Praise the Lord.

I am here!

It has been a month and a half since i have reported to Stevens Point, and I apologize for not writing earlier! I have been having such a wonderful time here at Point, and can't imagine being anywhere else!

This week we have staff in-service where we can work on everything that we have put off since school started! I have tried to catch up on my emails, but that is a never ending battle, and now updating the BLOG.

Life as a staff member is busy! We are in the office in the morning praying, prepping for Bible studies and discipleships, having staff meetings, New Staff development, Men's and Women's time planning, and much more. LUNCH. Then we hit the campus in the afternoon to meet with students for training in Biblical concepts, discipleship, or meeting new students and sharing the Gospel. At night we have Bible studies and the Thursday night CRU large group meeting.

I am doing good emotionally and physically... nothing to complain about. Home is always missed and friends and family are only a phone call away. But I am super excited to go home for Christmas and spend some time with them!
This is a picture of my fellow staff members... Jessi Cook, Colleen Naidl and I eating at a fancy McDonald's on the way back from a funeral of another staff members grandfather. I love spending quality time with them and how much the team values supporting one another!!

Patience...

You know, there was one time my sophomore year of college where I realized that I did not have a lot of patience. I could tell by the way that I reacted when things didn't happen right when I wanted them to, and the sick feeling I got when I was so anxious in waiting for something.

Well, I am realizing that even when you work on challenging areas in your life, they don't necissarily go away after you have worked on them.

Today, and the last few days at that, I have found myself with that sick feeling of wanting to be done with something (in this case, support raising) and it makes me cringe having that feeling in my gut. But I have realized that when I am so focused on this one thing (finishing support), it may cause me to miss out on what the Lord is doing in other areas of my life. For example... the cutest two little babies in the world, Gabe and Mia


along with another special little boy Austin and his papa, Ed


and then their mom's and other friends of mine that I have been able to spend time with since I am still here in Nebraska...
I could have so easily looked past these times without realizing how special they are to me and my life because of my lack of patience in waiting for the Lord's timing!

I have been so blessed with the time and ability to enjoy life no matter what comes my way and there is only one person to give credit, thanks and praise for that... the Lord.

I pray that you also have been enjoying the blessings the Lord has put in your life and I would encourage you to also take the time, with patience :) to step back and see all off those things the Lord has blessed you with, and also look at what He is teaching you to be patient with. Thank you so much for your love and prayers! I will be praying for you too!

92%

Oh man, we are getting closer and closer! Down to $315/month left that I need to finish support raising! I decided that I would start packing today in faith that the support will come in soon. I am going to be so excited to color in that last piece of the pie... it will be unbelievable to see the Lord complete this team... something that I thought was nearly impossible, isn't impossible when the Lord is behind it. Thank you to everyone who is currently supporting me and praying for me and the ministry in Stevens Point. I am so blessed to have your support behind me! I will very much enjoy letting you know how the Lord is working up at Point! Here is a picture of the mascot up at Stevens Point... Stevie Pointer!

Getting ready to GO!

It is finally hitting home that I will be leaving soon! Percent is up to 84.4% and I only need $596 of monthly support to be able to go! I have had some great appointments with people from my church and the Lord has done some really great things through the people I meet with! I am trusting Him for BIG things and He has already done so many BIG things in getting me this far!

My heart is just jumping to get to Stevens Point and how wonderful it would be to get there when school starts! I have an apartment ready for me in October and Ryan and Colleen Naidl (the director and his wife at Stevens Point) have offered for me to live with them until the apartment is open for Catherine and I! Wow, that means if the support comes in tomorrow, I am ready to move! I can't tell you how excited I am! Praise the Lord for all His blessings! If I could show you my excitement in person, this is what I would look like...........

CSU '07

Every two years Campus Crusade has an "All US Staff Conference" at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. I was SO privileged to be able to go this year! (thank you to current supporters who have sent in financial help... that allowed me to be able to afford the conference!) Here is a quick glance at my trip...

The first 5 days of the conference were "ministry days" where staff would meet with their specific ministry... I am in the CAMPUS MINISTRY which includes about 4,000 other staff. Some of the other organizations include Athletes In Action, The Jesus Film, Family Life, and a bunch of others. Then the remaining 7 days were combined with all ministries which includes a little over 7,000 people. We filled Moby Area (where the CSU Rams play) for praise and worship, speakers, and sessions throughout the whole week. It was incredible to be there with so many other people who love the Lord! This is a picture of the IMPACT (African American organization) praise band that played for us one day...I got to spend some quality time with the staff team I am joining in Stevens Point, Wisconsin! We went to the Cheyenne, Wyoming rodeo (biggest rodeo in the nation) which was a ton of fun! In the picture: Catherine (in pink) and I will be rooming together when I move up to Stevens Point, Jesse (top left) joined staff the same time I did and reported to campus about a month ago, Ryan and Colleen Naidl (with the hats on) are married and Ryan is our campus director. There will be a few interns joining us on the team too. It was so good to be able to connect with them and hear how things are going in Stevens Point. They told me that i have 2 weeks to raise the rest of my support because they need me up there! :) Pray and ask the Lord to provide quickly and to give me a diligent heart so that I can get there in His time! This is a gorgeous snapshot I took on the way to a meeting in Moby Arena. I can't explain how beautiful it was up there and how much I enjoyed seeking the Lord and being with amazing friends in Colorado!During some of the main meetings people would share their gifts and talents with the whole group. This is a picture of a guy who started out with writing the biblical names of God on a chalk board and then splashing paint over them to make a portrait of Jesus. It was so neat! (sorry it is sideways!)And this is the group of people that I car pooled with out to Colorado. They come from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and me from Nebraska. We were all new staff together last summer and it was so great to catch up with them. This is our 'model pose' when we got back to my house after a long drive. My mom and dad opened our home to them the night they dropped me off and we spent some good time in fellowship with each other. My mom asked, "do you always act and talk like that when you are together?" ... she was referring to how kind everyone was and to the conversations about the Lord that we had. Yes, when believers get together with a heart for God and mission work, you have some pretty awesome conversations and experience Jesus being there with you. Praise the Lord for all He has done in my life and what He had planned for me to learn and experience in Colorado!

