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