Last Monday I drove to New Hampshire to meet with Jason Wakefield and discuss RUF in New England. Jason is a pastor in Nashua, NH and he has been helping us with RUF issues in New England. During our conversation, Jason suggested we consider starting a ministry at Southern New Hampshire University. The next morning we met with John Taylor, a pastor in Manchester, NH and the three of us toured SNHU. It seems to be a place ripe for an RUF ministry. We discussed how to proceed and agreed on plans to move the project ahead before I drove to Manchester, Connecticut.
I had dinner Tuesday night with Lucas and Maggie Dourado, serving at UConn. Every semester is different in campus ministry. This fall they have a new intern, and that, plus the annual departure of last year’s seniors and arrival of freshmen, has changed the complexion of their group. I met with Lucas and his new intern on Wednesday, then attended the Large Group Meeting that night. Lucas preached a typically excellent sermon from John 15.
On Thursday I drove to Providence, Rhode Island to see Eddie Park. He arranged lunch with his intern, a student, and the protestant chaplain at Brown University to discuss some important issues the group has been facing. It was a pleasant and productive lunch, and I spent the rest of the afternoon with Eddie and his intern. Dinner that evening was with Eddie and Annie. I was surprisingly energetic after dinner, so I finished preparing my sermon for the next day before I went to bed. With the sermon completed I was able to spend much of Friday with Eddie, except for a conference call with the other coordinators. That night I preached on Genesis 11, and the danger of enjoying family, friends, and home in ways that disobey God’s commands.
I was exhausted, and slept in Saturday morning. I hastened home to help some Lehigh students get started on a project in my basement. I paid some bills, took care of the weekend chores, and unpacked and repacked for the trip today. This morning we left early for Allensville, West Virginia, a small town near Martinsburg. My brother Allan preached in my father’s church, and Peter and his family came to share about his RUF ministry at WVU. We received a very warm welcome and the people provided lunch for us afterward.
After lunch Peter and we drove to Doubling Gap Camp near Carlisle where we will have our Mid-Atlantic staff day tomorrow. This afternoon we hiked two and a half miles up the mountain to Flat Rock where we could see the whole Cumberland Valley. Peter’s children are having a blast, but we’re all exhausted.
David Green 