Walking on Sunshine
The Seattle Hometown trip team safely returned home this weekend to their families and friends, loaded with stories to tell of God’s faithfulness and walking in the joy of the Lord. The team was very enthusiastic about what God did this week in the King county area and everyone left knowing that they had been a part of this team for a specific purpose, and each one had something to contribute.
On Friday, the team visited Shorecrest High School one last time for Sydney’s final rally day. They arrived to find a sea of cupcakes as an army of moms brought them out to give away to the student body. Many people stayed to listen as Sydney’s youth pastor told them of how he met God for the first time and how God had turned his life around and given him hope and a purpose. After school was out, the CSP team joined the Christian students off campus to find students who were hanging around and ask them if they’d been to the rally and what they thought of the message the speakers were presenting.
In the evening, at Northgate Gospel Chapel, community members gathered to hear about the events of the week. “This is only the beginning” was a theme which kept ringing through the sanctuary as students shared stories of the week and the entire community came together with one voice to praise and honor God for how good He is. Not only did He give us a good message of love and forgiveness, but He gives all of His people the right and privilege to tell this story and be part of the work He is doing to make sure that no one is lost. The entire Bible club is enthusiastic about the potential they have for the rest of the school year, and has grown more confident in knowing what kind of an influence they can have out of their love for God.
After the formal events of the night, everyone who attended at pizza together, looked at pictures from the week, and discussed what had transpired. One man pointed out to a team member 2 Corinthians 2:14. It says “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”
“That’s what you were doing this week,” he observed. God worked through the Seattle Hometown team and through the students attending Shorecrest High School to spread the aroma of Christ.
A little while later, a parent who was in attendance at the celebration commented that watching these students encourages her to be bolder in her faith too. She was one of many very proud parents in the crowd who was able to give God the glory for their outstanding students this week.
Also in attendance at the celebration were many community members who had been in prayer for the rally week. God answered a lot of prayers this week. One prayer in particular reminds us that God has authority over all of the Earth. The hometown team, the students, and all of you who have been supporting us in prayer had been praying for NO RAIN during the Shorecrest Bible Study’s outreach week. Let me describe to you just how dramatic God’s answer to this prayer was. The week before the rallies saw constant, heavy rain which barely let up. The week of the 9th through the 13th was beautiful weather…the sun was shining, and there wasn’t a raindrop to be found. As soon as 4 team members who were driving down to California departed from Washington, Bothell was hit with a huge snowstorm and is covered with a blanket of white. It is clear to see that God answered our prayers and stopped the weather from hindering attendance at the Bible club’s rallies.
Numbers were tallied, adding up to show that 241 students had attended the rallies at Shorecrest, 72 people had heard the good news about Jesus Christ’s love and salvation for the first time, and 26 people accepted the salvation Jesus offers for the very first time.
One of the biggest victories of the week can be found in the personal growth of the students in the Shorecrest Bible Study club. Each of the students learned something new about leadership, prayer and how much God loves the students at their school. In fact, He loves everyone so much that when students like the ones from Shorecrest step up to volunteer for His work, He gives them a purpose to show His love in a hurting world. The students each felt more confident in their role as Christians at their school after this week was over and are ready to see God continue to transform their friends’ lives as they discover His enduring love.
Shorecrest is a mission field belonging to the Christian students who attend school there. The CSP team has left its mark in the hearts of those students in the form of encouragement and support. The students have also left their mark on the college students’ hearts. For every hometown team member, the students of Shorecrest Bible Study will be greatly missed.
The trip to Seattle was a way to spread the aroma of Christ, through the sunshine, to both private school Christian students in need of motivation and public school students in need of hope and a savior. In sum, the team agrees that so many individuals were impacted by this trip that it practically formed its own community. There are one or two students (that we know of) who were also drawn out into boldness for their faith from Woodinville High School, Redmond High School, Seattle Lutheran High School, Cedar Park Christian School, Northshore Baptist Church’s youth group, and Hope Bible Fellowship. Many more lives were touched through interaction with people in support of high school students last week which we know nothing about. To know that we were able to offer our lives in service to fit into God’s plan for bringing good to the world and to His name is a beautiful thing.
Please Praise God this week for His faithfulness!
