The Connection

Connecting Ministry Partners with the Mission

June 2010 Volume 1 Issue 4

Grace + Truth + Time = Growth : Acadia Summer Project ‘10

I just returned from four of the most exhausting weeks of

my life, arguably. I love summer project because it is a spiritual
greenhouse. It is a concentrated time of grace and truth that is hard
to find and practice in every day life. It is hard because it is unnatu-
ral and it is exhausting because it is hard - both emotionally and
physically.
It was surreal returning to the same place I was just two
years ago as an intern, re-reading the same materials to prepare for
the summer but joining an almost entirely new group of people with
whom I would be experiencing it.
The first two weeks were a training for a group of eighteen
coaches and new staff. The coaches put us through outdoor pro-
gramming in sea kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking and hik-
ing. Later they would teach us how to create and facilitate the same
programs for students. We wanted everyone’s experience to be one
of grace and truth, challenging others to take steps of relational trust
by being vulnerable, bringing up conflict in the group and challeng-
ing ourselves to move towards people in those moments.
There were just six student who attended the project. It
was overwhelming for them at first as all 18 staff stared them down
during every debrief. (Cont’d back page)

Support Update : What can $5.00 buy you?

For just five dollars you can buy a drink at Starbucks, five songs on iTunes, two
hours of parking, or a McDonald’s Happy Meal among other things. You can
also, for just five dollars a month help change the lives of students for eternity. If
everyone who receives this letter either starts giving just $5 a month or increases
their giving by $5 a month then my goal will be met and I will be done raising
support! I am currently at 86% of my goal, will you prayerfully consider helping
me finish the last 14 percent?

Now that project is over I am back to working on finishing my support in hopes

to report to campus for the fall semester.
It was such a blessing to be able to go on summer project. Typically for new
staff you have to be done raising financial support in order to attend. In my case
there were a number of reasons why it would be beneficial for me to go. After
talking to my Missional Team Leader and Support Coach they decided to let me
go! I had enough funds in my staff account, thanks to all of the faithful donors
over the past several months, to go without additional expenses on my part. You
are a huge blessing to me and this ministry and all of the students who are ef-
fected by it. I cannot thank you enough!

Mindy Sue Colvin

Mindy.Colvin@uscm.org ~ (269) 908-0611 NEW WEBSITE!
1111A Parker Place, Charlottesville, VA 22903 www.mindysue87.blogspot.com
To donate online: http://give.ccci.org/give/0593522

Front page top to bottom:
Me climbing Otter Cliffs as
Gabe belays, all of the
students during their rock
climbing/rappelling activity,
Ryan trying to ride through
the carriage roads in gears
1-1 during a timed event.
This page top to bottom: A
group of staff at 4am
watching the sunrise atop
Cadillac Mt—the first to see
the sunrise in the US,
pausing for a pic during our
free-time of putt-putt golfing,
safely anchored in three girls
lean over the edge to watch
the waves and other climb-
ers, Rachel shows off her
lobster after winning the
Amazing Race, Mike, Steven
and I during the Amazing
Race with the ice cream lob-
ster and after our canoe
challenge—we won!
(Cont’d from front page) We
finally decided to only have the
staff that programmed the activ-
ity to be present during the de-
brief. This allowed for the stu-
dents to be more comfortable
but it made it difficult as staff to
plan for future programs not
knowing the progress that was
made or what had happened
previously. We managed to
develop our communication
skills enough to make it work.
There were a lot of things this
year that we were trying out.
On that note, for the
first time we had a guest
speaker for a week. Doug Pol-
lock, author of God Space,
came and spoke to us on how to
create ‘God Space’ in our every-
day conversations. He talked to
us on how to get rid of our
evangelism agenda and start
asking wondering questions,
showing God’s love through
conversation and developing
relationships. It was so refresh-
ing to be reminded of what our
job is really about. It’s not
about the conversion numbers
but the changed hearts and peo-
ple are changed by the power of
God’s love.
That is how Lifelines
began. Students weren’t re-
sponding to the evangelism
tracts, in fact they were turned
off by them. What has the most
impact is when we spend time
with them, develop trust and
invest in their lives. We are not
a ministry of numbers and stats,
we are in the ministry of chang-
ing lives!