It's Only the Beginning

Hey, I’m Sarah Fowler and I will be a junior at North Carolina State University this fall. Here’s a little of what I’m learning this week:

First off, goodbyes stink. As Pocahontas says, “I like hello better.” …But life isn’t always like a Disney movie, and unfortunately sometimes we have to move on.

I work in the kitchen of Tomorrowland Terrace (TLT), where college students make up a majority of the work force and the environment is relaxed enough that we have been able to get to know each other really well. We sing and dance while making orders in the hotline, talk about life over grimy dishes, and joke around with each other on a daily basis. After seeing my coworkers nearly every day for two months, it’s hard to imagine any other way to spend my day.

Many of our coworkers are returning home in a few days. Those who aren’t leaving are being sent to new work locations for the winter as our restaurant closes for the season on Saturday. In a way it’s sad to see everyone going their separate ways, and it’s easy to think of this as the end. The end of project. The end of TLT for the season. The end of having these people in my life.

So all week I’ve been preparing my emotions to put a period at the end of this summer. I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to leave my amazing coworkers, my sweet roommates, and all the other wonderful people I have met this summer.

But you see, for many of our coworkers and people we’ve met along the way, this summer is only the beginning. The first time they’ve had coworkers that actually cared about their life. The first time they’ve met Christians who didn’t judge them because of a choice they’ve made. The first time anyone has really asked them what they believe. The first time anyone has offered to pray for them. The first time they learned who Jesus is. The first time they've seen Christianity as something more than just rules to follow.

And as easy as it is for me to mentally put a period on their story, I know Jesus isn’t finished. His work in their lives will continue long after this summer. He knows them each so deeply and intimately and longs to have a relationship with each of them. His passionate pursuit of the hearts of these people won't end just because Walt Disney World Summer Project is over or because we are leaving Orlando in a few days. I believe God is starting something at Walt Disney World that can’t be stopped. A story that begins with His love on the cross over 2,000 years ago and will continue literally for ever and ever with people from all nations falling at His feet and praising His holy name. And even as this summer comes to a close, I can say with confidence, it’s only the beginning.

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

-          Philippians 1:4-6

Ambassadors for Christ

  Yo! This is Travis Cook and I go to the University of Texas. I just wanted to share an experience I had during outreach this Tuesday and what it taught me.
  I went to downtown Celebration for evangelism on Tuesday. We were walking around the little town, not seeing very many people to interact with. But then we saw a man I had talked to weeks before in Celebration. So I went up to Charlie and talked to him for awhile. The last time I had talked to him, he acknowledged that God was watching over us. I wanted to ask him more questions about that but it started to rain, so he bid us good day and left. Now talking to him this time, I definitely wanted to get more into spiritual conversation. I asked him if he went to church here in Celebration. He said he used to when he lived in New Jersey, but he doesn't anymore. His reasoning for not going to church was "you have to pay to get in". He expanded on it a little more by talking about how the church he went to didn't use the money they collected in the right ways, and even used it to give themselves lavish lifestyles. Because he had a bad experience with this one church, he was completely turned off from the idea of ever going back to church.
  This conversation made me think about how much responsibility we have as Christ followers. Claiming the name of Christ, we represent Him in everything we do. The world can see Christ through us. If we are claiming His perfect name, engaging in dishonest practices can turn people away from Him, questioning His goodness and love. We definitely do not want to do that. Our desire is to show love and compassion for people, bringing a message of hope and goodness that is the gospel. "That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to use the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5: 19-20.
  This is just one of many things I've learned this summer. Hope it made some sense! I ask you to pray for Charlie, that he would be able to recognize that one bad experience with a church shouldn't keep him from going to worship and grow in another church. Thanks!
 

Hello! My name is Lauren May and I will be a junior at Appalachian State University. I just wanted to share what God has put on my heart regarding our work here this summer. 

“Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them… You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God- there never has been, and there never will be. I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior… From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.” Isaiah 43:7, 10-11, 13

Today was a perfect instance of the clarity and timeliness of God’s word in my life. As I sat down to read a passage I had read and re-read many times, the Spirit stuck these verses to my soul. As summer project is winding down, I believe many of us are panicking about the little time we have left with our co-workers. Personally I feel nagging doubts every day about if I am saying or doing enough to share God’s word. The encouraging thing is that God uses every single thing for his glory! It doesn’t matter if we say or do the right thing, because God can use it to impact others in his eternal story of salvation. There are so many stories I could share about how God has used little things this summer for his purpose. We need to remember that it is not our responsibility to save other’s souls- only God can do that. We can only help lead others in the right direction. Its comforting to remember that anything that happens in our co-workers lives this summer cannot be changed by what we do or don’t do, because as God reminds us “No one can undo what I have done.” And I thank Jesus for that.

Lessons from the Lord

Hey! My name is RaeLynn and I'll be a sophomore at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I just wanted to share a little bit about what I've been learning on this project. There's a lot, so I definitely can't talk about all of it.

Most of all I've learned how to grow. I had never heard of the concept of Grace + Truth over Time thing. When I first heard this at the beginning of the summer I didn't think anything of it. But God really used this in my life this summer. I have grown more than I ever have in the last 19 1/2 (yes, the 1/2 matters) years.

