"Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I've come."

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." 1 Samuel 7:12
 “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” – 2 Timothy 2:13

I could say so much about all that has happened here in Aggieland over the past few months. We have had so many fun events, a retreat, large groups, small groups, and the list goes on and on.

Fall Conference

Cat Choir Performing at KANM (The College Station of College Station)

Midnight Yell with freshmen girls

Freshmen "Fish Bus" at Santa's Wonderland

RUF group at Santa's Wonderland

Above all things this semester, I have experienced the faithfulness of God. As I work with students, I watch the Lord go before me and behind me and work in spite of/through my shortcomings and my sin. I am reminded constantly that the Lord is with us and for us even in the midst of great pain. I know He is faithful because He has given us everything in Christ but I see Him pouring out His new mercies every morning and honestly His goodness feels too beautiful to comprehend at times.

 Now this does not mean that everything is easy, not at all actually. There has been much brokenness, lies from the adversary, and many trials. But I know that our Lord has defeated death and will one day wipe away every tear. He is making all things new and He is redeeming an ugly world full of injustice and sin. He will not leave us as orphans and this hope will not fail us. I am constantly reminded in my time here of the Ebenezer stone- the stone of help- and think of the Lord’s continued faithfulness from generation to generation. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Praise God, who is unwavering from age to age.

I would ask you to join me in praying for God’s continued faithfulness in providing financially for this ministry. I am still short about $3,000 and need this to be able to stay through next semester. You all have been so gracious to give and to pray for this ministry already and I know the Lord will continue to provide. If you are interested in giving, no matter how much or how little, please visit the “Support RUF” tab for instructions. (Note- you can still pledge even though we are halfway through! Just send a note to bstandridge@ruf.org  and notify her of your monthly giving plans)

Grace and peace to all of you! God is faithful!

Anna

Two and a half weeks in AGGIELAND

HOWDY!
So before I give my usual spill, lets have an A&M fact, shall we?

Here in Aggieland, "Howdy" is the official greeting, as it says here on the traditions council website (oh yeah, I do research):

"Howdy" is the official greeting of Texas A&M University. It is our way of ensuring that no one feels like a stranger. The exact origin on this tradition is not known. However, "Howdy" is what sets us apart as the friendliest campus in the world.

It's everywhere. I walked into the bank to set up an account and what to my wondering ears did I hear but a friendly "HOWDY! How can we help you today?" Whenever anyone needs to get the attention of a large group, guess what they say?? HOWWDDYY!! Then they reply "HOOWWDDYYY!" Simply put, I really hope they make a t-shirt that says, "You had me at Howdy."

I want to go ahead and apologize for the delay in my posting here. Quite honestly, moving to a new city and trying to figure out life is kind of crazy. Then trying to learn how to do ministry in that new environment is a whole other challenge considering there is a lot of new things going on around me (not to mention the crazy stuff going on in my heart that I had no idea about)...but I digress/I'll share more later.

This is my new room! I downloaded a special panorama app just so I could post this picture for y'all. I have loved living here. I drive to campus every day but it is only a 7 minute drive. My roommates are so wonderful and all work in ministry which is a really cool connector.
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The weekend before school started, we took our ministry team to Boerne (pronounced like Bernie), Texas for our ministry team retreat. We played games, ate good food, bonded (of course), and watched this video on vulnerability. You should watch it.


So if you watched the video, hope it resonated with you as much as it did with us. It really opened up the floor for a lot of encouragement and transparency among our team which is always difficult but necessary to emulate the Gospel.

A shot of our ministry team
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Large group this semester is on the book of Ephesians.

It has been such an awesome experience for me to see how consistent the Gospel is in the midst of my inconsistency. Also, it makes me appreciate this little gold nugget called RUF. We have what is called a "fixed theology with a flexible methodology." This means no matter where you go to RUF, whether it is in Mississippi (holler) or in Texas (holler again) you will hear the same message strait from the Word. It may look a little different in style or set-up but my campus minister reminded us during our ministry team retreat to "hold our preferences loosely." How often do we hold our theology loosely but our preferences with a firm grip? Interesting to think about... Pictures from large group (courtesy of an RUF student- Margaret Stroud):

announcements

 worship

 visiting before large group starts

outside of All Faiths Chapel on campus
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Y'all, Angleball. (see picture below)

We play this every Tuesday with people from RUF and Westminster PCA Church in Bryan, TX. This sport is a mix between quidditch, water polo, ultimate frisbee, yodeling, idk it's all things at once. All I know is, this is my sanctification. 

