We're in Full Swing!

After about a month of being in Raleigh, things with RUF are in full swing!

What's been going on so far:

Through large group meetings, freshman bible study, ministry team meetings, staff meetings, Friday girls’ lunch, coffee dates, lunch dates, rollerblading outings, and planning upcoming events I think I’m starting to get the hang of intern life... actually I probably don't have the hang of it, just wishful thinking.  At NC State, we have large group every Tuesday night.  This time of worship is filled with music and a message from Chuck (this semester he is preaching on relationships).  Large group has always been my favorite part of RUF and I’ve found myself forgetting I’m an intern and feeling like a student while I’m there listening!  It was awesome to see about 110-120 students come out.  Although Tuesday nights are pretty draining for my introverted self, I find it to be the day that I look forward to most. 

Leslie, Elisha, and I doing some blading

a slightly awkward picture of Friday girls' lunch

TWINTERNS! Ian (co-intern) and I accidentally matched at the first Large Group. I loved it but I think he hated it.

I’ve been getting to know freshmen girls through different RUF events and through other people.  Some have agreed to meet with me and others have been kind of reluctant.  There are some girls who understand my role as an intern with RUF and then there are others who are a bit skeptical or just uninformed.  For example, in one conversation this week a girl said to me... "so are you a junior or a senior?" umm neither.  Another... "So what year are you?"...uhh I don't go here. "Oh, so where do you go?"...uhh I don't go.  And then I explain further.  It's not my intention for them to not know that I'm an intern and not a student, but sometimes that just how the ball rolls.  I've enjoyed so much getting to know these girls and their backgrounds.  Although I'm just in the beginning of developing relationships with them, I'm excited to see how God works in them in this semester! Please pray that Jesus is at the center of all of these relationships and that I trust that He is guiding my words pouring out His grace as I talk to them!

Last weekend we had a cookout to welcome the back students and reach out to new ones. The afternoon was full of food, desserts, sand volleyball, frisbee, and giant jenga! Thankfully the rain held off!

What's coming up:

-Dyeday Friday (Sept 7): This will be an event for girls to get together and fellowship over tie-dye!  We will be reaching in to find our inner hippie and indulging in some tiedye pancakes as well :) Pics are sure to come!

-RUF Beach Trip (Sept 8): Chuck and his family decided to invite all of RUF to come along with them for a day at Wilmington.  Pray for good weather! (sidenote: this will be my very first NC beach experience!)

-FALL CONFERENCE! (Sept 14-16): NC State will be joining UNC, Western Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, and Wofford for a weekend at Camp Greystone in Tuxedo, NC.  

-Every week we will be having freshman bible study on Monday nights, large group on Tuesday nights, other bible studies and fellowship groups throughout the week, and girls lunch on Fridays!

Life in General:

Sheesh starting life in a new city sure is hard.  I’ve never had to do it before and I sure am glad.  Don’t get me wrong, exploring Raleigh and finding my way around has been a blast, but I do miss home and familiarity.  Hopefully I will continue to get more established in Raleigh as time goes on aka find community and FRIENDS (if you are reading this and currently reside in the Raleigh area... Let's be friends!).  I still could not be thankful enough that I have a loving aunt, uncle, and cousins here who are such a big help to making this new city feel more like home.  Also, a few weeks ago I had my first visitors… which is weird to say because I feel like I’m still a visitor in a way.  These three great guys (see pic below) and I explored together, because I am clearly not well equipped (yet) to play hostess, and it was so good to see some familiar faces!  

Brian, Perry, Niles, and me

 Well, folks, God is surely already at work in the hearts of students all over this campus and I cannot wait to for Him to reveal His presence throughout the semester!

Thank you for all your prayers and support!

GIANT JENGA

Chuck, Ian, and me

And so it BEGINS!

I've MOVED! Because of YOUR prayers and support, I was able to move up to Raleigh last Saturday!  My dad and I made the trek up to Raleigh and unpacked all of my stuff into my apartment before he flew back home that evening.  I spent last week getting settled into my apartment, finding my way around Raleigh, getting lost, finding my way again, and hanging out with (a few) new friends.  Just for the record: I LOVE RALEIGH.  This city is the perfect size and I'm looking forward to finding all the hot spots and hidden treasures!  I've enjoyed going to church at Christ the King these past 2 Sundays and have met some great people there.  I'd really appreciate your prayers for finding a church, settling in there, and finding community through that here in Raleigh!

