Despite the date on the calendar, it feels much more like spring than winter. It’s cloudy, everything is damp, and all you see is brown for miles. It’s also a stressful time on the vet med campus —

midterms [t-minus 8 days]
finals [t-minus 35 days]
third years enter clinics [t-minus 53 days]
fourth years graduate [t-minus 101 days]

but no matter what is going on, God is evident all around. A lot of us get stuck seeing what is right in front of us, the yucky, wet, brown earth with cool grey skies. We fail to look deeper at what is really going on. We fail to realize that God is working under the surface, outside of what we can see to warm the earth {our souls}, prepare the soil {our hearts}, and produce beautiful, green plants {His love in us}

So get passed the gloom of yesterday, today will be sunny with bright blue skies. Despite the stress on the vet med campus, there is also great excitement —

midterms are over [t-minus 9 days]
finals are over [t-minus 36 days]
third years enter clinics [t-minus 53 days]
fourth years graduate [t-minus 101 days]

because no matter what is happening, God is ALWAYS working for good. We may not see this today or tomorrow; we may not see it next week or even next year. But good comes out of everything God has a hand in. This is evident in our weekly Bible studies, in the stories we here from winter mission trips, and in our daily lives as we interact with our friends and classmates.

[Seize the day, and make it a good one]

~~~

But some of the seed fell on good ground.
There it grew and made grain.
Some plants made 100 times more grain,
some 60 times more,
and some 30 times more.
matthew 13:8

~Bri

This year, our club has made changes and added events.

We have served near and far.
[From Honduras to Haiti to Champaign, IL]

We held the first of many Fall Retreats.
[8 girls + John in a cabin in Indiana]

We ventured to Knoxville, TN, for Real Life Real Impact.
[We had 17 people make the trip]

We adopted a Field Staff member.
[Dr. Lauren Charles is such a God-send]

We switch Bible study to Mondays.
[To the dismay of many leaving 4th years]

But most importantly, we grew closer to God and further into His mission for our group.

I truly believe that our purpose is to reach out to the closet Christians and the non-believers in the veterinary community to, both, show them the light and to strengthen their faith. We were joined by many new people throughout the year and their commitment has helped increase our presence in veterinary medicine in Illinois and across the world (as many of them are going on international mission trips this summer).

Only one word can describe this year.

Thankful.

~Bri