As I inhaled healthy breaths of air, two sweet girls approached me.
"Hello," greeted the tall blonde one, "my name is *Christina and this is *Sarah. We are on the UCLA campus today, and we were wondering what you thought about God."
These girls aren't the first to evangelize to me. I don't know what is it with me and campus evangelists...they LOVE popping my pseudo-antisocial bubble and sharing the gospel with me. Last year, two sets of girls were sent by the same program to preach the gospel. Both sets approached me on different days, but at the same time and place.
Why is this the case? These are my theories: 1) I look like I need the gospel. 2) I look like an easy target. 3) Maybe I look too nice to reject them.
"Oh my goodness!!" I squealed. "Y'all are Christian?! Me too! I support you. This is awesome! We need more people like you two!"
I accepted and understood them. Huge breaths of air exited their lungs. Their shoulders lowered as their posture relaxed.
They were from a high school ministry organization. Normally, their ministry reached out to high school and middle school campuses near Biola University. Today, they randomly decided to reach out to UCLA students such as myself.
The tall blonde one, Christina, gave me her number, her email, and her organization's website. Apparently they were hiring and she thought I'd be a good fit. She wanted me to check them out and tell her what I thought.
I did. It was the most perfect job description in the world. I wanted to apply so badly...until I read the salary.
"Support-Raised"
I looked the term up. Basically support-raising is raising your own funds. You'd share your ministry vision with men and women, in hopes that they'll send you to your mission field through prayer and/or finances.
"No way...there's no way I will do this...are you kidding me?!"
I texted Christina telling her, "Hey this sounds so fun, but there's no way I will support-raise."
She immediately scheduled a phone appointment to talk to me. In our phone appointment, I vented my doubts and frustrations. Christina calmly validated my thoughts, as they've also been her thoughts. Somehow in our phone conversation, God used her to soften my heart.
In the end of our conversation, Christina asked, "What do you think God is saying to you now?"
This:
Luke 10:1-12 ESV
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
emphasis added.
Thus began my support-raising journey.
*names changed for privacy purposes
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