A CCVT Tradition Continues at The Homeplace

Our traditional semiannual outing to The Homeplace restaurant continues this Thursday! This delicious tradition started seven years ago and we've been going to The Homeplace restaurant at the end of each semester ever since. 

If you don't know about The Homeplace restaurant, you are missing out. Most people I know would say it's one of the best restaurants within an hour's drive of Blacksburg. It's out in the country in a small town called Catawba, about a half hour from here, near Roanoke. They make the most delicious southern style food like country ham, fried chicken, and roast beef, with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, coleslaw, pinto beans, and other fruits or vegetables of the day, and apple butter for your buttermilk biscuits, and really good sweet tea and lemonade, and fruit cobbler for dessert. And because we are going on a Thursday we will also have the option of pulled pork BBQ with our meal! 

As if the food wasn't good enough, we also get to eat it "family style" where you all sit around a huge table and just pass the food around and put however much you want on your plate and pass it on to the next person. It's like a big family holiday dinner. 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 15 dollars -- all you can eat, remember -- and it even includes your drink, dessert, and tax! The only thing you need to add is the tip. 

So take a much needed study break before resuming your cramming for exams and come on out to join us. As Joe wanted me to be sure to point out, you're going to have to take time to eat anyway, so why not come and eat with us? 

And bring some friends with you, too. 

Just meet us at the campus house at 4:30pm and we'll carpool from there. We'll probably get back to campus around 8:30 or 9pm. 

Remember: 4:30pm Thursday, at the campus house. 15 dollars plus tip. 

See you then. 

Christmas Party this Friday

CCVT's awesome annual Christmas party is 6:30pm this Friday at the campus house.

Yum!
We'll enjoy some delicious hot chocolate, hot spiced cider, Christmas cookies, and various other "Christmas desserts" while the sounds of some of your favorite Christmas music fill the air. You'll even get to decorate your own Christmas cookies! We'll provide the cookies and supplies. You provide your decorative skills. 

If you'd like to bring a Christmas dessert to share, that would be awesome and very much appreciated and enjoyed by all, I'm sure. But you don't have to bring anything to gain admission to the party.

White Elephant gift exchange
The tradition continues. What's a White Elephant gift exchange? Well, I have no idea where the name comes from, but it's a really fun, yet inexpensive, way to celebrate Christmas by exchanging gifts.

Here are your instructions: Bring a gift worth about 10 dollars. (For those of you who have done this with us before, we are increasing the suggested value of the gifts this year to raise the bar on the quality so that everybody ends up getting something they will really enjoy. This should also stir up more "gift circulation" in the game.) It doesn't have to be brand new, and you don't actually have to spend $10 on it if you happen to find a great deal or whatever -- It just needs to be worth about that much. 

Students in past years have found some great gifts combing the isles of thrift shops like Good Will, or the YMCA thrift shop on North Main Street. Sometimes the shopping part of this game turns out to be almost as much fun as the game itself.

Some popular ideas from years past are: really nice Christmas decorations, a toy, some nifty gadget, or yummy food, or something like that. Use your imagination. What would you enjoy getting?

Now that you have your gift, there is one more very important thing you need to do with it. You need to wrap it, and you need to wrap it well enough that nobody can tell what it is. This is part of what makes the game fun. We're all going to put our gifts in a big pile and take turns picking a present out of the pile. There is more to it than that, but this mystery is part of what makes the game fun, like when you were a kid and couldn't wait to open your presents under the Christmas tree and kept shaking them and tapping them trying to figure out what they might be. So wrap it well enough that it's not obvious what it is.

If you don't have wrapping paper, use newspaper or paper grocery bags or something. It doesn't have to be pretty, just a mystery. Besides, I've seen gifts wrapped in these that ended up looking surprisingly good.

We'll explain the rest of the rules at the party. Suffice it to say, we always have a lot of laughs with this game.

Games & Movies

We also have some Christmas themed party games planned, and we'll have some Christmas movies available to watch. 

Invite Your Friends
Invite your friends to join us. Just remember to explain to them about bringing a gift for the gift exchange, or else provide one for them yourself, so they don't get left out of that. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

Remember:
6:30pm this Friday at the campus house
Bring a wrapped gift worth about $10
Bring a Christmas dessert to share if you are feeling extra generous in the spirit Christmas

Thanks, and I hope to see you at Oasis this Wednesday.
Steve

Upcoming Events

Welcome back to campus! Hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving Break and are well rested and ready to finish the semester strong.

We just wanna let you know about two special events we have coming up here with CCVT:

This Friday, Dec. 5, at 6:30pm we will be having our Christmas Party! I'll email you with more details later, probably tomorrow, but right now I can tell you plans include delicious Christmas desserts, decorating Christmas cookies, playing some Christmas party games, a "white elephant" gift exchange, and a "Christmas movie." It's gonna be a lot of fun!

Reading Day, Thursday, Dec. 11 we will be continuing one of our oldest CCVT traditions when we carpool out to The Homeplace restaurant in Catawba, VA, about a 40 minute drive away, to enjoy a mindbogglingly delicious feast together. I'll email you more details about this, too, as we get closer to that date, but I'll just let you know, if you've never been there before, this place is so fun to go to with a big group of your friends because they serve the food family style -- in big bowls set on the table, and then you just pass them around and put what you want on your plate, like you do at home when you are eating with your family, and they just keep bringing the food out until you've all had as much as you want. And did I mention it tastes soooooo good?

So be sure to mark these dates on your calendar and join us. And feel free to invite your friends to come, too.

