Run as to get the prize!

These past few weeks have flown by, with trips back and forth from Chicago to Elkhart, buckling down on support raising, and training for the half marathon I ran in!

I finished my first official half marathon!! Sunday, September 12th I ran in the Chicago Half Marathon! I'm definitely not going to say it was easy, however I FINISHED and had a lot of fun!! One of my best friends ran a few miles with me, along with my boyfriend who ran 7 miles by my side. I couldn't have done it without them!! Thanks Jon and Kelsey for your support! I realized while I was running and as I reflected on the race how true of an analogy that morning was to the Christian walk. I know we've all heard pastors use this illustration, but it truly was an amazing reminder to me of how intense our "run" is with Christ. We have to stay fueled, we have to push through the pain, we need people beside us and cheering us on, we are going to get "highs" and feel amazing, but they can follow quickly by aching and lows. What matters most is that we CAN finish. We can be strong. We can come out the victors with a medal around our neck.... or maybe a crown :)

13.1 Miles Away

September 12th is coming very soon and that means one thing for me: The Chicago Half-Marathon!! I've been training hard and I feel like I'm almost ready! For this marathon I registered with Sunshine and our partnership allows donations to come to Sunshine. Along with that, everyone that volunteers under our organization forwards additional donations to Sunshine too!! What a great way to raise money for our ministry.

Our coordinator put this info to gether if youre're interested:

There is also still time to sign up to run either the half marathon or the 5K with us, so I have included that information at the end.

If you are interested in VOLUNTEERING: Please use the link below to sign up early (as soon as you read this message) to volunteer so that I can give an accurate estimate of our numbers to the race sponsor AND so that Sunshine gets paid accurately and on time for our volunteers. Thank you!

Feel free to pass this email on and/or print the info in your church bulletins for the next few weeks.

EXPO AND RACE DAY VOLUNTEERING When you click on the link below, pull down to Sunshine on the list of group names to join. The password is Sunshine (case sensitive). Fill in your info and use the notes section to list when you want to work.

The available shifts are Thursday 9/9 12p-4p (only a few spots available--preparing race packets at Navy Pier), Friday 9/10 10a-2:30p or 2-7 p (handing out race packets to runners--Navy Pier), Saturday 9/11 8a-1:30p or 1-6:30p (handing out race packets to runners--Navy Pier), or Sunday 5a-noon at the race course (Museum of Science and Industry).

We need to provide at least 4 volunteers for Sunday morning based on the number of runners we have, so if you can volunteer for Sunday morning, please do! Here is the link: Share this with your volunteers to sign up: http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer/join-protected-group.tcl?event_id=11962 password: Sunshine (case sensitive)

RUNNING: If you want to run either the half marathon or the 5K with us, there is still time to sign up at www.chicagohalfmarathon.com! If you are doing the half marathon, the discount code to use is CHMSGM10. For either race, please enter Sunshine in the charity field AND email me and tell me that you signed up. Please let me know if you have any questions! Emily (847-917-3659)

Summer Is Over, A New Beginning is Coming

TIME FOR A MAJOR UPDATE!! This summer has so quickly flown by so let me tell you all I can in this short blog post...

FIRST OFF: Summer ministry at Sunshine was amazing. From staff, to kids, to logistics of the programs, all went great! Here's a little glimpse into the life of Brittney these past 2 months:
MONDAY and WEDNESAYS were spent preparing for our junior high ministry on Monday and Wednesday nights called SUMMER S.W.A.G.G. (Students Worshipping a Great God). This program was developed this summer as we saw the need for our previously targeted age group of elementary to grow into a new junior high program. Our Monday nights would be outing nights, which consisted of beach games, skating, photo scavenger hunts, and more. Then on Wednesday nights, we would stay at Sunshine and have game rotations, snacks, a message, and small groups. Our kids seemed to love the kick off of middle school night and were eager to ask what we would be having for them this fall!! We sealed off the summer with a trip to Deep River Waterpark. Pray that these kids would stay involved as the fall rolls around!


TUESDAY, THURSDAY, and FRIDAYS were spent with our Summer Blast kids. This is the day camp for elementary students. These kids always make me smile with their hugs, energy, and excitement for the Lord. On Fridays we took them on day trips to places like the beach and the zoo! They always kept us on our toes but were a complete blessing to us!


Friday Nights Lights were continued on Friday evenings this summer. We lit up 2 different corners throughout the summer in order to make darkness flee. From 9 p.m. to midnight hotdogs and chips were served, the name of Christ proclaimed over loudspeakers on the streets, and the violence was curbed for as long as we could help it! Continue to pray for the conversations and seeds that were planted during these events!