I've also learned how to extend grace to others, develop patience beyond what I could imagine, and understand different cultures and lifestyles. I had a lot of expectations of what I thought I would learn this summer, and these things weren't exactly on my list. I had put God into a box, but He broke out of that box immediately.

He's also taught me how to manage time wisely, how quickly time can go, and how to cherish every moment He blesses me with. At the beginning of the summer I thought we had so much time here. I figured I would take my time doing the things I had set out to do this summer, but before I knew it project was half way over and it was crunch time. That's when I really started to realize that I am here for a purpose and I have not been fulfilling that purpose to the best of my abilities. God gave me grace in that area and helped me to quickly develop relationships with people at work and deepen the relationships I made already on project.

This is a very quick, not complete list of what God's been doing in my life at Disney World. Take heart in the fact that He is indeed working in the lives of every student on project and our co-workers. I want to sincerely thank everyone who donated to this project whether it was financially, prayerfully, just thinking about us, or even reading this blog. This project couldn't have functioned without you, so thank you!

Wlat Dnesiy Smeumr Pcrjoet (It's all out of whack. That's life, kid. Ees not so bad a thing.)

Fifty-eight other college students from around the nation and I have been on a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ at Walt Disney World for the past seven weeks.  People frequently ask what the purpose of this project is and how I could feel morally okay with the fact that I’m asking for money from people to work at Walt Disney World for the summer.  In the simplest form, the purpose of this project is to spread the Gospel to people who don’t know or believe it.  The term, “The Gospel” gets thrown around thoughtlessly sometimes.  The Gospel that I am trying to present to my coworkers here in Walt Disney World is that God loves us each personally so much that he would send his son, Jesus, to die for us so that we would not be separated from Him forever because of our sins.  He’s saved us because he loves us and I know that prior to this project I took that for granted. 

There is a thriving college program that works with Disney World that is not associated with Campus Crusade for Christ.  This is huge group of students/Disney World cast members who are comprised of young people from many nations all over the world.  This project is geared very much towards the international college students that come to the United States to work at Walt Disney World. 

I work in the Outdoor Foods department in the Magic Kingdom.  Some of my coworkers are from France, Haiti, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Turkey, China, and Australia.  Over the last seven weeks I have had the opportunity to share how God has changed my life with His eternal love and grace.  I recognize how cliché that may sound, but we as Americans are spiritually spoiled with how accessible the truth of the Gospel is to us.  This is knowledge that we have no right in hoarding.      

God is alive, well, and working.  Before this project, I thought of him largely as a dormant volcano or a sleeping giant, but this is not who God is.  I have woken up to the reality that God is at work and the harvest is absolutely plentiful.  What has surprised me the most so far on this trip is how hungry people are for God.  They don’t even know this until you lay out to them who God is and what He does/has done in your life.  But they desire this much more than I had anticipated.  They are not at all in need of religion or rules or a new mask to put on.  They need who God is.  I need who God is.  It’s this beautiful, reality-shifting realization that I get the privilege of being a part of in other people’s lives here at Walt Disney World.  

Life on Project

My name is Nicole Staggs and I am from Wichita Kansas. This is a blog I wrote for my suppoters a coupple of weeks ago. They had some questions and this is my reply.
     Before I left for my mission project a lot of you were asking how could there be a mission trip at Disney World? I got quit a bit of skepticism from a lot of people, including my best friends and close family. I began to say that every mission trip has a purpose and something that is sacrificed. On this mission trip, The purpose is simply to tell others from around the world about the Gospel, raise up new leaders in other countries to share in their home land. It is easy to just go to a country and do this but you miss several others when you do that. This project has the countries come to us, and their are thousands of potential leaders right here in Disney World to share the Gospel with. What is sacrificed on this mission trip is sleep. This may not be as large as pluming like you would have to sacrifice in other mission trips, but sleep is very much apart of a healthy lifestyle. On any mission trip, there is always one defining thing that they all have in common, and that is God. God is the center of every mission trip anyone goes on. Let me tell you, God is definitely represented on the mission project I am on.
So now that we have established that, lets move on to what this particular project looks like.
Physical:
      I live in a condo resort in Kissimmee, FL, Just 15min away from Disney World. All the buildings are fun colors like blue, green, pink and orange. Don't get hung up on the condo living. It is not as fancy as you think. We have found lizards, frogs, cockroaches, and spiders the size of a large baseball inside our condos that we have had to deal with. We have also had to deal with broken microwaves, A/C not working, and towel racks falling off the wall. No matter what the problem in our own individual condo, we deal with it as a group. There is about 5-7 of us living in a condo and some of us have decorated it with compliment boxes, princess posters, and other various items. The condos consist of 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms as well as a kitchen and living room. OH! and some of us have a harry potter closet. lol
Day to Day:
      In the morning, we wake up and go to a project event from 10:00am to about noon. (Monday-Bible Study, Tuesday-Evangelism, Thursday-Men/Women's time, Saturday-Ministry teems) After those activities if we have work, then we go to work for the rest of the day. Friday we don't have any project scheduled but if we have work, again, then we go to work. On Wednesday we get the whole day off of work and do an activity as a project all day long. I also meet with my discipler once a week and get disciple in how God would like me to live and learn how to better Evangelize.
Work:
     Working at Disney is like any other Job. Clock in, Work, Break, Work some more and close. While we are at work however, we are making friends with our coworkers. The only thing different about working at Disney is that most of your coworkers are not from the U.S. I could write an entire post about this (Witch I will).
Family:
     Being on Project is amazing. I have gotten shown so many things about how a family works and how God wants me to live. This is shown from my room mates to my car pool group, to going surfing at the Beach. I have gained so many brothers and sisters in the short time that I have been here. The staff is amazing in guiding everyone to be just like them. My new mommy's and Daddies (Staff) will be leaving soon and we will be in charge of the direction the project will take.

