Updater June 23, 2010

Hello Friends!

I keep you in my thoughts and prayers!

Please see below how YOUR prayers have been working in my life! Thank you for partnering with me in my walk with Christ and in ministry.

***On the Home Front***

A week and a half ago, I wrote that Rob and I were planning to sign a lease on an apartment, and asked for your prayers for doors to be opened where God sees fit to open them.

The apartment we were looking at was very nice. Only 5 years old, well managed and cared for. Pretty large, yet pretty cheap. But there was no yard or gardens, we wouldn't be allowed to have a real Christmas tree or grill (things very important to Rob), and there was no spare room for TCF events or overnight guests. And while the location was really pretty good, it was on a highway, with the regular whoosh of cars going by. Overall it was very nice and we would have joyfully been blessed to live there.

But God has seen fit to open different doors. Pretty grand ones, too.

My friends Andrew and Kara are being transferred by Andrew's company to Amsterdam (yes, the Netherlands) for 2-3 years. Because they will be returning to Oshkosh, they would like to keep their 115 year old, 3 story, 4 bedroom, BEAUTIFUL home on 1/2 acre lot, near one of the most lovely parks in town. Not only have they asked us to be live-in caretakers, but have mandated as part of the deal that I garden and host TCF events there. And, by the grace and generosity of God in this situation, it will cost Rob and I 2/3 less to live in this house than it would have to live in the apartment. We move in August!

Praise God for his provision!

Please pray for Andrew and Kara (and their son Carter) as they plan, prepare, and move (Andrew is already overseas).
Also remember in your prayers John and Renee with whom we have a very similar situation going at OUR house in Kenosha.
And Christina, my sister, with whom Rob and I have been living for the past 2 years -- another situation of mutual blessing.

God may not provide in the way you think He will, but He WILL provide! He is SO GOOD!

***Continue to pray for our students!***

All of our students are in very different circumstances now than they are throughout the school year. Pray that God would draw them nearer to Himself through the transitions and challenges of summer!

Pray also for TCF Staff that God would give us His vision for the future of the ministry and work through us miraculously as we follow Him.

***

Is God asking you to trust Him with more so that He can bless you more? Let me encourage you to walk in crazy-faith with this crazy-good God. Trust Him wholeheartedly with everything you are and everything you have.

Join in what He is doing through me at UW-O by sending a check payable to TCF, 833 Wright St., Oshkosh, WI 54901 with "Katy Ahlrichs" in the memo line or click here:

Paypal Link

Many Blessings Friends!

Katy Ahlrichs

Campus Minister
Titan Christian Fellowship
262-344-2630

The Prospect, June 2010

Here's my most recent newsletter! Please click the link below:

The Prospect, June 2010

and the pledge cards. Please print them out, fill one out for yourself, and hand some out to your friends. Tell them what we're up to at TCF and give them the opportunity to get involved too!

Pledge Cards 2010-2011

Blessings friends!

Katy

The Updater 6.11.2010

Ahh Summer! I hope you are enjoying the warm weather and outdoor activities!

I never realize just how worn out I am during a semester until it's over. For the past few weeks, I have been taking a break; not necessarily from ministry, but from the regular routine of it, and have been taking care of some things that are otherwise on the back burner.

One of my big projects has been making our Campus Houses welcoming and beautiful places by planting gardens in front of both. By fall, I expect they will be showering forth with flowers! I'll send pictures soon (today you'd get very drab and dreary pictures, though I'm sure the gardens are loving the rain!).


***On the Home Front

Rob and I have (at long last) been looking at apartments. My sister, Christina, moved to Oshkosh when Rob and I did, and we've all been piled into her little house for the past 2 years.
Please pray with us that God would allow only the doors He wants open to be opened, that He would give us grace in confident trust as we walk through them, and that He would continue, in His miraculous ways, to provide for us.

He's got us on a crazy ride, but He is good. He's crazy good.

***Continue to pray for our students!

All of our students are in very different circumstances now than they are throughout the school year. Pray that God would draw them nearer to Himself through the transitions and challenges of summer!

Pray also for TCF Staff that God would give us His vision for the future of the ministry and work through us miraculously as we follow Him.

***
Let me encourage you to walk in crazy-faith with this crazy-good God. Trust Him wholeheartedly with everything you are and everything you have.

