Frosh Week (First two weeks of Sept):
We set up tables in the residences with copies of the New Testament and 30 Sec Spiritual Interest Surveys. We surveyed over 1600 students between the two campuses, asking them what their biggest 'Soul Craving' is- Love, Justice, Power, Escape, or a Spiritual connection. We have had over 400 respond saying that they would like to meet with someone to talk more about their soul cravings, or were interested in receiving a magazine from us that unpacks these cravings. (The magazine was put together this summer by a team of staff, interns and students with our organization and each article on Love, Justice, Power, Escape, or Spiritual connection, explains how a personal relationship with God satisfies each of these cravings. It's really well written!) Our staff team, and student leaders have been working feverishly trying to connect with as many students as we can. IIt's been really encouraging to see the response of the non-Christian students on campus to this approach of evangelism. It's created such incredible dialogue and discussions. I've never met so many students with such soft hearts to the Gospel! So far we've seen 4 students accept Christ in their lives! Please pray that they will continue to grow in their relationship with God and find Christian families at their new churches to embrace and mentor them.
Kim Phuc (Third week of Se
pt)We had a special guest speaker come in the third week of September to do a special presentation on the power of forgiveness. During the Vietnam War,at the age of nine, Kim's village of Trang Bang came under attack by South Vietnamese planes, which mistakenly dropped napalm on a Buddhist pagoda in an area where the North Vietnamese were infiltrating. While running for safety with other children, Kim was severely burned by the napalm. The famous photograph of Kim Phuc taken and spread all over the world. (I've attached a copy of it.. you'll probably recognize in). Kim moved to Canada in the 1980's and is now a very passionate born-again Christian. She did an incredible job sharing her story as well as sharing the Gospel. She was so transparent about her journey and her depth of healing that when she brought Jesus into her presentation, she had everyone sitting on the edge of their seat. I think she earned a lot of respect from the students. At both presentations the student erupted in a standing ovation after she finished her presentation! Between the two campuses we had just under 500 students attend. Please pray that her testimony will continue to have a lasting impact on all the students that attended. :)
Student Retreat: (This
past Weekend)Yesterday, I just arrived home from our annual weekend camping retreat that we have with our students every fall. This weekend I was overseeing all the main sessions. This was a new experience for me. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun! A highlight for me this weekend was looking out over the sea of students and seeing faces of lives that have been transformed by the Gospel in the past year! Students that have come into our ministry and fallen in love with Christ! It brought tears to my eyes almost every worship session! Please pray for Matt, Kenny, Thomas, Deborah, Kate, and Sam. God is working in huge ways in their lives... !
Here are some quick prayer requests for me:
- I've been having a lot of back pain recently. I think it's a combination of stress, using my lap top in my lap as opposed to a desk, and not enough stretching after I exercise... (yeah, I know)... either way I've been in pain the last couple of weeks. :(
- This summer after I came back from Africa, I looked at my schedule and decided I wanted to be more rooted and plugged into my church. I called my Pastor and said I would be available to help out with whatever the greatest area of need is in our church... (thinking it would be something like greeting, setting up the coffee service, or helping out with the kids ministry once in a while)... he asked me if I would help out with the womens ministry at our church... It seemed like a good idea. He then asked me to oversee planning a womens retreat the end of Oct...not what I had in mind, but... I am actually really excited about this. I am excited to see the women in our church impacted and growing. The theme for the conference is Proverbs 31:25-26- "Strength and Dignity are her clothing. She will rejoice in the times to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom and on her tongue is the law of kindness."
- This week I've cleared my schedule in order to do more evangelism with our students. We're calling this week "The Plunge"... the tag line is..."This week take the Plunge, and talk to your friends about Jesus..." Please pray for me as I anticipate I'll be meeting lots of new people. Please pray that I'll have Spirit Filled and Spirit directed Conversations.
- Lastly... It may seem like I am doing nothing with my life except ministry... That's not true. I work hard... but I play hard too. I'm planning on going to New York City with some friends the last week of Oct to get a week of vacation during the student's Fall Study Week. I don't have any urgent prayer requests for that except for safety and fun. I guess I'm just writing to tell you because I am really excited about it. :)
Alas!
I hope you're all doing well. Please send me little notes to tell me how I can pray for you!
God Bless!
