In Awe!... of cities?

Last month, at RADIATE-In Awe, I had the opportunity to join Pastor Rich Perez from Christ Crucified Fellowship and director, Andy Young, of the Cru Philly team in a couch discussion in front of 1000 students.

Here is that interview following a great talk called "cities" by Pastor Rich. (starting at minute 53)
http://vimeo.com/83794784

Keeping Tabs - Hurricane Sandy

#Sandy

The last week of my life has been nothing short of adventurous. All week long, hash tags of “Sandy” like the one above filled my Twitter and Facebook news-feeds.

Reading w/ my niece and nephew after Sandy

After looking at 8 different apartments, I drove to NYC on Saturday afternoon to spend the weekend with my family as we awaited the storm. I was prepared to help them "de-flood" the basement or help my brother (just two blocks away) with his family and home. Although my apartment is still without electricity, the category 1 hurricane barely affected both Bronx homes. Unlike most of my staff team and student leadership team, we had lights and heat and good clean water all week long. Many of my friends in New Jersey were not so fortunate. I knew God was building my prayer life this year but this is way more than I or anyone else expected. With the television and news stations on practically 24/7, all my family and I could do was watch and pray. Literally.

The Holy Spirit placed it on my heart to keep my New Jersey friends informed via text message. If they turned off all of their phone services except text messaging, I could at least keep them posted on what was happening, tips on how to survive, and warnings from the government that were all over the news. Most of them turned off their phones for most of the day and then turned it on to receive my many messages about what’s good to eat in their fridge and where they can go for warmth or electricity. I’ve never felt more like a news reporter. Some of my friends were able to charge their phones in their cars but now gasoline is another issue hitting the coastal sister states.

My new used Toyota Yaris 2007 (35mpg)

Last night my dad spent 3 hours on a line with Nadine to fill up her vehicle and two red gas tanks to bring home. That morning, my brother borrowed my car to take my sister-in-law to the doctor and later in the evening, my cousin borrowed it to take his son to work in Long Island. God is SO sovereign & good! He knew I would need this car in March after my accident (February I was in a car accident that totaled my last car) and He knew it needed to be gas-efficient and low-maintenance for my job. I don’t usually have much, but I was SO EXCITED to give and; share what I did have, my car. Being able to share what God gave me with two family members who are not sure of God's love was especially rewarding! It made me think of how rewarding it can be to give, whatever we have.

One Facebook status of mine said:

:( People fighting for gas, looting stores, cutting people on line for public transportation, cursing drivers out and fighting for gas... NYC, what happened to United We Stand?
:) But thank God for the people who put extension cords out for their neighbors with no power, brought food to those in need, blankets for those who are cold, and other random acts of kindness.

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 demonstrates how extreme poverty and severe affliction can result in an abundance of giving (verse 2). Although some people resorted to doing evil, many others were helping their neighbors and friends just to get through the devastating event. It’s interesting how in severe affliction we begin to give of what we barely even have.

THINK ABOUT IT:

It feels so good to help! So good to give of what one has! Even if I barely have anything, it always feels GREAT when I can help someone else out. What doesn’t feel good is when I can’t give at all or when I’m scared to surrender what I do have for others in fear of running out. Yet every time I give, the joy of giving overwhelms the worry or anxiety of what I will have.

Jon, Joe and Mario at Fall Retreat

A perfect example of this is a Kean Cru student leader named Mario Fernandez. A fairly young believer in love with the Almighty Sovereign King of Kings sacrificed his own comfort in his dry (although without electricity) home to go to his best friend’s house and help empty the basement of rain. Sitting at home where he had nothing to give but prayer would’ve been completely understandable, but Mario chose what was difficult and surrendered his comfort for what ailed his heart… his friend’s comfort. Jonathan Lopez, Mario’s friend & another Kean Cru leader, had water almost to the first floor of his home while four homes on his block exploded. Mario isn’t an expert in removing water from a basement, but he’s a friend capable of movement and decided to give of himself to help his brother in Christ.

Thanks for your prayers and concerns!

If you're interested in experiencing this type of joy and giving out of whatever God has blessed you with, you can visit give.ccci.org & give of what you feel led to 0597677 or email me at edithann.morales@cru.org 

Will you consider being a friend of this ministry and a partner in helping reach lost students, the future leaders of this nation? 

My story...

I was born and raised in The Bronx of New York City in 1985 with petite-mal epilepsy, which I had for the first 11 years of my life. Living with this disease felt like sleep-walking through life. I went to school and had friends but it didn't really feel like everything was real. As a child, I also had rheumatoid arthritis. From the combination of this pain and the multiple medications a day, I was not very social or even aware of others.

My dad and I in the Bronx Zoo

Despite the fact that I grew up in a church that taught the Bible, at age 11 I still didn't fully understand what it meant to have a personal relationship with Christ. It wasn't until some friends from the teen’s group were getting baptized that I even questioned my parents about my relationship with Christ. My dad was a student of the Bible and biblical history, so I knew from a young age that I could trust his search for God. When I asked, my parents explained that the reasons these people were getting baptized was to publicly announce their love for Christ and dedication to live for Him. So I asked them why I couldn't get baptized and they told me because I had never prayed to receive Christ as my personal savior! "WHAT?!" By this time, I was slowly weaned off of the medication and beginning to really understand what was happening around me. I couldn't believe that all this time I grew up in church and had NO idea that I wasn't actually going to be in heaven with God always.

After my parents explained what it meant to receive Christ as Savior and accept Him as Lord, they asked if I would like to pray with them. I rejected their offer because I was so angry (prideful) for not already knowing. Even in that decision alone, I recognized how sinful I was and how my sin simply kept me separate from God. Later that evening I asked God to forgive me for my stubborn self-will and rejection of Him. I prayed that He would forgive me of ALL my sin and restore my relationship with Himself through the sacrificing replacement of His Son. The next day I reported to my parents that I prayed to receive Christ and I was then baptized at the Christian camp with several others. Later that day, the pastor preached about so many making the decision to follow Christ but not following through. I decided that would NOT be me! There was NO way I was going to pray to receive Christ and punk out. I was taught to properly represent my earthly father as a sign of respect and humility and I vowed to do the same when it came to representing Christ. This was, in retrospect, more of a prideful decision than a humble one but a decision it was. Until this point in my childhood, I didn't even realize that a relationship with Christ was essential to salvation. I thought instead that as long as I obeyed mom and dad, went to church, read my Bible, and prayed then I would be fine. Unbeknown to me, I was working to influence God’s love for me and not accepting it as a free gift.

Jen & I (as a student) in 2005

My freshman year in college, I met a woman who lived out what she believed even if it made her feel uncomfortable. She lived life before me like no one I had ever met before. My parents were and still are practicing Christians, but there is something about meeting someone single and young who loves the Lord & lives like it. I know she said we believed in the same things but I had not really met anyone who was as vulnerable with his/her mistakes and honest in their growth. After all, all my religion required of me was humble joyous obedience. She, however, had some sort of passionate excitement and personal connection with our God. She called Him Abba and meant it. She called Him master and displayed it. Still prideful, I thought I knew all that she would try to teach me but I actually never knew how to apply these things to my life and let it change me into who God wants me to be.

Throughout the course of the next four years, I studied her as she lived this life before me. She taught me a few essentials to living the Christian life as an out pour of one’s love for the Creator. Not only did I learn who God truly was, but now I understood why I was who He created me to be. I learned apply the scriptures to my life and to love others as God loved me on a richer deeper level where it was no longer an obligation or rule.