Hi Family!
We leave tomorrow for our annual SALT conference. This year we're in Des Moines, IA. We have a handful of students going and we're all really excited :) Last night was our first on-campus meeting since break, and it was great. Fifteen students came, all of whom are invested and wanting to reach our campus. It's fun to think what God will do at BSU this spring.
We recently got an email from a former student- he and his wife both were in our group several years ago. They both are part of a new church plant and moving into full time ministry. They are on our support team now, and their email was so encouraging that we thought we would share it with you :)
If ever you're discouraged about numbers or attendance at Chi Alpha, please don't forget to think about the incredible things that God has already done through you at Bemidji State. You guys were tremendously influential on Jill and me. You mentioned being excited about our transition into full-time ministry -- quite frankly, I'm not sure we'd be here without you guys pulling us in all those years ago. Even our visit with you guys a year ago impacted us greatly -- it was at that point that we were really opened up to prophetic ministry and have been eagerly pursuing that gift since. (Even the simple act of having communion with you guys at the Sawmill was powerful -- it's a practice we took back to Hibbing with us, and communion meals in the home have become much more common around here.) In short, you guys rock! Don't lose your hope -- God has used you guys in meaningful, lasting ways, and greater things are ahead.
We aren't interested in ringing our own bell, but we are SO blessed when we get an email like this that it only seems right to share it with you who support us in so many ways. WE could not be here impacting people like this if you did not believe in us and our work. Sometimes we do struggle with whether we're doing enough, frankly. And then we get a letter like this and are renewed to forge ahead.
So pray for us this weekend, will you? Salt is an amazing resource- for leadership training, spiritual growth, group bonding- I could go on. It's a refreshment that we look forward to every year. Pray for our group in all these things, as we prepare to love our campus this semester.
I'll take a bunch of pictures and try to post while we're there. Have a great weekend!
