it's in the day-to-day

Campus ministry is so much more than programs, events, and overall flashiness.  It's about something bigger -- something more encompassing than a mere four years of college.  It's about the Kingdom -- the larger Narrative of which we are all a part.  It's about discipleship.

There are many things that could be said about discipleship, but I want to highlight one thing right now: discipleship is in the day-to-day.

When we look at Jesus' way of discipleship, we see how he lived day-in and day-out with his disciples.  He traveled with them.  He prayed with them.  He walked side-by-side with them through all their trials and joys.

In campus ministry, we attempt to do the same.  We do disciple students in a very formal way -- going through Bible study, prayer, being deliberate in spiritual growth.  Yet we also try to go one step further by living day-to-day with our students -- inviting them into our home, getting them off campus for a coffee or movie, or even moving in with them.

For the last five months, we have lived with two of our students, and the growth (on their end and our end) has been astounding.  Our God really uses relationships to reveal Himself to us, and to mold us into His likeness.  And now as we pack up to leave, we invite other students into this part of our lives.  Tomorrow when we move, there will be a number of students helping us.

We praise the Lord that as we go on in ministry, He has provided more and more opportunities to live among our students -- to not just be there for the bigger events, but to be there for the smaller ones, or the days where there are no events at all.  He is allowing us to get to know our students in very personal ways, and is opening doors with even more students each year.

We're Moving (Again)

Five months ago, we moved in with two of our students and their new baby.
We thought we'd be here for a year or two -- in it for the long haul.

This past Monday, God gave us an opportunity for another direction.
And we've decided to take it.

For the first time since we got married, we will have our own home.
And we move in exactly one week.

Some students will be helping, and we're hoping to use this house for ministry opportunities.  It's not big, but it's big enough.

More details are here.

Happenings at Haverford College

For the last three (going on four) years, Elliott has been actively involved on Haverford College's campus.

The fact that he is there at all was no easy feat.  Haverford is a very different school than most schools.  Students are drawn there not only for its academic rigor (think Ivy-League quality), but also for the autonomy of the student body.  No one can be on campus without the welcome of the students.

So it's been a slow road, but year by year, we have begun to grow deeper relationships with the school -- both in the student body and the administration.

One thing that has helped is partnership.  The CCO is committed to partnerships -- with churches, campuses, and organizations.  We have partnered with Haverford Christian Fellowship (HCF), which is a chapter of InterVarsity.  There was no male leadership in the group, and so Elliott has been attending for a couple years, mentoring different students through his time there and bringing them to our church.  This year, Elliott has had the fantastic opportunity to teach during the HCF Bible meetings.  The response has been so great, that Elliott has been asked to teach more often.  He also had a couple of non-Christian students approach him about talking more about the Bible.  (I want to say more about this opportunity to minister to non-Christian students, but I will get to that at the end.)

The other thing that has aided in the CCO's presence at Haverford is a newly formed organization for faith-based groups.  Elliott was asked by someone in the administration to be on this group in order to represent HCF.  This is huge, as we reflect on Elliott's first year, going door to door in the administration, met with suspicious stares that implied the question, "Why are you here?"  Now, they see him representing a strong voice on campus on behalf of part of the student body.  This is also exciting because if we are ever to leave and work elsewhere, the CCO will have an official spot at the school.

I wanted to share this with you for two reasons:
1) To praise the Lord for open doors, especially when we persevere with patience.
2) To let you know the work that we are doing on secular campuses.

Speaking of the secular, please also pray for the new opportunities Elliott has had to minister to non-Christian students.  I believe Elliott has been gifted with a few things:  great wisdom of the Bible, great articulation of words, and great charisma.  People are drawn to him, as he is non-threatening, welcoming, and has good answers and insights.  Elliott has had the opportunity to answer many of these students' questions about Christianity, in addition to sharing his testimony and the Gospel.  Please pray for more opportunities to come up like this -- that in our work to disciple Christian students, we would also be able to reach non-Christian students with the love of Christ.

on God's unusual provision

I find it somewhat amusing (not really the right word) that this blog started with car saga, and here we are again in the midst of car saga.  It seems that car troubles are a theme in our ministry.  Let's have a quick recap, shall we?

