Retreats & Baptisms!!!

Yep...you read it right!  RETREATS AND BAPTISMS!

So far this year, CCF has had the privilege to baptize THREE people this semester!  For a single semester, three people is a pretty good number!  We have baptized one young lady in a lake, one young lady at her favorite swimming hole, and just this past week, a young lady at a local church!  It was a great celebration, and a great way to end our weekly Dinner and a Message for the evening.  We were honored to meet this students family who traveled from all over...including WISCONSIN...to come and see their loved one baptized in the Lord!

Not only have we already baptized three people this semester, but we also have a handful of other students who are considering taking that step towards baptism!  A lot of questions have been asked, and a lot of interest has been shown.  We pray for God to open up these hearts to making that HUGE step to publicly proclaim their faith!

Now, this is only my second year so far on staff at CCF, but you do not need a ton of experience to realize that CCF hosts an AWESOME baptism!  I mean, not only does everyone scream and clap when you are dunked in the water, but there is also a huge party after!  Majority of the students in the ministry and their families celebrate together while feasting on homemade cakes, cupcakes, lemonade, etc.  I was actually baptized through CCF when I was a student, and I cannot imagine a more exciting family to share this experience with than my CCF family!

Ok...so not only have we been celebrating baptisms here at CCF, but we also recently went on our annual Men's and Women's retreats!  This tradition started just a couple of years ago, and has shown to be a great way for the Men of CCF to get away and grow together, as well as for the Women of CCF to get away and grow together!  Everyone gets to enjoy some time away from the opposite sex...but not too much time!

The Men went to a lake house owned by one of our CCF students family.  It was an INCREDIBLE night of hanging out by the fire, playing cards, talking about the importance of community and brotherhood, and farting.  THERE I SAID IT!  We had chili for dinner...and we were in a house full of guys...I mean, COME ON!  What did you expect.

Relationships were formed, and fun was had.  We even had a guy who is pretty new to CCF come on the retreat, and he was able to make a lot of friends, and feel more and more comfortable in the ministry! It was an incredible night for the guys!

The Women also went to a lake house owned by a students family...only it was a different lake house.  Now, I am a male...so I was not able to attend...but from what I heard, the girls had just as wonderful of a time as the guys.  They had a guest speaker who focused on healthy relationships, and the girls were able to bond and grow closer to each other throughout the night!

Things at CCF are absolutely incredible!  We ask that anyone who reads this to keep us in your prayers. Pray for us in our continued growth, for the relationships among the students, and for God to continue to work in lives and allow lives to change!

Thank you everyone...we love you and God Bless!!!

In Him ALWAYS,
Beau Mason

The Simple Things

Dearest CCF Hasbeens and current CCF students!

First of all, I love you!  I love CCF!  I love my life!  

Secondly, I wanted to tell you all about something that has been on my heart lately.  In fact, it has been so on my heart that I spoke about it yesterday at FAT Mondays!  (For those of you who might not know, FAT Mondays is a FREE on campus lunch that we do every Monday for students at UGA.  We serve them a lunch that we prepare, and then we have a short 5 minute program with an inspirational message.  It has been a HUGE thing for us at CCF, and we are now serving OVER 200 STUDENTS on a weekly basis!)

Anywho, I have been trying lately to take the time and appreciate "the simple things".  Our lives are FULL of simple, little things.  Very rarely do I take the time to step back and look at just how lucky I am.  I have the best job in the entire world, I have a place to live, I have a car to drive, I have a wonderful girlfriend, the best friends, and a great family!  These are things that I often overlook in the hustle-bustle of my life.  

Well, I spoke about this idea yesterday at FAT Mondays, and I challenged the students, as well as myself, to really try and take the time to appreciate these little things in our lives.  These little things that truly make us who we are!  

Having said that, I wanted to tell you guys about the "simple things" that I am very grateful for.  Through my life, God has truly blessed me beyond what I deserve.  Now, I am almost 25 years old, and God has placed me on the Staff at CCF, which I am SO thankful for!  I am exactly where I am supposed to be, and I recognize that I truly have the BEST job in the entire world!  THANK YOU!

I work with some INCREDIBLE people!  I have heard horror stories from friends who have gotten jobs and detested their co-workers, and I am SO thankful that this is not me.  THANK YOU!

I am able to wake up in a nice warm bed every morning, and drive a working car to my wonderful job.  THANK YOU!

I have a girlfriend who somehow manages to be patient with me and goes out of her way to let me know that she appreciates me.  THANK YOU!

My best friend in the entire world encourages me and believes in me, and let's me know this often.  THANK YOU!

I could go on, but I will stop there hahaha!  It is good for us to step back and take the time to appreciate who we are and what we have.  Our lives are full of "simple things", so why not learn to love them?  As Robert Brault (some publisher guy) said, "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

Thank you all for being a part of CCF!

First ever Hasbeen blog = YAY

Dear CCF Hasbeens:

Initial thoughts: Angela told me this week that Grant and Allison McCreary mentioned creating a blog for our staff to use for the purpose of alumni updates. I thought it was a great idea, and when Allison said it was pretty easy to do I decided to spend my afternoon doing this instead of coding all of our September purchases - boring. So WELCOME all UGA CCF Alumni to our first ever blog dedicated solely to updating you guys on what's happening here!

Awesome Weekly News: The most important thing that you should know about for this week is the Alumni Homecoming Tailgate on Saturday morning! We're kicking the grill into high gear at 10:30 AM. You can park here during the game and PLEASE bring your family! We want to meet your offspring and/or significant other if you have acquired those in your time away! If you aren't going to the game, you can stay at the house and watch it with us on the big screen (or you can hang out in the yard with myself, who likes football only slightly more than I like the dead chipmunks my cat leaves on my front porch).

Exciting Thing Happening Today: Erin Layton, recruiter for Emmanuel School of Religion took Becca, the interns, and one of our awesome new students out for free lunch (at Chili's, home of the best nachos in town) - SCORE.

Other CCF News: Our First Annual CCF Homecoming Parade is Friday at 1 PM. CCF Alum Luke "the cop" Lewis told us it was totally legal. Here's hoping we don't get arrested or fined, pics to come soon!

Stay in touch with us, Alums! We miss you lots and can't wait to see you again soon.

Yours,
Becca


P.S.

Students in their costumes at the corn maze last Friday. Of all the thousands of people who go through the Washington Farms Corn Maze, CCFers are the only group who ever dress up for it. It's totally worth the ridicule.