News from Deanna at Xavier

Great stuff from Deanna Ceasar and the fledgling Xavier University Chi Alpha crew. Read up here.

SALT Reports

2012 is here, and we're ready for another great semester! God has done some great things over the break to prepare us and our students for a year for the history books! Over New Year, each year, we take students to the regional Chi Alpha SALT conference. This year, we were in Dallas, TX, and lives were changed, including mine. I was deeply challenged and refreshed in my devotion to Jesus first, and then reignited with desire to proclaim the good news about Jesus to students from all over the world on campus!

Here are some testimonies straight from students:



God really showed me that I can put my full trust in him for my future. I was also really encouraged about people that I have been praying for to come to know Christ. Salt was truly amazing. -Sean, Tulane Senior


We all see the problems in the world and hope we can contribute or do something about it. Politics, hunger, AIDS, terrorism, poverty, neglect, division, prostitution, these are all 'buzzwords' they dangle at you in the media but really have no power to act. At SALT, there were all these people who share the same heart with the same goal, to spread the Good News, coming from a privileged country where people have human rights and technology, that if we got serious we could feed the world 3 times over. We have the Gospel to take to the ends of the earth, and the Spirit who will be with us to do it.

At SALT I met people who are already doing these. I was encouraged. -Kevin, Tulane Senior

As my relationship with God has matured since entering college, I have found myself recognizing my need for patience when it comes to waiting on the Lord.  After receiving baptism in the Holy Spirit last year at SALT, I have been seeking to hear God's voice and to discover His long-term plan for my life.  I realized after SALT this year that I have been impatiently seeking answers to my questions rather than focusing on strengthening my relationship with God while waiting on His perfect timing.  Several of the sessions I attended focused on waiting on the Lord while sanctifying oneself in the process.  I felt the Lord guiding me to examine some areas of my life in which I can grow deeper in relationship with Him, and I have already begun to put these things into practice as I wait for His guidance for my life after college.  I look forward to 2012, because I know that this will be a year of renewal for my intimate relationship with my Father.  -Bethany, Tulane Junior


Please keep us in your prayers as we start the new semester. We are looking for some bold and creative ways to engage a much wider audience with the Gospel at Tulane than ever before. And, let us know how we can be praying for you.

Thanksgiving 2011

So much to be grateful for. Here's a quick overview of a few 2011 highlights, so far: why we are thankful.

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Hope and Faith & 10 Years

These little beauties have changed our lives, so profoundly. They might return to their birth family in 2012, or maybe they'll stay with us forever. Either way, we are so thankful for the joy and love they have added to our lives since January 3rd. If you've met them, you know what we mean ;)

Jen and I also celebrated 10 years of marriage this past July - makes me feel old, a little. It is such a privilege to face life's joys and challenges together with Jen. So thankful for our life together!

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Baptisms

We've had the privilege of seeing students at Tulane and UNO follow Jesus in water baptism this year. Praise God! (In this photo, you see Meiyu, who was baptized with Chi Alpha last year, helping baptize her friend, Alicia -- making disciples!)
We've also seen more students experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit in 2011 than in the previous seven years in New Orleans!

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Expansion

Deanna Ceasar joined our staff team this year with the aim of launching a new Chi Alpha chapter at Xavier University in New Orleans. Xavier is a historically black college/university (HBCU), and is also a private, Catholic university. There are many challenges here, but we are excited for the opportunity to pursue God's goals there.
In the meantime, Deanna is also helping grow XA at Loyola.

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Haiti


It was a joy to return to Haiti this past May. In our first visit since the 2010 earthquake, we had the privilege of helping to rebuild a church that was destroyed by the quake. Now, we are praying for a team to go again in March 2012 to continue the rebuilding with churches and schools and more.

Fall Newsletter

FRESHMEN!

Joseph and Laura are freshmen at Tulane:
Laura from Illinois

Freshman - English Major

During the second week of school, as I walked through one of those crazy beginning-of-year campus festivals where hungry college students line up for miles in the hope of getting free food before it runs out - completely by accident, I ran into the table for Chi Alpha. And eight weeks later, I am happy to say that it was one of the luckiest accidents that has ever happened to me.

In my first weeks of college, Chi Alpha has given me some amazing opportunities that I would not have had otherwise. I was able to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, go paddle-boating in City Park, and experience a different side of Louisiana at Fall Breakaway. As great as all these things are, the best thing Chi Alpha has done for me is connect me to other students who have strong faith in God. It has been wonderful for me to become part of a group that respects one other and builds each other up as Christians.

Joseph from California

Freshman - Architecture

Coming to a well known 'party' school, I knew I would need some Christian community to keep me growing in Christ. So, when I happened to discover Chi Alpha just passing by, I knew that God was telling me something. It also helped that I met some really cool people in Chi Alpha that would not only build me up but, were generally cool people to hang out with. Also, between prayer parties, Gatherings, satellite groups, and all the other events Chi Alpha does, I never feel alone but accepted and connected. I truly thank God he led me to Chi Alpha and am humbly grateful for the service they provide. 

I read again, recently, how college students must make a connection early (within two weeks, this article said!), if they are going to continue actively in their faith in college! http://bit.ly/degier1

Building update: We continue to look for the right building in uptown near Tulane and Loyola to house a ministry center and city-wide office space. We are looking into a building on fraternity/sorority row that is over 5,000 square feet and nearly $600,000! The location is outstanding!

Clearly, we need a miracle, if this is the place God has for us. Please pray with us!

You can give to make this a reality: online
Mail: Chi Alpha New Orleans
PO Box 13997
New Orleans LA 70185

May you have a wonderful fall season!
Grace & Peace from New Orleans
-matt & jen

The Right Place?

726 Broadway St.
On the end of Tulane's fraternity/sorority row. On one of the most trafficked off-campus corners for students in the area...

Could this be the property we have been prayerfully seeking since March? If it is, we need some miracles soon, because it's not going to sit on the market long... honestly, if we want it, we probably need to get an offer together within a week!

We have nearly $60,000 saved for obtaining property for ministry, meeting and office space. That won't get us far for this property. We need someone to invest in this property for us, or to lay down man thousands of dollars in giving for this project. Please pray with us. If you have some ideas in how to help us, please contact me. Send gifts to Chi Alpha, PO Box 13997, NO LA 70185 or use this link to give online.