so another trip to texas this year...i think that makes four since we moved to ohio back in october. wow. this trip was a bit different though. the newman center's campus minister and i took five osu students to texas a&m to be retreaters on aggie awakening #86. it was amazing. the retreat was a phenomenal experience for everyone and i am so happy that we were able to make everything come together so well to make it possible. below is a story that pretty much sums up the experience.
"Got a story for ya Ags! I took a group of five students to Texas this past weekend for a retreat called Aggie Awakening. This retreat occurs three times per year and this was the 86th installment since 1983. It’s a very powerful experience for college students and we wanted to explore the possibility of bringing it back to the students at OSU. After the first night we gathered all the students together to discuss where they were (mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc). They all were beaming and excited to see what the next two days would hold for them – all except for one. This student pulled me aside after we broke up that night to tell me he was still a bit unsure where this was all going. He was trying to hear God but was confused about why his experience was not quite at the level of the others in the group yet. His problem reminded me of the story of Elijah who was alone in the wilderness trying to get away from God. When God decided that Elijah was ready, he spoke to him. But Elijah didn’t hear God's voice in the storm, the earthquake or the fire. It wasn’t until it got quiet and he heard a still, small voice that he realized what God's was trying to tell him. By the end of our weekend (and our two day drive back to Ohio…), this student had heard God and couldn’t be more thrilled about the manner in which he heard it. This story shows that listening for God can be tedious and frustrating sometimes, but he knows exactly when to talk to us and call us forward."
oh yeah, our drive back to ohio was pretty awesome too. you would think that driving through texas, oklahoma, missouri, illinois, indiana and ohio was be lame, but it was not. :) click here (or the photos) to check out the album and see our stops along the way. thanks and gig 'em!
