Keep-in-touch (Fall 2007, Part 1)

[This is what we have so far...]
Amber, Ben H., Colleen, Erin, Jessica, Joanna, Johnson, Joyce, K____*, Paulman, Sarah, Veronika (*name removed)
(we're officially 40% of the way there!)

Amber: The end is in sight and I'm heading back to the U of S for my last semester of Pharmacy classes - my 5th year! I'm renting a house with my good friend Amber Reed and 4 other roomates in Saskatoon and anticipate God doing some very cool things with this group. I'm very excited to see how God is going to work on our campus this year and I hope I'll be God-focused through all the busyness. I want to continue to be involved in C4C leadership/planning/serving and I want to help others to become spiritual leaders in the coming years as my time on campus is fast coming to an end. Oh, and a special prayer request - I need to make some big decisions about what I'm doing the next year or two after I graduate and really need God's guidance. Hugs to everyone! God bless.

Ben H.: I have the privilege of continuing to be part of God's ministry at UWO this year. I am filled with anticipation to see how God is going to work this year on campuses across the world, including my own. As a begin my MA in Library and Information Studies (three more terms of school!), I am praying for increased enthusiasm for my academic studies and to have God use me to win one person to Christ in this faculty this year.

God has blessed me with having this month away from school and work. It has been nice to see family, to visit with some students headed out on STINT this year, and to encourage other students from Western at a retreat on Lake Huron. The most encouraging times of this August have been the multiple occasions where I have either met with supporters or shared at church how God is working in Halifax. I see how project has been a blessing for me as well as to those who supported the project through prayer and finances. I realize how many prayers were lifted up to God for the city of Halifax, and how people continue to pray for revival there.

I am eager to resume my role as a prayer meeting leader at Western. Please know that I will continue to lift up all of you before God as you seek to serve Him wherever He takes you. Please pray for me as I seek God's direction in regards to applying to join staff with Campus for Christ in some capacity next fall.

Colleen: Hey! It’s Colleen! Right now I’m finishing packing for Choral Camp! It’s a camp composed of babies through seniors where we spend 6 hours of day singing (dream come true!!!) some old spirituals, some Mozart, some newer ditties as well as the occasional liturgy. Upon returning to school I’ll be helping to lead the Nursing MDA and continue discipling a few of my girls! I’ll also be helping with the Sr. Highs at church and learning to wrap sprained ankles in sports injuries class. I’m still digesting what I’ve learned on project, every day realizing more and more things. It’s exciting! Let’s keep praying for Halifax-the city as well as SMU and Dal.

Erin: I'm two weeks away from entering my 4th year in Design, and I'm happily buried under a pile of things to do (oh, come on, would any of you expect any less from your resident stress-ball?) Actually, the return to Ontario was quite smooth and stress-free. I was thankfully given almost full-time work at the tea room, I was trained as a shop manager, and recently got asked to redesign a number of items like menus and tea guides. I've been visiting with friends and helping out here and there around the community. Project has definitely taught me that busyness doesn't have to equal stress, and that it's okay to take time out. Also, I've found that I'm much more conscious of how I use my time. All this leaves me very optimistic for the upcoming school year!

(I'm also helping co-head the design team for York's C4C, and generally helping out where I can!)

Jessica: I had an awesome time driving home from Halifax with my mom. We got home on the 9th, and then I volunteered at a camp from Aug. 12-16. I'll probably head back to London around Aug. 28. This year I'm going to be on the servant team for C4C, and I'll lead a discipleship group. I'm also planning on getting more involved at my church, maybe in the nursery. I'll let you know how that goes in the next update. Keep it real!

Joanna: Hey everyone!
I miss you all like crazy! What a great 3 months! My August has been really nice and I'm so thankful for the transition home. I spent a week at a cottage with my parents which was a great chance to wind down and catch up with them. And after that I was camp nurse for a week at Camp Cherith. It was a refreshing and fun week. This Sunday I'm leaving London again and helping lead the youth group canoe trip to Temagami with my church. There's 19 of us going hardcore into the woods, so pray for safety! And if you could also pray for me as I give my testimony on Sunday night. Speaking to a group in general is always a little nervewracking, so pray that I would speak Christ's words in confidence to these high school students!
This year, I'm heading into my fourth and final year of nursing at Western! My clinical placement in the fall is in labour & delivery and I'm really excited (and slightly scared) for that - I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to share!

