bike

I LOVE riding my bike.



It is so peaceful :)

Especially in downtown Emporia!

the first Christian Challenge of the semester!

So, tonight was the first Challenge of the semester. There were around 140 students there! So cool.
Last year our first meeting had 120 students and then averaged out at about 80 students for each meeting throughout the semester.
It is always cool to see and MEET new people at the first Challenge.
There were many freshmen and some transfers.

I talked tonight with some of the girls who I will have in my small group - I am SO excited for that :D


Jason talked tonight about grace. He did a great job of showing how much he wanted students to understand the importance of this! He read in Ephesians 2:1-9 and explained how we at one point lived in a "me kingdom" - where life revolves completely around self and we gratify the cravings of our sinful nature; then how there is this "God kingdom" which is the Kingdom we need to be in, where Jesus was raised and we too are raised to be seated with Him; Grace is the "free ride between the kingdoms". I feel this is a perfect "first Thursday" talk; a great way of sharing the heart of the Gospel in a way that people understand.

Tomorrow I will help do some input of info-cards...actually I am excited for it because I love inputting data. Nerdy I know.



Oh, check out our awesome website!
www.esuchallenge.org

and the prayer blog: www.esuprayer.wordpress.com/

I called, He answered...

Family seems to be one of the most interesting facets of life - for me at least (and a lot of people I know). My definition of interesting in this sentence is: something that is essential, yet challenging; one of the most frustrating elements of my life, yet one of the most blessed things in my life; an enigma which will never be solved. And I am okay with that.

These past few days have been "challenging". I have experienced MANY emotions and done lots of processing.

I am once again AMAZED at how faithful the Lord is. Not surprised at all, but thankful.


And as for friends...well, they are indescribable. Those who are older than me and serve as mentors (mentor: a person who pours an abundance of wisdom, truth and love into my life) are so so gracious in listening to my over-emotionalized problems, and responding with the wisdom, truth and love mentioned before.

For those who are my peers, who know my heart, and who share in my joy/pain - I am also thankful. Their prayers of each are consistent, abundant and powerful!



I am trying to figure out what my "role" in my family is, as I continue to serve in Emporia and in the ministry that God has called me to. I know that geographically I am not supposed to be nearer to my family, but I could spend a lot more time getting to know them better and sharing life with them...

Refreshed

Today I was able to spend some really good time with my Father, processing through some of the things He taught me this summer and some of the things I need to continue working on and praying through. I rode my bike for awhile, listened to some beautiful music, read my journal, read some scripture, wrote an evaluation from the summer and journaled. I feel very refreshed and excited to process more. I didn't think I would be using the word excited to describe this processing, but that is how I currently feel :)

Tonight was our second meeting as a staff for Christian Challenge. We talked through some events we will be having soon and we prayed. It is so good to come together and lift our needs to Him. Not only to lift those needs, but to trust He will fill them. I am SO excited for this year to begin. I'm anxious to meet new people (go figure) and to learn and grow with them in the Lord.

Our first "event" will be a Leader get-together where we will get to know one another and share some wisdom, advice and knowledge with some students who will be leading small groups and playing on our worship team.
The next day is dorm move in! That is a fun time of helping people get settled into their rooms, seeing "deer-in-headlight" faces, and being a comforting smile to students who are maybe leaving their homes for their first long-time-away-from-home-trip.
Tuesday we will have a table set-up on campus for students to come by and learn more about our ministry.
And Wednesday is the first day of classes!
Our first Thursday night meeting will be the 20th, which will be immediately followed by an Ice Cream Party (to start off the year right ;).

As far as support raising goes, I have been really blessed to see such a great response from those I know and love. I am not at my goal (not really close at all), but I am very confident that Father will provide. As I spoke about last time, this Call of His is true and I have no doubts at all about it - therefore, I know He will be faithful in providing - in all ways. I am at about 20-30% of my monthly goal. Please lift this to God. Ask that He would burden the hearts of those He wants to give to this ministry and that He would remind those who desire to give. Also ask that He would make "my part" clear to me - that I would know how to encourage people in giving and how I must assist in reaching this financial goal.



Some of the scripture I read today was Philippians 1:1-11. It says:
" 1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

These words accentuate my heart and my feelings toward my summer team. Together we partnered in the sharing of the Gospel. From the day we were each accepted to go on the team together, God began a work in us and continued to work throughout the summer and is working even now, and I am confident that He will continue this work until the day of completion, the day of Jesus. I have them in my heart and I miss them, and this is “right for me to feel this way”. I miss them with the affection of Christ. I enjoyed each day with them, and each minute I spent investing in our team and each of them individually, and on this day – I miss them. They are not that far, but we do not meet regularly and this is my current struggle. But I know, just as God called Paul to chains for the advancement of the Gospel, He has called each of us home after our summer trip in order to serve his people of Emporia and of Kansas City, in order to share His Good News. I am asking Him for a peace about this.

The Beginning of a Call

As the end of college approached there were many options waiting for me just beyond the horizon. The prevailing choice seemed to be getting a higher education - and not necessarily for the money - but because of my passions. I was looking toward beginning a Master's program at a seminary immediately after graduating with my Sociology degree from ESU. While praying about this option and talking it through with Jason and Lisa (the Director of Christian Challenge and his wife), it seemed that God had a different plan for me. Jason and Lisa asked me to consider serving in an Associate role on staff with Christian Challenge, a campus ministry at ESU where I have been involved for the past four years and on staff as an intern this past year. I had been previously praying about this as an option for me - and continued after this conversation. The choice was quite obvious once I started thinking seriously about it and was confirmed by the Lord in a variety of ways!

Once this decision was final, "I will serve on staff with Christian Challenge instead of heading off to seminary right away," I was talking through it with Jason one day and continued praying through some of the details of this decision. As I spoke with my Father, it became clear that He wanted me to commit to a two year period here at ESU. I felt He wanted me to really invest in this ministry and His work here, and not just "temporarily work." I feel this commitment will be more effective for the students I am investing my time and energy in, as well as to the ministry as a whole. I truly and confidently believe that God has CALLED me to Emporia for the school years of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.

My primary role as an Associate will be meeting with the women of Challenge one-on-one for the purpose of discipleship - which is something that really impacted my commitment to Christ throughout college. I will also have a role in helping to build community within Challenge, and outreach to non-believers at Emporia State and within the community of Emporia. In addition, I will assist with administrative details and event/mission trip planning.

I feel like in the past (at least the four years I have been here) Christian Challenge at Emporia State has struggled in the area of "outreach". I would define outreach as: telling people about the truth of Christ that is presented in the Bible, inviting them to join in God's plan for their life in having a personal relationship with Jesus, and then walking alongside them to assist in figuring out what that will look like in each individual's life. Because of my foundation in faith in Christ and the gift He has given me to relate well with others - I feel an urgency to share truth!

There are about two weeks until the fall semester will begin - I am currently in need of a rest before jumping on board with planning and investing in activities and students. This summer I led a team of students overseas to share our faith with some non-believers in need of truth and I learned a lot. I have not spent enough time, yet, thinking and praying through what all I have learned. This week I plan to rest, journal, read and be renewed in the Lord. If I do not first fill myself with Him and His truth, I will not be able to continue ministering to others that need His truth as well.
Please PRAY that I will spend sufficient time with Him and that I will be open to any lessons or challenges He talks to me about.

Stay tuned for updates on ministry, my life in ministry and prayer needs that will arise.
For questions you might have, or more information about my ministry please contact me at jesslemken@gmail.com.