November 2008

We hope all is going well. The semester is going by so fast as they always do, but it has been an exciting fall for us. There are a lot of new people coming around which has been a real encouragement.

Dorms
I have been getting some good time reaching out in the dorms while hanging out with four freshmen: Jordan, Matt, Nick, and Paul this semester. It has been good getting to know them and talking about their walks with God and why they believe what they believe. It has also been exciting to watch them grow in the short time that they have been here at Ball State. They have started a Bible study together and are trying to grow closer to God. I have greatly enjoyed them and feel blessed to have these new guys to build into. Every fall you just never know what God is going to do, it is always an adventure.

Fall Retreat
The Fall Retreat was a great success. We had over 80 students show up for the weekend. A pastor from Michigan State University spoke on the lessons we can learn from some of the bad guys of the Bible. It was an interesting perspective and challenged everyone to go deeper with God and watch our walks closely. On Saturday night we had five different seminars for the students to choose from. Each seminar covered one of the spiritual disciplines. I did one on celebration with God; rejoicing in His victories, blessings, Him teaching us something new, connecting with us, feeling His presence, and much more on experiencing Him in our life. Leah and Nick Lee did one together on the Discipline of Study. They talked not only about studying the word of God, but also many of the great Christian writers and encouraged the students to turn off their ipods and facebook for a little while and be students of life. God has so much to teach us through His creation, if we’ll just pay attention.

On Saturday night we had five different seminars for the students to choose from. Each seminar covered one of the spiritual disciplines. I did one on celebration with God; rejoicing in His victories, blessings,

Left side of table bottom to top: Matt, Meredith, Chelsea, Jordan
Right Side of table bottom to top: Erin, Jen, Rick, Nick

Him teaching us something new, connecting with us, feeling His presence, and much more on experiencing Him in our life.

It has been really neat to see how the weekend has affected the students. Some of the students have been working on being silent before God. Others have been looking at their lives and evaluating if they have compromised their life in any way since coming to college with all of its distractions, being away from home and all the support from their family. Others have been studying and enjoying the word more and seeing that they can go deeper in their understanding of scripture. So, thank you for your prayers. God definitely used the weekend.

The biggest highlight of the fall retreat for Leah and I was to baptize Lukas and Gabe. Earlier this fall Lukas and Gabe both professed faith in Jesus Christ and a desire to follow him with their lives.

It has been a joy to watch them grow in a deeper understanding of God’s love for them and to watch them grow closer to God.

We love to hear them talk about their Savior, ask lots of questions, and live out their faith at school and at home. Thank you for all your prayers for our family, we are very grateful.

Campus News
And just in case you don’t keep up on college football we want to take this time to do something we Ball State alums don’t normally get to do – brag about our undefeated football team!

We are now 12-0 and are currently ranked #15 in the country! Cardinal fever is catching on…we like to think that your prayers have helped.

Here is Lukas posing with our quarterback and the star of our football program, Nate Davis, just before the season started. Lukas had a special treat when he attended the season opener on his birthday with his dad. Go Cards!

We pray that as you list out your blessings this Thanksgiving, you also ask Him if there is any other way that He would like you to be blessing others. He’s got such an amazing story that He’s writing for each of our lives, and so much He longs to give to this world – through us. May His grace and love overwhelm you this holiday season.

In His Love,

Joel & Leah

Joel, Leah, Lukas, Gabe, Joshua, & Hope Chandler * 904 W. Cowing Dr.
* Muncie, IN 47303 * (765) 215-8467 * joelc@revoweb.net