Hope to see you at Oasis this Wednesday at 7:15pm at the CCVT campus house.

God bless.
Steve

Feasting & Festivities

It's hard to believe, but our last weekend together before Thanksgiving Break is this weekend, already. That means it's time for CCVT's annual Thanksgiving Banquet!

The feasting and festivities will commence at the campus house 6:30pm this Saturday.

We'll have turkey, of course, with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn, cranberry salad, caramelized potato au gratin, pumpkin pie, and more!

If you have not had a chance to signup on the sheet to bring something to share but would like to bring some food, just email me to let me know what you would like to bring. I'll let you know if someone is already planning on bringing that. Otherwise, you'll be cleared to go, and I'll look forward to helping eat it.

Besides enjoying a delicious meal together, we'll take a little time to praise God by sharing with each other what we are most thankful to God for this past year.

When everyone is done eating, we can play some games or just visit.

This is a longstanding CCVT tradition and it's always so much fun to share a big traditional Thanksgiving dinner together. And the food is always so delicious! So don't miss out. Make plans to come join us. And bring a friend.

6:30pm, Saturday, Nov. 15 at the campus house.

Looking forward to giving thanks to God with you.

Great Fun, Music, & Dancing

Don't forget: Our trip to the Friday Night Jamboree in Floyd, VA is tonight. We meet at the campus house at 5:30pm to carpool there. The cost of admission is $5. Bring a little extra money if you want to buy some food while you're there.

As I mentioned in my email last week, we are going to a good ole' fashioned Jamboree, up near the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. We will be carpooling up to The Floyd Country Store in the charming little town of Floyd, VA to experience the toe tappin' fun of the Friday Night Jamboree. Every time we go up there everyone has so much fun they want to go back, so this has become an annual tradition for us.

The Jamboree attracts some of the best Gospel and Bluegrass bands in the world. (Seriously. That's no exaggeration.) Every week it includes over 4 hours of Gospel and Bluegrass music and flatfoot dancing (your participation optional) all for only $5. Flatfoot dancing sounds funny, but it is easy to pick up, and everyone always has so much fun learning how to do it with their group of friends that they can't stop smiling.

Meet us at the campus house at 5:30pm this evening. We will carpool for the 45 minute drive to Floyd, VA and get to the Country Store early so we can get some great seats and enjoy some delicious food before the concert. They have all kinds of sandwiches, hot dogs, and BBQ sandwiches to eat, and a large selection of ice cream, milk shakes, homemade pies, cakes, and other desserts, and old fashioned candy to buy, too. If you'd rather save some money you are certainly welcome to eat dinner on your own before you meet us at the campus house. The food is just an option. What we're really going for is the music and dancing.

It's been a rough week for a lot of you, with the academic work load getting especially heavy at this point in the semester. And the weather has been turning a little unpleasant some days lately, too. Time to get away and dance those blues away! Come join us tonight as we go on a little adventure in the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Friday Night Jamboree in Floyd, Virginia!

Feel free to bring a friend, too.

I really hope you can join us. If you've never been there before, I promise you, it'll be an experience you won't soon forget.

Hope to see you tonight.

Fun Fall Events Coming Up

Mark your calendars now and start inviting your friends. We have some exciting events lined up for the rest of this fall thru Thanksgiving Break:

This Saturday, Oct. 25, 6pm -- Costume Party at Joe's house, hosted by Alex. There will be awards for different categories of costumes (scariest, funniest, goofiest, etc.) We'll also have a bonfire with s'mores and a chili bar with fixings and a bunch of fall/Halloween treats. You can bring something if you'd like but you don't need to. Alex is even going to have a goodie-bag for ya when ya leave!

Friday, Oct. 31, 5:30pm -- Meet at the campus house to carpool out to beautiful and quaint Floyd, Virginia for the Friday Night Jamboree at the old General Store. If you've never been to the Friday Night Jamboree, you're in for a treat. It's a cultural experience. It's a taste of the good 'ole days, like traveling back in time. You'll hear some of the best Gospel and Blue Grass music around, and if you dare, you'll get to try your feet at flat foot dancing! I dare you not to smile while doing it. It's impossible!

Saturday, Nov. 15, 6:30pm -- Thanksgiving Banquet!

We'll send you more details as we get closer to these dates. In the meantime, mark your calendars and invite your friends!

Hope to see you tonight at Oasis Bible Study -- 7:15pm!

Iron Chef: Mystery Ingredient Edition!

The long awaited day has finally arrived! -- almost. Tomorrow night, Saturday, at 6pm we gather at the CCVT campus house for an epic battle of culinary acumen! It's finally time for Iron Chef: Mystery Ingredient Edition! 

In CCVT's own unique version of Iron Chef, each person or pair of people that enters the competition decides on 2 dishes to make. There must be a secret ingredient that both dishes contain. For example, if I make pecan pie and pork barbeque, my common secret ingredient would be brown sugar. The challenge is to make the secret ingredient they have in common hard to figure out because everyone is going to try and guess what that mystery ingredient is. The person or pair to not have their ingredient guessed, or guessed last, wins! It's a fun competitive game, not to mention, delicious! 

If you can commit to contributing your culinary skills to this event, you are welcome to bring two dishes to share. They could be two main courses, two side dishes, two desserts, or one main course and one side dish, or any other combination. You are free to bring whatever you want. 

Also, as is implied above, you don't have to prepare the food alone. You can get together with a friend and work as a team. No teams larger than two, though. 