Giving financially to God WILL bless your relationship with Him. Give to Him via TCF and join me in inspiring students to live for Christ by sending a check payable to TCF, 833 Wright St., Oshkosh, WI 54901 with "Katy Ahlrichs" in the memo line or click here:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7761082

Many blessings to you,
Katy Ahlrichs

Titan Christian Fellowship
262-344-2630
theophilus34ad@hotmail.com

Updater May 6, 2010

I could talk till I'm blue in the face trying to express my thanks to you for your prayers and support -- for PARTNERING with me in ministry. God is using YOU to accomplish this work on campus and I NEED you to know that your partnership is multiplying praises across campus at UW-O. Please read:

We are down to 6 days of school left and had our final official TCF Tuesday of the year on the 4th. The best way I can summarize that night is to quote David Crowder's "How He Loves".

"He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

How He loves us...

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way...

He loves us...."


Preface: He is Jealous for me...

Two Tuesdays ago we talked about baptism at TCF. God is jealous for each of us, that we would make Him the center and focus and foundation of every part of our lives. It is ultimately important to have made the commitment to obey God and be able to look back to that moment -- to have a memorable SIGN of your faith in God. So we put forth the invitation.

On Sunday, Hannah was baptized. By Monday night, Lynn was ready. So that her family could be there, we planned to celebrate her baptism Tuesday night after TCF.


The Unforeseen Kiss

TCF gathered at 7, as usual. We had planned a shortened meeting so that we could get out to Community Church for Lynn's baptism and then back to Reeve for PULSE (a "season of events" geared towards uniting the Christian ministries on campus and reaching out together to introduce others to Christ. More on this later, but if you're curious, please go to www.pulsemovement.com. Tuesday night's event was a gathering for prayer and worship).

Just as Jeremy started his sermon, tornado sirens rang loud across campus and we were escorted to the basement to wait out the storm.

Despite the crowd and the now distant sound of sirens, God was loud in our ears. We had just finished signing praises upstairs, and simply continued downstairs. There was a need, a hunger to draw near to God. He was preparing to draw near to us.

Luckily, the tornado stayed north of Oshkosh, did very little damage, and kept us downstairs for only a short time. When we went back upstairs, Jeremy decided to pray rather than preach, knowing that God could teach us what his sermon had to say anyway -- that workers need to be ready for the harvest.

We also honored our graduating seniors and I request your prayers for them also -- Jon Hall (science education), Maria Radebaugh (child life specialist), Rachael Sheets (social work), and of course, Rob (new archaeology PhD candidate).

Then, despite the rain, we headed out to the church pond for Lynn's baptism.


Bending Beneath the Weight of His Wind and Mercy

I know words cannot paint the picture well enough, or give you the sense of Majesty and Power that we experienced. Lynn made the public confession of faith and was baptized. We prayed over her, that God would pour out on her like the rain was pouring on us.

When it was time to go, I was pushed as by a hand. When I was in college I learned that one baptism doesn't use up all the water! So I said, like my campus minister Roger Charley used to say, "There is more water...."

And Jon was baptized. And Rachael was baptized. And the prayers and rejoicing poured from us as grace upon grace poured from God. As Josh rejoiced aloud that "nothing above or below can separate us from the love of God" the only thunder of the evening crashed overhead. We enjoyed the moment of confirmation from God -- as Emily commented on Jeremy's facebook post about the evening (come to my facebook homepage to read his story about it entitled "Obedience Rains"), "The safest place to be is in the center of God's will (even if that's in a body of water during a lightning storm!)."

By the end, we were ALL soaked. But most of us went and joined our brothers and sisters in Christ from Converge (Chi Alpha (Assemblies of God)) and Crusade for Christ ministries and prayed for our campus, that we, the harvesters, would be ready for the harvest. And we sang songs. The line that stuck out to me most was
"If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking..."
Indeed.

After that, 10 or so of us went to TCF's Go House to sing praises and drown in his grace until we decided that we'd better worship Him by going to bed.


Please Pray for Us!

Friends, please pray with us
• That God would continue to pour out his mercies and grace on UW-O and that each Christian, each campus ministry, and the body of ministries together would effectively work along side God in accomplishing his will here.
• For an extra portion of understanding and grace for Hannah, Lynn, Jon, and Rachael as they stretch into new levels of faith.
• for our graduates: Jon, Maria, Rachael, and Rob
• for all of our students as they head home for the summer. That it would be a time of continued growth and refreshing and evangelism as a lifestyle.


Wow. Wow. Wow.
Now, I know some of you think this story entirely unbelievable and wacky. I know I sound crazy. And I'm ok with it. Thanks for sticking with me. The Bible says, "Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those [yourselves?] who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you." This moment has been brought to you by God, for whom I am out of my mind. I will more often than not try to stay IN my right mind for your sake.

