Still Alive!

Hello everyone! I'm alive and well and loving NC so far! I'm almost to the end of my second week on campus - crazy! I'll be back soon with a more detailed and thoughtful post about my first few weeks on campus and what I've been learning and experiencing so far... but in the meantime, here's a copy of the newsletter I sent out earlier this week:

September Newsletter (click here)

If you're not getting my monthly email newsletters and would like to, you can subscribe here:

Subscribe to my newsletter

In the meantime, all three of the interns I highlighted in my newsletter have reached 85% and are in the process of moving to campus!!! It has been so encouraging and exciting to see God's providence up close over these past few days/weeks, and to see so many people from all walks of life give so generously. Thank you!

Thank you all once again for all of your prayers, encouragement, and generosity. It's still hard for me to fathom that people have given and pledged almost $30,000 to make this internship possible for me, and I have been so blessed by the people that have rallied around me in prayer and encouragement this summer at home as well as in North Carolina. I've been loved, prayed for, and supported by people who have known me since I was born and by people who have yet to meet me in person. You have shown me such a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ. THANK YOU! I'm so excited for these next two years!

Love, 

Time to move!

The amount of support that has come in this week has been overwhelming! (Almost $10,000!!)  I am now at 94% of my budget for this year and have been officially cleared to move to campus!! Please be praying for me this week as I pack up and move to North Carolina!

To those of you who have donated and/or have been praying for me this summer, THANK YOU!!! This summer, God has given me a much bigger picture of the Body of Christ and what it means to be a part of that. At the beginning of the summer, the number $28,470 was daunting. I knew God would provide the support I needed if it was His will for me to be an intern, but I struggled to believe that. The thought of raising that much money in only a few months seemed impossible. And yet, here I am, with $26,645 in my support account... wow!!! God is faithful!

This week, I also got to spend a little time with some of my college friends in Statesboro... it brought back a lot of memories of my own college days and my own experiences with RUF at Georgia Southern, so I thought I'd share some of those with you:

My first GSU football game!

first RUF Winter Conference

The night we decided to carve pumpkins... and went a little overboard. ;)

My intern Emily  (Sarah Palin) and I (Christmas Tree...) - Halloween 2008

Mission Trip to Chicago! - Spring break 2010

Roommates! (senior year)

Winter Conference 2011 

Widow's Watchmen mission trip - Spring Break 2011

One of many RUF Christmas parties... 

RUF Summer Conference 2011! 

When I think of my college days, I automatically think of the people I spent those days with. I thank God for the great friendships and fun times he blessed me with during those four years, and also for the things he taught me and  my campus minister (Sammy Rhodes), interns, and friends who helped me through difficult times.

Now I'm off to a new campus, with new demographics, a new RUF group, and a new role within RUF... it's a little scary, but I'm excited to find out what God has in store for me over these next two years at...

Western Carolina University! 

Go Catamounts!

P.S. I still need to raise about $1,800 to finish out this first year, so if you're interested in supporting me, please check out the Support me tab for more information!

Quick Update!

I'm now at $17,261! That's about 61% of my budget for the year. This has once again been a really encouraging week! In the past 7 days, my support has gone up by $3,865! Thank you SO much to all of you who played a part in that!

As soon as I've raised another $6,939, I'll be cleared to move to campus! WCU students will begin classes on August 20 (2 weeks from tomorrow!), and I would love to be able to be on campus by then! 

In monthly pledges, that breaks down to (for example):

3 pledges of $100/month

5 pledges of $50/month

5 pledges of $25/month

and 2 pledges of $10/month

Of course, it doesn't have to follow that breakdown exactly... in fact, it probably won't. It might even come in the form of a one-time gift of $6,939! (Hint, hint...) ;) haha. All joking aside, one-time gifts and pledges of any size are important! 

If you would like to help me make that final push toward my 85%, you can donate online at www.ruf.org/donate, or check out the Support me tab for more information. If you have any questions, shoot me an email at annie.hall@ruf.org. 

Speaking of email, I'll be sending out monthly email newsletters throughout my internship, so if you'd like to get those, you can sign up here: 

Subscribe to  my newsletter!

Happy Sunday!

Staff Training

What a week! Training was challenging, overwhelming at times, and humbling... but overall, I left feeling encouraged and motivated. We had several different seminars throughout the week on topics like the history of the PCA and RUF (which was actually much more interesting than I was expecting!), RUF's philosophy of ministry, Evangelism, balancing personal life and ministry, demographics, one-on-ones, etc. I also really enjoyed spending time with the other interns this week - it's refreshing to hang out with people who know exactly what you're going through! (Lots of "What! You too?" moments - for you C.S. Lewis fans.)

A recurring theme that stood out to me in many of the seminars was that God doesn't need me, but He will use me. In other words, it's not about me. God is already at work at Western Carolina, and His work there is not contingent on my being there... I won't be starting God's work at WCU, I'll be joining Him in what He's already doing there. That's both humbling and encouraging. My work does have a purpose - not because I have the ability to "fix" or "save" anyone, but because God will work through me. I came home feeling encouraged and motivated to continue raising support, so that I can get to campus as soon as possible!


Support Update:

I am now at $13,396, or 47% of my total budget for the year! (That's a 14% increase from last week!) I have to raise a total of 85% in order to move to campus. Right now, I am still $10,804  away from that goal. That breaks down to $1,080* in monthly pledges, or (for example):

5 pledges of $100/month

5 pledges of $50/month

8 pledges of $25/month

and 13 pledges of $10/month

Pledges are helpful because they add up quickly, but one-time cash donations are important too! Of the 85% that I raise before I move to campus, $10,000 must be in cash, not pledges (just in case pledges fall through). I'm currently a little over $5,000 in cash donations, and I still need to raise about $5,000 more in one-time gifts in order to move. 

All that to say: ANY donation of any size helps, and I am so, SO grateful to all of you who have already supported me! (If you would like to support my work, check out the Support me tab or go to www.ruf.org/donate.) 

Thanks!

*Pledges are counted as 10-month commitments until I reach 85%.

Training & Support Update

Next week, I'll be attending RUF Staff Training in Atlanta with all of the RUF campus ministers, staff members, and my fellow interns. I'm really looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting more of the second-year interns! (Hoping they can give me some killer-awesome tips for raising the rest of this support!) :) Please pray for safe travels as we all make our way to Atlanta, and pray that we would all learn and grow a lot and enjoy good fellowship at training!

As of today, I have reached $9,364 in  pledges and donations! That puts me at 33% of my total budget. I still need to raise $14,836 by mid-August in order to be on campus in time to welcome the incoming freshmen. That breaks down to $1,236 in monthly pledges, or (for example):

5 pledges of $100/month

10 pledges of $50/month

and 10 pledges of $25/month

Of course, one-time gifts and pledges of any size are a big encouragement, and they all add up! As I was looking over my donor report for this week, I found some donations that I (for various reasons) wasn't expecting at all... and each of these gifts is a reminder to me that God is in control of my support-raising, and I can trust Him. 

"God in His love always wills what is best for us.
In His wisdom He always knows what is best,
and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about."

- Jerry Bridges, Trusting God

Happy Sunday, everyone! RUF people - see you tomorrow!!