Relay for Life

A few weekends ago, RUF once again got the chance to join the greater UMD community in fighting cancer through Relay for Life! This event is always a highlight for our students. It is so much fun, it's for a good cause, and it's a really easy way to invite friends into the group. Walking, supporting each other, playing lots of fun games, and hanging out for 12 hours straight can really bring a group together!

Here are some pictures from Maryland Relay 2014:

Our winning football team!

We camped out around the track for 12 hours!
We had so many to go after these were taken at sunset!

Favorite addition to Relay this year, the giant hamster bubble!

   This year was particularly meaningful because many in our community have been affected one way or another by cancer in the past year. One student lost her grandmother to cancer earlier this year, Logan's grandfather had just been told they were stopping his treatment for lung cancer (he passed away just a week or so after this event), and we had just returned from my grandfather's funeral. Many tears were shed during the candle light lap which is a time to remember those who are no longer with us due to cancer. It was an honor to be able to come alongside our students to mourn with each other.

I'm thankful for these students. They have been there for me just as often as I seek to be there for them!

Grace & Peace,

For the Good of the University - Student Spotlight

When working in college ministry, I think it is important to remember that your students are just that - students. As much as I love having a student who shows up to every event, who helps set up and tear down all the time, and is super involved in the planning of everything -  it is important to help our students be good stewards of their time and talents. Often times the attitude of a ministry is that the students should make the ministry their #1 priority.

    There are a number of problems with this though. As great as RUF is, it isn't the church. It doesn't want to replace the church. Logan and I are very intentional about letting students know that time management is important, and that means an RUF event may not always be what a student needs to be doing. This might sound strange. Yet RUF's philosophy of ministry is that God is at work. If we believe that to be true, it is true in all areas of our student's lives. In their classrooms, at their internship, on the sports team or in the band. If we are serious about being for the university, seeking the university's good, we have to let students be truly involved in university life.

3 out of the 4 Quartet members are a part of RUF
I love having so many talented musicians around!

   It can be difficult to juggle clubs, school work, and even jobs but I think this type of time management is very valuable to learn. The reality is that you'll always be juggling work, home life, church and other activities. How much and when is different for everyone, and every student is different. I'm thankful for the small group of RUF students who devote a majority of their time outside of school work to RUF. But I'm also thankful for the students who come when they can, but can't do everything or be in leadership because they are musicians, or the president of Students for Ending Slavery, or recruiting for their honors program.

   This is why I love going to concerts, plays, or presentations for our students. I love to see them thrive in the university, to see their gifts and talents put to use. This past weekend Logan and I had the joy to attend one of our student's junior flute recitals. It was so great to see other RUF students come out to support her as well.

   There is just something about beautiful music that makes me want to share it with others. As I sat listening to Jenny play, I wished my mom was there to share it, I wanted to tell my sister about it, I wanted the world to share in the beauty of the music. I see God at work in such instances. This is what it is like when we understand the truth and beauty of the Gospel. We want to share it with others, we want to talk about it. So may we ever see Jesus as more beautiful and believable.

Now, let me introduce you to Jenny:

Jenny Lehtonen
Junior, Flute Performance Major

1) When did you start playing the flute & why? I started playing the flute in 4th grade because I thought it a "girly" enough instrument for me (I wanted something high-pitched and versatile). My stereotyped attitude toward the flute has since changed to being that I truly love what I can do with the flute, and I feel it expresses my own personal voice better than other instruments.

2) How did you come to be at Maryland? I knew by middle school that I wanted to be a music major, and I had aspirations to attend conservatory, but when I wasn't admitted anywhere good for performance except Maryland, I settled to come here and I didn't regret it. This school has been an awesome experience, getting to know many great classmates and professors. God led me here, and this was no "Plan B."

3) What do you hope to do with your life? I hope to go to grad school for flute too, and hopefully at a conservatory so that I can be in an intensive program to prepare me for competing in the real world job market. I wish to be a free-lance player, private teacher, and a member of an orchestra, wherever I happen to win an audition in the future. It may take a long time before I achieve that last goal, a position in an orchestra, but I'm willing to wait for my time to come and to continue working until that time arrives. I still believe God is calling me to this path, and he will open a door for me at exactly the right time.

4) How do you see your faith & musical talent intersect? I see my faith intersecting my musical studies in numerous ways. The farther I go into the "Music World," the more I feel that, although it is my responsibility to be disciplined, my own efforts to get what I want compared to what actually happens is completely out of my control. So many musicians around me strive their whole lives to "beat the odds" and figure out exactly how to achieve success, but I've even met musicians in the secular world that admit that there's a little bit of "luck" in the process. I know that what is "luck" for them is actually Providence for me, because I know that God is in control of all outcomes that anyone experiences, good or bad. The musician's life is very painful because we see so many set-backs before we get the things we want, and the sacrifices to get to those points can be enormous. But whatever it will take, I know God wants the best for me, and He's the one who beats the odds for me. In many ways, this lifts a great burden of anxiety about my future off of me, to rest in God's love for me and be obedient to His will. Prayer in general is what really keeps me going in particularly stressful situations in my life.

