Hello, friends!
Today, 5 Columbia College students, 15 Mizzou students, and I will head to Saint Louis for the City Lights Spring Break project. We are going to spend the next 7 days in one of the greatest cities in the world (in my opinion anyway) learning about God's heart for the poor and the role that we can play in bringing reconciliation to the world.
Every year City Lights does something amazing in the lives of students. I've been involved with InterVarsity for 11 years now and I think this is City Lights 8 or 9 for me. Each year I've seen students lives changed or at least the beginning of the process. It's a fun week.
Some would say that getting up @ 6:15 every morning is not a great way to spend your Spring Break. In many ways, they would be correct. Still, there is something about being in community and working alongside those who live in the city to heal the city that makes you glad to get up in the morning.
Friends, please be praying for us this week. Pray for the students, that God will soften their hearts and give them eyes to see and ears to hear what He has for them. Pray for us staff, that we will be able to guide the students well and hear from Jesus ourselves. Pray for the city, that our small contribution will be part of a larger healing process.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Root Beer Kegger!!!
Hello, friends!
Tonight is going to be a very special night. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, for large group we are going to be having our annual root beer Kegger! 7.5 gallons of the finest root beer Columbia has to offer plus ice cream for floats and fixins for sundaes too.
Our goal is not only to get folk hopped up on caffeine and sugar so they can study for Midterms but also create an easy entrance point for our friends to enter the acf world. You may not be ready for bible study and giving your life to Jesus but who doesn't want a free root beer float? It is a way for us to build community with one another and have some fun while doing it.
So, if you remember, please pray for us tonight. Pray for new connections to be made and for much fun to be had. Pray for good times, good fun and Fellowship. Pray for an empty keg and full stomachs. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Hooray for Midterms
Hello, friends!
As I write this, many of our students are participating in the Asian American Association's 10 hour study session. While most students will be floating in and out of the session, some brave (or maybe desperate) souls will spend 10 hours today preparing for the exams ahead. It is a trying and tense time for many students, especially the freshmen who weren't quite ready for Midterms last semester but have seemingly learned their lessons.
Friends, would you take a moment and pray with me for the students who are studying so hard. Please pray that they would find peace as they study. Also pray for their health as many forego sleep during this time. Finally, please pray that students would not actually find their worth in their midterm grades but actually in who Jesus has called them to be.
Have a excellent day!
~Adam
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Competitive Juices
Hello, friends!
This weekend I had the pleasure of getting together with other men from my church for an in-town Men's retreat. We went from 7-10 on Friday Night and then 9-1 on Saturday afternoon. It was a fun time of networking, worship, and a revisioning for what it could look like for men to actually enter into intentional friendships with one another. I met a lot of great guys and heard a word from Jesus about what next steps might be in terms of getting more involved at church.
Praise Jesus, the one thing that I was praying wouldn't rear its ugly head stayed home and I was able to make a number of connections. I, of course, am talking about my hyper-competitiveness.
Friday night was a night devoted to fellowship and the game of choice was washers. There wasn't any program Friday night, just a washers tournament. Washers is a simple game. There is a box with a cup in the middle of it. You get three points for throwing your washer into the cup and one for getting it into the box. You and your opponent both throw 4 washers and at the end of the round, whoever had more points in that round scores based on net points (i.e. if you got 6 points and I got 4, your score for that round would be 2). The first to 11 wins. First everyone played 2 random matches then the top 16 scores moved on to the tournament. The funny thing is that I actually won the tournament and now have a giant washer sitting in my living room as a trophy. =0).
Here's the thing about being hyper-competitive. I believe there are those who primarily love to win and those who primarily hate to lose. Folk who love to win are more of the trash-talking type. They are the ones who will let everyone know who is the champ and tend to be the louder of the two types. On the other hand are the folk who hate to lose. These are the ones who spend most the their time talking to themselves, trying to psych themselves up and always getting down on themselves when mistakes are made. I believe that everyone who is hyper-competitive has both of these characteristics but one usually comes out more strongly than the other.
Me? I am definitely someone who hates to lose. I'm the guy who is always analyzing my game, trying to get better so I never have to suffer another loss again. If I wasn't perfect and we lose, it was my fault. It usually leads to me getting into a bit of a mood when I am competing. I won't talk a lot of trash but I won't acknowledge anyone much either.
You can see how this would be a problem at a men's retreat where the primary focus is fellowship and getting to know other guys, right? Happy, conversational, gregarious Adam very well could have turned into bitter, talks-to-himself, brooding Adam very quickly. Thankfully, by the grace of God, I was able to keep that in check and stay involved in conversation with guys even as I was lamenting every missed shot and mentally berating myself for poor form. Some of it still came out (one common comment from the men was that I "looked intense and focused" as I was throwing) but overall I'd like to think that I acquitted myself well.
