Hello, friends!
This week I had the chance to hang out with some pretty cool little kids both in person as well as via Skype. Meg and I went to South Dakota to visit my sister-in-law and her brand new baby girl. I also got to Skype with my sister and her daughter. As I was hanging out with them, I had a few thoughts about how observing children can give insight into humanity as a whole. Here are a few of those thoughts.
Lesson 1: Practice makes progress and progress is fun. It was just about a year ago this week that I drove to South Dakota to ask Meg's family if I could ask her to marry me. While I was in Sioux Falls, I got the chance to read my (now) niece Elena's first book with her. She did a great job sounding out words and using the pictures and context to figure out what words were. It was a slow go but it was reading nonetheless.
This time, I heard Elena as she read to her new baby sister Claire. It was absolutely amazing how much better she's gotten at reading! Not only is she faster, but she also recognizes words quicker and has a larger vocabulary. The trick was practice. She reads a story to her mom before going to bed every night. She reads during the day. I'm pretty sure she reads in school. The gal may only be in kindergarten but she is already reading well and I think she enjoys it more than she did before because she's better at it.
Watching Elena, it got me thinking about the Spiritual disciplines that I have in my life, mainly time with in the Word, listening prayer, and Sabbath. In each of those disciplines, the first attempts were a rough go. The Word wasn't speaking to me. I wasn't hearing from Jesus. I slept too much, ate too much, and ended up more exhausted than when I started. However, I've kept at it and as I have continued to pursue those disciplines, I've gotten better at them. On top of that, I've experienced more joy during those times because I have gotten better.
Lesson 2: We do not react well when we do not get what we want. 2 stories here. My nephew Grant is a great little kid. He is full of energy and usually smiling. He's also a great helper and a great hugger. We had a ton of fun playing this week. Our favorite game was me throwing a mini beach ball and him hitting it with his stuffed animals. He has pretty good hand eye coodination for a 4 year old.
My niece Vienna (on my side of the family) is also amazing. She's not quite a year and a half but she already shows signs of being pretty awesome. Yesterday she had a blast putting away, and then taking out again, all her letter puzzle pieces. She can blow kisses, say hello and goodbye, and is great at Skype pickaboo. I love both my niece and my nephew very much and I'm sure that they're going to grow up to be great people.
Both Grant and Vienna have this funny little tendency though. When you tell them to do something they don't want to do, or tell them they can't do something they want to do, get your earplugs because it is going to get LOUD.
Mind you, this is nothing new. Little kids have been throwing tantrums for as long as there have been little kids. What I thought was interesting was how early in life we develop our selfish nature. We have to be taught to share. We have to be taught to trust. We don't have to be taught to react strongly when we don't get what we want. That "skill" is with us from the very beginning. The hard part is learning how to live for others, to live sacrifically like Jesus did.
Lesson 3: We are constantly in need and that is ok. I had a blast holding Baby Claire this week. We talked about baseball and basic chemistry. We hung out while watching baseball and possibly Say Yes to the Dress. The one thing that struck me was how helpless she is. She needs to be fed. She needs to be changed. She needs to be burped. Pretty much the only things that she can do on her own right now are eat, sleep, and poop.
But, you know what? Baby Claire is pretty happy. She's nowhere close to self-sufficient and I think that she's ok with that. I don't think her pride is hurt that she needs someone to help her with stuff. Honestly, I don't think she has any concept of pride just yet. She has needs, people other than her fill them, and that is ok.
With today being Good Friday, I got to thinking about how I would love to adopt that mentality. My salvation is not because of something that I did. It is because of the love of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I have huge needs and God is the only way that I am going to get those needs filled. The difference is that I feel guilty when I don't "pull my weight" or "do my part," as if there was something I could do to save myself. It's all God and I have to be ok with that.
A City Lights update will be coming a little later. From what I've heard, it was a great experience!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Friday, March 29, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Welcome to the Family!
Hello, friends!
Greetings from Sioux Falls, South Dakota! I have the pleasure of introducing to you, my new niece, Claire Elizabeth Oleson!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Still Learning...
Hello, friends!
If you guys follow me on Twitter (@InterVarsityAdam) you may have seen my tweet about a deep theological truth that came to me today. Here's the story.
Today we had a staff meeting in Saint Louis. Once a month all the staff in the Missouri Area come together to learn together, vision, and do some logistics stuff. I enjoy the time because I enjoy my coworkers and it is always great to be surrounded by like-minded folk.
