Remembering CCVT's 2010 Christmas Party

  

Emily

  

Fun Playing "Catch Phrase"





Katherine



Stacey



   









Two teams work on the "Christmas Quiz"



Surprise! Hi, Steve.





Spending Time with Friends







Chris





A Nostalgic Game of "Life"



ACC Championship Football Party

For those of you who will not actually be at the game in Charlotte this Saturday, we are having a Football Party at the campus house to cheer our Hokies on to victory over Florida State while we watch the game on ESPN. 

The game is scheduled for 7:45 Saturday night, so feel free to arrive a little while before that. Some of us are going to be bringing some of our favorite "football food" to enjoy while we watch the game. If you want to bring something too, you are welcome to, but there will be plenty for everyone, so don't feel like you have to bring anything.

Invite your friends to join you and make plans now to be here. This should be an exciting game to watch.

Hope to see you Saturday night.
Steve

The Great Pumpkin Hunt

Do you believe in The Great Pumpkin? Me either, but I do believe "The Great Pumpkin Hunt" we are going to have at the campus house this Friday night at 7pm is going to be "great big" and great fun.

We have a number of games planned, but the main one is an Easter egg hunt style search for candy filled pumpkins hidden all over the campus house property. Prizes will be awarded to those who find the most pumpkins. We may do some team competitions, as well as individual hunting, just to add to the fun.

We will also have some "fall food" on hand to enjoy -- things like pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, and apple cider. But most of all we will be enjoying having fun with old friends and making some new ones.

So start inviting your friends now to come with you this Friday night to "The Great Pumpkin Hunt" at the CCVT campus house at 7pm.

Need directions to the campus house? Just look on the right side of your screen.

Looking forward to seeing you then.
Steve

Amazing Corn Maze and more

Make plans now to join us this Friday night for an a-maze-ing adventure through a huge maze of corn, after dark. (Please pardon my corn-y joke. Oh, wait, I did it again. I just can't stop myself.)

OK, enough with the bad puns. Here's the scoop:
We're meeting at the campus house at 6pm to carpool to the corn maze which is part of a big annual "Pumpkin Festival" at Sinkland Farms about a 20 minute drive from here. By the time we enter the maze it will be dark, making it a significant challenge to find your way out. Believe me, this isn't just a maze for little kiddies. It's big and complex.

The cost is $6, but if you bring your student ID, assuming we have at least 10 people, you will get a $1 discount.

Be sure to bring a flashlight, and please bring an extra, if you have one, to share with someone else who might not have one.

And ladies, please leave the high heels at home. Remember, this is a corn field we will be walking in, so it's pretty bumpy from the furrows the plow has made, and the corn stalk stumps that are still sticking up where the corn has been cut down, etc. So flip-flops and sandals are a bad idea, too. Let's say tennis shoes are a minimum, and boots would be even better.

Finally, bring a little extra money in case we get some pizza or something like that on our way home afterward. Maybe just appetizers or dessert or something. We'll see.

So to recap:
6pm at the campus house (directions on the right side of your screen)
$6, plus maybe more for food
student ID
flashlights
appropriate footwear

Hope you can join us. And bring a friend!
Steve

It's Time to Go Bananas

Come go bananas with us this Friday night at 7pm at the campus house. It's going to be "Build your own Banana Split night" where you get to put together whatever combination of ice cream flavors, and toppings you want on your split banana. Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry? Hot fudge, or caramel? Whipped cream with a cherry on top? What'll you have? Is your mouth starting to water?

We also have some fun games planned, so make plans now to join us Friday night, and invite some friends to come hang out with us, enjoy some delicious food, and have some laughs and a lot of fun.

Hope to see you then.

Steve

PS -- For directions to the campus house just look on the right side of your screen.

Special Guest Speaker this Sunday

Even though it is Fall Break and a lot of you are going home for the weekend, we are still having Oasis this Sunday for those of you who will still be in town. In fact, it is going to be an extra special Oasis because we are having a special guest speaker this Sunday!

All the way from Indiana our special guest speaker, Dr. Ken Goble, is coming to share his wealth of knowledge and insight with us. He has spent most of his career as a professor of Psychology at Cincinnati Christian University, and Atlanta Christian College, and for most of those years has also done marital counseling part-time as a licensed professional counselor along with his wife, Moni. (They find that this team approach is ideal for marriage counseling.)

We are very blessed to have such a highly qualified guest speaker. There is one particular reason we are able to have him speak: he also happens to be Stacey's dad, and my father-in-law. It always helps to have connections, doesn't it?

I regret that the timing of Dr. Goble's visit turns out to be while so many of you will be out of town, but we'll just have to make the best of it we can. So for those of you still in town, don't miss this opportunity!

Hope to see you 11am Sunday at the campus house, same as usual.

Steve

Olive Garden

"So I took her to the garden, where I guess they grow the olives."

