The Destino Adventure - WOW

Over the past few weeks we have been trying a little God experiment at the University of Central Florida. You can read the past posts on this adventure here. The end result was surfacing a potential key contact on campus.

Today's guest blogger is Carrie Walker. Carrie is on the National Leadership Team for the US Campus Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. She is a leader and full blown Jesus person. Here is her take on our initial contact with this potential student leader.

Her name is Desiree. In Spanish it means: “desired one”. Her black eyes sparkled, and her maturity in her faith at the young age of 18 was so evident. Shane, Abbey and I met her at a Burger King just a block from the campus of the University of Central Florida. It felt so good to be on an appointment with a student. It was a delight to meet Desiree, as the evidence that God’s hand is on the life of this “desired one” was crystal clear.

Shane had posted flyers on UCF’s campus, asking if anyone would be interested in starting a ministry among Latino students. Of the 60 that “hit” the site, Desiree was the sole e-mail response. I was so glad that Shane asked me to join him in meeting her. I have been asking God to raise up students in ethnic communities that could lead the way in believing God to raise up a movement that would allow everyone in their “world” to hear how they could know, and authentically follow, Jesus.

The dissonance in my heart has been so great in the past year and a half. I have many questions about what it will really look like, practically, to see movements everywhere. While the questions still linger in many ways, this I know for sure, that there are so many millions of students in the world that don’t know Jesus. We have got to believe Him for ways to reach them outside of our current paradigms. Thus, the multiple movements strategy.

God is using Desiree to make me a “believer”, in the sea of my many questions. I really do believe the she could be God’s leader to see a movement raised up among the Latino students at UCF. Her father has been a part of 8 church plants, so she’s watched the hand of God her whole life. She is very bright, mature, passionate for her peers to know Christ, and a natural leader. She told us that she thought is was really good that she was a freshman, so that she could be around for awhile to see something significant built. She talked about potential partnerships with churches so that they could share resources and be more effective in reaching Latino students. She spoke of wisdom in ministry principles that have taken me years to grasp.

Our meeting was a mental snapshot for me to treasure for the rest of my life. It was truly divine. Shane got teary (I love it when that happens) as he told her that he had felt so burdened by the Spirit to put up flyers to see what the Lord might do. Desiree could hardly sit still in her seat as she grasped the implications of the dialogue, and the evidence of the Lord’s hand in it all. When we asked if she had any questions, she said, “No, I don’t have any questions, I am just so excited.” Abbey is on staff at UCF and was there to connect with her, and will coach Desiree and the student leadership team that God will raise up (Desiree is already thinking about what friends to ask to be a part of that team.)

God has done a great work at UCF, and has raised up a significant “Cru” movement. (They call it “Crave”.) I celebrate that with my whole being. Yet, on a campus of 45,000 students, 5,000 of them are Latino. I do believe that God will continue His work there in raising up a movement of students within the Hispanic community. I believe that He’ll graciously use Desiree, His desired one, along with other students, to give leadership to His work.

What if He were to do that in all of the ethnic and cultural communities at UCF? Everyone would know someone who authentically follows Jesus, and the world would be a different place.

Ain't it the truth.