Well Hello,

Here we are again, Lets go,

We are in the last week and a half of project and there has been a certain idea that has been a theme for me this last week. This idea is the one of being home. When i say this i do not mean being home like Clarks Grove, MN home but rather my eternal home.

This summer we have been reading the book of Philippians and one of the verses this week was Phil 3:20 which reads “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,” So in this verse we see that our home is not here but it is rather in heaven.

Another way that i have been seeing this theme through my week is that it was my birthday on the 15th. Yes i am not 22 and as tradition has it at STP i was thrown in the pool by a large group of men. The question i pondered that day was, as a Christian why should i celebrate birthdays? The conclusion i came up with was that as a Christian i should celebrate birthdays because it symbolizes being one year closer to being home. I realize this sounds really morbid but to the Christian death holds no reason to be feared. Because of our right standing before God through the blood of Jesus Christ we have no reason to be feared and should even look forward to our future in heaven. Phil 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

All through this i have been feeling a really weird peace about the reality that heaven is my home. I can’t explain it but Philippians had something to say to me again regarding this peace. Phil 4:7 “And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Praise God for he is good!

So here I am with only a week left of project. I ask that you pray that i would finish project well and not coast the rest of the way through.

I again thank you all who are supporting me with prayer and financially it has been a great blessing and i thank God for you.

Here are some links to some more talks that have been posted online…..

Theme Training

Life Training

Leaders Training

Bible Study Training

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

STP #7

Well Hello there,

I would just like to start off by saying sorry to everyone who follows the blog as it has been well over a week since my last post. It has been very busy here at the project and I have struggled to get time away to write a new blog post. So I guess I should get started.

Since the last time I wrote a few things that have happened: Steve Discher gave the Theme talk for the week, I have been leading campus time for the last two weeks, the Lord has been convicting me of a lot of sin and to be truthful project has been really hard as of recently, and I have been getting really excited for this next school year and ministry on the basketball team and on campus.

On Monday Discher gave his theme talk called “The Cost of Discipleship”. In it he talked a lot about how discipleship has played itself out in his life and also a biblical basis for discipleship. When he talked about how discipleship had impacted his life he talked a lot about James Lecheler and in fact it was James Lecheler who discipled me my freshman and sophomore years at Northwestern College. So it was really cool getting to think back to how James had such a strong spiritual impact on me and I just got to think back to how God has been so gracious to me at college through James and Campus Outreach as a ministry.

This then lead me to get excited about ministry this coming year and investing time into freshman guys like James invested time into me. I have been really been looking back at this last school year and how ministry went on the team and have been evaluating where I failed and how I can better invest time in and serve/minister to this year’s freshman class. I guess one thing you could be praying for is that God would be working in the hearts of the freshman class that is coming into Northwestern both on the basketball team and on the campus in general.

Along with that I have been leading NWC’s campus time since the staff have left and it has been very encouraging thinking for the group of students that are here at project and how God can affect NWC’s campus through us this next year. It has been getting me thinking a lot about my last year at NWC and how this last year has a lot of opportunity and I have been getting really excited. One thing we have been talking a lot about during NWC’s campus time is the idea of deeper community. At project a lot of the students from NWC have been noticing that community at STP is different than community at NWC even though it is technically a Christian college. The difference is that community here is much more upfront and real about our sin than most people are at NWC. There seems to be a trend in Christian community where we want to all look like good Christians and thus hide our sin. This is not Christian community at all because as Christians we should be to most open people about our sin because we have an advocate and savior in Jesus Christ. We are no longer under the pressure of looking good because we are seen as righteous in the sight of God.

Along those lines, the Lord has been revealing a lot of sin in my life this last week. I have been seeing a lot of selfishness in that it is really hard for me to want to take time and press into the guys that are in my room. This is completely selfish of me because that is the reason I am here this summer, to help the guys that are put in my room to spiritually grow this summer. It all comes down that I do not believe well that the Gospel and Jesus Christ are enough for me. I think that I need to take care of myself first and then worry about others but that is not being a servant. Phil 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves, look not to your own interests but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among your selves which is yours in Jesus Christ.” Thank God that I have a savior in Jesus Christ who saves me from my selfishness and my not loving others well.

