It’s a chilly 9 degrees in Athens this morning as I write this update. Welcome to the beginning of Spring Semester at Ohio University! Even though it’s cold, we are incredibly excited for a new semester of ministry. It’s been exceptionally good to see so many familiar faces walk through the door of the ROC house this week. Additionally we have welcomed several new students just this first week alone!
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| ROC Students at the Mountain Mission School in Grundy, VA. |
Even though the semester just officially began this week, ROC kicked our year off the week before by serving on the mission field. January 7ththrough the 11th a group of 15 from ROC traveled to the Mountain Mission School in Grundy, VA. Our students were blessed to serve in a variety of ways while there. From assisting in the classrooms, to leading chapel services, to fixing bicycles, to sorting food donations, to leading small group devotions, our students were being used by God in incredible ways.
I’ve shared with you before how amazing it has been to be able to watch God work through our students, and the week at MMS was certainly no exception. It wasn’t merely the work that they were doing but also the joy in which they approached each task they were assigned that demonstrated their love for the MMS students / faculty and Jesus.
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| ROC Student Luke Fredricks instructs a student how to weld. |
One ambition that we have for trips like these is to encourage students to see each day as an opportunity to serve, and to view their time at OU as a call to missions on their very own campus. Every trip we take we spend time breaking down what we’ve learned through serving and how we can apply those principles to our own context. I’ve told our group many times that they will always be the most effective missionaries to the campus of Ohio University, and that changing the campus will require them to demonstrate Jesus’ love through BOTH their words and their actions. Trips like the one to MMS help to reinforce this.
Speaking of being blessed by our ongoing relationships with the mission fields we serve, we are very excited to have ROC intern Noah Mulvaney with us this semester. Noah is the second intern we have welcome from Crossroads Missions in New Orleans. If you haven’t already, please take time out to read his interview in this month’s spotlight.
With almost the entire semester still before us, we couldn’t be more excited about what God has been doing within the ROC community, and where he will be leading us over the course of the next 15 ½ weeks! Between now and the end of the semester we look forward to more opportunities to serve together, more opportunities to grow together, and more opportunities to worship together.
As always, thanks for being an integral part of bringing the kingdom of God close to Ohio University. Your prayers and faithful support provide for the needs of the ministry and allow for these incredible experiences that so richly impact the lives of our students. For that, I am eternally grateful.
In Christ,
-Dodger