Confessions of a Pittsburgh Missionary: Let's Get Started!

Confessions of a Pittsburgh Missionary: Let’s Get Started!

Week 6: June 15-21, 2014

Wow! I can’t believe I just typed that, has it really been six weeks of working already? Where did the time go? With just seven weeks of 5-Day Clubs ahead of us, the summer is already halfway over for me!

This past week Chloe and AJ (my summer missionaries) and I attended CYIA (Christian Youth In Action) Training Camp. It is basically Bible boot camp. It’s an intense week of learning how to teach Bible lessons and other ministry tips. It can be an exhausting and very tiring week, but it’s also a lot of fun. The three of us all made some new friends. The last day was bittersweet, we were tired and ready to be done with this intense week of training, but we were also going to miss all the friends we made that would go to their own counties to reach children.

I thought the week went very well. I stepped into my leadership position a little more officially (you know, since there were actually other people around and I wasn’t just sitting in a temporary home office by myself). It was a little strange for me to be at training camp this time as senior staff. But I adjusted well. The coordinator for Fayette and Somerset County was in a cabin connected to mine and we hit it off. Her name is Hillary and I really enjoyed having her company. She’s not as young as me, but she was probably only 5-7 years older. We found ourselves throughout the week asking each other for advice, telling each other about situations and wondering if we handled it correctly, sharing some of the joys and frustrations of the job, and having some discussions on how to be both an introvert and a leader. Another support staff member for Lancaster County, Erika, would occasionally join in on these conversations as well.  We sat next to each other in the back while the students went through training. Here is a picture of the three of us. 

My main responsibilities during the week were to be in charge of Chloe and AJ. They have to prepare the lessons in our curriculum ahead of time and then be evaluated on them. So I had to be available to help them prepare these lessons, memory verses, and songs. Once they were prepared, they presented them to me as if I was the child and it was my job to evaluate them on how they did. They are doing very well. They have a few more evaluations to finish up next week but I have no doubt that Greater Pittsburgh is equipped with a great team this summer. Our picture is also below. In addition to being in charge of them, I sat through a couple of the training sessions. Since I have already gone through the training I used my time to get some work done and I am very close to finalizing the schedule. This is a huge relief. I am so thankful that God has pulled everything together. I have sixteen clubs scheduled for us in the next seven weeks. And there might be some days that we will use free time to do some open air evangelism in the community. I managed to get us into mostly inner city locations so I am grateful to be able to reach children in Pittsburgh through these locations.

On Wednesday night we went out to a park and did some Open Air Evangelism. This means all the missionaries went to a park, we invited community families to come for games and prizes and what not, and while we were there, we approached the children and shared the gospel with them by using the wordless book. There wasn’t quite enough children there, so many of the summer missionaries found themselves talking to parents and other adults as well. Chloe was able to have a conversation with a mom that the mother was really in need of. She said to Chloe before parting, “I think things happen for a reason and you were meant to come and talk with me tonight.”

AJ and I had the opportunity to talk with a mom as well. She claimed to believe in Jesus but it didn’t seem like she truly had a grasp on what it meant to live her life for him and have a relationship with him. It seemed like she’d be hurt by the church in many ways and so she hadn’t attended for a while. While we weren’t really able to help her understand what a relationship with Christ looks like, we did get her to sign her kids up for “Truth Chasers Club” which is CEF’s mailbox correspondence ministry. So hopefully something good will come from that. AJ was a little discouraged after talking to her, but I reminded him that we had been faithful and obedient to go and tell and now it was God’s job to grow the seed. Pray for Linda and her family, pray that the seed we planted will grow and that she will enter into a saving relationship with Jesus.

I guess to sum it all up, this week made me feel blessed. It is so cool to look back and see how much God has done in my life through CEF. In 2008 when I decided to be obedient and sign up even though I was terrified to do so, I never thought that finding a college, getting two different jobs in the future, making great friends, and having the opportunity to lead many children to Christ would come from it. I am so glad I was obedient to God when I was 15 years old. He has used CEF in amazing ways in my life and because of that, I feel blessed.

We have our first practice 5-Day Club on Monday. AJ is away on a school trip but Chloe and I will be meeting to practice and go over things before each club. Pray for Chloe, that she can get her evaluations done and be blessed as she teaches the children. Pray that AJ will have a great school trip but also will be able to stay focused and get his evaluations finished so he can teach when he comes home. And pray for me, that God will show me how to be a good leader for the summer missionaries in Greater Pittsburgh and be able to coordinate everything effectively. And pray for all of us to have an awesome summer serving God with many opportunities to lead children and even their parents to a saving relationship with Christ. Our summer has officially started!