That's a line from an old rap song I like about a guy who takes a girl on a date to -- guess where? Well, I guess I kind of gave it away in the subject heading, didn't I? Anyway, we're going there tomorrow night, Friday, and it's such a fun place to go as a group, we really hope you'll join us.

We're meeting at the campus house at 6pm to carpool there. If you need directions to the campus house, just look on the right side of your screen.

And feel free to bring a friend with you.

Again, 6pm Friday, at the campus house.

Hope you can join us.
Steve

76 and Sunny -- Cookout Anyone?

This Friday at 6pm it is supposed to be 76 degrees and 0% chance of rain. Sounds like a good time for a cookout. As it happens, we have one planned!

Come join us for some grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, fries, mac & cheese, Boston Creme Cake, and more.

We're gonna have croquet and volleyball available for those interested in playing, too. But mostly this is just a chance for you to come hang out with some of your new friends at CCVT and get to know them a little better, and maybe make some new friends, too.

So feel free to bring some friends along, but please come join us at 6pm Friday at the campus house. And remember, this is totally free, of course.

If you need directions to the campus house, just look on the right side of your screen.

Hope to see you there.
Steve

Guys' Gel Groups Kick Off Tonight!

Hey guys,

Hope you are getting a chance to enjoy the great weather out there this afternoon.

Hope you are planning on joining us for our first Guys' Gel Group of the semester, too. We are kicking it off tonight (and meeting every Monday night) at 7:30pm at the campus house.

This semester we'll be studying the parables of Jesus, but as many of you know, Gel Group is about much more than just learning some more things about the Bible. What good is more information about the Bible if we are not applying what we already know to our lives? What is most important is that we live out the kind of lives God wants us to, and one of the best things we can do to help ourselves do that is have some good solid friends who are trying to do the same thing, so we can support each other and help each other stay on track.

The Bible says, "Bad company corrupts good character." The opposite is also true: Good company promotes good character. When we take the time to invest in building good friendships with other guys who are trying to follow God, we will not only avoid some of the bad influences we otherwise might have surrounded ourselves with, we will also find that we are picking up some great attributes from the character strengths of they guys we hang out with. That is what I know can happen through Guys Gel Group, and I want you to be a part of it.

I hope you will make time in your busy schedule to be a part of Guys' Gel Group, not only because I believe it will be an even bigger blessing for you than you expected, but also because the other guys in the group need what God can give them through you. If you can feasibly make it on Monday nights, I encourage you to pray and ask God if he would like to use you to be a blessing to some other guys through this group, and be blessed yourself, too.

By the way, if you have some female friends who would be interested in something like this, too, our Girls' Gel Group meets every Sunday night at 7pm at the campus house. They are more than welcome to join the girls then.

Hope to see you tonight.

Steve

Golf Balls, Staples, and Hoola-Hoops

Ever built a "railroad track" for a marble using only staples and erasers? When was the last time you were able to stack three golf balls on top of each other, with nothing but the table supporting them? Think you can blow a soap bubble through a hoola-hoop 15 feet away? If so, you may have a good shot at becoming the next champion of CCVT's Minute-to-Win-It inspired games.

Come try your hand at these incredibly fun and quirky, yet challenging, games.

And don't forget you get to "Build Your Own Pizza" with your choice of pineapple, bacon, mushrooms, black olives, pepperoni, and Canadian bacon, whole grain or regular crust; and don't worry, we haven't forgotten the pizza sauce or cheese. Whatever you want on your pizza, that's what you can have tonight at CCVT. And of course, this is all FREE!

So come join us, and bring some friends with you.

It all starts at 7pm tonight (Sept. 10) at CCVT's campus house.

If you need directions to our campus house, just look on the right side of the screen.

Hope to see you tonight.
Steve

Food, Fun, Worship and Prayer, More Food and Fellowship, Bible Study and Friends, and the List Goes On

Here's a heads up about some upcoming events we wanted you to know about so that you can plan ahead to be a part of them:

Sept. 10, Friday, 7pm -- Build Your Own Pizza Night
We will have the pizza crusts ready for you to flatten out yourself and put whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you want on your own pizza. While those are baking we'll play some fun games we have planned that I'm pretty sure you have never played before.

Sept. 12, Sunday, 11am -- Oasis Worship

Sept. 12, Sunday, after Oasis -- Free Homemade Dinner

Sept. 12, Sunday, 7pm -- Girls' Gel Group (small group Bible study)

Sept. 13, Monday, 7:30pm -- Guys' Gel Group Kickoff (small group Bible study)

Sept. 14, Tuesday, 5:30pm -- Worship Team meeting

Sept. 17, Friday, 4:45pm -- Core Group Team meeting (CCVT's student leadership team)

Sept. 17, Friday, 6pm -- Cookout, and volleyball or croquette, etc.

Sept. 19, Sunday, 11am -- Oasis Worship

Sept. 19, Sunday, 7pm -- Girls' Gel Group (small group Bible study)

Sept. 20, Monday, 7:30pm -- Guys' Gel Group (small group Bible study)

Sept. 21, Tuesday, 5:30pm -- Worship Team meeting

All of these events take place at the campus house, as usual.