But listen: You don't have to bring food to come! We already have several people that are signed up to bring food. What we would love is more people to help us eat it all!

So make plans now to come join us tomorrow night, Saturday, at 6pm, at the campus house, and bring a friend 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.

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

See you there. 

A-maize-ing Corn Maze and More

Join us this Friday night for an a-maze-ing adventure through a huge maze of corn in the 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:
The corn maze is about a 20 minute drive from campus and there is this really cool little family owned Italian pizzeria just down the road from it, so we are going to meet at CCVT's campus house at 5:30pm Friday and carpool to Aly's Family Italian Restaurant and enjoy some delicious Italian food -- your choice of anything from pizza and calzones to lasagna and chicken parmigiana, or if you actually aren't into Italian food, they also have good ol' hamburgers, Philly cheese steaks, subs, and all kinds of stuff. Also, the prices are very reasonable. You can get a hamburger, fries, and drink, including tax and tip, for under $5. It's a really quaint little place. You'll love it.

After that we'll mozy on over to the corn maze around the time it is getting dark. Tickets for the corn maze are only $5. The maze is different every year, so even if you've been there before, it should be a challenge to find your way around the maze in the dark. The corn is usually about 8 feet tall, so it's not like you are going to be able to see over the top of it. I would estimate the maze is the size of a few football fields, so it's not just some little thing you'll be done with in just a few minutes.

Be sure to bring a flashlight. If you have an extra, please consider bringing it to share with someone else who might need it.

Choose your footwear wisely. 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 sticking up where the corn has been cut down, etc. So let's say tennis shoes are a minimum, and boots would be even better.

So to recap:
5:30pm Friday at the campus house
$5 for the maze, plus about $5 or more for food
flashlights
appropriate footwear

Hope you can join us. Bring a friend!

Change of Plans

This Friday, October 3, instead of "Iron Chef" as previously announced, we are going on a corn maze adventure!

Don't worry, we are still going to do Iron Chef. It has merely been postponed until Saturday, October 18, at 6pm. Moving it to a Saturday when there is no football game will allow our contestants more time to prepare their delicious entries. After we had a little more time to think about it, we thought a lot of folks might be busy with classes and meetings on Friday afternoon and wouldn't have time to prepare their food.

So please mark your calendars for 6pm, Saturday, October 18 for Iron Chef. We'll email you with more details about that as we get closer to the date.

In the meantime, please plan to join us this Friday, October 3. We'll meet at the campus house at 5:30pm and carpool about 20 minutes out to this quaint little diner for dinner that's just down the road from our ultimate destination. The calzones and hamburgers at this place are amazing. There is a wide variety of other menu items to choose from all at very reasonable prices. When we're sufficiently fueled we'll hop over to the farm where we will explore the huge corn maze. If you want to, you can even take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and pick out your very own pumpkin to purchase!

I'll email you more details Thursday. For now, just plan on joining us Friday night at 5:30pm! And invite your friends!

Hope to see you at Oasis Bible Study Wednesday night at 7:15pm at the campus house.

Profound Discussions at "Men of God" Bible Study -- Monday Nights 7:15

Hey guys,
Just a reminder about our "Men of God" Bible study that meets Mondays at 7:15 at our campus house.

Our group is still open to new members, so if you were too busy getting acclimated to VT earlier in the year, or you've just been trying out different groups, there is still time for you to come check out "Men of God".

We have been getting into some pretty deep theological stuff, without getting too technical, so if you are into deep thoughts and profound discussion, you might especially enjoy this study.

Our campus house is right on the edge of campus, just one block from Lee, O'Shag, or Miles Hall. For a map and simple directions just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

If you missed my explanation of "Men of God" Bible study earlier this year, read on below:

Our "Men of God" Bible study has two main thrusts:

One is to study God's word and learn from it, of course.
The second is to make some really good friends who will support us and help us to live a life that pleases God.

Sometimes we have friends but faith really isn't at the center of our friendship, so they really don't do anything to help us stay strong in the faith. Or maybe they even do the opposite.

Other times we study the Bible and learn more stuff about it, but we really aren't putting much of it into practice because we don't have anybody to help us know how or to give us moral support.

"Men of God" is designed to bring these two crucial pieces together to give us the support we need to live out the truths we learn from God's word.

If you're new, the guys would love to welcome you to the group. Don't be shy -- come on over.

Hope to see you there.

New Folks Joining Us Every Week

I don't plan on peppering you with invites to church every week all year, but we are still enjoying welcoming new people to our carpool every week, so there are obviously still some of you out there exploring your options. We'd love to have you join us at Belmont Christian Church this week. Come join us!

We carpool to church every Sunday morning (assuming VT isn't on break).

Meet at our campus house at 10:15am.

Feel free to bring a friend.

Our campus house is right on the edge of campus, just one block from Lee and Miles halls. For a map & simple directions just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hope you can join us.

7pm Tonight -- Sakura Japanese Steak House

Our plans for Hide & Seek at Duck Pond have pretty much been rained out, so we are switching to our alternate plans in case of rain which I mentioned in the email Monday -- we are going out to eat at a great little Japanese steak house in Christiansburg near the mall and Walmart -- Sakura Steak House.

The food is great and yet very affordable! It's a favorite restaurant among pretty much everybody I know. If you've never eaten there, you gotta try it! This is your chance.

Meet us at our campus house at 7pm and we'll carpool there.

If you didn't read this until after you already ate supper, just come join us for dessert or a Coke. The main point of this is to hang out together, anyway. The food is secondary.

