Wanted to pass along a quick update about what all has happened on campus in November.

In my last post, I mentioned our efforts to engage the campus in service through Operation Christmas Child. Our packing event was last week, and I have to say, it was a busy few weeks leading up to the event. We had a bake sale to raise funds for shipping boxes, collected donations to fill up the boxes, and spent time coordinating with other groups on campus to try and reach out to as many students as possible.

I think all of us involved in the planning were anxious going in to the evening. Our calculations were showing we were coming up short on all fronts, and we had no idea how many people were going to show up. Then people started showing up with bags of supplies. In a matter of minutes, we had 3 banquet tables piled high with toys, toothbrushes, crayons, soap, notebooks, and all kinds of other gifts. 

When 2 of our leaders started explaining what we were doing that evening, students started showing up. A lot of students. Lots of faces I’ve never seen before, including most of the women’s gymnastics team. It was all very overwhelming, and about an hour later, 50 people had helped pack 100 shoeboxes to send to kids all over the world.

Also, after taking pictures and giving lots of thanks, we added up all the financial contributions and found we were only a few (manageable) dollars short of our goal of $700. All in all, a pretty amazing evening.

Of course, there’s still plenty to do moving forward. Please be praying for opportunities to follow up with all of those new faces. We do this project not only because it’s a chance to serve kids from around the world, but also because it’s a way to invite others from around campus to partner with InterVarsity and hopefully build relationships that God can work in. 

Thanks for your prayers leading in to this.