Patience goes a long way

     Hi guys! I am Megan from Omaha, NE. I work in Stands West at Aloha Isle, selling dole whip, Sunshine Tree Terrace, and the egg roll cart. I have had a few good conversations with my coworkers these past few weeks, but I feel like just as people are starting to open up, we have to leave. I had one guy I met for the first time tell me that Disney World is the perfect mission field and there are a lot of lost people here, which was really encouraging to hear. I wish we were here longer, so I could go deeper with my coworkers, because I've gotten close to most of them. My plan is to be super intentional in the week and a half I have left with them and really let God show through my actions. I'm also not looking forward to the end of project, because I have gotten so close with everyone here. The atmosphere here is like none other.

    I have grown SO much in my personal walk with the Lord. I have grown more this summer than any other time in my life. One way I have seen God especially work in me is in my patience. When the billionth guest comes up and asks me what the difference between dole whip soft serve and dole whip soft serve swirl, in the beginning it took all I had in me to politely tell them. Now when people ask in my opinion "dumb" questions, I have a little more patience.

    This is an excerpt from my project blog about my new attitude:

           "A couple of weeks ago at our group meeting, we were all given a piece of paper with an encouraging bible verse we could easily put in our pockets at work. My verse is Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not men." I have been trying to put that into practice at work by making every dole whip with a smile on my face instead imagining the rude customer that it is going to. I also enjoy listening to Hillsong in Shannon's car before work and having those uplifting songs stuck in my head at work all day."

Disciples for Tomorrow

Hey, Chris Jones here with a brief update on the work environment in Tomorrowland Terrace in Magic Kingdom. Six of us have been working in the kitchen for six weeks now and we have had interactions with most of the cast members there. I would say we've talked to 50/70 members that work at our location. We've developed relationships with about 35 of these people alone: getting to talk about their lives, why they're working in Disney, and developing community. We've developed fairly strong friendships with about 15 coworkers our age mostly. We've hung out with them outside of work and brought them to some of our project events. What we've come to learn about our friends and most of the rest of our coworkers is that the majority of them believe in God and more than half claim to be Christians! Our spiritual conversations have revealed the relationship with Christ they really have and a lack of community makes it hard for them to grow.  Our mission in these last 2 weeks of work is to ask those about their faith who we haven't learned yet and share the Gospel. For those that know Jesus, give them practical tools to grow in their faith and help lead others after we're gone. It's a serious mission, but God is presenting us with the opportunities so we are responding. Prayer for stronger disciples!

Kind of makes it all worthwhile, don't you think?

Hi all! Liz Bauer from Duluth, Minnesota here.

This week it's really been sinking in for me that we're almost done here...and it's really been getting me down! I seriously love everyone i work with in the Pecos Bills Kitchen and i don't know how it's going to be not seeing them everyday! We've become a family there and we've had our ups and downs but God is there, and He's moving at Pecos even if it's not extremely apparent right now. It's really encouraging to know that we are making a difference even in our shortcomings and failures. One of the first days there, i snapped at a coworker named Luz, i had plans to sit her down and apologize the next day, just to find out she went on a 3 week vacation. In that i just felt like a complete failure and that i shut every door i could have had at Pecos as far as sharing God's love goes. But in the 3 weeks i built some strong friendships and learned to love people the way God would love them. Luz is back now, and she's the sweetest little thing, i don't think she even remembers that i was snappy.

This is a short update, but it's been crazy apparent to me in the last week just how much we're affecting Pecos through God's love.

Lisa H's Blog Week 6

Lisa Hickman

My Video Blog

My Car Pool Group with our friend Candace and Mickey and Minnie

This is Lisa J. from South Carolina.  I will be a junior at the University of South Carolina in the fall.

One way I have been growing so much this summer is in my friend-making abilities.  I grew up in the same house my entire life, so I went to school with a lot of the same people all the way through and never really had to make new friends.  My friend group shifted naturally from one grade to the next.  Never before had I been in a situation like Summer Project where I knew no one and yet lived with them for ten weeks.  Now I have friends from all over the country and world.  It's pretty exciting.

Something I have been praying for lately is that these new friends, from work especially, would not just think of us as "nice, fun Christians," although that is a good thing.  I want them to see Jesus in us and feel God's love for them through us.  One coworker just found out that we were Christians this week and apologized to us for doing and saying things that may have offended us.  We have been trying to make her understand that we love her and want her to be herself around us.  At the same time, we don't want to tell her that everything she's doing is fine.  It's the idea of hating the sin, not the sinner.

This is just one example of how I am growing this summer, but it's kind of a big deal.  As in, the whole point of Project.  So would you join me in praying that we would change hearts and lives for Christ this summer?  Pray for boldness and courage from the Holy Spirit and for Him to give us opportunities to share our faith in His perfect timing.

Thank you,

Lisa J.