Be sure to mark these on your calendar and invite your friends to come with you.

Hope to see you Friday.
Steve

Did You Feel That?

You can almost feel it in the air -- the tension, the suspense, the anticipation of tonight's game against Boise State. Hokies everywhere are looking forward to what will surely be one of the most important games of the entire season tonight. We know we've got a team loaded with talent this year, but we're all eager to see just how very good they can be, and we're hoping they will show the world tonight on national television that they are even better than anyone dared hope for.

Watching this game tonight is going to be fun for anyone interested in Hokies football. But watching it on an 84 inch big screen with a bunch of fellow fans cheering and celebrating every time the Hokies make a big play is just going to make it even more exciting. I think it's going to be a night to remember -- the night a very special year in Hokies football history began.

So don't miss out on sharing this special moment with us. Join us at the campus house at about 8pm tonight for our football party and cheer the Hokies on to victory with us.

We'll be enjoying some delicious "football food" while we watch the game -- Apple Dumplings, Bojangles, pizza pockets, cookies, etc., even some Gatorade to, like, "be there" with our team.

It's going to be a lot of fun, so bring yourself and bring your friends, too.

Remember, our campus house is right on the edge of campus by most of the dorms, over by the Washington Street tennis courts -- probably closer than most of your classes if you live on campus. If you need directions, they are on the right side of this screen.

Hope to see you tonight at 8pm.

Steve

Friday Night Fun

Don't forget this Friday night, Sept. 3, we are getting together to go out to eat and then play a mean round of mini-golf.

OK, so maybe "mean" and "mini-golf" don't really go together, but the point is, we're going to have a lot of laughs playing that version of golf that often makes the experienced golfers look like beginners, and the novices look like pros. That's part of what makes it so much fun.

We are meeting at the campus house (directions on the right side of your screen in the side bar) at 5pm.

Originally we were going to golf first and go out to eat afterward, but given the heat, we are switching the order and eating first in air conditioned comfort, then mini-golfing when the weather is going to be a perfect mid-70s. Nice.

The golf will cost $5. (It's normally $6, but we'll be getting the group discount. Yipee!)
Check out how pretty the course is: www.coxgolf.com/Putt-a-Round.htm

We'll decide where to eat based on what everyone is in the mood for tomorrow, but it will be someplace around downtown Blacksburg since the golf course is just outside of town on Price's Fork Rd. No sense driving all the way out to the mall and back.

We hope to see you here whether this is your first time at CCVT or you've been here 5 years. We want to welcome you to CCVT and make this a "home away from home" like it has become for us. So please come join us even if you've never been before. And feel free to bring a friend!

Recap:
Friday 5pm
At the campus house
$5 for mini-golf plus money for supper

Hope to see you then!

Steve

Adventure and Exploration on a Saturday Night

The Hunt is On!
Saturday, Aug. 28, 7 pm
at CCVT Campus Ministry!

What's Going On?
The Hunt for the Holy Grail

A Scavenger Hunt of Biblical Proportions!

A Campus Wide Search for True Treasure!

You won't want to miss it!
Prizes will be awarded to the best scavengers!

Discover your inner Indiana Jones!

When Is It?
Saturday, Aug. 28 @ 7 pm

Where Is It?
We will begin the scavenger hunt from CCVT's campus house.

Look in the right side bar for a map and directions.

It's only one block from the dorms -- on Clay St., one block over from Washington Street.
We overlook the tennis courts and are next door to VT's Cranwell International Center.

Who Is Invited?
Everyone's Invited.
Bring a friend or two!

Never been here before?
Perfect! That's why we're inviting you -- we want to meet you!

You have been here before?
Perfect again! That's why we're inviting you -- so we can get to know each other better!

Do I need to bring anything?
The only thing you need to bring is -- your appetite for adventure
and a digital camera if you have one!
(Not everyone will need one -- we only need one per team.)

See you Saturday!

Welcome to VT!

If you are new to VT, we want you to know you are welcome to make CCVT campus ministry your home away from home, just like hundreds of students have before you. You see, CCVT is more than just another student organization, or place to go to church. For years, CCVT has been a place where students build some of the best friendships they have ever had with other Christian students, and in the process get the support we all need to make the adjustment to college life and get the most out of our college years. We don't just "clock-in, and clock-out" of church. We take the time to really care about each other and build one another up in the faith and in our walk with God. We want to do that for you, too, and we hope you will be willing to be a good friend to us, as well.

Since that is such a big part of what we are all about, we do a lot of fun events together, especially at the beginning of the school year, so we can all meet each other and get to know one another. Below is a list of the events we have planned for the beginning of the fall semester. Please make a note of these on your Google Calendar, Outlook, or whatever you use, and make plans to join us. We are really looking forward to meeting you and getting to know you.

Also, don't forget to join us Sunday mornings at 11am at our campus house for our weekly worship service called "Oasis".