So that is how my last week has been going hope it was helpful to you. I ask that you pray for three things: 1. That God would crush selfishness in me, 2. That God would continue to work in the lives of the guys in my room, and 3. That God would be preparing the hearts of this year’s freshman class at NWC. Thanks

If you are interested here are links to some of the newly posted talks here at the STP…

Life Training

Theme Training

Bible Study Training

Again Thanks to all who read this blog are praying for me or are supporting me in being down here. You are all a great blessing from the Lord.

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

Update on STP talks……

In my previous blog posts I said that i would post all the talks that are given here at the Summer Training Project. So not all of the talks have been put online yet but here are the one’s that have been posted online.

Theme Training Talks (these are some of my favorites!!!)

Life Training Talks

Evangelism Training Talks

Leaders Training Talks

Bible Study Training Talks

All the talks are posted on the STP blog and I would highly encourage that you check it out… (HERE)

Also check out this video from our relationships week, its pretty funny…. (Here)

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

STP Blog #6

Well Hello,

It’s taken me a little bit longer to get time to write this blog so I have a little more stuff to cover. Since my last blog a few things that have happened at the STP are: the staff have left project, the CCP team has come to project for the week, We went bowling for out last social, Andrew Knight gave the theme talk this week about missions and the world, and the Lord has really been working in me this last week.

On Thursday this last week the staff left project to go away for a month in order to raise support, spend time with family and enjoy time away from their job as a staff member for CO. It has been really nice having the staff on project but I am somewhat excited that they are gone. This is not because I hold some secret grudge against the staff but rather because the trend seems to be that when staff leaves things on project really pick up and the Lord does a lot of really cool things in people’s lives.

With the staff leaving the Cross Cultural Project (CCP) has come to STP for the week. The CCP is a group of 10 students and two staff persons who go to New Delhi, India and do ministry on the campus of St. Stevens College. This group will be in India for 5 weeks and will be attempting to spread the gospel on this college campus. This college that they are going to is very strategic in that many of the children of high up government officials in India go to this college so many of the people that the CCP team will be sharing the gospel with will be people of power in India. I pray that God would use these 10 to reach the nation of India.

For this week’s social we went bowling. We did not just go bowling though (for that would be far too easy) but each team dressed up as a certain music genre. My team got to task of dressing up like country. So I dressed up as a cowboy (I hope to get pictures up) and I was brought back to the days when I was a child and wanting to be a cowboy. So we went bowling and had a good time but the fun did not stop there. See is that I was all dressed up I decided it would be fitting to take a shot at the mechanical bull that is located near our hotel. Let’s just say I took the bull by the horns…

Andrew Knight, who along with his wife, are the staff that are going with the CCP team and AK gave this week’s theme talk. It was about missions and why as Christians we care about missions and the world. There were a few videos shown during the talk that were really good. It was a very convicting talk because at the end of it AK gave the charge for us to just do something. If we believe that Jesus Christ came and died so that we can obtain salvation then we should want to spread that news around the world. So we are called to just do something. That does not mean that we should all be missionaries but it does mean that for those of us who are not called to the mission field that we should be supporting and at the very minimum praying for missions. If we truly want our Christ to come back we need to reach the world. (Matt 24:14) read it…

Finally I would just like to praise God for the world he has been doing in my life and in the lives of the guys in my room. God has been revealing a lot of sin in my life and so I am force to turn to the cross for and sense of comfort. I see how I am not a good room leader, how I am selfish, prideful, and unloving and yet I want to show people that I have it all together when I don’t. I am now beginning to understand what Paul is talking about when he boasts of nothing but the Cross. I am beginning to see that boasting in the cross is me being real about my sin and simply looking to the cross of Jesus Christ and resting in His blood. Praise God!!!

