Thank you =)

Hello everybody!!!


I used the ten dollars to buy hats and gloves for the kids!!! =)

Feliz navidad y prospero año nuevoo!!!! Gracias por todo!!! 8)

Hasta luego!!! XD

As promised, here is my update with my $20:

 

As I explained in my earlier post, I decided to buy Expo markers for my professor and leave them in her office as a surprise gift. The next class period, she brought the markers to lecture and was pretty excited to show students how her name was written along the bottom of her new markers. Overall, I think this worked just about as well as it ever could. She has brought the markers to class ever since. I'm not certain that she has looked into the verses I included on the markers, but God knows and is working.

Also, last night, Jess and I took our professor to dinner. Unfortunately, she would not let us pay for her meal and so that kind of caused problems with the $20 we planned for her, but that is alright. We will get another idea soon. However, conversation was very good at dinner. She was very interested in our backgrounds and of course, hearing her story was awesome. I felt like God made a couple of little entrances and might have shown a some light on her. She seemed really interested about the church that I attend here and I think she might have a  Christian background similar to mine. Yeah, Jesus! I'm currently deciding the best way to ask her if she'd be interested in going to church with me this weekend, so I'd definitely appreciate some prayers toward that.

Anyway, that's the progress thus far and I guess we'll be back to the drawing board with Plan C.

Blessings to all of you this Christmas!

Justine

 

World Vision...

I went to each of my professors and asked them to match my $20, and with the total money I raise, I will be sponsoring a child through World Vision (providing him/her with food, fresh water, and medicine. So far, three of my teachers have matched my $20 giving me a total of $80 ($60 + $20 starting money). I am still waiting to hear back from one of my professors, so the process isn't 100% complete, but its on its way.
Don't worry about the technical difficulties - it'll get posted one way or another.
Thanks,

Quincey

shamboo boots

I was at this show where the band guys were really sweet dudes. They said they could use anything to help them on the road. The $20 was received well and they were just really grateful for anything. God's been good to me, hopefully it touched them in the same way.

Mcp and I both had separate plans for our twenty dollars, but things didn't work out as we planned. I had dinner with someone from my house, but she refused to let me pay for her. Mcp was going to help pay for food for a Thanksgiving dinner she hosted at her home for refugee families in Des Moines, but her dad paid for it. So after Thanksgiving Mcp and I were still sitting with $20. In the end, God multiplied our money, allowing us both to do our original ideas but still have the $20 left over to do something else. ;-)

We brainstormed together and decided to pool our money together and do something for Christmas for the international students. We decided that it was necessary that our international friends were exposed to the american classic ugly sweater Christmas party! Monday afternoon we traveled to the Pella Thrift Store and picked out ugly sweaters/shirts for all 9 of the lab assistants. I delivered them Monday night and had so much fun observing their reactions. I knocked on the door, invited them to the party, and handing them their sweater asked if they would "please wear this to the party" They were all shocked and laughed at their...beautiful...gifts. In the Spanish house (where I live) Miguel, Nadege, Sebastien and I spent a good hour laughing and trying on the sweaters.

Last night we had the party. The language assistants, and several other friends who live in the language houses, came in their sweaters. We took loads of pictures, decorated cookies, had crackers with cheese balls, and had an all around good time. Mcp suggested we give a toast, and we shared how blessed we were to have met all of them this semester and wished them a happy break. Nadege, who was scheduled to fly back to France today, was especially glad for the opportunity to hang out with friends one last time before leaving for break.

Having an ugly sweater party may seem like a small thing- no lives were dramatically changed last night, but we believe the Kingdom of God is about relationships. These are people we have spent time with and gotten to know all semester and we wanted this party to be an opportunity to let them know that we sincerely care about them and are blessed by their friendship. We not only had fun at the party, but valued the time we had to further connect with the international students and look forward to continue investing in their lives when they come back after break.

Emily De Penning and Mcp (Emily McPherson)

Meal with the Cleaning Staff

I am in a group for our $20 for change and we are going to make a meal for the cleaning staff in Graham and Scholte. We have decided to do it during finals week since that will work the best for the cleaning staff. I hope that all will go well and God will bless our time with them!

Amelia

I used most of the 20 dollars to buy food for the people on my floor. Whenever anyone would come into my room I offered them some food, because it was everyones food and not mine. I also spent some of the money at the local bar, buying myself a drink one night. I did this so that people would know that there is nothing wrong with drinking in moderation, and so they would know I did not think any less of anyone who was at the bar.

