Visual Reminders

I was reading today a devotional about how the houses of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe reflected what was important to them.  College students have the wonderful opportunity every year to move into a new place and decorate it to reflect them.  The dorm rooms and apartments start off like a blank canvas, but I love to see the changes after a student has moved in.  You can learn so much from someone from what is in their apartment or room.  So here's a glimpse my life, captured through my camera and placed on the wall.  

Everyday, I find myself looking at these pictures.  They are on the wall in my living room, directly above the tv and across from my favorite place to sit.  As I sit leaning against the couch so the heat blows directly onto my legs, I gaze at each of these pictures and get transported back to where they were taken and what each picture reminds me of. 

My eye is quickly drawn to the largest and only canvas picture: of the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific Ocean colliding above the coast of New Zealand.  (Note: There is a small chance that this was actually taken on the tip of the Great Keppel Island in the Coral Sea, but I forget where I took the picture).  When the two bodies of water send waves and collide, it makes such a wonderful plume.  There is beauty in the conflict as each wave tries to get their way, before joining forces to hit land.  Life is often like that when two people get into a conflict and it blows up.  But, after time, it can turn into calm waters and move in the same direction. 

Then I go up to the top right: The sky is completely dark, except where the sun shines through and reflects lightly onto the water.  The world we live in is very dark and the only light comes from God.  It breaks through the darkness and shines onto where we live.  Are we allowing the light of God to shine through our lives and reflecting his Glory back to Him?  Or are we just absorbing that light and blocking others from seeing it?

Directly below, there is a view of Great Keppel Island with rocks, sand, water, and sky.  God created each of these things and they are very different from each other, with important purposes.  The sand gives us a safe place to walk, while the rocks provide a more treacherous path, but also provide the needed support for the sand to not be washed away.  The water provides renewal as it is constantly moving.  The sky, just reminds me that God is bigger than everything.

Moving clockwise, the bottom left picture, is taken from Cape Reinga (the northern most part of the country) looking south onto NZ.  Sometimes even when we’re at the “top of the world,” It’s important to look back on where we came from to see the beauty in the journey.  Each journey includes some combination of peaceful time walking on the sand and rough times as the waves cone and hit us.  There are mountains to climb, and paths we have to travel.  But through it all, God is with us. 

The last of the big pictures in the main formation is of little towers that look like they form a city.  This depth of sand (about 4-6 inches), has been worn down by the waves and formed into the current shape, while the top part is still sand.  However, sand is easy to be wiped away, just like our lives which are beautiful in community now, can quickly change shape or be taken away as life is temporary.  It’s important to love and cherish what you have now, for you never know when it will disappear. 

The two small pictures on the top, remind me first that sometimes when we run into obstacles in life (like how to get the big boat to the other side of the first picture), we need to move on in trust of God.  Instead of turning away and running from our fears, courage is facing them head on and figuring out a way to get through, over, or around them.  It turns out that the hole in the rock, is actually big enough to fit the boat, but without faith we would have never gotten close enough to the problem to see if for truth.  The dolphin in the right picture reminds me that surprises are all around us, if we keep our eyes open.  God created this world beautifully and desires for us to enjoy his creation. 

Finally, the pictures on the door are of the sun rising on ANZAC Day (Think Memorial Day) and the final morning of my time in Australia.  Even through conflict and change, God grants us with a sunrise to give us a reminder of the fresh new day He’s given us.  Each day is a blessing that we can use to serve Him. 

Take a moment to look around your room or your house.  Do the things on the wall remind you of God and what He’s doing in the world?  Do they inspire you to live your life for Him and give you comfort in the hard times?  If not, maybe it’s time to adjust the decorations to give you the visual reminder you need of God’s love to challenge you to continue on.  What you see affects who you are?  Do your walls reflect who you want to become?