5) How has RUF been a part of your college experience? RUF is like an oasis in a normally hectic academic life. I appreciate the people who are there, especially Chris Garriott who is such a great preacher and has really fed me in the last few years. I also love my interns Kristy and Logan Lowder who give undying support to the whole fellowship. All the weekly gatherings and special events have been a blessing to me as I've grown closer to God and to all those in the group.

 
Here is a video of the amazing quartet from Jenny's junior recital:

This was my favorite piece from the concert!

Thank you for being a part of RUF through your prayers and support! Know your making a difference in the lives of students like Jenny!

Grace & Peace,

Spring Break Mission Trip to NYC

Thank you all so much for your prayers for our Mission Trip to New York City last week.  Eleven of us from the University of Maryland served with the Center for Student Missions (CSM.org): a bridge organization that connects students for service with church based ministries around NYC.  It was good to be exposed to the great needs of the city and to see students and myself grapple with faith and the call of the gospel to minister in both Word and Deed.

Here are a couple of reflections from students who went. I plan on adding a few more reflections as students share them with us:

Ryan (Freshman)

"The mission trip to New York reminded me of the immense need that people in our world face every single day. People need food, they need water, they need someone to care, and they need to feel loved. At the food pantry we went to, the volunteers there did all of those things. The people genuinely cared about each face that came through the door and wanted to help each person and that rubbed off on me as well. I had the opportunity to  talk to a majority of the people that came through the door and help them get food and it made me realize how blessed I am and how amazing all people are. We are all different but each difference is what makes us unique and allows us to love each other. "  

Jason (Senior)

"The trip to New York City was an amazing experience and I am glad that I decided to go. I always knew that New York was filled with many people, and therefore needed a lot of ministering to. To be able to witness these ministries in action, and, even for however briefly, join these ministries was awesome. I could really see God working in the lives of the people we came in contact with. One part that sticks out in my mind is when we helped at Beth-Hark Christian Counseling Center in Harlem. We helped in distributing food to needy families, which tended to be very hectic and overwhelming. An older Chinese lady came in and was not able to speak any English, and thus not able to communicate with the workers.  Luckily we had three members of our team that were fluent in Chinese and could translate for her!  One of our interns, Logan, was able to successfully translate for this woman, and she was able to get food to feed her family in the future. One of my goals for the week was that someone in the group would be able to make some sort of an impact on this huge city, no matter how small the impact might be. Logan translating for this woman made a tremendous impact and helped her provide for her family. It was such a blessing to see that God put us in that position, and that without us there, there was a sizable chance this woman’s family could have gone hungry. This Spring Break trip to New York was a great blessing and encouragement. "    

Our Trip in Pictures
I also plan on adding more photos to this post as those students with pictures give them to me. Enjoy:

Logan and Kristy in Central Park on our 1st day in NYC

Kristy at the MET during our sightseeing day

Enjoying some authentic NYC Pizza - it was SO good!

We stopped to take in a few minutes of the St. Patrick's Day
parade during our prayer tour of the city

Logan and Kristy in Times Square

Each night CSM took us to a different restaurant for dinner
so that we could experience the many cultures that call the city
home. Here is our group at an Indian Restaurant.

Students on the Staten Island Ferry

Unfortunately, Logan and I had to cut our time with the group short. My grandfather passed away while we were in New York, so Logan and I headed off to Michigan to be with our family for the funeral. We were still able to serve with our students and participate in the prayer tour of the city before leaving. I'm thankful that CSM did such a good job hosting us that Logan and I were free to go celebrate my grandfather's life with family. Thank you so much for all the condolences and prayers my family has received.

And thank you also for your prayers for our mission trip. We had a wonderful time, the students grew closer to each other and grew in their understanding of the gospel as they served!

Grace and Peace,

Guest Post: How Steve Jobs (and my messed up heart) Helps Me Avoid My Neighbor

Greetings from UMD! I have been terrible at bringing my camera along to RUF this semester, so I do apologize for the lack of posts to our blog. Students have been in classes for about a month now, so we are just starting to get into the swing of things again.

I wanted to introduce you all to a fellow intern, Anna, who is serving at Texas A&M. She recently posted a blog entry about a tendency she's observed in herself and our students. I thought it was very profound, and rings true for many of our students here at Maryland. I hope her insight ministers to you as well!

You can read more of Anna's Blog Here

How Steve Jobs (and my messed up heart) Helps Me Avoid My Neighbor

"One of the many reasons I love working for RUF is that RUF believes that God works through ordinary means. Ordinary, small, mundane. I would say that 50% of my job is doing everyday things with college students. There’s not much glamour present, but there’s a lot of life. To put it in perspective, let me expand.