   -Nick

  So I was not sure what to do for a while, but before thanksgiving  I really felt lead to write someone on my floor a letter.  I ask God, and I felt like he laid a specific person on my heart, so I decided to write this person a letter that basically had a few Bible verses in it and some encouraging words.  I used the 20 dollars to get him a gift certificate and included it with the letter.  I hope that this letter was encouraging and was not just seen as someone being nice, but really moved him to think and reflect on Jesus Christ.  Through this I pray that conversation would come about and hopefully relationship would build with him and Jesus. 

My $40

So I was in a group and we had this cool plan, but then we never acted on it and people had other ideas and such so I didn't know what to do. I know this is last min but this is what I'm doing. I'm splitting my $40 in to 40 1 dollar bills and then I'm going to attach a bible verse to it and put them in an envelope and go through and pick 40 random people and put them in their mailboxes. I think people will really appreciate it now since it's getting to that hectic part of the year with finals and all.

So there's my story, better late than never I guess,

Matt R.

Giving

I decided to give my $20 to a friend of mine that does not have a meal plan and makes all of his meals by himself. I thought that this simple gift might feed him for a week or two and would be a nice gift. I just went up to him after class one day (this was the day before break) and simply said, "Hey man, God has blessed me with a lot this year, including these $20 dollars and i just wanted to bless you with it this Thanksgiving. Have a good one man." He hesitantly took it and just said, "Thanks...Thanks a lot." It was just something this simple that got him thinking. I think it was a spectacular idea.

Kris M.

Cookies + Notes = Sharing God's Love

Sorry that this blog is really late. I put the PRO in procrastinate.

I have been really wanting to leave an impact for Jesus on this campus before I leave to student teach next semester. As I look back over that last four years, I can see so many opportunities that God gave me where I have chosen the easy way and not to follow in his directions. I feel that God has used me to do some good work for him, but I coulda/shoulda been more willing to completely give my all to him holding nothing back. Now this 20 for change has opened my eyes to a way that I can have leave an impression for Jesus on some of the students here at Central.

I had heard about how a group of students was selling cookies to support an orphanage in Sierra Leone. I was planning on buying a dozen for myself to be delivered on study day. Then some things didn't work out with the group I had planned on sharing my money with and I was left to find a new idea. As an RA, I realized that I could buy cookies for all of the residents on my floor. I ordered one dozen cookies for every suite on my floor in Scholte. I decided to write a small note for every resident as well. I am currently working on that and should have it done soonish. This is proving harder than I thought it would be, because I do not know all of my residents as well as I should to be able to write as personal of a note as I want to. I want them to know about Jesus' love and that I care about them. Please keep this in prayer that God will give me the words to say to each individual on my floor. God has also laid a few other people on my heart to do this for including some freshman not on my floor that I have had some interactions with and a few seniors that I use to be really close with, but have since grown a lot further from.

Thank you for your prayer. I am praying that this will be a blessing to someone and that at least one person will be encouraged in their faith or even find a new faith in God.

Thanks,

Tim Freed

Rewards for Perseverance

Well, My first few ideas sorta fell through, just not really plausible nor did I see them as effective or "life changing."  While it may not be life changing, I've decided to do a couple things.
1. I will give $5 to one of my language assistants for new white board markers, as his always seem to run out.  I would buy them, but being the end of the semester, it would seem kin of pointless.
2. I am going to give of my professors a nice little gift for teaching the class that I was in.  This class was sorta thrown on him at the last minute and he really has had to make time for it.  even though it was only a 100 level class, he did his best to make it enjoyable and worthwhile, even if he couldn't be there all the time.  While it was his job to teach, it still took patience to put up with the 100 level class while not really having the time to do it.

Myself and a friend made a prayer blanket for a friend. I heard about this that people knit blankets or shawls for people. While they are knitting they pray over each knit. Well I cannot knit and neither can my friend. So we decided to make a tie blanket. We made stripes and then tied it together. Before we started cutting we prayed over the fabric. While we were cutting we prayed. And while we were tying the stripes together we were praying over it as well. Then after we were done we prayed over the blanket all together. Then went over to her house and gave it to her. It was just so that every time she was wrapped in it she would feel loved and blessed. And when she was in it she would feel wrapped in God's arm.

