FSU Chi Alpha: September in Review

I just realized it's been quite a while since I last updated my blog. I've typed a few, but haven't had a chance to finish and publish them. Since it's been so long, I thought I would go through what happened during the month of September:

• Tues/Thurs Morning Prayer: We began meeting each Tues and Thurs mornings at 8am for prayer on campus. Since our intern class is so large (10 of us), we were divided into two groups. One goes Tues, one Thurs. We have a great time with the students, praying for one another, the campus, etc.

• International Coffee Hour: Every Friday, Florida State hosts a coffee hour for the international students. Again, since there are so many interns, and we don't want to overwhelm the students, two of us go each Friday. I was kinda nervous and unsure the first time I went, but I had a great time talking with two students from South Korea. I had an opportunity to learn more about their culture, country, and themselves.

• Book reports: Every three weeks, we have a book report due. During the month of September, we read the books Under Cover by John Bevere and Why You Act the Way You Do. The first book was about being under the cover of spiritual authority and the second was about the four personality types. Both were interesting books and gave me a lot of knowledge to apply now and in the future. After reading each book, we write a page (or more) book report with a summary of the book and our reaction to what we've read.

• Football game: Florida State's football team got off to a great start, winning against Samford. A few weeks later, I had the chance to attend the game against BYU. Although it was pretty hot that day, it was fun having the opportunity to watch a college football game in person (especially since I went to a college that didn't have a football team). We also watched the FSU v. Oklahoma game (FSU's only loss) on the big projection screen at the Chi Alpha building.
  

We have had a lot of other things happening, such as Small Group Bible studies beginning, Intramural volleyball and flag football games, and improvements on the parsonage. The offices for Chi Alpha/Mosaic Church staff and interns were moved from the main building to the parsonage. The interns and staff worked on painting the walls in August and in September, new carpet was put down in the offices and living room and laminate in the kitchen. We have since moved most of the office stuff up to the parsonage and are now working up there. We also have students who will stop by and hang out at the parsonage with us during the week. It's nice to have a place for them to come and to see them outside of Chi Alpha meetings.

I have a few albums up on Facebook of my time here and will be updating them often. The first album is specifically for Chi Alpha events, the second is mostly personal pictures. Check the links often for new pictures!

Florida State Chi Alpha
Florida 2010-11

St. George Island Leadership Retreat

Last Friday through Saturday, we went on a retreat with our student leaders. After the excitement of Thursday night, Mario gave us Friday morning off to get some rest and pack. We reported to the Chi Alpha building at 12:30 to go over some last minute details and make sure we packed everything we needed for the retreat. Staff left around 2pm to head out to St. George Island; the students met and followed at 3:30.

I drove and two interns rode with me. The drive there was beautiful; most of the way, the road followed the shoreline of the St. George Bay, a bay of the Gulf of Mexico. We arrived at the Christian center, unloaded the food, and set up the dinning area. After Rhia arrived, she set up room assignments and we unloaded all of our stuff. A few of us went to the bay, took pictures, and waded in. The water was calm and warm, unlike the last time I was at the beach. We met in the dinning room to plan out the schedule for the rest of the weekend and the students began arriving. The group was broken up into different shifts to help prepare or clean up the meals and the dinner crew got started making spaghetti.

After dinner, we went to the building on the "point" for a time of worship and prayer. It was an awesome time that bonded us all together. After the prayer, we hung out, ate nachos, and played games before heading to bed.

Saturday morning, we got up and ate pancakes for breakfast. The students were given time to spend with God. Another intern and I set up the laptop and projector for the next session. After some technical difficulties, we got everything up and running. The students came in and we talked about leadership and training others. We looked at how Moses trained Joshua, but Joshua didn't train anyone to take his place and the result. We also talked about why it's important to train someone to take your place as a small group leader. We also talked about some students that are involved, but not connected with XA and ways that they can become better connected. We took a break for lunch and ate sandwiches and leftover spaghetti. I was on the clean-up crew and helped wash dishes and pack the food for the trip home. We were given a few hours off; I went to the bay for a little while and waded and looked for shells. After a little while, some of us went to the beach across the road and waded in the Gulf of Mexico. It was overcast and windy and the waves seemed a little rough, but the rain held off. We went back and had a final meeting about small groups. We broke up into our small groups and talked about what we were going to study over the course of the semester and shared any hesitations the students had about leading. The interns prayed over the group we are working with and commissioned them. We went back to our rooms to pack, make sure they were clean, and pack up the vehicles. We also walked back down to the bay and took a group picture with all the student leaders (minus Pastor Mario) and a picture with just the interns (again, minus Mario).