Again thanks to all who read this blog and support me with prayer or financially. You are all much more of a blessing than I deserve. Praise Jesus Christ!

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

STP Blog #5

Hello there,

As i think back over this week it seems like a little bit of a blur so this weeks post may be a little short. Some highlights of the week where the Theme talk from Monday night, The project social on Thursday, and watching Toy Story 3 on Sat.

On Monday Matt Reagan gave another good talk about what life as a Christian looks like. Going off of the message from the previous week: that the Christian life is one of resting in the work of Christ, Matt continued on how it work then for the Christian to grow spiritually. Basically though we are to strive toward spiritual growth if it is not rooted in resting in the work of Christ on the cross it is but vain discipline. This was a good talk for me in reminding me that even my spiritual growth is from God and not of my own work.

For the Social this week we had a Low Country Boil. This is where we boil: potatoes, corn on the cob, shrimp, and sausage in one big pot and then pour it out on a long table and everyone eats with their hands. It was a lot of fun and the food was really good.

On Saturday I got to see Toy Story 3 and it was excellent. It is funny a great story and has some really deep subject matter in it. I suggest that everyone see it.

Again thank you to all that are supporting me with prayer and financially. It is a great blessing and i pray that God is blessing your summer as well.

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

STP Blog #4

Another week has passed and so that means another blog post of the events from the past week. So as every other week things have been busy at STP and this week has been no different. There have been a good number of talks that have been very good, work at McDonald’s continues, My team ran the project Theme and Project Social nights, went to Huntington Beach State Park and saw some gators, the World Cup started, and God continues to revel my dependence on the cross of Christ to me. So let’s get started.

This week the team I am on (Team Forever Young) was in charge of the Theme night, prayer emphasis, and project social this week. So Monday night we did a skit I was an MC and over all it went well. For our prayer emphasis we prayed for the country of Bhutan and that the people of that country would be reached with the gospel. We also ran the project social for the week and in the spirit of our team name we decided to play games that we played during recess as kids. So we played games like: kickball, 4 square, and lightning a.k.a. knockout. It was a blast.

For this week’s talks there were three that really stuck out. These three where the theme talk by Matt Reagan on Monday, Paul Poteat’s bible training talk on Friday, and Charlie Brook’s life training talk on Sunday. Mondays talk titled “The Cost of Your Freedom” and it was challenging. In short Reagan went through how truly sick we are and how sin consumes every aspect of our lives. The line that challenged me the most was when reflecting upon our sins we tend to want to laugh at how silly we are in our sin, but Reagan said “don’t laugh at your sin it is not cute or funny but it is sick”. Reagan does not stop there but then points to Christ as our only hope for salvation because he has finished the work. When Christ said on the cross “it is finished” this tells us that our striving to be good enough is not needed anymore and we simply need to plead the cross of Christ for salvation. Thus the Christian life is one of rest in the work of Christ. The other talks this week where about how the whole bible not just the new testament is about Christ (John 5:39-40) and the other was about the importance of the church.

In lighter news from STP, the World Cup started and it has been fun watching games and getting to see the USA tie England (this is a really good thing) on Saturday. Also on Wednesday my room took a girls room out on a group date to Huntington Beach State Park to see the gators and make sand castles on the beach. We saw a huge gator that was at least 8 ft. long maybe bigger (it was awesome).

This week has been really good for me in that the Lord had been really convicting me of sin and thus making me turn to the cross. I have been seeing how truly sick I am and how badly I need a savior. I have been convicted of how I try to work hard and try to impress the guys in my room with my knowledge instead of pointing them to the cross of Christ. I have really been seeing my failure as a room leader and how quickly I forget to gospel in which I say that I believe. Oh how good is the Lord that he would send Christ Jesus to live the life I cannot, die for my sins so that I may have eternal life. I plead the cross and that is it, and with that I will close.

