Commons and Pharmacy

Well it has been a while since I gave you an update from campus. But not that much has been going on considering that we just got back from Spring Break not that long ago. The biggest news of the last few weeks is that the Lady's Basketball team won the National Championship while we were on break! That is their 3rd national championship in the last 5 years, and their 1st since I have been in college.

The other big thing that is going on around here is the continual construction on our new Commons building. The foundation looks as if it has been laid, but we have yet to see the walls go up. Their deadline is the end of the year, and the projection is that we will be able to be in it sometime during the Fall semester. It is huge! And there are lots of rumors going around as to what exactly will be inside. Needless to say, students are looking forward to having another commons on campus. It is hard to have the whole student body using only 1 commons when we used to have 3. But this new one will make up for all of that when it is built. And its completion will complete the construction from the tornado. It is the last building that needs to be finished.

The latest construction news concerns the new pharmacy building. There is now a sign beside Jennings Hall that shows the new building. They are supposed to break ground on the new building later this month, and they are expecting it to be completed during the summer of 2010, opening Fall 2010. The pharmacy program just began this past year, and now they are going to have a building in about a year. It is an exciting time for that program.

As the Spring 2009 semester begins to draw to a close, we will all be heading to fill out our schedules for the fall semester really soon. After Easter, decisions will be made for the new school year, my last school year at Union. We still have 5 more weeks of classes, plus a week of finals to go, but the spring semester will be over before we know it.

Matt

Jeff Gordon Wins Again

47 races ago, Jeff Gordon sat in Victory Lane in Charlotte. It was October of 2007, and I was sitting in my dorm room anxiously watching the race. He was in the heat of the Chase at that time, running up against his teammate, Jimmie Johnson for the championship. They battled it out for the next few weeks, and Johnson won the championship. It was heartbreaking, but after a solid, record breaking season in 2007, I never expected the next win to come 47 races later. To put this in perspective for those of you who know me, I was sitting in my old dorm room, pre-tornado.

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So I never thought that 2008 would be a winless season for Gordon. I expected him to go out and win again easily. I expected him to make another run for the championship. He did make the Chase, but that was about it. Then, at the end of the season, he began running well again. The team began making some gains, and they figured some things out about the new car. I knew then that the 2009 season would be different. I knew that Gordon would eventually find his way back to Victory Lane.

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But 2009 has started out better than I expected. Gordon has been the points leader for most of the season. Out of 7 races, he has led at least 1 lap in all 7. He has finished in the top ten 6 times and in the top five 5 times. And now he has 1 win on top of all that while he still protects the points lead. The season is looking good for him, and he is ready to make yet another run at the championship this year. Will 2009 be the year that the "Drive for Five" is complete?

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About this win, Gordon has never been good at Texas. He has never one there, and Texas was only 1 of 2 tracks that he was winless at, the other being Homestead. In fact, he has only finished 43rd a handful of times, and 2 of those have come from Texas, one being last spring. When the race started he took the lead in the first lap and led for a while. But then I watched him slowly go backwards. I feared that this was just going to be another Texas race for Gordon. The team made some changes, and they made an over correction on the car. I thought that it might be over. But as the race progressed, they began to get the car in line. And in the closing laps, Gordon was back up front. For the first time ever at Texas, I felt like Jeff actually had a chance to win. And then he pulled it off!

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In one race, Gordon broke a 47 race losing streak, but just as amazing, he broke his winless record at Texas. It took him 17 attempts, but he finally posted a win in Texas. So is Gordon back? My answer is yes. He has been good these past few years, and 2007 looked to be a promising season. But this 2009 season is looking even better. In fact, it reminds me of the late '90s when Gordon dominated. So maybe, just maybe, this will be the season that Gordon gets that 5th championship.

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Matt

Kansas Report - Prayer Requests

To wrap up this trip, I thought I would end it with some prayer requests from the week. First off, the picture above is our team, "the Tennessee Team," at the country swing dance party.

Please pray for:

• 11 students that we met that we know are going on summer mission trips this summer. They are preparing for them even now, and I pray that they will let God use them in mighty ways this summer. Pray for their safety as they travel, and pray that God will touch many lives through their willingness to serve Him during their summer break.
• There are several students that we met during the week that confessed that they did not know Christ. Please pray for their salvation. Pray that they will continue to attend events hosted by Christian Challenge so that they may hear the Gospel, and pray that the Christian Challenge students can find these students and have opportunities to show them Christ.
• In particular, there are 2 students that I met that are eating lunch with a Christian Challenge student this week. Please pray for good conversation and the opportunity to discuss the Gospel.
• Pray for the leaders of Christian Challenge as they continue to lead the group. They sacrifice a lot for those students, and they are truly a blessing.
• Pray for Fort Hays State University. There were lots of things that we heard about that take place on campus that we were surprised to hear. And as we prayer walked the campus, we did feel a spiritual darkness present. Please pray that Christian Challenge can help lift that darkness and that the lives of the students will be radically changed for Christ.