My dad and I after the day of moving!

I have felt SO welcomed since I got here, especially by Ian and Chuck('s family)... and also by some of my own family who is thankfully only about 15 mins away.  It has definitely been hard to be away from my family back home, including my 2 beautiful nieces (see below), but the Lord has surrounded me with some great people already who have helped this transition to go smoothly so far!

I couldn't resist sharing their cuteness.

What has been going on with RUF so far?
-We helped with Freshman Move-In this past Saturday.  We took lots of stuff up lots of stairs and met lots of freshmen and their families.  They were so thankful for the help and it was encouraging to get the chance to serve them in this way!
-Yesterday and today we had a Ministry Team retreat.  Chuck, Ian, and I along with 12-15 current students met to discuss, plan, prepare, and pray for the upcoming semester.  It was great to meet and get to know these students.  They are such a fun group and I am looking forward to hanging out with them more!

Bowling with the ministry team

Me, Sarah, and Meredith

Some upcoming dates you can be praying for:
-Wednesday (tomorrow): Campus Crawl. This is a time where clubs and organizations set up tables on campus and the freshmen can walk around and check things out! Then we are having a cookout at Chuck's house that evening where returning students will be able to hang out and catch up before the semester begins!
-Thursday: Classes start!
-Tuesday (Aug 21), and every Tuesday from now on: FIRST RUF LARGE GROUP MEETING!  We will get together on campus at 7:30pm to worship and hear a message from Chuck.  The theme for this semester is relationships (dating, siblings, parents, friendships, etc), so he will be preaching on that topic all semester long.
-Saturday (Aug 25): Kickball Cookout. We will get together for some fellowship around kickball, games, hamburgers, and hotdogs!


Financial Update:
I am currently at 93% of my total $28,470 for this year! THANK YOU SO MUCH for your contributions and partnership! I have been so incredibly overwhelmed by the way that the Lord has provided.  If you would like to still give, you surely can do so!  Once I hit 100% for this year, the donations will roll over to start filling next year's budget.  Just go to www.ruf.org/donate and find my name under "staff member".  THANK YOU!

I am so excited that this journey is beginning and am thrilled to get the chance to be here serving these students at NC State! Thanks for keeping up with what God is doing on this campus and I'm excited to update you all throughout the semester about what He is doing in the hearts of students here!

I'm so thankful for your support and prayers and want you to know that this would not be possible without YOU.

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; 

I will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; 

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be all over the earth.

Psalm 57:9-11

Is This Real Life?

Along with 60 first year interns, 50-something second year interns, over 100 campus ministers, and other RUF staff, I spent last week at training in Atlanta.  We spent Monday-Friday drinking from a full-blast fire hose aka leaning lots and lots about RUF and PCA history, RUF's Philosophy of Ministry, one-on-ones, evangelism, demographics, and just overall expectations of the internship.  This week of training was loaded with helpful information and I honestly felt like I was at a conference that I had paid to go to.  Sometimes I had to remind myself that this was for my job... how awesome that so many of these sessions were so intriguing that I forgot that it was training for my JOB.  TRAINING.. for my JOB.  I loved getting to hang out with all the other interns and catch up with some 2nd year interns who went to Furman with me.  There was also lots of tennis, ultimate frisbee, late night talks, impromptu dessert runs, and just critical hang out time.

Kelsey, Catherine, and me at the Thursday night cookout

It was also really encouraging to constantly be led back to the Gospel during this week and to be reminded of the fact that God doesn't need me at NC State; He can and will work despite me.  At first, I was slightly insulted and thought -- 'What? Of course God needs me here to help these students hear about all that Jesus has done for us! They NEED me to lead them!' But ohhhh no no no.  Hellooo conviction.  God doesn't NEED me at NC State, but He is going to use me.  The Lord is going to be at work in the hearts of these students and on this campus in so many ways and I'm not a necessary component of that work, there's no question about that, but I'm confident that the Lord has placed me there because He wants to use me in that process, while teaching me more about Himself as well!