Anyway, at the end of every meeting we go to dinner. This month we went to a little Mexican restaurant down in South City by where Meg and I go to church. On my way there, I had to stop by Walgreens to pick up a few things for home.
Walking out of the Walgreens, I was approached by a woman with two small girls. There were three boys, probably ages 9-13, a little ways off to the side. She asked me if I had some money to lend her. She was homeless and the shelters were full. Her kids were cold and she just wanted to give them a place to stay warm for the night. I pulled a few dollars out of my pocket and gave it to her, along with some snacks left over from the staff meeting. From there, I went on my way to meet the rest of the team for dinner.
As I was driving down the road, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Jesus was asking me this question: "Why didn't you give her everything in your pocket?" In truth, I could have given her more. I had a $20 in my pocket but passed it to give her the ones. I thought about the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 where Jesus says that whatever we do to the least is what we do to Him.
Here is where I was hit with the theological truth. Much like in that situation, oftentimes it is easy for us to follow Jesus only halfway. Suppose that was Jesus and I only gave him part of what I had? Even worse, I gave him a small part of what I had. Shouldn't I be giving Jesus everything like I ask my students to give?
There are a bunch of ways to justify my actions. I may need the money later. I still gave something. I don't know how the lady is going to use the money. None of those answers are very satisfying.
So, where do we go from here? Honestly, I'm not sure. I think it is one of those things that I need to wrestle with Jesus about a little more. Starting Saturday, Mizzou and Columbia College students are going to be doing City Lights, the region's alternative Spring Break project. They will be working alongside those who live in the city, learning about God's heart for justice and the poor. My prayer is that they will take to heart the lesson that I am still learning: that following Jesus means giving your everything and showing radical love to everyone.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
If you guys follow me on Twitter (@InterVarsityAdam) you may have seen my tweet about a deep theological truth that came to me today. Here's the story.
Today we had a staff meeting in Saint Louis. Once a month all the staff in the Missouri Area come together to learn together, vision, and do some logistics stuff. I enjoy the time because I enjoy my coworkers and it is always great to be surrounded by like-minded folk.
Anyway, at the end of every meeting we go to dinner. This month we went to a little Mexican restaurant down in South City by where Meg and I go to church. On my way there, I had to stop by Walgreens to pick up a few things for home.
Walking out of the Walgreens, I was approached by a woman with two small girls. There were three boys, probably ages 9-13, a little ways off to the side. She asked me if I had some money to lend her. She was homeless and the shelters were full. Her kids were cold and she just wanted to give them a place to stay warm for the night. I pulled a few dollars out of my pocket and gave it to her, along with some snacks left over from the staff meeting. From there, I went on my way to meet the rest of the team for dinner.
As I was driving down the road, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Jesus was asking me this question: "Why didn't you give her everything in your pocket?" In truth, I could have given her more. I had a $20 in my pocket but passed it to give her the ones. I thought about the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 where Jesus says that whatever we do to the least is what we do to Him.
Here is where I was hit with the theological truth. Much like in that situation, oftentimes it is easy for us to follow Jesus only halfway. Suppose that was Jesus and I only gave him part of what I had? Even worse, I gave him a small part of what I had. Shouldn't I be giving Jesus everything like I ask my students to give?
There are a bunch of ways to justify my actions. I may need the money later. I still gave something. I don't know how the lady is going to use the money. None of those answers are very satisfying.
So, where do we go from here? Honestly, I'm not sure. I think it is one of those things that I need to wrestle with Jesus about a little more. Starting Saturday, Mizzou and Columbia College students are going to be doing City Lights, the region's alternative Spring Break project. They will be working alongside those who live in the city, learning about God's heart for justice and the poor. My prayer is that they will take to heart the lesson that I am still learning: that following Jesus means giving your everything and showing radical love to everyone.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Help My Friends!!!
Hello, friends!
Below is a video made by two of my friends, Bryan and Samantha. They are two of the happiest and supportive people that I know. Samantha was our reception coordinator and I know that we wouldn't have had the rocking party that we had if it wasn't for all of their hard work. Added to that, Meg and I have been blessed by their friendship these past few years. It even turns out that Samantha's old roommate is my sister's-husband's-sister's current roommate! =0).
Anyway, enjoy the video and please consider... You can also click here to learn more.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Below is a video made by two of my friends, Bryan and Samantha. They are two of the happiest and supportive people that I know. Samantha was our reception coordinator and I know that we wouldn't have had the rocking party that we had if it wasn't for all of their hard work. Added to that, Meg and I have been blessed by their friendship these past few years. It even turns out that Samantha's old roommate is my sister's-husband's-sister's current roommate! =0).
