funding update...

i just wrote a long post on how fundraising has been going, but apparently it didn't publish properly so this is my second attempt. fundraising has started to pick up after a long waiting period of trying to set up appointments with people to tell them more about partnership opportunities. it has been a while since i focussed this much on fundraising and i forgot how much it is half hard work, half waiting. i'm also remembering how much i need to be dependent on God for it all to happen. looking at the numbers of what i need to raise and realizing that some how i need just over $7000 to come in before i can be back on campus is so daunting. but then again, God has pulled off bigger miracles so i just need to wait and see how he will provide it.
i am also working on a thank you reception of sorts for supporters. i haven't done anything significant for supporters since i have come on staff so i am excited to have an event to show how much i appreciate them. i'll give out more details as i know them...

prayer requests...

please pray for our fall retreat coming up this weekend (sept.29-oct.1). we are hoping that many of the new students who have been interested in IV so far will come out and start to get to know others and feel welcomed into our community. alison siewert will be speaking this weekend...she does a lot of the staff training for IV staff and i am sure will share a message that is in line with the vision that our student team has developed for this year. we are also starting up our small groups next week. i am really excited about them this year because we have invested a lot more in our small group leaders and given them good training for leading a small group. i am afraid, however, that there just isn't a desire to study scripture in our community and that they won't be well attended. please pray that people will act on even the smallest interest in joining a group and that God will reveal himself to them as they study his word.

churchy churcherson...

i had a great conversation with my pastor chris today about genesis 3 and the gender issues that result because of the man and the woman choosing to be independent from God.  it was quite refreshing on so many levels but i think the best part about it was that i actually have a pastor that i can sit down and chat about stuff like this with.  ever since i started university, i never really felt settled in a church.  it has only really been in the last 5 months since i started going to forestview that i really have felt i was worshipping in a church i that "fit" in.  i always had intervarsity as a community to worship with but it is nice to find it beyond campus too.

it isn't all roses and ice cream though as the church is just freshly planted and is currently experiencing some uncertainties around the future if there isn't some significant growth in the coming months.  i would hate to see the church have to fold because i feel so blessed having found it and know that God is there each week with us.  it is just hard to understand sometimes how God works in this...feeling He is there but not knowing how long the church can last in the state it is in.  i must admit i feel it is impossible for me to bring in all the people i feel need to be a part of what is happening, but i know that i merely need to have faith that God can pull this off.  some days that is easier than others...

in other news, there are some crickets that have taken up residence in my window well making falling asleep a little bit more of a challenge than usual.

let the welcoming continue...

it seems as though welcome week has once again been a success with many happy people feeling welcomed to campus. this year i wasn't really involved in any of the welcome week events but it sounds like the LT has been encouraged by how it went. the real welcoming happens through this whole month as we start up wednesday night large groups, small groups, and have the fall retreat. tonight we have a new student bbq (which i still have to grab groceries for...) and i am hoping to see some hungry and interested students.
sometimes this is a very conflicting time of year because it seems as though everything is a competition between the numerous christian groups on campus (and in the city) to win over new students to join our community. i don't want to feel like i am a marketer but i really want people to know about the great things i see God doing in our community and how they could be a part of that. i think the hardest part to trust is that there are other good things happening outside of intervarsity. the university experience can make or break someone's faith and it is hard to watch someone choose to be independent from God in this time. i'm just praying that God will be at our bbq's and people will be interested in that more than free food...

home sweet home...

well i am back in the hammer. i have been home since yesterday afternoon and i am pretty sure that i have been awake an equal number of hours as i have been asleep since returning. i also realized that my maid didn't show up all summer and the house is a disgusting mess. oh wait...i don't have a maid. the cleaniness of this place right now rivals that of the yukon, my summer home, which gets cleaned twice a year it seems, once at the beginning of the summer before i arrive (or so i am told) and once at the end of the summer before i leave. my hamilton home seems to be getting the same treatment.
as of tomorrow i will be back in the swing of campus life with the first team meeting of the semester. although i won't be spending much time with the leadership team this semester because my time will be focused on fundraising, i decided to drop in to find out what is happening for this first month and to let them know that i will try my best to support them as much as i can without being physically present each week. this is new for me and i am sure it will take a lot of time to adjust but i know that focussing on the fundraising right now is for the best in the long run.
i am actually looking forward to fundraising (don't tell anyone i said that) and feel that i can get a little creative with it over the next few months. i totally realize that fundraising reminds me of how dependent i need to be on God (which turns out to be a good thing, or so it says in genesis). i am looking forward to what i will learn through the whole process and hopefully seeing God work in miraculous ways to bring in the final finances to meet my budget as well as working toward increasing my budget so i can increase my time on campus.
we'll see how i feel in two months though...