And feel free to invite a friend.

If you've never been to our campus house before, it's right on the edge of campus, just one block from Lee and Miles halls. For a map & simple directions just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house. We'd love to meet you.

Hope to see you tonight.

Games, Movies, and a little Pizza

Hey guys, I hope your week is off to a good start. 

I just wanna let you guys know about our plans for this weekend so you can plan ahead. 

This Friday, Sept. 12, at 7pm we are gonna play some games and watch a movie or two at the campus house. We plan to order some pizza, too, later in the evening. 

Come join us and feel free to bring some friends with you.

For a map & simple directions to our campus house only one block from Lee and Miles halls, just look on the right side of your screen below the photo of the house. If you live off campus and ride the bus, we are only 100 yards from the tennis courts bus stop on Washington Street. If you drive, we have parking. 

Let's recap: 7pm Friday, Sept. 12, at CCVT's campus house.

Hope you can make it.

Steve

Still Deciding Where to Attend Church on Sunday Mornings?

It's still early in the school year so I'm sure a lot of you are still trying out different churches to see which one you think God would want you to attend. So for those of you who haven't settled on one yet, you are welcome to catch a ride to church with us!

We carpool to church every Sunday morning (assuming VT isn't on break).

We will meet at our campus house at 10:15am and carpool to Belmont Christian Church.

Feel free to bring a friend.

Our campus house is right on the edge of campus, just one block from Lee Hall -- about a 2-3 minute walk for most of you. For a map & simple directions just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hope you can join us.

And hope to see you at the football party tonight at 8pm!

Steve Wilkin

VT vs. Ohio State Football Party!

I'm sure you've heard VT is playing Ohio State this Saturday away. The game is going to be on ESPN at 8pm and we are throwing a little football party so we can watch it together.

Come on over to our campus house and watch the game with us on our 84 inch screen!

We will have plenty of delicious "football food" like chips and salsa, desserts, soda, and also some healthier food for the more health conscious among us.

If this would be your first time at Christ's Church at VT campus ministry (CCVT for short) this would be a great chance for us to meet. If you've been here before, we're looking forward to getting to know you better while we have fun watching the game. Feel free to bring a couple friends with you.

For a map & simple directions, just look on the right side of your screen below the photo of the house. If you live off campus and ride the bus, we are only 100 yards from the tennis courts bus stop on Washington Street. If you drive, we have parking. 

Come on over a few minutes early so you don't miss any of the game.

Let's recap: 8pm Saturday, Sept. 6, at CCVT's campus house.

Hope you can make it.

Steve

7:15pm Tonight -- Oasis and Luke

Just a reminder for those of you who are new to CCVT and not yet in the routine, tonight (Wednesday) is our main weekly meeting at 7:15pm which we call "Oasis".

As the name implies, Oasis is a place to come for spiritual refreshing. Oasis includes Bible Study, group discussion, sharing with friends, and prayer. As if that was not enough, it also usually includes a delicious snack and time of fellowship afterwards.

Oasis meets at our campus house, only one block from Lee and Miles halls. For a map and simple directions just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

Whether this will be your first time here, or you've been to CCVT before, we really hope you can make it.

Feel free to bring a friend or two with you.

This week we will be diving into our study of the Bible book of Luke. This is a great study for people who are not yet Christians but are interested in learning more about Jesus, so pray about who you know that might be good to invite to come with you.

At the same time it's a very challenging study for those who are already Christians. It will challenge you to go deeper in your walk with Christ. So if you think you are a mature Christian, don't worry, you will learn new things and be challenged to take the next step in your spiritual growth.

Looking forward to seeing you tonight.

God bless you.

Steve

Men of God

Our "Men of God" Bible study has two main thrusts:
One is to study God's word and learn from it, of course.
The second is to make some really good friends who will support us and help us to live a life that pleases God.

Sometimes we have friends but faith really isn't at the center of our friendship, so they really don't do anything to help us stay strong in the faith. Or maybe they even do the opposite. 

Other times we study the Bible and learn more stuff about it, but we really aren't putting much of it into practice because we don't have anybody to help us know how or to give us moral support.

"Men of God" is designed to bring these two crucial pieces together to give us the support we need to live out the truths we learn from God's word.

If you're new, the guys would love to welcome you to the group. Don't be shy -- come on over.

We meet 7:15pm Mondays at our campus house right on the edge of campus, just one block from Lee, O'Shag, or Miles Hall. For a map and simple directions just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

Hope to see you there.

Steve

Catching a Ride to Church Sunday Morning

Hey guys,
We are carpooling to church Sunday morning so if you need a ride you are more than welcome to join us.

We will meet at our campus house at 10:15am and carpool to Belmont Christian Church.

Bring some money with you if you want to go out to eat for lunch with us afterward.

Feel free to bring a friend.

Our campus house is right on the edge of campus, just one block from Lee Hall -- about a 2-3 minute walk for most of you. For a map & simple directions just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hope you can join us.

Steve Wilkin

Tailgate Party!

The Hokies kickoff the football season this Saturday against William & Mary at 4pm. You are invited to come tailgate with us at the campus house before the game. 

You don't even have to have tickets to the game! If you don't get to go to the game, you ought to at least get to enjoy a little tailgating. And I might even be able to get you a free ticket. I sometimes have some cross my path.

We'll have pork loin sandwiches, hot dogs, and of course all kinds of sides to fuel you up for the Hokies' first game of the season.

We'll get started at 12 noon and wrap it up in plenty of time to walk over for the pregame festivities in the stadium.

