So, this is my best effort to condense a month of Santa Cruz!

Hey guys,

I realize it has been OVER a month since I posted last; it is very unusual, but I have truly been busy. That said, today I have some time, so I am going to do a recap...

Project is winding down; with only 2 weeks left, there are still SO MANY THINGS I would like to do here but yet there are so many awesome things that I have done...a few things that stand out though over the last month are:

SAN FRANCISCO TRIP, July 9
This has been, to date, the most fun day I've had while in Santa Cruz! A huge group went to San Fran, but four of us went in my car: Leslie, Lauren, Patrick, and myself. It was AMAZING! We saw the golden gate (on a clear day!), walked on the golden gate, and took some amazing pictures! We saw Alcatraz and the wharf, and drove down the curviest road in America: Lombard Street! We also saw the "Full House" house...although it did not have the signature red door on it anymore...I have a couple of pics on facebook but it was actually kind of disappointing...anyway, we also went to the Coit Tower for some great views, and drove through much of the city and into Chinatown, which was CRAZY CROWDED...we didn't stop. We also had a GREAT meal at this place near the wharf before arriving at a San Francisco Giants baseball game, which was a lot of fun and a good chance to meet back up w/the whole group that left...I REALLY ENJOYED just chilling in San Fran. We didn't have too many conflicts of interest over our head, and we just simply chilled and did things on the fly, which is so unlike me but went so well. Check out my pictures on facebook for a visual recap!

Coffee Shop Outreach, July 11

So, as we do every week, we had our outreach. This particular one was a "coffee shop" theme, with free coffee and other such drinks, and an coffeehouse ambience. The setup looked AWESOME, the conversations were GREAT as well, and we had a SWEET band here called My Jeremiah! I talked with one guy in particular, Greg, while doing Soularium outreach...I was sort of skeptical of Soularium but I am starting to like it...he gave the MOST LEGIT answers I have ever heard...and he was interested in knowing God personally...anyway, I didn't get to talk with him all that long, but it was super encouraging...some others from project, Kelly and Adam, talked with him for a couple of hours though...that was the theme of the night--everything went well!

90's Themed JARDY (Jean Party), July 16

This was the outreach following the coffee shop, but instead of an outreach, it really turned into an inreach, which was bad...but we still have to rest on the fact that we are 100% successful. We learned a lot looking back on it...everyone wore their 90's jean attire...but there was little to no outreach. Firstly, it was on a Thursday night, which didn't bring that many people. The organization was lacking at best. I certainly saw it as a party instead of outreach, but it is something to learn from I guess.

Other Stuff

MNL

Monday Night Live has been awesome! When the staff left on July 6, we turned the leadership over to the "foursome" and they served us by washing our feet...it was an awesome display of servanthood and was a moving message...also we had our staff appreciation (THANKS ANDREW!!!) and for ours, we dressed up as WISEmen (since our staff was Andrew WISE!) and had a poem about Him...and GIFTS!!! It was awesome, and it went really well! The last few MNLs have gone well...we had a time of sharing once, and then we had the pastor from a local church (Twin Lakes) come with a great message about not being discouraged....

Vintage

So, we just wrapped up our time at Vintage Faith Church (where we have been serving for the summer)...Vintage was definitely different than my experience with church but I tried my best to take the good out (unfortunately I don't do that very well)...anyway they just wrapped up a series titled, "God in the movies" which was disturbing at first and after the first week I thought it was going to be AWFUL! But, it did not end up being that bad...the last couple of weeks had some fairly strong material...I just wish that they would center their stuff around God, the Word of God, and the gospel...but, the music is really good there and gives great glory to God! So, it does bring people where they have a chance in one way or another to hear the gospel, and there seems to be a great family feel there...I just need to remember that since the church, or body of Christ, is made up of US, then there are going to be inherent flaws with it...NO CHURCH IS PERFECT! That said, it will be nice to go to church back home and in Raleigh...

Work

So, I have only ONE week left at the Boardwalk...I am really going to miss the job and the people there...they are great people that I wish the best...I really want to talk with them about everything Christ is to me and what He has done for them as well....but I haven't had a lot of time, frankly...there is still some time left, though...Also, I won a paid hour lunch with anyone I want...so that is a chance right there! I like the nature of my job, although some rides are a lot better than others...I will definitely miss the perks, like free rides and other discounts, but I enjoyed them while they lasted!

Fellowship

So, the fellowship here over the last month has been AWESOME! I am hard-pressed to find any like it, even at NC State....it is the same as with my really close friends there! I see what Avis meant when she said you would remember project friends for a lifetime, and I am already planning ways to get to them (one word--ENCOUNTER!!!) Anyway, I am truly sad to be leaving them but I won't forget them and in all likelihood will see them A LOT! It is great to see so many people here for the same reason, that is, to share the love of Christ and glorify Him by giving Him their summers! It's not perfect...there are some frustrating times...but we get through them in a way most people can't or don't through Christ!

As you can see, I'm SUPER BUSY but it is totally worth it...I gotta peace out but here are some things on my heart to be praying for...

-continued motivation to invest in peoples' lives and glorify God with my two weeks here

-battle with pride, perfection and inadequacy--this has hit me HARD today for some reason...it has always been something I've had to ward off, but I feel like it has gotten the better of me recently...that said, I am MADE PERFECT in Christ, and made in GOD'S IMAGE! So, the battle is over already; I just have to not allow it to recur in my heart!

-consistency and fullness of my quiet times--I have been going through both a N.T. plan and Romans...by the way, Romans is CRAZY when you study it in detail!

In Christ,

Johnathan

Romans 12:9-21