Daniel Robles - STUMP 2008

The names Daniel Robles, I'm 20 years old and am currently working for my mother's family business and plan to attend bible college in 2009 (and he did!).

I've grown up in a Christian family my whole 20 years of life but only truly made Jesus Christ my lord and saviour two years ago. I'm planted in New-Life church in prospect and am a youth leader  for our youth group 'Contagious'. I would consider my three most significant life moments to be; my birth, my salvation and my week at STUMP...big call I know.

I came into STUMP with no ideas or expectations other then the fact that I was throwing my self into the deep end of the pool that is Christianity. I had no overwhelming desire to love, serve or show compassion. But before that week I did pray to God and said this, ' Lord all I want is to glorify you, all I want is to find you, all I want is to love you, all I want is to be one step closer to you, to be one step closer to really calling my self a Christian. Funny enough, that was all answered at my week at STUMP. My whole life of ministry had consisted of living out Matthew 22:39; "love your neighbour as yourself" within the context of my church. I realised the moment I started STUMP that it's so easy to love people as yourself when they are like you. But now I was faced with the challenge to do the same as I served in Street Level and Oasis and love those who were nothing like me.

The whole week was amazing and I continued to be overwhelmed as I lived out my Christianity in a completely different world to my own yet only a 45 minute drive away. I served, cleaned, painted and learnt about the poor and marginalised right here in Sydney. Not just the financially poor but those who were poor spiritually and mentally. And not just those who were marginalised by society but also by the church. I remember the first night I went out on a coffee run. We basically drove around Kings Cross and the surrounding areas and served coffee and biscuits to people. I found my self serving and loving people that you would rarely find at your average church service. Instead of serving coffee and tea to my pastor and elders I was serving the homeless, sex workers, the drug and alcohol addicted.. And though it was so different It also felt so right, the judgements that were popping in my head were slowly being hushed by the love of God. The love of God that said, "Love your neighbour as yourself".

I left that week of STUMP and found everything I had been praying and searching God for. My understanding of Matthew 22:37-39 was changed completely. And I found God and his love outside of my church and in the least likely place.

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