FW: Reaching Campus: A call to prayer

Hi folks,

This was written by one of my coworkers. There's not much to add. We are all doing all right, and our students are amazing; mobilizing prayer at every turn. Blessings to you all!

Akpene

 

From: noreply+feedproxy@google.com [mailto:noreply+feedproxy@google.com] On Behalf Of Reaching Campus
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 9:28 AM
To: sweetspirit96@gmail.com
Subject: Reaching Campus

 

Reaching Campus

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Campus on Lock Down Posted: 28 Sep 2010 01:52 PM PDT Today was just supposed to be another ordinary day in the office. But I guess I should have learned by now that every time I think that, something crazy happens and today was no exception. This is not a joke The morning began with a phone call from an old friend. "Are you okay? Have you heard?" "Yes I'm fine… wait, what's going on?" "There's a gunman at UT. Shots have been fired. Whatever you do, don't set foot on campus… I just wanted to make sure you were safe." Racing to my roommate Jill's room, I told her the news and flipped on the TV and there it was. A gunman had entered the campus around 8am in the morning, opened fire, and then taken his life on the sixth floor of the Perry Casténada Library, one of the largest and most popular libraries on The University of Texas at Austin campus. The university had gone into lock down, with SWAT teams, Austin and UT policemen canvasing the area for a possible second suspect. I sat there trying to absorb all the chaotic information, fingers flying away as I sent out texts, emails and fielded phone calls. Everyone was trying to call each other to make sure we were all safe. Jill sat next to me reading her Bible. If there ever was a time to pray, this was it. Silence in the streets The Campus House of Prayer (CHOP) was all but empty when I arrived. Helicopters were flying overhead and sirens rang every 15 minutes warning students to stay indoors. The streets were eerily quiet, empty parking lots, devoid of most people save for a throng of reporters, cameramen, and the occasional student making their way back to nearby apartments. Walking through the front door, I hugged my co-workers Tanya and Akpene. The three of us sat in the office quietly listening to the live stream from Fox news on the shooting. Texts, emails and facebook messages were still flooding in, but things were a little calmer now. Reports said that save for the gunman's apparent suicide after firing shots, no one else had been injured. All our friends and family members had been accounted for, and we thanked God that there were no innocent casualties. I still couldn't believe this was happening. Not today. Not on my campus. A call to pray As you might have guessed, today's post is not the usual entry for this blog. But then again, today was not your usual day. While it saddens me to have had this happen on my beloved campus, it's been interesting to see the wave of prayer that has been going on since news first broke of the shooting. Christian students who were in lock down in campus buildings found other Christians to pray with, and it seems as though the entire Body of Christ has been mobilized. In my opinion, today has jolted us into realizing that more than ever, we must cover our campuses in prayer. So what am I saying? This is a call to pray. Pray for our campus, the students, faculty and administrators. For the shooter's family. But don't just pray for us, pray for your campus too. It has been said that times of crisis often drive people towards God. And while I'm certain God can and will bring something good out of today's incident, don't put yourself in a situation where you require a crisis to get on your knees before Him. Our campuses need people to fight for them. And as with all things, it starts with prayer. So pray. And we'll continue to do the same. "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea." -Psalm 46:1-2

 

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Akpene's Adventures Volume 2 Issue 5

Hey Folks!

 

It’s been an amazing and busy start to the school year! I had the opportunity to go visit my brother and sister-in-law and their new baby just outside of Boston, as well as running over to New York to attend some meetings and to look over the lay of the land. God has been moving in remarkable ways, and I’m so excited to share my stories with you…

 

Jesus and Ballroom Dancing

Yes, I did put ballroom dancing! My co-worker, Tanya, and I have been taking free ballroom dancing lessons at the UT campus on Thursday nights. It’s great fun, it’s exercise, and we’re meeting all sorts of people. We decided to pray for and get involved more with that group. Our instructor is incredible, but very much in the dance world. While I was in Boston, Tanya called me up to tell me the most amazing thing. She was in our prayer room and she decided to put our names down on the wall that listed missional communities (organic groups that CRM staff and students are involved with that we want to relationally share and expose others to who Jesus really is). Later that very same day someone knocked on the door, and she came face to face with our instructor, Santos! Can you imagine how surprised the both of them were? He didn’t know that we worked at the Campus House of Prayer; he had come there because he had come for some sort of a meeting last year and he remembered it as a place of refuge. What happened was this – he had been going through some hard things and had hit rock bottom. A friend of his led him to Christ, and when he needed somewhere to go to pray, here he came! Still amazed, Tanya told him about missional communities and how she and I have committed his class to prayer and relationship. He was so excited and thrilled that he had other Christians in his class! What a great way to lay hands (literally) on everyone in our community! Oh, the story doesn’t stop there, though. Tanya invited him to her simple church, but he was already going to be going with his friend that led him to Christ. But that weekend, he was baptized by one of our student church leaders. The following week in class, the whole atmosphere was lighter and more free, and Santos has signed up to pray weekly at the CHOP.

 

In telling that whole situation to other people, not only do I see God working in amazing, miraculous, “coincidental” ways, I see the power of the testimony live and at work. Hope kindles in people’s eyes and hearts, and they are more encouraged to go to their communities, live life with Jesus at the center, and expect Him to do the same thing that they were just hearing. So why not Jesus and ballroom dancing, or Jesus and skateboarding, or Jesus and book clubs, or Jesus and whatever! Just a thought…

 

Fusion of Vision

One of the meetings I attended in New York City was a Fusion Group for Campus Ministers. You all are certainly getting an education in this edition! Fusion groups are leaders praying with leaders on a consistent basis to grow in relationship and partner in mission together for the transformation of a campus. So this group held quite a few leaders of well known ministries like Campus Crusade and Intervarsity, and we prayed through II Chronicles 34 and 35 for the campus in the city. As we prayed for the students, the leaders, and the atmosphere, what came out was a unified vision of transformation that I’ve been praying for since I myself was in college, but haven’t really and truly seen until that moment. I knew for sure that my heart was joined with theirs, and that this was a huge reason why God is moving me to this place. It was a powerful revelation for me, and has made me excited and more purposeful about the steps I need to take in order to walk out that vision. Will you join with us to see this amazing, influential city transformed by the power of God?

 

Austin President’s Banquet

For those of you in Austin, I would like to extend to you the invitation to come to Campus Renewal’s President’s Banquet taking place on October 14^th at 7 pm at the University of Texas Alumni Center. This is a great time to hear Jeremy Story share his heart and the heart of the ministry in which I am involved. The tickets are $30, or $250 to sponsor a table of 8-10 people who would like to come along with you. I would love to see some supporting faces that evening! You can register here at www.campusrenewal.org/austinbanquet.

 

There’s always more happening than I can describe in this letter. I would be so happy to fill you in on anything that interests you, and would love to hear what God is doing in your own lives. The power of testimony works both ways, I love being encouraged!

 

May you be blessed beyond all belief!!!

 

Akpene

sweetspirit96@gmail.com

512.293.9107

akpenesadventures.blogspot.com

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