It's Final Exam Season here on campus. Students wander listlessly from the library to the cafeteria to the exam room to the dorm room and repeat. Energy is low, coffee shop lines are long, and the longing to leave this chilly Midwestern campus for a few weeks increases with every turn of the textbook page.As has become the norm for me as InterVarsity Staff, the times when students are the busiest is normally the time when on-campus events and ministry lessens and the need for pastoral care and opportunities for students to "escape" campus for a few hours increases. In that spirit, my leaders and I hosted our annual Bacon 'n' Waffles Christmas Party this past Monday evening. "Breakfast for dinner for Christmas?" you may be incredulously wondering. Point taken but here's the story: long ago, before even I was a student at SLU (pre-2005), InterVarsity leadership on our campus was made up of mostly men. When asked what they thought would make a great Christmas party, the men replied, "Bacon...and waffles." Thus, a tradition was born of which I am only the humble recipient. Though I must say, I'm not complaining.
As has been the case for most of the events we've hosted this semester, my faith in God's ability to bring people waxed and waned throughout the day leading up to Bacon 'n' Waffles. I wondered if we'd have enough cars (or too many!), if we'd have enough food, or if anyone would honestly miss out on 2-3 hours of studying just to come eat breakfast food a few blocks from campus. And again, as has been the case all semester long, God showed up everywhere I needed him to and then some. At 6:50pm, I pulled my car behind one of the freshmen dorms to pick up students and found 20 people (the number we were expecting) waiting in the cold for me. As I waited for a few minutes, 10 more showed up. Enter the transportation panic - "How do I move 30 people using 4 cars?" Enter God - 3 of the 10 had brought their own cars with them. Then my mind turned to the food. We'd been expecting 20 or so - would the team of 3 I left behind in the kitchen possibly have had time to make the 20 or so extra waffles we would now need? Again, enter God - yes they did and plenty of bacon to spare as well.
So I just stopped worrying. I decided to go along for the ride and we had a great time. About 35 people in all came through the party, 5 of whom I was meeting for the first time - my students are such great inviters! About 10 of the folks you see in the picture above aren't following Jesus; they're simply friends of people who are and find our community of Jesus-followers attractive and fun - what a gift! One of my primary Core leaders reminded me that night that she had first come into our community at this same party two years before. Five months after first meeting us, she gave her life to Jesus. One year after that she joined our Core Team and started inviting other people to meet him. Who knows what Jesus might do with this year's new group of Bacon 'n' Waffles attendees? Join me in praying boldly that God would continue telling this story of transformation over Christmas break and as we start up again in January!
From all of us here at SLU InterVarsity, we pray that you have a peaceful Advent Season and a blessed Christmas! Thank you for partnering with us as we continue to speak the Great Story into the lives of students and faculty at Saint Louis University - we couldn't do it without your constant encouragement, prayers, and support. Merry Christmas!