Feel free to bring a few friends with you. We'll have plenty of food!

For a map and simple directions to our campus house over by the stadium, just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

This is all FREE thanks to the generosity of some of our campus ministry's wonderful alumni, family, and friends who are preparing and providing all the food for us!

Hope to see you 12:00 Saturday.

Steve

Frosty Parrot & Friends

This Friday at 7pm we are meeting up at our campus house to walk over to Frosty Parrot together. It's this great little frozen yogurt shop downtown. Lots of flavors to choose from. Lots of toppings to choose from....

So grab a friend and a few dollars and come make some new friends while enjoying some delicious dessert.

We may do something together afterwards, too. Movie? Game? Favorite superhero imitations? Probably not, but you never know. (That was my attempt at trying to think of something wacky and spontaneous off the top of my head. I'm sure someone will come up with a better idea than that.)

For a map and simple directions to our campus house, just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

Hope to see you then.

Remember: 7pm at the campus house

Steve

Putting God First, Free Spaghetti, and Oasis Bible Study

So how are you feeling about classes now that you have probably been to all of them at least once? Hopefully you are feeling pretty good about them, but if you are feeling at all intimidated, try to remember that what looks like an insurmountable mountain of assignments early in the semester usually turns out not to be so bad when you just take a deep breath and start chipping away at it bit by bit, with perseverance. At the end of the semester you look back and stand amazed at how much you were able to get done. Pray for God's help and trust him to answer your prayer and you will probably do even better, and have a lot less anxiety in the meantime.

Trusting God and doing your best is key to success not only in academics, but in life in general. And part of trusting God is not putting him on a shelf, or on the back burner of your life, but keeping him front and center -- the top priority in your life. I hope you will do that throughout your college career. If you will, not only your academics, but your whole life will be so much more blessed.

I believe that is why God invented the Church. He knew that in order for us to keep him at the center of our lives, we all would need to spend time with other believers often, to learn God's ways and to enjoy the support of good friends. That is what Christ's Church at VT campus ministry (CCVT for short) is here to do. I hope you will take advantage of it while you are here at Tech.

One of the main ways we do that is through our main weekly meeting every Wednesday night at 7:15pm which we call "Oasis". As the name implies, it's a place to come for spiritual refreshing. Oasis includes Bible Study, group discussion, sharing with friends, and prayer.

This week we have an extra special treat to kickoff the new school year. We are going to have a free homemade spaghetti dinner before Oasis, complete with meat sauce (or meatless marinara sauce if you prefer), garlic bread, salad, and drinks. Our own Joe Starr is the "starr" chef, and I have tasted his spaghetti before, so I can promise you it is very, very good. Please arrive by 6:15pm if you want to eat.

The dinner and Oasis will both be at our campus house, only one block from Lee and Miles halls. For a map and simple directions just look on the right side of your screen under the photo of the house.

Whether this will be your first time here, or you've been to CCVT before, we really hope you can make it.

Feel free to bring a friend or two with you.

Recap:
6:15pm Spaghetti Dinner
7:15pm Oasis Bible Study
(Wednesday, August 27)

Looking forward to seeing you Wednesday night.

God bless you.

Steve

Welcome to Tech!

Welcome to Tech, new Hokies! My name is Steve Wilkin and I'm the Campus Minister at Christ's Church at VT campus ministry (CCVT). 

Maybe you've clicked through to our blog from VT's events calendar, were referred to our site by a friend, or just found us through a Google search. Regardless of how you ended up here, thanks so much for your interest in CCVT. 

CCVT believes that God is real, the Bible is true, and Jesus in alive! We are a Bible believing group of students saved by grace and striving to love God and love people. We dig deep into God's Word to apply it to our lives, and we also spend a good amount of time just hanging out, laughing and having fun. 

CCVT is more than just another student organization, or place to go to church --CCVT is a place where students build lifelong friendships and get the support we all need to thrive. We take the time to really care about each other and build one another up in our walk with God. 

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 calendar 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 Wednesday nights at 7:15pm at our campus house (right by the dorms, just one block over from Washington St. by the tennis courts) for our main weekly meeting called "Oasis".

We also have small group Bible studies at various times during the week. And you are welcome to catch a ride to church with us on Sunday mornings. 

Here's what's coming up! (All these events are FREE and happen at our campus house.)

Thursday, Aug. 21, 7pm -- Ice Cream, Games, and Godzilla -- Just a laid back "get to know ya" gathering at our campus house. And btw, Godzilla isn't invited. ;-) But after we hang out for a bit at the campus house we'll walk down to the drillfield to watch the movie "Godzilla" together outside. If it ends up raining we might just watch a movie at the campus house or something. 

Sunday, Aug. 24, 10:15am -- Catch a ride to church with us! We'll meet at our campus house and carpool to Belmont Christian Church. Bring some money along too, if you want to go out to eat for lunch with us afterward. 

Monday, Aug. 25, 7:15pm -- Guys' Bible Study -- just a bunch of guys getting together to pray for each other and study God's word every Monday. Come join us! 

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 6:15pm -- Spaghetti Dinner before Oasis -- Yeah, we like food at CCVT, but more than that, we love people. And sitting down to enjoy some good spaghetti together is a great way to get to know each other and make some new friends in the process. Afterwards, at 7:15pm, you can join us for our main weekly Bible Study which we like to call "Oasis." 

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 7:15pm -- Oasis -- "Oasis" is CCVT's main weekly gathering dedicated to Bible Study, group discussion, sharing with friends, and prayer. Invite your friends and come join us! 