Kimberly And Sara

Serving those who Serve

I've noticed that on Trayless Tuesday, some people leave their plates on the tables.  As someone who has had various custodial jobs, I know how frustrating it is to have to clean up unnecessary messes that people are too lazy to do themselves.  So I decided to love on whoever it is that takes the time to wipe of the tables and pick up those plates. At breakfast on a Trayless Tuesday I left my plate on the table for them to pick up.  Underneath my plate I left a note thanking this person for all that they do, how much they are appreciated, and how much Jesus loves them.  I paper-clipped the $20 to the note.  I trust that God had a purpose for that person who picked up that note and I hope that they were encouraged. :)

20 for change

I am Andrew Barber and I am a Junior here at Central College. For those of you who were at the Calm on Sunday night you might have heard Joe tell the story of Katelyn and how she is being treated for cancer. This is a girl who Joe worked with during the summer at a camp and when he told the story about how her mom quit her job to be with her in the Ronald McDonald House, I felt compelled to help. Joe sent me an e-mail from the Facebook group for Katelyn and I would like to share it with you all so here it is:

As the date gets closer for us to go back to Rochester for Katelyn's chemo, I start worrying again and I think I need to share some of this with all of Katelyn's supporters. The social worker at Mayo said I needed to put my pride aside and ask for help, so I guess it's time. If you have read all the posts, then you know that I have left my job to be with Katelyn during her treatments. I wouldn't have it any other way. I have also left my two boys, 12 and 14, and left my husband to care for them and the household. As if that wasn't hard enough, my loss of income means that our household bills are not getting paid. We have juggled them around for the first 6 weeks of her treatment, but now they are starting to pile up on us. This basically means that we have a $1000.00 a month loss. And this doesn't factor in the costs of being in Rochester. Even though we are staying at the Ronald McDonald House, which is a blessing, they still charge $10 a day (figure 3 months = $900). Add in co-pays, food, gas, parking, special lotions, soap, etc., you get the idea.

A friend of mine came up with the idea that if all the members on this group page were to donate $15 a piece, that would total near $12,000.00. That would be awesome! I wouldn't have to worry about the finances for the rest of Katelyn's treatment. I know there are several of you that have asked me what you could do to help, and I usually say that we're doing fine, but we are really in need of financial help.

Another way we could use some help is with gift cards. There are times that Katelyn wants to eat at KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, Olive Garden, etc. And the doctors have said to let her eat what she wants when she wants, even if it's fast food because of the loss of appetite that goes with the treatment. If we had gift cards to some of these places, that would help.

And because of the loss of income, Christmas is going to be especially hard on all 3 of the kids. The boys have said that they understand and they have been very mature during this whole process. It really tears at my heart strings to see what my boys are giving up and not asking for anything. I would love for all 3 of them to have a special Christmas this year.

I am so thankful to all of you for everything you have done for Katelyn so far. The last 6 weeks are going to seem like a piece of cake compared to what the next 3 months are going to bring.

Please continue to pray for her during her chemo treatments and pray for her to be cured of this tumor.
Also, please pray for the rest of my family and for my continued strength to help Katelyn through this battle. God bless you all.

Donations to: Katelyn Trickel Benefit, First State Bank, POBox 39, Belmond, IA 50421

As you can see from this e-mail the family has sacrificed their Christmas and her mom has gone to great lengths just to spend time with her daughter. This story touched me because growing up as the son of a single mother I watched her struggle to make ends meet for us. I understand the stress that comes along with being in a poor financial position and so to me when I heard of this I felt it was my place to respond. So rather than just sending the money to the family I also intend on sending them a short note that communicates hope and offers words of encouragement to all the boys, the father and Katelyn and her mother as well.

Hey!

 

  I was part of a group effort to raise awareness about hunger and talk to people about food waste. Nancy Huddleston, Rob Thomas, and I recieved donations from several other people and turned our original forty dollars into a hundred dollars. We chose to do this because we were part of the thiry hour famine and wanted to make others aware of the effect of hunger on other nations. So we decided to sit in the cafeteria and hand out a small fact sheet about hunger that we typed up. We also told people that if they heard us out and went trayless for a meal we would give them a dollar. We also made a petition up, for those interested, on transporting the unused, untouched food to a homeless shelter or any other place that could use it; instead of us throwing it away. This petition was just to see if the student body would be interested in trying to get this complex issue sorted out. Overall we used all the money in one night and got over three hundred signatures it was very successful. =) Thanks for everyones contributions!

 

-Ginny

Gift Cards!