Thank you to all those who are supporting me with prayer and financially, you are a great blessing to me. I ask that you pray for me and the guys in my room, pray for the people I work with, and pray for the country of Bhutan.

HERE is a link to the week two update video if you would like to watch.

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

STP Blog #3

Well Hello Hello,

I’ve been down here on the STP for two weeks now and and project has officially been going for a little over a week. Since my last blog there have been a few things that have happened so i will fill you in on what life has been down in dirty Myrtle. The first is that I started working at McDonald’s, We had our second project social, we had our first beach evangelism experience of the summer, Matt Reagan gave another phenomenal talk, and God has definitely been working in me and the guys in my room already this summer.

Lets start with McDonald’s. I have officially finished my first week there and let me tell you working there this summer will be an interesting experience. It is so busy in this area and that is so much tourism that things can get really intense and fast pace when working there. To be truthful it has been a little hard getting used to working there but i fight to have a correct perspective on my current job situation. I want to be thankful for having a job first but i want to also remember that though this is only a summer job for me, for some of my coworkers this is the job they have had for a few years. So i want to be thankful above all else. One thing you can pray for is that i would be able to engage my coworkers in spiritual conversations with the hope of sharing the gospel with them. Especially pray for a guy named Pasha who is from the Ukraine working and learning English in America.

We had our second social this week and it was a lot of fun. Our teams where to put together a presentation in which we had to create a boat using plywood, cardboard, and bottles to keep it afloat. Our team’s theme was the navy and so we created a war scene in which the ladies said farewell to us soldiers and then we fought in the D-Day battle, won and then returned home for a celebration including some swing dancing.

Here is me looking supper cool….

Here are the brave soldiers…

And here are the lovely ladies…

On Wednesday we went out to the beach for our first evangelism experience of the summer and it went really well. In short i went out with a couple of guys and we talked to two lifeguards who where from Russia and the Ukraine. We also got to talk to a guy who just graduated from Cornell, and a middle aged guy named Jim who was actually a Christian. I ask that you would pray for Enver, Matt, Jim, and Alex and that our encounter with them would spark an interest in the Gospel for them.

On Monday Matt Reagan gave a talk about who God was and it was aw-inspiring. I won’t get into it too much, as i would rather have you listen to it (Here) but The biggest part that i got from it was the fact that when God is asked the question “what is your name?” he answers I AM which points to a God that is beyond time and is bigger that anything in this universe and though this God is the all powerful I AM, he still loves us and sent his son to pay for our sins so that we could have relationship with I AM.

God has really been working in me already this summer as I realize and work though my insecurity and pride as a room leader leaving me only to turn to the cross from my comfort and security. God has also been working in the lives of the guys in my room and especially a guy named Luke. Coming into this project i don’t think Luke was a Christian but God has been really working in his heart and i think things are really starting to click for him. So that is a definite praise.

If you want to see a quick video of what has been going on for the first week of project HERE it is.

Again I you can also go to the official STP Blog to see what is going on at this years training project.

Finally i said that i would post the creepy picture of my costume from last weeks social so here it is…..

The whole Little Red Riding Hood crew….

All i can say is….. Creepy!

Again thank you to all those who have been praying for me and supporting me financially it has been a great blessing.

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

A Fairy Tale Start to Project

Hello There,

A lot has happened since my last post so i figured it would be a good time to post another blog. A few things that have happened are that the disciples have arrived on project, I found out where I am working, Matt Reagan gave an extremely good talk, and we had our first project social (it was super funny). Lets get going.

Well the disciples all made it to project safely with only one car dieing on the way down (sad face) I also got to meet all the guys in my room. Last year I was by far the biggest guy on project but this year I may be one of the smaller guys in my room. Yes, my room is extremely large and tall. The guys in my room are Greg, Luke, and Zach. Greg is 6’5″ and the quarterback for St. Thomas, Zach is 6’6″, and Luke is 6’7″. Thats right the averaged hight of my room is 6’6″. This is great except for the fact that we have to share beds. I’m very excited for the guys in my room and I ask that you pray for their spiritual growth for the summer.