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On a more serious note, this transition has really revealed my idols. All transitions are hard and I need to give myself room to adjust and to struggle; however, I can see a little more clearly just how much I relied on other things back home or in Oxford to give me affirmation and worth. Now that I am in a new town without any real places to hide, I feel exposed and threatened which leads to questioning of who I really am. Here;s the beautiful thing though: Even though I feel like I have completely built my life around finding affirmation from things other than Jesus, it doesn't change how He feels about me. I was reading 2 Timothy 2:13 which reads- "If we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself." I also find much comfort in Colossians 2:13-14- "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." 

Praise be to God that my fickle heart is nailed to the cross and all of its sin is no longer mine to bear. I am adopted into the kingdom forever. 

So to all of you who have persevered to the end of this blog post, y'all are awesome. And to all of my supporters, whether you gave financially or have been praying, thank you for being an instrument of God in my life. I am still AMAZED that He has blessed me with friends who are willing to sacrifice time, money, energy, etc. in hopes that some may come to know Jesus as the lover of their soul.

Grace and peace in Christ who is our hope,

Anna

Texas Bound!

HOOOWWWDYYYY!!

Yes, it is official. I received the "green light" to move to campus today. I have no grid for this. 

All throughout the summer I wondered what this day would feel like. Would there be singing from the celestial choir? Would confetti fly from my bedposts as I woke up that morning? Of course these things did not happen (although it would have been awesome) but I did receive an email telling me I could head to campus. My car is packed and I leave in the morning. What an amazing thing.

As I look back over this summer one theme is consistent: He is able, He is willing, Doubt no more. His ability and my inability met this summer and it allowed me to stare my need for Him in the face. There was no hiding it, I could not do this by myself; although, I tried on almost every occasion to do it out of my own strength. He, being the gracious God that He is, was/is willing and called me to doubt no more. Those three lines are from a hymn we sing in RUF- Come Ye Sinners. That song has been such an accompaniment to my summer and I'd like to share the lyrics with you.

Come Ye Sinners

1. Come ye sinners, poor and wretched,

weak and wounded, sick and sore.

Jesus, ready, stands to save you,

Full of pity joined with power.

He is able, He is able; He is willing; Doubt no more.

2. Come ye needy, come and welcome;

God’s free bounty glorify:

True belief and true repentance,

every grace that brings you nigh.

Without money, without money

Come to Jesus Christ and buy.

3. Come ye weary, heavy laden,

Bruised and broken by the fall.

If you tarry till you’re better,

you will never come at all.

Not the righteous, not the righteous;

Sinners Jesus came to call.

4. Let not conscience make you linger,

nor of fitness fondly dream.

All the fitness He requireth

is to feel your need of Him.

This He gives you, this He gives you,

’Tis the Spirit’s rising beam.

5. Lo! The Incarnate God, ascended;

pleads the merit of His blood.

Venture on Him; venture wholly,

Let no other trust intrude.

None but Jesus, none but Jesus

Can do helpless sinners good.

What a beautiful picture of redemption and hope. I just pray that this summer would serve as a reminder to me that "all the fitness He requires is to feel (my) need of Him." Let us never forget our great great need and His plentiful grace.

Thank you all for your gifts. You were and are absolutely an answer to prayer and an encouragement of the Lord's faithfulness.

By His grace,

Anna

SO SO SO Close!

Hello Everyone!
So as you can see I only have $500 to go! I don't think I will be moving to College Station for freshman move-in this weekend but I am still trying to move to A&M in time for Aggie Welcome Week/Gig 'Em Week which means I need to meet 85% by Monday. I cannot tell y'all how much your prayers and gifts have meant to me. The Lord is so faithful and His timing is absolutely perfect. I am so grateful for you and your support during this journey!

I have broken it down to a few pledges and gifts to get me to 85%:

Pledges-

2 supporters at $15 a month= $300

2 supporters at $10 a month= $200

One time gifts-

2 gifts of $100= $200

4 gifts of $50= $200

4 gifts of $25= $100

Thank you so much for your interest and support!
www.ruf.org/donate

-Anna

The Final Stretch- It's getting SO close!

Hello Everyone!!

As I am sitting here typing this, it is hard for me to even comprehend how close I am to the end of this summer support raising process. I will be honest with you. At every benchmark, every benchmark, I didn't believe that the money was actually there. It was hard for me to imagine one day reaching 85% much less every percentage preceding that one! 

