Come and See
John 1:35-39
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35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.”
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I love this passage for lots of reasons, but one of the things that really stands out to me is Jesus's last phrase in verse 39 where He says, "Come and you will see." Notice that Jesus does not actually answer the question the two disciples ask. They want to know specifically where He is staying. Jesus gives them a very cryptic response that only tells them to follow and trust.
This might seem discouraging at first glance, but there is comfort in trusting someone who has proven that they are faithful. Jesus has lavished His faithfulness on me and Anne Michal during our years as RUF Interns. You, our supporters and partners in ministry, are a testament to that faithfulness.
We are once again going into a new school year, wondering what will happen, yet trusting in Jesus's faithfulness to His children. We are excited to see what He has in store!
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During the summer, a number of students stayed in Starkville for school or work. This gave us the opportunity to have groups of students over for dinner. One of the summer traditions that we implemented was Taco Tuesdays. This was a simple, effective way to meet with hungry college students. Thank you for your continual financial support that enabled us to host an event like this over the summer!
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Students eating tacos in our backyard. Starkville is beautiful in the summers. Considerably cooler than College Station.
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The summer was very busy as we drove back and forth between Texas and Mississippi. Many of our weeks were spent visiting family and fundraising, while the weekends were spent going to weddings. (11 total this summer!)
Toward the end of the summer, we had the opportunity to fly to Denver for RUF intern training. This was our first in-person staff training since October 2019. It was a joy to see other interns and learn from some of the leaders within RUF.
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Texas A&M reunion breakfast at Snooze in Denver during RUF training.
5 former students and 3 staff members serving at Aggie RUF
The Aggie community within RUF is growing. Gig'em!
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We held our first large group of the semester on the second day of school. It was such a joy to see the students and meet a bunch of new freshmen. Being back on campus for large group has been such a blessing because we reach a broader group of students at MSU. We talked to multiple students at the first large group who were non-Christians, but interested in the truth claims of Christianity. A Christian worship service is much more appealing for non-Christians when it is held in a building on campus rather than a church.
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Students worshipping during the first large group in Lee Auditorium
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Students talking outside of Lee Auditorium after the first large group. This is where lots of ministry happens!
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Back to School BBQ and Blues
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The first weekend after school, we had a BBQ and Blues party to celebrate everyone being back on campus. Some of our students have a band (Blackjack Road if you want to check them out) and they played live music and we catered BBQ for everyone to eat. After a wild school year where we couldn’t have events like this, it was so fun and encouraging to see everyone back together enjoying some good food, fellowship, and music.
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Blackjack Road serenaded us with some classic rock songs
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Footloose brought everyone to the dance floor
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After a summer of fundraising, both of us are happy to report that our accounts are healthy heading into year three of the internship. We are very thankful for your generous support over these past two years so that we can stay on campus for a third.
We do have a small campaign going for the next month. Fall conference is back after a year hiatus due to COVID. Conferences are one of the best ways for students who still feel on the fringe of RUF to get connected to other people in the group. I’ve talked to many students who say fall conference is when they knew RUF was home for them. With the lack of conferences last year and COVID causing some students to do junior college for a year, we have an influx of transfers who are new to campus and sophomores who never got fully plugged into RUF last year that are still searching for that feeling of home.
We would love to give some of these transfer and sophomore students scholarships to go to fall conference this year in an effort to help them plug into RUF. It is 100 dollars for one student to go fall conference. If you would like to sponsor a student to go to fall conference please contact one of us or you can follow the link below and give 100 dollars to either one of our accounts and we will make sure it gets to a student who fits the above criteria.
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