Wildwood Summer Project 2010

We have been in Wildwood, along with the other directors and their families, since Thursday. However, today our staff arrive - seventeen staff from the northeast and great lakes regions - and we really get going. We will spend the next ten days in staff orientation - preparing for our roles on the summer project and the work we will do with the students and connecting with Jesus and one another. This year's theme is "Treasuring Jesus, Impacting the World." This is our greatest hope and desire for each of our staff, the staff children who will also be with us, and our students - that we will treasure Jesus above all else and impact the Wildwood world around us. If you think of us, you can pray along those ideas.
Also, in the next ten days, Dave has lots of responsibilities to get the project going on the "right foot." You can join us in praying that God will provide all that Dave needs to do this well.

Registered at RPI

After a year of significant growth among students involved with Real Life at RPI, we knew it was time to register as a student organization in preparation for the fall. RPI has a highly organized application process with a starter constitution which could potentially cause us difficulty in the future. After spending a significant amount of time and effort trying to blend our needs with RPI's requirements, we decided to simply submit our own Real Life constitution and pray that it would find favor with those in charge at RPI. Much to our surprise, we immediately received notice of the acceptance of our constitution and official status as a club at RPI pending a brief discussion with the campus chaplain! Please pray our students find favor in this meeting and that it is the beginning of a great relationship with the chaplain and RPI.

This summer, we have a number of students who are participating in Summer Projects sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ. In addition to these students, we also have many students who will be involved with other missions and ministry opportunities. Even though it is our job to invite students to take advantage of these opportunities, we also honestly believe that it is a summer well spent. After all, we often remind students, how many times in your life will you have about 3 months to do with as you please? (Not many, as we know!) Here's a story about one of our student leaders who has chosen to participate in a 2-week long opportunity in Boston:

"For so long I was envious of others that were able to go on summer projects(summer long missions trips with campus crusade) but I thought it impossible because of my lack of funding. Lets be honest these are really hard economic times. But I failed to see that EVERYTHING belongs to Jesus, EVERY single thing. The God of the universe is bigger than pieces of paper that fade away with time. With encouragement from staff from Albany campus crusade (who I would much rather refer to as my very dear friends and mentors), I decided that I would step out in faith and apply to a two week summer project in Boston. I almost bargained with God, which I highly suggest NOT doing. I said "Lord if you want me to go forward with this and trust you, please allow me to be accepted." It wasn't too long after, that I heard back and was indeed accepted to go on the mission trip/discipleship experience. Every day I am seeing God move mightily. Just when I feel like this goal of raising $1000 is insurmountable, God provides and I am one step closer to this goal. I am so thankful for this process, because even if it may seem like a small step, one small step is all it takes before you begin making strides."

We are so proud to watch students, just like this one, taking steps of faith and trusting God in new ways. She has watched God quickly provide for the full cost of the project, as well as her traveling expenses!

Anna Kate helps launch a campus

Well, kind of. Our sweet Anna Kate, who is 6 years old, is a great listener. A couple of weeks ago, she casually mentioned that the next Sunday would be Katie's last Sunday in her Kids Church classroom because Katie was going home for the summer. Our ears perked right up! We knew Katie must be a college student somewhere in the Capital Region! When Dave dropped Anna Kate off the next Sunday, he talked to Katie briefly. And, in fact, Katie is a student at the Albany College of Pharmacy - a school Dave, especially, has been praying for, asking God to grant us connections there. Dave and Katie met the following week. She has gathered 5 students for a Bible study, and told Dave she had been praying for help, that she knew she needed some help to do more than just a Bible study on campus. Well, Katie is home for the summer, but we will stay in touch and are looking forward to helping that group become more of a Kingdom-minded, Kingdom-building sort of group.

God provides 46 students

As of yesterday, there are 46 students from around the United States who have been accepted to the Wildwood Summer Project. We are so excited and so thankful. As we work to launch movements of Jesus-following students on campuses around the country, and especially in the Northeast, summer projects are important, imperative almost. So, when Dave decided to lead the Summer Project, we felt like it was important that this project grow - so that more students can have the life-changing experience of a summer project. It seemed like a supernatural, God-sized faith goal to set: a 30% increase over last year's project. And, now God has accomplished it.
Pray with us that each of these students trust God to provide for their summers and follows God all the way to Wildwood, New Jersey on June 1.