A Chance Meeting

I'm not usually on campus on Fridays, but one of the ladies in my core is having some serious roommate troubles and we met an official this morning who will help us. I finished with my appointment and did a couple of errands on campus, prayed in Marsh Chapel, and then sat down in the food court of the GSU.

Two women sat down to share my table. We didn't acknowledge each other and they started talking. It is Parents Weekend this weekend and there are many older folks on campus. One of the ladies was noticing this and then said, "I wonder if she's a mom?". I thought she was referring to me so I turned to her and said, "Are you referring to me?"

She said, "No," and I said, "I'm not a mom."

"What are you?" she asked.

I said, "I'm a chaplain."

"A what!?" and I proceeded to share with her about my position on campus. I introduced myself and then they went back to their own conversation.

I was listening with one ear, and they ended up talking about economic classes in the U.S.  At that point she turns to me and asks, "Don't you think all the people in the south are poor?"

This started a two hour conversation with A. and M., both seniors and good friends. M. is from Chicago and has a  Jewish background, and A. is from San Francisco with no religious experience at all, although she is Jewish. Our conversation was a normal, stream-of-consciousness conversation that flowed through socio-economic classes in the U.S., to politics, to Israel and the Jews, to baby boomers, their parents and how they were brought up.

Somehow we got on the topic of how I was paid, and I mentioned that they might not understand this but I lived by faith. They were fascinated! They had never met anyone who lived that way, totally depending on donations from individuals and churches who believed in what we did. A., especially, was so impressed. She asked me, "Can I ask you a question?" and I said, "A. you can ask me what ever question you want." (They were impressed with that.)

She asked what I did when I didn't have any money. I shared that God provided two ways. One through a partnership with him. I pray and tell him my need and then I go out and look for resources. The other half of the time God provides supernaturally - a check comes in the mail, someone hands us cash, or a large gift shows up in our account. I was able to share part of my testimony, that I had been a Christian for 35 years and I have seen God's faithfulness throughout my life.

M. started asking a lot of questions at this point, and she ended up talking about her Jewish background, her doubts based on some of things that happen in life, and her belief in a God. She can't imagine not believing in God. She said, "If there isn't a God what the f***** are we doing here?"  I agreed, (of course my language wasn't quite as colorful as hers.). A. couldn't understand why God was so important. M. shared that knowing that God existed brought meaning to life especially in hard times. A. said that she had been through hard times and never once thought about God during that time. I asked if she ever thought about God at any time. She said no. "I never think of God."

They ended up inviting me to a fund raiser that they are sponsoring to raise awareness of breast cancer and I told them I would come. We had a very comfortable, natural conversation about life and God. I loved being able to share with them a whole new way of looking at God and shattering some of their stereotypes of Christians. I know that God opened a big door with them and that I will meet them again on campus to talk more.

These are the kind of conversations that make me love my job.

Meet the Women!

After that last post, I wanted to introduce you to the women in my core. These are the women who have me so excited about this year. These women will be our future Chi Alpha leaders and I hope that you will pray for them.

Chelsey is a pre-med freshman. She wants to be a anesthesiologist.
Korynne is a music major. She plays the cello and she is a transfer student. She hopes to someday perform in a small ensemble.
Jessica is undeclared, but thinks she may go into journalism. She is a freshman from my home town, Tacoma, Washington.
Catherine goes to Berklee College of Music. She is a freshman and is studying music production.
Hellen is a freshman from Hawaii and she is studying Biology.
Maudeline is a senior and one of our Chi Alpha student officers. She is graduating this year from the School of Managment.

There are a couple of other women who come and go, but these are the committed members. They are the reason I keep such a busy schedule, and they are so worth it.

Please pray for them as they navigate school and grow in Christ. They especially need prayer in managing their schedules so that they make time for God. I expect that these women will be with Chi Alpha for as long as they are at BU.

Sorry it's been awhile

Thank you, JQ, for mailing me and reminding me to keep up on my blog. These last three weeks have been frantic. We have so many women to follow up on and I am leading a freshmen core. I am on campus twice as much as I was last year. All this is good and exciting. But there are some things that get left behind.

So this is my weekly schedule: Every morning, Mon-Fri Aaron and I get up at 7:00 and get ready for school. He and I walk to his school.
On Monday I am on campus by 10:00. I meet with Robert, our intern for two hours, doing Scribe School and Devotional Life. From 1-5 I meet with students.
Tuesday I am either at home preparing for the meeting that night or on campus with students. Thomas comes by the house at about 4:00 pm and we pack up the PA equipment and get to campus about 5:30. We unload and set up the equipment. At 6 I practice with the worship team. Our meeting starts at 7 and ends at 8:30. We pack up the equipment and drive back to our house. We get done at about 10:00.
Wednesday I am on campus at 10:00 am until late in the evening. We have staff meeting in the morning and then I meet with students the rest of the day.
Thursday I am at home, studying, cleaning, catching up.
Friday I am on campus at 10:00 am for our discipleship class with both Robert and Thomas. I usually come home afterwards in time to pick up Aaron from school at 2:45.
Saturday I am home, but we have had events and activities with our children and outreach with students.
Sunday I am at church in the city, with my family, by 10:00. My family goes home and I spend the afternoon studying and getting ready for my core that evening on campus and my Monday morning meeting with Robert. My core starts at 7 and ends at 8:30pm. I catch the subway to the train station and take the 11:30 train home and I am in bed by midnight.
In addition our children have clubs and activities that I help them with also. gene and I spend a lot of time talking about the ministry and working through our philosophy, methods, and new ideas.

My schedule is hectic and filled with riding the subway and buses, where I get a lot of reading and studying done, and filled with meetings with wonderful students I am discipling.