Hope to see you soon. Here's what's coming up:

Aug. 26, Thursday -- Dinner at Steve and Stacey's house. Space is limited so, sorry, but this is by invitation only. Are you one of the lucky ones?

Aug. 27, Friday, 3-8pm -- Gobblerfest/Student Organization Showcase around Squires Student Center (Come see us at our display)

Aug. 28, Saturday, 5pm -- Core Group Team meeting (CCVT's student leadership team)

Aug. 28, Saturday, 7pm -- Scavenger Hunt -- Indiana Jones style, at the campus house.

Aug. 29, Sunday, 11am -- Oasis Worship, at the campus house.

Aug. 29, Sunday, after Oasis -- free home cooked dinner!

Aug. 30, Monday through Sept. 2, Thursday -- "Gel Groups" (our small group Bible studies) kickoff. Details TBA.

Aug. 31, Tuesday, 7:30pm -- Worship Team meeting

Sept. 3, Friday, 5pm --Mini-golf, then out to eat. Meet at the campus house.

Sept. 5, Sunday, 11am -- Oasis Worship, at the campus house.

Sept. 6, Monday, Labor Day, 8pm -- Football Party at the campus house. VT vs. Boise State in D.C., televised on ESPN.

Oasis Moves to Sunday Morning

CCVT is excited to announce that our main weekly worship service, which we call "Oasis" is moving from Wednesday nights to Sunday mornings at 11am at CCVT's campus house.

This change will be a blessing in many ways, but there are a couple of especially notable ones. First, more students will be able to participate on Sunday morning than were able to on a week night which often presented schedule conflicts with exams, study sessions, homework, and other events. Second, this solves the problem of transportation to Sunday morning worship for students who don't have vehicles. Many of the local churches are too far away to walk and are not served by bus routes. CCVT's campus house is one block from the dorms and the nearest bus stop.

Our first Oasis at the new day and time will be Sunday, August 22, at 11:00 AM. And afterward we are going to enjoy a home cooked dinner together. It's all FREE, so please come join us in this exciting new chapter in the life of CCVT.

Steve Wilkin

God Speed Class of 2010

Here are a few photos of some of our graduates this May.

Thank you, Lord, for how you blessed CCVT with these good friends, and how you used us to bless them. Please guide them as they enter the next stage of their lives, especially the ones who are moving to new places. Please help them to find a solid, Bible believing group of Christians to worship, serve, and fellowship with. In Jesus' name, Amen.

CCVT's 5th Semiannual Homeplace Outing

Tomorrow will be CCVT's 5th Semiannual Homeplace Outing. This delicious tradition started two and a half years ago on Reading Day and we've been going to The Homeplace restaurant every Reading Day since. We're doing it again tomorrow, Thursday, and we hope you will join us.

If you don't know about The Homeplace restaurant, you are missing out. Most people I know would say it's the best restaurant within an hour's drive of Blacksburg. It's out in the country in a very small town called Catawba, about a half hour from here, near Roanoke. They make the most delicious country style food like country ham, fried chicken, roast beef, and pulled pork BBQ, with sides like green beans, mac & cheese, corn, and more, and apple butter for your biscuits, and really good sweet tea and lemonade, and fruit cobbler for dessert, and lots of other stuff. All of this is served "family style" where you all sit around a huge table and pass the food around and put however much you want on your plate and pass it on to the next person. And the servers just keep bringing the food out until everybody has had as much as they want to eat.

All of this only costs about 14 dollars -- all you can eat, remember, and it even includes your drink, dessert, and tax. The only thing that makes it any more is the tip.

So please come join us, and feel free to bring a friend with you. Just meet at the campus house at 4:30pm and we'll carpool from there.

Again, 4:30pm Thursday, at the campus house. 14 dollars plus tip.

Hope you can join us.
Steve

Time Travel

Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? Wouldn't it be cool to invent a time machine and be able to just go wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted...literally, when-ever you wanted?

Well, I can't quite promise you that much freedom of choice where and when to go, but I can offer you a trip back in time to a pretty interesting place I've taken students to before which we all really enjoyed. It's a trip back in time to the early to mid-1900's here in the Appalachian Mountains where bluegrass and gospel music came of age and people from all over came together to have a good 'ole time flatfoot dancing. It's a veritable cultural experience that takes place every Friday night in Floyd, VA, just 45 minutes from Blacksburg, in The Floyd Country Store which is 100 years old this year! It's hard to describe just how much fun you are going to have if you go, but almost everybody that does always ends up pleasantly surprised how much fun they end up having regardless of how they felt about bluegrass music before they went. You just can't help but smile within minutes of walking in the door, and after that it's pretty near impossible to wipe the grin off your face, although I don't know why you would want to.

If you're ready to join us on this adventure, meet at the campus house at 5pm this Friday. We will carpool to the quaint little town of Floyd, VA and get to the Country Store early so we can get some great seats and enjoy some delicious dessert before the concert. They have all kinds of ice cream, milk shakes, pies, cakes, and other desserts, and old fashioned candy to buy. (You'll need to eat supper on your own before meeting at the campus house, though. They have a lunch menu, but I'm not sure if those sandwiches are available on Friday nights.) Tickets for the Jamboree (concert) are just $4.

