Crossroads: Where Love and Faith Intersect

My name is Wes Huntington, and most of you know me as the student resident at Crossroads. First off, I want to say thank you for your support of this ministry in everything you do.   Your kindness and generosity  have  allowed numerous things to happen within Crossroads. That is not why I’m writing this, however. I’m writing this because I would like to share with you my faith journey, which can best be described as climbing a mountain and knowing God is with me every step of the way.  For as long as I can remember, I can associate my earliest memories of being church like Homer Simpson does in every episode of The Simpsons where the family’s in church and he’s on the verge of boring himself to sleep or is sleeping in church already. I was in that same boat for the first 18 years of my life, even though I did some things for my local church, such as helping out children in a Wednesday night version of Sunday school or helping out with the local food shelf o...

Oh Sheldon… When will you learn to embrace the love?! Valentine’s Day has always been, and probably always will be, my favorite holiday. Another Valentine’s Day has come and gone and I think now is a good time to reflect on the day. This is a day most people associate with roses, chocolate, couples, dates, love songs, and single awareness. If one doesn’t have a significant other to call their valentine, the day often gets filled with negativity. But what should Valentine’s Day be about? Quite simply, love, but not the kind that most people think. Here’s my Valentine’s Week To-Do List: Make Valentine’s and give them to as many people as possible!   Don’t miss an opportunity to tell/show someone that I love and appreciate them   Buy that special Valentine’s drink from Starbucks for myself   Spread joy and love everywhere you go Call my Mom, Dad, Brother and Grandma Take a moment every day to stop, look around and say a prayer   Don’t let anyone dam...

Today is the beginning of the Lent season, which means something different for everyone. We talked about how this is a season to resist temptations and fight the urge to give in. Lent means something different for everyone. For me, I like the extra Wednesday night services at my home church where my church family meets an extra time for 40 days. We remember what Jesus went through in the desert with the devil tempting him in all ways possible. How are we tempted today in our everyday lives? It could be that extra slice of pizza or an extra episode on Netflix when we know we should be studying.  Our lives are filled with temptations on all levels every day. This season, let’s focus on God and remember that his son will die for our sins in just a short while. I hope we all can find a little Jesus in our lives every day. God’s got your back whether you’re aware of it or not. My challenge to you is to try to pray every day. It will help you in so many ways you didn’t know were p...

It's finally beginning to feel like winter in Mankato! And that's good, because it's almost time for the Crossroads Winter Picnic! The Winter Picnic will be held from 11-1 on February 21st at Christ the King Lutheran Church on Pfau Street. There will be a chili cook-off between some of our local pastors...if you belong to an ELCA congregation, come and vote for your pastor's chili! If you don't, come and vote for someone else's pastor's chili! There will be bingo, a silent auction and games for the kids.  This event will help raise money for Crossroads. Our ministry holds worship, Bible studies and a weekly $1 meal for students. It's also the home of the Campus Cupboard, which is a food shelf for students. If you read last week's blog post by Katie Murphy, you can probably appreciate how Crossroads provides a voice of grace on campus. In a setting where students are constantly evaluated and given grades, where school is expensive and wor...