Seeing the fruit flourish.

Today I was encouraged by a lunch with a couple of girls.

When I found out I would be placed at Wake Forest for the internship, a dear Christian lady who I had known from my time at Camp Marannook called me excitedly because she had attended Wake Forest, though she was a non-believer at the time.  She had been praying for Wake Forest for some time, that it would be penetrated by the gospel.  She said, if a ministry like RUF had been there, if an intern had reached out to her, maybe she would have known Christ sooner.

20 years later...

Today at lunch, these two sweet freshmen girls were exclaiming over the surprise about their time at Wake Forest so far.  They said how they expected to battle these pressures of partying all the time.  They thought that their relationship with the Lord would struggle.  Instead, they said that they're relationships with God have already been strengthened so much and they have grown in their walk with the Lord.  They said that instead of being influenced to depart from Christ, they've been influenced to walk with Him.

I had an email from a mother of a student here.  She wrote of her daughter's experience; that she was alone and thinking of transferring.  However, RUF's influence in her life strengthened her and kept her here and she is now flourishing in friendships.

Sometimes He keeps us in the wilderness.  He makes us cling to Him, so that His glory above all else will be known.  If we see the product, our sin so distorts the thing to make it about us.  But, after some time, He chooses to reveal some of the fruit that He has been fostering.  I am encouraged.  I am motivated to press on for the high calling, knowing that endless Pit dates and movie nights are not all in vain.

Praise God that He works in spite of our weakness.  Because that woman had nowhere to turn to for spiritual growth, she turned to prayer for the campus.  The Lord was preparing a place for the Kingdom to come on Wake Forest's campus.  Now, 300 people come to large group.  60 freshmen come to freshman Bible study.  May the Lamb receive the reward of His suffering... even if just one comes to know Christ through this ministry.