Ever since we got the $20 God had really put my cleaning ladies on my heart. There are four of them and they are always so cheerful and ask me how my day is going. I really just wanted to do something to bless them. I decided to buy them each a gift card from Smokey Row. I wrote them and little letter and left it anonymous for them when they came to clean my house. I just thanked them for all that they do and said that I truly appreciate them. I said that I hoped they would experience God’s love through this gift and that they would just be blessed. They each wrote a little note on the letter and left it for me. It was a very neat experience and I really enjoyed doing it. I know God will use even something as little as a gift card to accomplish his will.

Lydia Kosbau

a world of difference

My original plan fell through.
But my new plan, which is based solely on faith, is sticking a note to the $20 that says "$20 can make a world of difference," and I've underlined the "In God We Trust" on the back of the bill. The plan is to hide it somewhere in a store like WalMart or HyVee, and pray ceaselessly that it finds someone who needs it, or who will pass it on to someone who does.

I gave the money to Joe and Sarah of someone who doesn't have enough money for Reynosa.

An unexpected spending...

After receiving the $20, we taped the bill onto the wall in our pod to remind us to look for ways to spend the money. It prompted numerous conversations starting with "Why is there a twenty dollar bill on your wall?" Our answer would be the same; we want to use it for the good of God's kingdom. During the time allotted, none of us had a moment when we felt strongly prompted to use the money on campus or in town. After asking around for ideas we were informed about www.gfa.org. We decided to give our $20 to this website to help a family in Asia. Though our gift may be a small amount compared to the money the website raises, we realized that it is not about the amount. We helped spread interest and encouraged people to think about how they are spending money and if it could be used for something bigger. We feel fortunate to have had this opportunity and will continue to look for ways to promote God’s kingdom.

Blake, Steven, and Zach

Coffee and Chocolate and Microloans all for the Kingdom!

        I am Clayton Boeyink, a junior here at Central. This proposal is submitted a little late and I apologize! My wife, Taylor and I each took $20 and when we saw that nobody else was taking the money we took another $20 for a total of $60.  With that money we bought $60 worth of fair trade coffee and chocolate.  We decided to buy fair trade from Work of Our Hands because they are made in poor nations and are given a fair price so they can afford to send their children to school and escape poverty.  We told the manager of Work of Our Hands about the plan and she even gave me her store discount so we could buy even more!  We then decided to resell everything that we bought to friends and family and professors that we knew, and most of them bought our goods for more than what we bought them for!  With the money we’ve received we are going to donate to Hope International, a microfinance non-profit organization that gives small loans to the poorest of poor people so they can lift themselves out of poverty.  The loans are then returned and loaned out to new people and the investments go on forever!  The organization is Jesus centered and offers ministry through its loans as well so it’s all for the kingdom! Sweeeet!

Mathew 25:36 & Luke 18:17 update

David passed away a little while ago. Please keep his family and fiance in your prayers.

Mathew 25:36 & Luke 18:17

For our project, we wanted to help those who were sick. Our first plan was to send cards out to students who were sick at Central. Because of confidentiality at the Health Center, we were not able to do our original idea. As many of you know, David Vettel has been in a coma for a couple of weeks, and he might not make it through the night tonight. He was a sophomore here and took a medical withdrawal at fall break. We sent a Willow Tree Angel of Prayer to him and his family tonight. With the rest of our money, we are going to send cards and a little something to students we know who are sick. We are going to pray over the cards before we send them to students as well. (James 5: 14-16) We had $60, so for the rest of the money, we are going to buy mittens/gloves for Angel Tree kids. We hope that our gifts will bless the recipients and that God's kingdom is strengthened.

Kari & Judy

I am using the 20 to purchase a bible for a new believer.  I will be meeting with this person today (Dec 1) for our first GIG using the new scripture.  God is amazing in his orchestration of the whole event.  I have been praying for the person for a number of weeks.  One day at work we got into a conversation about Jesus.  He was enthusiastic in a unique way.  He explained that the previous weekend he'd experienced Jesus.  I was then able to explain to him that I'd been praying for him and was incredibly excited about his newfound faith.  We met a week later and he agreed to do a GIG with me. 

I got mail!

Yesterday I received $10 in the mail with the instructions. At first I was stumped on what I would do. But then it came to me, I love getting mail and knowing almost everyone checks their mail on a regular basis and usually comes to the disappointment of not having in anything in their box. So I decided I would send cards to as many people as possible. With a trip to Wal-Mart I had 45 cards.

Next was coming up with what to put in them. Each card had a short message and then one of three Bible verses: Isaiah 43:5, Proverbs 16:3 or Philippians 4:13. Then it was selecting who to send them to. We did this by taking requests from people at Bible study and also by randomly selecting people we felt like needed their day and week brightened. They can now walk to their mailbox and find they have mail!

