To explain everything that God did this past week would take days and days. God showed up and showed out through every aspect of BeachReach for our UTM students! In a very real way, God push our students to see Him in a way that gave them courage to share their journey of faith, trust in how God works everything out, and praise totally and completely to our Heavenly Father.
As far as a wrap up, BeachReach Week Two saw the following works of God:
Plates of Pancakes being served---5407
Pancakes served---16221
People transported on Van Rides---5835
Salvations---21
Our group saw the following:
191-people transported on our vans (we prayed with each person at the end of the ride)
6 salvations
1 rededication
Hundreds of spiritual conversations
One of the salvations was one of our UTM BeachReach students who God has been working on. She came forward during worship sharing that she wanted to make Jesus her Savior and Lord.
Please pray for Marah as she continues to grow in the Lord. Here is the list:
*Marah Vogt (UTM BeachReacher)---Salvation (Monday night)
*Carlos DeCampo (spring breaker from Chicago)---Salvation via Street Team (Monday night)
*Kaelyn ? (spring breaker)---Salvation via Van Ministry (Monday night)
*Frances Reed (Mother of UTM BeachReacher who accepted Christ over the phone)---Salvation (Tuesday night)
*Jenna Ouzts (spring breaker)---Rededication via Street team (Wednesday night)
*Rakeem Garner (spring breaker)---Salvation via Van Ministry (Thursday night)
*Austyn O'Dayer (spring breaker)---Salvation via Van Ministry (Thursday night)
Below are more stories from students:
This is my first year coming to Beach Reach. I was extremely excited when I first signed-up, but as the date drew closer, I became very nervous and worried that my testimony would not have an impact on any of the spring breakers down here in Panama City Beach. I had a nervous feeling in my stomach and anxiousness in my heart that I was going to fail. On Sunday afternoon when I was doing my quiet time before supper and worship, I unknowingly opened my bible to 2 Timothy 1:7-8 which says: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-disciple. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord”. This verse calmed every fear and doubt in my mind about walking the streets this week. My first two nights were filled with God centered and God filled conversations where we really planted seeds in peoples’ lives and grew closer in the Body of Christ. The most impacting night of this week so far was last night (Tuesday). We were waiting for a van ride with a group of 7 and a guy named Ian Dreger walked up and started talking to us. When the van got there they wouldn’t let him ride with them. My group and I then called him a van. While Whitney was on the phone with the command center, her phone died before they got our location. The crazy thing is her phone had a full battery which gave us more time to talk to Ian. Jason decided to call the command center back, but it took him close to 20 minutes to get through, which is another God thing that happened. Ian is of a Lutheran religion. When he and I were explaining our different faiths, he immediately opened up and began talking about how his last 3 weeks had been the worst weeks of his life. I asked him what had been going on in his life and he told us that he recently found out that his grandfather had 2 types of cancer and had spread drastically. He said that his grandfather had been his rock his entire life and taught him everything he knew. I automatically knew that was my opportunity to tell him about my mom having cancer and how it impacted my life to lean on God and not my known understanding. As soon as I told him about my mom he broke down and began crying telling us that all he wanted to do was see his grandfather again and spend eternity with him. I have absolutely no idea what I said to him, but I know it made an impact on his life. We talked for close to an hour and before he got on the van we prayed with him. Unfortunately, he didn’t come to pancakes this morning, but I know that Whitney, Jason, and I planted seeds in his heart and got him thinking about his life and his faith. I pray that God sends someone into Ian’s life to water the seeds that have been planted by us and the other BeachReachers he has come in contact with. Marcy Nethery
God has revealed Himself to me this week in the most glorious and most unexpected way: He has open up my mother’s heart and now she wants to accept Jesus Christ as her Savior. I texted her, offering her that opportunity, and God immediately entered her soul and cleansed it and later that night, she texted me back saying she would love to accept Christ. I can’t say enough how much this means to me and God’s kingdom, because my mother has been so heartbroken for such a long time. But now that she has taken Christ into her heart, I worry about her no more and now I also feel like I have finally planted my feet w/ God and we both will grow in Him together. It really is so amazing how these things happen and its such proof that the Lord certainly does work in mysterious ways. And also, I guess as a bonus, God presented me w/ the opportunity to minister to a young man who had the same background w/ his parents as I have. I have been transformed this week, and its about time. Praise be the Glory!!!
-Brit Reed
This past week was my first Beach Reach experience, and I freely admit that I was both incredibly excited and ridiculously nervous. I knew that the week was going to change me and that the Lord was going to do a great work in my heart. Though I wanted the change, I confess I was a little afraid. I had become so comfortable in my faith that I was hesitant to consider moving forward for fear of having to step out of my comfort zone. Looking back, I am so thankful that the Lord called me and that He provided me with the courage to be obedient.
During training for our trip, one of the things most heavily emphasized was depending on the Holy Spirit to speak through us. Students who had been to Beach Reach in the past shared how the Lord would provide just the words they needed at the right time. While this resounded in my heart, my mind was immediately whirling with thoughts of “But I can’t go into this unprepared! I’m always prepared; I can’t just not know what to say before the time comes!” I now see that when we tell God how much we can’t, He shows us just how much He can do through us. I saw this through a conversation I had with a young woman the last night of ministry. In the weeks leading up to Beach Reach, one of my main concerns was how to provide an argument for why God existed. I felt ready to tell people about the grace and forgiveness offered to sinners because of Christ’s death to individuals that acknowledge that there is a holy God. But for weeks I was burdened with how I could logically explain God in terms that someone with no faith in God could possible believe. And in that time, I didn’t receive any answers. It wasn’t until the last night of ministry while I was walking the streets of Panama City that I got my answer. I was led to talk with a young woman who was a former Catholic that no longer believed in the existence of God. Wow. Here I was faced with what I had feared most. But in that moment, I had absolutely no fear. I spoke with that young woman for about an hour explaining why I believed in God and why I had faith that He was active in my life. I answered questions that challenged my faith in practical ways. Prior to that moment, I know I couldn’t have so easily put into words what was in my heart. During our conversation, she never claimed to have an epiphany, and she didn’t reclaim her faith. But, she was receptive. I was actually able to see a gradual change in her as her questions changed from “How could such a God exist?” to “If such a God existed...” I am just so thankful that the Lord was able to use me, as unprepared as I was, to at least get her to reconsider spiritual matters. Praise God for the work He did in Panama City, and praise God for the work he did in the hearts of those who served.
Sara Shelton
One thing that really hit home for me this week was that I shouldn’t be afraid to share my faith. I have never really opened up to anyone before. I have always been afraid that I would be rejected or that I couldn’t answer a certain question someone tossed at me. This week God really showed me that I had no need to be afraid. He is always there to give me the things I need to say. It seemed that most of the people that I got to talk to this week were open about what I had to say. Nobody rejected me like I thought they would. It was amazing to see God work through me and use me in a way that I thought would never happen. Sometimes I would get discouraged throughout the week though because everyone seemed to be having such great conversations with people. I felt like I wasn’t impacting anyone, but God showed me that I don’t have to have a deep conversation to impact someone. I stayed faithful to him by helping people get van rides, and maybe that one conversation in a van lead someone to Christ. God was just so good to me this week and showed me that I can make a difference.
Megan Hummer
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