Adventures of the Nalani Variety: Wilder Project #1

The first night we were in Newport Beach (in the beautiful house God provided for us to stay in!), the team sat down and we had a really good devotional together to really focus on what we were there for. Jim McKinney, the XA director at UCI and the wonderful guy who sponsored us while we were on our trip, suggested that we look at Philemon, and that's exactly what we did. Here are some of the things we came up with in our bible study that first night that helped us remember what we were doing and why:

-Don't judge others- treat everyone you meet as a brother or sister
-Have the grace of Jesus with the people you talk to, and know that HIS grace is with us!
-We should go about what we do with crazy love
-Sharing our faith should be natural! It's part of our lifestyle as Christ-followers
-Pray constantly! We're always looking for open doors to build relationships

Here is part of the first entry I wrote about our trip:

March 16, 2010

We're only two days into this trip, and it has already been one of the most memorable experiences of my life! As Travis puts it, we're out here exercising our spiritual muscles that really should be in use every day, in every moment of our lives! And the good thing is, what we're doing here- sharing God's love at UCI!- doesn't really feel out of the ordinary. The results of actually going out and talking to people and hearing their stories and seeings Jesus get planted in their hearts (or at least the idea of Jesus), however, are always extraordinary! It's so humbling to know that God is choosing to use us to do His work! There's nothing more rewarding, and quite possibly nothing more challenging, either! Sometimes I find it so difficult to completely go out on a limb and not even be sure that what you're saying to the person you're talking to is hitting home, but you just really have to have faith that you're doing what God wants and that seeds really are being planted!

Here's some more pictures from the trip.