So that's 5:00pm Friday at the campus house. Eat supper before you come, but save room for dessert. And bring $4 for admission.

I really hope you can join us. It'll be an experience you won't soon forget. We'll have a "toe tappin' good time".

Steve

Spring Game

Hey everybody,

If you are interested in going to the Spring Game this Saturday in Lane Stadium, we are meeting at the campus house at a little after 11:30am to walk over together early so we can get some great seats. The scrimmage doesn't start until 2pm, so we will be waiting over there a long time, but if you love football and hanging out with friends, then it will be worth it.

Hope you can join us.

Steve

Cookout Tonight!

Hey, everybody. Hope you are having a great day today -- enjoying the day off classes and the fantastic weather, while respectfully remembering the events of April 16 three years ago and praying for the families of those lost and the survivors.

Here at CCVT we are going to celebrate the hope we have in Christ, and the strength we can draw from one another, by having a Cookout together tonight (Friday) at 6pm at the campus house.

We already have people lined up to bring all the food, so all you need to bring is yourself, and maybe some friends. You can bring some food to share if you want to, but it's not necessary.

We will have the volleyball net set up for anyone who wants to play some volleyball, too.

If you are planning on going to the candlelight vigil on the Drillfield after sunset, you will certainly be able to do that. Maybe some others will want to go with you, too. I'm thinking about going myself.

Hope to see you tonight.

Steve

Camping this Weekend

CCVT is planning a camping trip for this Saturday night, April 10, and you are invited to come with us. The rain is forecast to stop late tonight, and things will dry out Friday and Saturday. The forecast looks good for camping Saturday night -- 0% chance of rain.

The campsite we have in mind (Horseshoe Hollow) is only about 20 minutes away and is FREE. We will be meeting at the campus house at 4:45pm Saturday to carpool to the site. We will be heading back to campus early enough Sunday morning for everyone to make it to church.

We have plenty of cars going so we have plenty of extra seats. Come join us, and bring some friends. Just make sure you have enough tents and sleeping bags for yourselves, that's the only thing we don't have a lot of extras of. You can rent some at very reasonable prices from VT's Venture Out office.

We will have everything we need for a campfire, and to make some delicious hot dogs and smores together! However, please eat some supper before meeting at the campus house because the food at the camp is intended to be more like a big snack than a full meal. Of course, you can bring some more food along for yourself, or to share, if you want.

Also, this is a Bring Your Own Breakfast event. So pack some pop tarts or granola bars or something to eat for breakfast in the morning.

Here are some suggestions of other things to pack:
besides tents and sleeping bags,
sleeping pad
pillow
flashlight
water bottle full of water
pocket knife
warm clothes, including coats for cold weather at night time
maybe some insect repellant, a camping lantern, and other camping equipment you might have.

Hope you can join us!

Remember, meet at the campus house between 4:30 and 4:45pm, Saturday.

Steve

A Truly Eventful Day

Lend me your imagination for a moment. Imagine you are suddenly able to cross space and time and you mysteriously find yourself in a casual conversation with Jesus. Jesus says, "Hey, how you doin'? What have you been up to since this time yesterday?"

You say something like, "Well, last night I worked all night on my group project until 2am, but it was worth it because I think it is going to be really good -- I think we'll get a really good grade on it. And then I got up at 7 and went to classes until noon, and ate lunch at Owens, but then the weather was so awesome today I decided I couldn't pass it up, so me and some friends played Ultimate Frisbee on the Drillfield for a couple hours, and then made a drink run to 7-11 for Slurpees, and then went over to one of my friends' apartment to hang out for a while, and then we decided to top off this awesome day by going out to Olive Garden for supper. We ate soo much. It was so good! How about you?"

Remember, you have mysteriously crossed space and, most significantly, time. So based on this particular day in Jesus' life that he has just completed, he answers, "Well, last night I fed 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and two fish, and then hiked up a mountain to pray until 2am, but it was worth it because it really helped prepare me for what I had to do the rest of the day. Next I walked down the mountain and across the lake on water until I caught up with my disciples in their boat. At first they were scared, but then I told them it was me, so they let me in the boat and I teleported the whole boatload of people to shore (literally, including the boat). Then I went from the peak of my popularity to possibly my lowest ever "approval rating" by purposefully alienating the crowd that was chasing me everywhere I went by telling them that 'unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.' They thought I was advocating cannibalism. But I had told them, 'you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.' They needed to shift their focus from the things of this life, to the things that lead to eternal life."

You say, "Oh....wow." That's all you say, because what else is there to say after hearing that? You thought you had a pretty eventful day until hearing about Jesus' day. Then yours kind of paled by comparison. You walk away from the conversation not quite knowing what to think, but you vaguely feel that hearing about Jesus' day has definitely caused you to see your own day from a different perspective. And you wonder, how much of MY focus has been on "the things of this life", and how much has been on "the things that lead to eternal life".