Thanks for your prayers as we went to Kansas during spring break. There was so much more that happened while we were there, but I feel as if I have hit the highlights for you this past week. This has been our trip! God was amazing, and He showed up in miraculous ways all week long! I am thankful to have gotten to know the Christian Challenge students at FHSU, and I pray that they continue to serve Christ.

Matt

Kansas Report - Days 8-9

So after the party we had a debriefing session with Challenge, and we got to bed late that night. But we still had to get up early on Saturday so that we could come home. I left my house at 6:30 that morning, and we arrived at the last house at about 6:45 to pick up the girls. When we got there, some of the Challenge students had arrived to send us off and give us some breakfast. So we ate with them and they prayed over us before we left. They gave us a Tupperware bowl full of breakfast food and junk food.

So we hit the road about 7:00 in just an inch of snow. We knew that the snow storm that had come through was ahead of us, and we thought we would be able to make it home, even if it was late. So we continued. But the snow only got worse, and the further we went, the harder it was to travel. The interstate was covered in snow and ice. A few times I thought we were ready to run off the road or tip over. Needless to say, our leader who was driving was a little nervous and worried. We began looking for exits, but they were either blocked or there was nothing on the exit, so there was no point in stopping.

We finally found a rest stop, and we pulled over. It was a good thing since we all had to go to the restroom. We then realized that the snow was up to our knees. We got back in the van and sat, waiting to see what we should do next. Our leader realized that the exit was blocked with one truck run off the road and another one struggling to get back on the road. Plus we had a nice pile of snow in front of the van that we could not drive around. We could only go through it. But that was impossible. Some of the girls remembered the Tupperware bowl, and us three guys rotated "shoveling" snow with that and a clipboard that a trucker gave us to use.

The process was slow, and we only moved a few inches each time we tried to move. But with the help of the truckers, we began to make progress. But then, after we pushed the van a little, we got stuck in the pile, not able to go forward or backward. Finally, the truckers said that we needed to push the van. So we got everyone out of the van, and with a few truckers, we all pushed the van through the snow and were finally free! But the truck blocking the exit was still stuck in front of us. So we continued to wait. We were at the rest area for 2 hours, and that truck had already been working on getting out for 3.5 hours. He finally got out, and so did we.

The problem now was deciding where to stay. Should we find a hotel? We knew the next city was 30 miles away. We had to go through the ice if we were going to find a place to stay. Carin, back in Hays, knew of a Christian convention center in Salina that might be able to keep us for the night. Thankfully, they did. So after 5.5 hours, we had gone 100 miles! But we were just grateful to have a place to stay. We spent the rest of the day in Salina. The guys built a fort, and it was awesome! We wanted to make a Fort Hays, since the one we had seen was disappointing. Then we went back inside with the girls and played games the rest of the night.

We got up at 7 the next morning and left by 7:45. We knew that we had to leave later because of the snowstorm ahead of us. So we waited for the sun to come out so that it could melt the snow ahead of us. We started out slow, just to be careful. But we soon realized that the roads were clear, and we gradually made our way across Kansas, seeing snow still piled up everywhere! We were on the road all day Sunday, but once again we were able to keep ourselves occupied with movies, games, and even homework. But we did make it home at 8:30 that night.

God was with us on our way back home. If the students had not given us that bowl, how would we have shoveled the snow? It would have been much harder! If we had not heard about the center in Salina, where would we have stayed and gotten that good of food? We would have been separated in hotel rooms. And if God had not melted the snow on the way home, how much longer would it have taken us to get back? We will never know. What a great experience coming home. Once again, God protected us through a storm, and we have lived to tell about it. This was a memorable trip that I will not soon forget.

Matt

Kansas Report - Day 7

The last day in Hays was technically our "free day." We had heard that there was a fort in Hays, hence the name Fort Hays State University. And we had been told that this fort was behind the university. So we had thought about touring it on Friday morning, when we had our free time. But when we woke up to 1 inch of snow that morning, we decided that this was probably not going to be a good idea. Instead we went to the local museum in Hays, sponsored by the university, and got to see all kinds of Dinosaurs and dinosaur bones. There was also this exhibit called "Fish-within-a-Fish," which was the bones of a fish who had eaten a fish. So we spent a lot of time at the museum that morning and then decided to at least drive by the fort. But there was no fort, or at least not what we had imagined. We were looking for a wooden structure but only found a few remaining buildings on the land.

That afternoon we went back to Carin's house to eat with her. We stopped by Subway and bought lunch and then went to have a debrief meeting with Carin. She had been sick most of the week, unable to talk. So we had not had as much time as we had wanted with her. So we heard how she had come to Hays and how Christian Challenge began. She then asked us questions about the week, and we were able to wrap things up nicely for the week.

