Kansas Report 2 Day 4

The next morning, on the first day of the school week, we all got up and got ready to go to class. Some of us, like me, only went to one class that day, while others went to a few. It was great for all of us to get an experience of what class is like on a secular campus. While some classes are not taught that much differently, others come from a completely different viewpoint. Take the sciences for instance. They are not taught from a Christian viewpoint on a secular campus like they are at Union.

The rest of the day on campus was spent prayer walking and eating. When we were not in class, we got in small groups and prayer walked the campus. I know some of us had the opportunity to spend several hours in prayer that day, and it was a perfect day to be outside. We were able to see God's creation along with the campus and just pour prayer into that dark campus. For lunch, we ate with Challenge students. During that time, one of the students brought a random girl to the table, told her about Challenge, and introduced her to our group. He had never met this girl before, but he just found the confidence to introduce her to their group in hopes that she might hear the gospel and get involved. It was so encouraging to see the boldness he had in that moment.

That afternoon was spent at Carin's house, prepping to paint their basement, where all the students hang out. We moved all of the furniture to the middle of the rooms and began taping the walls so that we could paint later in the week. Then, that night, we attended some of their small groups. The girls went to Vision Groups which are for freshmen and transfers. In the fall they are led by upperclassmen as they get accustomed to the campus and spend time in the Word. In the spring they have more large group times as they study God's word together, and a new group of leaders is chosen from them for the next year. The guys went to the Men Impact Groups, which are small groups for upperclassmen. There are also Women Impact Groups that meet at some other point in the week, but no one attended those during our time in Hays. It was great to see how they were small group focused in their ministry. I believe that small groups are crucial to ministry and that we all need to be involved in one in some form or fashion. It is a great way to look out for one another, encourage and care for one another, and hold each other accountable.

The rest of the night was spent just hanging out with some of the students and our roommates. It was hard to believe that the trip was already half way over at this point, but there was still a lot more that happened on the second half of the trip.

Matt