Mind. Blown.

Hi all! I’m Abby Jean Ray and I will be a senior this upcoming year at Ball State University in Indiana…yeah that’s right…chirp chirp!! Anyway, this summer I am serving the Lord in a unique way. The purpose of project was to fulfill a partnership between Walt Disney World and CRU through students sharing and spreading Christ’s love through the workplace. Let me tell you….this mission has been fulfilled and so much more!!! The Walt Disney Summer Project not only offers the opportunity to share the gospel at the workplace with our coworkers, but God just blows my mind with the international prevalence all around us. I have literally met people from Mexico, France, Haiti, Hong Kong, China…and of course college students from all over the country. I honestly never thought that I personally would have a heart for the nations until God brought me here. I am so glad He did and I am so blessed to be here.

One way that I have seen God work is in my personal walk with Him. The second week of project when I found out my exact working location, I was not the happiest camper. In my mind, I did not come to Disney World to work in a fast food location…and what do you know? I work in the back-of-house kitchen with absolutely no guest interaction. This was a blow to my expectations and because of this I did not start the summer with God at the forefront of my mind. However, throughout the continuing week the Lord began to show me that His purpose is greater than anything I could dream up. The question started as “what will make me happy?” and turned into, “Lord, how can I serve you with the circumstances that I am in?” Though this was not an easy question to face and one that found hard truth in, God began to answer this question quickly. I have realized that my mission here is to serve as Christ’s servant to my coworkers. I love them!! God has blessed the Tomorrowland Terrace with a great community of people. It was so easy to come in and bond quickly with our location. God allowed me to scratch below the surface of my expectations and find joy in His. I know I will have life long friends from working here, and he has grown my faith tremendously by His wonderful provision.

A pressure that I constantly feel is that while spending a lot of time with coworkers, I am not always intentional with the Gospel. I sometimes don’t mention Jesus, and feel that that is time wasted. God proved me wrong on this assumption too. I really have learned on project what it means to “build relationships.” One night after work we went out to eat with one of our coworkers that we didn’t know so well. Nothing about the Gospel specifically was proclaimed that night, but we definitely showed Christ’s love to this coworker and had a phenomenal fun time. The next day on one of the days that we had walk-up, random evangelism time, a few of us ran into the same coworker at the mall. He was excited to see us and asked us why we were there….and what an opportunity to answer, find out where he stood with the Lord, and share the Gospel. Because we had built up the relationship the night before, the doors were open and he was able to trust us…and yet again, God provided an opportunity for that. So in summary, I have personally learned what it means that no time is wasted and that He uses everything to work together for the glory of His Kingdom.

I know God has big plans for these next two weeks, and no way will WDWSP12 stop riding the waves of faith!!

Abby Jean Ray

Do the Twist!

Hi, my name is Janelle Podruchny! I am an incoming freshman at New Mexico State University. Let me just say, being the youngest child on project is one of the best experiences I could ever have. I am surrounded by the most encouraging and God seeking friends here, and it is one of the best atmospheres for spiritual growth.

Some awesome things have been going on for me and every member on the project!

This summer project has recently made a twist that came out from nowhere! We've all been sharing stories about some neat experiences and they are all very similar. For instance, one of our coordinators (leader, manager position at Disney) expresses some form of thankfulness, or gratitude for our work ethic, or optimism during our work hours, or just a compliment with gratitude that we have come here. A lot of us have been thanked for changing the entire atmosphere of our workplace! That is so cool to hear because, that is exactly what we want to happen!

We came here to Walt Disney World, to change lives through God's love. Our greatest ambition is to show others the love that Christ shares with us, and to extend it among the nations! So, to hear that our workplace has changed for the best since we've been here, and for us to see changes in our co-workers, is such a blessing.

Have you ever walked through the kitchen of a restaurant, as an employee, and had almost every co-worker wave at you and smile because they are happy to see you, even though you see them every day? That has been happening here and it is so neat to see the joy in their faces reflect off your own.

Who knew that we would make so many friends while working here? I have met friends from all over the world; Some of the places my friends are from are Poland, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Turkey, China, France, and Haiti. I hear so many different languages strewn across the kitchen every day, to imagine the Gospel being carried by those voices back to their own countries, it's incredible.

I am so blessed to be here, I am growing in my faith, and sharing God's love to His kingdom! What more could a girl ask for?

Remember Why...

Hey there!

My name is Marie Hallberg, and I will be a junior at Michigan State University in the fall. I am actually from Plainfield, IL which is about an hour south of Chicago, so needless to say, Florida has been quite an adjustment for me this summer!

I feel like I haven’t had much time in the past couple of weeks to sit down and write a somewhat detailed blog. So here’s my attempt at that. It’s a little late, but today was my day off, so I’m not completely exhausted. I guess I need to seize this opportunity! Lately, that has been my life. Seizing opportunities. And remembering why I have them.

I mean this in a few different ways. One is in a physical sense. Last Thursday, on my day off, I got to join some friends and head to Animal Kingdom for the second half of the day. I do enjoy this park, although it always makes me feel like I’m just going to a zoo, not a theme park. Either way, this was the second time I had been with a big group that included my friend Whitley. The first time I chickened out of going on the ride Expedition Everest. This is why:

Yeah.

