Where have the last 4 years gone?

Where have the last 4 years gone? Yesterday marked my last undergraduate class at Penn State. Today, I say goodbye to Matthew, the little man I have spent my summer with. Friday I pack. Saturday, I say goodbye.

Freshman year

Senior Year

This week, is one full of gratitude, excitement, happiness and yet many tears. You see, my life is changing, and I am soon to enter into a new season full of unknowns. I am leaving the place I have called home for 4 years, where I have made lifelong friends and the place I dedicated my life to Christ. This very home where I am currently packing, is where I re-gave my life to Christ. I can remember that night so vividly. I was living two lives, living a life that only was leading me towards death. I was wrapped in the temporary satisfaction and my personal idolization of alcohol and men, holding onto my sin of self-righteousness and self-control. That night, September 16^th 2014, a moment in my life that I was forever changed. Christ, said to me, you are mine.

Roomies

The truth is, I felt the Lord was calling me to Asheville, North Carolina and while this summer I spent 10 days there and absolutely loved it, there was a part of my that was not at peace with moving there right away. Was it fear? I don’t know. I have applied for countless jobs. Written too many cover letters, and yet I’m moving back home and am currently jobless. For a minute I throw myself a pity party and ask the Lord why me? Why do I, the girl who has had it all together, and lives by planning, not a have a plan? While my plan didn’t quite go as planned, one of the many things I have learned this past year is that my plans, are most likely not the plans the Lord has for me.

Am I nervous, yes? Yet, I am standing firm in Christ and holding onto the truth. In moments where I feel anxious, I think of Matthew 6:25-34. My discipler and great friend Becky always points me to this verse and it gives me hope. I am reminded of all my past struggles and anxiety and how the Lord has turned them all into blessings. Why would he not care for me during this season?

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34

That’s why, as I leave behind so much and say goodbye to a season of my life that has given me so much life, I can’t help but be excited and full of peace. I want a life that allows the brilliance of the treasure of Christ shine through me as I live for him. With our without a job or a plan.

For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. Psalm 135:5-6

The Lord God is great and is above all gods, whatever he pleases he does, and there is no power that can stop him. As I leave here, I pray I continue to live by faith and not by sight; to not look back on my former self and to be reminded that what God has saved me for is far greater than what he has saved me from.

To all of my friends and family who have loved me deeply, motivated me endlessly and never gave up on me, I thank you!!

Till next time!

-Amber

Servant-Hood through WindyGap

I have sincerely seen the Lord work in so many ways these past 10 days. The staff, interns, summer staff and leaders exhibit what it looks like to serve daily; the kind of service that makes God look valuable, thrilling and glorious.

 “Whoever serves, [let it be] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” Peter 4:11

PM Crew

They make working long day’s fun and exciting, all while glorying the Lord. While in the kitchen these past 10 days I have witnessed friends laugh, sing and dance to the Dougie and Soulja Boy, crack jokes, tell stories and have the ability to have devotional and “family” time where they get together with their work teams to pray and to share how they have seen their peers image Christ. While doing this, they are making 100’s of homemade loaves of bread, cookies and cakes, pounds of rice and chips and washing endless and I’m not kidding, hundreds of sheet trays and dirty pots and pans. Friends, these kids work hard, and never once during the entire time I was at WindyGap did I hear them complain. They were serving, serving the God that as believers we are called to do and by doing so, they exemplified what it looks like to be a follower of Christ.

According to John Piper, servant-hood is the state, condition, or quality of one who lives as a servant: one who puts God first and others second. One who simply gives up their own desires and interests in order to put the interests of others first, because that’s how Christ served us. He put us first over himself. (Phil 1:4) We serve by faith and with humility. Humility lifts people up and looks to the needs of others, just as Jesus took the form of a servant and humbled himself. (Phil 2:3-8) Without humility we won’t serve, or we will serve for the wrong reasons.

Love these girls! Carina and Bri

Jesus in the most perfect image of humility, he humbled himself to the point of death. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) The apostle Paul points to the Savior as our great example, by saying, “you should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,” by reminding us of the humiliation of Christ, emptied himself by taking the form of a slave. As we find contentment and satisfaction in the Lord, we can better serve others.

Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy. Phil 2:1

This past week, I have interacted with many people and although not verbalized, have come to WindyGap to serve God by serving others and are not looking for anything in return. I am beyond encouraged and excited for this amazing place and its future.

