Well, I Missed the One Year Anniversary...

I missed my blog's one year anniversary!!! To commemorate, let's see the (blog) year in review. We're going to work backwards:

Enjoyed time with friends, worked on projects, gave an RUF report at church, hung out with people in Norman, and couldn't get enough of this Oklahoma sky in June!

Summer conference in May!

Relish Retreat in April!

Missions trip to Peru with 11 students in March!

Celebrating the Olympic Games in February!

Ski Trip in January!

Barn Dance in December!

Football games with freshmen in November!

Dressed up in October!

Discovered some Sooner tradition at football games in September!

Moved to Norman in August!

Support raised in July!

Celebrated graduation with Mom and Dad in NYC and Washington DC in June!

Notes on my study program...

One aspect of the RUF Internship is the study program that I do every month. While this has not always been the part of my job that I am the most diligent about (honesty hurts), I have enjoyed a lot of the books and thought I might share some of them with you.

The books assigned to us cover spiritual growth, roles of the church, and various counseling topics. The term "spiritual growth" can be kind of off-putting. We are not reading books that teach us how to become a "super" Christian, and you don't have to have a PhD to understand them. These books talk about how to read the Bible even when you don't know much about it, and how to pray even when it makes you uncomfortable. Below are some of my thoughts on four of my favorite books from the program.

Getting the Message, by Dan Doriani

The point of scripture is Jesus. Doriani expresses this theme of scripture in two very poignant points: (1) Every passage in the Bible presents Christ both as the remedy for human fallenness and as the end point of God’s plan of salvation (2) Every passage of the Bible touches on some aspect of the fallen human condition and presents some part of God’s remedy in Christ. If I were to read every passage of scripture with these things in mind, I would see the Bible as much more vital to my life. If I believed all of scripture had this point, I would read it more often.

Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers, by Chap Clark

Abandonment is the big theme of Chap Clark’s book Hurt. Clark states that abandonment is the biggest overarching issue facing teenager’s today, and that their biggest need is a safe and welcoming relationship with adults. Abandonment in the context of Clark’s writing does not mean physical abandonment, but rather emotional and spiritual. Parents and other influential adults are physically present in the lives of mid-adolescence but cease to provide any emotional support as they are bussing their teens to soccer practice and seeking to achieve their own goals. Merely being physically present in teen’s lives seems to be the world’s standard for adults, and it has created a generation of mid-adolescent’s looking for support and comfort elsewhere.

The Reason for God, by Tim Keller

Who better to write on the argument against skepticism than Tim Keller, a pastor in New York City which is perhaps the most skeptical city in the United States? He speaks from a breadth of knowledge on the topic, having not only studied it, but confronted it head on in his urban ministry. It is with this knowledge that we can confront this book confidently, knowing that the author is not simply trying to throw Biblical phrases at non-believers, but is rather attempting to answer the questions which plague the skeptical critics of the twenty-first century. "The Church has been responsible for so much injustice" and "You can't take the Bible literally" are among the applicable topics.

The Enemy Within, by Kris Lundgaard

Lundgaard's purpose with The Enemy Within is to describe the seriousness of sin, it's effects, and how we should guard against it. Mission accomplished. He is not afraid to bluntly state that the wages of sin is death. Lundgaard reinforces the point that sin draws you away from the Father. Perhaps the clearest point that the author makes is that the battle against sin is a battle between flesh and spirit. Lundgaard writes, "When the mind wants to know God, the flesh imposes ignorance, darkness, error, and trivial thoughts. The will can't move toward God without feeling the weight of stubbornness holding it back." He clearly expresses how I feel every day when I want to get an extra 30 minutes of sleep instead of reading my Bible, or how I do not want to talk with God because it feels awkward.

FAQs

Hello All! As I have been traveling I have been getting a lot of the same questions, so I thought I might answer some of them here, in case you were wondering too!

If I have been giving monthly, do I have to renew my pledge?

If you have automatic withdrawal, RUF will continue to automatically take the pledge each month until you ask them to stop or I no longer work with RUF. If you have made a pledge but just send it in each month, RUF assumes that you will continue to do so through my second year.

The internship is two years?

Yes, the internship is a two-year program. It is designed that way so that interns have a prolonged period on campus to make connections and form deeper relationships. RUF does not want to break the relationship with the students and campus that we worked so hard to form after one academic year. Having just finished my first year, I am excited to have another year to go. I would hate to break the relationships I have made, and am thrilled to get to make new ones this year.

How much money do you need for the second year?

My budget for the second year is the same as it was last year, $31,804. Total monthly pledges made in the 2009-10 school year were $18,960. That means that last year I received $12,844 in one-time gifts. If all of my monthly donors stay with me this coming year then I will need to raise $12,844 to meet my 2010-11 budget. This money can be in either one-time gifts or monthly pledges. You can give online at www.ruf.org. Thank you to those who have been part of my team this last year.

