Written by Ari Feustel, Associate Director of Admissions – Guest Services
A few days ago while exploring the beauty of Arches National Park, Dr. White asked me, “Did you ever think working in Admissions would lead you here?”
As I looked around and took in the massive red rock formations, the orange sand beneath my feet, and the vast, overcast sky above that seemed to stretch for miles, I uttered a confident, “Not at all.”
We are currently on day 15 of the Transformed Tour and are now making our way back east from the West Coast. With each event, our team has seen the truth of our hope in the Gospel boldly proclaimed and worshipped with believers all over the U.S. as one body. We’ve seen the excitement in alumni’s eyes as they talk about their time at Cedarville and how encouraged they are about what is happening on campus since they’ve graduated. We’ve shared with countless prospective students about how the Lord has used Cedarville in our lives in the hope that He would bring them there as well. Out of 15 days, six days have been event days. And the Lord has been at work just as much in the remaining nine off/travel days as He has in the six event days.
As someone who has always felt an inclination to make life plans and has gravitated toward predictable and calculable circumstances, the Lord has repeatedly been showing me the greatness of His ways in all of the circumstances that I could never have planned or anticipated on my own. This tour has been one of those reminders, through both personal and professional experiences.
Two years ago when the world shut down due to COVID, I was an anxious mess. A variety of circumstances, both COVID- and non-COVID-related, had left me paralyzed by fear and even unable to drive for a period of time. Getting in a car was a daily struggle that made me feel trapped and was only manageable by blasting worship music and sobbing my way through short drives even to the grocery store. I would not have even considered the idea of getting on a bus and traveling the country.
Two years later I have seen more of the country in one week’s time than I have seen in my whole life. I’ve thrown snowballs while it’s 70 degrees in the Rocky Mountains. I’ve seen the sunset hit red rock arches against a backdrop of mountains that look like they’ve been painted in the sky. I’ve waded waist deep through a canyon river and heard Dr. White give our team reflections from Psalm 19 about the wonder of the Lord’s creation. It has been an encouragement and blessing to meditate on the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord to lead me here, something that was unimaginable not long ago; to look at the mountains and valleys around me and be reminded of the valleys He has brought me through and the mountains I’m getting to experience now.
But perhaps the sweetest aspect of these moments in creation has been looking around at all of the faces I’m getting to experience it with.
Two months ago, I did not know anyone on the Transformed Tour team. As the Admissions representative, I am the only staff member from my division who is on this trip. Yet, I am in awe at the sovereignty of the Lord in how He orchestrated circumstances in my life that I did not even know would come full circle here. For one, when I was a student at Cedarville, I had the privilege to serve on HeartSong Orange Team, the same team that is here on this trip. It has been one of the sweetest blessings to get to travel with the members of the HeartSong team, get to see their earnest desires to glorify the Lord, and even share moments singing alongside them. But beyond that, if you are following along with our social media, in Des Moines, Iowa, I got to reconnect with a former HeartSong member who came to my church in New York when I was 12 years old. I had no idea what Cedarville was at the time or that I would move to Ohio shortly after, but God did. And that experience that summer affirmed to me that I desired to worship the Lord through music for the rest of my life in some capacity.
Aside from these connections, the Lord has even brought my time in Admissions full circle. When I became an Admissions counselor, Colorado was one of the states in my territory. During my second year I started working with Kylie Atwell, a prospective student from Colorado. I remember emailing her and working with her family through the admissions process, but never did I anticipate that a year and half later, the Atwells would be hosting us during our stay in Colorado for the tour. The Atwells’ house felt like home to all of us. We shared meals, we worshipped together, we took in God’s creation together, and they exemplified to us incredible biblical hospitality and intentionality. Courtenay and Jason (Kylie’s parents) both worked in Admissions at Cedarville and hearing about their experiences and the impact Cedarville made on them was a special encouragement to me, now being in Jason’s old position. We all hope to see them again soon.
All that to say — the Lord often works in ways we could never anticipate and that only He can get the glory for. I am overwhelmed with thankfulness that we serve a God who is the Creator of the mountaintops and yet is intimately near to us. As many prayer requests have been made on behalf of this team, please also join us in praising the Lord for what He is doing at each event and in each one of us.
Tags: Denver, Transformed Tour
Posted in: General