monday and tuesday in corfu

monday morning we enjoyed for breakfast fresh bread and homemade jams and marmelades--there was cherry, peach (my favorite), apricot, fig, and orange. they were delicious. today we were going into town to get a feel for life in corfu during the "off-season". corfu is a tourist town, and when it's not tourism season, much of the town closes--for example, almost all of the hotels and many shops and restaurants are closed for about 11 months. greece, well at least in corfu, moves at a slower pace than in the US, so after breakfast we were able to relax and visit with one another and play around the world--several of the people in the church put together a ping pong table at the youth center right before we arrived--we decided to help break it in. it was a great time of being able to incorporate our team and greeks together.


we went into town to get familiar with the layout and, as some of you will not be surprised, i immediately began photographing the architecture. the island of corfu has many different styles present because of the varying influences it has received throughout its history. it has been under rule of England, Italy, and was even independent of Greece for a time. though the styles do vary, most of the buildings are painted one of the four distinct colors of corfu: a dark red (pictured to the right), two different shades of yellow, and pink.

that evening, we had a service with the youth of the greek evangelical church. in greece, "youth" is considered teenager to non-married, really anywhere between 12 to 29. this service looked very much like a typical ruf large group that we would have at baylor--we sang songs and my co-intern Tyler spoke. but we also sang several greek songs, which we were able to get the hang of, and three of our students shared their testimonies about God's faithfulness in their lives and how, though they were raised in a Christian home, God continued to grow them in the truth and knowledge of who they were as sinners, and who He is as Savior and Lord. i was encouraged both by their stepping out in faith to share and hearing how God is at work in their lives. after the service, we ate dinner with the greek students and played games--both around the world (it was a huge group) and a variety of card games. we ended up playing until midnight, at which point we realized it would be good to get some sleep...

we spent tuesday morning at the music building of the university on corfu. the building is located inside an old venetian fortress--it's spectacular! several of the students who attend the greek evangelical church are students at the music school and were able to give us a tour of the building and the surrounding grounds. several of our students studying music immediately connected with these students and a common bond was formed that brought them closer to our group and us closer with them. we walked up to the top of the fortress and could clearly see the city and surrounding areas (we also could see albania from this point--less than two miles away!)


that afternoon we took a driving tour of the island (the weather was frequently raining, but this day the sun was shining) and were able to see the varying terrain, the olive groves, several towns, and the closest point to Albania. it's a beautiful island, and we had a great tour guide (the pastor) who not only told us of the history of the island, but also the spiritual history and their church's efforts to reach out to their community on corfu and in the towns of albania. when albania's borders were opened, the church began helping with an orphanage and then realized that most of the children there were not, in fact, orphans, but that their parents sent them there so that they could be cared for and given food. during the summer months, these children would return to their homes. so the church decided to help out these families by adopting the family and negotiating with local markets that these families could use a coupon-like system where they could receive food staples and essential needs in exchange for these coupons and the church would cover the cost of these items. the pastor was able to arrange so that the families in the church were able to go into albania and meet the family that they had adopted. it was a blessing to hear how God was working in the church to reach out to the global community. (the photo above and to the right is of albania--and i was using a standard lens!)

corfu, greece

we left waco on friday, march 5th, beginning our journey. we flew from the dallas/fort worth airport to amsterdam to athens to corfu, arriving saturday night around 9pm, their time. we were greeted by the pastor and his family and driven to their just-finished youth center for dinner--a wonderful beef stew. after dinner we quickly called it a night, and went to where we'd be staying for the week.


sunday morning we joined the Greek Evangelical Church for worship. the service was in greek, so we were thankful for the translation devices (headphones with a member of the congregation translating in the back). we sang hymns together, both in greek and english at the same time, to the same tune. one student commented that they thought it would be weird at first, but instead that it sounded like something we might hear in heaven--a multitude of languages singing praises to God. since i studied ancient greek at baylor, i attempted to join in singing in greek--a difficult task as the modern pronunciation of the vowels and some consonants has changed : ) but i tried and began to catch on, a little. i enjoyed listening to the greek during the service (my headset wasn't working) there were a few words every now and then that i recognized, but it was beautiful to just listen. a couple of our students (a pianist and Alex playing viola) assisted in some of the hymns and during the offertory. they enjoyed being able to be a part of the service and the church really appreciated their willingness to play.