Sara

20 for change

 
I took my $20 and asked each of my professors to match me by donating their own $20. Once collected, I am using this money to sponsor a child through World Vision - supplying him/her with food, water, and medicine. Out of my five professors, three have matched me and the other two are still getting back to me. The process isn't 100% finished, but its on its way.

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For God's little angels

I was having a hard time coming up with ideas on how to use the money. I heard of some other girls who were planning on donating some of it to Angel Tree and that idea seemed to hit home for me. We donated this money in hopes that the kids at Angel Tree would have the opportunity to go to a camp and learn more about God and his wonderful works.

Kaitlyn

Hi

 

With my $20 I am teaming up with Pierre to buy a bunch of T-shirts.  The shirts will say; this shirt has a purpose... do you?  We will give these shirts away.  The purpose of the shirt is to get people to ask you what its purpose is, and then that gives the person an opportunity to start a good conversation about God.

 

Emery Davis

Transforming lives

As I was praying about how to use the money I received, God brought three people to mind.  Over the course of this last semester, I have gotten to know a few of the older ladies that work at CUIFS.  They are very nice and I enjoy the brief conversations we share every morning.  With this money, I felt led to give them a token of my appreciation and take our conversations to a different level.  

Another person that I felt led to give this money to is to a friend who found out she is pregnant a few months ago.  I have had some good discussions with her about God and how He wants to help her through every trial she ever faces.  She is struggling financially as she faces being a single parent and finishing up her education so this money will help her overcome the mountain of difficulties she has yet to face.  I know that God can use the money to bless not only her life, but also the life of the unborn child that she is carrying.

God is on the move

God has been doing some awesome stuff in one of my closest friends at Central, and she's definitely seeking after him. So I thought the best thing for my $20 was to give her a life application Bible because thats really the best way to learn about Jesus! I also wrote her a little note and highlighted some of my favorite Bible verses so she wouldn't be too overwhelmed and be able to just turn to some good verses. She was very thankful and we'll see what God does in her life. I also received another $20 that night and some friends and I decided to give it to Angel Tree kids because they are awesome!

God bless you all!

Jenni

Hi all,

So I may have had some struggles with the 20 for change.  Some friends and I were wanting to host a lunch for the cleaning staffs of Sculte and Graham.  The day that we had planned to do this they wound up having a potluck or some kind of lunch thing, so we had to push it back to after thanksgiving break.  While we haven't been able to use it yet,  I think that this lunch will be a good opportunity to love these people that we see everyday and could foster some great conversation.

Hello!

Hi,

 

I received one envelope with 10 dollars and the note, I was really surprised when I saw it! :) I think this is a week full of good things, I just knew yesterday that I got a good grade on a test and now this surprise! Excellent, thanks for doing this acts of kindness, it really helps to know that God is always there!! Very important to continue with this chain of good will :)  

I am a language assistant from Mexico, this makes my stay here in the U.S more confortable :)

 

Continue with all these acts!!

 

Have a good Thanksgiving and blessings for you too!!

 

Andrea 8)

$20 for change

Hello all,

 

For this project some friends and I got together and formed a group. We combined our money, added a little to it, and were able to do a couple of neat things for God's kingdom. The first thing that we did was donate some money to Dr. Diers who is raising money for the Raining Season. The Raining Season is an organization that Dr. Diers' friend works with, and it is working on building an orphanage in Sierra Leone. So the money that we donated will go to the children's education, food, clothing, and shelter. With the rest of our money we went shopping for gift things for a nursing home in Pella. We had lots of fun looking for things at the Dollar Tree and then putting the items together. Also for this we printed off Bible verses and put them on neat paper so that the residents could hang them on their bulletin boards. We made up a little package for each of the residents and we will be going to deliver them Wednesday Dec. 2. We also put together some things together for an auction that the nursing home residents do. We enjoyed doing all of these things and hope that they will help others know of God's love for them.