I'm still working on my newsletter, The Prospect, and will hopefully get it sent out next week! Be watching your mailboxes!

Though the school year is ending, ministry does not. I will be busy throughout the summer with the students who remain here, keeping up with the ones who have gone home, and preparing for 2010-2011! Please don't let summer pull YOU away from what God is doing through and around me at TCF!

If it would bless you to participate in this work by giving financially, please click the link on the upper right hand side of the page, or send a check payable to WCCM, 833 Wright St., Oshkosh, WI 54901 with "Katy Ahlrichs" in the memo line.

Updater 4:28.2010

Hi Friends!

I realize my "weekly" update has become a little more like "every-other-weekly." Let me tell you why: there's so many things to tell you that I can't pick one, and they're all so momentous that I want to make a big deal out of them. So, I am putting together an official newsletter which I will be sending out shortly. Please be watching for it in the MAIL.

(If you've never received a snail mail from me, you are probably not on my mailing list. If you'd like to be, please send me a message with your address! I do NOT want to leave anyone out!)

In the meantime, I'll give you a few quick previews:

Preview #1

The outreach we have been doing on campus has begun to show its effectiveness. This past weekend, 2 students from a lesbian/gay campus organization joined us at one of our events because their friends from TCF invited them. We had an opportunity to love on them and make them welcome in our house this time.

Preview #2

We have at least two students who are ready to be baptized -- but are aware of 5 others that are possibly ready to be persuaded to take this step of obedience.

Preview #3

Our planning for next year has commenced and things are shaping up for more learning, building, growing, and serving throughout the 2010-2011 school year!

Please Pray for Us!

• That we would always have an answer ready for the hope that we have.

• That our students would finish the year strong -- not only in their own studies, but in keeping an eye and a loving hand out to their friends who are also suffering end-of-year stress.

• OBEDIENCE to Christ as Lord through baptism and in EVERY OTHER FACET of EACH of our lives!

Thank you for your prayers!

If it would bless you to participate in this work by giving financially, please click the button in the upper right hand corner of the page, or send a check payable to WCCM, 833 Wright St., Oshkosh, WI 54901 with "Katy Ahlrichs" in the memo line.

Katy Ahlrichs

Updater April 13, 2010

There are a couple of Updaters that didn't get added to this blog. Sorry! If you would like to see them, please go to the group: Katy's TCF Ministry Partners on Facebook or send me an email at theophilus34ad@hotmail.com if you'd like to be added to the email list. Thanks! Here's the Updater, April 13 edition.

Hello Friends!

We've returned to "scheduling as usual" after the excitement of the first part of this semester. Remember what we've been through already? The H2O Project, STRONG Women women's retreat, final preparation for and adventuring on our spring break trip to Galveston, along with blessing the students in the dorms through dorm parties, Friday Night Outreach events, our regular Tuesday Night meetings, and all the God-centered discipleship going on in, amongst, and through our students. In this week's issue of the Updater, I'll simply share a quick story that evidences the spiritual growth of our students at TCF.

*******
Arms Open Wide

Our theme this year is, of course, Arms Open Wide. We've been talking, training, and trying new ways of understanding God'

s acceptance of us, our acceptance of one another as the Church, and our acceptance of folks who aren't part of the Body of Christ.

The TCFers willingness to study and participate in a ministry that was going to emphasize that scary thing, evangelism, was the first evidence of their being open to God. And throughout the year we have been building deep and honest relationships with each other. This semester, we really hit the ground with reaching out on campus, putting ourselves in the way of students who are living their lives contrary to the ways of God, who have thoughts about God that are contrary to ours, and who may or may not want to have anything to do with us because of our... differences. And we have made huge strides in showing them that we have a lot more in common with them than they think -- at the very least, we have in common a love and acceptance of them.

By now, we've come right past the point of comfort and ease. We're beyond "what comes naturally" and to a place where "willingness to study and participate" in TCF's emphasis on evangelism isn't enough. Each person in TCF is in that uncomfortable place of trust and dependence on Jesus Christ -- we're leaning out over the edge. We've heard God's call to make an impact on campus; we know which people He wants us to start with. We've started! And now we're right past our comfort zones and sense of control.

Here's where things get really cool: TCF Tuesdays have always been, well, pretty conservative events. We pray, learn, worship, and fellowship, but pretty much stay in control and stay safely in our comfort zones. Don't get me wrong, we LIVE what we learn... but the learning has always been done in a very conservative fa

shion. But now... now that we are in this crazy place of TRUE DEPENDENCE on God, TCF Tuesdays have become a new exercise in having Arms Open Wide.