as we left church, it was raining, so we were given a driving tour of the town, instead of exploring it on foot--which would be left for the next day. we went back to the center, which i have yet to mention that it's above a bakery--smelled and tasted delicious, to have lunch with real greek pastries (pictured to the right). after lunch, we were able to rest, as we were still recovering from jetlag.

sunday night we went back to the church for an evening service. it was a unique service in that it was the women's national day of prayer, so churches/denominations from all over corfu came together at the greek evangelical church. there were people from the greek orthodox church, the anglican church, the catholic church, and a phillippine church. it was a time of coming together to pray for the injustice in the world and to praise God.

by the end, we were ready for a bit more of much needed rest.

one on one

it's a big part of what i do (though i have to be reminded it's not my only responsibility).

i have the priviledge, joy, sorrow, annoyance, etc. of meeting with college girls who are trying to figure out what it means to live their life in this world. they have problems with roommates, boyfriends, sorority sisters, parents, teachers, friends, really with anyone who has a pulse. and that's only where it starts.

what am i to do as i listen to these girls? they really don't want to know what i think or what advice i have for them. they don't want to hear how i can identify with them or how i've been there too. they don't really even want me to cry with them.

they want to be known.

and most of the time, they don't even know it. they are unaware of this deep yearning inside to be known. and i've been there, too. i know what it means to feel like no one around knows me...they may know things about me, but they fail to know me, really know me. yet this is normal. this is the longing of our hearts, this is our humanity. we were created to be in relationship--in community--and so this deep yearning makes perfect sense. but they also don't know that they're trying to fill this through relationships with their boyfriends; through their intensely busy schedule; through their academic work; through their social activities; through their identity as being in greek life, the honors college, a pre-med major, an athlete, a non-conformist, a super-christian; through their desire to escape from their thoughts that tell them they're just not good enough.

they hear but don't believe that Jesus knows them. He knows her name. He knows her desires. He knows her struggles. He knows her sin. He knows her ambitions. He knows her fears. He knows her pain. He knows her laugh. He knows her tears. He knows her disappointments. He knows her joys. He knows her doubts. He knows her deepest secrets. He knows her idols. He knows her gods. He knows her.

what a comfort. scary, though it may be, that Jesus actually knows me and these girls i'm just trying to love on.

so what do i actually do when i meet with these girls? i try to point her back to the only One who can put her together again. i'm pointing her back to reality, to the One who created her and knows her. trying to get her to quit looking at herself and to behold her Savior. He is her only hope. and He fills her every longing.

that's why i'm here.

hebrews

we had our first small group Bible study on hebrews this past monday. i really enjoyed being in dialogue with the girls--we had someone from each year, freshman through senior, which was encouraging to me. and i wasn't expecting all of them to jump in and contribute something to the discussion, as i know there are some who are still seeing where they fit in. so i was surprised that when our time came to a close, i realized that each girl had added a comment or question or observation.

please continue to be praying for these girls as we read through and consider God's Word. these girls come from all different backgrounds, so pray that their unity in Christ will overstep their boundaries they have as they look different, are involved in different things, and are going through different stages of life (an 18-year old in-coming freshman is thinking about and struggling with different things than a 22-year old senior whose trying to figure out what their next step in life will be) but they have been willing to share their thoughts and ideas and be generally well received from the group.

and please continue to pray for me that my identity and my view of the success/failure of the group will not rise nor fall based on the numbers who come, on the discussion had, nor on the presence or lack of keen insights i share.

thank you for your prayers and support!

bookshelf

so, here it is, our bookshelf. all of our walls are white, so i wanted something to add more color. and green it is. actually, it's called guacamole. though, now looking at a picture of it, i think the books add more color than the bookcase, but i like it.

