"Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top, down in the Tennessee hills. Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top, ain't no telephone bills. Oh Rocky Top, you'll always be home sweet home to me! Good ol' Rocky Top. Rocky Top, TENNESSEE!"
I just got back from an excellent week of RUF staff training in Atlanta. Where the last week of training in June was only 1st year interns, this week was for all RUF staff (all interns, campus ministers, etc.)
In June orientation, we covered a lot of logistics, but this week, we learned a lot more about what we would actually be doing on campus. It was awesome to be gathered together with men and women who are faithfully ministering to college students all over the country (and even outside the country). It's so cool to see that RUF is so much bigger than just our own respective campuses.
I had the opportunity to eat dinner one evening with the campus ministers from the University of Alabama and Yale. It's hard to imagine two schools on further ends of the spectrum, and thus, you would expect the RUF ministries at each to be just as different. In many many ways, they are. However, it was again so cool to see that while the two different groups have vastly different sizes and methodologies, they are united by RUF's mission statement of reaching students for Christ and equipping them to serve. (and ultimately, they are united by Christ Himself). It was so encouraging to hear how God is working through the RUF ministries at both of these schools!
Another helpful talk we heard was on RUF's emphasis on the individual. RUF does not believe in a "one-size fits all" ministry style, as seen above in RUF Alabama and RUF Yale's differences. But not just with campuses! RUF also emphasizes that each student is created specially by God, and what may work with one students may not work for another. This is why relationships are so important. Ultimately, it is our job to point students to Christ and the gospel, but we do so by building relationships and trust with them...not as projects, but as people. This emphasis on the individual also comes into play for interns. We interns are also created and gifted differently, and therefore, our own personal ministry styles will also look different. We will be stretched outside our comfort zones, but we don't have to be someone we're not. God doesn't want to change our personalities...He wants to redeem them! That is so encouraging, freeing, and exciting!
It was also wonderful to continue building relationships with my fellow interns. What a great group of people! It's already been a blessing to get to know each other, pray for each other, and yes, even have some fun together. It's great to know there are people who will be going through the same issues and struggles that I will be facing, and it's awesome that we can all share in this experience and lift each other up in prayer as we spread out across the country this upcoming month. Please continue to keep all the interns in your prayers as well as many continue to raise money to get to their campuses by the time classes start.
On that note, I am also excited to report that as of yesterday, I am only $1,478 away from 85% and being able to move to Knoxville! (If you got my email report, I mistakenly said I was at 84%, which was not accurate. I'm actually at 80%. What can I say? I was a journalism major...)
If you have planned to give but have not yet done so, I would ask that you please consider doing so this week. My campus minister wants me in Knoxville by this upcoming weekend, and therefore, plans are underway to move on Thursday! However, this can only happen if I reach 85% of my support by then. Pledges count towards the goal just the same as actual gifts do. To set up either a pledge or make a gift, you can go to www.ruf.org/donate
Most of all, though, I continue to ask for your prayers as I head into this final week of the summer. Lord willing, I will be settled into my apartment in Knoxville by this time next week. Please pray that the remaining funds will come in (as well as the final 15% I will need to complete my yearly budget after moving to Knoxville). Please also pray for me as I face the struggles and anxieties of moving to a new city and starting a new job!
Please also continue to pray for the students at Tennessee (especially the freshmen) as they get ready for a new year, and also pray for the Tennessee RUF campus minister Brent Harriman, his family, and my 2 co-interns, Anne and Mary Beth.
I have already learned so much this summer, but I know there is oh-so-much more to learn. God is teaching me to trust in Him alone, and not myself. In just a couple short weeks, I will be learning very quickly that I have nothing in myself to bring to this internship, but only what He has given me and only by His strength that I rely on everyday.
I will keep everyone updated as the target move-in day approaches!
In Christ,
Stephen
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