And with C4C stuff, I'm on the servant team (or Central Action Group as Western is calling it) focussing on reaching out to first years. We've got some great things planned and I'm looking forward to it. And I'm also leading my nursing DG and reaching out to nurses. It will be a busy year, but I'm really excited to get to put into practice the things God has been teaching me this summer. Pray for time management and that my heart would be in the right place as I serve.
I hope you all enjoy the remaining days of summer! Be blessed!

Johnson: I will be starting my 2nd year of graduate studies at Simon Fraser University. I will be taking 2 courses, and possibly TA'ing as well. Paulman and I will be living on campus residence, hopefully as roommates (we won't find out until move-in date). This coming year at C4C, I will be serving as web admin and also helping out with the planning of IGNITE, our C4C weekly meetings.

I think this Fall semester will be very exciting in all aspects of my life. As I get more involved with C4C and serve God and His people, I want to make sure that I am leaving lots of time for myself as well, so I won't get stressed out.

Joyce: I am going to be entering my 3rd year as a Linguisitics major at the University of Alberta. As for Campus for Christ, myself and another girl are co-coordinating the Weekly Meeting. SCARY as this is on a much larger scale than what I have been doing. But, I know that as long as I surrender daily to God, the Holy Spirit will enable me to do the things which I cannot do on my own strength.

K____*: I keep thinking I see people from Halifax here in Saskatoon and it makes me want to go back just to see every one.

I am entering into my second year of International Development Studies. I am finally getting excited about school. I am also going to be volunteering with our International Student Office in the Buddy Program, like some of us did with the TESL center in Halifax. I am definitely looking forward to studying the Bible in a DG and just being involved with C4C.

(K____* also says that she's trying to get her old lifeguard job back and is hoping to join the rec soccer team when school starts)

Paulman: I'm going to be doing my third and last year of my M.A.Sc program at Simon Fraser University. I'm going to be living in Townhouses in residence, hopefully as Johnson's roommate, so I'm looking forward to that! I have no idea what it's going to be like on campus in my last year here (I'm Promotions Coordinator with C4C), but my goal is going to be to spend quality time with God each day - so that God will change me, and bless others through me. I will also be slowing down a bit and focusing my time and effort on fewer things. However, keeping disciplined with my time and not wasting any of it is proving more of a struggle than I'd thought - keep me in your prayers!

Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you at Winter Conference, and for you Easterners... I'll miss you! At least we'll always have Facebook/blogs/Internet! (right?)

Sarah: ¡hola mis amigos!
The month of August is counting down and it's been a good time catching up with a lot of people back at home. I'm going into my last year at Waterloo, but in a different program (Social Work), so I'm not really sure what to expect. I'm looking forward to being with the exact same class of people the whole year and getting to know my classmates well. I'm really looking forward to my practicum where I'll be working with immigrants and new Canadians- it looks like I'll be interacting with internationals again! I'm still figuring out what my role will be in C4C- this needs prayer. But I know that no matter what, I anticipate the great things that God will be doing on my campus! I'll be moving into my final and 5th Waterloo home in early September and I'm really excited to hit the ice again to shape up for hockey. Maybe I'll be able to practice my Spanish again, too. But above all, as we learned in Halifax, I hope to make God my focus over busyness, ministry and stuff. I want to love God more through quality time with him. That's all for now friends!

[Little addendum from Sarah:] For the Toronto ppl, a heads up, there's a whole bunch of TESL students who'll be going through Toronto in the next month- Marilyn (Aug 25-30), Sang Won and Sang Yoon (Sept 2 or 3), Jung (Sept 6-11), Vivi and Lu Wen (Sept 10ish). If you're free, make time to hang out with them and show them the sights; if you have space at your house, it'll really help if you let them stay at your place. Thanks!

Veronika: Helloooooo Friends!!!
I'm still in Halifax and will be here till the 31st. I'm not looking forward to this Fall as I still don't know what I'm doing with my degree :( and I really want to know what God wants me to do. The mass sign up emails from C4C are already filling my inbox :|. The transition out of project was kinda difficult but at least I still have Nicky to keep me accountable. Love you all !!!!

Official Halifax Project 2007 - Fortune Cookie ;P