Thawing Out

I hope this finds all of you warm and safe. Currently I'm trying to unfreeze myself from the subzero temperatures that have been all over Pittsburgh the past week and will continue into this next week. It's not often that I wish to live in Florida because I can't stand the heat, but this week has brought that out in me.

As for things going on in the Burgh, I've been keeping busy!

This semester thus far I've been trying to get a Men's Bible study going, but the big problem is that the guys I'm trying to work with all have different schedules so it's hard to find a time to get them all together. But the overall idea of the Bible study is to lead us to think critically about situations so that our actions in all areas of life will reflect that of the title "Christian" which we identify as. The first week we talked about our identity and what that has to do with our decision making process. Last week we talked about why we should think critically, and this week we were unable to meet. We'll see if it continues though. My full study is the topic of me devo blog (themandrews.blogspot.com) 

This semester we are focusing on "Witness." Last time I updated my blog I wrote that I was leading that weeks CSF meeting and that I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to talk about with it being so early in the week. Well since it's been two weeks, I think I know what I'm going to walk about. Or did talk about. Whatever. Anyways, we looked at Luke 1.1-4 and the purpose of Luke writing his gospel. Much of my schooling got me always looking for objectives or goals in writing and in these four verses we find Luke's entire purpose for writing this. That the recipient (be it a single person or many people) be certain of the things they were taught about Jesus. What Luke says here in these first four verses of his entire Gospel is that many people have written about Jesus, and the recipient has learned about Jesus. So Luke decided to do a detailed account, a witness, a testimony, about this Jesus person. So he researched, talked with eyewitnesses and those who served this message, and he wrote an orderly account. All this, so that the person(s) who received this could be certain about what they have been taught about Jesus. We then took this in our own lives, talking about how we are ambassadors of God here on earth, and we need to make sure people are certain about what they have been taught about Christ with our testimony. You heard he doesn't exist? Let me tell you what he's done in my life. You heard we're hypocrites? Let me tell you what that really means and our thoughts on it. You heard God is a bully with a magnifying glass? Let's see what he's really like. Overall the discussion went incredibly well and I feel the students feel like I'm actually useful now instead of just an intern. 

More about what's going on...

This week we were planning a ski trip to the Blue Knob resort on Friday, but looking at the weather the high is only supposed to be 12, and personally I'd rather not be in single digits most of the day. The reasons for going Friday are so that it'll be less crowded and a lot cheaper. There are closer resorts here, but they're a lot more expensive ($77 at 7 Springs for the day). So since the weather isn't going to be too good, we're pushing it back a week. Hopefully It'll be a lot better that day.

In other news, not to jump the gun at all, but I am beginning to enter into talks with a board of a Morehead State University campus ministry that's interested in doing a ministry plant on Marshall University's campus in Huntington, West Virginia. This is an opportunity that I'm incredibly excited for and feel like this is where God is leading me for the foreseeable future (Which I know with me is usually like a year at most, but this one would be considerably longer than that). More information on this will be given in the coming weeks or months, so keep an eye out and please keep this in prayer. 

More things in my life, I'm doing well! My cat's doing alright, he's a bundle of psychotic energy, but it's alright. I got to watch him chase his tail and go face first into a wall doing so, then continue to chase his tail. Overall I'm staying warm, house hasn't burned down and the pipes haven't froze, and my truck makes driving up hills in the snow loads of fun. Had an episode last night where I was trying to get up one hill and got stuck behind a line of cars because a charger was having problems going up. Once I made my turn onto another inclined road I too had problems, going up the hill at a 30 degree angle. It took a few to get up it, but I made it! School is going well for now. I took an exam for a class last week and got a 90/100 which was I was pleased with. Currently I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to get $650 for my thesis fee which I plan on starting in the summer.

Well I hope things are going well for you all, as always keep my in your prayers, and if you ever have prayer concerns, comments, or just want to let me know you're thinking about me or whatever feel free to comment on this blog, send me an email, or give me a call!

And so February begins!

Well January has flown by for me, and it was a good month! Hope it was great for you as well.
Recently I sent out support letters, and will begin starting to send them out monthly.

I don't know about you, but we've gotten a good bit of snow the past week, getting about five inches last Sunday and with more on the way. It's also starting to get a lot colder which makes walking across campus tons of fun. As you can see in the picture my beard for the year is coming in gloriously and I'm excited to see what it looks like in May. I'm debating if I want to shave it and shock the students at the end of the semester, but we'll see.

As for things that have been going on in the Burgh, we have been doing our usual meetings, Thursday's at 8:30 on campus. This semester we are looking at the idea of witness based on Acts 1.8 which reads, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judah and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The first week, we introduced the topic, the past two weeks we went through the first three chapters of Ecclesiastes. This week we'll be looking at the introduction of Luke and how the Gospel is something that we have examined, and have come away with the feeling that it is truth and how that plays in our witness. With me leading this one, I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to completely talk about, but I got a few days to get ready!

This is the 4th week of the semester, and only my 3rd week back thus far. I had class the first week of classes so I was down in good old Kentucky. My personal classes are keeping me busy, but I have been spending a lot of time on campus.

This past week I got have a really interesting conversation with a couple of students from China. It was great just sitting and talking with some students from different nations and cultures. We talked a bit about where we were from, what they were studying, what they do in their free time and what they do on breaks. It turns out that they only go home once a year, so my hope is that while I'm here I can meet them again and will be able to form a good relationship with them and show them come American culture. A recent study shows that ~80% of international students never set foot in an American home, and I don't want to be one of those that keeps them away. So please keep that in your prayers.

Something else that we have been doing in the ministry is meeting Friday afternoons with students just to talk about whatever may come up. So far we have talked about the issue of abortion, and that was the only time we've met so far (mainly because of scheduling issues). We are also trying to plan for the week of Easter a week we are calling "Witness Week" with the goal of witnessing to campus and showing that all are welcome to any group on campus. Our hope is to partner with other Christian groups on campus for worship, a Seder, and maybe a day of prayer.

In other news, while I was in Kentucky for my class a man that I know and respect came to me and told me about a big opportunity at Marshall University. He used to preach at a church in Huntington, WV and knows that many churches are wanting to partner with a campus ministry, but there isn't one there that they are willing to work with or that they know of (something along those lines, he keeps saying that there's nothing there). He told me of a church that is just a few blocks away from Marshall's stadium, and that they would be more than willing to work with a ministry. Recently I had to go to state college and was talking with our minister up at Lock Haven and he told me that the campus ministry at Morehead State, just 30 minutes west of KCU, was looking to plant onto Marshall's campus, and that one of the professors that I had and really respect was trying to help with that plant. Currently I'm praying through if this is what God has in store for me next, and I ask that you join me in that prayer. It definitely seems as if this is lining up perfectly, and I plan on making some contacts with churches in the Tri-State Area soon.

Well that's all that's been going on around here. I hope you all have had a wonderful week, and feel free to contact me at any time!