Friday, Aug. 29, 7pm -- Frosty Parrot -- Bring a few dollars and meet up at the campus house at 7pm. We'll walk to Frosty Parrot together. It's this great little frozen yogurt shop downtown. 

Saturday, Aug. 30, 12 noon -- Tailgate Party! -- Pulled pork, hot dogs, and all kinds of sides to fuel you up for the Hokies' first game of the season against William and Mary. Be sure to bring a friend with you. 

Sunday, Aug. 31, 10:15am -- Catch a ride to church with us again -- We may even have some of Blacksburg's famous Carol Lee donuts before we head to church. We've been known to do that from time to time on Sunday mornings. We'll probably go out for lunch together again. 

Sunday, Aug. 31, 7pm -- Girls' Bible Study -- a very friendly (not clique-ish!) group of girls that supports one another in applying God's word to their lives.  

Like I said, all these events will be, or at least begin, at our campus house over by the dorms, one block over from Washington St. by the tennis courts. For most of you, that's closer than your classes! For a map and simple directions, just look on the right side of your screen below the photo of our campus house. 

If you have any questions just call me at 540-552-8292 or email me at CHRISTatVT@vt.edu. I'd be glad to answer them for you. 

Thanks again and I look forward to meeting you soon! 

Steve

13th Semi-Annual Reading Day Dinner at the Homeplace!

And now for an important message from Joe:

Hello Y’all,

This Thursday is Reading Day – the break between regularly scheduled classes and exams. Classes are coming to a close, and exams are set to begin, so you (Yes, YOU!) should take some time to recharge for them. Join us this Thursday for the 13th Semi-Annual Reading Day Dinner at the Homeplace! God-willing, it should be EPIC.

If you’ve never been to the Homeplace or heard about its wonders, let me fill you in right now with some reasons why you should check it out:
(1) The Homeplace is a delicious all-you-can-eat restaurant in Catawba (out near Dragon’s Tooth and McAfee Knob along the AT, if you’re familiar with either of them).
(2) The food is delicious country-style food – fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, pinto beans, biscuits, apple butter, and a side of the day (which is usually corn or apples or something similar).
(3) This all-you-can-eat food is served directly to the table – you don’t have to get up until it’s time to go (well, unless the fire alarm goes off or something…)!
(4) After you’re done eating, they bring you fruit cobbler (perhaps apple or blackberry, etc.) and ice cream. They’ll even bring you coffee if you want it.
(5) Thursday is BBQ day, so they also should be bringing out plenty of pulled pork and cole slaw!

We’re planning to meet up at the campus house at 4:30pm to carpool there. It costs around $15 + a tip (so about $18) and is extremely worth it (especially if you come hungry).

Classes should be over (except exams), and you’re going to eat dinner anyways, so why not join us?

God Bless,
Joseph W. Starr


Thanks, Joe, for rounding us up for this long-lived CCVT tradition.

For those who may be wondering, we will probably make it back to campus sometime between 8 and 9pm.

Also, bear in mind, that $18 Joe was mentioning includes your drink, dessert, and even tax! So $18 is the true, total end price. So, not really much more than you would end up paying at a lot of other restaurants when all is said and done, and most of those aren't all you care to eat, and the food is not as good either. Plus the whole experience of eating family style is one of the funnest things about The Homeplace, too. You don't get that at the other restaurants.

Hope you can join us. It's always fun.

Thanks.
Steve

A Good 'Ole Potluck Dinner

This Friday at 6pm CCVT is hosting a good 'ole potluck dinner at the campus house. Joe and Michael are organizing the event and are also preparing the main course.

Joe was just telling me tonight about his plans and, man, I've got to tell you it sounds like he is going all out! I'm afraid to tell you what all he said for fear of getting some of the details wrong, because what he was describing far exceeds my cooking expertise, but he was describing a multi-stage process of preparation of the pulled pork that spans more than one day and involves soaking in apple cider, then getting smoked in a smoker, and finally being slow cooked until the meat is so tender it starts to fall apart. Basically it sounds like he really, really knows what he is talking about, has done all this before, and is going to make some amazing smoked pork for us. Michael is also preparing some chicken for us in case smoked pork is not your thing.

Of course, this is a potluck, so although Joe and Michael have the main courses covered, they need your help in providing the rest of the food. There will be a sign-up sheet circulated at Oasis this week for you to volunteer to bring something, but if you won't be at Oasis, or you just can't wait to volunteer, you can sign-up to bring something by emailing Joe and Michael. (Probably a good idea to address it to both so they will be operating off the same information.)

Besides the smoked pork and chicken, some wonderful people have already volunteered to bring chocolate pecan pie, an unspecified vegetable, and chips. Anything other than those that you would like to contribute I'm sure would be great. Just let Joe and Michael know so they can coordinate the food between everyone.

Thanks, Joe and Michael, for organizing this awesome potluck dinner and preparing such amazing main courses!

OK everybody, bring a friend and we'll see you Friday night at 6pm!

Relay for Life

Hey everybody, here's another important announcement from Lindsey about another one of our upcoming CCVT special events: 

Hey y’all,

Here are some details for this year’s Relay for Life event:

Where: Drillfield

When: From 5 p.m. on Friday, April 25, until early morning Saturday, April 26

What: This fundraiser is an all-night celebration to raise money in the fight against cancer. We will set up camp on the Drillfield, and enjoy the night's festivities!

