What a Weekend!

Joe and I are both really tired and really happy about all that took place this last weekend! As mentioned below, on Friday we helped with Freshmen Move-In day at UVM. We had three others helping us and we spent all of our time on the Athletic Campus. On Saturday Chi Alpha hosted a table at UVM’s Class of 2012 picnic. We gave away Chi Alpha Karibiners and a chance to enter to win a free Kona acoustic guitar plus lessons that would be given away at our Sunday Night party called Mug Shots. Some Christian business owners in New Hampshire donated the guitar to us. 40 students signed up for more information about Chi Alpha. A couple of students told us that we had the best (looking) table at the picnic!

Saturday night found us asking two students who we already knew if they would be willing to help us visit those that signed up. Joe and Alma visited students in the dorm region called Trinity Campus. Katherine and I visited students in the dorm region called Redstone. We gave everyone we visited a free Chi Alpha Sigg style water bottle, Chi Alpha flier, and a personal card written by us. We have yet to follow-up on students who live in the dorm regions called Central and Athletic Campus!

On Sunday morning we brought an exchange student from South Africa to church with us, and met another UVM student named Lee who was sitting behind us. We got to hang out with them for a bit after service, and then preparations began for Chi Alpha’s Mug Shots party that night in the Student Union at UVM.

I’ve got to say how thankful we are for our volunteers! John and Elvia Atherton of Community Bible Church were gracious enough to help us with set-up and facilitating all the yummy food stuff that went in the mugs. Steve Bent also helped with set-up and was just his usual friendly self with everyone. Abbie and Scott Ranney also helped with transporting stuff to the event and set-up. Scott also contributed his Guitar Hero game for entertainment and Abbey helped facilitate the giving away of mugs.

We received donations for the event from Coca-Cola, New Moon cafe, and Starbucks.

There were about 150 students who passed through our event, and the mood was really festive. Some of the students that we had visited the night before brought a bunch of friends along with them to the party. We had free food, free mugs donated by area-wide churches, give-aways including a Kona guitar, games including guitar hero, pool tables, Fooz Ball, and a chance to make new friends. As one guy was leaving, he came up to me and said, “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I can’t think of anything else to say but thank you! Words cannot express how I feel right now!”

A gal told Abbie that she was her new best friend for giving her a mug. One student told Joe that it’s been hard for him to meet people, and he was so appreciative of this chance to get out of his room and get to know some other students. About ten new students signed up for more info on Chi Alpha.

So now it’s Monday and the next step for us is to visit all the students who expressed interest in Chi Alpha! Please pray for us as we think creatively about how to effectively follow-up on all the connections we’ve made. We’re so thankful for your prayers and encouraging words that have been with us through it all.

The Chi Alpha Table at UVM

Mug Shots Guitar Winner

Fun at Mug Shots

The Chi Alpha Table at UVM

Having fun at Mug Shots