Um, if you don’t know me, I don’t do rollercoasters. Especially ones with big drops. They freak me out. I am fully aware that I am being a baby, wimp, etc., you don’t have to tell me. But I hate big drops. They freak me out, I start to have a mini panic attack and can’t breathe for about 5 seconds while I’m going down the hill. But enough about my cowardly ways.

Whitley was not going to let me leave the park before “climbing” Everest. Literally. I finally resigned myself to the fate that I would have to ride it. She explained every detail of the ride and the whole route to me. I texted one of my best friends from back home who told me to “go be a warrior!” (thanks Trina!) and finally decided to be a big girl and get over it.

And I did it!

Whitley sat next to me the whole ride, telling me what was coming up next, what I should look for, and how long it was going to last. It was shorter than I thought it would be. And the drop was over in about 3 seconds. All in all, I won’t be running to go on it again, but it felt to good to say that I did it.

One of the best opportunities of this trip is the chance to meet all these new people. And not just the other 58 other students on this project, but also the coworkers I would (hopefully) get to meet and hang out with. It has been wonderful to meet all these people. Truly wonderful.

I feel as if I have known these people for years, not just weeks. I feel like my roommates and I have gotten fairly close, and like we’ve been living together for a while now! My carpool group has been such a blessing to me and between my discipleship group, bible study, and ministry team, I feel like I have at least gotten to interact with eveyone on project. Which is quite a feat, with the size we’re at!

At the same time, this has been somewhat emotionally draining. When I leave school, I leave with the knowledge that when I come back in the fall, the majority of them will be there as well, and we can pick up right where we left off. Granted, I only have 2 years left and soon I won’t be going back, but we’ll talk about that later (like in 2 years). But I have been reminded several times in the past week that I only get the privilege of knowing, learning about, growing with, and living with these people for 10 weeks. And there are only 3 and a half weeks left. I don’t exactly know how to leave all these friendships here. I might never see some of these people again in my life. How can I just go back to IL and then go back to school and act like my life was not changed by these people this summer? It’s just not possible.

I also have the opportunity to go out and share my faith during our evangelism times and/or at work. This has been something I’ve had to grow in lately and I’ve been pushed out of my comfort zone quite often. We usually head to the outlet malls on Tuesday mornings around 10:30 a.m. to do some initiative evangelsim for an hour. We have a few different surveys and questions as tools to lead into conversations. My carpool group has had earlier shifts on Tuesdays (meaning we have to leave for work around 12 or 12:30 p.m.) so we haven’t really had as much time as some of the other groups. Lately thouhg, I have let this become my excuse to not focus on this time. I figure it’s “pointless” or “not enough time.” I find myself not even wanting to get into a conversation because I just don’t know what I would say to them. My mind is so focused on other things.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I got sick Monday night/Tuesday morning. My nose has been stuffy the past few days and I’ve had some sinus pressure to go along with it. This is just one more way I am being distracted from the opportunity of sharing the love of Christ with people. And it just hits me: How selfish am I?

How selfish am I that I would deny someone else the opportunity to learn about how much God loves them? How He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross because He could not stand the thought of being separated from that person? How I have a joy that will never end and a hope that is unending because Jesus is the Savior and Lord of my life?

Satan attacks us in a lot of ways. Being in an environment like this, I believe we are all under attack even more. He knows how much power we have in the Spirit. He knows how much of an impact we could make for God’s kingdom if we lived to our full potential this summer. Therefore, he attacks us emotionally, spiritually, and even physically (half of our project has probably been sick at some point during the summer) to break us down.

In moments like these, I have to remember why. Why I am here. Why I decided to raise $2500, get on a plane, pass up a more comfortable and familiar atmosphere and job back home, and spend a summer in hot, humid Florida. Why I interviewed, trained, and prepared for a job that consists of filling drinks, stocking tomatoes, and changing ketchup volpacks (a process during which some ketchup usually ends up transferring to my shirt). Why I decided to co-lead a ministry team that is heavily involved with planning events on project and anxiously hoping people would like what we come up with for that day.

In women’s time for the first half of the summer our theme was F.I.G.H.T. Each of these letters represents a certain quality we should focus on in our relationship with Christ. One of our leaders made a good point while talking about the first quality-freedom. We don’t have to fight for freedom or any of these other qualities. They are already guaranteed through God’s promises to us. But we have to fight to remember.

Remember why I am here. Remember why God called me on this trip. Remember why…

The physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion has been taking a toll on me lately and most of my project friends. We’re in such an intense environment, it’s hard to consistently take time out of our days to recognize why we’re here and to look at our circumstances with an eternal perspective. In other words, recognize how God is using us in this place and time to glorify His kingdom. I would really appreciate prayer with that, this is a hard thing to do!

I am also praying for all of you! That you may remember why you are you. Remember why you are where you are. And to remember why your life never has to be the same.

Because God. loves. you.

That’s why.

Unexpected Blessings

Hi! My name is Ashley Allen. I’m from Brookfield, Wisconsin and I’m a junior at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill studying speech therapy. This summer at the Magic Kingdom, I’m working PAC, which means I help control the audience during parades. I’ve had a great time and have learned so much from my coworkers and fellow project students and staff, but I have also been blessed by an unexpected group of people: the guests at Walt Disney World. Among cast members, the guests at Walt Disney World are notorious for being slightly challenging. I’ve already been asked hundreds of times when the 3 o’clock parade starts, I’ve mastered the “Disney Point”, and have found my fair share of lost children (and parents). But sometimes, guests still take me by surprise.

