An apology to those who regularly read my blog and haven't had any new things to read. Yah right, like you all sit around and wait for me to post. Part of why I haven't posted is because I have had little post and the other part is that I have been having some health problems that have prevented me from being productive :) Please pray for my health!!
Today was Homecoming at Albion, and the best part....I had the chance to meet some Albion IV alum, hear their stories, hear where they are now, and how IV has made an impact in their lives. It was so awesome!!! I was very encouraged.
Things with students have been very encouraging lately. I have been able to see students have more vision than before and a desire to carry it out. The chapter has more than doubled and people are growing spiritually. I am so excited to watch people deepend their relationship with the Lord.
Please pray for:
-Continued financial support. I am currently at 80%
-We have an upcoming Conference on evangelism called COMPELLING. Pray that student would go have a heart that is compelled to share the Gospel.
-Leadership Development and a God directed vision
-My health
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
This week was great, a true reminder of why I am in ministry. I am currently meeting 6 students, 4 of which are new. I am reading "Discipleship Essentials" with 2 freshmen and reading "Knowing God" with another freshmen. I am really excited for these. The girls that I am discipling are really interesting and have great potential for great influence on campus.
I am really looking forward to reading "Knowing God." I have never read it, and have started reading, and it is already truly challenging me in learning about God in an intellectual way.
Great news in funding!!! I was given a $3000 matching grant. If someone were to support me monthly, their gift would be doubled!!! YEAH!!!! Please pray that God would would provide people to support me.
I am really looking forward to reading "Knowing God." I have never read it, and have started reading, and it is already truly challenging me in learning about God in an intellectual way.
Great news in funding!!! I was given a $3000 matching grant. If someone were to support me monthly, their gift would be doubled!!! YEAH!!!! Please pray that God would would provide people to support me.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Lots of cookies, wild hogs, 2 small groups, new discipleship = First week of real ministry:)
Finally the first week of actual ministry has happened. So far, up until this week, we have been busy advertising, giving away stuff and just being present on campus. Albion did not have their student organization fair, so it was hard for people to sign up for InterVarsity....but they did. And we received 20 names and did lots of followup. Follow-up including visiting each person where they lived and giving them cookies and inviting them to events.
This past week our small group Bible Studies had started. It was great. In my previous post, I mentioned the Monday night group, so I won't completely repeat myself. On Thursday, it is the one that I am co-leading with a sophomore. It is really great, because she will make a great leader someday, she just needs some training and confidence right now and I hope that this semester leading together, I can give her that. We had 2 new students on Thursday, one was a freshman, and one sophomore. The sophomore was a brand new christian and I am not sure where the freshman stands with the Lord. It was so exciting to hear the voice of the new christian. She soaked everything in like a sponge and was so excited to be learning about God.
Discipleship:--I am officially discipling 2 freshmen on a weekly basis. We met this week to get to know each other and decide if they wanted to be in a discipleship with me....and praise God they do. I am hoping to get some more freshmen involved and to truly invest in them this year. Jon and I are having the new Christian,(the one that came to the Thursday night small group) over for dinner on Monday. Pray for our conversation and that we would be pleasing to the Lord.
Last night, I had 8 students over to the house.....5 of which were new freshmen!!!! Woot, woot. (As a side note, for those of you who don't know why I am so excited for freshmen, let me enlighten you. 1) If you get freshmen in the beginning, they are with you for the next 4 years. 2) Freshmen are generally looking for a group to be a part of. Usually it is not a matter if they will join a group, but what group will it be. For that reason, we have lots of social events to invite students too. 3) Freshmen, for the first time are away from home--away from high school friends and influences, away from parents, starting anew. We would love to be a part of influencing their desicion making). And back on to last night. We had spaghetti, and more chocolate chip cookies, watched "Wild Hogs" and played Apples to Apples. It was a great night of fellowship and it was fun to get to know people a little better. And it is great to have people over to fill my night. Generally on a Saturday night I am home by myself. Jon doesn't usually get home until after 1am. Last night it was after 3am, so it gets lonely.
