"Digging-in" to the Gospel

Since we at IVCF SFU absolutely love studying the gospel, it's only logical that we also love Mark West Pacific, a 40 hour immersion in half the gospel of Mark.

As a way to leverage our invitations to Mark West Pacific, we always want to give a taste for people who may be "sitting on the fence."  This year, we decided to invite Melody Kwa and Lida Hellqvist to take the lead in teaching scripture for this event.  Together, we all decided to do Jairus & the Bleeding Woman (Mark 5:21-43).  During the study, as party of the interpretation, we were invited to reenact this story.  People took on roles such as Jesus, Bleeding woman, Jairus, mourners, Jairus' daugher, the messenger, and the crowd.  Acting out this passage really put a whole different perspective.

"I have always looked at this

  

 This opportunity was also Melody's first time leading scripture study.  Here are her thoughts on the experience.

...it was really encouraging to see how willing everyone was to help out and contribute to the planning and carrying out of the event. This helped make me less nervous about the entire thing, and it also reminded me in a very real way that God doesn't just leave us by ourselves to do things but He brings us other capable people who walk and serve alongside us to make the load lighter. It was challenging and a new experience for me to lead it, but it was definitely an experience that helped me grow and learn more about myself as well. I felt like I was stepping out of my comfort zone, which is something I unfortunately rarely do. But I learned that sometimes we just need that little extra push to do something. I'm really glad I agreed to lead the dig-in; it taught me a lot about leading bible studies and bringing other people into conversation about Jesus, which are two things that I really value and aspire to in my life.

Please continue to be joining me in praying for those who are still deciding if they should go to Mark West Pacific.  If this is where God is calling them to be, pray that He would remove any barriers that would prevent them from going.  Also, continue praying for Melody in her growth and development in her teaching gift.