Visiting Knoxvile - A Preview...

Well, it was a great time on Rocky Top. My first visit to Knoxville was a wonderful experience, and it has left me all the more excited about starting my internship in August. I was immediately impressed with the city...definitely one of the coolest cities I've ever seen.

However, I will admit I went in with low expectations about Tennessee's campus. Word on the street is that Rocky Top's campus is a little underwhelming...Of course, this is coming from someone whose alma mater might have a bigger landscaping budget than most of its academic departments have.

After my walking tour of campus with Tennessee RUF campus minister Brent Harriman, I actually really liked it. I might have even caught a little bit of that spirit that turns an entire state into one big orange frenzy every fall...or all year long. And yes, I'll admit...Neyland Stadium was pretty cool.

My first night there, Brent took me down to the Old City for dinner. It was a very cool neighborhood. We later met up with some other fairly recent college graduates who have been involved with RUF, many of whom go to Redeemer Presbyterian, the church I'll be attending there in Knoxville. It was great to meet everyone and already start making some connections.

The next day, Brent gave me the tour of Tennessee's campus. I got to see the freshman guys dorm where we'll be having the freshman guys Bible study, the auditorium where we'll have large group, and of course, all the places to eat.

Later that afternoon, I met up with Jeff, who I'll be getting an apartment with. His girlfriend is currently involved with RUF at Tennessee. He just graduated and is now working in Knoxville. It was great to hang out with him and get to know him better. We looked at apartments all over Knoxville, and we've got it narrowed down to a few places. We'll hopefully be nailing that down within the next week or so.

That night, Brent and his wife Emily had me over for dinner at their house, and then a bunch of students came over afterward. What a great group! I'm definitely looking forward to coming back for good in August and getting to know everyone better.

So now it's back home for a few days and back to the grindstone of support raising, but definitely with a renewed sense of purpose. It was awesome being able to put a face on everything, and now having a better idea of what life will look like in Knoxville. I'm definitely still a little nervous about the transition, but I am even more excited about the opportunity to work with RUF at UT. Even just small encounters I had with folks in Knoxville were so encouraging to me as I face this new chapter, and I could definitely see God at work throughout the trip.

I definitely still ask for your prayers as I still have 25% of my budget left to raise before I can move to campus in early August. My July will largely be spent travelling around and meeting with different people to share about RUF and what it is I'll be doing in Knoxville. A good portion of July will be spent in Birmingham, so whether you're in Birmingham, Panama City, or anywhere in the general area, I would love to be able to get together and speak with you about the internship. My email address is stephen.moss@ruf.org, so don't hesitate to drop me a message!

Any gift can make a difference; even small one-time gifts of $10 can add up. If you would like to give, you can do so online at www.ruf.org/donate (just be sure to select my name on the drop-down menu).

But even if you are unable to give financially at this time, I desperately need your prayers. Not only prayers for my support raising, but prayers as I face this challenge that I feel terribly unqualified for. As I look into my heart and see all the garbage, it becomes clear that any good that comes from my internship will only be because the Lord is involved. He'll get all the glory.

Please also continue to be in prayer for the RUF ministry at Tennessee...especially all the incoming freshmen. This is a crazy time for them...an awkward transition phase between childhood and adulthood. Some may be excited about college, and others may be terrified. They'll all have different reactions to college life, but all of them desperately need to be confronted with the love of Christ and the power of His gospel. RUF greatly helped me through this period in my life at Samford, and I pray that God will use those of us with RUF at Tennessee to point these students to Christ.

So I'm excited about Knoxville...it's gonna be quite an experience. Thanks to all of you for your prayers, and also to those of you who have given. I've been humbled by your love, encouragement, and support.