site visit...s

Well, I've already been a part of my community for a couple weeks, so I've had multiple unofficial "site visits".  I've been going to the women's Bible talk meetings on Tuesdays for the past 3 weeks, as well as having a few discipleship sessions at other times throughout the week.  These are both led by my leaders Nicki and Maral, who attend Roanoke Valley Church and are part of their Disciples on Campus ministry.

So here's a glimpse at a typical Tuesday night:

I grab my Bible and a notebook and walk up to the third floor of my dorm.  There are usually about five or six other girls gathered in this one dorm room, along with our two leaders Nicki and Maral.  We all sit in a circle and eat the batch of cookies that has been placed in the center of our group.  We spend the first ten to fifteen minutes just eating, talking and laughing-- catching up on how our weeks have been going, sharing funny stories, etc.  Eventually, Maral or Nicki will offer to open us in prayer, and then we will begin with the "Bible talk".  There is a certain topic with pertaining verses that we will focus on for that week.  We take turns reading passages aloud, then we all share what we think about the verse, what it means to us, and ask questions if we are unclear or disagree with anything being read.  By all sharing and talking it out together, we are able to look into God's word and focus on how the Bible says to live out our lives.  Though most of the girls in the group have only known each other for a few weeks, they all seem very open and willing to share personal stories and struggles with each other.  There is a level of trust that has already been formed between these new friends.  We are all able to encourage each other and challenge each other in our faith.  After an hour or so, we will close the Bible talk in prayer, then continue chatting and laughing and grabbing a last cookie or two on our way out of the room.

Since my main focus in the community is my particular Bible talk, I used this as my site visit. However, Bible talk is only one part of Disciples on Campus, which is part of Roanoke Valley Church (RVC), which is part of the International Churches of Christ (ICOC).  I plan on attending a Sunday church service at RVC, and hopefully a conference of ICOC churches from all along the Atlantic coast.  These additional site visits will hopefully serve to broaden my view of this community.