Do you have to have this money by a specific date?

August 1st would be most helpful. Classes start August 23rd and things get very hectic after that. In order to best minister to students, it would be helpful if I had a "healthy" support account by then. There is no definite date though.

How can I give monthly? What if I cannot continue giving?

You can send in a pledge and/or set up automatic withdrawal at www.ruf.org. If you cannot continue giving, I understand. Thank you for the part you have played in ministering to the OU campus. Please let me know if this is the case, since it will help me determine how much I need to raise. Again, thank you so much for your prayers and support.

What is all of that money used for?

The money I raise is used for: my paycheck, insurance, books for my study program, costs of conferences (2 per year) and training (3 per year), and occasional traveling expenses. This is not quite everything it covers, but these are the main categories.

Are you the only intern on campus?

Last year I served with Benjamin Nichols, our male intern. Unfortunately, last week we learned that Ben cannot return to campus because of a budget deficit in his support account. Thus, I will be the only intern in the coming year. This is very sad for us. Ben served the OU campus with a lot of enthusiasm. He has a great heart for campus ministry. The loss of him on our staff will be greatly felt.

These are the most common questions I have gotten so far this summer. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. My email is natalie.haynes@ruf.org. My phone number is (904) 651-2166. I will be in Jacksonville July 21-25. Sarah Wilkening and I will be co-hosting a lunch for RUF at Pinewood Presbyterian on July 25 immediately following the 11 o'clock service.

Hey Y'all!

Happy Tuesday, Everyone! I am currently sitting in my parents den, and have been working on prayer request cards this morning. I will have them with me this summer as I visit churches and travel. They have magnets on the back so you can put them on your fridge! If you would like one, but know that you will not be seeing me, let me know- I would love to get one to you!

This picture, which is on the prayer card, was taken by my friend John Stuart. The landscaping is one of my favorite things on the OU campus!

My visit home so far has been delightful. Last week I visited with Mark and Kristin in Lakeland. I got to sit in on their junior high/ high school Bible study, watch Mark play softball, and get a tour of the school where Kristin is substitute teaching. Since I have been home I have been helping Dad finish a bookcase/ entertainment center for our house, worked on a backboard for my update lunches this summer, seen a couple of friends, and gone to a Jacksonville Suns baseball game. The Suns are our minor league team here. It is one of my most favorite things to do when I am home!

Last night we lost power for five hours! As luck would have it, Dad and I were just starting a movie too! We had to resort to other forms of entertainment. I love this picture of dad reading the Wall Street Journal by head lamp. In true Boy Scout fashion, he knew exactly where all of our flashlights were when the lights went out!

The Serven family left Acapulco, MX today. They will be there for seven weeks on a missions trip working with the orphanage Casa Hogar. Doug will be helping lead the interns there this summer. Please pray that God would keep them safe this summer as well as grow them through this incredible opportunity!

I am in Florida for another week, and then I will be making a trip to Texas to see my family for a couple of days. Floridians: I would love to see you while I am home! Texans: Mason and Wyatt, I am excited to see you! Let's jump on the trampoline when I get there! Oklahomans: Boomer Sooner! See you soon!

Thoughts from the Sunshine State

We have returned from Summer Conference 2010! The above picture is of me and freshman, well sophomore now I suppose, Sam Carper. Sam was one of our students that came to Freshman Bible study regularly. Sam caught the winning catch in the Ultimate Frisbee tournament at SC!!! She is from Tulsa and is a wonderful part of our community :)

John Stone, former RUF Campus Minister, was the speaker our week. Amidst many funny stories, anecdotes, and tangents, he clearly presented the gospel every night. One of his more memorable talks was on forgiveness. While he did borrow this from Tim Keller, John Stone said, "To the extent that you see how much you have been forgiven, to that extent you will forgive and love others." Wow. This statement makes me want to study, learn, and appreciate my forgiveness. I want to be a good forgiver.


The above picture is of two of our cherished students. The guy sans-cowboy hat is Wes Martin. He is normal the one donning the hat. I think I saw him for the first time ever this week not wearing his cowboy boots. He is from the rural Oklahoma town of Tallequah and is getting married next week. The guy sporting the cowboy hat so proudly is Ben, and has just finished his freshman year at OU. He is another one of our freshman Bible study attenders, and is from Wisconsin. To say that this guy loves sports in an understatement. We bantered about the Gators and Tim Tebow quite a bit!

