My dear friends, family, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents,
mentors, and anyone else who somehow found their
way to my blogs,
I hope this letter finds you doing
well. As you may already know, I have been accepted for a yearlong mission
apprenticeship with Center for Student Missions in San Francisco. As I approach
this exciting next step in my life I wanted to write you to tell you what CSM
is, why I feel called there, and how you can be praying for me throughout the
year. CSM works with about 10,000 students and adults each year leading them in
service and mission projects in 10 North American cities. Through their year
round partnerships with more than 500 organizations they provide students with
the opportunity to serve homeless individuals, urban families, immigrants, and other
often forgotten individuals within the city.
Throughout high school I spent a
large deal of time invested in youth in the inner city of Detroit. Through my
experiences in Detroit, God has instilled an enormous passion in me for justice
in urban communities. God has given me a heart for the city and I feel He may
be calling me to work in urban ministry full time after college. I am
incredibly excited about this opportunity with CSM to grow in knowledge and
experience. Within this program I will be working part-time with CSM, as a
liaison between non-profit groups in San Francisco and student groups that want
to minister there, as well as working part-time myself with an organization
already meeting needs in the city.
As
the necessity for me to decide whether I should re-enroll at North Park
University in Chicago or go elsewhere came closer last school year, I couldn’t
shake the discomfort I was feeling. I couldn’t explain why I was feeling so
unsettled about returning to college. After an incredibly long process of
considering several options for this next year and watching them fall through
one after the other, suddenly the idea of working for CSM entered my
consciousness. After a summer of emails, applications, several long interviews,
prayer, and many, many conversations I was offered the position to work with
CSM. I now look back on this long and
difficult experience of uncertainty about my plans and know the reason for this
was because God had greater plans for me to work with CSM for this next year
and return to college after that.
I
plan to leave for San Francisco September 26th for an October 1st
start date and will return sometime at the end of next summer. All of you have
played a role in shaping me into the person I am today. I want to thank you all
for the prayer, thought, kindness, and love you have already poured out to me
throughout my life. So many of you have taught me through the way you live what
it means to live a life dedicated to Jesus Christ. As my departure date
steadily approaches I ask you to join my team as I serve the city of San
Francisco. More than anything I desire you to coat this entire experience in
prayer. I ask you to pray for the city of San Francisco and for the individuals
I will have the opportunity to be in relationship with. Pray for me that God
will continue to break my heart for what breaks His. Pray that I will not lose
sight of God’s plan for my life and that I will have the wisdom and courage to
devote myself fully to His purpose everyday. I also
ask you to pray that I remain humble throughout my every action recognizing
that it is only through the grace of Jesus Christ that anything is possible. I
will be sending out a reminder of ways you can be praying for me at a later
date. You can join my team by pledging to pray for CSM, the city of San
Francisco, and myself online at http://csm.org/prayerpartner.php. I
will be writing on this blog throughout the year so you can hear about the ways
in which God is teaching and growing me throughout this experience.
If
you have any questions, would like to hear more about CSM, or would like to
just chat more about what led me to urban missions, I would love to hear from
you! My cell phone number 734-355-5557 and my email address is r.rey829@gmail.com.
Again I want to thank you all for all of your love and support for me
throughout my life and into this next year as I venture to San Francisco.
Sincerely,
Rachel Rey
