Last semester was full of so many amazing adventures, and I can't believe the new one is starting in less than a week! Ahhhh! Well, since you're taking the time to read this first blog, maybe you'd like to know where last semester's adventures took me? Yeah? Alright, sounds good - I'll give ya the fast-forwarded version :)
July 2011: End of Summer Training...
After 5 weeks of prayer, study, and team development at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, it's time to head to campus! See 'ya next summer Illinois!
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| Daily Mass at the University's Newman Center! |
August 2011: Move-In Day and the Beginning of the Year!
On August 21st I left home in Virginia around 9am and rolled into Montclair 5 hours later or so around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Before I even got out of the car, I thought a picture was in order. So here's my first ever view of my new home through the windshield of my '97 Accord!
September 2011: Getting Acclimated to Campus and Beginning Outreach...
We started the year off with a retreat/workshop for our student leaders, Freshmen Move-In, and constant efforts to reach out to campus however we could. Between the four missionaries and our student leaders we were able to get a "toe-hold" in some great clubs, sports teams, and academic departments across campus.
Having played countless hours when I was at George Mason, I made a special outreach to the Ultimate Frisbee team here at Montclair, and hit it off with this rag-tag group of guys in no time! Here's a picture from the Bloomsburg Invitational Tournament in PA the team played in during a thunderstorm! Please see the Prayer Intentions tab for more information about these men!
October 2011: "Hold on Alex... Is that Snow?!?!"
October seemed as "normal" as any missionary's life could be...
At the beginning of the month, I did a little community service with some students at the New Jersey Food Bank, all the leaves started changing colors, and pumpkin became the new flavor of the month at the Dunkin Donuts down the road.
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| New Jersey Food Bank |
But at the end of the month, on the night of October 28th, we got snowed on! And this wasn't just any old snow, it was pure slush that fell in giant clumped-up chunks! It was beautiful... that was, until I had to hang up on my old college roommate, Alex, when I realized all of the snow was piling on the leaves of every tree outside, and making branches and trees come tumbling down! Here's a quick shot of the one that fell in front of my garage! Thankfully the neighbors across the street had a chainsaw, and the cops stopped traffic. We were able to get it cleared out in about 20 minutes, but not before becoming new friends with a whole Jersey-Transit-Bus worth of guys who jumped out to help.
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| Newman Center in the snow! |
November 2011: Thanksgiving Fun!
No snow, but lots of students at our annual "Montapo Retreat" which happens every year as Montclair State's and Ramapo College's Newman Centers join together for a great retreat in Staten Island, NY!
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| Montapo Retreat 2011 |
December 2011: "Hey, You! Yeah - YOU! ...Happy Advent!"
This was the most fun outreach program of the semester. A couple of times a week, the team would dress up in Snuggies (that's right - the funny blankets with sleeves from the info-mercials), so we could be a Living Advent Wreath on campus. When most students were bogged down in the gloom of final exams, we were able to bring a blast of festive cheer as we donned our seasonal best, blasted Christmas music from a boombox, and handed out free hot-cocoa and candy canes to hundreds of students along with fliers explaining why Advent is such a big deal!
And as if that weren't enough, we were ecstatic at the number of students who knew we were an Advent wreath from afar, and came up saying, "Whoa - that's awesome! Ya know, I haven't been to Mass in a while... do they have it here on campus?"
January 2011: Prepping for Spring Semester 2012, Summit, Alpha, and Everything Else...
In current events, we've spent the Christmas break working on our mission partner development (that's missionary-talk for fundraising), planning our upcoming programs, and making sure our students are preparing themselves for the upcoming Student Leadership Summit in Baltimore, MD! Check out focussummit.org for more information!