Summer Conference was chocked full of activities for our OU crew. We layed on the beach and swam in the ocean everyday. The waves were pretty strong, and schools of manta ray kept swimming by. Some students formed an ultimate frisbee team and won the SC bracket!!! Every night we had ice cream outside Doug and Julie's apartment and debriefed from the day. One night both Doug and Bentern got thrown into the pool. It was pretty priceless. Speaking of Bentern...


Ben and I are proud recipients of airbrushed t-shirts, courtesy of OURUF. I really like mine, which has a dolphin on it, but seeing Ben open his t-shirt was priceless. His t-shirt has emblazoned on it his nickname, "Bentern," and the turtle from Nemo. Both of those things made Ben giddy with excitement over his gift. I think there is an official facebook petition to change his facebooke name to "Bentern Nichols." Students claim they go to search for him, but can't find him because they don't think to search for "Benjamin Nichols."

SC '10 was a great success!!! I am in Florida now for a couple of weeks, and am currently visiting some college friends. Yay for summer!

The Semester's End

Greetings from Norman, OK! Students are in the middle of finals, and will be done this weekend. Then, about 40 of us will head to summer conference in Florida. Before any of that happens, however, I would like to catch you up on some stuff that has happened here:

- North Texas Presbytery: Last week Ben, Doug, and I took a trip to Dallas for Presbytery. We saw two ordination exams. Brent Corbin, a former OU RUF student, passed his ordination exam. It was great to see our denomination at work. Ben, Doug, and I got to eat at this cool place called "Eatsies." I think you could eat there everyday for a year and never have the same thing twice. It was super cool.

- Relish Projects: This semester in our leadership team, Relish, our topic has been personal growth. We have been reading The Disciplines of Grace by Jerry Bridges. Each week there has been a project due. The projects have included a poetry project, a service project, an art project etc. The semester finished with a "personal project" that students choose at the beginning of the semester, and have been working on throughout. These included but are not limited to: learning how to cook, writing songs for an album to be recorded, running a half marathon, and a photography project (me!). Below is a picture that I really love but did not find a place for in the final book. That gross lookin' stuff is called Hooflex and I put it on Chance's hooves to keep them strong. I feel like this picture captured how messy this stuff is!

- I stuffed 150 envelopes with my news letter last night to send out to my supporters. If you do not currently get one of these, please let me know- I would love to send one to you!

- The John Williams Project is going splendidly. Every week when students come over to watch the Office, we play a movie afterwards. The last two weeks we have watched Star Wars, which I had not previously seen. The Empire Strikes Back has been my favorite. This weekend I watched Schindler's List with some people. Three words come to mind: horrific, intense, awesome. The next two movies are Amistad and Saving Private Ryan. Apparently we are going with an intense theme.

- I leave tomorrow to drive to Florida. Summer conference will go from Monday May 17- Saturday May 22. Please pray for safety for our students as they drive a long way from Oklahoma to Florida and back. After summer conference (and Anna McDowell's wedding!!!), I will be in Florida for two and a half weeks. I am having an after service lunch at Christ Community Church on June 6th. I would love to see you!

- Boomer Sooner!!!

Humans vs. Zombies

This week I have been reminded that working in campus ministry means that you are able to do totally over-the-top completely ridiculous and yet excessively stimulating things every once in a while. What am I talking about exactly?!? Humans vs. Zombies, of course! humansvszombies.org

In an effort to do an outreach event similar to Assassins, OU RUF sponsored our very own HVZ game. We thought 75 people might register. 764 people did.

It has been crazy. I have been wearing a bandana (almost) everywhere I go. I always have socks with me in case I need to stun a zombie and make a getaway. I am always looking over my shoulder to see if I am being snuck up on. I see complete strangers on campus and smile, because they are wearing a bandana on the arm or leg (denoting them as a human) and I know that we are both survivors of the human race (for right now). The number of humans is getting smaller, and the zombies are getting more frantic as they need to tag (feed) on humans in order to stay a live.

We are having a dance party on Friday night. Humans vs. Zombies 1980s theme. Yes!

OU RUF has been featured in the campus rag twice this week. Once for HVZ and the other because Dr. Os Guinness came to speak to our campus. 10 campus ministries, including RUF, brought in the "Veritas Forum" to talk about suffering and injustice in the wake of the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. Check out the veritas forum: veritas.org

Dr. Guinness was very engaging and did a wonderful job speaking to about 300 people. I will admit my own skepticism in that I did not feel like people would come to this forum, even though the topic is interesting and relevant. The turnout was great though. He addressed topics that I often speak to students about. When faced with the question "Why was evil allowed to exist?" He responded the same way I do, "I don't know. No one does." I know have a copy of his book "The Call," and am excited to read it.

We leave for summer conference in a mere 3 weeks! Boomer Sooner!