Learning to Trust...

It's been both an encouraging and exhausting week...I just got back from RUF Intern Orientation in Atlanta, and it's time to hit the ground running. It was definitely information overload as we figured out everything we had to know about insurance, raising money (yikes!), reimbursements, our study program, and other administrative business. We also talked about what to expect over the next few months. To paraphrase RUF Assistant Coordinator John Stone, life is going to suck, but Jesus loves us. ;-) How true, right?

But even though parts of orientation were a little overwhelming, t was great to meet all the other new interns. What an awesome group of people! I really enjoyed getting to hear some of their stories of how God has worked in their lives to bring them to this point. We had the opportunity to pray with and for one another, and we also had the opportunity to have fun! Picture this: 8 new RUF interns crammed into a private room at a Korean karaoke bar in Doraville at midnight. An new intern coming from Tennessee and a new intern heading to Tennessee (that would be me) sing a karaoke duet of Rocky Top. Fun times. :-)

So I now return home with more than 40 new friends and a lot of stuff to do. It's hard to know where to begin. $31,804 is a lot of money to raise, especially in the midst of preparing to move to a new city in 2 months, but the Lord has been providing in ways I never imagined. I am excited (and humbled) to report that I have raised 60% of my goal for this year. I am so grateful to those of you who have given, maybe even sacrificially, towards my ministry with RUF at Tennessee. I also appreciate those of you who have been lifting me up in prayer...those prayers have been felt! Keep 'em coming!

I still have 25% left to raise before classes start at UT on August 18. I must have 85% raised (or at least pledged) before I will be allowed to move to campus.



God is teaching me to place my trust in Him, rather than myself...and not just for fundraising. Once 85% is raised and I'm allowed to move to campus, there will be a whole new set of challenges, and with those challenges come doubts and fears. Am I cut out for this? The answer to that is...no. I'm not cut out for this. Believe me...I'm not. The more I think about it and the more I examine my heart, the more convinced of that I become. The only hope that I have is that God likes to use broken people to do His work. He likes to put people in situations where the only way they can succeed is with His strength. I see this in Scripture, and I am trusting that God will carry me through this internship in a similar way.

I have been so encouraged by how God has already provided for me this summer through your generous gifts and contributions. There's still a good ways to go, and I would love the opportunity to speak with you about what RUF is and what I'll be doing at Tennessee. I ask you to prayerfully consider whether or not you would be able to support me with either a one-time gift or a monthly pledge. BUT...even if you aren't able to give financial support at this time, I would love to share with you about this ministry, and enlist you as a prayer supporter (the most important support I need!)

I'll be meeting with many of you over the next few weeks, but please feel free to give me a call or email (stephen.moss@ruf.org) if you'd like to get together. I'm so excited about what God is doing on college campuses (especially Tennessee) through RUF. I'm excited to be able to be a part of it, and I would love to share that excitement with you.

And just in case you're worried...even after my two-year stint in SEC Land, I will always be a Seminole. But for now...

GO VOLS!