Testimony Night

Tonight a few students (some new, some old) to share stories of how God has worked in our life.  After a story of God showing up repeatedly during a cross country trip, and a few other testimonies, we started talking about how we picked the major we did.  Not only has God blessed us with amazing abilities, which are unique, but he's put desires into our minds for where/how we can use them.  It was very encouraging to hear stories of how people chose to follow Christ and now how they're relying on God for their everyday decisions.
At large group last night, Pastor Sixto Rosario shared the importance of staying strong in our faith over break and really praying.  As in praying for things to happen, with the faith that God will provide when we ask Him.  Tonight, we heard the story of dry bones becoming flesh (in Ezekiel) and were reminded that God is bigger than everything if we trust Him.
Would you join us in prayer... prayer for big things to happen on campus and for our faith to trust that God will provide.  He's moving, we just need to be able to recognize it and to step out in faith (like Peter did on the water) to go new places.

Slavery Still Exists

Last Wednesday I flew home from four days of fighting human trafficking in New York City as part of the Price of Life NYC.  Friday we watched Journey to Freedom at Large Group to introduce the topic to the Fredonia campus in preparation for our own Price of Life campaign in March.  Today, as I enjoyed the quiet of my own home, I've had a chance to reflect on what the human trafficking trade means for me and wrestled with the hard subject.
There 27 million individuals in slavery now.  Women and children make up 80% of the industry.  As I see these facts, I am thankful that I have been able to live without free of being trafficked so far in my life.  I know that no one is truly safe though and I hurt for those children who have lost their childhoods.  As a teacher, I know the importance of education and I have built strong bonds with some of the students, including many who are between 11-14 (the average age to enter prostitution in NYC).  I can't imagine these students living the lives that I saw through the movies, pictures, and events in NYC.  My heart aches for the families of those involved, knowing many of them are runaways.
My own childhood was filled with many great memories and in reflection and comparison, very little hurt.  I had and still have the freedom to go where I want to go, buy what I want to buy (within reason), and do what I want to do.  Those who were telling me what to do had my best interests at heart and wanted to see me grow up to succeed.  Now as I hear of the sexual exploitation of minors and women, I'm sickened.  What must go on in someone's mind to think that having sex with a fourth grader is ok? or an 8th grader?  Adults need to learn to control their bodies and to not abuse the future generation or other individuals.  The fact that slaves can be bought for as little as $90 or even $200 is disgusting.  Can't they see that those are the boys and girls who live right down the street?  They could be their siblings or cousins?  They are innocent children and that no one deserves to have their freedom taken away to be sold, especially not repeatedly to strangers.  One of the most disgusting things I heard of was sex tourism.  In some parts of the world, you can ask for a girl or boy, any age without questions.  Usually from an orphanage these children who already don't have families to show them the love they deserve, are picked up and given to the men for money.  (Note: Other places on the top 5 destinations for sex tourism have legalized prostitution.) Regardless, I can't even fathom how this could be ok in someone's mind.
Now before you think that I'm all innocent and haven't contributed to human trafficking at all, you're wrong.  No, I have not contributed to the sexual exploitation of anyone, but I have contributed to the labor exploitation of men, women, and children.  See I (like many of you), own a smart phone, wear clothes made of cotton, and eat food imported from other countries.  Some of the raw materials are mined by children or are picked from the fields by workers who aren't paid and have no choice to be there.  As York Moore said at a Price of Life event at NYU "There is not a single person who hasn't contributed to the exploitation of marginalized people."  This hit me hard as I realized that I wasn't innocent, but I was part of the problem.
I want to be part of the solution.  It's not an easy thing to end slavery, but as I sit in my apartment, close to where paths on the Underground Railroad led slaves to freedom in the 1800's and today roads that move slaves into continued bondage, it's time to change.  I am choosing to LoGOFF: To buy local, green, organic, and free trade whenever possible.  I'm blessed by being surrounded by local farms and gardens so I can know where my produce comes from.  I am going to continue to share information about the human trafficking problem as awareness is key to fighting it.  Many are still unaware and some choose to not believe, but the problem exists anyway.  I want freedom for the children to be children and the women (even college students and internationals) to learn and choose where they want to be.  Freedom is something worth fighting for.  "None are free if any are slaves."
Join with me for a community is needed to fight and faith is needed to win.