Goldie, our Ford Focus, collided with a commercial truck during a support-raising trip Elliott was taking in Maryland.  The car was totaled, the truck that sideswiped the car was long gone, and Elliott was (praise the Lord) unscathed.  We were car-less and ready to go to Haiti.  We told God if He didn't provide a car, we would be going to Haiti.


God answered our bold prayers and gave us Sam, a blue Saturn Wagon.  Sam came from the friend-of-a-friend who literally just wanted to give us his car.  He was also a believer (whose name, incidentally, was the inverse of my brother's) and God made it very clear he wanted us to stay and continue in campus ministry.  We named the car Samuel because we dedicated his purposes to the Lord.


Once we found out we were pregnant, we started for looking for a more reliable car (and a car with air conditioning since Sam's air was un-fixable).  After months of praying and no time to look for a new car, a supporter (my father!) gave us his old car: another Ford Focus whom we'll call Red for the sake of this post.  It's the newest vehicle we've ever had and has less than 100,000 miles on it.  We never thought we'd live to see the day! ; )


Well unfortunately for us, apparently 2006 Ford Focuses had bad transmissions.  So our transmission went about four weeks ago to the day.  To add insult to injury, the warranty on the transmission expired two months ago.  So it's been to two shops and still has yet to be worked on.

But I'm not writing this for pity's sake.  I'm writing because of how awesomely God has provided for us.  About 2 1/2 weeks into our newest car being in the shop, my eyes welled up with tears, and I angrily asked God, "Why is this happening?  What sort of good is coming from this mess?" 

God answered, "My provision, Rachel.  My provision."

Last Sunday at Sunday School, I was reflecting on how we had already borrowed six vehicles from six different parties (only two of which we asked for -- the rest were just offered to us here and there), and I wondered how we would get through the next week.  Just then a student from Eastern University who is part of our ministry turned to me and asked, "Rachel, do you guys need my car for the week?"

: )

Can you believe it?

What a mighty God we serve.

-Rachel

P.S. You can still pray about the car and the bill.  It looks like we'll be borrowing this student's car for two weeks.

Student Stories from the Summer, Part 2

Student Stories from the Summer

Jess

Prior to the summer, at the tail end of the spring, I was hospitalized for Bipolar Disorder. Pre-hospital I was at the beginning stages of finding faith. More than half of my stay is cloudy and I was there 21 days, much longer than the average length of stay. What I do remember though, is praying daily and nightly, talking about God with other patients and reading my Bible religiously. Post-hospital, during this summer I have become even stronger in my walk with God. I attribute the ability of myself to stick with my meds, exercise and eat well to God. I have been hospitalized numerous times and each time after I fall right back into my disorder, I wouldn't take my meds, didn't eat because I was anorexic and drank alcohol and didn't sleep much. This time around, things are different, and as aforementioned, it's thanks to God. I've been eating healthy, on a solid sleep schedule, taking my meds and my mood and overall state of happiness are heightened. Thanks to God I am having an amazing summer. Every day is a chance for me to praise God, explore the life that I feel he wants me to live and finally be myself, happy and well. So God has worked in enormous ways in my life this summer. And for that, I am truly thankful.

Emily

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to spend seven weeks in Ghana with Wycliffe Bible Translators for a program called Discovery. Discovery is a little different from other mission trips, because it is not focused on evangelism or service. Rather, it is meant to be a opportunity for young people to fully immerse themselves in and experience another culture, as well as to see what missionary life is like. I was part of a team of thirteen young people, made up half of North Americans and half native Ghanaians. That was incredible in itself; just by spending so much time with my Ghanaian teammates, I was able to learn so much about what life is like in Ghana for college students and young adults. We spent some time with language and culture orientation, just going out to markets and walking around and talking to people. We then were split into separate teams for our village project assignments, in which we spent four weeks at a translation project. My two village partners and I helped by typing translated Scripture, taking inventory of translated books, and visiting local literacy classes. We lived with a host family, did our own shopping at the market, and did a lot of our own cooking. The team met up again for a week of debrief, and then we headed back home. Overall, my trip was very challenging for me in many ways, but it was very humbling, and ultimately very fulfilling. God provided wonderful, generous supporters to get me to Ghana, and then He used my time there for much growth and learning for me. I realized or re-realized a lot about Him, about myself, and about other people and other cultures. Discovery is a very appropriate name for the experience, and I would encourage anyone who is interested in missions or cross-cultural service to look into this trip. It'll change your life.