After leaving her house, we all went to our hosts' houses to get ready for the Paidui Country Party. So we put on all of our country gear and got ready for the dance. Once again, we had a great turnout. Several students showed up, including many international students. We learned how to line dance to a few songs and had a great time. Many of us even had opportunities to share the Gospel with some of the international students. Two students that I was able to share with seemed interested and confused. One had been to Tuesday night Challenge before, and the other guy promised to go. I have since found out that they both showed back up this past week and that one of the Challenge students is meeting with them next week to talk. I pray that God will continue to draw them to Himself.

Once the party was over, we all went back to the girls' house to meet with the leadership team one last time. They wanted a debriefing session, much like what we had done with Carin earlier in the day. So we were able to share what we had learned during the week. It was a great time of encouragement for both teams. So that night ended our time in Hays. We said all of our good-byes and then headed back to our host homes for our last night. Then, on Saturday morning we got up to leave, fearing that there may be more snow. But thankfully it was still about an inch in Hays. But that is another long story, and you will have to wait until tomorrow to hear about our ride back home.

Matt

Kansas Report - Days 5-6

Wednesday began with us all going to class. I know, go to class while you are on Spring Break? That doesn't make much sense to most people. But it was an amazing experience! As Union students, most of us have never been in a secular classroom. So we were able to experience teaching from a new perspective, see how students and professors interact, see how and what professors say and teach in class, and see what the students believed.

I went to a class called Diversity, which is a class where the students discuss different topics about life. The day that we were there was a discussion about the differences in men and women, so we split the class up like that. We discussed topics such as relationships, marriage, and children. It was interesting to see their views as opposed to what we believe. Some of them were selfish, not wanting to meet their spouse until their dreams had been accomplished (school and work). And then, they wanted to put off children to spend time with their spouse. As a team, we later discussed whether this is how Christian's should view children. Should we put it off or should we be fruitful as Scripture commands, for children are the perfect opportunities for parents to create disciples. That is God's gift to parents. It was interesting to see how our views compared or differed.

After class, we all ate with the Challenge students and continued to build relationships with them and other students that we had met during the week. We had a little team time that afternoon, where we discussed what we learned and experienced in class. Then we got ready for bingo night. We had bought many prizes for the night and the turnout was great! The Challenge students told us that the numbers were more than they normally had at their events. It was a great chance to meet new students, and one of our team members talked to girl from Hays for 4 hours! We are still praying that she will come to know Christ.

Thursday was another great day, but we started a little later. After 5 days of nonstop action, we needed a breather. So we slept in a little late that morning and started on into the morning with breakfast and a team meeting. Then we headed back to campus to prayer walk the campus and pray for the different areas. We split into 4 groups and set out. It is amazing that we never ran into one another. We all knew where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to pray for. I feel like that campus was showered in prayers that morning, and I pray that God will continue to work there, especially through Christian Challenge.

We did some more prayer walking that afternoon as well as letting the students know about the International "Paidui" Party on Friday. After spending some more time on campus, we had another team meeting and then headed to the gym. It was dodgeball and basketball night! Once again, God showed up and sent students to the games that had not been coming to Challenge events. So not only were we able to get to know some of them, but so were the Challenge students. Again, we pray that they will continue to go to these events and have time to talk to the students at Hays.

So that was Wednesday and Thursday of last week. But there is still so much to come. Friday was a great day, especially at the Paidui Party that night. And then we had our own Kansas surprise on Saturday that you won't believe.

Matt

Kansas Report - Day 4

Tuesday of the trip began with Tim, Landon, and I finishing up our work at the church, painting the foyer. We got most of the second coat done that morning, that is until we ran out of paint. When we had finished painting, we went back to Carin's to prepare for the day on campus. It was our first full day working directly with Christian Challenge on campus, and it also began the first of our four events for the week.

So from 11-2 we divided into 3 groups and worked around the campus. Each hour we rotated between eating lunch and getting to know students, prayer walking the campus and handing out flyers for the week's events, and working the table where we gave away free candy and informed people of the week's events. We were so thankful to see good turnouts throughout the week as a result of the flyers, posters, and especially the one-on-one conversations that we had with some of the students.

After working on campus, we had a little bit of free time in the afternoon, so we rested and prepared for the service that night. For supper, we ate with the Christian Challenge leadership team. It was their weekly meeting to work on upcoming events and pray as a team. We heard updates from them, and they got a chance to ask us more questions as well. Then we paired up with some of the students so that we could go to class with them on Wednesday. After the meeting they had their weekly service, Challenge. Tim was able to share his testimony and some Scripture with the students, and then as a team, we had prepared a skit for the night. Finally, a lady from another country spoke about her work on the mission field. She encouraged us to preach the Gospel and spoke of the importance of being intentional and obedient to that call. After the service, we hung around with many of the students and were able to have many more good conversations. Then it was time for bed after another long day.

Well I am getting tired, and a lot happened on Wednesday so I think I will cut off here for tonight. But there is still more to come. The week is not even half way over yet.

Matt