I'm Moving!!!

Great news!! As of today, I've reached 86% of my support! That's $24,617.21! 

Just yesterday I sent out an update to let everyone know I was at 65%. Within 24 hours, God provided the support I need to move. He is so awesome and faithful! I get to move this Friday, August 17th, which is the day I was hoping to move!

Thank you all for your support and prayers. I feel very blessed to have so many people backing me up on this journey through faithful prayer and generous giving. I'm so thankful for all of you!

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be my last day in Nebraska for awhile. The summer has gone by incredibly fast, and I'm so thankful I got to spend most of it with my family. This week I've been able to see many good friends one last time and was reminded of how much I'm loved and will be missed; there are so many people I'm going to miss, too. I wish I could see every one of you before I leave so I could give you a hug and a high-five! There aren't enough words to express how grateful I am for each of you and how excited I am to have you on my support team.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Prayer Requests:

*That I would enjoy my last day in Omaha with my family and get everything together I need to take with me
*Safe travel on the road to Tulsa
*Peace about moving to a new place and assurance God will take care of me
*Confidence as I meet new students and that I'd have great conversations with them - pray many of them will be interested in being a part of RUF!
*That I would find and connect with a new church quickly where I can develop meanginful friendships with people my age and older

Thanks so much for taking time to pray. Know that I am thanking God for all of you and praying your lives are filled with His blessings. I'm so excited to send you my next update from Tulsa!

Blessings in Christ,

Bethany

**If you'd like to write to me, I'd very much love to receive mail from you! My new address is:

1422 East 41st St

Apt #44

Tulsa OK 74105

 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! - 2 Corinthians 9:15

Trusting God, Waiting to Move

Good news! I'm now at 65% of my support goal - that's $18,377! I still need $5,822 more to come in before I can move. I'm hoping it comes in soon because I'd really like to move this weekend!

I have, for the most part, done all that I can. I've sent out letters, emails, and postcards. I've made phone calls, I've talked at churches. I've reminded (sometimes feels more like *bothered*) people multiple times to send in support. I really have come to the point where all that's left is to simply trust God to take care of the rest. I will continue to post updates and remind people to give, but I'm going to rest in knowing God is in control and knows who will help me get to Tulsa.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I can't do this without you, and I certainly can't do it without the loving provision of my Savior. He will pull through for me; I must be patient and let Him work. It's so hard to do when I struggle with control! Maybe that's exactly why the support-raising process is meant to be long, hard, and completely unpredictable - to remind me who is really in control!!


"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen"- Eph. 3:20-21

August 9th Support Update

Dear friends,

I'm excited to let you all know that as of today, I have received 55% of my support goal! That's $15,807.21!! I am deeply humbled and grateful for all the support I have received. I'm waiting for some more gifts to come in, and once they do that will put me at about 66% of my goal! This means I have $5,363 left to raise before I can move to Tulsa!!

Classes start August 20th, and it's been my hope all summer that I could move to Tulsa by Aug 17th, which is a week from tomorrow! I'd been starting to doubt that moving on the 17th would be possible, but God has been showing up for me in unexpected ways and proving to me that anything is possible for Him!

Thank you so much for praying and supporting. Praise God for what He has provided already and pray that He will continue to be faithful in bringing in the rest of my support.

If you would like to make a donation to help me reach my goal, you can do so at www.ruf.org/donate (select my name "Trueblood-Bethany, Tulsa" from the Staff Member drop down menu). Thank you!!

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26

July 30th Support Update

Hello friends! Just want to let you all know that I'm currently at 38% in my account! Praise God! It might not seem like a lot when I've got to get to 85%, but every bit helps and is so encouraging to me. Slowly but surely, I trust the percent will keep rising, and soon enough I'll be on my way to Tulsa!

This week is off to a great start: Yesterday I had the privilege of joining the UNL RUF campus minister, Steve Allen, at Zion in the morning to share about RUF. I met some new people there and handed out some postcards so folks can pray for me and consider providing. In the evening I went to Redeemer, my home church in Lincoln. It was so wonderful to worship with and talk with many friends I've been away from since I moved back to Omaha. I'm so grateful for the Redeemer community and all the friends God has blessed me with there.

Thank you all for your prayers! I've got a busy couple weeks ahead so please keep praying for me that my meetings go well and that God will continue to provide support.

If you'd like to join my email mailing list, by the way, take a minute to subscribe



Verse of the Day: Daniel 10:12

"Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard"


*This month for my RUF reading plan I'm reading through the book of Daniel as well as "Putting Amazing Back Into Grace" and "The Enduring Community."

Support Update

Hello friends! As of today I have received about 29% of my support goal ($28,470). I need to get to 85% to move to Tulsa. Classes start in four weeks.

While I wish the percent I've reached is higher, I'm not discouraged yet. I would LOVE to be in Tulsa by August 20th, but God's timing might be a little different, and His timing is always best.

In the meantime, I'm doing what I can to keep reaching out to folks and reminding those who said they wish to give to get their gifts in.

I have to raise $15,987.79 before I'm cleared to move. Here's a break down of what I need to reach that goal:

Monthly

16 people giving $100 per month

OR

22 people giving $75 per month

OR

32 people giving $50 per month

One-Time Gifts

16 people giving $1000

OR

22 people giving $750

OR

32 people giving $500

*If you want to give but don't fit into one of these categories, please feel free to give whatever you can! Everything helps and is MUCH appreciated!

Would you consider helping me get to campus?