Alumni: Note from Me

My name is Kathryn Pilgrim and I’m new staff at Fredonia. For those who don’t know me, I am also a 2011 and 2013 alumna.

God is doing great things at Fredonia. As I met with student leaders at our Basileia leadership conference, their passion to reach the campus for Christ was evident.

Over the school year, some of our major goals include:

·         Hosting more events to share the gospel

·         Adding teams with more leaders

·         Focusing our efforts around our vision to see students and faculty transformed, the campus renewed, and world changers developed

To make this happen, we need more time, resources, and volunteers. We’ve trained new volunteers and asked current students to increase their involvement.

International Student Ministry
Our ministry to international student is flourishing. We are working with the International Education Center to build friendships with students and live life with them. Through meals with Saudi students, campfires with Koreans, and attending church with a few of the Chinese who have become believers since they started school, God is working in this new ministry. Last April, I received the following text from a close Chinese friend: “I found salvation today.”  After a year of discussing the gospel, she accepted Jesus as savior and is now helping share the gospel with others!

Urbana 12
Last year, six of our students and three from Jamestown Community College attended InterVarsity’s Urbana 12 missions conference. One student was inspired to challenge our chapter to build 60 medical kits for caregivers in Africa, an extension of an activity that took place at the conference.

Next year, we will continue our passion for justice by hosting a Price of Life invitational in the spring, modeled after Price of Life: New York City. (see more on the next page).

Basileia and Urbana exemplify what InterVarsity at Fredonia is all about. I’m excited to play a small role in what God is doing through InterVarsity at Fredonia.

While I don’t know most of you, I hope that will change over the coming months and years. You play an important role in the ongoing ministry to current Fredonia students. Please join me in praying for God to continue to work through InterVarsity as we minister to students on campus.

I would love to keep you up to date on the latest happenings with InterVarsity Fredonia. If you prefer not to receive future updates, please let me know.

Warmly,
Kathryn Pilgrim
Kathryn_Pilgrim@ivstaff.org | 607-661-3574

Partnerships

For many years, InterVarsity has relied on partnerships between individuals, churches, and others in the community.  At Fredonia, over the past five years the rewards have been evident to chapter members.  In January, during our week-long service trip, many churches and businesses provide the 30 participants with a warm meal.  Food is one of the ways to college students hearts and this service from the Fredonia/Dunkirk area reminds the students why they are donating their time to community service. 

Recently, we expanded our  partnerships to include borrowing supplies for events (so the chapter only had to buy soap for the carwash), using local church spaces, and connecting students to families  while they are away from home.  We are working to develop new ways for individuals to get involved with the vision on campus: including holiday host families for international students, mentoring students, and helping with events on campus.  If you are interested in actively participating with the vision on campus, contact me. 

Past and Present

Greg Bacon ’93, InterVarsity Staff at SUNY Fredonia.

When I was a college student at SUNY Fredonia, the vision of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was to Build Collegiate Fellowships, Develop disciples who embody Biblical values, and Engage the Campus in all its ethnic diversity with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today the vision of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is to see Students and Faculty Transformed, Campuses Renewed and World Changers Developed.

When I was a college student in InterVarsity, we used to have “book tables” and would host Investigative Bible Discussions with non-Christians. Today, we have “proxy stations” and hold “God Investigation Groups” with those who don’t yet know Jesus. 

When I was a college student, we attended “Bible and Life” where we learned about the Joy of following Jesus, the joy of inductive Bible study and the joy of discipling others. Today’s students attend “Expedition,” where they participate in various tracks including “Gearing Up” (Lordship), “Map & Compass” (the Word of God), and “Guides” (Godly Leadership).

You see, the words are slightly different today, but the purpose is still the same. InterVarsity’s focus has always been – and always will be – following Jesus. We want to see students repent of their sins, make Jesus the leader of their lives and help them grow spiritually.

I hope when you look at your life today, you can see how God used InterVarsity to help you grow in your faith. And even though your days at SUNY Fredonia have ended, perhaps you can help us continue to reach students for Christ, just like others before you invested in InterVarsity so you could be blessed.

Thank you all for your partnership in this ministry. And may God continue to use you for his Kingdom.