The weekend started off with a retreat of silence. We gave students a Bible, a psalm to read and 2 hours to be alone with God. Because of the fast-paced nature of Greek life, this was a first-time opportunity for most them. After that we split everyone into teams for competitions. Through competitions like relay races, popping balloons and racing to pull tissues out of a kleenex box, the students built connections with people from other houses on campus. Each team had time to study the Bible together and discuss the challenges of living out faith in a fraternity/sorority. They were so glad to talk with other Greeks struggling with the same issues. By the end of the weekend, 17 committed to meeting one-on-one with God daily and a third of them recommitted to their faith in Jesus. Check out the highlight video here.

One of Allie’s (name changed) sorority sisters dragged her along to Greek Getaway this year and even paid the registration fee for her. Though hesitant to sign up, Allie had a great experience and is excited to renew her Christian faith. She is now regularly attending Greek IV events and wants to lead the Bible study in her sorority. Greek Getaway was a defining moment in her faith journey!

If I wasn’t there, what would happen? Would God continue to stretch and grow the students, while I was home alone? Funny I should ask. Their assignment for the week was to spend an hour away from the house (or face the threat of 10 push ups upon my return) with a guided retreat of scripture and questions about their current circumstances. Each of the scriptures were the many times Jesus got away from it all: his friends, popularity, responsibilities… and went to spend time with his Father. He needed to be renewed and refreshed through conversation about who he was and his purposes. And through the silence of just knowing who his Father is.

So the students set themselves apart. They went to cafes, libraries, museums, and parks. Phones were forgotten, minds meditated, and hearts honed in on the voice of Jesus. They were asked tough questions about pressures they were feeling, anxieties they were bringing to situations, dark clouds that were looming ahead, and what they might need to turn their backs away from in order to take steps forward. And as we discussed some of these ‘not fun to think about’ issues, and examined the ‘negative’ influences in our current situations, we actually found it was ‘just what we needed!’ In a culture that bases its pride on being ‘so busy’ we’re somehow surprised that we need to retreat from it all… just like Jesus did.