 

Andrew, Ivy, Melissa, Allison, Amy, Ashley, Teresa, Jess, and Jenna

Reynosa and Pay it Forward

Hi all,

I was really excited when we started this $20 challenge--I think it's a great idea and it's awesome to see everyone working so hard to do things for the kingdom of God. I chose to spend my $20 by donating it to someone who needed help with financing their trip to Reynosa for the mission trip this winter. I sent them an anonymous note explaining the $20 challenge and letting them know that I believe God has a plan for them and that I wanted to help them with their expenses in paying for Reynosa. Along with this note and the $20 I enclosed another $20 that I wanted to donate to them from me. This $20 I explained to them was for them to pay it forward to someone else--or for some other cause. I didn't want to see it ending with just one person--as there are so many who need help. I also encouraged them to try to make their act for the kingdom of God pay it forward as well. Hopefully this can carry on for a while and more and more people can see the love of God through us at Central. Along with two other people I also spent my other $20 (I was given $40 and donated $20 as well) with them to help sponsor a child to go to Angel Tree. And well, that's it..God Bless you all :)

Sawyer

$20 For Change Update

Last night, Mark decided to join forces with us and put his $20 with ours.  We had a total of $120 to bless our campus.  We picked three people intentionally and one professor. The remaining $80 was random.   We invited each of them to take a risk for the kingdom of God and to bless others in return. We are so excited to see how God blesses these individuals and how he opens their hearts to bless others.

 

20 for Change Movement project

I am paired up with two friends. We all decided to combine our money and one of our members and her parents decided to contribute personally as well. We decided that a neat way to bless some people would be to place money in mailboxes as a gift, the timing was perfect since this came about just before Thanksgiving, a time when almost everyone is heading home or buying gifts and could use a little extra cash.

Initially we were thinking gas cards, but decided on cash so that in case someone without a car ended up with one of the envelopes, they would still be able to use it.

Tomorrow morning we are getting together and placing 10 envelopes each with 10 dollars in 10 different mailboxes (randomly). Included with the money will be note wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving. We are also going to include in the note our purpose and ask that the receiving person to do something nice for someone else at some point. We are also going to include instructions on how to add to blog in case they want to share how they blessed someone else.

Niki, Lindley and Robin

A fishy story

God has led me into building a friendship with an awesome guy over the past few months who's had nasty experiences with religion, but is open to talking about Jesus. A while ago he said how much he would love to have a beta fish as a pet. When I got the $20 and was praying, I remembered him and the fish... so I bought him a snazzy Christian t-shirt! Just kidding. 8-)  I got a beta fish, gave it to him, and said how much I care about him as a friend and how I want him to get know the real Jesus more and more. He was thankful, and I am hopeful, about where God is leading us!

Aaron

Offering hope for Graham girls

My roommate Sara and I bought Bibles for all of the lounges in Graham. We also bought bookmarks & are going to go through and highlight verses & passages that God has spoken to us about & hopefully verses that the girls in Graham will be assured and impacted by. We are going to write something on the front of the Bible pertaining to hope--we don't want to cover up the fact that these are Bibles, but we think the girls will be more likely to pick it up if they see something unique about this particular Bible. We also bought cards for Joe Brummel & Sarah Schlaeger & we are going to write some words of encouragement & thank them for all they do. Joe & Sarah are wonderful servants of God & we greatly appreciate all they do on this campus.

Chelsea

God Sighting In GCS

Hi my name is Kaitlin Salnave and I shared our $20 with Jamie Soderstrum. We are both freshmen here at Central College. After a week of deliberation and brain storming about ideas with what to do with the money, we finally decided on a great idea. We wanted to share God's love by giving our $20 to GCS and using that money to pay for the meal's of the people paying with cash. Along with the free meal, the customer would receive a hand written note telling them about God's love and the merciful God He is. We thought this would be a meaningful gesture and a great and simple way to make a difference in someone's life. And what better way then to tell them about the Lord? God Bless!

Kaitlin Salnave
Central College

How We Shared God's Gift

I've had the chance to get to know a girl who lives on my floor and she has shared with me a lot of the struggles she has gone through in her life. She has been supporting herself for a long time and has been working a lot since she's been a college which has been hard for her because she hasn't had a lot of time to build good friendships. Also, her laptop recently broke so she's now without her own computer. My roommate and I decided she was the perfect person to give God's gift of $40 to. We're hoping it will be a small way of showing God loves and that she will know He is watching over her life. We also hope that it will be a small contribution to she whatever she may need to buy, whether it be a contribution to a new computer or just a few groceries. We wrote a note expressing the reason for the gift, signed it anonymously, and after praying over the sealed envelope, dropped it in her mailbox :)

Message in a Bottle

So originally I thought I want to do something for the girls of Graham 3rd floor South but didn't know where to start. It actually came two days after getting the $20. My roommate Nancy was helping me brainstorm and we were both reading passages in the bible and we discussed them together only to find that both of our passages talked about a bottle in them. We put our heads together and thought that it would be cool to spend the money on glass bottles and each morning put an inspirational bible verse in the bottle for every girl on 3rd floor South. So I actually paired up with Molly Doorenbos and we put our money together on this and we went and bought 36 glass bottles and decided to find verses and get this started. We hope to continue this throughout the rest of the school year and hope that God gets all the glory through this. We would like to thank the people that helped with this process and the InterVarsity staff for putting their trust in us with their money. God does great things!