Along with ALL of the unknowns that this internship brings along, I think the part that I'm most scared about is that it's going to be different than my experience with RUF at Furman.  But then again, I think that also might be the part that I'm most excited about.  Okay, clearly I'm a little confused here and maybe should gather my thoughts before I publish the mumble jumble on the internet for all to see, but we shall see what my thoughts end up being when I get to campus..... and speaking of getting to campus...

I'm currently at 87% and am moving to Raleigh this Saturday!  Real life?  YES.  Over the past 2 weeks, people (you!) have been SO incredibly and overwhelmingly generous.  The Lord has provided through so many different people and situations and I am so thankful that I will get the opportunity to get to campus before the students get there.  My dad and I will be trekking up and moving all my things into an apartment this Saturday, giving me a week to get acclimated and explore the city that I'll be calling home for at least the next 2 years.  The freshmen move in on Saturday August 11th, so I'll be able to help out with that and then join NC State's RUF ministry/leadership team on their retreat at the beginning of the next week!  

Honestly, there was a point a couple of weeks ago where I found myself thinking -- 'Dang I am so far from 85%.  How the heck is this ever going to get done.  The day will literally never come.'  Then a few days later, the Lord responded by using a few generous people to tell me that He was in control, sovereign, powerful, creative, and always working, never ever ever forgetting about His children.  Friends, we have a God who loves and provides no matter how small our trust is.  How awesome that He desires us and desires to pull us closer to Him and use so many different situations to help us learn more about the power of His love!  So there ya have it... and my next update will be from Raleigh!  Thank you SO SO SO much for all of the support and the prayers!  

This girl was a major reason why I'm doing this internship! SO thankful for you Catherine!

Ways you can pray:

-For my dad and I as we make the drive up to Raleigh and get my stuff settled in... That the Lord would prepare my heart, mind, and emotions for all that comes along with moving to a new city and starting life in Raleigh.

-For the freshman who are moving in August 11th... That they would feel welcomed and wanted as they are entering this new environment.

-For my fellow interns (check out their blogs by clicking on the links on the right side bar)... All 60+ of us are in so many different places right now, moving to campus and raising support.  Pray that we would each be fully invested in whatever point we're at with the internship, that we would put our trust in the Lord, and that those who are not at campus yet would be quickly led to people to partner with them in this ministry.  

-For RUF at NC State... That students' hearts, eyes, ears, and minds would be open and that Chuck, Ian, and I would be in this for Jesus and not ourselves.  Pray that I would be reminded every single day that God's forgiveness and love are directly proportional, and also that my sin and brokenness doesn't destroy me, but actually enables me to see the sweet love of Jesus more and more.

Thank you again, SO MUCH, for your prayers, support, and willingness to keep up with what all is going on!  

 

Feel free to contact me at allison.henley@ruf.org or 770-548-0124

After a Visit to Raleigh...

Last week I spent a few days in Raleigh after my cousin's wedding.  I hung out with my co-intern, Ian, and my campus minister, Chuck, and his family.  They gave me a tour of NC State's brick-loving campus, pointing out a lot of key areas that will become familiar very fast, like common hang out spots and where our large group meeting will be held on Tuesday nights.  Man oh man oh man I can't wait to be at large group with the students there!  After checking out some possible roommates and housing options, I left for Georgia even more excited to soon be calling Raleigh home.  AND how comforting that I have an aunt, uncle, and cousins up there as well (plus another great cousin post-wedding)! 

On Saturday morning, I found out that I have hit the 40% mark!  My report gets emailed to me every Saturday morning around 7:30am, so I don't think I'll sleep in on Saturdays until all of this support is raised because I'm just too anxious to read through it.  Then, I can't ever go back to sleep after I've read over it because I'm just too excited and overwhelmed by generosity to calm myself enough to reach a going-back-to-sleep state.  But ya know what?  That is TOTALLY okay with me!  This week I received donations from people who I haven't even talked to and people that I didn't even think knew that I was doing this internship!  We sure do have an awesome, all-knowing God who works in such creative ways!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!!

I am about $13,000 away from being able to move to Raleigh and start working with the students at NC State.  Their classes start on August 16th, so I hope to get there by August 13.  