we spent some time yesterday unloading boxes of books, so our office area is getting a bit less cluttered and looking more like an office/practice room. i'll be thankful when it's complete.

a brief summer update

summer conference -- ruf's national conference at laguna beach, florida -- was wonderful. there were over 900 students during the two weeks where their typical day looked like: breakfast; 2 seminar classes taught by campus ministers from all over the country on various topics from christianity and the arts to idolatry to evangelism to justification and everything in between; lunch; free time on the beautiful beaches of florida; dinner; a large group worship time of music and preaching by either Jeff Hatton, the pastor of redeemer PCA in waco, texas, or Rich Lambert, the pastor of new saint peters PCA in dallas; ending with small groups and a bit more free time. what a great time of fellowship and growth!

alex and i married in june and moved to waco, texas, mid-july after honeymooning and spending time with family. we have been settling in since -- our current project is building and painting a bookshelf to house all of our books.

because of our marriage, my work with ruf has transferred me from texas a&m to baylor university, my alma mater. the ruf staff at baylor includes the new campus minister Shaynor Newsome, previously the campus minister at new mexico state, and Tyler Hall, who has been working with baylor's ruf for the past year (he and i will be doing similar jobs -- though i will be directing my attention towards the girls and he towards the guys.) we are very excited about this upcoming fall, which is fast approaching.
- freshmen move in this wednesday and thursday
- our leadership retreat is from thursday to saturday
- we have a church fair for the freshmen on saturday
- classes begin the next monday (august 24)
- Shaynor, Tyler, and I will be on campus passing out water bottles and telling people about ruf the first week
- ruf's first large group is next wednesday (august 26)

please visit baylor ruf's website for more information: www.baylor.ruf.org

thank you for your continued prayer and support!

frozen custard

i'm within the final three weeks now at texas a&m and am amazed how quickly this semester has passed. and i know how these next 17 days will go by.

i was reminded today why i am here. i am an ear to listen, a hug to give, a marker to point to our Lord Jesus Christ. i don't have all of the answers, nor the wisdom, for these girls' problems. i am a fellow traveller who has come alongside to walk with them through the dark muck of sin that pulls upon them during their college years. i am to point them away from themselves that they may behold One who is greater than they, that they may be able to continue to walk, and to get back up when they fall, though covered with that sticky, smelly muck. i wish i could continue walking through that muck with these girls at a&m for another year, but i know i am being called away from bryan/college station that i would marry. and i look forward to that day.

and i know the muck in the lives of the girls at baylor university, in waco, texas, is just as prevalent, sticky, smelly, and burdensome as it is here. and so i look to keep on travelling until i meet with those girls at baylor that i may walk with them, beside them, in the muck that is our sin.

but until that day...

would you please pray that i will keep my eyes upon Jesus my Saviour that i would continue to work where He has called me this day.

would you please pray for these girls and guys at texas a&m -- they are hurting, they are burdened.

would you rejoice with me at the faithful work the Lord Jesus continues to do in these students' hearts and lives! i have been so encouraged to see the change that has happened even over the past eight months in their understanding of who they are and who God is.

about the title: i am pleased to know i have converted one of my girls to frozen custard : ) yum.

the last one

it's been a whirlwind of the past month and a half, and i realize i haven't stopped to give you all an update in more than a month...so, hopefully, i'll send out a more "updated" form of what is going on after this week.

i just wanted to let you all know that tonight is our last ruf large group of the semester. we have around five seniors who are graduating this december, so we are sad to see them leave. sometimes it feels like this semester has passed by so quickly, yet i also feels as though i've been in bryan/college station for some time. it feels more like home.

i would love it if you would be praying for these students here at a&m as they are trying to finish strong with their studies. the freshmen (more commonly referred to as "fish") are slightly anxious about what "finals" actually look like. everyone else sees the light at the end of the tunnel and are looking forward to the winter break.

i am still meeting with my girls and thankfully our conversations are becoming deeper than surface-level.

thank you for your prayers, your support, your kind e-mails, and your dear notes...they are appreciated more than you know.

sorry this is a bit scattered...my mind is bouncing to things that need to happen before 8 this evening.