-Jennifer Brown and Molly Doorenbos

God wants our lives to be JOYFUL!

Just as many others have expressed, I was hesitant to take the $20. However, after looking at scripture and reaffirming God's movement as an active movement, I came to realize: how could I not take the $20? I talked with my friend Jess and we put our two $20 together to have $40.

Recently, in class, I have noticed that one of my professors really enjoys good Expo markers. A simple joy for her, but a joy nonetheless. By the time our lecture begins, it seems that the ink is gone in many of the markers available and it's diffiicult to see what is put on the white board. Anytime this professor finds a really good marker, she gets so excited and has a big smile on her face. Jess had noticed this for one of her professors too, and so we got an idea.

We went to Walmart and bought some really nice packs of Expo markers. Jess took some for her professor and I took some for mine, and we went to work. For my professor's markers, I wrote her name around the bottom of them, so that she knew they were all hers and on a little space along the sides, I wrote different Bible verses down. She make take notice to these, she may not. God will work in whatever way He plans... However, I pray she will find some interest =) I also bought a little marker box and wrote her name on it, so that she can keep all of her personal markers in there and take them to class with her. Finally, a couple of minutes ago, with the help of another professor, I opened up her office and put the box on her desk so that it'll be there for her first thing tomorrow morning.

When we first decided on this idea, I questioned whether this act was going produce the change and spreading of God's kingdom that we were seeking. I questioned the significance of a random act of kindness. After all, action is not random, it is deliberate. BUT, I came to realize that God wants us to live joyful lives. Duh Justine, right? He did not put us on this earth to be unhappy. And for me, many times it's the little unexpected joys that can change a difficult day into one of thanksgiving. So, I hope that maybe in this way, my professor will see the love God has for her and how He wants her to be joyful.

Also, Jess and I have our second $20 remaining. We have decided to use it on another professor, who is from Chile and is in her first year teaching. I have already spent time talking with this professor before and she has expressed to me that while she feels very welcome at Central, she always falls back into feeling like an outsider because of her differences. So, the other day, we asked her to dinner and I think the surprised, thankful look on her face was enough to spread joy to all three of our hearts. Unfortunately, she was sick the night of our dinner, so we can't rescheduled until after break. However, I can't wait to see what conversation opens up at that time. If God makes an entrance, AWESOME! If God just fills us with good company, AWESOME! He knows His plan is great and I know that His plan is much greater than mine! I'll make sure to post again after Thanksgiving!

Blessings and safe travels for all of you!

Justine

A Letter to a Friend

I had a plan for my twenty dollar bill. I was going to split it between all the ladies at work and attach a short, encouraging letter with a Bible verse. They would have loved it. That would have been too easy.

Instead, I gave my money to a friend who I have been growing closer to through many classes and projects recently. I really want this friend to understand the love of Christ. She has attended NINE once and gone to the Calm once or twice. She has asked me to pray for a sick family member. However, she has also told me she is not "religious" and does not have any strong faith in those matters. I believe she's seeking, and I believe God is working. That is why I decided to write her a letter. I was scared what it would do to our friendship. I did not want to push Jesus on to her. I did not want things to be awkward between us. Frankly, I was afraid she would judge me and stop opening up to me.

But I sat down and wrote a letter. Somehow a paragraph turned into three pages. I wrote of how much her friendship meant to me. I shared my beliefs and my favorite Bible verses. I invited her to spend the money for gas to drive to see her sick family member or boyfriend, to buy food, or to go to the Spunker. Then I mailed the letter. And waited. A couple days later she e-mailed me about one of the assignments. At the end of the e-mail she included a paragraph of thanks. I am praying this letter will lead to conversation. The Lord already provided an opportunity for me to witness to her that in hindsight I realized I did not take. He will provide another opportunity. Additionally, I pray this experience will catalyze similar steps toward furthering the kingdom in my own life.