To break down that remaining $13,000 that means:

1 person giving $200/month 

4 people giving $100/month

6 people giving $50/month

and 7 people giving $25/month

To give, click here and choose "Henley, Allison--NC State" under "staff member"

I had the opportunity to speak at my home church's service yesterday.  In about 4 minutes I tried to explain RUF, how the Lord used it to draw me closer to Him during my time at Furman, what I'll be doing as an intern, and how people can support this ministry.  I was, once again, overwhelmed by the interest and generosity that so many people presented me with after the service.  There's no doubt that the Lord is at work in people's hearts during this process and that He's opening doors to share the beauty of His love and grace this summer before I get to campus!

Ways you can pray:

-For me to put more and more of my trust in Jesus each day and less in myself.

-That the Lord continues to lead me to people to partner with me in this ministry.

-That this remaining $13,000 is provided in ways that are beyond and unknown to us.

-For the people that I talk to, that they would realize and know that they are not supporting ME, but are supporting the ministry of RUF as God uses it to work in and change the hearts of the students on these college campuses.

-That I would be reminded that this support raising process is not about raising funds, but is ultimately about inviting people to be a part of sharing what Jesus has done for us with the next generation.

Feel free to put your email address in the box on the sidebar to the right if you want these posts to come directly to your email.  (It may come to your email with the title as "Life in New Zealand", but I don't know how to change that, so just disregard it!)

Feel free to call (770-548-0124) or email me (allison.henley@ruf.org) with any questions!

Update!

Since when is it already JULY?!  

After raising support for a little less than a month now, here's an update in numbers of how the Lord has provided:

34% of my total goal has been raised --> $9,679 has been raised and $18,790 is left.

That being said...

40% of my 85% goal has been raised --> I am $14,521 away from moving to campus!

(I must have 85% of my total goal raised in order to move to campus)

Let's break down that remaining $14,521:

Monthly

6 people giving $200 per month

OR

12 people giving $100 per month

OR

24 people giving $50 per month

One-Time Gifts

30 people giving $500

OR

50 people giving $300

Will you consider partnering with me???

Last week I made a short trip up to Greenville.  It was so encouraging to get to talk to some folks at MRPC, a few of my favorite professors from Furman, and some Furman friends who are calling Greenville home right now.  I survived the Peachtree on the 4th and am now spending a few days up in Raleigh for my cousin Courtney's wedding.  I've never been to Raleigh before so I'm super excited to check out the city that is soon to be my new home! 

NC State students will be starting classes in mid-August, so I am hoping to get there a little before that.  In order for that to happen, the rest of July needs to be full of $14,521.  If you haven't already, would you consider helping me get to campus?? 

What you can pray for:

- That I TRUST... that the Lord is sovereign, that He is in control, that He is leading me.

- That I am reminded daily that God is working in and through the support raising process, reaching people even though I may not realize it.

- That I would be given chances to boldly and humbly share with people what it is that RUF is doing and how they can get involved.

- That my heart would be fully reliant on Jesus and not on my own ability (inability, actually).

- That I would bring glory to His name during this process!

How you can give: 

- online at www.ruf.org/donate/ and find my name under "staff member" (Henley, Allison - NC State)

- a check (with Allison Henley, NC State, #1350 in the memo line) in the mail to:

Reformed University Fellowship

1700 North Brown Road, Suite 104 

Lawrenceville, GA 30034

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or want any additional information (or just want to chat!).  You can email me: allison.henley@ruf.org or call me: 770-548-0124

It has been so cool to see how God has provided and which people He has already called to be a part of this ministry with me! I'm SO excited to continue to see Him at work in this process!

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-- that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

                                                                                             1 Cor 1:30

And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit

                                                                                            Ephesians 2:22

A Few Weeks In...

I've had a hard time thinking of what to blog about because I feel like there aren't many interesting things going on... oh yeah except this little thing that I feel like is taking over my life, or my thoughts at least.  This 'little thing' called raising support isn't such a little thing after all.

June has been full of intern training, a few days at a camp with some hilarious girls, a super fun trip to Augusta, some beach time in Hilton Head, and phone calls galore.