BUSY!

Wow, life has kept me SO busy these last couple of months. I have not been able to regularly post on here, but am going to try my best to post once every other week or so!

Lately I have been kept busy with school, weddings, chicken butchering, ministry, and support raising! Starting with school... I finished substitute teaching at Waverly High school 2 weeks ago and had the opportunity to do a longer sub position in a math classroom for a teacher who was out on maternity leave. It was interesting to be in the same classroom and get a feel for what it is like to be a real teacher! I commend all my old teacher and all teachers out there for their work... it is not easy and takes a lot of out of school work to grade papers and give tests! And after being in the same classroom I began to see the kind of relationships a teacher can build with students, the trust that they give and the care that is such a witness of what Christ calls us to do! I loved it.

Weddings, one of my friends from high school and two of my friends from college are getting married this month... three weekends in a row! the first two I am a bridesmaid in so that has been exciting to look forward to. Here is a picture of one of the bachelorette parties last weekend.

Chicken butchering, my mom's family butchers chickens together every year during memorial weekend and was able to go this year! My job was to cut off the legs and tails after they had been plucked. It is quite interesting to be a part of, but it is really nice to be able to have FARM FRESH chickens! I love my family! :)Ministry and support raising, after all of these many things that have been keeping me busy the last couple of weeks, I have finally come to summer where I can focus fully on raising support. I am praying to be done in August so that I can get to campus before school starts. I have been setting up a few appointments and mailing out some letters. Join me in praying that the rest of the support would come in quickly and that I am prepared to move to Wisconsin!

Thanks for checking in on me! leave a note if you would like! i would love to hear from you!

My Call to Ministry

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

The definition of sacrifice found in my Webster’s II New College Dictionary is, “Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one thought to have a greater value or claim.” I think this definition hits head on what Paul is saying about sacrifice… “I appeal to you… to present your bodies as something highly valued but given to the Lord for His sake, for He has a greater value or claim… which is your spiritual worship.”

Most of us value our lives very highly in that we keep them fed, clothed and clean. When Paul tells us to give our bodies as a living sacrifice, we understand God to have a greater worth than our lives could ever have.

I truly believe that.

I know that my life will add up to nothing if I didn’t have the love and forgiveness from God AND eternal salvation because of His Son dying on the cross to cover my sins. Jesus’ sacrifice is the only way that I am able to come before God… without it, I could not be holy and acceptable to God and would not have hope for the rest of my life.

Following God’s calling in my life has been quite the adventure. Going into college I pictured myself getting a degree in math and education, then going on to find a job in a high school. On the way, my path went different than I had expected… sophomore year I was asked to lead a Bible study, which stretched me many ways. Junior year I was asked to be a part of the campus ministries leadership team which allowed me to grow spiritually with others who were strong in their faith. Senior year I was asked to lead the students of the leadership team, a task I did not see coming. These were such big responsibilities that I did not feel capable of doing them on my own… but the Lord equipped me and worked through me and I saw many students grow in their faith because of what God had done in their lives.

This picture is of the students who were on the leadership team (plus our advisor) who saw God work in their life and also see the importance of sharing the Gospel with other students on campus. They were an amazing group to work with!

People and situations came into my life to prepare and make me who I am now. College was a turning point for me and I know it is a turning point for everyone else who is blessed with the opportunity to go. I also know how important it is to keep looking to God those four years and having someone there with you, encouraging you, walking with you on that journey… invaluable. That is one of the many reasons I feel called to be a living sacrifice to God… by giving my life in service to Him, putting a pause on the teaching, and working with college students for the next couple of years.

This is a picture of a group from my college who went on a campus ministries retreat together.

That is where Campus Crusade comes in. This organization will allow me to work on a college campus, with other staff members and reach college students with the message of Christ. Their home website is… http://www.ccci.org/

I will be placed on the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point campus, which has a great Campus Crusade already up and running. I hope to be able to get there in the summer as I am raising financial support right now. At Stevens Point I will be leading Bible studies, meeting one on one with girls to encourage them in their faith, finding people in the dorms to talk with about Jesus, and many other things! I am very excited to get there!

picture of students from Stevens Point involved with Campus Crusade

If you would like to know more about this ministry or how you can be involved I would love to tell you! My email is Erin.Ruff@uscm.org and keep checking back to this blog as I will keep it updated on how God is moving in people’s lives and in my own! J