April 2009

Synergy

     Every year in the beginning of April the staff hosts an event for the student leaders called Synergy.  During this time, the students can reflect on what happened at their schools over the past year and spend time planning out the first six weeks of the fall semester.  The beginning of the new school year is the most critical time for college ministries because momentum is at its greatest.  The theme of this year's Synergy was "Running the Race".  Monique will be the head of the Christian Fellowship at Marist next fall, so she and I spent a lot of the weekend dreaming about what ministry could look like.  It was Monique's idea to plan an outreach event for each month to keep the group focussed on loving the campus well and giving them more opportunities to share their faith.  She will also be raising up a new leader, Aaron.  Praise God for male leadership!

Coming up this summer

     I am so excited for the summer!  I will be spending the majority of the month of May working on developing funds for next year.  Because of the current economic climate many missionaries are having difficulty funding their ministries, and many have even had to leave the field.  I have funds that will last through the middle of June, but please join me in praying that God will provide the additional $750/month I will need so that I will not have to leave the summer project and will be able to report to campus on time in the fall.  I already have 10% of my goal!

     From the beginning of June through the middle of July I will be staffing a summer project here in New York.  Students from all over the country come to spend their summer in the city doing campus ministry, arts ministry, ethnic ministry, and inner city ministry.  I will be working with the inner city track serving the urban poor.  Most of the students I will work with have never seen poverty.  They will get the chance to experience homelessness and have the opportunity to minister to the poor by providing for some of their most basic needs.  We will also meet in smaller groups for discipleship and bible study.  Please pray that God will use this experience to grow these students and to give them a heart for the weak and down-trodden!

Thank you so much for joining me in building the kingdom of God in New York City!

Grace and peace to you,

Laura

Prayer Requests

* Praise for the success of Synergy!

* Pray for Shannon and Kate as they spend the summer doing research in their fields

* Pray for Janice as she prepares to study abroad in Florence, Italy, next fall

* Pray for efficient and abundant fund development

* Pray for the students headed to NYC for sumer project

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21

Letters from Monique and Janice

These emails are from Monique and Janice, two of the students who went on Big Break.  Thank you so much for your commitment to this ministry!  Because of your faithfulness, young people like Monique and Janice are seeing God work in their lives in powerful and lasting ways!

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Hello from Marist!

These past couple of weeks I have been back at school thinking about my time spent in Panama City Beach over spring break.  Big Break ’09 was one of the best experiences I have had in a long time. 

In preparation for the trip I really had to put my trust in God for fund raising for the trip.  I prayed and trusted God and he lead me on this wonderful adventure and provided me with all of the funding I needed.  He even put it into the heart of my friend, Janice, to go as well.  

The whole week we had morning and evening meetings where we did worship with a live band from Iowa State University, learned new techniques to share our faith, laughed as our MC sang parodies of pop songs, and listened to two amazing speakers-Jen Smoker and Roger Hershey.  From them we learned about Gods love, giving up our rights to God and being a warrior for God and what that looks like manifested in our lives.  During the days, which were BEAUTIFUL with 75-79 degree weather, each group was assigned to a different spot on the 6-mile stretch of beach and we shared our faith with people on the beach.

I was very nervous every day but God gave me opportunities to speak with different people. Over the whole week my partners and myself spoke with at least 14 people, having long and deep conversation with each of them. I learned how to use this really awesome thing called Soularium (mysoularium.com) to share my faith. I got the opportunity to make 13 new close friends from the NYC metro ministry. Even though it has only been a week since the trip we have kept a constant facebook thread with each other and we are even planning a reunion! 

God really worked through this trip in my life. He worked through my NYC metro team, through the speakers, through the worship, and even through the people who we spoke to. He helped me to see how much people need his grace and forgiveness as well as how unique people are and how much they have to offer. I really loved the experience and I hope I can apply what I learned to my life back on campus. I am really excited to see if I am able to go again next year and I am excited to see what else God will do in my life. 
-- Monique

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I just want to thank you so incredibly much for your part in bringing me down to Florida for Big Break with Campus Crusade for Christ.  My week down in Florida was absolutely amazing. I never knew that there was a place filled with so many college students, alcohol, and clubs, until I was in Panama City. Yet, I have never felt as on fire for the lord as I have that week.

Sharing my faith with random people is still incredibly frightening and slightly awkward, but it grew much easier after each conversation I had with others. I had some absolutely amazing conversations with people, and shared the gospel with quite a few of them.

There were around 975 kids from colleges ALL over the US, who had spring break that week that were there. I never knew how amazing it would feel to be just surrounded by people who were all there for the same reason and with the same love for God in their hearts. The community of people that we hung out with all week, the NYC Metro - made up of college students from NYU, Columbia, and Pace was fantastic. I have never felt as close to a group of people in one week than I ever thought I would.

The trip on a whole was really just exactly what I needed to push me further in my faith and it was definitely an answer to my prayers. Thank you so much again for providing me with such an amazing and enriching experience.

Love,

Janice

March 2009

Big Break!

     During the week of March 14-21, 13 students and 2 staff headed down to Panama City Beach, 

FL, for Big Break.  Big Break is an annual spring break conference where students learn how to grow in their relationship with God and practice sharing their faith on the beach.  Two Marist students, Janice and Monique, decided last minute to go.  Even though they were scared about raising the money and sharing their faith, they trusted God.  He provided all the funding they needed in two days, and used the trip to grow them in some exciting ways.  Please take a moment to read the letters (in the next post) from Janice and Monique about how this trip impacted their lives.  Thank you for your part in ministering to these young women!

FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)

     There has been incredible student response to the launch of FCA at Wagner.  About 20 students, mostly football players, attend every week.  I have been in contact with Steve, the NYC Metro Director, and we are both happy to have this partnership to better serve the student body.  Kate, a student leader of the Wagner Christian Fellowship, has told me about how the things Steve is sharing with the students has already impacted her attitude on and off the softball field, and that there are 3 guys co-leading FCA with her.  Praise God that He is raising up men at Wagner!  Please continue to pray for the athletes at Wagner, and for a powerful partnership between the two clubs.

Coming up this semester

     The first weekend in April will be our annual planning event for student leaders called Synergy.  This is when we look ahead to the beginning of the fall semester, and new student leaders are introduced to their positions.  After Synergy, I will be meeting with the leaders from Wagner and Marist for further leadership development.  We will spend a day learning about their personal strengths and spiritual gifts and how they can apply and use them to work more effectively as a team to and to reach their campus.

     After this weekend, the semester is nearly over.  While I will continue to meet with my student leaders, I will be starting the process of  developing funds for next year.  Please pray that God will provide richly so that I can continue working this summer and into the fall without any lapses.

     My summer assignment is the staff the summer project here in New York that serves the urban poor.  For six weeks students from around the country will come to the city to experience poverty and have the opportunity to minister to the poor by meeting some of their most basic needs.  Please pray that it will be a powerful experience for them!

Thank you so much for joining me in building the kingdom of God in New York City!

Grace and peace to you,

Laura

Prayer Requests

* Praise for a great experience at Big Break for Janice and Monique!

* Praise for the success of FCA at Wagner!

* Pray for the continued growth of the athletes

* Pray for a strong relationship between the Wagner Christian Fellowship and FCA

* Pray for the success of Synergy and the leadership development event

* Pray for efficient and abundant provision in fund development

* Pray for the students headed to NYC for summer project

Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14