Recap: The first two weeks

Hey everyone!

I hope you all are doing well. The first two weeks have been filled with great bonding time with my teammates and lots of training and opportunities to practice what we've learned. In the first week alone, we went evangelizing on the beach on Monday, on campus Tuesday
and Thursday, and at the mall on Friday. We had our first fun day on Saturday where we got to go to Pali lookout (a natural wind tunnel with a breathtaking view of the island), the Dole plantation, and Waimea Bay on the north shore. I've posted pictures of these and more details below.

This week was a more typical week, which looks something like this:

Monday: free day (I went to Pearl Harbor with a bunch of friends)
Tuesday-Thursday: on campus (with training on TR mornings) (midmorning
to mid-afternoon), dinner, inreach (men's/women's time, Bible study, team building)
Friday: ministry planning (morning), "local loving" -- hang out with people you met on campus (evening)
Saturday: outreach (morning), local loving (evening)
Sunday: church (morning) and ohana time (like a giant small group for the entire team)

Initiating conversations with random people definitely pushes me out of my comfort zone, but it's getting easier the more I do it. I've been really surprised at people's willingness to share with us about their lives and thoughts on spirituality. I've had some really interesting experiences, including sharing the gospel with a girl who had never heard it before, and listening to a Chinese man talk to my partner (in Mandarin) for nearly an hour and a half. Even though the fear of sharing is definitely subsiding, some days it just feels like I'm doing it because I have to, not out of any excitement about how good this news really is. I think that God has been working slowly
but surely in my heart, but please continue to pray for a passion for His name.

Finally, please also pray for the following:

- For my teammates who are still raising support, that support may come in generously.
- That we will be open, vulnerable, and accepting of each other as we learn more about ourselves and each other
- That we will have a heart for the campuses we're assigned to and for the passion to share the good news
- That we will rest and learn to depend solely on His strength (Isaiah 40:31)

In Him,
Jessica