Tonight at Oasis we'll be studying John chapter 6 which covers the one day in Jesus' life which you just got done talking to him about in your imagination. Please come take just an hour or two with us to focus on "the things that lead to eternal life".

We start at 7:30pm at the campus house. If you need directions, they are right over in the right sidebar.

Hope to see you tonight.

Steve

Dinner & Music

Hey everybody,
Hope you are having a good day. The beautiful spring weather has temporarily fled, but the good news is there is 0% chance or rain tonight, which is good because we are planning on meeting at the campus house tonight at 7pm to walk downtown to one of the restaurants to eat dinner together. We'll decide which one based on what everyone is in the mood for tonight. Maybe Gillie's, Souvlaki's, Mike's Grill, Backstreets...anything downtown is in the running.

Afterward we will have karaoke and games available at the campus house. We've never done karaoke here before, so I'm looking forward to seeing (or hearing) how that goes. Should be a lot of fun. Don't worry, we won't make you sing if you don't want to. But I know we already have some volunteers who do plan on singing for us.

Feel free to bring your friends.

Hope you can join us tonight -- 7pm at the campus house.

Steve

PS -- If you need directions, just look at the right sidebar. We'd love for you to join us even if you've never been here before.

Free Pasta Dinner & Oasis

Welcome back to Blacksburg! Hope your Spring Break was great, and your first couple days back in classes are going just as well.

Here at CCVT we are getting back in the swing of things with a free Pasta Dinner Wednesday night before Oasis Bible Study. The dinner starts at 6:30pm. Oasis will start at 7:30pm as usual.

The dinner comes complete with home cooked pasta, breadsticks, shrimp scampi, drinks and dessert! It'll be a good chance to catch up with everybody on what they did over break, and get to know some new people, too. If you haven't been coming to CCVT recently, now would be a great time to start. Please come join us for dinner on us, and give us a chance to introduce ourselves.

It's all going down at CCVT's campus house, as usual. If you need directions to our campus house, just look for them in the side bar to the right.

All of us at CCVT are really looking forward to seeing you at Oasis, and we really hope you can join us for some great food, too, so I hope to see you there.

And feel free to bring some friends with you.

Don't forget: Pasta Dinner at 6:30pm, Oasis Bible Study at 7:30pm (Wednesday, March 17)

Looking forward to seeing you Wednesday night,
Steve Wilkin
Campus Minister

What is Faith?

Is it an irrational leap that goes against the force of the facts? Or is it a firm conviction which was actually created by the force of the facts?

If one does not have faith, is it simply because there is insufficient evidence to lead them to that conclusion? Or could it be that there are reasons why some people don't want to believe, and would rather not believe?

We will be discussing this and more at Oasis tonight. I hope you can join us, whether you are here every week or if this would be your first time.

7:30pm at the campus house, same as always.

Hope to see you there.
Steve

PS -- If you need directions, please just look at the sidebar on the right. Thanks.

How well do you know your way around campus?

How about Squires? How well do you know your way around there?

A bunch of us are getting together at 8pm tonight in Squires to play a little game we've played before that was a lot of fun. It's kind of like that old game we used to play when we were kids, hide-and-go-seek, but on a "grown up" scale. Everyone hides pretty much anywhere in Squires, and whoever is "it" has like 20 minutes to find you, and whoever is found helps find who is left. If you are not found before time is up, you score a point. Most people get found, so don't think it's easy to score points. It's really fun. There are so many good places to hide in Squires, and it's like a labyrinth, but it's still hard not to get caught.

Think you are up to the challenge? Meet us inside the front doors of Squires on the College Ave. side which faces Donaldson Brown at 8pm. Bring some friends with you, too.

Oh, and be sure to bring your cell phone or watch to keep track of time. You'll need that to know when time is up.

Hope to see you there.
Steve

Inspiring Stories

Ah, the snow is back. But at least it's not sticking this time. So come join us tonight at Oasis where we are going to be inspired by some really great stories. We've got inspiring stories from the Olympics, the life of John the Baptist from the Bible, even a favorite children's book, and, perhaps most shockingly of all, stories from your own family! Can you believe it? Yes, it's true. Come and hear for yourself.

7:30pm at the campus house, same as always.

See you there.
Steve

Iron Chef: Mystery Ingredient Edition

Don't forget -- Saturday night is Iron Chef: Mystery Ingredient Edition!

You got the email a few days ago explaining what to do if you want to bring food to compete, but you don't have to bring food to come. We already have several people that are bringing food. What we still need is more people to help us eat it all!

So make plans now to come tomorrow night, Saturday, at 7pm, to the campus house, and bring some friends with you.

We will enjoy the amazing deliciousness of some great food, with the added fun of trying to figure out what the secret ingredients are in the competitors' dishes.

Come to compete or come to eat -- either way you're a winner.

