Hello Llano Estacado community!
My name is Trapper Burrus. I will be serving as your Chrysalis community Lay Director for the next year. First, I must apologize for the tardiness of this newsletter. I got busy with life (and procrastinated a bit) and the months flew by. That being said, Lets get down to it. I am very excited about the things God is doing within Chrysalis. You should be too. Chrysalis is very near and dear to my heart. As a college aged young man I always had a heart for people younger than me. Volunteering with youth groups and such were my favorite kind of ministry. Growing up in Canadian, Texas taught me the value of hard work and community that comes with “going through life” with people. I feel that that is a major strength with Emmaus in general but I think it is even more important for young people. As most of us know, college is a time when we really find out who we are as a person without mom and dad. When I was in college I know I made some pretty questionable choices. Now I would not take many of them back because of the lessons I learned, but I can honestly see God’s hand on me the whole time. I for one was very impressionable and I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today without a strong community of Christians surrounding me. With that in mind, we as a Chrysalis board are trying to push two main activities in our community: Prayer and community.
We are trying to stress to all the new incoming caterpillars that they need to get involved in reunion groups. Emmaus is technically a para-church organization. We are not designed to be a church replacement, but many of the young men and women who come to these Chrysalis Journeys don’t have a home church. They are nomadic in nature. Lets face it, many of us didn’t like to be tied down to one spot too long when we were that age either. With that knowledge in mind, it is all the more important that we help these young people stay connected whether that is with a Chrysalis sponsored event or some other ministry situation we can help them find. Also we as a board are open to suggestions. If you know of opportunities to keep people involved, find your nearest board member and put a figurative bug in their ear.
The next activity is prayer. WE NEED MORE PRAYER!!! Prayer is so important for us as Christians but even more so for a group of us. We need to pray for direction and protection most of all. We don’t want anything to happen that is not inside of God’s will for us. We need him to guide our steps. I know God will build His kingdom through Llano Chrysalis. I also know that satan hates what our community stands for and he wants to destroy it. So, to make a short story long, We need need your prayers. We need you to stand in the gap for the young men and women who are going to come on these events. Say a prayer tonight for your Chrysalis Community. Invite and sponsor a young person (18-25 years old) on the next Chrysalis. Thank you so much for the prayers I already know you are going to send our way. Christ is counting on YOU!
Fly With Christ
Trapper Burrus
