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? 

Car Updates

I'm currently working with mats.org to get a car in my price-range that is small (because parking in Jersey City is a nightmare) and gas-effiecient (because I drive 200 miles a week)! I've made a faith goal of $10k to purchase a vehicle that would meet my needs. The combination of what my insurance company will be giving me and my tax-refund will leave me just about $1500 short of that goal.

I'm currently waiting to see how God will provide the rest of the money or which car He will provide for me. I was considering a hybrid, but the potential battery maintenence I will need to pay for doesn't really make it worth it. Last car I had, Toyota Yaris, is the most gas-effiecient car I know with 35-38 miles/gallon.

Please pray I make a wise decision that would help me to continue my ministry work here in NJ for many years to come. I'm so excited to see how God will work!

Crashing into trials (car accident)

2012 Keeping Tabs with Campus Ministry

Kean Cru - Stand guard!
Red Rover, Red Rover, Calling Satan over?!

Kean Cru Bowling in September 2011

Every semester, the Cru ministry at Kean University tries to have an "open house/welcome" meeting. Typically this consists of a snacks, games, and an explanation of the ministry according to Acts 2:42-47.

I was asked by the Kean Cru leadership team to give a short presentation explaining the ministry and our mission and vision at Kean on the first Thursday of the semester, February 2nd. Although I felt physically ill the morning of the talk, I had already prepared a "prezi" for that evening. As I spoke about the ministry, the Holy Spirit kept emphasizing community in my heart. So I pointed out how the community in Acts 2 was constantly together, in prayer, studying scripture, giving to others and staying in fellowship. This community characterized by love caused those around them to be in awe and have favor upon them! I then asked: "Does our community at Kean University cause the faculty, staff and students to be in awe? If not, why? Are we loving one another as God has loved us to the point that it transforms the community around us?"

Interestingly, the Holy Spirit gave me an analogy I never expected to communicate to the twenty-five students before me. Do you remember the children's game "red rover"? As I asked the question, the room of twenty-somethings looked blankly back at me as though I were from an entirely different decade! "I'm only a few years older than you all! Come on!" In the children's game, "Red Rover", there are two lines of people holding hands and facing each other. When one team calls someone from the other team to come over, that person has to try to run and break through the hand-holding chain of the other standing team. If the person breaks through, he/she takes the two people who's hands they separated and brings them over to join his/her team. If the person CANNOT break through, then he/she must join that team. I used this analogy to show the importance of real community in the body of Christ. I defined "real community" as a group of people who know more than each other's names and majors. For example, when I see the enemy coming after my friend, I can "hold her hand more tightly and stand firm". However, if I'm unaware, I'm in danger of being knocked down & allowing my friend to be knocked down as well.

Front of my car (not nearly as bad as the back)

I know the Lord is allowing the enemy to run at me and Kean Cru through trials of various kinds because nothing happens outside of God's knowledge. BUT GOD!... Praise God, I've seen our leadership team at Kean hold tightly to one another through prayer and love in the power of the Holy Spirit so that the enemy CANNOT break through. Sure it hurts when he rams into my car at 45MPH while I wait at a stoplight behind several cars with a student in my car. Yes, it's difficult when the tire on the car I rented pops on the way back from Kean the following night. Sure, it's painfully devastating when I find out I'm allergic to the pain medication I was prescribed at the hospital. However, I know God will be glorified, for we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus! :) As 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 says, "...we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed...."We are staying in prayer, keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, and running the race with endurance until the end.

As for my car, it may be totaled but I'm still not sure. It's definitely not drivable in the state it's currently in (basically squished) but insurance will cover the damages. I'll just have to wait and see God provide! :) Through this all, my students have been getting very sick mentally and physically. I think God is drawing them to their knees to fight this spiritual warfare, remembering that in our weakness, His strength is perfected! Romans 12:12 says "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." When I want to complain, I remember that God is good and ALL that He does is good! I'm grateful for how this is bringing unity to the Kean Cru leadership team. They are recognizing their need for wearing the whole armor of God to engage in this spiritual warfare for the hearts and lives of college students, faculty, and staff on their campus. They are being reminded of the importance of community when we are under attack.