All Stories Have A Plot Twist

"From here to there

and to and fro we go.

Through ups and downs

Wherever you may show"

-from a song I wrote

If there was ever a plot twist to a story, this plot twist tops them all. This pandemic quickly changed what we would define as our normal. COVID-19 has changed the direction of this story. While there are many things being said, and the media is quickly updating everyone on the latest piece of grim information, the Spirit of the Lord is still hovering over this earth and He is still bringing light to the chaos.

I wrote a song in the middle of March that I titled Birds of a Feather. I quoted part of it up top. The song talks about how we flock together to be co-workers with God. The part quoted is this part that reminds us that whatever the context, we are still co-laborers with Christ. Despite the circumstances, we are still doing campus ministry. Most of what we are doing is virtual or it is done over the phone. Zoom, a video conferencing app, has become my best friend. 

I am going to be honest. I have been all over the place adjusting to the changes. There were structures in place that changed because of the stay at home order. My schedule was all over the place. My students were also adjusting to the changes. So these past couple of weeks have been a time to try new things and adjust. 

The main question and prayer I have asked God is: What do you want us to learn from COVID-19 and what are we supposed to grow in during this time?

The main thing that popped up in my head is SABBATH: THE IDEA OF RESTING IN GOD.

Now is the time to see joy, patience, and peace be produced in our lives by the Spirit.  Now is the time to rest in God's strength and providence as we go through this tumultuous time. 

But, let's backtrack a little and recap some of the final things we were able to do on campus in March.

OUTREACH:

For outreach, we set up a table and prayed for people. Our first week was less successful. There were many factors that contributed to that, but we still got the opportunity to pray for a couple of people. However, we had more students talk to us the week before spring break. We had students ask prayer for job opportunities, for grades, for family members in countries that were already affected by COVID-19 and just their fear about COVID-19 in America. It was a fruitful time for students to pray for other students.

This was our table! My brother showed up that day. Matthew (left), Simon (middle), and Dayo (right)

This is a quick picture I snapped of Dayo praying for other student.

Thursday Night Thunder

It was such a bittersweet moment meeting in person on the Thursday before spring break. At this point, the school had already prohibited meetings larger than 25 people. We did not know it would very quickly change. However, we made the most of it. We continued with our sermon series, "DO HARD THINGS." We were able to sing together and spend time together. This was the last meeting in March where we met up together in person.

HOWEVER, we are still meeting up on Thursday Nights. We had our first virtual TNT the last week of March. It was different to say the least. But, it was so encouraging to see students show up virtually. Students are still open to community and open to talking about Jesus. We even had after events. I shared my screen and we watched an episode of Bob Ross' The Joy of Painting, followed along together, talked about how quickly he was going, and then shared our final products. It was fun. We have also been using an app called Houseparty to video call and play different games built into the app.

CORE/FOJ/TIME WITH STUDENTS

Alright, so I did not manage to take a picture of our core, so I am going to combine all these segments into one section. We are doing virtual cores and they are going so well! It is an adjustment, and Dayo and I are asking more questions to get students to share, but it is overall such a blessing to spend time with the guys. We even had a new guy attend core. 

When it comes to FOJ studies, I had a guy agree to do FOJ now because he has a little bit more free time. In the midst of the craziness and fear, God is opening doors and offering opportunities to study scripture.

 I want to take some time to talk about some of the guys I am spending time with.

I've spoken about Simon before. He is a really good friend and really tries to encourage and build up. I am blessed to spend time with him. It has felt weird not seeing him as often. I would drive him places and we would eat meals together. This is a picture of him going shopping with me in March!

This is Shaun. He showed up a couple of times to core last year, but this year he was interested in studying FOJ together. He is such a cool guy to talk to. He also checked up on me several times after my car accident and that just made me experience love/care. 

This is Jonathan. (One of many Jonathans in Richland FOCUS.) This dude popped up this semester and I have had the opportunity to spend time with him. We even wrote a song together! We also study FOJ. It has been fun talking to him. He has ministered to me in our times together and that is always a blessing. 

Random note:

So, I was rear-ended, but the highlight of that story was that people came to see if I was okay. My closest friends Val and Evan stopped by, (we had lunch together but I had left early to meet a student). A handful of minutes later Dayo, along with Tony and Bethel, stopped by. I was more than okay and I was just waiting for the officer to show up, but it was still so cool to have all these dudes make sure I was okay. 

I was very excited to be rear-ended as you can tell. Evan (left). Valentin (middle).

Classes:

So, I started a thought earlier in this post and I wanted to wrap it up. In Maturing with Mandy, we have been reading about different spiritual disciplines and we have been spending time trying them. Silence and Contemplation is really difficult for me because I do not like silence. Anyway, reflecting on this, the idea of SABBATH has also popped up. I am learning to REST in His goodness, despite the horrors happening all around. I lean more towards pessimism, so I am trying my best to empathize without spiraling in fear and despair.

During this season, I encourage you to REST in GOD.

REST.

SABBATH.

Prayer Requests:

Pray for our students. Some are feeling uneasy. We have all lost structure. I have talked to them about staying away from bad habits and from sin that is so tempting since they are at home with technology all around them. Pray that they do not fall into pockets of sadness and that they remain motivated to finish their schoolwork. 

Pray for this world. Creation is groaning and along with it, this world is trying to figure out how to fight this disease. Pray for people to heal. Pray for our students and staff so that we remain healthy during this time. 

Please, let me know how I can be praying for you.

Thank you so much for being a partner in ministry with me. I love y'all so much!

Your brother from another mother,

Josh