As I sit in my chair dreaming of Turkey, dressing, and Sweet Potato casserole I’m also met with the realization that another semester is quickly drawing to a close. When Thanksgiving break ends our students will return for one final week of classes before Finals week begins. As we take the time this week to meditate on all the things we are thankful to God for, I am certainly not going to miss the opportunity to thank Him for all the amazing things that have happened in the ROC community. New faces, new friendships, amazing times of fellowship, worship, and teaching, and even new ROC staff members, just to name a few!
Speaking of new ROC staff members, I’d like to take a second to introduce you to ROC’s new intern Josh Beck. I met Josh back in June at Roundlake Christian Camp’s Paintball week. Josh comes to us from Buckeye Christian Church in Grove City, Ohio. The ROC community has already been blessed to have him join us for our fall retreat, Halloween party, and more. We are looking forward to having him around full-time next semester as he seeks to serve our students at both OU and Rio. You’ll be hearing more from Josh in our December update.
Fall semester has also been a time of change for ROC as well. Just a few short weeks ago we said “good-bye for now” to ROC at Rio Coordinator Noelle Mash as she packed up for Mexico to marry her best friend Jose “Chepe” Moreno. The new Mr. and Mrs. Moreno had a beautiful wedding in Piedras and a few of us were able to watch them dance their first dance as husband and wife through a livestream of the reception. We are certainly looking forward to seeing our pal again when we are in Mexico serving for Spring Break.
“going away” party
Although in some ways Spring seems like it’s still far off, earlier this week the ROC student leaders sat down to plan out events for Spring Semester. Since ROC is student led and organized, our events are always a reflection of the hearts of our students. That’s why I get so excited to share the things that they are involved in, because long before they come to pass, a group of leaders was already prayerfully planning the activity. Please be praying for God’s blessing upon our leaders’ efforts and plans for the spring.
Warning, this is a shameless ploy for food! Hahaha, okay not for me, but for our ROC students. December 6th through the 10th is finals week for OU and Rio. Each year ROC tries to make finals week just a little easier by providing food, snacks, drinks, and the opportunity to take a break from a stressful time in the life of a college student. Here is how you can help! If you’d be willing to bake some homemade goodies (cookies, pies, desserts, etc.) or anything that you think would brighten a college student’s day, we will make sure it gets to some deserving students. You can make arrangements to drop these goodies off in between December 2nd and December 6th by emailing me (dodgervaughan@yahoo.com). Alternatively, if a group of people from your church would like to bring these goodies to church, I’d be happy to make a trip to pick them up.
As always, I’m grateful for each one of you who read our newsletters, support us in prayer, and provide for the needs of the ministry. I pray that through our updates you get a small glimpse at the many lives you are impacting.
Blessings,
-Dodger