I got to share he Gospel with someone

I’ve never really done that before.  I’ve tried before, but in the past people will find a reason to leave, or something will come up, or whatever.  We randomly met a guy on the mall the other day who started bashing a campus wide worship event that had happened a few days ago.  I felt particularly blunt for some reason and called him arrogant for thinking that (not the approach I would recommend taking…).  Neither of us were picking a fight, however, and eventually I ended up telling him the Judge story, which he found fascinating—Explaining how a Holy God can be both totally righteous and totally loving, expressed through Jesus.  I got his number and he said he’d be up for reading through the Bible sometime. He ended up staying for dinner, meeting everyone else, and playing board games in the dorms with everyone after I had left.

And by God’s grace I’ve run into him on campus nearly every day after. Pray he would come to know Jesus as Lord.

I’ve never been more excited to seek out the lost than I have been this year.

First Bible Study

So I finally sort of know what my role this year is.  Turns out (despite what I thought) I will not in fact be leading a freshman Bible Study.  I will instead by helping two of our juniors, Micah and Reed, lead their freshman study.  I will assume more of a “coach” role with them. I’ll be meeting with one or two of the guys in the study and help Micah and Reed through every step of the process.

Their study is meeting for the first time tonight at 7pm in Gila dorm.  I’ve been heavily involved in the recruiting time and have met all of the guys that are planning on coming out to the study, and I think it should be a great time.  Please be praying this group of guys bonds quickly with each other and sees each other as men who they can trust and grow with over these four years of college.

Philippians mentions a man as being a brother, co-laborer, and fellow soldier.  Micah and Reed have a healthy friendship with each other and this year will become co-laborers. Pray the men in the study would see themselves as fellow soldiers after four years together.

Recruitment

So ends day 3 of recruitment.  I’ve met several freshman in Yuma dorm, none of whom seem to be believers, which is pretty cool.  Pray I can continue to develop relationships with them.  Pray I would be more aware of how to introduce the Gospel into everyday conversation and be very aware of the Spirits leading on when to further develop a relationship versus when to simply throw down the Gospel on them.

(For example, yesterday we were throwing a football with four freshman we had just met in Yuma.  I was talking a lot to a guy named Tim who seemed open.  I had no idea if he had any sort of interest in God and asked him if he wanted to be a part of a weekly Bible Study.  He said “no” but maybe later in the year. It’s tricky to tell whether that was the best rout or whether I could’ve developed a relationship with him over the years and asked at a later time.)

Sowing Season Begins

Tomorrow the dorms open and craziness begins!  The first two weeks are when we recruit 90% of our students.

My freshman year I had a friend who, when asked why he came to UofA he would say “I have no idea.” When asked whether he was a Christian he would say “nope.” When asked why he became involved with Navs he would say “Because they loved me and I felt like I belonged.”

5 years later he’s actively serving and loving the Lord in his work place.

Pray we would receive students like him.

 

P.S. Currently Ariel and I are 93% funded. Praise God!!!  If you would still like to give check out our website at: www.navstaff.org/Mullarkey

Yes Man!

Summer of Senior year I was a team leader at a summer training program in the CO rockies. I was responsible for leading, bonding, and helping to grow three students who composed our “team.” We were progressing through the summer living together, having several weekly events together, etc, and we enjoyed each other but there was still not that special bond that long time friends enjoyed. One night someone on our team suggested we take a bag of karate belts we found, push over some small dead trees, tie them together, build a 7ft long raft and see if it floated in the reservoir at midnight. I had work the next day and the thought of going out late on a cold night to jump in a bacteria infested pond was the last thing I wanted to do. But for the sake of the team I said “sure.”

To date it was one of the best experiences I had that entire summer as far as bonding with my team went. It gave our team the shared experience necessary to feel bonded, which translated into a trust freeing us to share more deeply about our lives.

This next year I want to say “Yes” to opportunities provided they meet two conditions: 1. They build relationships, 2. They’re legal.

Relationships are build through shared experiences. I can create quantities of time to hang out with students, but it’s up to God to determine the quality of that time. Pray this semester He give truly quality time when hanging out with students that would develop trust and allow us to experience Christ in our fellowship at a deeper level.

On-Campus Approved!

Yesterday I received an email from HQ saying I had acheived a high enough percentage of my budget to officially be able to be on campus this coming sememster. Praise God!

We are still about 5% shy of being fully funded and have no idea where that extra will come from. Thank you everyone for you support and prayers.

Please especially be praying for our campus director, Bryce Bouchard (aznavigators@gmail.com), as he still needs to raise a significant amount in teh next 2 weeks.