At this very moment, I am wrapping up my first official week as an Intern. It has gone by quickly and I couldn’t be more assured about doing ministry with Greyhouse and Campus House for the next two years. Campus House and Greyhouse are people-driven ministries, and the people here are doing some incredibly exciting things.

During the last couple weeks in May, we wrapped up all of our Vision Trips that spanned the globe; all the way from Chicago which is two hours away by car, to Africa which is two days away by plane. A synopsis of each individual Vision Trip can be found on the Campus House blog (http://blog.pcch.org/), and I will be personally updating my blog (www. joshrathke.com) with some of the insights I was able to jot down while in the back country roads of Rwanda, Africa. However, in a nutshell, Africa was mind blowing! It surprised me, and surpassed every expectation I had of the amazing country. One of the most interesting things I learned on the trip is the impact of sustainable missions. I am hopeful that this trip to Rwanda was just the beginning of some exciting ventures in global community building.

My internship is the perfect spring board for projects like those that will result from our trip to Rwanda. As I started my internship with Greyhouse and Campus House, I had no idea what kinds of opportunities would be available to me in the form of simply following dreams, and achieving goals. However, just in the week I have been here, I have already come up with several ideas to engage the students here at Purdue, in a thought process that will provoke them to not only think about global innovation, but sustainable solutions and systems to needs around the world.

Needs such as a growing and stable economy are crucial to countries that are rebuilding such as Rwanda, and Greyhouse is continuing to teach me more than I could have ever expected about doing good things around the world from home through the buying and selling of direct-trade coffee, and supporting coffee farmers everywhere. Greyhouse contin- ues to serve the world, but also the students who walk through our doors directly on Purdue’s campus. God has been incredibly good over the past two years as I have worked at Greyhouse, and He continues to bless the work of our hands. The newest additions to Greyhouse are the four new interns that officially started on June 1st. Already, productivity has gone up tremendously, and just among the interns alone there seem to be enough ideas for improvement to last us a lifetime, let alone two years.
Currently I am working on a couple ideas of my own that I am very excited to explore. Rwanda inspired one idea that I have for a program that has to do with sustainable solutions, partnered with students who have been equipped to change the world with knowledge and practical skills. I am also currently in the process of brainstorming a couple of dif- ferent backpacking trips to various parts of the country.

For those of you who have been keeping Campus House and Greyhouse in your prayers, I thank you. With help from many of you, I have raised about $7125 which is close to half of the full amount that I am being asked to raise in the first year (my overall goal is $14,500/year). I am grateful for this support, but still need more help. Would you consider donating monthly towards my support, and praying for me? If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at the email address below. I can’t wait to report to you next month about all of the exciting things that happen from now and until then.