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| 9 out of 11 Core Leaders pose with me at our Pre-Fall Retreat |
Here are some important numbers from the past week: 350+, 160, 101, 12, 2, 17. I guess some context would help...
- 350+ = the number of cold drinks handed out to freshmen by SLU InterVarsity leaders in less than 2 hours
- 160 = the number of new people who filled out a contact card indicating their interest in InterVarsity
- 101 = the number of those folks who are interested in being in a Bible study this semester
- 12 = the number interested in investigating Christianity
- 2 = the number of GIGs (Groups Investigating God - a Bible study designed for someone just checking out Christianity for the first time) that have already been started in the first week of school
- 17 = the number of freshmen we crammed into an apartment living room for Brunch Bunch, our first freshmen-only event this morning
If those numbers seem large to you, let me be the first to say that we have been blown away by this freshmen class. I don't think we have ever collected more than 100 contact cards or had a Brunch Bunch larger than 12 or 13 people. As you can probably guess, it's been a week full of many small panics and an overarching feeling of tired joy.
Today
(Sunday), the Core Team and I took a mini-Sabbath retreat together at
Forest Park here in Saint Louis. We are spending our bi-weekly
gatherings this semester in Luke 9-10 and today's time was spent in the
story of
Jesus Feeding the 5000 (Luke 9:10-17). As I was lying out in the grass on Art Hill this afternoon, I could not help but see the parallel between this story and our stories from the past week. The apostles have done much in their traveling - preaching the Kingdom, casting out demons, healing the sick - yet they are reminded once again how much they need Jesus. In fact, Luke tells us that after all 5,000 (plus women and children) had been fed and were satisfied, "the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over" (v. 17). With every step of stooping down to pick up leftovers, the Twelve (each with their own basket) are reminded of Jesus' ability to provide.
As the twelve of us (eleven leaders plus me) have labored together this past week in prayer and hospitality, we have been tempted to rely on our own strength, charisma, and talents. There have been a few different times this week when, like the Twelve, I wondered (literally) "How will we feed this many people?" Today, however, we too were reminded of our need to stay close to the One Who Provides. Much has been done and much is left to do, but we serve a God of wells that will not run dry, a God who can satisfy our thirst.
Here are a few more pictures from the first week of NSO (New Student Outreach):
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| Core Team setting up our Freshmen Water Bottle Giveaway |
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| Welcoming Freshmen! |
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| Heading to the Soccer Game! |
