is in the story of the Samaria woman at the well (Read John 4).

Peace is not the absence on conflict, but the presence of whole relationships. Peace with God can only be received. Peace with others must be pursued. Peace of the heart is experience by walking in the spirit. In Ephesians it says " For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility...and he he came ame preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near" (2:14-18).

Knowledge is another aspect of grace: "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity" (2 Peter 3:18). God gives us the truth (sharing in the parables-Matthew 25: 14-29) and resources (Mark 4: 21-25) so that we can be his witness. We are told in the Great Commission (Mark 16: 14-18) to share the knowledge we have about Christ with others.

I think that all of these are very good points that challenge me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. I hope it does the same of you as well.