Alyson (Schroll) Punzi ’19 serves as the Executive Assistant to the Vice President for Advancement. FAITHFUL GARDENERS In the hallway outside my office hang our team culture statements: reminders of the kind of team we hope to represent. One of those 10 statements reads, “We Are Planters and Waterers.” This goal reminds us daily that God is the one who brings the growth. He has placed us here to work and serve with excellence, knowing that growth is not our power nor our responsibility. I’ve watched this team show up every day and roll up their sleeves, planting and watering, spending themselves toward God’s purposes. When He provides the fruit, we get excited, both proud of the work and grateful for the way only God could have used it. Since the beginning of the campaign, nearly 50 Advancement staff members have come and gone, following God’s call to serve in other places. Only nine members of our current team were serving in Advancement when the campaign first launched. Even I wasn’t originally supposed to be working here, but God brought me back to Cedarville and provided exactly what I needed, both professionally and personally. Every one of my teammates is daily evidence of God’s provision in my life. God brought each person on this team to Advancement at the right time to lay the foundation of these buildings where students now study, eat, and live. God used their faithfulness to conduct research, make phone calls, plan events, draft emails, and ask alumni and friends to join us in transforming lives for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. OUR GIFTS FOR HIS GLORY This is also true for our entire community. God has brought hundreds of faculty and staff to Cedarville, whether for a brief time or for a lifetime. We teach lectures, manage budgets, wash dishes, coach athletes, maintain vehicles, disciple students, coordinate missions trips, and plant flowers. God uses the faithful work of an entire campus community to cultivate Cedarville into a transformative place that donors want to be a part of. None of this is an accident or coincidence. We see God’s providence in the amazing, sometimes unexpected things like milliondollar gifts, and we see His providence in the everyday faithfulness of people who simply want to honor Him with their work here at Cedarville. We respond in thanksgiving to the God who delights in using our giving of time or resources for His glory. So, if you take a walk around the lake — which you should do — I encourage you to notice all that has changed. See the buildings that weren’t here just a few short years ago. See the sidewalks leading to new areas of campus. See the students who were still in elementary or middle school when this campaign began. When you walk around campus, everything you see will remind you of the thousands of people whose generous hearts God used to support Cedarville and bring about His Kingdom, one heart at a time. We did not know that they were considering giving such a gift, but God knew. He leveraged their blessings and their desire to serve to encourage Cedarville and answer countless prayers. 17
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