[*This is an update that I sent via email late January, because this blogging website was down. If you received my email, then you probably already read this! I am posting it late now that missional life is fixed to have it on my blog permanently.]
Coming to you live from good old Gainesville, Georgia. I am practically two weeks into this thing (yay!) and honestly– being here has not been a walk in the park. One full week of class and I’ve already faced tears, frustration, disappointment, painful refinement, and brutal honesty. The nature of the program is self reflection deeper than I’ve ever known, which stirs change so that an unshakable foundation can be built. Let’s just say, I know that this semester is going to stretch me more than I have ever been stretched before!
So you may be wondering, what exactly are you learning in class that leads you to say that? So far, we have covered topics including failure, goals, mission/vision, values, debrief, and identity. The classroom setting is a round table discussion where we wrestle through defining a topic, sharing personal experiences, and restructuring the way we view it. For example: many of us subconsciously view failure in some area of our lives as part of our identity, but in class we were given the tools to rethink why failure matters to us and use it as a measuring stick to assess opportunities for growth. Instead of simply telling us that failure is often falsely linked with identity, the instructors facilitate a discussion where we assess personal examples that help us discover those false ideas on our own. It is unlike any American schooling system I have ever been a part of, but I trust that the Lord is using the new to grow me in ways I’ve never been grown before.
Though I may not currently know the specific ways I will have grown by the end of this, I believe that I will look more like Jesus. I will be more equipped to both walk with others as they grow, and grow myself using the toolbox I gain here. It is because of the significance of building this foundation that I ask you to pray for my heart and consider financially contributing so I can stay here. We all need each other, and I need you to say yes to praying and providing financially for me to receive the education that I couldn’t receive back home. Your investment is preparing me to impact the Kingdom for the better!
I have $850 to fundraise before my February 1st deadline... Would you consider making a monthly donation of $20 until May? Or a 5% donation from your next paycheck? Any amount, both small and large, help me get to my final balance and are greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading and caring about this crazy path that God is taking me on. I can really use all the support I can get! May God be glorified.
– Coryn Zurcher
P.S. Meet the gang! On the far left is our instructor, Ben Able. Three of the girls are interns, and the other four of us are students. The classroom holds eight in total!