Anyway, enjoy the video and please consider... You can also click here to learn more.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
AAM13...
Hello, friends!
Many of you may be wondering about the lovely acronym that is the title of this blog entry. Am I speaking in code (sort of)? What does it mean? Well, friends, allow me to enlighten you. =0).
AAM13 stands for Asian American Ministries '13, or the conference that Meg and I just attended this past weekend in Long Beach, CA. The official title of the conference was Asian American Ministries Staff Conference '13 but the Twitter hashtag was #aam13 because #aamsc13 was a bit of a beast, I guess.
In InterVarsity, there are approximately 1300 staff serving across the nation on over 550 campuses, reaching over 35,000 students and faculty. Of those 1300 missionaries, a little over 225 of us are of Asian descent. Every 3 years, we Asian American staff gather to build community, learn about the future of our movement, and eat tons of delicious food. It is a rocking good time.
This year, our theme was "Unleashing our Prophetic Imagination." We had a number of artistic elements, slam poetry, original music, original artwork, dance, and such, all with the idea that as Asian Americans, we have something unique that we can bring to the table and we have an obligation to the rest of our brothers and sisters in the movement to make sure our voices are heard, not out of a sense "needing to get ours" but because our place at the table is just as important as any other place.
Every AAM Staff Conference holds something different for me. I went to my first conference in 2007 as a student. It was there that I saw the rich history of Asian American Ministries and was sold on being a part of the movement. In 2010 I went as a relatively young staff and saw the value in having like-minded community as I endured my first hard year on staff. This year, as I saw fewer faces I recognized and more young staff in attendance, I saw how my role is transitioning, from the bright eyed young gun to the veteran leader. I am still in the younger half of AAM staff but I am starting to move closer to the middle of the pack in terms of years served.
However, that wasn't the only lesson that I learned at AAM13. There was also a great reminder of how much God is, and should, be in control. Meg joined me this year and I felt a certain burden to make sure that she had a good time. This became even more apparent to me when I saw that at our first session, we saw the fewest number of non-Asian American staff that I'd ever seen at one of these things. Everyone was super welcoming to her but I wanted to be sure that she felt comfortable at the conference.
So, of course, I get sick. It started with a scratchy throat on Thursday night. It led to body aches and probably a fever on Friday afternoon. I was out of commission until my dizziness subsided Saturday afternoon. Pretty much, for 24 hours or so, I was no good to anyone. During that time I didn't think about it much but looking back I do think it was God's way of telling me that I am not Superman. As much as I would like to believe that it is my job to take care of everything (and everybody) I really don't have that power. Sometimes, you just have to let God do His thing.
Now, I am back in CoMO and mostly better, save for a runny nose. AAM13 is over and it is time to get back to work. There are 8 weeks left in the semester. Let's do this.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Many of you may be wondering about the lovely acronym that is the title of this blog entry. Am I speaking in code (sort of)? What does it mean? Well, friends, allow me to enlighten you. =0).
AAM13 stands for Asian American Ministries '13, or the conference that Meg and I just attended this past weekend in Long Beach, CA. The official title of the conference was Asian American Ministries Staff Conference '13 but the Twitter hashtag was #aam13 because #aamsc13 was a bit of a beast, I guess.
In InterVarsity, there are approximately 1300 staff serving across the nation on over 550 campuses, reaching over 35,000 students and faculty. Of those 1300 missionaries, a little over 225 of us are of Asian descent. Every 3 years, we Asian American staff gather to build community, learn about the future of our movement, and eat tons of delicious food. It is a rocking good time.
This year, our theme was "Unleashing our Prophetic Imagination." We had a number of artistic elements, slam poetry, original music, original artwork, dance, and such, all with the idea that as Asian Americans, we have something unique that we can bring to the table and we have an obligation to the rest of our brothers and sisters in the movement to make sure our voices are heard, not out of a sense "needing to get ours" but because our place at the table is just as important as any other place.
Every AAM Staff Conference holds something different for me. I went to my first conference in 2007 as a student. It was there that I saw the rich history of Asian American Ministries and was sold on being a part of the movement. In 2010 I went as a relatively young staff and saw the value in having like-minded community as I endured my first hard year on staff. This year, as I saw fewer faces I recognized and more young staff in attendance, I saw how my role is transitioning, from the bright eyed young gun to the veteran leader. I am still in the younger half of AAM staff but I am starting to move closer to the middle of the pack in terms of years served.
However, that wasn't the only lesson that I learned at AAM13. There was also a great reminder of how much God is, and should, be in control. Meg joined me this year and I felt a certain burden to make sure that she had a good time. This became even more apparent to me when I saw that at our first session, we saw the fewest number of non-Asian American staff that I'd ever seen at one of these things. Everyone was super welcoming to her but I wanted to be sure that she felt comfortable at the conference.
So, of course, I get sick. It started with a scratchy throat on Thursday night. It led to body aches and probably a fever on Friday afternoon. I was out of commission until my dizziness subsided Saturday afternoon. Pretty much, for 24 hours or so, I was no good to anyone. During that time I didn't think about it much but looking back I do think it was God's way of telling me that I am not Superman. As much as I would like to believe that it is my job to take care of everything (and everybody) I really don't have that power. Sometimes, you just have to let God do His thing.
Now, I am back in CoMO and mostly better, save for a runny nose. AAM13 is over and it is time to get back to work. There are 8 weeks left in the semester. Let's do this.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Updates Ahoy!!!
Hello, friends!
Here's our latest update. I hope you enjoy!
Here's our latest update. I hope you enjoy!
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Friday, March 1, 2013
New Life at UMSL!
Hello, friends!
Happy March to you all. It's funny how February has a tendency to fly by, doesn't it? I guess 28 days doesn't last quite as long as it used to last. =0).
Once, again, we have a wonderful guest post from my beautiful, caring, lovely, and oh so good at her job wife, Meg. Read below about the wonderful things happening at UMSL!
Hello Everybody!
A few days ago the leader of the language specific Bible study let me know he thought Phoebe was ready to accept Jesus but wanted to do so with International Friends. Knowing this, last night when I saw them I asked Phoebe and Penny how their perspective on Jesus had changed since the beginning of the year. Penny pointed out that Phoebe had become a Christian..... I said "Oh really? When did this happen?!?" She said "At Bible study I just had the feeling I was ready. My heart started to pound and I just knew." I asked "So have you prayed about it?" She said "No, I wanted to pray with you about it." I asked if she wanted to do it then, but she said that we could meet up and do it at lunch the next day. Well friends, today was that day. We have a new sister in the Kingdom!
- GLOBAL CAFE SATURDAY. Phoebe will be sharing her story on Saturday @ UMSL. Please pray that other students will say yes to Jesus.
- CALIFORNIA TRIP. I am heading to Cali tomorrow and Meg will be joining me on Thursday. Thursday-Sunday is the Asian American Ministries Staff Conference and I will be heading out a few days early to see my family and meet with some ministry partners. Please pray for journey's mercies and a fruitful time.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Happy March to you all. It's funny how February has a tendency to fly by, doesn't it? I guess 28 days doesn't last quite as long as it used to last. =0).
Once, again, we have a wonderful guest post from my beautiful, caring, lovely, and oh so good at her job wife, Meg. Read below about the wonderful things happening at UMSL!
Hello Everybody!
Andi (the intern Meg is training) & I have exciting news from
UMSL to share! Last semester a curious international student, Pheobe*,
walked up to our table along with her not so curious roommate, Penny*.
As the semester progressed Phoebe became more and more curious about
Jesus, attending both the language specific Bible study at her church
and with us.
A few days ago the leader of the language specific Bible study let me know he thought Phoebe was ready to accept Jesus but wanted to do so with International Friends. Knowing this, last night when I saw them I asked Phoebe and Penny how their perspective on Jesus had changed since the beginning of the year. Penny pointed out that Phoebe had become a Christian..... I said "Oh really? When did this happen?!?" She said "At Bible study I just had the feeling I was ready. My heart started to pound and I just knew." I asked "So have you prayed about it?" She said "No, I wanted to pray with you about it." I asked if she wanted to do it then, but she said that we could meet up and do it at lunch the next day. Well friends, today was that day. We have a new sister in the Kingdom!
Praise God that her family knows her decision and she hopes to share with them & her friends her faith in Jesus! Please
pray for her roommates and the other students that will hear of her
decision this Saturday at our Large Group "Global Cafe" will too say yes to Jesus.
Hooray!!! Isn't that great! Here are a few ways you can be praying for us:
- GLOBAL CAFE SATURDAY. Phoebe will be sharing her story on Saturday @ UMSL. Please pray that other students will say yes to Jesus.
- CALIFORNIA TRIP. I am heading to Cali tomorrow and Meg will be joining me on Thursday. Thursday-Sunday is the Asian American Ministries Staff Conference and I will be heading out a few days early to see my family and meet with some ministry partners. Please pray for journey's mercies and a fruitful time.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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