Last summer I worked for one American giant (Wal-Mart) and I move to another this year. Yes i will be working at McDonald’s. To be truthful i was not very excited when i found out i would be working there but i need to remember I have a better possession in Jesus Christ. We had our orientation on Thursday and the only gripe i have with the rules and regulations of McDonald’s is that i have to shave my goatee, mustaches are allowed though and i am considering growing one (this would be dirty).

Matt Reagan gave a great talk about our theme for this project (At All Costs) and instead of trying to explain it here i will post a link to it as soon as it is up online (HERE)

Finally we had our first project social in which we went the the new Shrek movie. For this social the room leaders where to get dressed up like a fairy tale character by the disciples in their rooms. So the guys in my room dressed me up like the grandmother from Little Red Riding Hood. Lets put it this way, I looked creepy. When we went to the theater i got a lot of weird looks and at one point a group of people clapped for me. I also made a guy really uncomfortable in the bathroom. It was a great night and i will post pictures soon.

Thank you to all who are praying for me and for those who are supporting me financially.

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

The Summer Training Project Part 1

Hello there,

It has been a long while since i have blogged but hopefully I can get in the swing of things.

Well Let me talk about the trip down to South Carolina. It was interesting for me and a staff guy (Eliot Stokes) We where trucking along on our first day of the trip when we passed what looked like a group of girls from are caravan who had a broken down car on th side of the road. So we turned around to check it out and sure enough the girls with the broken down car where from our group. So Eliot and I helped them get there car to a shop and sent the girls on there way in another car. So Eliot and I had to stay back and wait for the shop to fix the car. We took it in around 7 that night (the shop was not open) as so we got a hotel room and spent the night in Seymour, Indiana. After a night of watching the NBA playoffs and sleep we got up and waited in a Burger king for about 3 hours until the car was fixed. Well we didn’t get out of Seymour until 1:15 that afternoon and had another 12 hours of driving to do. So Eliot in the just fixed car and me in my own car trucked along until we reach Project at 1 that night. It was a good time but driving for 12 hours is not something i would recommend.

Since being at project i have been preparing for the guys that will be in my room. I just found out last night who they are and i am really excited. They get here today around 4 and i can’t wait. Please pray that i would be able to spiritually lead these guys well.

Yesterday we went out and shared our faith out on the beach. I was a little nervous but it went really well and i got to share my faith with a high school kid out on the pear. He had never heard the gospel before and you could definetly tell he was thinking about what I was telling him. I pray that God would transform his heart and that he may become a follower of Christ.

A few things you could be praying for is that God would be transforming the hearts of the guys in my room ant that he would be preparing the way for them at Project. I could also use prayer that God would give me wisdom and courage to speak into the lives of the guys in my room. I’m really excited for this summer and am confident that God will do a great work here at the Summer Training Project.

Thanks again to all those who are praying for me and to those who are supporting me financially. Until next time

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson

Living in a World of Shadows

Tonight I just got back from the Vikings vs. Packers, Monday Night game. It was one of the most intense, loud, and exciting things I have every been to. I went with my parents (Thanks Mom and Dad for getting the tickets) and my pal James Lecheler.

At the game James pointed some things out that really made me think. The first is how as Christians in America we think that idolatry happens in other countries. Looking around the stadium you see thousands of people who are coming to worship their idol of football. They dress up, yell and scream, and are emotionally effected by the outcome of a simple sport. Idolatry…

The second (and what hit me the hardest) thing James pointed out to me that this is merely a shadow of what is to come. When this world passes away instead of a football game being the center of our loud and crazy cheering it will be Christ, the Gospel and our involvement in it. And however hard we cheer this night is only a fraction of how hard we as Christians will be cheering at the glorious presentation of Christ and his Gospel.  I pray that God will increase my longing for this celebration every day. But for now I must continue in this world of shadows.

Peace & God Bless

Levi Peterson