Funding: Getting there. God is being faithful. I am currently at 71% which allows me to be on campus 16 hours a week. Please continue to pray for my funding.
On a personal note. I have really felt like I have gotten into a routine lately, with campus ministry, fund development, and yes, cleaning a house. Cleaning the house has been a big one. I love love love a clean house, but it gets sooo messy so quick. One thing that Jon and I have been doing is our 10 minute clean up before we go to bed. Basically when we wake up, our house is clean, and when it is clean, it is harder to mess up. I do need to get back into the habbit of working out and truly making that a priority in my life. Lately, it has been about a 20-30 minute/day priority, but I really want to make it real and get in shape. I have a pass to the gym, now just gotta use it. :)
This past week our small group Bible Studies had started. It was great. In my previous post, I mentioned the Monday night group, so I won't completely repeat myself. On Thursday, it is the one that I am co-leading with a sophomore. It is really great, because she will make a great leader someday, she just needs some training and confidence right now and I hope that this semester leading together, I can give her that. We had 2 new students on Thursday, one was a freshman, and one sophomore. The sophomore was a brand new christian and I am not sure where the freshman stands with the Lord. It was so exciting to hear the voice of the new christian. She soaked everything in like a sponge and was so excited to be learning about God.
Discipleship:--I am officially discipling 2 freshmen on a weekly basis. We met this week to get to know each other and decide if they wanted to be in a discipleship with me....and praise God they do. I am hoping to get some more freshmen involved and to truly invest in them this year. Jon and I are having the new Christian,(the one that came to the Thursday night small group) over for dinner on Monday. Pray for our conversation and that we would be pleasing to the Lord.
Last night, I had 8 students over to the house.....5 of which were new freshmen!!!! Woot, woot. (As a side note, for those of you who don't know why I am so excited for freshmen, let me enlighten you. 1) If you get freshmen in the beginning, they are with you for the next 4 years. 2) Freshmen are generally looking for a group to be a part of. Usually it is not a matter if they will join a group, but what group will it be. For that reason, we have lots of social events to invite students too. 3) Freshmen, for the first time are away from home--away from high school friends and influences, away from parents, starting anew. We would love to be a part of influencing their desicion making). And back on to last night. We had spaghetti, and more chocolate chip cookies, watched "Wild Hogs" and played Apples to Apples. It was a great night of fellowship and it was fun to get to know people a little better. And it is great to have people over to fill my night. Generally on a Saturday night I am home by myself. Jon doesn't usually get home until after 1am. Last night it was after 3am, so it gets lonely.
Funding: Getting there. God is being faithful. I am currently at 71% which allows me to be on campus 16 hours a week. Please continue to pray for my funding.
On a personal note. I have really felt like I have gotten into a routine lately, with campus ministry, fund development, and yes, cleaning a house. Cleaning the house has been a big one. I love love love a clean house, but it gets sooo messy so quick. One thing that Jon and I have been doing is our 10 minute clean up before we go to bed. Basically when we wake up, our house is clean, and when it is clean, it is harder to mess up. I do need to get back into the habbit of working out and truly making that a priority in my life. Lately, it has been about a 20-30 minute/day priority, but I really want to make it real and get in shape. I have a pass to the gym, now just gotta use it. :)
Monday, September 3, 2007
First Small Group Bible Study
YEAH!!! I wish you could hear my voice right now, because you would hear one encouraged and excited staff worker. Tonight was our first small group Bible Study in the freshman dorm. There were 9 students there......9!!! That is double the amount of students in the chapter at the beginning of the year (which was 2 weeks ago). It was an amazing time, the word of God truly became alive, and discussion was amazing.
There was a grad student, who will be a teacher's assistant for Spanish at Albion. He is from Mexico and he just became a christian last year. He was very worried about coming to the states because he didn't know how he would grow in his relationship with Christ. He was so excited to be a part of our group tonight, he said he was going to write a letter to his church telling them that their prayers are answered for him and that he has found a christian community. And this is why I am encouraged to do what I do. A man was lost and now is found, and is experiencing true community in the body of Christ!