One of our main highlights was our week of camp for both elementary and middle school kids. This fell directly in the middle of the summer as we took the kids up to Sunshine Cove for a hot and humid but blessed week! The theme was LOVE. We shared the love of Christ to them along with how we all can better love those around us. The highlight of this week was Wednesday night. Along with the other female summer staff, we decided that our girls needed a GIRLS NIGHT of facials, nails, and pink decorations! This spa night was a huge hit. We had so much fun as we layed with cucumbers on our eyes and freshly painted nails. To seal off the night we broke into cabin groups and had girl talk. The emphasis was to share with our beauties what it means to shine from within and what being a woman of God truly is versus what the world tells us what being a woman means. Amazing conversations took place and many of the girls' eyes were opened to what true beauty is for the first time.

So here I am at the end of the summer!! What now?! God has lined up the greatest opportunity for me to go on staff at Sunshine. My summer position is now over and I am now in Indiana for one month to raise support to go on staff full time! Through a partnership with Young Life (check out http://www.younglife.org/us) I am going to be a Sunshine staff member with the goal of developing first our middle school outreach, and eventually high school outreach. So to avoid confusion, I am in everyway at Sunshine Gospel doing ministry with the same group of kids in the same neighborhood, but partnering with Young Life to help branch their ministry into the inner-city and benefitting off of one anothers resources. What that means for me now is that I need your help both in prayer and financially. In order to start in September, I must have raised enough support to do so. As I am in Elkhart this month, I will be meeting with people in order to get that pledged support. I am asking for your prayers that this financial aspect will come in quickly and also for your prayerful consideration of partnering with gifts. You all have been such a blessing and encouragement thus far, I pray that my service has been blessing reflecting all that you have poured into me! If this is a time that you could help, you can contact me at brittneyrost@yahoo.com, reply to this post, or call my cell at 574-596-3038. Thank you so much for all you do!

Shining His light,
Britt

Summer Kickoff

It's been a long time since my last update, but here I am starting another summer at Sunshine!! For the past two weeks our summer staff has been busy preparing spiritually and logistically for our four main programs this summer: Summer Blast Day Camp for 2nd-5th graders, Summer S.W.A.G.G. activity nights for middle schoolers, Friday Night Lights peace campaigns, and Bridge Builders Missions Groups.

This transition has been crazy. A month ago I walked the stage at Moody, then proceeded to move out of the dorms for the last time, go home for a week, finished up my college job of nannying, and bout 2 weeks ago I moved down to the South Side. Throw in there a lot of goodbyes, support raising, and building of relationships, and its made for some interesting and even trying times. Yet, God has been so great. He has taught me so much through this time in my life- that He is fully in control and He will provide for every little thing that I need. So here I sit, humbled and broken. Yet, I am reminded that God can use us when we are most dependent on Him. He is about to "rock me" and really "mess me up" this summer as some of our staff members would say.

My focus this summer is planning and organizing our 6th-8th grade activity nights on Monday and Wednesday nights. You can be in prayer for us as we start our programming off this Monday, the 21st. I'm also helping plan our Friday Night Lights, which is a part of Chicago Peace Campaign. We've chosen one of our neighborhoods most busy corners- 63rd St. and St. Lawrence- and we will be having music, lights, and food from 9-12 every Friday night for the summer to promote peace and Christ on a corner that is often covered in darkness. Pray for us as we start off this ministry tonight!!

Though this is a very broad and basic update, I will continue to keep you all in the loop for the rest of the summer! Thank you all for your prayers, financial support, and encouragement during this transition!!
Britt

The Fall Semester in Full Swing!

So here I am, a Senior!! (That is my last, first day of school pic!) I can hardly believe it! I've been at school a little over a month, so things are finally starting to settle down and I can get into "the groove" of my life. This past month has been great. I moved into the dorms midAugust, a week early, to help out with our freshman orientation. It's always great to see the timid students get out of their car and have no idea what to expect on move-in day. God has placed 11 new girls on my floor! Although this means insane amounts of freshman energy, it also has been great to get to know some of them and help them along with their transition. There are three girls especially (nicknamed the 3 divas), who are crammed into the room on the end of the hall. I know that God has placed them here for me to do life alongside, and I'm really trying to pour what I have into them. Already, they've taught me a lot too. They call me Momma-Britt, but I pray that our relationship continues to spur one another on.

I've also loved having one of my favorite girls, aka ride-and-die friend, here at school with me! Nikki Blodgett, who I've grow incredibly close to especially in this past year, transferred to Moody this fall. Her persistent accountability and friendship is such a blessing.

