A Busy Start to the Semester

I cannot believe that it is almost the middle of February already!  We continue to wonder where the time has gone and then I remember all that has happened in our schedule since the semester began and I realize that we have been extremely busy.

Winter Retreat

We started off the first weekend of the semester at our Winter Retreat in Devil's Lake.  It was a fun weekend for the students to get away and connect with the Lord.  On Saturday we split as men and women and got to connect separately and address different topics specific to men and women.  It was super fun and a great encouragement to them.  Here are a few pictures highlighting the weekend.

First Night Session at Winter Retreat

Women discussing the Idols of their Hearts after listening to a talk by Marian Jordan Ellis on the topic.

Bonding during a game at Women's Time

The men playing some hockey.

The men doing an communication exercise with Legos.

Executive and Entrepreneurial Leadership Forum (E2 Forum) Outreach

February 3 & 4 we held an Executive and Entrepreneurial Leadership Forum on the UND campus.  This is a unique opportunity where we bring in three Entrepreneurs and invite the top 100 leaders on campus to a dinner to hear from these entrepreneurs who have a ton of experience in the business world.  On February 3, we held a dinner with about 30 student leaders in attendance.  These student attendees ranged from fraternity and sorority representatives, to sports team captains, to presidents of campus organizations, and even members of student government.  We had dinner with them and heard from John Elzinga (Pizza Ranch) and Bob & Lori Pope (Nexus Innovations) about their journeys in the business world, some of their faith journey, and they shared with us key ways to grow in our leadership skills.  In addition, John also shared the gospel with the group, giving them an opportunity to put their trust in Christ.  That evening five students indicated decisions to put their trust in Jesus!

Student Leaders at the E2 Leadership Forum 

John sharing with campus leaders.

After the dinner, the three entrepreneurs also shared at our weekly Cru meeting about what it looks like to be a believer in the work place.  The next morning our Cru student leaders were able to have brunch with these three entrepreneurs and share with them more about how God has been at work on UND's campus this year.  It was a fun and encouraging time for all involved!

John, Lori, and Bob sharing on a panel at our weekly Cru meeting.