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.