Good Afternoon!
I’m just sitting here at my kitchen table, looking out at the beautiful sunshine, green grass, and even a yellow rose still in blossom across the street, listening to joyful Christmas music celebrating the gift of our Saviour, waiting for an old friend to arrive so that we can spend some much-overdue time together. I truly hope that you are each getting a chance to enjoy this day just as much as me! Whether you’ve still got exams to write, or you’re already done and are fully engulfed in your holiday rest already, today is a beautiful day for which we can thank the Lord!
I would like to take a small portion of this lovely day, to thank you all for an awesome semester! Now, often times, I’m pretty sure that the true meaning of the word ‘awesome’ is lost in our everyday usage of the term. However, in this case, I honestly mean awesome! I mean awe inspiring! Let’s take a moment to review how God has blessed us this past semester, shall we?
The first event of the year, a Dutch Blitz games night: We weren’t too sure about having to have the event catered. The hall itself was already costing us money, and the food seemed highly overpriced, and on top of it all, we had no idea how much money we actually had in the IVCF bank account. But, we asked God to bring people, and we asked God to multiply the food. Then sure enough, we had way more people than expected. The group in the hall before didn’t use a whole container of their lemonade and gave it to us, and they messed up our food order and to make up for it gave us more food. Then to top it all off, we had enough money in the bank to pay for it all!
Big Event #2, Halloween Photo Scavenger Hunt: After the way things had been growing in our fellowship, and based on the fact that we were going to join with KCF for the event, we planned an event for about 40 people. We thought this was a bit of a stretch, but we didn’t want to aim low! Also, we really wanted to convey the great abundance offered by the Kingdom of God, and in accordance with this, we jumped at the idea of ending with a free pizza dinner at Boston Pizza! So, we fundraised to cover dinner for 40 people at Boston pizza, and were pleasantly surprised when many of the people we approached offered significantly more than we had asked for. We were pumped, thinking that we’d now have money leftover to spend on the Christmas banquet, and thanked God for providing yet again! Little did we know how perfectly He had provided though! The day came for the event, and by the time dinner rolled around, we had 56 people! There weren’t enough seats in Boston Pizza to accommodate everyone! Then when it came time to pay, the full significance of God’s provision hit home when the bill essentially matched the exact funds we had in our bank account. We would have no money left in our account for Christmas, but if God took care of us here, then we knew He’d do so for Christmas as well!
Big Event #3, The Christmas Party: I was unfortunately not able to attend this event, but I was able to see the beautiful decorations, and hear the great stories about the successes of the night! Tasty food, fun games, an entertaining skit, Tim’s Christmas message, and fun times with friends! Oh, and the financials? Yah, we planned for 70 people to show up this time. It turns out that the final number was less than this, but the funds raised from ticket sales, again matched exactly the total amount that had been spent on the event. No more, no less.
Games Nights: So, the original plan for the semester was to have our small groups once a week, prayer pockets once a week, and big events like once a month. In the end, it turns out that we ended up having a games night AND one big event each month! On top of this, we averaged about 20 people every single games night!
Small Groups: At the beginning of the semester, Karen, Alix, and I were not sure what the community was going to be like. We in fact, were not very comfortable with having even two separate small groups. From what we knew, we were starting with just enough people for two groups. Then, the Tuesday night study grew, and the Monday night study grew, and now in preparation for next semester we’re hoping for 4 small groups (that’s double what we started with!). At the moment, we probably have enough people to make three and a half good sized small groups, but God’s already doubled us in size, so we trust Him for next semester!
Caroling: This was a fun night in which we must have handed out several hundred cookies, and got the opportunity to spread Christmas cheer on campus! Thanks to all who came out!
Worship Night: We were able to finish the year with a night of fellowship, prayer, and worship. It was a smaller group due to exams, but it was a great way to end off the semester (praising our Father, who clearly provides)! It also showed us that perhaps worship nights would be a good thing to have every once in a while next semester.
Thank you: All in all, I hope you can see why I think we’ve had an awesome semester! I want to take a moment to thank the Father, but also those who took part in His work by taking on some kind of a leadership role this semester. Thanks to Elizabeth for running a games night, Justin and Karlee for putting Caroling together, thank you Keegan for his part in the skit, and a giant thank you to the leadership team, for which each member contributed so much this semester: Heidi, Joel, Joshua, Kammie, Naomi, and Tim.
While on the topic of Tim, I’d also just like to make you all aware of the fact that he will be in Toronto next semester, and we will miss his presence here! We thank him for his contribution to our community, and want to wish him all the best for his semester of co-op!
Now, what’s up for next semester you ask? Clearly, if you’ve read everything above, there’s no knowing the greatness that God has planned for our community so long as we’re faithful to Him, pray big prayers, and invite like crazy! Here’s what we’ve got so far though:
As some of you know, recently we had a totally fun crafts, cards, and challenges night, and some who attended worked very hard on some materials to be used for the making of a giant deck of Dutch Blitz cards. In accordance with this, January 13th, we will be playing a giant, team game of Dutch Blitz with our very own fancy home-made cards!
Next up, January 16-19th, McMaster will be hosting something called the Veritas Forum. If you'd like more information, you can check it out online at: http://www.veritas.org/Campus/Schedule.aspx?cid=108 Or even better, watch the video on how you can get involved: http://vimeo.com/31151934
Lastly, I am VERY excited to inform you all of the up-coming retreat! February 3-5th, we will be teaming up with McMaster KCF, and Laurier Brantford for a weekend of fun, learning, and bonding! Right now, the cost is estimated to be $80 per person, but the more people we get attending, the less expensive the retreat will be!
