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| Tennessee RUF Staff: Me, Catherine, and Brent at our Family Weekend Tailgate |
- Labor Day: Apparently, the Labor Day Freshmen Guys Hike is just not supposed to be. Just like last year's attempt, we didn't manage to do any hiking, although we did manage to do some eating at the Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge. Heavy downpours from Tropical Storm Lee kept us in Knoxville on Labor Day, but they didn't dampen all our fun. In a last minute decision (an audible, if you will...go vols), we headed to a local park here in town and played one awesome game of Ultimate frisbee in the rain. Due to the uneven ground, one endzone was guarded by a 6-inch deep puddle. It was muddy...it was freezing...it was fantastic. After the game, we headed back to campus and trudged into the freshmen cafeteria (also known as Presidential Court Building, or PCB more commonly...not to be confused with my hometown). We were still sopping wet, but no one seemed to mind. That evening, we met back up with Catherine, the freshmen girls, and some upperclassmen guys and girls and drove an hour to Pigeon Forge to eat at the ever-popular Apple Barn. We had about 25 freshmen attend, and it was a great trip! The rain may have stopped us from hiking, but it could not keep us away from apple fritters and copious amounts of apple butter.
- Family Weekend Tailgate: UT's Family Weekend was September 9-11, and with so many of our students' parents coming to town, one parent and good friend of Tennessee RUF had the wonderful idea of hosting a tailgate for parents and students before the UT-Cincinnati game on Saturday. Our church, Redeemer, hosted the tailgate in their parking lot and fellowship hall, and a local restaurant named Gourmet's Market catered a delicious brunch for a great turnout of both students and family members! In addition to the food, we had plenty of information available about Tennessee RUF, and of course we had some tunes and corn hole going on outside. To make the day even better, our wonderful campus minister Brent bought me and Catherine tickets to the football game that afternoon, and the Vols whooped up on the Bearcats. Neyland Stadium never ceases to amaze. [go vols.]
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| Corn hole! |
- Freshmen Guys Cookout: Freshmen Guys Bible Study has been going very well, and we've been averaging around 15-18 guys each week. After Bible study a couple weeks ago, we had the guys over to my new house for a cookout. It's so awesome now to have a house with plenty of space and a big backyard...it makes hosting things like this so much easier! Some of our awesome upperclassmen guys came over to get the grill fired up and get everything set up while we were having Bible study, and when we pulled up to the house, we could already smell the burgers around back. About 20-something freshmen attended (hard to get a headcount...), much food was consumed, we had some corn hole and lawn darts going in the yard, and the sophomore guys had an opportunity to share some of their favorite freshmen dorm stories from last year.
- Camping and Hiking Trip: We were bound and determined to do that hike, and we figured why not throw a camping trip in there too? Unlike my dear alma mater, the football schedule plays a huge role in our RUF calendar. If there's a home game, that weekend is out. If there's an away game, it's iffy...but only Friday. So when the Vols have a bye-week, you had better take advantage of it! The boys in orange were off this past Saturday, so UT RUF headed to the mountains! We camped at Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with about fifty (yes, fifty) students. We had eight campsites all grouped up together, and somehow had enough tents and hammocks to go around. We churned out some hotdogs and s'mores on two campfires and had a grand ol' time. We set out to take a night hike through some abandoned decrepit resort buildings, but in the dark, we couldn't figure which way to go. Luckily, we ran into a retired couple from Louisiana who agreed to walk with us to the right road on the one condition that we would sing "Rocky Top" for them. Of course, we obliged, and we had to sing it a couple more times as we passed camp sites of their friends. The next day we hiked 9 miles (round trip) on the Appalachian Trail to Charlie's Bunion, and oh, what a view! The clouds were below us, and it was incredible! A few more met us for the hike, and so yes, there were approximately 60 of us on the trail. Passing hikers had comments ranging from "go vols" to "what is this, a field trip?" Altogether, it was a great trip, and a great chance for our freshmen to get to know and bond with our upperclassmen.
- Sunday Night Fellowship: Tonight was my first time speaking at our weekly Sunday Night Fellowship. I used a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible called "The Terrible Lie," about Adam and Eve's first sin. The JSB describes the Fall as "a terrible lie" coming into the world, that "God doesn't love me." But even as they leave the garden, their beautiful relationship with God broken, God gives them a promise that He will send them a Rescuer. I'm definitely still learning when it comes to this kind of thing, but it was some good experience. Both Catherine and I will each have a couple more opportunities to speak at SNF this semester.
Well, that's the goings-on around here this past month. Fall Break is coming up this weekend, and I'm looking forward to a few days of nothing to do here in Knoxville. It will be a great chance to catch up on some reading and some jobs here around the house.
Thank you all for your continued prayers. I'm continuing to learn and grow through this experience, and I'm so thankful to be here serving the students at UT-Knoxville.
More to come soon! Be on the lookout for my snail-mail fall newsletter in coming weeks...if you've never gotten one before and would like to receive it, send your me your address to stephen.moss@ruf.org
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