The Third Degree

When universities and colleges start again in the autumn it is always an exciting time for the Christian Union. Here is a report sent recently to one church by a student.

Hey everyone! I’ve just had internet set up in my room at uni for the first time — very exciting!

Anyway, I hope you’re well. I’ve been back in Cardiff for a week now and I thought I’d give you an update on what we’ve been doing with the CU.

The new committee have done such an excellent job so far and have really raised the profile of the CU on all campuses which has already taken effect.

At the weekend, we split ourselves onto the different campuses and halls of residence to welcome new students to Cardiff. We were the first people they met and we could see the parents were particularly pleased to have their kids greeted with a friendly face.

Bibles all round

With the help of the Gideons, we were able to distribute Bibles to every student that arrived over the weekend, including a welcome pack with details of the CU and the events we had organised in the coming week.

It was also a fantastic opportunity to just serve the new students and their families as we were able to borrow some trollies and help move all their luggage into their rooms. So many parents were touched by the fact that we were doing this completely voluntarily, including the wardens who work onsite. We were worried we might tread on toes, but they were so thankful for the extra help and many asked if they too could take Bibles home!

Room cleaning

One boy moved into his flat to find it in a complete state because a guy had moved in five days early and had just neglected the kitchen and living area. We went up and offered to clean it for him as your first day is always scary and first impressions are important.

While we were cleaning, we also had the opportunity to witness to the guy who had been living there which was really encouraging.

For me it is amazing to see how the CU has grown from about five to ten people when I arrived, to about 20-30 last year. So many people have come back early to support the CU and it’s been a privilege to be a part of it. To serve God with students from a whole mixture of church backgrounds, with so many different gifts and to see how God is powerfully using us all as a united group.

After welcoming students over the weekend we had a BBQ on Monday night and it was absolutely packed! We had 50-60 people round!

We’ve had a stall at two Fresher Fayres this week and we’ve got one more on Wednesday where there are a lot of international students.

Ben Carswell’s surgery

Lastly, to say that the halls manager on the main campus came running after us today. He thought what we were doing was fantastic and that due to there no longer being a chaplaincy onsite, he’d like to give us a room where we could hold a ‘surgery’ once a month for anyone who wanted to come and talk, ask questions or have some extra support. Isn’t that fab?!

Ben Carswell, our UCCF staff worker, is hopefully going to give us a hand with this. It would be great for you to be praying for us.

God has answered so many prayers — large and small. He has provided and we are so thankful to him.

Freshers week at UWIC

Bibles all round

Room cleaning

Ben Carswell’s surgery

Siany

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