WOW!

Well, USF's "Week of Welcome," aka, WOW, is coming to a close. Sort of. (There will be extra things going on till mid September, I'd wager!) It has been a packed week for me, and one thing I can say for certain: I love my job. Here's a slice of what I've been up to.

Helping freshmen move in (and meeting Rocky the Bull, of course!)

 This year, since the Lees already met quite a few freshmen through summer RUF, we got to help students we already knew move in, rather than just adding to the jumble of strangers that offer to help. Apart from the driving rain that persisted most of the day, it was a great success. I'm afraid I moved just as much rainwater into the dorms as I did room stuffs! Oops.

Two days later, on Friday, we had a welcome back pancake party at the Lee's house, in Mr. Alan T's honor. ;) We had a great crowd and I got to meet and talk to many current and new students.

Sunday after a refreshing morning at church, I went out to lunch with a few students (to cracker barrel), several of whom had never experienced the most wide-spread chain of southern food restaurants. It was  so fantastic to explain to a Japanese exchange student what a "dumplin" was and then watch her try one. :) Sunday was also our welcome back BBQ.

Playing giant Jenga at our welcome week BBQ

Here's the story of the BBQ: I decided to make banana pudding in honor of Nicole and her wonderful family. (All of this goes to show how much I appreciate all the wonderful things and ideas you've shared with me over the years, friends!) Great idea. Until I realized that I didn't have nearly enough time to do so and to actually be on time. I barely snuck in before the event got started, in the end, and even then with FAR too little banana pudding. It was gone in 20 minutes! I'm making it for after large group next week, and I'm tripling that recipe!

But I digress. The interesting part of the story is this: yet again, it was raining. And when Jeff went to pick up the BBQ (40 lbs of it!), they had no record of our order. And thus no BBQ for us. Panic set in. We considered getting a bajillion tacos from taco bell or ordering a truckload of pizza, but mostly we just hoped that the BBQ folks would be able to keep their promise to have it ready by 6 (the beginning time of the BBQ). We called several current students to be there early so we could run and fetch the food while they appeased the hungry masses, but lo and behold. They delivered at least 80 lbs of BBQ by 5:45. Can you believe that? In the end, we served over 250 BBQ sandwiches, even in the rain. What a great turn out!

One, two skip a few, and it was Tuesday: time for our first large group. I'm sad to say that we don't meet in the manatee room. We're next door. (In the "oak room." How can that even compare? Not cool.) I'm working on moving us to the manatee room. But luckily, that's not relevant at all. Here's the "Katie goes to her first RUF at USF" picture, taken by one of my lovely hosts here in Tampa:

Making yummy treats and sporting my RUF T on the way to the first large group of the semester

We had a great turn out, including lots of folks who seemed to be new to the whole concept of worship and bible study. That's always encouraging! I'm praying that God opened their hearts to be intrigued by what they saw and heard. We played games and ate snowflakes (aka "puppy chow," to some, yuck) afterwards until quite late.

Yesterday I went to the first "Bull Market," where organizations and businesses set up a tables and hope to talk to some of the interested students perusing about. Tonight I have a similar event known as "Roundup." I could tell you so much more, but this is already quite a bit longer than I ever intended it to be, so I'll leave it for another day. I'll leave you with this video of the welcome back bash last Wednesday: fun stuff.

Refreshed

Freshmen moved in yesterday. We baked 4 batches of cookies and handed them out over the past few days. I've been ridiculously outgoing, meeting and speaking to almost everyone who comes my way. What an epic week! It's been busy, though, and sadly, the first thing to go in a busy week is time set apart to invest in God, who is the refresher of our souls. Today as I sat down to read a bit, I confessed that I didn't really think it would matter that I was about to read the bible. I assumed it would roll right over me like it's prone to do some days. But after asking God to refresh my faith in the power and goodness of His Word, He did just that. Here's some of the beautiful passages I read today out of 1 Timothy.

"Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (Chapter 4, verse 8)

I've seen students around me over the past few days searching for what holds promise for today and for the future. There are a million organizations vying for their time, there are friends to be made, and patterns to be set. It's all still being formed right now, like jello that hasn't quite solidified yet. In the midst of that, it's good for me to be reminded that there is one thing that these students need right now and in the future. (Both during college and beyond.) They need their Father. They need a love that loves even the deepest, darkest part of them. They need to grow to be more like Him every day--to be godly. That is so much more important than which BBQ to attend and whether to go kayaking with student Rec or not. I'm praying that God would keep this imprinted in my heart so that I am always looking to spread that to my students. As I read on, this verse was also encouraging as I start my ministry here at USF.

"Persist in this (reading of Scriptures and teaching), for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." (verse 16)

What a beautiful truth. By continuing to show Christ to my students, Christ in us will not only save them, but me as I work.

I hope this is encouraging to you today! I have a week of welcome update post in the works, too, so look back for that soon. Thanks for reading!

First Days in Tampa

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. :)

My parents got to come down for the weekend. Here's us with an impressive bush bull!

Ybor city downtown--a long history of cultural mixture and cigar making. Spanish people were here! Made me happy. 

Me with the wonderful folks I'm working with: Jeff, the campus minister, and his wife Jenny. They are the best. Really.

Me and Mom with some true Florida behind us. :)

This week is a wonderful busy. I'll be baking cookies to pass out tomorrow with Jenny, as well as wandering around campus to see if I can get my barings. This place is BIG! Wednesday we'll be helping freshmen move in, Friday we have a pancake party for current RUF students, and Sunday we have a cookout in a quad near freshmen dorms. In between it all, I'll be passing out lots of postcards on campus, meeting tons of students, and trying to remember (at least most) of their names! I appreciate your prayers and hope you're doing well!

THE DAY WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

It’s finally here: the day we’ve been waiting for. I was approved to move to campus this past Tuesday, and I’m on my way to Tampa even now. Do you know what that means? That means that God provided 85% of my budget already. I simply did not think it was possible. I have learned, yet again, that with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) I am such a strange cocktail of emotion right now: I’m amazed, humbled, excited, and nervous. As any of you would be, too, I should say. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, support and encouragement. Stay tuned: the adventure has already begun. 

GIAW

That's right, folks, two week-long trainings in Atlanta have come and gone, and I am blogging now as a much more trained intern. Whatever that means. ;) Here are some reflections post that wonderful week of all things RUF.

• Session after session, a campus minister from somewhere (most of them I had never met or heard speak before) would come up and remind us of the gospel. The topic of the seminar, yes, was important, but they all led to the same place. And though the sessions were literally back to back, I needed reminding of the gospel desperately even in the second session after being floored by it in the first. That shows how beautiful that truth is, and how forgetful we are. It makes me want to modify my mantra, "preach the gospel to yourself everyday" into "preach the gospel to yourself moment by moment." It was a blessing to have the staff of RUF do that for us last week.
• Helpful advice about ministry abounded. Tops on my list included GIAW: God is at work. We were reminded that God cares WAY MORE about building His Kingdom than we do, and that He will have His way! He doesn't need me at USF in 3 weeks. (A huge weight lifts from my shoulders.) Yet He will be pleased to work through me!
• It's not about me: it will never be about me. When folks don't call me back, or when I don't know what step to take next, I've got to remember: it's not about me. The best thing I can do for my ministry is to stay close to Jesus. This point reminded me of the Not-cho party (Nacho party!) my friend and I threw back in high school to help ourselves and fellow students see how life should be about GOD, not about us. So good to be reminded of this.

I could keep going, but I don't know about you, I get a little fatigued when a thoughtful blog-post goes really long. So for all of our sakes, that's all folks. Thank you for your prayers!