URBANAO9

Ok, so I really have to get this Urbana post out of me before school starts, so that I actually have time to!

Urbana is a HUGE missions conference, in past years there has been 20,000+ people attending. This year there were 17,000, which is still a LOT of people! It lasted for 5 days (from December 27-January 1) and ended with a great New Year's celebration. I went with 4 friends from Michigan, and we were able to stay at a friends', friends' house in St Louis, MO. there were over 250 different missions organizations represented, and a huge inter-varsity bookstore.

The theme of the conference this year is that "He [God] dwelled among us." God came down and incarnated Himself in Jesus and lived and breathed with us here on earth. We had a session every morning where we did an inductive Bible study on the first 4 chapters of John, and then an evening session where amazing speakers would come and either share their testimonies or give a message about what was on their hearts at the time. there were also hundreds of seminars that we could choose from to attend in the afternoons.

the greatest seminar in my opinion was one by Sunder Krishnan, an Indian pastor at a church in Canada. He spoke on prayer and how we can pray Scripture, how we can take the examples that are given throughout the Bible and pray in the same way that the apostles prayed. He took the apostle's prayer in Acts 4, and talked about how before they even began their requests that they first acknowledged that God is both Sovereign and Creator. He is in control of all, and He made all. So, what would we NOT ask God? Next, they took David's prayer from Psalm 2, and used his experiences to pray that God would do the same thing that He already did for David. Sunder also talked about his own experience with this type of prayer, how he prays for a pastor who was put in prison in India. Sunder prayed for this Pastor Ha that he would be like Joseph, and earn the trust of those who had control over him etc. and he also prayed that he would be like Paul, and praise God in all circumstances. Not only can we use God's word to pray, but we can also use the example of God's work. He prayed that Pastor Ha would have the creativity of this lady Sunder read about who composed prayers in poetry while she was being tortured so that she could keep her sanity. If you want to hear how the story ended, PLEASE listen/watch Sunder's talk here: to find the video, go down to the fourth day, and to the last video entitled Pray Big and Pray Bold: Sunder Krishnan.

There is a movement going on in this generation, people are rising up to the task that God has set before us to GO and make disciples of ALL nations. God is raising up workers for the harvest that is ready! I know that God is calling me into this harvest. I don't know specifically how or where, but He is has given me gifts and talents that I can't wait to put to use for Kingdom work! the field I am now in is my first mission, that of the college campus. I may attend a Christian college, but there is still much need for the love of Christ around me, both on campus and in the city around me. My prayer is that God will work in spite of me and show His glory to those around me through my words and the way that I live my life.

Perhaps more later, or you can ask me about it in person :) Blessings to all!