To give a little insight on June training... All 60+ of us interns gathered at the Westin in Atlanta for a week of introduction and direction.  Through the 9am-4pm sessions on everything from development to social media to life insurance, dinners out, downtime in the hotel, a late night visit to a senior citizens dance club (that's all I have to say about that), some frisbee time, a cookout in Hammond Park, and so much more, I feel like we all got to know each other pretty well.  I left June training wanting it to already be time for July training!  It's such an awesome thing to be together with all these people who truly love Jesus and want to bring glory to His name by loving on college students and teaching them the beauty of the Gospel (Isaiah 53:5) that even though we have nothing to offer, Jesus desires us!  I can't wait to hang out with all these guys again, but we had to go our separate ways to make this whole intern thing possible... aka raise support.

at the cookout

after some ultimate frisbee

the incoming intern class!

Mmmmm, yes please!

Confession: when I first started thinking about raising support, I thought-- 'Cool, so I'll just send letters out to everyone I know and they'll just send in the money and I'll be done! How hard can that be?!'
Clearly I knew SO much less than absolutely nothing.  It's actually kind of hilarious to think about how clueless and naive I was.  With that being said, these last few weeks I've been trying to get into the nitty gritty of the support.  There have been highs, lows, doubts, delights, disappointments, satisfactions, and failure.  I'm so engrossed in all of this that I'm constantly drawing webs and reconfiguring numbers in my head throughout the day.  Most nights I go to bed thinking about it and wake up the next morning thinking about it still.  And then, every so often when I take a slight break from self-reliance, trying to prove myself, self-satisfaction, etc (starting to see the pattern?), God reminds me that He's in control and that He is FOR me.  My job isn't just to glorify God when I get to campus in the fall, but it's also to glorify God through the support raising process as well... and that means trusting Him.  Trusting that He will provide, that He will carry out His plan, that He will calm my mind, emotions, and heart on the daily (Mark 4:39), that He will keep me rooted deeply in Himself, that He will lead me to generous donors, that He will guide my words and conversations, etc.  The Lord didn't say, "Ok Al, good luck this summer... I'll catch ya on the flipside at NC State in the fall".  He's carrying me through this and is sovereign over it all and man oh man is that comforting.  If He has given us Jesus, the greatest gift of all, then it's safe to say that He will not hold back anything else :)

some exciting NC State gear from my cousins!

What's ahead? This week I'm hosting a Dessert Night to give some friends more information about the internship and how they can get involved.  Prayers for that night would be awesome!  Next week, I'm headed up to Greenville, SC to talk to some more people (if you're up there and want to meet up, HOLLA!).  I'll be celebrating the 4th (aka one of my top 3 favorite holidays) by running the Peachtree in Atlanta, so if you don't hear from me after next week, I may or may not have collapsed along the way and never recovered due to my extreme out-of-shape-ness.

Please continue to pray that Jesus is my source of joy through the ups and downs of this process and that I glorify and honor the Lord by trusting Him!



He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."
                                                                                             Mark 16:15





 [photo credits: fellow intern, Rachel Hagan. Thanks homegirl!]

I'm Back!

I'm back... but not in New Zealand :(  Life would be much less "RUF" if I was still across that huge ocean.  I've decided to start up this blog again and revamp it with details about the next stage of my life!

I've graduated from Furman (see picture above for proof) and am going on staff as in intern with a campus ministry called Reformed University Fellowship (RUF aka R-U-F) for the next 2 years.  I have been placed at North Carolina State University, so I'll be moving up to Raleigh in August to serve the students there alongside the campus minister, Chuck Askew, and my co-intern, Ian!  Feel free to roam around the different pages here to learn more about RUF and what I'll be doing.  You can click the pictures on the sidebar to be directed to the RUF website and NC State's RUF website.  I'm still working on adding a few more things here, so be sure to check back for more updates!

You're probably thinking... 'Dang, this girl's got it made. Her job doesn't start until August! I bet she's just doing a whole lot of nothing this summer, huh.'  THINK AGAIN.  Since RUF Interns' salaries and expenses are raised completely through financial gifts from individuals and churches, I will be conquering that task this summer and I would LOVE to talk to you more about it!  Don't be fooled though, I don't just need financial support, I NEED YOUR PRAYERS!! For now, you can pray for boldness and humility as I approach people with the chance to partner with me and join me in this adventure, and also that my mind does not get wrapped up in the financial aspect of all this, but instead that Christ is at the center of my heart and continues to be my source of joy!

I am so thankful for the work that the Lord has done in me over the last few years and I am so excited to be able to serve Him through RUF at NC State!


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.    Romans 15:13