Last Sunday we had our first full team meeting. It was exciting to all be together, and it really made this whole thing feel real. We spent some time getting to know each other and a lot of time going over camp details, i.e. what a typical day looks like, what the entire week of camp will look like, what our responisbilites are, what our role as a short term, American team looks like in conjunction with the Slovak nationals and JV staff, etc. It was a long meeting, but the team rocked it. We ended with prayer for each other, and we will continue to be praying for specific team members through the next few weeks to build unity, grow together, and honor our heavenly Father. Overall, it was a very encouraging time. I feel more confident in the team than ever, knowing their hearts are in the right place. Hearing them talk about the trip and about how God brought them to their decision confirmed to me that God has been, is and will continue to be in every detail of this undertaking.
As far as support goes, we are on track as far as I can tell. We still have a ways to go, but as a team we are believing and trusting that God will provide, as he always does.
Thank you all for your loving support. We are all excited about the opportunity to honor God through our service to Josiah Venture. If you'd like to be praying for us, please pray specifically for funds to come in, and that God will give me wisdom in leadership.
Grace and peace,
Coryell
March 25, 2012
Hey all!
Just a quick update on how things are going with the trip planning.
After a lot of back and forth between me, and Ed Rumbold (our contact in SK), and our sending church (Northfield Christian Fellowship), we were finally able to send out support letters! It is exciting to finally be letting our friends and family know about the trip and give them the opportunity to partner with us in prayer and finance. One thing I learned through this experience as a leader is the importance of sitting down with people to explain expectations. I took it for granted that Northfield had a good grasp of what we were doing and what we needed from them, which caused unneccesary confusion. Nonethelss, they were gracious and patient. I have no doubt that there will be many more such learning experiences as we move towards the summer, both for me and the team as a whole.
One challenge we have encounted already as a team is the difficulty of being in two different places. Four of us (me, Brenda, Luke, and Josh) are currently living in Chicago while the other four (Chelsea, Hillary, Erica, and Brian) are all living in the Peoria area. Thus, as far as team unity goes, there is a general lack of it at this point. But I have complete faith in God and in the rest of the team. It will happen. We are planning our first full team meeting over the Easter weekend. I'm excited that we will all be together and am hoping for some good team building and bonding time.
We did have fun photoshopping this team photo a few weeks back. Props to Luke. Josh and I decided that it looks like we all went spelunking.
If you would like to be praying for us we'd appreciate prayers for preparation. Preparation of our own hearts, and of the hearts of the students we are going to serve. And with the craziness of the end of another school year, prayers for peace and grace are also appreciated. We're all just trying to survive. Thank you for your faithful support!
Coryell
February 21, 2012
February 21, 2012
I began this blog with my friend, Talissa, to keep a record of our experiences in Romania. Since then I've shifted it to fit whereever it is I find myself in life. As my years at North Park will be wrapping up in May it will, once again, be changing.
But first I have a story for all of you. I've taken it directly from an email I sent a friend a few weeks ago. We both worked together in Slovakia in 2010, and he has been trying to get me to back as an intern all year.
"So....
Last Saturday I fasted and devoted the entire morning at a Starbucks to praying about going to SK as an intern. Last semester I completely dismissed the idea because I basically had my life planned out. Graduate, find a job in Chicago, get an apartment, pay off my student loans in two or three years, and then let God take me wherever.
Then you texted me at work, and my plans sort of started to crumble. The last couple of weeks I have been thinking a lot about the future and about JV. I really think that I would ultimately like to join their organization as a full timer. That's not set in stone, but having that in mind I started to think that if I want to pursue JV, I should get by butt back in there.
That leads us to Saturday. I prayed a lot, and read some of the Word. And by the end of the day I just realized I wouldn't be going back as an intern this summer. God completely changed my heart. I decided I would move back home in May (which before would have felt like a death sentence), and I contacted my old youth pastor about helping with the youth group - he's always begging for female leaders, so I'd even be fulfilling a need. I felt such peace. A little saddness, but I really felt like God was in my decision.
TODAY, however, I got on Facebook right before work and had a message from Ed [Ed is a missionary in Slovakia that I worked closely with]. Apparently an American team for the second term camps bailed on him last week. He asked me to put a team together and lead it! I actually cried. Literal tears.
So, of course I said yes. I think I have like a week or something to get a team together. I don't even know if that is possible. I don't even know if I can do it, but I'm so pumped. I feel like God totally honored my decision and blessed me for listening and being obedient to him."
The long and short of that story is that I'm going to Slovakia this summer...again! It has been incredible to visibly see the hand of God work in my life to bring this about. Completely, absolutely supernatural. I'm not sure that God's intervention in my day-to-day life has ever been more obvious to me as it was that day and in the days since.
I will continue to update on the team's progress for everyone interested. And will have a running list of prayer requests.
Thanks for your consistent support! I'm very excited about this summer!
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