            Earlier this week I was having a really hard time at work. We were short-staffed and I was left to handle and large and crowded area of Main Street by myself for the first electrical parade. I was unable to keep my emergency walkway clear, there was a crowd of dozens of Brazilian teenagers who didn’t speak much English, and one guest actually punched another. I was not looking forward to the second electrical parade, but a guest asked me a question and I got to share with him exactly why I was working at Disney. It turns out he is a pastor and he and his family found me after the parade and asked me how they could be praying for me. Even when I feel like I am out of control, I can take comfort because God is!

            Another night while I was working the exits, I met a boy with Down Syndrome named Alex. I was able to spend 45 minutes talking and goofing around with him and his dad while his mom finished shopping. The next day I was off of work and some of us decided to go to Downtown Disney for dinner. We ended up walking right into Alex and his family as soon as we got there! Alex’s mom was asking me how I got to work at Disney and we ended up discussing how most people will look at Alex and only see a boy with special needs but he is actually such a huge “blessing in disguise”. God is doing some amazing things among the students and coworkers on project, but praise Him for opening doors of encouragement and spiritual conversations with the guests of Disney World!

Focus, Focus, Focus

It has officially been one week without having staff here on project. We've only got about 3 weeks left in Orlando and the sense of urgency is really starting to set in. There is honestly no time to be wasted. Speaking of time, I'd like to get my hands on some of that stuff. During this crazy busy project, the only way we can truly be fueled and equipped to do the good works the Lord has planned for us is to rely totally on his strength, which is very hard to do whenever finding sufficient time to be still and listen sometimes seems impossible. I know for me personally, when I do get to have some quiet time, it NEVER feels like enough. Something I have learned this summer that has helped me as I try to rely fully on the Lord (a task that is way easier said than done) is the concept of spiritual breathing. I can breathe out all my problems and sin, and breathe in the magnificent love and power from God that is magnified in the Gospel. It's so difficult to initiate spiritual conversations with my friends at work and get to know them on a deeper level whenever I'm stuck in autopilot relying on my own strength. Did I say strength? Oops sorry I'm pretty sure all I have left is weakness. Something awesome about project is that we get thrust into a state of growth at hyper speed, but what is not so awesome is that all of our sin and flaws are brought into the light during this state of refinement. So as we learn to deal with new problems, as we learn to function without staff, the purpose of our being here has not changed. My prayer for this project and myself is not to lose sight of why we are here even in the midst of chaos. Jesus gives us the privilege of allowing us to share his great love with others! While we are still on project, I hope that we can take advantage of every opportunity placed before us, let go of whatever is in our way, and finish the race marked out for us.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the Christ's power may rest upon me."
-2 Corinthians 12:9

With love in Christ,
Grace McDonald

What project means to me

Project has meant a lot to me these past couple of weeks. I have grown so much in my faith but as a person as well. Before I came here I had never been away from home for this long or lived with anyone so this is all an entirely new experience for me. I can honestly say I will never forget this summer. Also I did not grow up in an evangelical church and so I did not even know that is something we are called to do.  At first I was very hesitant and shy to talk about my faith with others but now I am all for it. And to be quit honest I did not have much trust or faith in the lord before project and now I do. I was not fully funded coming to project and I ended up being over supported. So the lord has worked so much in my life this summer and I have learned not to question and to just be thankful for all the wonderful things that he does.  Anyway in the end this has been such a summer of truth and growth in my life that I am so thankful to meet everyone here that has changed my life and to have this oppertunity. Plus how many people can say they got to work for Disney for an entire summer while serving the lord?

Sincerly,

Holly Balvin

Connections Being Made

Today we went to Hollywood Studios to hang out with coworkers. There were four others that joined us and we had a great day of bonding. While standing in line we created a collage of pictures and formed a Mickey head. It was a good opening to get to know them so we can meet them with were they are at. One girl, Kayla, has already shown interest understanding Jesus. Please keep her in your prayers.
Earlier that day we shared some prayer requests. One of which was that Christ followers would be revealed. One of the guys that came was sporting a cross around his neck. We still have yet to have a conversation regarding that and what it means to him, but it is still awesome to see that we are not alone in our efforts here.
I am really looking forward to what God has in store for us and just be in prayer that we rely on God to work through us. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Creating Happiness

Hi my name is Jaci Phelps and I'm from Chico, California. Here are my blogs I have been working on throughout project to keep my family and friends updated on my journey here in Florida.

http://jrphelps11.blogspot.com/2012/06/diving-in.html
http://jrphelps11.blogspot.com/2012/06/explore.html
http://jrphelps11.blogspot.com/2012/06/going-surfing-everyday.html

Dear Lord,

Dear Lord,

I don't know what you are doing in my life
and I don't understand,
but I know you are doing something.

You know I have been struggling for the past two years
with my ulcer
and how I look
and what I eat
and how much I exercise
and the guys I can get
and how popular I am
and how I treat people
and what they think of me.

Lord, I now you have a better and bigger plan for me than this
and I know you have already taken my burdens away.

And I know that almost everyday I take them back from you
and wear them for myself.