I hope you all can join us! It has really been a blast in previous years.

Steve

Oasis Tonight -- Dedicated

Dedicated --
That's how I would describe the students I just got done talking to on the phone about whether or not we needed to cancel Oasis tonight due to the blowing snow, high winds, and single digit wind chills. All five of them said if we had Oasis tonight, they would be here, and some of them knew of others who felt the same way. So we are not canceling Oasis tonight. We already have a confirmed core of students who will be at Oasis tonight.

Just to make sure you read that right, that means we are still meeting tonight at the campus house at 7:30 as usual.

Because the snow is blowing around so much, we are not able to keep the driveway clear, so we do have a little bit of a parking problem, but a lot of you can walk from on campus, or take the bus, or drive a 4-wheel drive vehicle, or catch a ride with someone who has a 4-wheel drive vehicle. So I think we will be able to accommodate the 4-wheel drive vehicles, but I do recommend that you either walk, take the bus, or take a 4-wheel drive. And drive carefully -- even 4-wheel drives slide on ice.

Hope you can make it tonight. Stay warm and be careful out there.

Steve

Ice Skates, Cross Country Skis, Dog Sleds, and the Super Bowl

What do all these things have in common? All of these modes of winter transportation are acceptable ways to arrive at CCVT's Super Bowl Party Sunday starting at 6:30pm.

The snow storm may make it impossible for some of you who live further away to make it to our Super Bowl Party, but for those of you who can make it here, the party is still on! The guys who live right here in the campus house will certainly be here, and plenty of you live right here on campus so it's just a short walk through the snow for you, so I'm sure we will still have a good turnout for the party. By Sunday night the BT will probably be running again, too. So warm your mittens and prepare your parka and come on over Sunday night.

If you have some "football food" you can bring to share, that would be great, but it's not required. You could just bring some soda or cookies or something, or just bring yourself. Feel free to bring a friend with you, too.

Oh, ya, and if you didn't know already, we have a big screen with a projector to watch the game on, so come cheer your team on to victory on the big screen. I think our group is pretty evenly divided between Colts and Saints fans, so you are bound to find some fellow fans to pull for your team with you.

Hope you can make it.
Steve

Jack Frost puts Iron Chef on ice

Breaking News:
Witnesses report Iron Chef has been severely iced by Jack Frost. Never before has the usually red hot Iron Chef taken such a dramatic setback. But don't count him out. He's been known to make dramatic comebacks before.

Translation:
Our Iron Chef event originally scheduled for this Saturday night has been postponed due to the forecast of 10-15 inches of snow for Blacksburg by Saturday evening. We currently plan to allow Iron Chef to make his comeback Saturday, Feb. 20, so keep your secret recipes on simmer.

In the meantime, if you are able to get out and about Saturday afternoon and feel like having some fun in the snow, join us at the campus house at about 3pm. We'll make a CCVT snow man, or get in a snow ball fight, or go sledding down the hill by the tennis courts, or somewhere else, or make a snow fort, or play snow football, or whatever snow games everybody feels like playing. Afterward we can warm up inside with some hot chocolate, and maybe order some pizza and watch movies or play games or whatever everybody feels like doing. We'll see. Just come at 3pm and we'll figure it out.

Hope you can join us.

For more upcoming events, just scroll down two posts, or search "events". Thanks.

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."
Steve

What's It All About?

What is being a Christian all about? Is it about going to church once a week and getting your "frequent worshipper card" punched enough times to get one free trip to Heaven when you die? Is it about being such a good, moral person that when you die God will not find it necessary to send you to Hell? Is it about being a nice person who is always smiling and never makes anyone feel anything unpleasant in any way, but constantly exudes nothing but sweetness and light? What do you think? What's the right answer?

Tonight at Oasis we'll be studying what the Bible indicates the Christian life is really all about. I hope you will join us -- especially if you are not very sure you know the answer.

It all starts at 7:30pm tonight (and every Wednesday during the semester) at CCVT's campus house. (Directions to the campus house available in the side bar to the right.)

Hope to see you soon,
Steve

Upcoming Events

Jan. 27, Wednesday, 7:30pm -- Oasis (large group Bible study)

Jan. 29, Friday, 2:40pm -- Worship Team meeting

Jan. 30, Saturday, 3pm -- Snow Games at the campus house -- make a CCVT snow man, or get in a snow ball fight, or go sledding down the hill by the tennis courts, or somewhere else, or make a snow fort, or play snow football, or whatever snow games everybody feels like playing. Afterward we can warm up inside with some hot chocolate, and maybe order some pizza and watch movies or play games or whatever everybody feels like doing.

Jan. 31, Sunday, 7pm -- Girls' Gel Group (small group Bible Study)

Jan. 31, Sunday, 8pm -- Guys' Gel Group (small group Bible study)

Feb. 3, Wednesday, 7:30pm -- Oasis (large group Bible study)

Feb. 3, Wednesday, after Oasis -- Guys meet to plan Valentine's Day Banquet for girls Feb. 12.

