 Our team circling up to pray before leaving for Fresno. We have made it back to Moscow safe and sound! It was an incredible trip to Fresno State University. We went into the trip with 2 primary objectives: 1. We want to be people who believe the gospel deeply and share the gospel boldly both at Fresno State and when we come back home. 2. We wanted to be reminded that God is working in other areas of our country and join Him in His work in Fresno. We’re praying that this trip has made an impact on both Fresno last week and in the years to come. In light of these goals, I have a few cool stories from the trip to share!  Our van broken down and unfixable less than an hour after leaving for Fresno We spent three days on Fresno State University’s campus, meeting people, listening to their stories, praying for them, and sharing the gospel. Culturally, Fresno State is quite different from the University of Idaho. One striking difference is its remarkable ethnic diversity. A local pastor described it as feeling a bit like heaven on earth, with people from so many different backgrounds and after spending time on campus, we understood exactly what he meant. We had the opportunity to meet hundreds of students and hear about their lives and their reasons for attending school there. While it was exciting to connect with so many people, it was heartbreaking to hear the same underlying story repeated time and time again. For most students, Fresno State is merely a stepping stone toward a career, a means to provide a better life for their families. Yet, a common sentiment among them was a sense of being stuck. Many expressed that Fresno feels inescapable. Even those who leave often find themselves returning, unable to afford living elsewhere. (We heard a story of a recent Fresno ad campaign trying to combat this sentiment by calling it “FresYes” instead of Fresno) Even more concerning was the perspective shared by local pastors, who acknowledged the pervasive idolatry of advancement, status, and materialism, even within the Christian community. While the desire to provide for one’s family is not wrong, it seemed like in Fresno, this pursuit had become the ultimate hope for many. Spiritually, Fresno remains a deeply lost city. There are few believers, and those who do profess faith often lack spiritual depth. The need for genuine gospel transformation is evident and our time there only strengthened our conviction to pray for Fresno State and its students. There is presently another Resonate scout trip on their campus and there will be one more that goes next week, so pray for them as they meet students, share the gospel and attempt to bring a little more of heaven to Fresno State.  All that being said, the spiritual soil at Fresno State seems rich with curiosity. As I mentioned, we met hundreds of people, listened to their beliefs, and had the privilege of sharing the gospel with many of them. We were only on campus for three days, and only one of those days was intentionally dedicated to gospel conversations. Yet, from that single day, we connected with around ten people who expressed genuine curiosity about faith and a willingness to attend a church service or Bible study. Thankfully, we had local contacts to connect them with, but it was evident that with more time, we could have encountered even more people eager to explore their faith. One particularly amazing story came from two of our students who went out to share the gospel together. They sat down with a girl, started a conversation about her life, and asked why she chose to attend Fresno State. Eventually, the discussion turned to faith. She shared that she had grown up Catholic but had fallen away from God. Then, with tears in her eyes, she revealed that just the previous weekend, she had prayed, asking God for a sign if He wanted her to return to Him. Our students were overjoyed that they might have been the very answer to her prayer. They asked if they could pray with her, and she eagerly agreed. She shared some of the difficult things she was facing, and they lifted her up in prayer. When they finished, she said she felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Whether or not God saved her in that moment, it was undoubtedly a powerful encounter. As a group, we later gathered to pray for her, trusting that God will continue working in her life.  All in all, it was a great trip. I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to spend a week with our students, lifting our eyes to higher glory. Since coming back, they have all been eager to share their faith with their classmates and fellow students. I’ll leave you with a scripture that has been speaking a lot to me recently. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” -Galatians 2:20 With love, Kadin |
So glad to hear about the encouraging trip and how God was able to use you and your team.