Mallori

$20 for Change

I felt led to take $40 for the $20 for Change. It has taken me a while to really feel comfortable with what God wanted me to do with it. I read a post from another college that had a student give a $20 tip to her waitress at a restaurant along with a note explaining exactly that the $20 represented which lead to encouragement. Reading that post hit my heart, because in high school when I worked at Hy-Vee, I received a note from a women that was very uplifting. The note mentioned how my smile at work brightened her day and the way she witnessed how well I worked with my right hand encouraged her to have the mind set that she is capable of anything. I didn't see the women that left the note, and I'm not sure if I would have known her. (We had many regulars on a daily basis) Basically, her words more than touched my heart that day. I still have the note and keep in with me even here at school. So... I feel led to do something similar with the $20 I leave for my waitress or waiter when I go out to eat with my younger sister Wednesday, November 25th.

This afternoon I realized exactly why I felt led to take $40 for this $20 for Change and have been completely clueless how to use the other $20. This morning I received an email from one of my education professors. A friend in one of my classes has a significant other that has been very ill and had to drop out of college. He is currently in a comma and may complete his life's journey. My friend has plans to visit him in the hospital during Thanksgiving break. She needs financial aid assistance to get that. She will receive my other $20 for change.

Stephani Wickett

My roomate, Kelsey, and I ordered some cookies and brownies from the bakesale that is supporting the children in Sierra Leon. We will get the baked goods on December 14, and then we are going to hand them out to everyone on our floor with an encouraging Christmas message.

Jamie

New Bible

I have a friend who does not know Christ but seems interested so I used my twenty to buy her a Bible. The word is powerful so I am excited about what is in store. She accepted it well!

Kelsey

I wasn't quite sure what to do with my twenty at first, but I knew I wanted to spend it and bless one person in particular. The day after NINE, a girl with whom I have been building a friendship since last year, came up to me and told me some rough stuff that had been going on in her life lately. I'm not sure where she stands on God, but God has put her on my heart since last year. God continued to put her on my heart the rest of that week, and I decided to take her out to lunch. I went into it trying not to have my own expectations, but to let God work. Lunch was fun and conversation was good, and we didn't really get to anything too deep. When we got back, however, we got to talking for a bit and God came up-I did not bring it up- and it was a perfect opportunity. I asked her if she would be interested in doing a Bible study together sometime, and she agreed to it. Yeah, Jesus!

Laundry Change

 

So at first I was very hesitant to take the $20. I thought this seems like I am too small to be a part of something so big. I had many ideas, but none of them seemed quite good enough. For some reason every time I prayed about it the thought of paying for student's laundry came back to mind. I thought my idea was pretty lame and what would this do for anyone. I ended up making signs with bible verses and putting them in the laundry room. On Sunday afternoon I just went in the laundry rooms in Scholte Hall and put money in the washers and dryers. I met this girl who asked me about the poster and why I was paying for laundry. I told her the story and she thought it was so cool. The verse on the poster was one of her favorites. It was Jeremiah 29:11 and she told how she just needed to be patient and remind herself not to stress out because God would take of her. Amen! It was really awesome just talking to a girl about God. So that is about all I did. I am glad that I have gotten a lot of out this experience because in the beginning I was so nervous that my $20 wouldn't be doing enough.

Meghan Cain

 

1 Corinthians 16:13

Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe in. Be courageous. Be strong. Do everything in love.

a trip to Mexico

I have a friend who is not a member of any sort of ministry, and I was aware of the fact that she wanted to go to Reynosa, Mexico, on the mission trip.  I thought it would be a really good experience, however I know that money is always tight for her.  So I took the 20 dollars and sent an email out to about 10 people (mostly professors) asking them to match it so that she could have at least half of her trip funded.  Along with paying the twenty dollars, I asked them to pray for her until we get back from Mexico.

I heard back in less than two hours from most of them, and last Monday I took everything I had gotten so far and paid for her whole trip (she had already paid the deposit).  There was money still left over!  I asked that it be used to help someone else. 

This person has never really had anything like this done for her before, so she is really excited and thankful, and I have a friend who is a bit closer to her, and they have almost started talking about Jesus.  And she has acknowledged that she thinks the trip will be life-changing for her.  I can't wait to see what God is going to do through this!

Kathryn

Pay It Forward

I actually had $40. What I did was I found two people here on campus that needed the money for various things (one didn't have any money for gas so that they could get home for Thanksgiving and the other needed the $20 to put with money that they already had so that they could pay for a prescription). I gave them each $20 and shared with them the Bible passage that we discussed at NINE. There was one condition to me giving them the money though: because they got $20 when they most needed it, when they had $20 that they were able to give, they had to give $20 to someone who needs it on campus. I'm hoping this turns into a sort of Pay It Forward thing. :)

God Bless!

Katelynn Drottz