“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
– 1 John 3:16-18
For the month of February, several of the University of Hawaii campus ministries partnered together as a joint effort to bless the students and staff of the UH campus. For 28 days, students went out of their way to show love to their friends, classmates, roommates, and everyone the Lord put in their path. Each day presented a new challenge–from holding the door open for 20 people, to doing your roommate’s laundry, to leaving an encouraging note on a seat in your class.
On February 14th, about 30 students and staff from Epic (Cru), Baptist Collegiate Ministries, InterVarsity, Chi Alpha, and a couple churches joined together to hold up signs of encouragement around campus. We stood along the main walkway and as people walked by we would say things like, “You’re awesome! Happy Valentine’s Day!” or “You’re spectacular!”, etc. While we received everything from strange looks to free cupcakes and chocolate, almost everyone would ask us why we were doing it. We were able to share that we were some combined campus ministries just wanting to share love with people at UH. We even got a shout-out from a member of the UH Student Government online.
Kimiyo Brown, Epic staff at University of Hawaii