How you can give: 

- online at www.ruf.org/donate/ and find my name under "staff member" (Trueblood, Bethany - Tulsa)

- a check (with Bethany Trueblood, Tulsa, #1376 in the memo line) in the mail to:

Reformed University Fellowship

1700 North Brown Road, Suite 104 

Lawrenceville, GA 30034

It's been such a blessing to see whose hearts God has stirred to join my support team and how He has provided for me. I'm so excited to see how God continues to work through this support-raising process. Thanks for partnering with me and praying for me!

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."

-Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

Encouraging Words

As I've been meeting with people and telling them about RUF, I've been pleasantly encouraged and affirmed by my interactions. Here are a few things that have come up in my meetings:

1.) Many people recognize the need for campus ministries on universities. They understand it can be a lonely time for incoming students who are looking for ways to fit in on their campus. Also, college is a crucial time for students to learn how to make their faith their own and continue to develop their faith apart from their family. Campus ministry strives to help students grow closer to God and apply the Gospel's meaning to their life.

Asking for Money: The hardest part of my job

This week is almost over and it's been my first week of following-up with potential supporters. While everyone I've talked with so far knows me pretty well, it's still really hard and incredibly humbling to ask them to support me financially.

A fellow intern has some great thoughts in his blog about raising support.

RUF Intern Orientation

Hello all!

Lats week I was in Atlanta for new intern orientation with 61 other new interns. The week had its overwhelming moments since a large part of the training focused on fundraising. (I'll write a more in-depth post about that part of my internship).

All of the interns are so kind and passionate about the call to serve God. I enjoyed talking with many of them about how they became a part of RUF and why they wanted to do the internship. It was really neat to see how we've all traveled different roads with varied trials and challenges; now, our paths have merged as we've come together with the common purpose of serving college students on our respective campuses.

In the short time I got to spend with the new interns, I felt like these are people I'll be able to call good friends years from now. It's truly incredible to see how members of the Body of Christ can come together from all over the country and instantly "click" because of our shared love for God and the work He's called us to do.

While training was hard it was also encouraging being in the same boat with all these wonderful people. Even though we are all going to different colleges and will have very unique experiences, right now, we share the uncertainty of not knowing how God is going to provide financially for our internship. But we also share the confidence that He will, in fact, provide.

I'm feeling very encouraged and affirmed from spending time with my fellow interns. Here's a photo of most of the group:

Finally, here are some pictures I took while at RUF Summer Conference at Laguna Beach:

A lively afternoon on the beach

The Bethany Dorm!

A cloudy but peaceful sunrise

Storm clouds coming in...

Sailing!

RUF Nebraska made a sweet Abe Lincoln sand sculpture!

Beach sunsets are the best.

Summer Conference was terrific. The 20+ hour drive down from Lincoln wasn't too bad, especially since I had the privilege of enjoying the ride with good company.

Our main speaker at the conference, Jean Larroux, was incredible. The theme for his large group talks was Glorification. The way he spoke about the future glory to come, when God restores everything, stirred my longings for that day. One of his talks got me to think about what future glory means not just for me and all who believe in God, but also what it means for Jesus! God knows more than we do how everything is supposed to be. We have some inclination that things are broken and the world isn't right, but we really have no idea what God originally designed nor do we realize how far we've really fallen from that design. God longs for future glory much more than we ever could.

The week in Florida was filled with other good talks from different seminars. My mind and heart were stimulated in so many ways as I thought about relationships, dating and art as well as some controversial subjects. Small group time after Jean's talks was great, too, as we processed what we heard and tried to wrap our minds around the glory to come and what that means for our lives.

Spending time at the beach was so great. I enjoyed relaxing in the sun reading "Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller and splashing in the salty water a bit. Several times I tired to go sailing with another girl; we couldn't go one day because storm clouds were coming, but finally we got to go and it was so fun! One morning I woke up early to see the sunrise. Unfortunately it was cloudy, but it was so peaceful and quiet and not many people were out. The sunsets, though, were awesome. There really is nothing quite like seeing the sun dip down into the ocean. I love watching the colors and listening to the waves roll in and out. The sound is so calming. I was amazed by how the tides never cease. Gazing out across the big blue expanse, I thought of "3 minute Song" by Josh Wilson:

"How can some melody communicate eternity, it's like trying to fit the ocean in a cup." Love it.

I had the privilege of meeting the RUF campus minister at Tulsa, Brent Corbin, as well as his wife Sarah and their two little girls. About 36 students from the Tulsa RUF were also at the conference and I got to meet a good number of them. Everyone was so friendly and seemed excited to meet me and have me be a part of the Tulsa RUF. I was very encouraged by everyone's enthusiasm. I'm excited to get to know the students and the Corbin family better.

I moved back to Omaha this past week and I've been slowly unpacking and starting to think more about all the fundraising I have to do. In a week I'll go to Atlanta for Orientation. I can't wait to meet other interns and really get going with everything.

Hope everyone has a restful Memorial Day weekend!

Greetings! Thank you for taking a moment to check out my brand new blog dedicated to my RUF internship at the University of Tulsa. I've listed more info on my "Introduction to my RUF internship" page. Please check it out and let me know if you have any questions.

Here is a link to a video that Brent Corbin, the RUF campus minister at the University of Tulsa, put together to help you get a picture of my role as an intern and the kinds of things I'll be involved in. Watch it and share it with your friends! If you're interested in joining my support team or learning more, please connect with me! I'd love to tell you more!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g3cvzvvoizqzall/Bethany%27s%20Support%20Video.mov