The Gospel is True

Sasha and Jolaina sat down at the table next to me. I started praying because I knew that Jolaina, one of our student leaders, would be sharing the gospel with Sasha, a freshman at BU (Our students and staff have thousands of meetings like this across the city as each school year begins). What a thrill it is to hear someone explain the basics of Christianity to someone else.

Sasha came to BU totally overwhelmed and knowing next to nobody. In a school of 30,000, even the dining halls can be overwhelming. But on that day, the Holy Spirit met Sasha as she talked with Jolaina, and Sasha prayed to receive Christ. She realized that the gospel was true.

She is now part of our community – she came to our Fall Retreat this weekend and is in the center of this picture surrounded by other women involved with Cru – including Jolaina.

I snapped this “selfie” with Gwynnie and Jolaina just moments after Jolaina (center) shared the gospel with Sasha. What a thrill to welcome people into the kingdom of God for the first time!

We know you pray with us for meetings like this one. Thank you.

“M” agrees with Anthony

You prayed with us last month for an event called “I agree with Anthony.” Anthony Moccia is a 5^th year student on the BU Hockey Team. We created the “I agree with Anthony” event so that Anthony would have a chance to share the gospel with his hockey team and other athlete friends. His whole team came out to hear him share. And share he did! http://goo.gl/tIicdC.

This was not the first time the team got to hear about Jesus. My friend Darin (who works with Athletes in Action) got to share his testimony and the gospel with the hockey team earlier in the week.

And on Tuesday, we started a new small group bible study for guys on the hockey team. M came to the bible study and at the end, Darin and Anthony asked him if he’d like to start following Jesus. He said, “Yes” and prayed with Darin and Anthony right in the dining hall.

Hockey is the biggest thing going at BU. Hockey games are about the closest thing BU gets to school spirit. And so everyone on campus knows who M is.

The gospel is true for people who know nobody yet. The gospel is also true for those everyone knows. And everyone in between. Including Sasha, Amanda, Robbie, Yanshu, Briana, Maria, M, and all the others who have started following Him this fall. Including you and me.

Loving our Adventurous Lord,

 

Eliza eats her first cupcake as Brian, Sydney, Malisa, and celebrate her first birthday on 10/2/14

Seven on 7B

Written by Adrian Baker· September 10, 2014

Available at http://dailyfreepress.com/2014/09/10/seven-7b/

Grace Pearson (COM ’17), Hannah Cawley (CAS ’17) and Ja-Hon Wang (CAS ’17) spend time in the Warren 7B common room. PHOTO BY EMILY ZABOSKI/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

As freshmen on floor 7 of Marshall Tower in Warren Towers settled into their dorm rooms at the beginning of the fall semester, they stumbled on a pleasant surprise – seven Boston University upperclassmen who decided to live on the floor to offer guidance and friendship to the incoming students.

The upperclassmen, who range from sophomores to seniors, are members of Cru at BU, a Christian organization on campus. They opted to live on 7B to continue an informal tradition Cru members started two years ago, said Grace Pearson, a sophomore in the College of Communication.

“We really want to see some change happen in the school so that we can learn to love each other better,” Pearson said. “We wanted to do that by reaching out to freshmen especially, who are new to the school and don’t know much about anything at BU yet because they haven’t experienced it.”

Pearson said while the upperclassmen on 7B may act as mentors to other residents, they strive to maintain legitimate friendships with everyone on the floor.

“I know them more deeply than just where they’re from or what their major is,” she said. “The friendships I’ve made have been great. We’ve only been in school for a week, but I know some of the people really well on the floor so far.”

Pearson said she wanted to try to foster a sense of community on a typical freshman floor because it was something her floor lacked in her first year at BU. Still, she said she had some reservations about moving back into Warren for another year.

“I was really scared to live on the floor,” Pearson said. “I thought, ‘These freshmen are going to think I’m so weird being on this floor and being an upperclassman.’ But we’ve gotten so much good feedback.”

Ja-Hon Wang, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he was inspired to live on Floor 7B because of how much the upperclassmen on the floor last year helped him.

“I spent a lot of time on this floor and got to know all of the guys and girls that lived here last year, and I just love the community,” Wang said. “It was those upperclassmen who reached out to me that made a difference, so I wanted to do the same.”

Wang said the variety of students on 7B often mesh in the floor’s common room, which has a wall plastered with artwork upper and lowerclassmen make together.

“Even just being there for them and asking them how they are, because I feel like not enough people in this world ask each other how they’re doing,” Wang said. “That’s really our main way of doing outreach.”

The seven Cru members have weekly meetings to talk about the interactions they have had as well as to offer support to each other, Wang said.

“I wouldn’t have done this alone. That’s hard,” he said. “But being here with six of my closest friends — that’s just incredible. I can go to them with any problem that I have if I’m feeling overwhelmed.”

Wang said because the seven upperclassmen come from different backgrounds and fields of study as well as have different personalities and interests, together they effectively reach out to the diverse cast of students on the floor.

“We all have different strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “As a team, we can’t be complete without everybody.”

Madi Mae West, a freshman in the School of Management living on 7B, said she and her floor mates have bonded through activities such as walking through the rain to Cold Stone Creamery the Sunday before classes began.

“It’s helped make relationships much easier being in college my first year,” West said. “I find it comforting. They’ve been here before, so if I have any questions, I know they can help me.”

CAS freshman Andrew Barrasso said he was not expecting to have upperclassmen on his floor, but it came as a pleasant surprise.

“It’s great that I have a support team. The upperclassmen are very helpful with giving advice,” he said. “You can feel out of touch or you may not know what to do in certain situations. Having the upperclassmen really helps with some parts of everyday life.”

Vince Sangrigoli, a freshman in SMG, also said the upperclassmen create a sense of community by being inviting, having meaningful conversations with people in the common room and in their dorms.

“It’s a big help,” he said. “It’s great to just hear the experiences of other people who went through the same things we did and are trying to make it better and easier for freshmen.”