I know I think I can do better
and don't trust in you.
And I know I am stubborn
and you have shown me that I can't afford to be.
I know that my stubbornness gets in the way of your plan for my life
to make me as beautiful as you have planned.

I know I have taken back anger
and frustration
and confusion
and pain
and trapped myself in it.

I have made myself miserable
in my own self pity and negativity about my surroundings.

Please take those burdens from me
and guide me in my life
for you so that I can live for your purposes.

Take my wounds
and heal them.

Lead me to you,
to walk with you,
to learn from you,
to follow you,
to be led by you,
to be more like you.

Bring me a love and a grace and a joy that I lack.

Help me to see the gifts you have given the people that surround me
and to learn from their weaknesses.

Fill me and use me.

Point out my weaknesses and help me to overcome them
and show me my strengths and help me to develop them.
Show me my purpose and prepare me for the road ahead.
Help me to be intentional with my time and every communication I make.
Thank you for sending me here and help me to fall into your plans and purposes for these next five weeks.

Show me just how real you are.

Week 5 from Lisa's Eyes

Hello all,
I'm not much of a blogger, but I do like to vlog so I thought I would share a little of what God is doing in my life this week through this short video.

Men's Time!

Hi, this is Andrew Reinke here again, and here is a little update from me about our men's time over project! Hope you enjoy!

This Wednesday was full of wilderness, swamps, alligators, and manly activities. This week our project day was just devoted to Men's and Women's time, so we headed out to a state park and camping area to have our men's time learning about what it takes to be a MAN!

For men (especially me), competition can really bring to the surface exactly what is in our heart at that time, so whether or not the staff put us in these situations completely purposefully, it was something that I really noticed in myself and hit me hard. While we were competing during men's time, I was getting frustrated a little bit, and it was more with my attitude than anything, but I'm sure that it came out towards others. I've been a little frustrated with some things that were just really bothering me, and I had been trying to work through them, but this realization was probably the biggest help for me to go along with my desire to have the attitude of Christ in all things.

Now to actually talk about what the staff had more intended for us to learn from our men's time...

We have been covering what it means to really be a man and a man of God with the acronym RACE. We have been covering a different letter each week and we finished up since the staff will be leaving us soon.

R- Reject Passivity

A- Accept Responsibility

C- Courageously Lead

E- Expect God's Greater Rewards

Each one of these areas in our lives really impacts the way we treat our friends, family, loved ones, coworkers, and everyone we meet. Fact of life: men are different than women! ...Oh, good one there Andrew! Thank you for pointing that one out for me... But really, this is important to recognize, that there are roles that each one needs to fill and step up to the task because we were designed this way. Men today have in a lot of ways gotten away from what we were designed to do. Being a man is definitely not about age, physical abilities, a deep voice, or chest hair... It is easy for a guy to just sit back, be lazy, and just do what he wants. Rejecting Passivity is the first part to what we need to do to become a man. A man's role is to be a leader for others, and being passive towards what needs to be done is definitely a no-no. This kind of ties in with the next part of Accepting Responsibility. In life there are responsibilities that will need to be fulfilled and we as men need to step up to the challenge set before us. What man doesn't like a good challenge? I would say that a real man, one following after God, should always be up to battle the challenges of life set before us. As a man, I want challenges, adventures, battles, and struggles. I've got some other news: the Christian life doesn't have to be, and shouldn't be boring! It should be filled with fun, adventure, facing fears, trusting God, and leading through the unknown. We as men were also designed to Courageously Lead. Now this does not mean that there should be a dictatorship or lording over others, but as a servant willing to help others and follow our commander, Christ! Christ's love for us is great and all, but for men, we want someone great who we can follow after. This is something that gets overlooked by many people in the church today, and I agree with the staff on project, that in some ways this alienates men. It is all about Jesus' love for us, but that does not have as great of an appeal as a great commander who leads by sacrifice and serving to do what is best for us.

1 Timothy 1:12 "For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day."

Now since we know that we were designed as men to do these things, what's next? Well, Expecting God's Greater Rewards, of course! If we come to realize that in all things that we do, when we are living for things with eternal significance, the rewards are greater. God will bless us far beyond what we can ever obtain here on earth, and that in itself should be motivation to live for God. We all strive and seek for others approval, so why not seek for the one who approval really matters? Live for Christ, not out of obligation of some religious activities, but because you love God and want to follow Him as your leader, and expect Him to reward you for following him well! These are just a summary of what we learned, my thoughts on it, and what I hope that I can follow through with in my own life, living to be a real man of God.

During our men's time day, we complete athletically in different races throughout our day, and then compared the similarities to these races and how we are to live the race of life seeking after God. We were challenged in areas that most men have struggles in and were told flat out how it affects you: spiritually, psychologically, and literal changing in our brains. Great instruction and accountability passed down from men seeking after God, to us college guys seeking to become men of God. We of course had food, because it cannot be a men's time if there is no food, and we really challenged to make sure that we understood what it looks like to be a man of God and if we wanted to commit to being a man. I am extremely grateful to all the staff men for the challenges that they have given us and the instruction, so that we can go hard after God.

2 Timothy 4:6-8

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day —and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Surfin!

Hi this is Janelle!
Being here on the Walt Disney World Summer Project has completely changed my life for the better. I have learned so much and grown in my faith so much already. Being on project is such an adventure, I have met many coworkers and have built so many lifelong friendships already! I look forward to the rest of God's plan for this project!

