Summer LINK Clemson: Christ our Sustainer

Our second week in Tigertown has come to a close, and what a great week it was! The Lord blessed our week in so many different ways. Thursday nights we meet in different church members’ homes to fellowship with them over a meal and conversation of God’s grace in their lives. The Finley family was gracious to host us this past week. We had a delicious meal prepared by Cayce, and a sweet time getting to know this awesome family of seven! It was a blessing to be loved on and encouraged by such a great family through their hospitality and sharing of what our precious Savior has done in their lives.

Many of us on the team are taking summer classes, working long hours, or doing both in addition to the responsibilities that come with serving our local church body through Summer LINK. Therefore when the weekend approaches, we welcome it with open arms!

Friday is the night designated as our ?socials? night. Each week we alternate the structure of our social.  We start out with a larger more structured event planned by Sean and Sammi, and the next week is meant to be something low key and planned amongst ourselves. We call these ?group dates.? ?Group dates? are intended to be a time for us to continue to fellowship with one another through fun activities! These nights can be as a whole group, or we could choose to split and do different things in smaller groups. The purpose is to have a fun time that allows us to relax and continue building relationships with one another. 

This past Friday marked our first group date social. The guys planned for us to eat dinner at Paw?s, a local diner, and then head to Clemson?s campus to play Frisbee golf! During dinner an intense storm arrived, and we thought we wouldn?t be able to play. However, the Lord was gracious and eventually the storm subsided enough for us to begin playing in a light rain. It turned out to be a great evening full of laughter, playing in the rain, and encouraging one another! I was really encouraged by our two guys, Victor and Edward, as they stepped and took leadership over this night! They took initiative to make plans and served the girls well by being patient and encouraging as they taught many of us to play Frisbee golf for the first time.

Saturday is designed to be our day of rest, so we all are generally doing very different things. This past Saturday, Crosspoint?s youth had a lake day so those on our team serving with the youth for the summer spent their Saturday afternoon on the lake loving on the students and building relationships with them. The rest of us spent our day doing various things as we all sought to be rejuvenated for the next week!

Sundays are always a big day for us. We arrive an hour before the first service to come alongside the other staff and help complete whatever needs to be done for Sundays to operate smoothly. These tasks always look very different. Some of the team helped set up the caf? area and prepared to greet people as they arrived, while others served with the kid?s ministry. This summer I am serving with Crosspoint?s college ministry; ergo my primary responsibility on Sunday morning?s is making sure everything for our college discussion groups is set up and ready to run smoothly.

The college discussion groups happen during the 11:00 service. Each week we discuss the passage/sermon that was just preached during the 9:00 service. It is a great time for food, fellowship, and time together studying God?s word. This past Sunday we had great discussion over 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10! Many good discussions broke out as we digested what we had just heard about God?s righteous judgment and discussed how the hope the Thessalonians had is the same hope we can trust in today! Praise the Lord that Christ is glorified through judgment and mercy!

As I reflect on these past two weeks, I am beyond thankful for the Lord’s love and faithfulness. It has been a joy experiencing and witnessing the different ways in which the Lord answers prayers and equips his children to do work for His Kingdom. Whether that be through being refreshed by hearing of God’s work in others lives, encouraging one another as we labor through long days or difficult situations, extend grace to one another when we fall short, or merely just providing one another with biblical, Christ-loving community! Regardless of our own faithfulness, our Lord is never changing and forever GOOD! Hallelujah, what a Savior!

By: Hannah Milroy