Guide me oh thou great jehovah.

Hey friends.  My journey continues here at Wake Forest.  I don't think I have met so many people at once in the matter of two weeks.  Thank goodness for Facebook... the only way I might potentially be able to conquer some of the name memorization.  Wake continues to be wonderful and continues to be quite different from Auburn.  

Just a few good things about being an RUF intern at Wake Forest...

1. The community.  The people here are very welcoming.  They are warm and they love their school.  I'm glad to be at a place that others love so much... there must be something special about it... I am certainly learning that there is.  This campus is much smaller than what I am used to, and I actually love it.

2.  The Pit.  Good food and lots of options on a beautiful campus.  This is the "cafeteria", but that makes it sound like a noisy, stark room with less than mediocre food.  This is not the case at all.  Today I had quinoa and hummus (I enjoy that kind of stuff) and good frozen yogurt for dessert.  And, it's a jackpot for being in college ministry... this is a high traffic spot for students so you can visit with lots at once.

3.  My boss.  He's great... his name is Kevin Teasley... he loves Jesus a lot and is a lot of fun.  Yep, couldn't ask for a better man to work for.

4.  The campus is quite lovely.  I can't wait for Fall!  It is going to be sublime.  And, next to the campus are these lovely trails to go running or walking with students... another wonderful ministry tool.

5.  I get to minister to girls.  I get to minister to girls!!  That is my number one priority and that, my friends, is super exciting.  I get to hear their stories, find out where they come from, learn what the Lord is doing in their lives, and love them in the midst of their struggles.  (Well, this is true at every campus)

These girls are coming to me telling me or asking for help in situations that are SO familiar to me... situations that were so stressful for me... losing phones, not getting classes I needed, boy stuff... and I get to hear it and talk them through it or give them relief standing on the outside of the situation.  I say absolutely none of that to glorify myself at all but simply to praise God that He has given me this opportunity.

Now, all of this wonderfulness does not come without struggles.  I like honesty and transparency.  It takes a lot of energy to meet so many people and to internalize their stories.  Pray for energy.

And, I can't help but think of my friends in Auburn and hear how amazing things are going with RUF on that campus this year (praise God) and feel a tinge of sadness not being there with them.

Andd... I am about to sound just like the Israelites as they look back upon Egypt... but it was a funny thing today when I went into this hole in the wall fried chicken restaurant to pick up food for our welcome back picnic with Kevin.  It was so country and smelled of home cooked food and it all seemed very familiar... it was as country as country gets and it reminded me of home.  Their accents reminded me of home and the food reminded me of places my dad would take us to.  And I guess it didn't necessarily make me sad, but nostalgic.

Though this is the place I have longed to be, doing the thing I have longed to do, it's not home and it's not familiar yet.  It just takes time.

Continue to pray for reliance upon the Lord in this time.  That I wouldn't doubt the Lord's enablement and that I wouldn't rely on my own strength.

We have our first large group on Tuesday.  Pray that things will go well... that students will be receptive to the Gospel.  There are going to be a lot of students there the first couple of weeks... students from New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas, California, North Carolina, Alabama, New York, Ohio... all over.  A lot of these students don't have a relationship with the Lord.  Pray their eyes and ears, minds and hearts, would be open to the Gospel.  Pray that I would give all of myself to love them with the love of Christ so they would know more of Him.  

Thanks for your support, as always.

Although there is sadness in these lyrics, I wouldn't identify myself with sadness right now... but I can certainly identify with these words...

"The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know"

- Sara Groves

I will rest in these words from David speaking of the faithfulness of God.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills—
       where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD,
       the Maker of heaven and earth.
 He will not let your foot slip—
       he who watches over you will not slumber;
 indeed, he who watches over Israel
       will neither slumber nor sleep." 
- Psalm 121:1-4