After we left the Christian center, most of us decided to drive down to Apalachicola, about 15 minutes away. A group of about 7 of us decided to go to the local seafood restaurant. We were able to get a table on the porch, right by the water. I got lemon-pepper grilled shrimp with corn fritters and curly fries...it was all very good. After we ate, we decided to walk along one of the main streets and look in the shops. We found only one that was open, but we had a lot of fun with the different things we found there, such as the blow fish, shark jaws, and the "oyster hunter" hats. Since it was getting late and there weren't many places open, we decided to head back to Tallahassee. We got back to the church, unloaded the food and put it away, before going to the Castrova's house for ice cream before going home.

I had a great time on the retreat getting to spend time with the student leaders and getting to know them better. I also took some pictures while we were there and put them in an album on Facebook. This is an album where I will be adding Chi Alpha pictures throughout the year. The link for the album is: Florida State Chi Alpha 2010-11.

Week Two in FL in Review

I may not be able to update every week next week when the students return, but I thought since we don't have anything going on tonight, I'd give an update on week two.

Monday, we began our regular hours at the XA building, 9am-4:30pm. We received a text from Mario Sunday night telling us to wear clothes appropriate for painting. We spent most of the day painting the living room in the parsonage. If the offices are moved to the parsonage, the living room is where the interns will probably sit and work. It was a good experience for all of us to work together to get the whole room painted properly and knowing we were improving a space we may be spending a lot of time in. Mario bought lunch for us as a way of thanking us and we sat in the living room and ate together. We did a little more cleaning, switching things from one refrigerator to another, washing dishes, cleaning light covers, and whatever else we saw needed to be done. Mario went to the hardware store to pick up new switch/outlet covers and sandpaper and sent us a text telling us to go home early. Mercy and I came back to the apartment and hung around for the remainder of the evening. I began reading a book for a book report that I received in the mail before going to bed.



Wednesday, we went over jobs that need to be done to plan the Welcome Back events. We have events going on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday that need to be planned by staff. Rhia made a list and went over it with us, asking us to volunteer for different jobs. We spent the remainder of the afternoon either working on our jobs or reading for our Berean classes or book report. We decided for everyone to meet at our house at 5:30 for dinner. Mercy and I got home and rested for a little while before we started cooking dinner. All the interns were able to come as well as one intern's wife and 3 kids. Everyone had a great time eating, talking, and laughing together.

Thursday, we met at the XA building at 8:45 and started on some cleaning and yard work. We also celebrated the addition of a 10th intern with doughnuts. The guys went outside to mow the grass and a few other jobs while the girls knocked the inside cleaning out. Since there are so many of us, we got the inside cleaning done fairly quickly. Erin C helped me update and format the website with the events we'll have next week. After the guys finished, we left for Wakulla Springs, a natural spring-fed lake-type state park. The water there is about 67 degrees and feels freezing cold. Right after we go there, it started pouring down rain, so we found a picnic shelter and ate our lunches. By the time we were done eating, it had stopped raining, so we headed to the swimming area. Some brave souls went to the jumping platform and jumped into the cold water. While we were swimming, it started to pour rain again. I went up to put my bag under the "sun-brella" so it wouldn't get soaked and my clothes and camera would stay dry. Since it wasn't a true umbrella, some of the raindrops did mist through, but it wasn't too bad. After the rain stopped, I went back out to the water for a little while. We met as a group in the lodge and Mario bought ice cream for all of us and we sat around and enjoyed our ice cream while talking and laughing with one another. As we were leaving the Wakulla Springs area, it started pouring rain again, but stopped before we got back to Tallahassee. Mercy and I came back to the apartment, where I took a short nap on the couch before the next storm hit. I heard the thunder rumbling hard enough to rattle the windows. I got a few things done around the house before heading to bed.

Friday, we met at a restaurant named Jim & Milts BBQ for breakfast. They have a breakfast special: grits, eggs, toast, and coffee for about $2.50. Nearly every Friday, the staff meets there for breakfast before going to the XA building. We went back to the XA building for a little while, then met at the parsonage for a time of prayer for next week, the events we'll be doing, and for our students. It was amazing to sit in the presence of God and feel the Holy Spirit moving among us as we prayed and worshiped. We went back down to the main building and spent the remainder of our time working on different jobs or getting reading done. We were told we could leave at 2, so Mercy and I went to two Goodwill stores in search of a bed frame. One of the other interns is getting a new mattress and asked me if I wanted to use her other one. I was able to find a headboard and side rails at the second Goodwill we stopped at. The employees there helped me load them in the Escape and we came back to the apartment. After we got back, I deflated the air mattress and swept and mopped my floor. I texted Paige to let her know I was ready to carry the mattress over whenever she was (she and another intern live across the street from Mercy and I). We got both the box springs and mattress over to my room. After I ate dinner, I called Dad and asked about how to attach the headboard to the side rails and took a trip to find a hardware store. I found an Ace Hardware and the guys that assisted me there were very nice and helpful; one of them gave me a tape measure out of his truck...he said he had too many. I got back to the apartment and cleaned the headboard and side rails so they can be put together tomorrow.

