I made it to Ocean City, NJ! Today is the one week anniversary of Kelvin, Kim, and my arrival to the beautiful Jersey Shore. We actually got to Jersey a day late because we missed our flight and had to take off a little late... long and tragic story, but feel free to ask and I’ll fill you in on the details! However, we’re here and so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to come.

The first week consisted of training in sharing the gospel, multiple opportunities to go out sharing on the boardwalk, job searching and starting them, and getting to know each other and build a community. Already I feel at home here, surrounded by people who genuinely want to know me and my heart.

The authenticity of the people here is so incredible and beautiful. Sharing our testimonies over dinner is commonplace, and going out sharing for fun is natural. My own testimony - which will come later - rests on the idea of being a slave to fear and insecurity. The first few days here I definitely wrestled with these and compared myself to the other people here, feeling like I wasn’t enough and wasn’t up to par. However, in facing this head on and admitting my sin of comparison and judgment, God is working in my heart and showing me the beautiful and unique qualities of each person here. Instead of being jealous of the awesome characteristics of the other students here, I am able to appreciate them and rejoice over God’s goodness and creativity in making us all different and unique.

Putting my brokenness aside and focusing on Jesus Christ - the reason I’m here - is so incredibly freeing and purposeful. I feel full of life and I’m so excited to continue this journey over the summer. Already over 7 people have accepted Christ as their savior, and it’s only been a week! Praise the Lord!

Thank you for your prayers and for your support. And for reading this! I'm so excited to see what God has in store for us all this summer, and can't believe I'm actually in New Jersey! So rad.