An Emergency

this was written by lauren sexton.. if you dont know lauren, she is a member of the STINT team here in el salvador.. i thought you would like to read what she has to say..


So the other day my team and I got an email from Cayla Hatter and the Campus Crusade for Christ PSW team, giving us the status of the El Salvador STINT applications for 09-10. With only 11 days left until the application deadline, the official count of people applying with El Salvador as their first choice was....

one.

I think I have only been moved to tears two other times since coming on STINT, which is saying a lot. But after reading that I was suddenly overcome with such a heavy sadness. One? Really?

Before I go any further I would just like to clarify. I know that God is going to provide. I know that the work we have done, the hours we have spent praying for the salvation of these students, the hundreds of methods we tried that didn't work, will not have been spent in vain. I know the Lord will be faithful to continue to draw this nation to Himself. People will be saved. Leaders will be raised up. His purpose will be accomplished.

But you see, in that moment my heart was not burdened by the tragic state of this nation, but rather for our own.

9 of the current El Salvador STINTers, including myself, come from Cal Poly SLO. Our movement is one of the biggest in the US. Sometimes reaching up to 800 people, SLO Crusade students can easily pack out the giant auditorium in which our weekly meetings are held. Students have an awesome opportunity to be surrounded by community, hear challenging teaching from the Word, and be poured into individually by a discipler. Men and women are growing exponentially in their love for Jesus.

And yet, from that giant number, from the hundreds of students who love the Lord and are giving Him the glory in their lives, thus far only one has decided to take the leap of faith to go and meet the need in El Salvador. This, in my opinion, is much more than a sad statistic... it is an emergency.

I really think that Jesus meant the things He said. I think that when He said things like:

"anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:38)

and

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Well I think He really meant it.

So I have to stop and wonder, what is it that prevents us from doing the things Jesus asks of us? Maybe it is fear... fear of leaving home or family, fear of what other people will think, fear of giving up a year of our lives. Maybe its a fear that we just aren't good enough.
Did you know that that the most frequent command that we see God give us in the Bible is "do not fear" ? I've heard that it is said around 365 times. You could have one for every day of the year that you are on STINT.

Or maybe we are believing Satan when he whispers things in our ear like "Fix your own problems first. You're just still too sinful to be of any use." The truth is that God likes to use the weakest, most broken people to do His work. I'd be the first to volunteer myself and every other person on my team as an example.

I think what a lot of this boils down to is this: We are simply lovers of self. We value our own lives and comfort more than we value what God desires. I know because I have been a victim of it myself. But the Lord gives us this verse:

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live would no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Cor. 5:14-15)



And so I urge you, brothers and sisters, to consider El Salvador. Consider the broken souls and desperate hearts that need to know Jesus. Consider carrying on the work here, of being co-laborers in Christ, of supporting your SLO Crusade's partnership. Consider the calling that God has for your life. Maybe it isn't STINT, but either way, I pray that you are listening to Him. Because truly, I have found nothing on this earth more rewarding than loving and serving the Lord with all my heart.

And if you do make the choice, I can absolutely guarantee you two things:
1) It will be the most growing year of your life.
2) God will move.

Thanks for reading.

Yours in Christ,
Lauren

Ps: Even if you know you are not being called to go on STINT, you can still join in helping us! If you know anyone who might be praying/thinking about STINT, please pass this message on. Not everyone knows how great the need is.


(please also join us in praying! pray with us that the Lord would move in peoples hearts; pray with us that those who feel the call would answer it, and not push it aside for any reason; pray that students who have not felt called yet would bring this before the Lord again, in humility and boldness, asking if they will be the one the Lord uses to meet the great need here; pray that people would see the need and feel it in their souls and be moved for compassion for the Remnant of believers here that is ready to be raised up!

thank you so much for reading! feel free to pass this along and encourage others to pray for El Salvador!)

trev