Okay, recap:
January 13th – Dutch Blitz
January 16-19 – Varitas Forum
February 3-5 – Retreat
Well, that was a long email, but I think it was totally worth it! I hope it helps you all see why we should be SO thankful! I hope you can see where we’ve come from, and be excited to find out where we’re going. Most of all, I hope that you’re encouraged to pray BIG prayers, and watch how God answers them!
Got any questions? Want to get more involved? Shoot me an email, or check out the blog: http://macivcf.blogspot.com/
To wrap this all up, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I can’t wait to see you when you get back, and hear about your breaks!
Your friend,
Emily
“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”
Salut! (That's french for 'hi')
I hope that this email finds each of you doing extremely well! I'm sure that right now each of you are all extremely composed, relaxing by a well stocked fireplace, cup of gourmet hot chocolate in hand, smiling contentedly as you calmly review the material (which you already know so well), in preparation for your upcoming exam. As you flip through the pages of your beautifully colour-coded, organized, and detailed notes, you laugh to yourself because the information contained on their pages - and in your brain - are SO amazing and interesting...
You can try to tell me otherwise, but (in the words of one of my profs.) I think I'll just keep sucking on that dreamsicle for at least a little while longer!
Even though I know you all aren't dealing with any kind of stress at all, we still have a stress-buster running this week. Take some time out from relaxing, studying by the fire, to join with KCF and our community for a night of praise and worship! Tuesday night, starting at 7:00pm, in clubspace [MUSC(Student Center) 215]
I'm also going to take this opportunity to let you know about some exciting things happening in the new year!
As some of you know, this past Friday night we had a totally fun crafts, cards, and challenges night, ind some who attended worked very hard on some materials to be used for the making of a giant deck of Dutch Blitz cards. In accordance with this, January 13th, we will be playing a giant, team game of Dutch Blitz with our fancy home-made cards!
Next up, January 16-19th, McMaster will be hosting something called the Veritas Forum. If you'd like more information, you can check it out online at: http://www.veritas.org/Campus/Schedule.aspx?cid=108
Lastly, I am VERY excited to inform you all of the up-coming retreat! February 3-5th. We will be teaming up with McMaster KCF, and Laurier Brantford for a weekend of fun, learning, and bonding! Right now, the cost is estimated to be $80 per person, but the more people we get attending, the less expensive the retreat will be!
Okay, recap:
Tuesday:
Worship Night
Clubspace (MUSC 215)
7:00pm
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/302421743125188/?notif_t=event_invite
January 13th – Dutch Blitz
January 16-19 – Varitas Forum
February 3-5 – Retreat
Got any questions? Shoot me an email!
Okay well, I guess I'll let you all get back to your calm and peaceful study-fun now!
Hope to see you all soon!
Emily
Hello, and happy exam season greetings!
Starting to feel swamped with studying? Tired of always sitting and being quiet? Craving social interaction with other human beings?
We have the solution!
This Friday... OOh wait, that's tomorrow! Yes, TOMORROW from 6:00 - 10:00 pm, come and join us in Clubspace for a night of crafts, cards, and challenges! Hopefully we can remedy all of these issues, and better prepare you to get back to working hard!
In the last email, It was incorrectly stated that we would be meeting somewhere other than clubspace. That was wrong.
CLUBSPACE, TOMORROW, Friday December 9, 2011 at 6PM!!!!!!!!!
Bring your friends!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/257648537625954/
Hope to see you there!
Emily
A warm and energetic holiday greeting to one and all!
I am currently sitting in my living room next to a colourful christmas tree, taking a break from decorating what seems to be an endless number of snowflake shaped cookies (see picture) with my lovely housemates, to give you each a reminder of the exciting holiday events going on this week.
First up is the Christian Unity Coffee House tomorrow night (Monday December 5) from 6:30-10:30 in Divinity college lower level. Entrance is a non-perishable food item or a gently used item of clothing. All collections will be donated to Living Rock, a christian organization reaching out to the homeless youth of Hamilton. Our friends Joshua, Keegan, and Elizabeth will be repeating their wonderful skit around 8:00pm, so be sure to drop in and show them your support! Check out the facebook event and invite your friends:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/285052678184552/
Then, on Tuesday, to round off your first day of nothing but studying, bring your friends along to join us at the MUSC fireplace at 7:00pm with your home-made baked goods, your kettles, and your most beautiful singing voices! We're going out caroling, and giving out cookies and hot chocolate as we go!
Take a couple of days to study, and maybe even write an exam, then gather with us again to finish up your first week of no classes as we enjoy each other's company for a night of Crafts, Cards, and Challenges! All are welcome for an evening of STRESSBUSTER fun! There will be craft supplies (especially Christmas related supplies), card games (such as president, signal, and whatever card game you would like to introduce), and Minute to Win It type challenges to really deliver your stress a roundhouse kick to the face.
Also, if Christmas crafts aren't your style, there will be paper to color and cut for our GIANT dutch blitz deck.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/257648537625954/?notif_t=event_invite
Invite your friends! (actually, invite strangers too! Why not?)
Lastly, stay tuned because we're hoping to run a worship night hopefully on Tuesday night next week, and who knows what'll come next!
So to recap:
Monday
Christian Unity Coffee House
Divinity College Lower Level
6:30-10:30
Admission: 1 non-perishable food item, or a piece of gently used clothing
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/285052678184552/
Tuesday
Caroling
MUSC Fireplace
7:00
Friday
Crafts, Cards, and Challenges
MUSC 220
6:00
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/257648537625954/?notif_t=event_invite
Tuesday
Worship night?
Details soon to come
I wish you all a truly blessed exam season and I really, truly hope to see you all soon!
Your friend,
Emily