Tom: what has God been showing/teaching you on a personal level lately?
Jean: Cris has a great story to tell on our recent work with the International Student group on WashU’s campus. I’ll let him have the mic.
Cris: I paused to catch my breath. Looking up, I saw there was one more floor to go before we’d be done with the monstrous couch that was causing us so much trouble. Sweat dripped off my forehead and I reflected on why I’d said yes to helping with the International Friends Annual Furniture Giveaway.
Each year, the International Friends student ministry organizes a free furniture giveaway, in which International students are able to gather some of the basic amenities for student life: desks, beds, book shelves, old television sets, etc. We then help the students move that furniture to their apartments. This is what brought me to the tired, sweaty state I found myself in: a couch on my back and an impossibly tight staircase to navigate.
This was a completely worthwhile use of my energy. The furniture giveaway served to connect a tremendous number of students with both InterVarsity Staff and existing Christian students. It served as a practical expression of love that enticed the students to find out more about the fellowship. It opened doors to relationships that would have otherwise never been possible.
So my efforts were more than just exercise. I felt as if I was entering briefly into what Jesus was doing in this community of students and seeing the doors being opened by this practical expression of love. What a great way to spend a Saturday.
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