Highlights from the Year Part 2: Spring Semester

The spring semester always seems to go by more quickly than the fall. Perhaps that's because it seems so FULL. Here are a few favorite high lights from this past semester:

RUF Sk80's

This tradition started before I was an intern at TU and is a lot of fun: students put on their best "80's" attire and joined us for roller skating at Skate Land. The students really got into it! Lauren, pictured above on the right, won best 80's hair-do. We also had a prize for the best 80's outfit and for the group that tried to match their outfits. I loved this event a lot! 

Pictures with "Goldie!"

TU got a new "ambassador" this year and her name is "Goldie." I see her around campus frequently and she puts a smile on everyone's faces. Kiersten, a sophomore music major, and I were happy to get a picture with the infamous Golden Retriever! :-)

 Gungor concert

In February I got to go to a Gungor concert with a couple freshmen girls, Spandana and Meg. I love going to concerts and really like this band, so it was fun to get to share the experience with a couple TU students! 

Ice Skating

Jade, a student from China (on the right) is one of the first students I met when I came to TU. I've had a lot of fun getting to know her and spend time with her. We went ice skating one afternoon and paused to take this "selfie." 

Spring break trip to Peru

In March we took 16 students to Peru where we partnered with a ministry called Scripture Union that has started homes for abandoned boys. We got to do a work project for a home in Urubamba, which included sanding, lacquering, puttying, and varnishing all of their dressers, tables, and chairs (which were salvaged from a flood in 2010). In our free time we got to hang out with the boys. I really enjoyed spending time with them and seeing how joyful they are because of the ways God has blessed their lives. It was such a special trip I hope to always remember. 

Last RUF Large Group

Our last RUF Large group of the year was April 29th. It was a special evening because it was my last with RUF. My campus minister and the students took some time to show their appreciation for my service as their intern. I was very humbled by their hugs, letters, and kind words. I got to share some words of my own and thanked them for the wonderful two years I've had at TU. It's hard to believe how quickly they went! I'm definitely very grateful for this group and all the fun times we've had together. I will miss TU a ton! 

It doesn't quite feel like "good-bye" though because I'm staying in Tulsa! I'm happy to say I got a job with a nonprofit called Reading Partners, a tutoring program that helps struggling kids strengthen their reading skills. I will be a site coordinator at one of the elementary schools and will get to work closely with the kids and volunteer tutors. I'm so grateful and excited for this opportunity! 

I'm also excited to get to go to Florida soon for our RUF summer conference! We're taking about 17 students with us and it will be fun to hang out on the beach with each other before my internship officially ends. I'll try to post some pictures from that trip once we're back! 

Highlights from the Year

I'm terribly sorry for not keeping up with this blog... I had every intention of posting throughout the year. As I write this, there is only one week left til students are done with finals. So my apologies for not updating more regularly.

Since it is nearing the end of the year, and the end of my internship with RUF, I thought I would do some reflecting and highlight a few favorite moments from the past year. Here are a few Fall high lights (I'll make a separate post for Spring high lights):

Welcome back cookout at the Corbins'

To welcome students back from the summer, and to get to know new freshmen, my campus minister and his wife hosted a cookout at their home at the beginning of the fall semester. It was great to catch up with students after the summer break and meet new students, too! 

RUF Fall Conference : Moore, OK

In September we took a group to Moore, OK for a conference with several other RUF groups. We spent a day working with Sheds of Hope to build sheds for people who had lost their homes to tornadoes last spring. People can use these sheds to store their belongings while they rebuild. Seeing the damage and debris was surreal. I'm glad we were able to spend some time offering support to those in the recovery process. The trip was a reminder of how temporal things are and allowed us to "get outside of ourselves" and focus on serving others. 

RUF Bluegrass, BBQ, and Bonfire

In October we had our annual bonfire complete with bluegrass music, dancing, pumpkin-carving, and BBQ. Fall bonfires are one of my favorite things because they bring people together. Community is an important part of RUF, and the bonfire is a fun way to bring people together and foster relationships in our community. This was definitely one of my favorite events from the fall semester and I hope it's a tradition that will continue! 

RUF Christmas Party

Another favorite tradition is the RUF Christmas party/tacky sweater exchange. Everyone came to the party wearing a tacky Christmas sweater and left wearing a different one. We also had a dessert competition, which was a lot of tasty fun! The party was a great way to close out the fall semester and enjoy the Christmas season together before parting for winter break.