Though I could go on forever summing up this past month, here's my attempt at being brief:
**I've been nannying for two boys in Old Town, who I pick up from school and often stay and put to bed. This job is an answer to prayer.
**I've been able to spend some time on the South Side preparing for our Awana program which starts this upcoming Monday, and spending time with my Sunshine family. We also took the kids on a Back to School Retreat. Our weekend at Sunshine Cove was great! Many new kids came, along with a handful that we hadn't seen in a while! It was a fun time! As they've all now started school, pray that they continue to register for our fall programs (Awana, tutoring, etc) and that the kick-offs of them next week will start strong.
**Classes are going well. Because of the huge load of credits I took last year, its been refreshing to pour all I have into the 12 that I'm taking this semester: Romans, Apologetics, Cross-Cultural Leadership, and The Holocaust and the Crisis of Evil.

Here are some of the commitments that I've made for the semester that you can be praying about:
1. I feel like these past 3 years at Moody have flown by! I truly want to make the most out of my experience here and soak up all that I can. I've made renewed commitments to getting all that I can out of classes, chapel, and the people around me. I hopefully even am going to start sitting in on a few grad school courses that I can learn from. Pray that I'll be a sponge that absorbs all I can.
2. As always, balance is key in my schedule, and that balance is hard to find. Pray that I'll know when to say, "NO!" whether it be in babysitting, socializing, or whatever else. I've decided to "hit the sac" by 11 every night. Though this doesn't happeen daily, as girls drop in the room, or I have a huge load of reading, this goal has helped a lot in having energy for class and work.
3. Along the same lines of having a balance, dedicating time in the morning to digging in the Word and simply being in the presence of God is key. Pray that I keep my commitment to Christ above anything else.
4. As I'm a senior now, everyone is asking the big question: "What are you going to do after you graduate?" Though I want to be able to have my life planned out to a "T", God simply hasn't placed that confidence in my life. Pray that the direction He's currently pointing me in will be confirmed and that I will have faith and contentment, IN ALL THINGS, along the way.

Leaving a Legacy

This past weekend, Moody hosted the Legacy Disciple-Making Conference. Some of our staff and I were able to go to sessions at night and Saturday morning. What a phenomenal time of challenges for Christ and amazing music! Some of my favorite artists were there- Lecrae, Flame, Shai Linne, and many others. The sessions were led by our Pastor James Ford Jr., Flame, Paul Washer, and even an interview by an Ex-Islamic extremist! A few of the challenges that God put before me were these:
** “God does not open his secrets to a Christian with a closed Bible.” –James Ford
** On gratefulness for Christ’s gift…“I don’t have to be beaten to be a part of something- He was beaten and bruised for me.” –Flame
** “Why are we so impressed by things God hates?” –Flame
** “Do you feel the weight of the ugliness of sin? Do you hate it?” –Paul Washer
** “This country isn’t gospel hardened, it’s ministers are gospel ignorant.” –Paul Washer
** “Everybody wants to go to heaven; they just don’t want God to be there… Ask, 'Do you want GOD?'... not… 'Do you want heaven?'” –Paul Washer
** “God isn’t an accessory, you’re naked without Him!” –Paul Washer
** “Can you be alone?... Be shut up to God.” –Paul Washer
** “He must become a greater reality to you than the friends by which you stand.” –Paul Washer

I can't tell you how much God has worked in my life this summer. I can say with all my heart that I have never loved the Lord more passionately than I do right now, and I long for a deeper intimacy with Him. I have been challenged about having a true FAITH in Him, my heart for evangelism and sharing my Hope, and striving to be on fire for Christ- nothing close to lukewarm. My summer on the South Side was amazing and I'm still praising God for all He has done and is doing!!

We did that SUMMER BLAST BOUNCE, we did that SUMMER BLAST SLIDE, we did that SUMMER BLAST SWIM, we did that SUMMER BLAST GLIDE!!

Here I sit relaxed and rested, but already missing our kids! This past Friday sealed off the summer for our day camp. Summer Blast turned out to be a great success and God truly showed up. I have so many memories and had such a great time getting to know about 50 different kids over the 5 weeks. Friday we went to Deep River Water Park in Indiana. The kids loved the wave pool, crazy lazy river, and slides. What a great end to a great summer!

Thank you for all of you who prayed for this program throughout the summer. You’re prayers are truly appreciated!! Continue to pray that the relationships God blessed us with will continue into the fall through our Back-to-School weekend retreat in the end of August, Club 2-5-2 tutoring, Monday night Awana Bible study, and other programs that will be happening.