Stepping Into a River
Wow.
Yesterday things started, big time. We were up at sunrise to leave for Campus Christian Center (C3) and prep for the day. From the moment we got into the cars, it was a whirlwind. Last year on this trip, there was a sense of pushing hard all week to build up the momentum we had by the fourth day; this year Day 1 felt like stepping into a river, just joining in the energy and movement already going on.
Our team filled a large variety of roles. Collectively, we engaged students on some of life’s toughest questions via whiteboards, passed out an incalculable amount of flyers, spent hours upon hours dialoguing, and Ellis even gave a talk on science and faith.
The theme of the day for our team yesterday was meeting the people we needed to meet. Thinkers met people with intellectual objections, lovers met the ones who just needed to find out that God isn’t an angry figure. Among the dozens of excellent conversations, a few stand out. Stephanie Puckett, spent three hours with a student, listening to her questions and simply loving her. As a person who feels much more comfortable with one-on-one care rather than the daunting task of mass flyering, it was a gift for Stephanie to have that opportunity. Personally, I got to (accidentially) go head to head with an atheist author in a friendly but very philosophical conversation for more than an hour, and we’ll be meeting again later in the week to continue. God used our giftings and passions to minister to the people who needed it. We can’t wait for the week to unfold.
What you can pray for:
- ENERGY. The days are long, and the demand is high. We’re gonna need some serious Jesus to stay on top of our game.
- That students would be drawn to exactly the right person for them, and that we would be able to effectively meet the needs of each individual.
- That we would have discerning hearts and know exactly what God wants each student to know. We have to be able to cut through the clutter and get to the heart.
It’s been an adventure so far, and I can already tell we’re going to have to really stretch ourselves to make it through the week going strong. But we definitely feel the power of prayer, and the feeling of God moving on campus. As we go through another day, we know we have a whole fleet of people at home covering us in prayer, and we are deeply grateful for that.
The best is yet to come!
Eric Anderson for the ASU Go Team