Here is where I am in my element; I can share my passion of cooking and working in the kitchen by serving so many. Believers or not. I have come to appreciate what it is like to work 8-12 hour days, to work at a fast pace, to learn everyday what it is like to run a camp like WindyGap and the extreme dedication, time, resources and efforts by so many to make every second, minute, day and week in these child’s lives one that images Christ.

I witnessed nearly 50 high schoolers rededicate their lives to Christ, many of which accepted the Lord as their savior for the first time. It was a time of praise and worship; it brought me to tears. I experienced so much this week, I simply can’t put it into words.

There is so much love here. Laughter. Dedication. Grace. Forgiveness. Friendship. And Jesus Christ. So many, “how are you doing today’s,” so many hellos, many conversations and endless laughter, all of which have made my see you later a whole lot harder.

The one and only C-Moneyyyy (Carson)

My new friend Paton

Ray, Brian, Ashton, Jack-Andy, Carina, Bri, Austin, Graham, Morgan, Sarah, Paton, Carson, Al, Bethany, Rachel, Carley, Bethany, Connor and so many more, thank you for showing me grace and answering my hundreds of questions and helping me this week. It was one that I wont forget.

See yall soon,

Amber aka: Amber Bamber

Day 6: The YoungLife Experience

Day 6: June 30, 2015

As you may not know, I have been in Asheville North Carolina, a hipster city full of character. While at Penn State, I along with many of my friends in Disciple Makers, a Christian fellowship on campus, have made the drive to Windy Gap, a YoungLife camp nested in Weaverville, a few miles from Asheville. Every Spring break, as a service trip, we travel down South and help serve the campers by working on the property before their arrival in the summer. In the stables, housekeeping, digging, landscaping, the kitchen and so much more. I had the opportunity to work in the kitchen this past trip and truly felt I was to be there. To my surprise, Ray, Brian and Ashton from the kitchen invited me back to serve in the kitchen this week for the hundreds of kiddos who will hear and see all of Jesus Christ. That’s why I’m here.

The new Windy Gap sign

Today, I woke with a full heart! I have wanted to explore this hipster city, and today on my day off I am doing just that. Sitting in a donut shop, writing this post with fingers full of sugary icing and cinnamon on my lips. Coconut and chocolate glazed vegan donuts, a chai tea, Chacos, large glasses and a funky headband; I fit right in. There is something different about this city, I just kinda fit. Its hard to explain. But I Love it.

My time so far here in Asheville has been full of excitement! I have been cooking and baking for nearly 500 people for kiddos from all over the United States who have come to Windy Gap to have one of the best weeks of their lives. A week full of abundant love. Love from property staff, interns, work crews, leaders and so many who want to pour out love to them, just as the Lord has. This place is beautiful and filled with such beauty.

Everything is so thoughtfully and intentionally planned, from the time the campers wake to the time their tired heads hit their pillow. They laugh, play volleyball, swim, hike, race cars, swim, zip-line, ride horses and they see, hear and feel the goodness of Jesus Christ is. It’s amazing.

Center of camp

On Wednesday morning, unlike any other day, the kiddos heard a talk about sin and how we are sinners. Yes, sinners. They leave it at that. They give the kids the chance to let it sit in, think about, and talk about. Think about the magnitude of sin.

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12

On Thursday evening, the kiddos laid under the stars and all of the lights were shut off all over camp. Pitch Black. You could hear a pin drop. Silence. They spent time in prayer with Jesus. Alone. For me, that night, I experienced something that I have never experienced before.

After 20 minutes, sitting under the stars, the campers had the chance to come to the dining hall under candlelight to eat some yummy snacks and talk with their leaders about what was on their hearts. I saw many tears, hugs, laying of hands and prayer. Many of these kiddos gave their lives to the Lord that night. They accepted that they were sinners but they needed the Lord. They were no longer alone. It was a period of time I will never forget.

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:12-16

Though this trip thus far has been filled with laughs, truth, fun and hard work, I have to admit It has had its challenges. I am not like the others here. I’m not on staff, an intern, summer staff, a leader, or a camper I am just here. No title. Yet, the Lord is redeeming that. I’m slowly starting to recognize faces, meeting new people and hearing their stories; I am being called by the name on my nametag and yet most have no idea why I am here. Which is ok. I am here to serve. Serve my God and these kiddos, who have so greatly affected me.

I ask if you are reading this, to pray for the campers this week; believers or not, that they may come to know the Lord who so abundantly provides and loves them and for the believers that they grow more and more in love with their heavenly father.

Until day 10,

Amber