As of right now, I'm planning to spend most of Saturday around the house. I still have 3+ boxes that I need to finish going through. I brought a lot of kitchen stuff with me that I ended up not needing, so I need to find somewhere to store it until I go home again. I also want to spend some time reading and try to get ahead a little. Students move in next Wednesday, so beginning Monday, we're going to be very busy getting ready for their return. I'm getting excited and can't wait to jump right in!

Week One in Review

Well, I've been in Tallahassee for almost a week. I've stayed pretty busy, along with the 8 other interns meeting, getting to know one another and the staff, and doing some cleaning around the Mosaic building (Mosaic is the name of the building FSU XA owns and the church that is also there; there's a partnership between the two I'll explain later).

Monday and Tuesday's happenings were covered in my last blog entry, so I'll start with Wed. We met at Mosaic at 10 and went over some ideas with Mario for a field day type event. We discussed possibilities, cost, location, etc of each idea and whether or not it would draw students. After we were done, some of us went out for lunch to a sandwich shop. It was nice to hang out for a little while and talk. My housemate, Mercy, and I came back to our apartment and worked on unpacking. We met two other interns, Paige and Suzi, at their apartment (across the street from ours) and went to Mario and Robin's house for dinner. Robin made some amazing chicken, rice, cheesy potatoes, and blueberry cheesecake and candy pizza (brownie with peanut butter spread on top with M&Ms, Recces, and Snickers crumbled on top). We ate and talked, then took a personality test as a group. The results were interesting and surprising for some of us. We talked about the characteristics of each personality group briefly. Mario told us what he wanted us to work Thursday and we headed back to our apartments.

Thursday, we met at Mosaic at 9:30am. Rhia went around and tried to guess each of our personalities (she was successful guessing most of them) and we laughed and joked at some of them. Rhia then told us about the cleaning schedule and process the building needs each week. She had to leave for a meeting on campus and asked if I would watch her 2 yr old son. I helped clean until he got tired of playing the drums in the sanctuary, then took him in the nursery to play with the cars. After he went down for his nap, I went back and helped clean. Because there are 9 of us, the cleaning goes so much quicker, so we went outside and started cleaning some of the brush and plants that had started growing out of control. We also got a lot of brush and leaves cleaned out of the pavilion and walkway. We met again in the sanctuary and Mario asked us to spend the last 15 minutes before we left praying. We prayed individually for a while, then came together as a group and prayed.

Friday, we met at 10am for some yard work and cleaning at the parsonage. A group of guys went outside and trimmed the shrubbery and cut the grass while another group went to the parsonage and loaded a trailer with garbage. A third group went to the sanctuary with Kyle to see how it needed to be set up for Sunday service and worked on putting it together. After we finished in the sanctuary, we went outside to help clean up the shrubbery trimmings. Mario then asked a group of us to go up to the parsonage and work on cleaning the doors, windows, clean out the fridge, and whatever else we saw needed to be done. I tackled the doors with cleaning spray to try to get the dirt and scuff marks off. After I finished that, I cleaned the bathroom and washed the fridge drawers. Pastor Mario bought lunch for us and the boys went and picked up pizzas. We met in the sancutary and ate and talked together. We cleaned and straightened up a little more before we headed out. We also made plans to meet for a movie later. Mercy and I went to a fellow interns' apartment to pick up a dresser he offered to her. She doesn't have any closets in her room and both of the portable closets she put up have fallen, so she was asking where a good place to get one would be. Tim said he had one he didn't know what to do with and she was welcome to it. It was just the right size to fit in my Escape and we brought it back to the apartment. She dusted it and rearranged her room and I helped her tape one of her portable closets so it will hopefully stay up.