Kingdom to Kingdom to World

Our Movement Launchers Team has been hard at work planning ways that this outreach can be an ongoing mission. Currently they are working on reminders for carpool groups to be intentional while at work.
Movement Launchers are also working on having this long term effect. They have already reached out to Mosaic Church to work together. We would like to work together with anyone trying to reach Disney World. If you know anyone or a group that has a heart for Disney and sees the potential that is here, we would like to work along side that group. Please contact Matt Barg (bargx011@umn.edu) or Sarah Fowler (shfowler@ncsu.edu) with the contact information of the group or individual interested in this mission. Also, if anyone has a story of how they were affected at Disney through Summer Project, we would like for you to share your story with us, and you can do that by contacting Matt or Sarah.

Top (left to right) Sarah, Demarick (staff), Chad (staff), Kevin (student leader), Matt (associate project director), Christi;
 Middle (left to right) Johann, Kelly (staff);
Bottom (left to right) Kelsey, Liz, Kurtlan (student leader), Holly;
Not Pictured Bethany

One student's perspective

Hi, I'm Andrew Reinke from Lincoln, Nebraska. I go to school at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, will be a junior next year, and am studying Architectural Engineering. I am having a blast here in Florida at WDWSP12! Here is a link to my blog,  http://andrewreinke.blogspot.com/, where you can get one student's perspective on what is happening here on summer project. Hope you find it enjoyable and keep praying for all of us as we are here on summer project, we would all really appreciate it! Thanks!

Ministry Teams

Here at Walt Disney World Summer Project not only do we get to spend 35+ hours a week working at the most awesome place ever, but we get to spend lots of time focusing on our ministry and growing in that area! Since there are so many aspects to our ministry here, what we call "ministry teams" is an amazing tool for us to individually and collectively learn about all of these details.

There are six ministry teams and each is made up of about ten students. We want to let you know what is happening in each team, so we'll post weekly regarding the activities and stories of them all.

The first team on the list is the Prayer Team. The students on this team meet weekly to pray (surprise!) about a multitude of events happening here and with our co-workers. They're currently planning a weekly worship night for students to praise the Lord for the work he has done here so far, and they're going to plan a prayer walk for the project before staff leaves.

The World Vision team has decided to put together information about a country each week to make us all aware of that country's state, specifically spiritually. Their motto is, "Bring the world to project, and project to the world." The two countries we've learned about and prayed for so far are Russia and Haiti, and the information the team has given us will be really helpful when meeting international co-workers from those places. Understanding God's heart for the nations is one of our main focuses here.

The Evangelism Team has planned outings and given us relationship-building and conversation-starting resources to lead us into potential spiritual conversations with anyone God leads us to. Learning all kinds of tools for evangelism has been SO helpful to us as we've spent many days initiating conversations with people at Walt Disney World and some of its more popular surrounding areas such as Orlando, Kissimmee, Old Town, and Celebration.

Community Life is an exciting part of Summer Project. The group is planning activities to encourage relationship building with each other and our student co-workers. They are guiding us all as we seek to be a Biblical community, living in transparent relationships and shining His light through that.

The Co-Ops (Communication Operations) Team is in charge of providing the project with communication tools among students, as well as ways for students to share stories and media with their families, friends, and supporters. They gather information from the group as a whole and are working on exciting ways to share statistics and stories of how God is working.

The last team is the Movement Launcher Team who leads the project in the task of launching a sustainable Spiritual Movement of Disney interns this summer that continues on past the departure of the Summer Project. Their motto is "Kingdom to Kingdom to World," which means pointing Magic Kingdom to God's Kingdom and then to the World. This task is vital, and is the core of our endeavors here on project.

As you can see, this Summer Project isn't all about spending every day riding Space Mountain or getting Cinderella's autograph (although those are perks on a very rare day off!). We are blessed with a greater purpose, having the opportunity to be vessels of Christ's love for the nations and to be a humble part of his great plan to return all Creation to himself as we seek to follow in his footsteps as a community of believers.

WDWSP "Going Surfing Everyday"

Surfing Every Day

Welcome to the WDWSP '12 student blog! This blog is where all 60 of WDWSP's students will have opportunities to share experiences with eachother and co-workers and stories of what God is doing. Even after 11 short days He is doing BIG things! The students here come from North Carolina, California, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Texas, New Mexico, Philadelphia, and so many more places, and the community that has formed between us all has been incredible, even in such a short time.

Our project's theme is "Going Surfing Every Day." Our entire goal this summer is to explore the "waves" of Walt Disney World by engaging in discipleship and spiritual conversations, sharing the Gospel with the world, and building a community of growing believers.

This week is the beginning of a summer full of working and sweating in hot Orlando, and we couldn't be more excited. The Lord has already been giving us opportunities to meet CPs (College Program students working at Walt Disney World) from all over the world. We are beginning to build relationships with them and hope to have the chance to share with them the ways that Christ's love has transformed our lives. This is such a special time to reach out to the nations as God has called us to!

We would love to have you join us for the epic summer adventure of surfing all of the waves God sends our way. It's so incredible to know that people are praying for and supporting us as we embark on this "magical" summer!

Much love in Christ,

The Students of WDWSP '12