Duke 2010 Testimonials

We are so humbled that God would call us to such a ministry as this - that not only people in the inner city are being transformed, but those who come to serve are being eternally changed as well!

The Duke Spring Break Mission Trip was truly one of life-change and encouragement for many. As you read testimonies of these students, you will be encouraged in your walk with the Lord!

"Obedience really sums up what I learned this trip. Obedience does not imply a lack of fear or a lack of doubt, but it does indicate a fundamental trust in who God is. Only with obedience can I hope to experience more and more of God. Without it, I am merely talking the talk. There must be co-crucifixion, there must be a decrease of me and an increase of Him, there must be full-hearted commitment to His commission. That is what I've learned this week - that obedience is the beginning of the most beautiful future: a life with Jesus by my side, a life in which I am not expected to predict the future or make the perfect decisions, but a life in which I can rely on Him especially when I feel incapable and short-sighted and weak. Praise God for revealing Himself this week! And praise Him for Urban Harvest, for Pastor Tom, for this ministry that has changed not only the face of the Bronx but also the face of Duke InterVarsity."

"One of the first people that I prayed for on the first day at the prayer station touched me greatly when she offered to pray for me after I had prayed for her. I did not expect such a reply and was almost moved to tears as I saw the true beauty of the heart that reflects the love of God. For the first time in my life, I prayed for God to open the eyes of my heart and He did just that as He filled me with such overflowing compassion that I never knew I had before for the strangers on the streets. I did not think it possible for me to truly ache for those whom I have never even met, but God, through the mission trip in the Bronx, has taught me otherwise."

"The more we are willing to put ourselves out there to serve, the more He pours into us so that we are not the ones who must muster up the strength or the heart but Jesus who lives in us will work through us.
This trip has redefined who God is to me. He's much bigger than I have confined Him to be and I desperately desire to be closer to Him."

"One thing that I have learned from this trip is that when you let yourself be God's vessel, He will use you. His love and mercy should overflow out of me, not leak from the bottom. I need Jesus to replenish my cup constantly without ceasing. I wanted every passerby to taste and see how good my God is. Looking through the eyes of Jesus Christ, everyone is worthy of salvation."

"Everything came together because above all God is consistent. The God revealed to us in the scriptures is the same God now - He doesn't change. That's why the radical idea of Acts 29 being real here and now isn't really that radical if you think about it, it's simply God being who He is. Thank you to Pastor Tom and all the friends at the Harvest Center for giving me just one example of what it means to live a life that is constantly seeking the character of God."

"Now having come to the Harvest Center, bearing witness to how Pastor Tom and the workers there live out their walks with Christ, observing how the Spirit has compelled so many of my companions in their work here, seeing how much this community has been changed and transformed by God's people, I think I began to understand how our call to missions, the great Commission given to all of us, can be lived out every day. I began to understand the importance and the reality of prayer. I began to understand the love and compassion required, and that all must come from Christ and Christ alone. I began to understand just how BIG the immeasurable size of God is, His love for us, and His divine grace. Oh what a great and awesome God we serve!
. . . Walking around New York City reminded me much of my times back at Duke; we watched the hundreds, thousands of people pass by before our very eyes, like cattle wandering to the slaughter, much like the lost students wandering around our campus. I am reminded again and again, of how far we fell, of how disgusting our sin was to God, of how deep we were in need of rescue. ...But God. But God has cleansed us, and redeemed us from sin, only by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Looking at these people, wandering lost souls, I see God calling and reaching out to them, but they do not hear. It's almost as if they are in a spiritual slumber, that someone needs to get to them, shake them, and yell "Wake up!" The Bronx has fully convinced me that we are these people! We may think that we do not have the abilities. We may think we lack the courage required. We may just not care enough. But in Christ we can!"