Farewell, FloValley!

Hello, friends! 

Yesteday was a kind of bittersweet day in InterVarsity Adam Land.  It was the last day Robert (the intern) and I were going to be on campus at FloValley.  Much like we had been doing all semester, the plan was to do an interactive evangelistic display (called a "Proxe Station) in the student center and see what conversations could come out of it.  Just like always, we got there, we set up the Proxe, our one core student joined us, we had a few conversations, I picked up some pizza from Sam's Club, we ate lunch, we cleaned up, and we went home. 

To be honest, driving home at the end of the day was a little frustrating.  Robert and I had spent the entire year trying to get something going at FloValley.  We called, texted, Facebooked, and otherwise stalked potential core students to no avail.  Some took semesters off.  Others moved.  Some got new phone numbers and didn't tell us.  Some we are still not sure what happened to them.  We bought a lot of pizza and had a lot of conversations but the fruit that we saw was low compared to the input.  We started this semester with 4 core students and tons of potential.  We will end with 1 core student and no plans to continue planting there anytime soon. 

Right now you are probably thinking that this is a really depressing post.  I promise, this is where it gets better.  =0).

As I was hanging out with Jesus this morning, looking back on the day that was, it hit me that there was actually a lot of hope in one of the conversations that I had yesterday. 

Lillian came by asking what we were doing.  I told her and as we went through the Proxe, we had a conversation about her.  It turns out that she is with the Cru group on campus and that this is her first semester leading a bible study.  In fact, she has an event happening on campus tomorrow (Wednesday) that will be a sort of open mic kind of thing.  We talked for a bit and she went on her way. 

While I was having the conversation with Lillian, the thought that I had was that this was another conversation going nowhere.  I had a serious case of cynicism, thinking, "Just like everyone else on campus, here was another Christian doing her thing but probably has no idea what it means to really follow Jesus."  (Note: I have repented of that attitude since then). 

Jesus kicked my butt this morning and he showed me that conversation in a new light.  Here's what it is.  InterVarsity may be leaving, but Cru is still there.  There are still students doing stuff for the Kingdom.  There is still the potential for lives to be changed and for FloValley's campus to be renewed.  It may not happen through InterVarsity, but if it happens, then who cares how? 

So, with that, I say farewell to Florissant Valley Community College.  I trust that Jesus is going to continue to do good work there on campus.  I believe that the faculty and students who I met who are followers of Jesus will continue to fight the good fight and win souls for the Kingdom.  I will not leave with a sense of failure or regret but rather of hope, that someone later will be able to finish the work that has already been started. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam