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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
This is only the beginning, the best is yet to come.
Hi friends!
It is unbelievable to me that it is already the end of the semester. Time has flown by! Looking back over the last year has been truly amazing. Honestly I think my highlight has been the friends I’ve made and the lives that the Lord has allowed me to be a part of. Not only have I grown and been challenged academically, I have grown and been challenged in every aspect of my life. I feel I have received a rich education this year.
Coming to APU has changed my life in so many incredible ways that it is nearly impossible to list them all.I think one important thing I have learned this year is the importance of waiting. Psalm 27:14 talks about waiting on the Lord, and I think I have learned that waiting on the Lord is being expectant of Him—expecting Him to move, to give you the fullness of His promises. In every situation, stressful exams, life situations, whatever the case, if we learn to wait on Him, He is faithful to show us the way, to lead us and give us His perfect peace.
I pray that the Lord will lead you as you wait on Him this summer and are prepared for wherever you have chosen to be in the fall! If you are coming to APU, we are so excited to have you and welcome you into our family! Get ready to be changed!
-Cora J
Salutations!
I hope all is well with you. Things have been swell for me here, particularly because Ride for Water is going so well! Just in case you forgot, I’ll be biking across the country this summer with 5 of my best friends as a fundraiser for clean water! We recently produced shirts and tanks to help us fundraise and they have been selling like crazy! We have also received so much support from APU and our local community over the last few weeks and it has been so encouraging to have people come alongside us to help us achieve our goal. We just purchased our final bikes for our ride and are continuing our training and fundraising as we prepare to leave in just a few short weeks! Check out the pictures above of the many people wearing our Ride for Water tanks around campus and learn more about what we are doing this summer at www.rideforwater.com
-Jordan W
”Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4
Hello!
It’s dead week! What is that you may ask? It is the name for the week before finals—in which many people are in the library working hard, studying hard and preparing for finals week! However, in the midst of all the chaos I have been reminded to always be thankful. Being thankful and grateful is so important! Especially during these times, it is what keeps us grounded and reminded that Jesus is with us giving us everything we need. This morning in chapel, we were given cards and asked to write to a staff or faculty member on campus thanking them for all that they do. As I was writing my card I overwhelmed by all of the wonderful people I have met this year and how truly thankful I am for each one of them.
We had one last hall event this weekend and in some ways I think I am still in denial that the semester is actually ending so soon! It has gone by so fast! So fast but also so full life, growth and abundant blessings.
Praying for you as you end well :)
-Cora J
COMM COMM HAS GOT IT GOING ON…
Yes it’s true ,sometimes I make up my own cheers for my major. I know… nerdy right? Well I have talked about my major before, but I really do love it! I love Communication, I see how it is applicable to my life and I never get tired of learning about it. I am thankful that I enjoy my classes and have become passionate about learning!
This weekend my major honored all the Seniors that will be graduating and had a dinner banquet. I have made some great friends in my classes and so we decided to go together. We had a great meal, shared stories with Professors, and were prayed over by some of the faculty. It was such a great moment to share with people I have been traveling class to class with over the last few years.
I always tell my tours this, but I love that there is community within your classroom. Yes, when you come here you experience such great community with other students, but I love that it happens academically as well. I love that my teachers create space for relationships to grow and allow us to enjoy the presence of one another.
I can’t wait for you to experience this too!!
-Britni G
With the year coming to a close, we Resident Advisors in Smith Hall thought it would be best to have our very own Smith Hall Graduation. The graduation was a time of great reflection as the entire hall gathered together to share memories from this past year and listened to the stories that made people’s experience memorable. The graduation was sentimental for me personally as I got the opportunity to reflect on how much the boys on my hall have grown over the year individually and collectively as a hall. It’s crazy to think that we all began the year as complete strangers and are now leaving the year with life-long friends. Serving as an RA in Smith this year truly has been a phenomenal experience that I will never forget!
