All Heaven Breaks Loose

Hello, friends! Since last week's blog was so long, I'll give you a break this week and write something short and sweet. (But take that with a grain of salt, since the last time I said that, my blog was still long.) Awhile ago I blogged about a day in the life of a campus missionary. I gave you the caveat that it described what it would be like until the fall semester started and all hell broke loose. Well... all hell has broken loose, so here's what a day in my life is like now!

Morning:

• Wake up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc.
• Meet with Pastor Jay and Katie for our morning devotion
• (If Wednesday, meet with other campus ministers for some prayer time!)
• Discuss ministry matters with PJ and Katie
• (If Thursday, have my one-on-one meeting with PJ)
• Do ministry
• Sometimes, this is still desk work, like I described the last time I explained my day. For example, planning for the Vespers study I'm leading next week, reading "Building a Discipling Culture" or contacting students via Facebook or e-mail.
• However, the difference recently is that students are here and available now, and one of my main purposes is to build relationships with them. Therefore, a lot of "doing ministry" these days is meeting up with students for coffee or lunch and just spending time getting to know them on a personal level. I met with one student on Monday and have three more dates set up for the next two days!
• Eat lunch (with a student if at all possible!)

Afternoon:

• Do more ministry (make more connections)
• (If Wednesday, meet with PJ, Katie, and church administrator Matt for a staff meeting; currently we are going through some questions about University Lutheran's upcoming annual focus)
• Be "present" on campus; yesterday, I sat in Oglesby Union and counted how many people walked by for half an hour. I counted 427, but given the huge crowds that went by at certain points, I'm guessing I saw at least 500. It really gives me perspective on the sheer number of students I have the opportunity to witness to.
• Complete assigned tasks; last week I finished up my flood relief bucket project, and Pastor Jay and I delivered said buckets to John Elliot

Evening:

• Eat dinner; or, if it's Wednesday, attend Vespers! Tonight we had spaghetti and meatballs and discussed what it means to be in a discipleship huddle. I will expand on that more next week.
• Relax; or if it's Wednesday, blog about my week!
• Do something fun -- recently, that involves watching Full House and Friends on Nic @ Night and working on a puzzle
• Read and reflect on the Bible for my evening devotions
• Go to bed and (hopefully) wake up refreshed for another day!

And there you have it. Writing this reminds me of a Church Basement Ladies musical in which they performed a song called "All Heaven Breaks Loose." That's a better way to phrase what has happened since the students returned. Is it chaos? Yes. Is it crazy? Of course. Is it an opportunity for witness the likes of which I've never seen before? Absolutely, and I am so glad that God has put me here to "break heaven loose" on this campus.

(Also, am I a church basement lady now? Why yes, yes I am. They should write a musical about me.)

Only two pictures this week. The first is one that was featured on the Florida-Georgia District Facebook page; PJ and I are quite famous, as you know. The second is a picture I took my first week here of a small lizard very similar to the one I spent nearly 12 hours trying to remove from my apartment on Saturday. I admit that I am pathetic, you are allowed to make fun of me.