There was a grad student, who will be a teacher's assistant for Spanish at Albion. He is from Mexico and he just became a christian last year. He was very worried about coming to the states because he didn't know how he would grow in his relationship with Christ. He was so excited to be a part of our group tonight, he said he was going to write a letter to his church telling them that their prayers are answered for him and that he has found a christian community. And this is why I am encouraged to do what I do. A man was lost and now is found, and is experiencing true community in the body of Christ!
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Wedding and Family
Last week Jon and I spent a lot of time at home visiting family. Jon's brother got married and it was great to see friends and family. Here are some pics to enjoy.
Kim and the Sausser Brothers
My two favorite sisters!!! 
Me and the hubby. I love him! On another note...A lot of you know that Jon and I have been south beach dieting, and working out. Well I have been slacking.....a lot, say, about 3 weeks. And it being the first of the month and all, I am really excited to get back on track. We are still trying to lose weight and to get in shape! Keep us accountable and kick out butt!
NSO Thus Far....
The fall is typically the time for New Student Outreach (NSO), though I am hesitant to label it only as a fall activity, because we want to continue the attitude of bringing new students into the chapter throughout the year.
A brief review of NSO activities thus far:
-Chalking campus to welcome freshmen and new students to campus
-Passing out candy and InterVarsity flyers every day the first week of school
-Free Hot dogs, during "Hurricane Albion." We had planned to give free hot dogs to anyone who would come, but as soon as we put the dogs on the grill, a horrible, horrible storm ripped through. Luckily, we ran inside, soaked hot dogs and all, and continued to serve and continued to meet new students.
-Briton Bash: Albion's student organization fair. We were able to have a table up and talked to 20 people who were interested in InterVarsity. It was hot hot hot. They crammed 2,000 + students into the indoor track area, with no air conditioning!!! Needless to say, I was very sweaty towards the end of the night.
-Cookie Follow-up:The names that we received either at Briton Bash or the hot dog bash, or any other various way. It was a great time, though I was not ready to experience the Albion red-tape that I did not have at Central. I couldn't just go deliver cookies, I had to be with someone who lived in that dorm. There is a key card at each door, and you can only get in if you live there, which made it pretty hard.
-For the next few weeks, I will be continuing follow-up. I would like to meet each and every student, take them out to lunch or something and get to know them better and invite them to be a part of the chapter.
Leaders:
-Matt, a new small group leader!!! Pray for him...He is a junior and has just committed to co-leading a small group with Kwame in one of the freshmen dorms. I am so excited that he is stepping up into leadership. It is a great man of God, as well as a man with connections. He is an RA in the International House :)
Things are happening!
A brief review of NSO activities thus far:
-Chalking campus to welcome freshmen and new students to campus
-Passing out candy and InterVarsity flyers every day the first week of school
-Free Hot dogs, during "Hurricane Albion." We had planned to give free hot dogs to anyone who would come, but as soon as we put the dogs on the grill, a horrible, horrible storm ripped through. Luckily, we ran inside, soaked hot dogs and all, and continued to serve and continued to meet new students.
-Briton Bash: Albion's student organization fair. We were able to have a table up and talked to 20 people who were interested in InterVarsity. It was hot hot hot. They crammed 2,000 + students into the indoor track area, with no air conditioning!!! Needless to say, I was very sweaty towards the end of the night.
-Cookie Follow-up:The names that we received either at Briton Bash or the hot dog bash, or any other various way. It was a great time, though I was not ready to experience the Albion red-tape that I did not have at Central. I couldn't just go deliver cookies, I had to be with someone who lived in that dorm. There is a key card at each door, and you can only get in if you live there, which made it pretty hard.
-For the next few weeks, I will be continuing follow-up. I would like to meet each and every student, take them out to lunch or something and get to know them better and invite them to be a part of the chapter.
Leaders:
-Matt, a new small group leader!!! Pray for him...He is a junior and has just committed to co-leading a small group with Kwame in one of the freshmen dorms. I am so excited that he is stepping up into leadership. It is a great man of God, as well as a man with connections. He is an RA in the International House :)
Things are happening!
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