But the Lord is faithful and it is by His hand that all of this has come about. So, I am very thankful to inform you that I have reached 75% of my support as of this morning! Thank you to EVERYONE who has given. Whether it was small or large in your sight, it was and is a beautiful sacrifice and gift to the Lord. I cannot emphasize how much your gifts mean to me. I just cannot thank you enough.

I have been wrestling inwardly during this entire process, what is also known as sanctification, as the Holy Spirit has revealed to me my ugliness and sin. I have been so quick to doubt and so slow to trust. I have been so easily disappointed and so reluctant to hope. I am reminded often that we have been given everything in Christ (Ephesians 1:3) and thus adopted to be co-heirs with Him forever. Why would I doubt the depth of my Father's love and provision. He gives us what we need in His perfect time (Philippians 4:19) I so often forget that what we need (Christ) is already given to us and everything else is God's merciful and gracious blessing.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Please pray that I would remain in this posture of dependence and humility as the Lord remains faithful now and forever but especially in these next week(s) of support raising.
• Please pray that the Lord would provide the rest of this support and willing hearts to give
• Please pray for my patience during this process 
• Please pray for safe travels to Texas when I get the green light to move
• Please pray for students at A&M to know Jesus as their lover and and savior
• Pray for RUF and this internship, my co-interns (Lauren and Jeremy are also fundraising), and my campus minister's family: Ben (CM), Beth (wife), Hannah (daughter), Nathan (son)

Thank you all for being an instrument of encouragement to me in this! I look forward to the exciting days ahead!

Anna

www.ruf.org/donate

Support Update and Reflections on the Month

Hello Everyone!

So as you can see on the graph above, I have officially reached 65% in committed support! The Lord's faithfulness never ceases and His people have been gracious to give. I am once again completely humbled to think that the Lord chooses to use small means to accomplish His big plan. He uses the weak, the needy, the insignificant and weaves it into a beautiful story of provision and intimacy with Himself. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who have given. Whether it seemed like a lot or a little to you, it was and is exactly what the Lord has chosen to provide through your gift and I am simply overwhelmed by your generosity. So, thank you. I need about 20% or around $6,000 to move to campus. I feel so close but I know that I still have a little way to go! If you haven't given already, I ask that you prayerfully consider supporting me. You can donate at www.ruf.org/donate or you can send in a donation. There is more info on the "Support RUF" page if you are unsure how to go about giving your gift.

This summer has definitely been a unique one. Coming home after graduating college leaves you feeling a little displaced and ready for the next step. Of course, in my case raising support for the internship, the next step requires a great deal of trust. Almost every single one of my friends is dealing with the same stage of transition, the transition out of something familiar into something new. We are all learning what it looks like to trust and obey a God who has promised to never let us out of His hand. My friends and I have talked a good deal about the idea of "manna" or "our daily bread" that the Lord provides both in our daily needs and ultimately in Christ, the bread of life. I have seen my tendencies to try and manipulate God's provision or store away his blessings in case He "falls through" at some point. However, just like the Israelites in the desert, I find that the manna spoils when I try to keep it to myself or create a safety net of my own sorts. I am not made to have a fallback plan for God. He is all in all and all providing. I have tried so hard during this process to set up some sort of fail proof system so if the Lord doesn't provide, speaking out of my own ignorance here, I can still make it work. Fortunately, we serve a God who is constantly searching for the lost sheep and constantly providing manna for the grumbling Israelites. I have seen my identity in both of these easy targets for Biblical reproach and can now say I deserve to be called both more than I deserve to be called precious or righteous. The funny thing is, I have no idea just how precious I am to my God and just how righteous I am in Christ. The other underlying theme that has risen is the obviousness of my own hunger. I have such a hunger for stability, faithfulness, and consistency that can only be satisfied in Christ. However, I find myself expressing these hunger pains and feeding on my own inability, the empty promises of the world and ultimately self-glory. God will be glorified above all else and He also promises that one day we too will be glorified, but not on this Earth and definitely not in a way that worships our sinful heart above a perfect and holy God. These trials and revealings of my heart are simply put the most faithful thing the Lord can do for His children: sanctify them and make them like Jesus. This is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory, too great to comprehend with our finite minds. One day all of my ugliness will be washed away forever by the blood of the Lamb and I will praise the One who was faithful, forever and ever.

Praise the Lord. His mercies are new every morning.
Anna

Lamentations 3:21-24
But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in Him."

Prayer Cards

Just ordered these to send out to my supporters!