How much: $10 to register. And, although not required, this event is to raise money for the American Cancer Society. So hit up your friends and family, and let them know that they can donate to the ACS and Relay for Life through you.

In order to register with our team:

Go to http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=60186&pg=team&team_id=1592139 (or go to http://www.relayforlife.org and search for Virginia Tech in the “SIGN UP OR FIND AN EVENT” search box.)

The “Relay For Life of Virginia Tech - Blacksburg, VA” will populate under Event Results. Click there.

Click the orange box Sign Up.

Click the middle orange box option on the right: JOIN AN EXISTING TEAM.

In the box, “Select or type the name of the team you'd like to join”, enter our team name: Christ’s Church at Virginia Tech.

You can then proceed through the registration process.

Remember, it is NOT a requirement to raise money to attend the event, but every little bit helps.

Looking forward to enjoying Relay for Life 2014 with you all,

Lindsey


Thanks for organizing our team, Lindsey! 

Steve

Plans for this Weekend

Hey everybody, I hope your Spring Break was awesome and blessed and that you are rested and ready to run down the home stretch of the spring semester. Let's finish the school year well!

I just need to let you know about a couple things regarding this weekend:

1) Our Potluck Dinner has been rescheduled from this Friday, March 21, to Friday, April 11. We will have to wait a little longer but smoked pork is going to be on the menu that night, so I think a lot of us will consider it worth the wait when the day finally rolls around. We'll have more details when we get closer to that date.

2) This Saturday, March 22, from 2 to 6pm is Spring Cleaning Day at the campus house!

'Tis the season for spring cleaning, and this Saturday that is exactly what we are going to do at the Campus House. There is a lot of indoor cleaning that needs to be done, and a lot of outdoor yard work to do, too.

Can we count on you to come help? It's a great service opportunity in the spirit of "ut prosim". You won't get a T-shirt for participating like you do with some other well known service projects, but you'll have the satisfaction of a job well done, which you'll get to see every time you come to the campus house, and you'll be helping the Lord's work, which is the most important work you can possibly help, and "great will be your reward in heaven".

We'll meet at the campus house at 2pm to start divvying out the cleaning assignments. (That's d-i-v-v-y-i-n-g, not d-i-w-y-i-n-g as my sans serif font makes it appear on my screen. Haha.)

When it gets to be supper time we'll wrap up the cleaning and yardwork and enjoy a great cookout together -- a well deserved reward for an afternoon's hard work.

If you'd like to bring some food for the cookout you can sign up at Oasis. If you can't make it to Oasis, just let me know what you'd like to sign up for and I'll write your name down for you on the sign-up sheet. So far we still need volunteers to bring cheese slices, sliced tomatoes, chips, soda, or brownies, or anything else you want to bring. But don't bring anything that has to be kept hot or cold or we may have a problem since it might be sitting out all afternoon and we'll be cleaning the kitchen so we won't want crock pots keeping us from cleaning the counters and such.

Hey, even cleaning can be fun when you are doing it with friends, and as they say, "Many hands make light work", so I hope you will come join us Saturday afternoon for some good fellowship and service time with your CCVT friends.

Hope to see you Wednesday night at Oasis.
Steve

The Big Event

Hey everybody, listen up -- Lindsey has an important announcement to make about The Big Event: 

Hey y’all, 

Every spring, thousands of students, faculty, staff, and family come together to complete nearly one thousand community service projects throughout Blacksburg, Christiansburg and the New River Valley. Projects are completed regardless of need or socioeconomic status; instead, it is The Big Event’s goal to simply say, “Thank you.” 

Seeded in our university’s motto of Ut Prosim (That I may serve) students and community members come together for a truly unparalleled experience.

It is a wonderful opportunity to humble ourselves and serve our community! Last year we had two groups from CCVT to work on projects in the NRV. 

Big Event is on April 5^th this year, and we can only register through March 22^nd. 

It is free to register, all is required is your willingness to serve on April 5^th. 

Please go to www.vtbigevent.org to sign-up. 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. 

Sending my best,
Lindsey

Thanks for organizing CCVT's team for The Big Event, Lindsey! 

Hope to see you all at Oasis tonight. 

Steve

CCVT's Got Talent!

Don't forget, everyone, 8pm this Friday night is CCVT's Talent Show! Come on out to support your friends who are performing and to discover what hidden talents have lain hidden within CCVT all this time and you didn't even know it.

Also, if you have been procrastinating deciding whether or not to perform or letting Brittany know what you plan to do, please contact her as soon as possible. I think she can probably still work you in, but out of courtesy to her, please let her know as soon as possible.

Thanks, and I hope to see you all at the Talent Show Friday night!

Steve

Upcoming Events

Hey guys,
Just want to give you all some advanced notice about some upcoming events here at CCVT.

We have no event planned for this weekend, but...

Friday, Feb. 28, 8pm -- Talent Show! You've already gotten a couple emails about this. Just a reminder. Mark it on your calendar, please. And let Brittany know you plan to perform.

Friday, March 21, 6pm -- Pot Luck Dinner! This is the first weekend after Spring Break, believe it or not. This seems way far away right now, but in reality we won't see you very many times between now and then due to Spring Break, so we wanted to ask you to go ahead and put this on your calendar now. Once Spring Break is over, we won't have many opportunities to make announcements about it.

Thanks for marking these dates on your calendar.

Hope to see you at Oasis tonight.

Steve

The Winter Wonderland Adventure is On! (and maybe brunch beforehand, too)

I drove out to the Cascades this evening to scout things out and things look great for a winter wonderland hike through the woods. The road out there is in surprisingly good shape, and there have been enough people hiking the trail already to pack down the snow on the trail so it's not too deep. And everything is so beautiful! 

