Lessons from Fall Semester

11/19/2016

It has been a hard but rewarding semester for our team. We are grateful for the ministry we have had and the growth we have seen in the team. God has promised "that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" Philippians 1:6.

Matt Clemons

Carol Anne Clemons

No two travel seasons are ever the same. You would think that after a year of traveling, I would finally have things nailed down for year two, but God continues to bring me to places where any attempt to depend on myself fails and I have no choice but to depend on Him and His grace to endure. There were many times I wasn’t sure I would make it, but God constantly gave me grace and strength. Two weeks after team started I drove Carol Anne to Detroit, Michigan, where we planned to have our baby Asa. I left her and our 5th wheel trailer there while I rejoined the team the following day in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I spent two weeks with the team before the team drove to Detroit for a week of meetings. Each day I was away, I wondered if Asa would be born that day. I was constantly checking my phone for texts or calls of news. By God’s provision, Asa was three days after his due date, and I was able to be there for his birth. Those two weeks with the team were such an enjoyable time as far as investing goes. I loved getting to talk with the team in van rides and other times that I normally was not available to chat with them. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve with this team. They are true servants for the Lord.

Asa was born October 5th. His 8lbs 11oz frame was a sobering reality for Carol Anne and me. We love him so dearly. Through him the Lord has shown me the intense selfishness in my heart. I just want me time! And just as I am on the verge of being frustrated and getting angry, God reminds me of the love He has for me and the patience He has shown to me as I constantly mess up and sin against Him. God is so kind to me. May He be praised forever!

Emilee Nelson

Second semester on the road. New people. New churches. New jokes. New problems. New opportunities for growth. This semester has been hard for many reasons, but God has used it to grow me in many ways. Coming into this travel year, I had the mindset of “I got this. I’ve done this before. I know what the Coffeys want. I’m a pro and can teach the new people a thing or two.” I was so wrong. God has used the new team members to change me. While it’s true that I had more experience traveling like this, I was so proud and unwilling to learn or change. God has used hard things to gradually break me and change me to be humble and teachable. Another major fruit of the Spirit God is working in me is the fruit of love. It’s easy to love people who love me back. It’s hard when I feel like the other person isn’t reciprocating love in any way or they are just really annoying. God is teaching me to love even when I don’t feel like it or even when the other person doesn’t love back. It’s hard, but I am finding that it is worth it. It’s simply showing the world that I am a follower of Christ. He says in John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” I am a long way from where I should be, but I’m not where I used to be.
I am beyond grateful for the patience and love the team has shown me as I struggle and fail. And we really have had fun in the process! (Read about all the fun activities we have done here.) Having fun in the van, watching Dillon jump in Lake Michigan, laughing with Abby as she does her movie quotes and accents, quizzing Stephen about all the random facts he knows, spending the week with the Coffey kids, bursting out laughing during music practice—I could go on and on with memories from this semester. God has graciously allowed me to travel again this year. I am grateful for the lessons He has been teaching me about areas I need to grow in. Can’t wait to see how He continues to work in the team and in my life over the next several months.

Abigail Chetta

It has been such a privilege traveling with Coffey Ministries the last three months. God has really opened my eyes to the ministry opportunities and needs around the country. It has been a blessing getting to know various churches these past weeks and seeing God at work. I have loved getting to know my team and working with these amazing people. God has shown me specific areas in my life that I need to change to become more like Him; it’s a hard reality but I’m so thankful for God’s working in my life. God’s grace has become very apparent to me and I am learning to preach the gospel to myself daily. Another thing I’ve learned on team is the importance of the local church. I’ve always known being involved in church was a good thing, but now I’m confident that being active in a church is a necessity.

This semester has brought a brand new layer of growth for me since the birth of my son. God has shown me over and over again how insecure I am and how desperately I need His strength. The team has been learning how to "preach the Gospel" to ourselves. For me, preaching the Gospel to myself means that because I have been redeemed, there is nothing I can do that will make God see me as anything other than righteous. On the swap side, there is nothing so grand that I will ever be able to accomplish that will make God love me any more than He already does. I am infinitely loved and overwhelmingly humbled through the Gospel.

Dillon England

Sometimes the hard things are the best things in life. This semester was hard, but it has been one of the best semesters I have ever had. From staff training till now, God has grown me in ways like never before. He has shown me how awful I am. That I am a loser. That I need His grace daily. God doesn’t use people that think they have life figured out. God uses the people that have come to the end of themselves. The people that realize that they are broken, and are in need to be healed. This is probably the biggest thing God showed me this semester, I. Am. Broken. I need to be broken. See, being broken is not a bad thing. It a needed thing. I need to be broken. That’s when God promises to use us.

Secondly, we went through a book this semester called Show Them Jesus. I can sum up the whole book with one phrase: We need to show kids that Jesus is better. As I read the book, it made me question, do I believe that Jesus is better? That question shook me to my core. You know why I sin? Because I don’t truly believe that Jesus is better. Therefore, my prayer is that Jesus would continually show me that He is better than any other thing I run to. Finally, with Thanksgiving coming and Christmas around the corner, I think it appropriate to just thank God for a few things He brought in my life. First, I am so thankful that He put me on this team. Aaron, Steph, the kids, and everyone else, brought me and made me not just a friend, but family. Second, I am so grateful for the discipleship I have received. Whether it was team devos, or just Aaron coming alongside and lovingly correcting me. Third, I am thankful for all of the people we met this semester. God was so good to show me and let me meet, such like-minded, strong Christians across America, and I can’t wait to see what he will do next year. Jesus really is worth living and dying for.

Stephen Lynn

Matthew 5:3-9
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

This fall has been my first full semester of traveling and God has been teaching me what it means to be humble. Coming into traveling I thought that humility was one area where I was doing alright. I didn't think I was that proud. My personality is more laid back and is not often very big and loud, and I don't have to always get credit for what I do. So what do I really need to work on to be humble?... Well, after starting to read through Jerry Bridges' The Blessing of Humility, my perspective changed.

God showed me that I sin from a prideful heart much more than I realized. In the Beatitudes Jesus calls us to be poor in spirit which means that we are to grow in our awareness of just how much we sin. So many times I realized I had been proud of my own humility. Since I thought that I was more humble than someone around me, I thought I was more spiritual than them. But I sin so much more than myself or those around me realize. Although my actions might look good to those around me, my motives were horribly selfish because I had done it only for others to think better of me. After getting to this point and realizing that basically nothing I do was ever completely free from selfish motives, I had to rest in the fact that it is only through God's help that I could ever do anything right. Philippians 3:9 talks about the righteousness that comes from my faith in Christ, and not from any works that I have done.

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