The semester is starting to come to an end here in Clemson. Students are starting to hole up in their dorms and in the library in preparation for finals week (the first week of May). I have been reflecting a little in the past 8 months, and overall I am still excited and encouraged that God has placed me in Clemson. I am starting to see some “fruit” in the lives of some of the students I am meeting with, and it is neat to see how God is working in their lives. I am getting to help students struggling with anxiety, stress, doubt, and I getting to answer some of their general question about the Christian life and the Bible. In many ways I feel like I am just now getting into the groove of the semester- knowing what to expect now and knowing how best to do ministry in this particular environment. Girls are more honest with me now and I feel like we are just beginning to enter into important conversations. But there’re only 2.5 weeks before summer! I am glad that I will be here for a second year to continue these relationships.
Last Friday, RUF had a bonfire on the lake. It went well and some students came to it that have not come around to many events other than our weekly Large Group. I hope that they are feeling more comfortable now and welcome to the group. We have two more Large Group meetings, one of them being tonight. Stephen will be wrapping up our year-long study of Hebrews and faith. We will look at Dating and Marriage in the fall.
We will have our end of the year party this coming Friday at the Speaks’s house! We will cook out and hang out at the house, playing corn hole and other outdoor games.
May 7-12 I will be taking 20 students to Panama City Beach for our Summer Conference!! Summer Conference is the best. There is so much great teaching from the Campus Ministers and plenty of time for hanging out on the beach and fellowshipping with other schools.
This summer I will be heading up a summer RUF group here! My CM Stephen will be out of the country all summer so I’ll be the contact person for all RUF related events. I hope that the summer, with its slower pace and fewer number of students will provide an excellent opportunity for really getting to know the few students from RUF who will be over the summer. Also, this summer will be a time of raising support again! I will go back to the drawing board to raise yet another $32,495 for next year! I will be in Birmingham some this summer to handle support raising from there. Having said that, I would love to meet with you in person and tell you more about this past year- too many things happen to write on the blog and talking in person is much easier!
If you would like to support me financially (or to continue to support me) I would greatly appreciate that. You can contribute online via the RUF webpage, ruf.org, or you can directly mail cash or checks to RUF at 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 104, Lawrenceville, GA. Checks can be made out to Reformed University Ministries, and put my name in the memo line!
I really would love to meet with you. I love to talk about RUF and my students, so please do not hesitate to call me (205.540.4046) or email me (april.smitherman@ruf.org) to set up a time. I really hope some of you take me up on this!
Thank you for reading! I will continue to post over the summer so keep on reading!
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