By Abigail Gan | Reporter
Baylor Cru is preparing to head to Windy Hill Ranch for its annual men’s and women’s retreats this month.
A branch of the national campus ministry, Baylor Cru values “living out the gospel of Jesus, in community, and on mission at Baylor,” according to its website. It pursues this goal through retreats, Bible studies, conferences and more.
Cupertino, Calif., sophomore and Cru leader Nicole Ownbey said her hope is that people will worship, enjoy time away from their responsibilities and learn from wise teachers while attending the retreat.
“I know everyone’s super busy at this time of year, and it can be hard to think of giving up … an entire weekend, but it’s such a blessing,” Ownbey said. “I’m just hoping that people will come with open hearts and open minds and just be able to gain wonderful things and blessings from this experience.”
Ownbey attended the women’s retreat last year and said she experiences many sweet moments as she got closer to the other women.
“The most meaningful part of it [is] … just seeing how sweet it is when believers are able to live in unity and just be able to encourage and support one another,” Ownbey said. “That’s something that’s been super beautiful and super impactful for my life.”
Ownbey said she has met her best friends through Cru and has enjoyed deepening her involvement in the organization as a student leader.
“It’s been such a blessing to be able to contribute on an even deeper level to an organization that helped me so much as a freshman and continues to help me,” Ownbey said. “Just to stay constant in my faith and to have those Bible studies every week where we dive deeper into God’s word.”
Woodlands sophomore and Cru leader Logan Maksimowicz said the men’s retreat was a great experience when he attended last year. He said it was fun to ride ATVs and play frisbee, but also having bonfire worship and connecting with the other attendees.
“It’s a super fun time just to hang out, meet guys, grow in relationship with guys, really just relax — a good getaway weekend,” Maksimowicz said.
Maksimowicz said he encourages people to take a leap of faith and attend the retreat, whether they have connections with Cru or not.
“Everyone’s coming from a different place … a different spot in their life,” Maksimowicz said. “I think the Lord uses that and he works in miraculous, mysterious ways.”
The men’s retreat will be from March 17-19 and costs $55, which covers the cost for meals, housing and ammunition for the gun range. The women’s retreat will take place March 24-26 and costs $50, which covers the cost of meals, housing and ranch activities.
