Worker profile: Lydia Musselman
Service program: tranSend
Serving since: 2020
Assignment:
My assignment is to partner with Eastside Church and VMMissions in support of college students in Harrisonburg. As a part of this ministry position, I share a house with three wonderful young women on Old South High Street in downtown Harrisonburg. We eat meals together, play games, read, laugh, tackle problems together, rest, and most importantly join in prayer together. In addition to the many ways that we simply share life with each other, I also have led discipleship groups, weekly prayer on the campuses, and Bible studies with women from both Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) and James Madison University (JMU), nurturing the cross-cultural connection this represents, as well as watering our souls with the living water!
Biggest challenge:
Other than situations surrounding the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges was connecting with young men on campus. We had two great young men from EMU join us for church with their sisters but without a male college ministries leader, I could only do so much in connecting with them. It was a joy to go to lunch with the first-year student and walk with him in some challenging times and decisions. We would appreciate prayer that God would provide a male leader for this ministry and guidance regarding how to engage the young men on campus who are thirsty for Christian fellowship.
Biggest joy:
One of my biggest joys was in walking with a first-year student who connected with Eastside Church through a family friend. She grew roots in our church community and then felt called to be baptized. Her growth galvanized a group of ladies to do a discipleship class together. They invited friends to church and fellowship gatherings, and even brought a friend to our women’s Bible study on Zoom. She sees mission opportunities in all of her relationships and is now eager to welcome first-year friends into the kind of spaces that helped her to grow.
A typical day:
Each day of the week at our ministry house and on campus looks a little different. Mornings begin with coffee before we gather at 7:00 for a short devotional, sharing, and prayer. I generally work in the mornings, though some days I break up the morning by joining students for prayer at the campus fountain. Lunch is sometimes one-on-one discipleship and friendship time with a housemate or a student. The afternoons include what one of my students named “Coffee & Christ,” at a local coffee shop. This sometimes enables me to build relationships with students studying there. At 6:00 p.m. we have dinner as a house family, often welcoming others to break bread with us. Evenings are full of games, movies, and reading before bed. On Sundays, I am on hand at Eastside, again, praying first with the prayer team and then welcoming and connecting with the college students and young adults.