Ken

It’s Tuesday night and we have just wrapped a long day of work, a day which began at 9am. Just another day at the office… I have been blessed with a great job this summer. From May through August I work as an audio visual technician for Sandy Cove Ministries, in Northeast, Maryland. I help to run all things lights and sound at the conference center. From giant big screen movies in the auditorium to microphones and speakers in a meeting room, we did it all. Often putting in long hours for late night events or set- ups, the mid-night hour was a familiar sight. Throughout my time at Sandy Cove I grew to appreciate the body of Christ in a very real sense. Each individual had been hired to carry out a specific task at the conference center. They were then grouped by department to work together on their tasks. Each department had a job which was unique, yet contributed to the life of Sandy Cove. Without the talents of each department, the whole facility suffers. God has really shown me that every little job is important, no matter what your paycheck or position says. God has you in a place where he will use you to bring glory to Himself. Through the team environment this summer, God has been teaching me to lean on Him, not myself. Whether it was running the sound system, installing cables in the ceiling, or helping a guest with directions, my summer has been full of adventures both large and small.

Student Stories from the Summer, Part 1

While we have had our own life-changing summer (hi, baby!!!), our students have also experienced life transformations. Each story is very different and occurred in varied locations. We're posting a couple now, and have more to share later. These are also extended versions of what will appear in our September newsletter.

But before we share the stories, here are some updates on the Simko front.

Praise: We surpassed our goal in raising for the matching grant, which means we got the matching grant, the match, and some extra! What we raised this summer will give us full paychecks through the fall. Praise the LORD! This is the first time this has ever happened! We are so thankful!

Prayer: As was mentioned in the previous post, this is the busiest time of year for us, which is fine because we expect it. What we didn't expect was the other unexpected hardships this week. Our car needs a new transmission and we haven't had it for over a week, and it will take another week and a half to fix. Pray that it gets fixed sooner and for a lesser cost than was quoted to us. We have also had some other things going on that have added stress that don't need to be named, but we ask for prayers of clarity and peace, and a refocusing for the beginning of the semester.

So without further ado...

Student Stories from the Summer

Samantha

This summer has been packed with many welcoming memories. As I finished my freshman year at Eastern University, I moved across campus and settled into my very first full time job, working for Sodexo. At first, it was really tiring but it became nice to have something to do all day. When I was not working, I was preparing for a missions trip to Ometepe, Nicaragua and participating in a small group with Elliot Simko. The small group really has helped me to become more aware of the details of being a disciple of Christ and while in Nicaragua, I used some of the things that I learned to help evangelize with the locals. The small group has been a huge blessing in my life. When I was in Nicaragua, I was working with a church that I helped with last year. It is amazing to go back to the same place each year and see how God is continually helping there. Once I returned to Eastern, I began working again and classes will soon begin. While this summer was a great time of growth for me, I look forward to the blessings that I will be given through my professors and friends in the upcoming school year.

Chris

This summer, I got an internship as an assistant youth pastor at a church called Bethel Lutheran in Colorado Springs. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. On the bright side, the church itself was great. It was a very welcoming community, and I really loved being a part of it. But it seemed like nothing really went right this summer. Some of it was my fault; I’ll own up to it. However, it didn’t end with just my own faults. There were an abundance of miscommunications and circumstances that made things even tougher. This, however, led to the main work that God did in me this summer. I couldn’t survive it without Him. There was absolutely no way. And so as I was breaking down, I realized this. I began to give everything back up to God. Giving Him my faults, and feelings, and circumstances, and worries, and anything else I was carrying inside me. And He showed me the power of His glory. The summer did end on a higher note, but was still tough. It wasn’t all about God fixing things. I found that it was about holding on to Him for dear life. It brought a peace that was certainly not brought on by my surroundings; a joy that transcended my circumstances. Though the summer was tough, it taught me a lesson that is simple, yet paramount in its importance: God is truly in control.

James 1:2-4: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.