Next week, we start regular hours at the office, either 8:30 or 9 til 4. I ordered a bunch of books yesterday that were assigned as book reports. We have one due every 3 weeks and one of the interns, Suzi, recommended a good website, Better World Books (www.betterworldbooks.com) to buy them from. I checked out the website and was very impressed. They sell used books at discounted prices and use the money to fund literacy programs in other countries. I ordered 5 books for about $30...not too bad considering if I bought them new, my total would have been probably twice that. I'm looking forward to reading and learning through the classes and discussions we'll be having as a group. :)

Hello from Tallahassee!!

Hello from Tallahassee! :) I arrived Sunday evening around 6:30 and met Kyle, the manager of the Ivy Lane apartment I'm living in. He let me in and showed me the house and all the improvements that were made since I visited in May. Kyle also helped me unload my vehicle and introduced me to one of my roommates, Mercy. We spent most of the evening cleaning some of the house and getting our rooms arranged enough for the night.

Monday afternoon, all of the interns met at the Chi Alpha building to meet one another and talk with Pastor Mario and Rhia. Kyle made all of us welcome packets, a bag filled with water bottles, granola bars, tea, salt (an inside joke :)), and a folder with a map of the bus route and our internship syllabus. I came back to the apartment and made a list of thing I needed from WalMart and Mercy and I went on an adventure to find a WalMart. We were successful in finding the WalMart, but not as successful with our lists. (Our house is older and only has the two-prong outlets and most of the things we need to plug in are three-pronged. I wanted to find some adapters, but the WalMart didn't have any. I think I'm going to check Lowe's tomorrow and see if they have any.) After we got back, we got busy unpacking and organizing most of our stuff. Mercy decided to clean out the bathroom closet, medicine cabinet, and drawers. A lot of the previous tenants left stuff like cleaning supplies (which it looks like we'll never have to buy! :)), toiletries, and other stuff. Mercy saved the cleaning supplies and some other things we thought we might be able to use and still managed to throw away two trash bags full of stuff. We carried those out to the garbage and came back in to fix dinner. After we ate, we sat around and talked about different things. It was nice to be able to get to know one another better and talk about different subjects.

Today, we met at the church/office at 10am and went over some other things before Pastor Mario gave us an assignment. "Zero Week" or when the students come back is just a week and a half away, so he asked us to come up with some ideas for a field day type events. He and Rhia left and we discussed several ideas. I'll blog later about the events we do and how they went...don't want to give anything away :) After we left the church/office, Mercy and I went back to the Goodwill auto/electronic/book store to return a laptop charger and see if they had a new one. Thankfully they did so she could charge her laptop and use it. We also took some cleaning supplies and went by fellow interns, Andrew and Rachel's apartment. They got here late last night and they needed help with some cleaning. We cleaned and hung out with them for a while before heading back to the apartment for dinner. I made some chicken and Mercy made rice and green beans. We got internet connected tonight, so I've been catching up on what's going on in the world around me (including Facebook :)) and getting more stuff unpacked. I got my wire cubby shelves put together and put all my books put away on that and got a few other boxes unpacked. I think this may be the fastest I've ever unpacked all of my stuff...usually I still have boxes sitting around several weeks after I moved in.

Well, it's getting late and I need to head to bed. I'll post another update later on in the week!

Campus Ministers Conference (CMC)

Last week, I traveled to Phoenix, AZ for Chi Alpha's Campus Ministers Conference. Staff and those affiliated with Chi Alpha from all over the US converged on the Arizona Grand Resort for a week of worship, fellowship, and learning.

Gil, Lindsay, and I flew out of Richmond's airport Monday morning. We were supposed to leave at 7am, but were delayed until about 7:20-7:30. We flew to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX for connecting flights to Phoenix. We began the process for landing when the pilot got word that the airport didn't want us to land yet, so we circled the city for a while waiting to get the ok to land. Because of our late departure from Richmond and our delay in landing, I had to hustle to make my connecting flight to Phoenix. Thankfully, I made it just in time and flew on to Phoenix. Gil and Lindsay were on the flight behind me, so I got some Starbucks coffee and ate a peanut butter sandwich for lunch while waiting for them. A shuttle picked us up from the airport and took us to the resort. We checked in with Chi Alpha and the resort, got our room assignments, and the bellhops took us to our rooms. I met up with my roommate for the week and gave her a copy of the key. Our area director invited everyone from the Northeast area to her suite for snacks and to catch up with others we hadn't seen in a while. The Banton's, myself, and a few others went to the Mexican restaurant, Aunt Chilida's, for dinner; the food was pretty good and pretty spicy. Then CMC officially kicked off with a worship and prayer session.

