Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” ~ Isaiah 43:18-19

We've had a couple days of light snow here in Eugene and I hope that you are keeping warm wherever you find yourself. Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter and pray for Chi Alpha at the University of Oregon.

God met us at Winter Camp!

What a great weekend! It's always encouraging to see what God does when students set aside time to meet with him. Each year, Chi Alpha groups from around the Northwest get together to worship and grow together as a movement [pictured below]. The topic this weekend was "Mentors from Scripture" and how we can learn from those we read about in the Word.

One of our students has been wrestling with her relationship with God for a long time, but I convinced her to come to camp. While she grew up in the church, she told me at camp that she has never felt God's presence. I got to share part of my story with her, how I too had struggled with that. Growing up, when people would talk about "feeling God's presence," it would only frustrate me because I had never "felt" anything. This student thought that because God was silent that he was punishing her. While there isn't usually a clear answer for why God is silent, I shared with her how for me awareness of God's presence has developed over time. The more I put myself in his presence, the more I became familiar with his Word, the more I came to know what his voice sounded like and what it felt like to be near to him.

During the sessions, I prayed for this student continuously as I felt I needed to fight for her that weekend. On the drive home, she shared how she felt re-inspired in her faith. I was encouraged to see that the Lord had met her and later on she shared that she has even experienced a release from her depression symptoms since camp. Praise God!

God Provided by...

... Blessing our students and staff with a wonderful weekend at Winter Camp.

... Placing each of you in my life! Thank you so much for everything you do to enable me to be here in Eugene!

... Leading students into our community who are desperate for friendship, it's been incredible to see some of the friendships that have been forming!

Pray that God would...

... Help the students who are caught in a cycle of partying and guilt. May the Lord convict their hearts and help them to see God's vision for their lives.

... Continue to bond our community together and create lasting friendships. There have been a couple conflicts among our students and I would love prayers for wisdom on my part and reconciliation amidst our students.

"The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God." In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen

Building Bridges

One of the coolest parts of what I do as a campus minister is seeing the students I have mentored step up and mentor others. My friend Joyce recently got to minister to a fellow student and I had her write the experience for you:

"This year, I've gotten to connect with this great girl from California who was raised Catholic. Due to this fact, she was not very open [with her parents] about the fact that she had been regularly attending Chi Alpha events. Whenever she would bring this up with us, I would always feel slightly uneasy, regretful that she felt the need to lie to her parents about her involvement, so I prayed. God answered during winter break! I went to California this winter break for another reason, but went to visit her in her hometown and got a chance to meet her parents. During that visit, because her parents liked me so much, they asked her how she met me. She told them that she had met me through the Christian group and because they liked me so much, they were more open to the idea of her attending events and her being apart of our group!"

Our heart and goal in Chi Alpha is that we can partner with parents and I was so encouraged that Joyce was able to build this bridge. We want to help students grow in their faith and feeling at home in our community is a part of that process. I'm so grateful that Joyce was able to help this new student feel more settled in our community by reaching out to her parents.

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Chi Alpha at the University of Idaho · 1461 Northwood Dr · Apt 103 · Moscow, Idaho 83843 · USA