Just like that we are back for another semester! Christmas break was wonderful but we sure missed spending time together as a community. All of our staff and students seem to be excited about the prospect of new year of ministry and all that God has in store for Reach Out on Campus.
That being said, we also thoroughly enjoyed all the opportunities that break afforded us. In addition to some well-deserved rest and relaxation for our staff we had the chance to visit two local Christian Schools (Ripley Christian Academy and Ohio Valley Christian School) to share about ROC and teach during their chapel services. ROC at Rio assisted with “Wreaths Across America” and Rio in Lights. In addition, we visited some local churches to worship alongside them during the season of Advent.
Perhaps one of the biggest highlights of our time between semesters was ROC’s service trip to the Mountain Mission School in Grundy, VA. It had been a long 3 years since our last trip there (due to Covid) and we were excited to return. This was the first year that students from ROC OU and ROC Rio got to serve there together. Our teams worked hard to assist with work projects throughout the week. You could find our team involved in everything from taking down Christmas decorations, to cleaning buses, changing oil in a skid-steer, to sorting through food donations.
The work projects were great, but certainly some of our favorite memories were made with the students and staff. During our time at MMS we enjoyed getting to hear the school choir and then later to lead worship for them. Several of our students got to spend time observing in the different classrooms. We shared devotions with students in their dorms, and then to help them calm-down before bed started an impromptu wresting match (we thought perhaps it would help get some energy out hahaha). We also continued with our long-standing tradition of losing in the dodge-ball tournament we host each time we are there. It was a wonderful week and I’m thankful for each of our students who gave up a week of their break to come and serve alongside our team.
Spring semester is always such an exciting time for ROC. Even though the semester is barely a week old we are already looking forward to community meals, Spring Break Mission trip, ROC Super Bowl Party, Ohio Teens for Christ, and so much more. I can’t put into words what an integral part of all this that each of you are, who pray for us, encourage us, and faithfully support what we are doing on campus. I pray that as you read our students’ stories about what God is doing in their lives through this ministry (see Vic’s student spotlight this month) you recognize your role in providing opportunities like these for each new generation of students.
Blessings,
-Dodger Vaughan