I took the photos above to give you an idea of what to expect.

Yes, this is a hike through the snow, so as a responsible adult you need to decide for yourself if you feel up to the inherent difficulty and risk of injury. But as far as what conditions you could hope for on a hike when you hope to see sparkling ice and gleaming snow, I don't think you could ask for much better. I hiked about one or two tenths of a mile to test the trail and I don't think I ever slipped once. But then I was wearing a really nice pair of snow boots. You definitely need the right footwear for this hike.

Also, remember to bring a water bottle and maybe a granola bar or some kind of snack, and dress in layers.

Originally we had planned to meet at the campus house at 12:30pm to carpool to the trail head. But some students are thinking they may not be up to the hike but would like to eat out together. So how about we all meet up at Waffle House (on N. Main in Blacksburg) at 11:30am? You can join us there to eat whether you plan on hiking with us or not. If you want to do the hike but can't make brunch at 11:30, just let me know and we can pick you up before we head out to the Cascades.

If Waffle House is too far of a walk for you from your place and you don't have transportation, you can call or text me for a ride to Waffle House, too.

Hope to see you at Waffle House at 11:30am.

Steve

A Winter Wonderland Adventure!

The weather is working out perfectly for our plans for this weekend!

This Saturday after the snow has stopped but has not yet melted away, we will be hiking to the Cascades waterfall surrounded by what is sure to be a dazzling display of sparkling snow, ice, and rushing water!

If you haven't heard of the Cascades, it's a waterfall in the Jefferson National Forest nearby. It's only about a half hour drive away and then a relatively easy hike following the stream all the way up to the waterfall, about a mile or two away. It's a longtime favorite hiking trail for generations of VT students, but most have only done it in the warmer months. More adventurous students, however, have hiked it in the winter while much of the water is frozen and have returned to tell of dazzling sights and beautiful scenes. It is time for us to join that number of adventurous students! Come and seize your destiny.

We will meet at the campus house at 12:30pm and carpool from there.

After our hike we will get supper together on the way home there in the small town of Pembroke right on Route 460. There is a really good Mexican restaurant called Riviera Mexican Grill which has great reviews online and from some of our own members. We'll eat there.

It may sound obvious, but it is actually easy to forget to prepare as well as you should -- be sure to dress in layers and wear some good hiking boots. You're hiking through snow and they don't shovel and salt the hiking trail, you know. Also, it's going to be cold out but you're going to be producing a lot of body heat hiking, thus the importance of dressing in layers.

Be sure to bring a water bottle and an energy bar or something to snack on if you think you might need it. Otherwise be sure to eat really well that morning before our big hike.

There is a small parking fee at the park, so maybe just bring a buck to give your driver to help out with that. No more than a dollar necessary. Just money for your own supper on the way home. Prices at Riviera are pretty typical of a Mexican restaurant. Maybe even a little cheaper than usual.

Are you getting excited? I'm really looking forward to it. I've hiked the Cascades many times, but never in the winter. This is going to be great!

Hope to see you Saturday at 12:30pm.

Steve

Super Bowl Party

Don't forget the Super Bowl Party this evening. I hope you can join us. Here's the details:

We are going to watch the game on our big screen at the campus house. They say the game starts at 6:30pm, so feel free to come on over a few minutes before that.

Of course, we will have some delicious "football food" to enjoy during the game, too. If you would like to bring something to share, feel free -- we would be happy to help you eat it. But don't feel like you have to bring anything to come. We've already had several people confirm they plan on bringing some food to share.

At halftime we'll have a little devotional thought that will be more beneficial for everyone than God only knows what may end up in the halftime show. I think we have a couple fun short games to play, too.

Also, please invite your friends. This is not just for CCVT regulars. Everyone is welcome.

Whether you are coming to watch the game, the commercials, or just for the food and friends, we look forward to seeing you.

If you need directions, just look on the right side of your screen. We are very conveniently located, and not hard to find.

See you soon,
Steve

Hokie Hockey this Friday Night!

Hey guys, I gotta tell ya, I'm kind of excited about this weekend's special event. This Friday Night we are doing something a little extra special. We are going to get out of town and go up to Roanoke to take in a Hokie Hockey game! That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

VT's own ice hockey team is taking on UMBC at the Roanoke Civic Center. And get this: tickets are FREE with a valid Hokie Passport, and only $5 for anybody else!

We are meeting at the campus house at 6:15pm to carpool there.

Also, while we are up in Roanoke we thought it would be fun to go to one of the restaurants up there that we don't have in the New River Valley. So after the game we'll stop by one of those and enjoy some appetizers, dessert, or whatever. So bring some cash, a credit card, or something to pay for your food, because I'm not sure they will accept Hokie Passport up there. (I know, feels like you're leaving the country, right?)

Oh, and don't forget to wear your Hokie apparel to cheer on our Hokie hockey team!

Hey, invite your friends. Let's bring a big group of Hokie fans to support our home team.


Oh, and just a "save the date" heads up -- yes, we are having our annual Super Bowl Party, Sunday, Feb. 2.


Hope you can join us for both of these events. We'd love to have you join us whether this would be your first time or fiftieth. If you need directions to our campus house only one block away from Lee or Miles Halls, just go to CHRISTatVT.org for simple, easy directions.

Remember: This Friday's ice hockey game -- meet at campus house 6:15pm.

Thanks.
Steve