Isn’t it amazing when you get a glimpse of the Body of Christ coming together to do something incredible? I had the privilege of witnessing this firsthand this past week. As many of you are aware move-in at OU and Rio happened on Thursday and Friday. ROC has, for years, welcomed in each new class with cookies and this year was no exception. But I’d like you to think what a massive undertaking this is, especially serving two campuses. Without the Body of Christ coming together this would have been impossible.
First, we were blessed to have churches and individuals from all over Southeast Ohio bake cookies for us. Between the two campuses we have given out nearly 1,300 bags of cookies! Not only that but it was a true joint effort by the ROC staff and ROC students on both campuses coming together to pull this off! Our Rio students sorted, labeled, and packed the cookies that would be distributed on both campuses. Our student leaders and current students assisted the staff in setting up, tearing down, and meeting new students each day. Furthermore a local Girl Scout troop based out of Meigs County donated 45 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies for us to hand out in addition to the 1,300 bags of cookies we received! That’s a lot of people coming together for one specific goal. To love on students in the name of Jesus Christ!
I also want to give a special shoutout to some amazing young ladies. First, our fall intern Maggie Hoover (you’ll read more about her in the Spotlight article this month) ran the outreach at OU on Friday so I could leave to take my son Trey to college. But fortunately she didn’t have to do it alone, in addition to our students coming together to help her, our good friend Franki Harrah (you may remember her from last month’s spotlight article) came all the way up from Ripley, WV to help us out on Friday! I can’t tell you what a relief it was to know that this incredible group had everything under control even in my absence.
Speaking of my son Trey, my wife and I took off early on the morning of Friday August 19th to make the trip to Lansing Michigan to drop him off at Great Lakes Christian College. We are excited for Trey as he begins a new chapter of his life and are thrilled that he has the opportunity to learn and grow in such a rich environment. Trey plans to seek a degree in Bible / Theology and Youth Ministry.
As I type out this article I’m excited and anxious for the start of a new semester of ministry at OU and Rio. Would you please join me and the rest of the ROC staff and students in praying for God’s guidance, provision, and wisdom as we seek to honor Him at Rio and OU? As always I’m grateful for each and every one of you who encourage and support us in this mission.
Many blessings,
-Dodger