Feb. 5, Friday, 2:40pm -- Worship Team meeting

Feb. 7, Sunday, 6:30pm -- Super Bowl Party

Feb. 10, Wednesday, 7:30pm -- Oasis (large group Bible study)

Feb. 10, Wednesday, after Oasis -- Core Group Team (student leadership) meeting

Feb. 12, Friday, 2:40pm -- Worship Team meeting

Feb. 12, Friday, 7:00pm -- Game Night -- Play a little Charades-in-a-Box, maybe some foosball, or X-box, or whatever you're in the mood for.

Feb. 14, Sunday, 7pm -- Girls' Gel Group (small group Bible Study)

Feb. 14, Sunday, 8pm -- Guys' Gel Group (small group Bible study)

Feb. 17, Wednesday, 7:30pm -- Oasis (large group Bible study)

Feb. 19, Friday, 2:40pm -- Worship Team meeting

Feb. 20, Saturday, 7:00 to 11:00pm -- Iron Chef -- Come to compete or come to eat -- either way you're a winner.

Feb. 21, Sunday, 7pm -- Girls' Gel Group (small group Bible Study)

Feb. 21, Sunday, 8pm -- Guys' Gel Group (small group Bible study)

Feb. 24, Wednesday, 7:30pm -- Oasis (large group Bible study)

Feb. 26, Friday, 2:40pm -- Worship Team meeting

Feb. 27, Saturday, 8pm -- Hide & Seek in Squires Student Center -- bet you've never played Hide & Seek on this scale before

Feb. 28, Sunday, 7pm -- Girls' Gel Group (small group Bible Study)

Feb. 28, Sunday, 8pm -- Guys' Gel Group (small group Bible study)

Mar. 3, Wednesday, 7:30pm -- Oasis (large group Bible study)

Mar. 3, Wednesday, after Oasis -- Core Group Team (student leadership) meeting

Mar. 5, Friday, 2:40pm -- Worship Team meeting

Let's Celebrate!

Have you survived the ice storm without any broken bones or other serious injuries? Did you get out of any classes when they were canceled yesterday afternoon and evening, and this morning?

If your answer is yes to either of these questions, then let's celebrate by going out to eat at Red Robin Saturday night. OK, even if you answered "no", you can still come with us. We'll help you with your crutches and pillows.

We are meeting at the campus house at 5:30pm Saturday to carpool to Red Robin over by the New River Valley Mall.

There is some talk of possibly going to see a movie afterward since we will be right over there by the movie theater, so if you are interested in doing that, you might want to bring some extra money along.

Hope to see you Saturday night.
Steve

(If you need directions, check the sidebar to the right on this screen.)

Free Spaghetti Dinner & Oasis

Welcome back to Blacksburg! Hope your break was great, and your first day back in classes is going just as well.

Here at CCVT we are getting back in the swing of things with a free Spaghetti Dinner Wednesday night before Oasis Bible Study. The dinner starts at 6:30pm. Oasis will start at 7:30pm as usual.

The dinner comes complete with home cooked spaghetti with marinara sauce, garlic bread, drinks and dessert. It'll be a good chance to catch up with everybody on what they did over break, and get to know some new people, too. I know of at least one new transfer student who I'm expecting to meet at the dinner, and if you haven't been coming to CCVT recently, now would be a great time to start. You won't be the only new person, and we are starting a new study, and it's still early in the semester when your homework load is not as heavy as it will be later in the semester. So please come join us for dinner on us, and give us a chance to introduce ourselves.

It's all going down at CCVT's campus house, as usual. If you need directions to our campus house, probably the best way to get them is to type "413 Clay St. SW, Blacksburg, VA" into Google maps. You'll see that our campus house is only about a block away from most of the dorms on campus, over by the Washington Street tennis courts. It's much closer than most of your classes! If you need any more help with directions or have any questions, please give us a call at 552-8292.

All of us at CCVT are really looking forward to seeing you at Oasis, and we really hope you can join us for some free spaghetti, too, so I hope to see you there.

And feel free to bring some friends with you.

Don't forget: Spaghetti Dinner at 6:30pm, Oasis Bible Study at 7:30pm (Wednesday, January 20)

Check out our schedule of other upcoming events on our last post (below).

Looking forward to seeing you Wednesday night,
Steve Wilkin
Campus Minister

Upcoming Events

Jan. 20, Wednesday, 6:30pm -- Spaghetti Dinner & Oasis (large group Bible study)

Jan. 20, Wednesday, after Oasis -- Core Group Team (student leadership) meeting

Jan. 22, Friday, 2:40pm -- Worship Team meeting

Jan. 23, Saturday, 5:30pm -- Out to Eat at the Red Robin -- Meet at CCVT's campus house to carpool to Red Robin.

Jan. 24, Sunday, 7pm -- Girls' Gel Group (small group Bible Study)

Jan. 24, Sunday, 8pm -- Guys' Gel Group (small group Bible study)