Hello friends!
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written for the blog, at least it feels that way! It’s been a busy few weeks since returning from the DR and I think everyone is starting to feel it. Though it’s been busy, it’s also been such a sweet time working at the Winter Camps and getting back into the full schedule of classes, small groups, devotional time, and life in the building. I have absolutely loved working at the winter camps on the weekends for the middle and high schoolers who are here with their churches. Being a part of the camp ministry is a blessing and being able to work all over camp each weekend and interact with the kids is a great reminder as to why we are here!
I’ve had the privilege to work as a referee for Broom Hockey, one of the winter activities, for three of the winter camp weekends and it’s definitely been my favorite job! I love having fun with the kids and being involved in high-energy tournaments and games.
Other than that, it’s been fun getting into our new classes. I’ve found a rhythm of homework, reading, social time, and resting. I’ve been reading some really great books in my free time lately and am so thankful for the resources available to me from living in community and in this building. We had a speaker who challenged our thinking in a lot of ways this week, but we all gained so much from it for different reasons.
The time feels like it is flying by and I am sad to think about Joshua approaching the end, but there is still excitement in thinking about our jobs for this summer and the sweetness that comes with the next chapter as well. I hope you all are well, we are truly becoming a family here and I am so thankful for every day. I pray that you all seek the Lord and his goodness today and always!
We serve a good God! Be praying for us this weekend, camp was canceled because of some crazy blizzarding and we are devastated to miss out on sharing the gospel and having fun with the campers this weekend. Pray for safety for us here on the hill!
-Cassidy Voss
Hi folks!
Can you believe that we are now less than three months away for graduation?
It seems absolutely unreal!
Well, this week was a wild one, I thought it was going to start warming up for spring, but no! It has been snowing non-stop since Wednesday morning, and won’t stop for another few days. Everything is covered in a two-foot blanket of powder, the woods are lit up with white, and every branch droops from the weight of winter. Although it is a hassle to live and work in snow, I have never felt so serene as I do when gazing out the window from my top-bunk, watching the flurries.
This week was also fantastic thanks to our highlighted speaker, Fred Blackburn. Fred is a lover of Jesus, trees, and culture, and imparted some of his great wisdom upon us during his time here. Calling himself a “perspective junkie,” Fred spoke on the importance of understanding other worldviews in order to better connect with people from other cultures and subcultures. We were guided through other forms of religious and philosophical thought, and I have been refreshed and inspired to continue in these studies. In I Corinthians, chapter nine, verses twenty through twenty-three, Paul writes:
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
How profound. I have become all things to all people (v. 22). This passage came to mind repeatedly during Fred’s teachings; Paul sees the need to understand where other people are in order that you may properly communicate love and truth so they may too see. There is a dire necessity for personal connection in sharing Jesus’ good and beautiful gift of life, and to understand the spiritual views of other religions and cultures is but one place to begin.
One more thing I appreciated about Fred’s teaching was how he approached scriptures of other religions. Due to general revelation of God’s nature through all of creation, we can re-learn how awe-inspiring He is from other cultural contexts, and observe biblical values in refreshed form. Intellectual exploration is an act of worship, and as long as we hold fast to what is true in Jesus, all of his kingdom lies in wait.
Other than that, this week has been as scheduled! We had Pause Families on Thursday evening, and next week starts our testing on chapter three of Philippians. We are plowing through our current courses and getting deep into the gospel of John in New Testament History and Literature. In a little over a week, we will be leaving for our Los Angeles trip and have been practicing what impromptu evangelism looks like. Please keep us in your prayers as we head forward, and as always, thanks for tuning in!
Hannah Rockwood