We're no longer just studying God's acceptance of us. We're experiencing it. Students spread their arms out, cast themselves in worship at the feet of Christ and call out for Him to pour out His wisdom and love and to continue to lead them as they show their friends on campus Who He Is.

Last week, we asked the students to gather in the middle of the room and to pray out loud, all at once. And they did, bravely, loudly. The chorus of cacophony was beautiful to MY ears and I know it blessed the Heart of God. But here's another amazing thing on this God-ward spiral we're on. This dependence on God and desire for Him has brought us to a new level of accepting one another. When we were done praying, TCF stood together, Arms Open and around each other for the remainder of the evening, encouraging one another in the telling what God is doing in their lives and through them on campus.

What will happen next? If we've come this far in our willingness to obey Christ, and this far in our openness to each other as the Body of Christ, what will happen when we continue to stand with Arms Open Wide for the students on campus at UW-O?

*******

Please Pray for Us!

* for continued openness toward God and each other
* for the full outpouring of the Spirit on our Tuesday Night meetings
* for favor in the sight of God and man as we continue to follow God in what He's doing on campus
* that Jeremy and I and our Student Ministers would follow obediently as we plan and prepare for next year

*******
Thank you for partnering with me in this ministry. Your interest in what I'm doing, your time sacrificed in prayer, and your financial support all give YOU huge credit in the spiritual growth happening here at UWO.

If God is calling you trust Him by giving financially, please click the link below, or send a check payable to WCCM, 833 Wright St., Oshkosh, WI 54901 with "Katy Ahlrichs" in the memo line.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=zETP4eeqWcvn8jJtXntobrtYOsnEWBNe9V4Ib_vOxovm42uaIb6l8HFDPYi&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f059ee17e99acf19529de9a5cb8b345b6e847e9b5572143b9

Katy Ahlrichs
Titan Christian Fellowship
262-344-2630
theophilus34ad@hotmail.com

The Updater 3/7/2010

I apologize for the lateness of this Update! On Friday, I traveled to Milwaukee to begin a week of training with the Army. We've been doing a lot of rehearsing and my face is tired! Anyway, this will be the only Updater you will receive until NEXT week. And, since I very much desire that you see and be as much a part of what is going on here as possible, you'll notice that this week's edition is an open window to this world of awesome ministry. Hope you enjoy it! (For more pictures of Women's Retreat and other recent ongoings, please go to my facebook page, and check out the photo album on the left hand side of the page, called Spring 2010.)

But first: Drum roll, please. ...TCF's H2O Project raised a total of (hope you're sitting down): $2302.27. "May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the people praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!" Ps. 67:1-3.

Strong Women: An Oshkosh Staycation

We had a total of 15 women come for the retreat. This is breakfast on Saturday morning. We had some excellent food -- some generously donated by WCCM's Sunday Morning Church, 180; some expertly made by the girls themselves.

This is still breakfast on Saturday morning (we didn't take too many pictures -- there was so much else to do!). This is where we ate, had much fellowship, worshiped, had our 5 sessions led by the Leading Ladies, watched a movie, did some pampering, and slept. You'll notice the small baby in this picture. That's Moriah (my boss, Jeremy and his wife, Lori's baby). This was her very first women's retreat.

This picture represents women's retreat. Hang out. Have fun. As well as all the stuff listed above, we also went to Oshkosh's art museum, got a coffee, drove on the frozen lake, and window shopped downtown Oshkosh. Good, girly, fun times.

Other than getting face to face with God and getting deep with each other over the course of the weekend, the coolest thing we did was get dressed up and take ourselves out to dinner at a fancy Oshkoshian restaurant. Clockwise from far left: Amy, Vicki, Abby, Me, Courtney, Natalie, Amy, Sam, Angie.

Our theme verse for the weekend, which exemplifies the heart and lives of these women was Colossians 3:12-17. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

One more quick note: Our spring break mission trip to Galveston, TX for Hurricane Ike relief is coming up! We head south on the 19th. Please be praying for us! We have advertised on campus and, so far, along with the 10 TCFers signed up, there are 2 nonTCF students signed up and more interested! Pray that those whom God desires to be on this trip would be zealous in making it happen. Pray that God would lead us in being genuine and loving to each other as we prepare, travel, serve, and live together. More on this next week! Do you remember that all of this only happens with your help? I am so grateful that you allow me to share this great blessing with you. If you are able to support financially this week, please click the link on the upper right hand side of the page, or send a check payable to WCCM, 833 Wright St., Oshkosh, WI 54901.