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Casting Our Fears Aside: Go Week 2011 Day One
The Lords faithfulness was shown from the very beginning of the day when over two hundred college students arrived on time at the Baptist Colligate Ministry house. Being directly placed on Florida State’s campus, the BCM house provided to be the perfect place to gather these twelve organizations together for each meal.
A breakfast of cereal, fruit, bagels, muffins, and most importantly, coffee, awaited each sleepy eyed college student at eight this morning. The feeding of this army of hungry college student could not have been done without the faithful eight servants of Christ. Eight members from Calvary Baptist Church traveled all the way from Clearwater, Florida to be the tangible representations of Christ’s love to these college students. Seven women and one man felt God’s calling and answered by faithfulness. The team consists of Cheri Baker, Kailey Harris, Sharon Kearns, Shirley Mason, Roncia St. Clair, Maria Uy, Bell Valdez, and Jeff Willis. They will be preparing and serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each member of the Go Week team Wednesday through Friday of this week.
These faithful eight are not just merely sitting within the kitchen all day dealing with the food. These eight are in constant prayer for each mouth that they feed. Their prayer is for each mouth to go out and be the light that Christ wants them to be upon their campus. Cheri Baker expressed her personal fascination with this unique group of college students, “You have all shown this cooking staff how much God can work among college students. If everyone your age was this faithful, the world would be a completely different place. We are so thankful to watch Christ shine through each of you”. Along with these eight members, the entire congregation at Calvary Baptist Church has been in prayer for Go Week. The power of prayer quickly made itself known as day one progressed.
Dan Butz kicked off the morning with a devotion devoted to what it means to fully serve the Lord. Butz asked the students two questions to discuss within pairs after reading Matthew 28, “Are you truly surrendered to God? And what barriers are there keeping you from it”? Each individual student faced their fears of fully surrendering their life to Christ and discussed them with each other. As the fears were expressed out loud, Butz called for the students to pray together for these specifically and for the day. Butz wanted each student to cast aside these fears in Christ and to surrender it all to Him today as they helped move in the freshman. As the voices began to be lifted to the Lord, a sense of relief and calm filled the room. The students felt relieved and no longer afraid to take on the day, because they were able to realize and remember that they had Christ with them at all times and that He would never fail them.
With their fears cast aside, the students were split up into their nineteen groups, prayed with one another, and left to go to their assigned dorms to help the freshman class move into their new home. Throughout the morning students helped freshman carry their life up to their new room. A few teams also stood outside of dorms to serve free snow cones, which is the only relief from the Florida heat. No matter how the teams were serving all over campus, God was able to move in wondrous ways because of His faithful servants. The students were able to see the reward of surrendering it all to Him, and learned the power of casting aside their fears to allow for God to move and work in their own lives and the lives of the very people that they were talking to.
At noon a lunch consisting of a variety of sandwiches, pasta, chips, and cookies was provided for the members of Go Week after a hard morning of lifting and carrying boxes. As each student walked into the door of the BCM they were asked to name three people that they had helped and met that day. Over two hundred students recalled three names, most of the time more, and followed up with stories of how God had allowed them to work and build upon these relationships. Many students even traded phone numbers with these new Seminoles, an act of pure devotion. The students were on fire after a successful morning and were ready for round two of serving.
With the completion of lunch, each team was reassigned to a new dorm or duty, and quickly dispersed. One team was placed in the center of campus, where a large grass area lies, to play ultimate Frisbee. New students quickly jumped in on the game, which allowed for the members of Go Week to build up a relationship with each individual. Another team was sent to walk Florida State’s campus and to pass out fliers that told about each event that was happening throughout the week. This team was pleasantly surprised when each and every person who they approached was able to inform them with a smile upon their face that someone helped them move into their dorm, and they had already received a flier. The proof was everywhere that God was working wonders upon the campus already. The remaining groups were reassigned to new dorms and were sent to continue to help move in freshman. Multiple relationships were formed throughout the day which can allow for each student to build upon within the follow weeks. At four that afternoon the students were able to go home to shower and change before dinner began at 6:30.
Within two and a half hours the students were on time back at the BCM for a dinner of spaghetti and salad. This was a time where more friendships were formed and others were strengthened within the twelve organizations as the food was devoured. An intimate worship was lead by two guitars after dinner. Students lifted their arms in reckless abandonment to their Father while shouting praises to One who saved them. The sounds of pure hearts worshiping could be heard down the street. When the worship concluded, everyone dismissed to go to Seminole Sensation within Olgelsby Union upon campus. The students were ready to be intentional in the building of relationships with the students they had met earlier that day, or to new students that they were about to meet.
Seminole Sensation is hosted by Florida State for the incoming freshman as a way to get connected into the college quickly and to meet others outside of their dorms. Tonight’s Seminole Sensation had multiple free events to draw in students such as air brush tattooing, food and drinks, psychic readings, wax hand moldings, Frisbee painting, and movies playing on a large screen. With Go Week members arriving at eight that evening, they immediately dispersed within the crowd and started building those relationships. These students took the opportunity they had before them to be intentional with their fellow Seminoles. Around ten thirty that night the students started to become bored with what Florida State had to offer them that night, and with that Go Week saw a perfect opportunity and stepped in.
The Campus Christian Fellowship house, also on campus, hosted a free pancake party for anyone and everyone starting at eleven that night. Having been set days prior, the goal of the evening was to serve over 1200 pancakes. By 11:53pm this goal was met. God’s faithfulness was shown strongly through this as the lawn and back porch of the CCF house was swarmed by bodies. The bright orange FSU Luau shirts that the members of Go Week wear wearing, were not able to be distinguished through the crowd of new students. Prayers were answered in full through this event, and throughout the day with all praise going to the Lord for allowing His harvesters to reap a plentiful crop for His glory.
As tomorrow begins, the prayer is for these students to continue to allow God to open their eyes and to see their campus the way the Lord sees it. That these students will continue to allow God to break their hearts for what breaks his upon Florida State’s campus and will rely on Christ’s love alone to compel them to act. Praise be to our Father alone for the wondrous acts of today!