A newsletter from Jonathan:
College:
I am in my sophomore year at ACU studying criminal justice. Last month was our school’s biggest event, which is called Sing Song (www.acu.edu/singsong). In it the men’s and women’s social clubs, as well as the mixed voices groups (usually a class) compete for the best song medley. I was in Sing Song in two acts, with the social club I am a part of called the Men of Trojans, which is a great group of Christian guys, who have a profound influence on me. We won third place for Trojans and first place for sophomores. It was an awesome experience!

I am also involved in a service group called LYNAY (Love Your Neighbor as Yourself). This program meets every week to listen to a great guest speaker, like Founders, Presidents and CEOs from the business world, who teach us about being a Christian and a leader in the world. They really focus on expecting great things from us, which causes us to always be striving for being better and think outside the box.

Campaign to Boston:
For spring break fifteen of us went on a campaign to Boston. It was hosted by the Brookline Church of Christ. This congregation has about fifty members. The Sunday we were there our group led the church service. It was a great experience for us and we feel that it was good for them as well. The rest of the week we mainly did manually service, like cleaning and organizing an old building to make it into a center for the homeless ministry. There they can work with homeless people and show them love.

We worked with another congregation that every Wednesday hosts a “Common Art” event where they bring in around forty homeless people who come there and make artwork. They provide all kinds of paints, brushes, papers they are going to need to work, and once they are done, they put their work up in display to be sold to anyone interested. One of the most important ways we served was through the ministry of presence. I was not acquainted with this. In the ministry of presence one is simply being present with them, talking to them and listening to their story. A lot of times, they just need someone to listen to them and make them feel worthwhile. We also served them breakfast and lunch. It rained some and it was a good feeling to know that all of them had a roof over their heads while the cold rain fell.

All in all this has been a great experience, and I could truly see God at work, especially in the people that were leaders and servants (because you can’t have one without the other) at the different places we worked at.

God bless,
Jonathan Pruitt

PS, I am working as a Tour Guide for the college, so if you have any children or grandchildren who are finishing up High School, bring them in for a visit and I’ll be glad to show them around!