-Jordan W
As the weeks seem to go by faster, and time seems to slip away, I am honestly realizing that I am not ready to end. This year has gone by so fast and I am so grateful to all the wonderful friends that I have made! I could not be more blessed!
My friends in my hall and I have been spending every moment we can together before we have to part ways. Literally we all cram into one room to work on homework until 1 in the morning. I know that I will see them all again next school year, but it will not be the same as dorm life.
I am so excited to have my own apartment and to be able to cook, but I will always love my freshman year and the relationships that I built living in the dorm. Sometimes it may be a struggle, but it ends u being one of the biggest blessings ever!
Future freshman, enjoy every second of dorm life, get to know all the people in your hall, and have fun! You only live in the dorms once, and soon you will be like me and not know where the time all went.
Engstrom First East for life!!
-Brooke N
Nostalgic.
As this semester draws to a close, there is much reflection and reminiscing that takes place as there has been more growth and learning this year than one can adequately express with words.
One of the end-of-year traditions in Adams Hall (The only all-female dorm) is the dorm brush-off mural contest. Each hall paints a mural representing their hall that often includes pictures of their hall and a hall verse. Then judges walk through the halls and choose a winner each year. 2nd East’s, (my hall) mural this year was an anchor, with our hall verse Hebrews 6:19 underneath which says, “We have this hope an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Anchors have been my hall’s theme this year as we strive to place Christ as our anchor and stronghold. When chaos and storms of life surround us, we can rest assured with confidence in Christ alone, our consistency and anchor.
This past weekend, I was also blessed to go on my LAC (Living Area Council) Retreat where we reflected upon these past two semesters, the events we have planned, the things we have learned from each other, and the qualities we admire in one another. This group of 9 women (one represented from each hall) has contributed in such a huge way to making my freshman year what it has been. We have seen each other through tears, laughter, joys and sorrows.
It’s incredible, the people God has placed in my life for such a time as this.
Enjoy your week!
-Kristen P
Hey there!
All about service learning!
This past weekend I participated in a service learning project in my small group communication class. As part of our curriculum we were required to work with a group or organization that brings help, relief, finances, or help in the local community.
This entire semester we have been working on our project. We have been working with middle school G.A.T.E students in the Azusa area who all have the dream to go to college. We hired speakers, provided free lunch, and played games and activities with the students while the parents sat in a seminar.
Overall our group was very successful, and met our goals for our project. It was very rewarding and a great experience to be given free reign on a project and seeing it through to completion!
Until next time,
-Ryan F
Hello, friends!
As I reflect upon this year in its entirety, my thoughts are consumed with names of people who have sincerely poured into me and made my freshman experience what it has been.
When I first came in the fall, friends often asked, “What is your favorite part about APU?” From the very beginning, I confidently answered that it was the people who truly made such an impression and indelible impact.
One of those people, who chose to genuinely invest and challenge me weekly with hard truths and themes to strive towards, was my mentor. APU is truly filled with the best of the best – and my mentor is without a doubt one of those individuals.
She challenged and encouraged me in ways I could have never anticipated, opened my eyes to things I had not previously considered, and exemplified, with her own life, how to live boldly and radically for Christ.
If and when you come to APU, I would strongly advocate seeking out a mentor, whether through the mentorship program on campus or finding a faculty or upperclassman on your own. The potential conversation that can be sparked from one-on-one interaction is so deep and beautiful, something not necessarily grasped from large group settings. There are so many incredible people at APU that want to pour out and give of their hearts and it certainly is an amazing process to be a part of.
Blessings,
-Kristen P
It has been such a blessed year and it was so awesome to be able to share it with you all!!
I cannot believe that the year is already over, and I will soon be returning as a sophomore! Hopefully many of you will be joining the APU family this fall as incoming freshman or transfer students! But wherever God calls you, always remember that He has a plan for you and you can trust in Him with all your worries!
I also included a photo of my mentor Rachel who will be graduating in a few days. I would highly suggest that everyone gets a mentor, because it is so great to have someone to talk to throughout freshman year.
Have a great summer!!
-Brooke N
