#CoCMidAtlantic, Day 3

My morning came with a groggy start. Getting little sleep the day of the trip has taken a toll on me mentally and physically. However when I spent some time with the Lord in the morning, my spirit revived. My body was still fatigued, but I felt warmth and peace suffusing my being. At the breakfast table, I was once again revived touched by my hospitality’s care. It was a simple hearty breakfast of eggs, Canadian bacon, and bread, but what was sweet was our host’s intimate concern over our sleep and how everything in the trip progressed. About an hour after, the brothers and I arrived at the meeting hall. We were singing “My heart is hungry my spirit doth thirst”. It was at that moment that I realized that I was hungry and thirsty. I needed the Lord to feed me and to give me a drink for my tired body and soul. The singing was sweet with students exercising their spirit for the Lord to feed them and give them a drink. What was remarkable though was our singing time after spending some more personal time with the Lord. After 20 minutes, we came back to sing refreshed. I felt that throughout the whole singing the spirit was flowing free. What began as a small trickle progressed into a tremendous rushing river. Praising, declaring, and jubilant singing filled the room. I felt my spirit soaring above my lethargy buoyant and unfettered.

— Theo P.

One of the big highlights of the day was Sakura, a buffet that had everything from chicken nuggets and fries to sushi rolls to pork ears. The food was very yummy and several of us were trying to shove the most plates possible into our stomachs. Then, after a much needed break at the meeting hall, we went to look at some Rutgers merch as well as a lot of similar red brick buildings of the State University of New Jersey, founded to educate the new generation of ministers.

— Nihar J.

Despite the rains throughout the day, we were able to have a view of the Rutgers campus and a little history through some students who were kind to give us tours of the place. The campus was much larger than I initially expected, with us needing to take a bus to explore just two of the five campuses at Rutgers. After touring Rutgers, we piled into our rides and returned to the Piscataway meeting hall.  It was such a sight to see all the students and local saints all in one place. At our table were two high school brothers—one a freshman, the other a senior—and the blending over delicious food made the fellowship even sweeter.

The real highlight came afterward, when we sang hymns together. Each song deepened the feeling of the Body’s oneness with hymns such as “Oh the church of Christ is glorious” Then some students from Berkeley and Stanford shared about the campus events at their respective universities. Although hearing the campus events were great in that it showed the Lord’s moving on the colleges, the testimonies stood out to me the most. Hearing how these gatherings had personally affected the students: strengthening their faith, creating friendships, and even their daily walk, was really encouraging. At the end, some local saints also shared some encouragement and words of wisdom with the students. With that we concluded day 3 of our Spring Break Trip.

— Thomas L.