We (I am including myself and my generation as well as the college age generation) are the generations of the “upgrade.” We do not commit to anyone or anything unless we believe it to be, in that moment, at it’s peak and in that peak it must be worthy of associating with. We have relationships that are pending, constantly in the “ability of being replaced” zone. We know this because it is hard for us to eat lunch with our friend when we could eat lunch with our iPhone while our friend across the table eats lunch with their iPhone. Both being delusional about their ability to connect with the world, or each other for that matter, considering connectivity feels more real when you get “notifications” instead of hugs.

Connecting is hard for us.

Committing to people is hard for us.

Heck, even committing to moments is hard.

I watch movies while I scroll through Instagram while I text my friend who is not in the room while I sit next to my friend who is in the room who is doing the exact same thing. It is hard to say in that moment that we have anything close to a shared experience.

I realize that we are conditioning ourselves to function mentally at a much faster pace than real life. Our ability to multitask while doing mindless tasks is amazing. Because of this, simply walking down a street or standing in a line seems far too slow paced for my now conditioned hamster wheel of a mind so I literally don’t know what to do with my hands apart from my phone. We live vicariously through technology, broadcasting the groomed profile of “who we think we should be” and the version of ourselves “who appears to have it together.” Now standing in that very line, the one that was unbearable before, can become a picture on Facebook with a flattering filter with a quote that can be affirmed for the next couple of hours as others scroll through their social media feeds as they stand in similar lines and walk down streets. We live through technology. And when technology finally betrays us, which it will, and leaves us feeling emptier than before, which it will, there are a couple of responses that seem to be more prevalent in my generation. One response is to become cynical and to use social media as an ironic device to mock people who believe it to have any ability to connect authentically. Another response is to write off social media completely and to return to the in-person interactions where you feel more lost than before. In both of these scenarios, we are lost when it comes to connecting with people.

We are unhappy where we are because we think our life is going to receive an upgrade. “Why invest in this person/these people/this experience when I could meet/have new/better one(s)?” We are afraid to put down roots because roots mean you’re staying. And staying, to us: the real movers and shakers of our time, sounds like death. And it is. Let me explain.

Jesus assures us when we pick up our cross and follow him into the mundane business of loving people, it will feel like death.

It will feel slow; so slow that you have no idea if there has been any movement at all.

People are unpredictable and are not available on demand. You can’t scroll through people’s past, burdens, pain or trust. You have to actually be in that moment. Stay in that moment. Commit to the person your attention and your time.

As Christians, it is imperative that we know the difference between living in the moment and living for the moment. The world tells us to live for the now. There is actually a current campaign running by Pepsi that literally contains those words as its slogan: live for the now. We know this is foolish. I honestly believe that even those who are not Christians could attest that “today” is not a good enough reason to get out of bed, if it is an end in and of itself.

But the key in all of this, I think, is being in the moment.

As our social media and technology take us out of the moment, they provide escape mechanisms. While this can be useful for avoiding pain (even though that will come back to bite in the end) it is also avoiding the real life that is happening a few feet around the screen that we are so devoted to and the life we have groomed into existence. So the problem isn’t really social media or technology. It is our hearts. Our hearts are so afraid of pain or loss or vulnerability that we have no idea how to even comprehend eating a sandwich across the table from our roommate without “escaping” regularly throughout the conversation to ensure the talk maintains surface depth.

Jesus ate a lot of meals. In fact, I would say almost 50% of his time on earth was spent eating across from really messed up people. But I think he was on to something. Because when we sit down to share a meal with someone, or a drink or ice cream or whatever, we are committing to them. We are committing to them for the remainder of the time that it takes to consume whatever it is we have ordered. We are telling them that we chose to spend time looking them in the eye, sharing a moment that is so mundane; it literally happens every day three times a day. Or maybe it’s going to the grocery store or doing laundry or waiting for a class in a common area--But in those moments, those small ordinary moments, if we can stay with people, stay with someone long enough to build trust and long enough to really hear…we might connect and we might see that this is what it looks like to love your neighbor.

Thank you for supporting me as I share really mundane moments with college kids. It’s where Jesus meets us."

Mark 12:28-31

²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
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I want to echo Anna's appreciation. You have joined with thousands of other supporters to put people like Me, Logan, and Anna on campuses all over the country. Many times our lives are not glamorous there, but I have seen God in the midst of countless meals shared, movies watched, car rides, and sports games. Thank you for being a part of our ministry. 

Grace & Peace,

Winter Leadership Retreat

It may come as a shock, but Maryland just started the spring semester last week! That's right, January 27th. Well, since they started so late we decided to take our student leaders on a retreat to relax and prepare for the semester.

We had a great time of hiking, card games, and planning! Each day we would have a devotional,  planning session, and then would spend the afternoon bonding as a group.

We have a really great group of students. They had a lot of ideas for the semester and are eager to make them happen. As Logan and I start our last semester here at UMD, I'm so thankful to see how these students have grown!

Here are a few photos from our retreat:

Playing some Nertz!

Hiking a bit of the Appalachian Trail

Most of the group at the Washington Monument along the trail.

Thank you so much for your prayers as we start this semester!
Grace & Peace,