Tuesday morning began with an outdoor group breakfast. The staff set up tables and chairs and served us a plate of bacon, eggs, potatoes, and jelly. After breakfast, we had our first of four sessions with Dr. Rick Richardson. For dinner, I went back to Aunt Chilida's with those in the Southeast area. I also went to a get-together of former and current interns at Florida State University. It was nice to hang out with those who interned at FSU in the past and hear about their experiences.

Wednesday, we heard from a missionary to Muslim's and from two former Muslims. Both shared their testimonies of how they came to Christ; both testimonies were awesome examples of how God is moving. We took a break for lunch; each area had lunch together and discussed different area events that will be happening within the next year. Since I will be in the Southeast area when I go to FSU, I ate lunch with them. I got to listen in as those affiliated with Chi Alpha in the Southeast discussed and planned the SALT conference that will take place over New Years. After the sessions were done for the day, my roommate and I decided to go hang out at the water park for a while. We met up with some other Chi Alpha people and hung out with them. The International Student Friendship Ministry (ISFM) also had a pool party that night and gave away a lot of prizes, including a Wii system.

Thursday, I ate breakfast with the director of the FSU internship, Mario, as well as Rhia and Anthony, who are on staff, and a fellow intern, Paige. Mario explained the internship to Paige and me, as well as some of the expectations staff has of us as interns. We also had the opportunity to ask questions about the internship. After breakfast, we had a session on diversity within Chi Alpha and a panel with different campus pastors. Lunch was a question and answer session with the AG superintendent, George Wood. Those with questions were allowed to ask about different events going on within the Assemblies of God. We had a quick break, then a session on homosexuality on the college campuses. After that session, there was another session on the recent court decision affecting Christian groups on college campuses, but I decided to skip it. I was interested in what the lawyers had to say, but was also tired of sitting in sessions. A friend and I made plans to meet at the pool and hung out for a while. Our last event of CMC was a banquet. After eating, we reviewed Chi Alpha's goals from the last 5 years and the goals for the next 5 years. Also, two women who have served in Chi Alpha for over 30 years were honored, Sally Herman and Joy Schroder.

Friday morning, I met Gil and Lindsay in the lobby to catch the shuttle to the airport. Our flight was delayed because the flight that landed at the gate before ours was also delayed. When we landed in Dallas-Ft Worth, we had to run to catch our flight to Richmond. Luckily, our plane landed only 3 gates away and we made it in enough time. There were a few others on the plane from Phoenix that were also on our plane to Richmond. After we landed in Richmond, the Bantons' friend picked us up at the airport and we made a quick stop at their house before driving back to Farmville. We made it back around 1:30am, which was 10:30pm West Coast time.

I'm really glad I was able to attend CMC. I met a lot of new people and saw friends I hadn't seen since RUI (Reach the University Institute- a Chi Alpha training conference) last summer. I also learned a lot that I'm anxious to use in the years to come.

Summer!

Summer's here! I've been asked, "What do you guys (Chi Alpha missionaries) do during the summer when the students are gone?" Well, for me, it's been a pretty busy summer so far.

I attended the Potomac District Council in early May in Woodbridge, VA. District Council is a time for ministers and missionaries affiliated with the Potomac District Assemblies of God to come together for business meetings, fellowship, and times of prayer and teaching. For many of the ministers, this is a time when they see friends they haven't seen since the year before. At the council, Chi Alpha sets up a coffee shop and serves coffee, bagels, fruit, etc. to the attendees. I also had the chance to spend an afternoon in DC with Erin. We went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and few other places.

I also took a road trip with my friend Erin to Tallahassee. We meet some of the people I'll be working with next year and visited Florida State's campus. I was able to walk around FSU's campus and drive around Tallahassee. Erin and I made a stop at World Market, an awesome store with food from around the world, as well as furniture and decorations. On the way back to VA, we stopped at my aunt and uncle's house in South Carolina. It was nice to visit wit them. I'm so glad they live about halfway to FL and have said that i can stay with them on my trips back and forth from VA to FL.

In July, I'll go on vacation with my family. We found a cabin on the Shenandoah River last year and had a great time canoeing, fishing and reading. We decided to go back this year and do the same thing. I really like canoeing on the Shenandoah...it's fairly calm, not many rapids.

The week after vacation with my family, I'll be traveling to Phoenix, AZ for Chi Alpha's Campus Ministers Conference. Most of the campus ministers and those affiliated with XA are going to descend upon the Arizona Grand Resort for a week. We'll have a guest speaker as well as time to spend at the water park on the grounds of the resort. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends I met at RUI last summer. Also, to me, this will be my "official" transition from Longwood Chi Alpha to FSU Chi Alpha.

This summer's going to be busy, but I'm looking forward to it :)