SummerLINK Myrtle Beach: Life at the Sea Mist

It’s hard to believe another week has come and gone! A lot has happened and changed in such a short amount of time. Where to begin?! This past week has looked almost nothing like the first. While the first week was filled with orientation activities and a LOT of hanging out, this week began to shape the rest of the summer as students started jobs and we began our regular week night activities. Thus, the amount of hang out time has been greatly condensed. But praise the Lord because He is doing work! Here is just a quick snapshot starting with last Saturday where the last blog post left off:

After a morning of reaching out to and connecting with several of the lifeguards, we spent the afternoon and evening getting a real feel for Myrtle Beach. We began the evening with a round of putt putt at Mount Atlanticus, boys vs. girls style. And though the girls fought valiantly, we were beat out by the slightly more athletic men. To top the night off, we walked through the heart of “The Strip,” taking in the sights and the sounds of this entertainment-hungry world. And as if that wasn’t enough, we ended with a couple dozen Hot Now Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and milk.

Sunday morning brought much refreshment and sweet connection with fellow believers at Cornerstone Church where we had the opportunity to worship our great God and dive into Matthew 7:1-5. This served as a great reminder that, as believers, we have all come out of darkness and been brought into marvelous light. Only through God’s grace do we have the ability and freedom to deal with our own sin before going to our brother or sister in love that they might also see their sin. Also, Sunday night was a sweet time of fellowship as we joined Cornerstone for their first beach baptism of the summer. How wonderful to see such joy among church member’s for the four who publicly professed Christ as their Savior!

With Monday came the first day of jobs for many on our team. Between Chick-fil-A, Sea Mist front desk and registration, Planet Hollywood, and other boutiques or camps or church offices, this team is not only on mission while we attend Cornerstone or at our nightly team events. They have jobs for income, but also for the sake of Christ, to spread the news of His great Gospel!

So, while many of our days are spent doing work of all kinds, we pray the Lord uses the activities of each weeknight to faithfully grow us up in Him. First of all, Monday night was reflection night. This is time set aside to spend alone or together, reflecting on what God is doing in each of our hearts. Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, and other local coffee shops seem to be the favorite locations for reflection.

Tuesday night was my favorite night of the week…home night! We were so blessed by Fred and Wendy Pauly, a family at Cornerstone, who so graciously allowed us to join them for dinner in their home. We spent time getting to know their family and after a delicious dinner, s’mores over the fire, and a little backyard football, we sat around their living room and had the privilege to hear them talk about what the Lord has done in their lives. What a blessing to hear testimony after testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness in their lives!

Wednesday we had our first co-ed Bible study. This proved to be a fruitful time as we discussed Sunday’s sermon in greater depth. If anything is to knit us together, it is the Word of God as we all seek to know Him better and to be more obedient! Ryan and I were also able to share our testimonies. It was a privilege to share, not only what the Lord has done in my life, but also to see what He is doing in others. He is SO faithful!

Moving right along to Thursday, we had Men’s and Women’s Time. While the men played sand volleyball and spent time discussing Biblical Manhood, the women went to Fresh Brewed Coffee House to enjoy some cheesecake and open mic performances after some of our own good discussion on Biblical Womanhood. We are trusting God to develop us into the men and women He desires us to be and time like this is so key to our growth in those areas!

The weekends will be our most unstructured time around here. This means we have time to do things like ENO by the pool, put puzzles together, and eat meals together. Even now, I am thankful for a time to rest after a busy week and after a time of evangelism at Market Common this morning. How refreshing it was to spend a few hours engaging people in Gospel conversations. While we were rejected a few times, we were able to have a few fruitful conversations where people heard the Gospel. It is our prayer that we were faithful and that God will be effective here, and that he will continue to foster the seed of truth planted in their hearts today.

And we hope the same things for this team this summer…that He will be faithful and effective in our lives as we continue to grow in our relationship with our Father and in our desire to be obedient to His Word as we desire to make disciples of all nations…disciples of Myrtle Beach.

Written by Corey Dickinson