At Flathead Lake
above: Lindsey catches the ball.
left: Alyssa, Faith and Kiira.
Elevation Weekend—a day and night at Flathead Lake, in early September, building community among students and staff. Spiritual family is the “rue” of Chi Alpha, the basis of love, trust and support that make spiritual growth possible through the challenges of the school year.
on the Mini-Mission trip in Plains, MT
left: Brit in the community wood yard
below: splitting logs before they can be stacked
Mini-Mission Trip to Plains—helping cut, load and deliver wood to needy folks in a rural community two hours from Missoula, working alongside members of a local church. For some students, the weekend is their first missions trip, a first taste of service for the sake of the Kingdom.
At Fall Retreat
left: UM and MSU-Northern Chi Alphans playing Cranium. above: UM Chi Alphans at Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park.
Fall “Go Deep” Retreat—Chi Alpha groups from four campuses gather in Hungry Horse, Montana for the weekend. Three sessions of teaching, prayer times, and long sets of worship all encourage students to encounter God. But there’s still time for a bonfire, consumption of junk food, late (all?) night games and a hike in Glacier National Park.
God has been doing some good work in students during these weekends. Just one example: Alyssa, a freshman, dove into community at Elevation Weekend and got involved in the weekly Chi Alpha activities. At the Saturday evening service of Fall Retreat, she shared how she has been noticing the lonely people on campus, feeling a burden for them to know Jesus. That night she was convicted to set aside the fear of rejection and start acting more in faith to reach out to these students. Please pray for her as she steps into the missional life in this way. I’m excited to see how God uses her!
Praise and Prayer
- Praise for deep times of connection with God and each other at weekend events.
- Praise that Chi Alpha students’ desire to share Christ with other students is growing.
- Prayer that students touched and convicted at Fall Retreat will continue to grow in faith and move forward with new commitments.
