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| Campus Coffee Break - CNU InterVarsity News | June 2012 |
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Dear Friends,
Here's a quick update on the end of the school year, and how you can continue to pray for us and the students at Christopher Newport!
In Christ,
Eric & Beth Gambardella |
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Aradhna - God's Faithfulness Across the Globe
Part of InterVarsity USA's purpose statement includes the phrase "growing in love for...God's
 | | Tablas - traditional Hindi drums |
people of every ethnicity and culture." I cannot tell you how glad I am that that is one of their values! When I was an InterVarsity student all those years ago the number one thing I learned was that God's grace towards sinners ran much deeper than I knew. But the number two thing is that God calls us to see that we have more in common with fellow Christians of other cultures than we do with non-believers of our own.
It's now my delight to get to be a part of God doing that very same work with CNU students. To that end (and as a bit of an outreach to the broader campus), we invited the band Aradhna (Uh-ROD-nuh) to do a free concert at CNU just before the end of the year. Aradhna is a band of brothers who believe that Jesus Christ is the most valuable thing in the world, and they blend that value with their appreciation of Indian/Hindi culture and music. (Please note, I mean "Hindi" as a culture and a language, not a religion.)
What we got was a glorious night of music that was very different from what we are used to hearing
 | | Aradhna's sitar |
in every way. The instruments were different (the acoustic and bass guitars were familiar, but not the sitar and tabla), the vocal patterns were different, the time signatures were often different, and the language was different-while a few of their songs are sung in English, most are in Hindi or Nepali. But it was beautiful because it was Christ-centered, and it was very well done! What a joyous night of being blessed by their testimonies about God's work in India, and their bhajans (praise songs) to Jesus. It was a delight to have our vision of God's work and God's people expanded just a bit. It was also a delight to see some new faces at the concert, and we still hope and pray that the gospel they heard that night would sink deep into their hearts.
I encourage you all to check them out at www.aradhnamusic.com. Their music is available on iTunes and through their website.
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Family News & Prayers
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First of all, thanks for your prayers for our health and travel. Our whole family spent 2 weeks atRockbridge Alum Springs camp in May, and were blessed with mostly good health and good sleep (which is so important when you have a 16 month old with you)! Julian started walking just before we got to camp, and he thoroughly enjoyed being with the students and playing with other IV staff kids.
Second, thanks to those of you who have been praying about our housing situation. After 7 years of apartment-living, the Lord has provided a house for us to rent at an affordable price (which is a rare thing in Newport News)! We are thrilled to be able to move just 2 miles down the road, staying close to CNU but having more space for our family and for hosting student get-togethers.
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Our big boy at camp!
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During the summer months, please pray for us:
- For a smooth transition, energy, and patience as we move on June 9th
- For good rest and refreshment as we vacation in late June
- For the Lord to provide wisdom and joy as we plan for the 2012-2013 school year
And for our students:
- That they would also receive rest and refreshment from the Lord during summer break
- And that they would be faithful witnesses to the Gospel wherever they may be.
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Rockbridge Chapter Camp 2012
There is a 3 hour event that happens only once a year that I honestly think is my favorite time in the
 | | CNU IV Chapter |
entire year. Each year towards the end of our week at camp each chapter takes some time to gather and share stories about what God has done in their lives during that week. This year was no different. For about 3 hours I got to sit and listen to the 60 CNU students that went to Rockbridge share about some of the things God had taught them that week, as well as share some of the passion that God has given them for reaching the campus in the Fall.
If it wouldn't be so awkward to record on video I would do it, because I really would love for all of our support team to get to be a fly on the wall for that event. What a glorious time of listening as student after student shared about how God had radically changed their life that week. Many shared about seeing that God's grace runs deeper than their guilt, or realizing that there were parts of their lives that they thought God couldn't handle, or realizing that there were things in their lives that they had thought they had "given over to God," but in reality, they had not. It was likewise encouraging to hear from students in our "leadership tracks" (our Small Group leaders' training track, our track for Worship Team leaders, our track on Evangelism, and our track for our Coordinating Team) share about how they had been motivated and equipped to take the Gospel to the campus in the Fall.
But certainly the most emotional group to hear from were the graduating seniors in the Life After
 | | 2012-2013 Vision Team |
College track. Bittersweet is still the best word to use to describe what it feels like to send our graduates out into the world after knowing them and loving them for the past 4 years. It is also such a blessing to see the way those students have blessed the ones they leave behind-most clearly seen in the tears of the students who will return to school in the Fall.
Thank you all for your prayers and your financial support. Many of you, on top of giving to Beth and I so that that we can do what we do, gave to our students so that they could afford to come to camp with us. We could never do it without you!
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Supporting the InterVarsity Staff@ CNU
June is a great time to make a one-time or yearly gift to InterVarsity. All donations received on or before June 30th, 2012 will help us end our fiscal year well.
Summer is also a great time to set up a recurring gift-plan; starting your gifts in July gives us a head start on fundraising for 2012-2013, and makes it easier for us to track our budget.
If you are interested in extending your partnership financially, simply follow the links below.
https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate/to/cnuivstaff
- To set up a recurring series of gifts:
https://donate.intervarsity.org/support/cnuivstaff
As always, you will receive a receipt for tax-exemption purposes. |
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About InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at CNUCNU IVCF is an on-campus club that provides Bible-study, worship, teaching
and fellowship for Christians of all denominations and ethnicities. Our aim is to be a witnessing community
- a group that nurtures students' spiritual lives: maturing and growing
those who are already in relationship with Jesus Christ while also
teaching and pointing to Christ those who are still seeking the Truth.
For more information, visit our website at www.cnuiv.comEric - eric_gambardella@ivstaff.org, Beth - beth_gambardella@ivstaff.org
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