So, friends, there you have it. That is my confession. I am a highly competitive person and sometimes it makes it hard for me to make friends. But you probably already knew that, right? Pray for me. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
This weekend I had the pleasure of getting together with other men from my church for an in-town Men's retreat. We went from 7-10 on Friday Night and then 9-1 on Saturday afternoon. It was a fun time of networking, worship, and a revisioning for what it could look like for men to actually enter into intentional friendships with one another. I met a lot of great guys and heard a word from Jesus about what next steps might be in terms of getting more involved at church.
Praise Jesus, the one thing that I was praying wouldn't rear its ugly head stayed home and I was able to make a number of connections. I, of course, am talking about my hyper-competitiveness.
Friday night was a night devoted to fellowship and the game of choice was washers. There wasn't any program Friday night, just a washers tournament. Washers is a simple game. There is a box with a cup in the middle of it. You get three points for throwing your washer into the cup and one for getting it into the box. You and your opponent both throw 4 washers and at the end of the round, whoever had more points in that round scores based on net points (i.e. if you got 6 points and I got 4, your score for that round would be 2). The first to 11 wins. First everyone played 2 random matches then the top 16 scores moved on to the tournament. The funny thing is that I actually won the tournament and now have a giant washer sitting in my living room as a trophy. =0).
Here's the thing about being hyper-competitive. I believe there are those who primarily love to win and those who primarily hate to lose. Folk who love to win are more of the trash-talking type. They are the ones who will let everyone know who is the champ and tend to be the louder of the two types. On the other hand are the folk who hate to lose. These are the ones who spend most the their time talking to themselves, trying to psych themselves up and always getting down on themselves when mistakes are made. I believe that everyone who is hyper-competitive has both of these characteristics but one usually comes out more strongly than the other.
Me? I am definitely someone who hates to lose. I'm the guy who is always analyzing my game, trying to get better so I never have to suffer another loss again. If I wasn't perfect and we lose, it was my fault. It usually leads to me getting into a bit of a mood when I am competing. I won't talk a lot of trash but I won't acknowledge anyone much either.
You can see how this would be a problem at a men's retreat where the primary focus is fellowship and getting to know other guys, right? Happy, conversational, gregarious Adam very well could have turned into bitter, talks-to-himself, brooding Adam very quickly. Thankfully, by the grace of God, I was able to keep that in check and stay involved in conversation with guys even as I was lamenting every missed shot and mentally berating myself for poor form. Some of it still came out (one common comment from the men was that I "looked intense and focused" as I was throwing) but overall I'd like to think that I acquitted myself well.
So, friends, there you have it. That is my confession. I am a highly competitive person and sometimes it makes it hard for me to make friends. But you probably already knew that, right? Pray for me. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Friday, March 7, 2014
Representing and Reaching the Nations...
Hello, friends!
There are many things I love about working with Megan here in Columbia. I love how she teaches me about hospitality, usually thinking of things that I wouldn't when it comes to hosting people. I love how great of a trainer she is. I love that ACF Large Group is now 87% more delicious when she cooks. =0). The list could go on for a while.
One of my favorite things though, is how she takes international student ministry to a whole new level here at Mizzou. Let's be honest, I am not an expert when it comes to reaching international students. We have always had a fair number of the hanging out with us in ACF and we were always glad to have them, but it wasn't because of anything intentional that I was doing. If a student wanted to reach international students, I was all for it and would empower them anyway I could. I'm just not skilled enough to lead the charge.
All that has changed since Megan has gotten here. Today one of our two international bible studies met. Here were the nations represented: Singapore, Malaysia, China, Nigeria, Ghana, and the United States. It is entirely possible that I am forgetting about a country or two too!
Friends, it is so great being able to see the Gospel go to so many nations without even having to cross state lines. Would you please pray with Megan and me as she continues to do amazing work and I get to help every now and then? Pray especially that international Christians would catch the vision to reach their friends with the Gospel.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Thursday, March 6, 2014
A Psalm
Hello, friends!
One of my favorite things I have been doing this semester has been meeting with some of the younger students on Thursdays to talk and learn to do some prayer together. It has been a lot of fun to see their eagerness to try new things, especially in terms of prayer. Last week we wrote our own psalms in the style of Psalm 136, which is the one where every other line is "your love ensures forever. " We each picked a phrase then used it to thank God for the ways that he blessed us the past week. It was fun to hear from folk their passes and why they saw Good The way they did. (My phrase was "God, you are so awesome" because I think that word is thrown around a lot and I wanted to remind myself of what awesome really means)
Or challenge was to write it again sometime this week and share it with folk. I figure, what better way to do that then by blogging about it? So, here is my second Psalm.
For everything that You do and have done
Thank you, Lord for being with me
Inhealing me of my migraines
Thank you, Lord for being with me
In speaking through me at Large Group
Thank you, Lord for being with me
In giving me rest when I need it
Thank you, Lord for being with me
In sweet times of conversation with friends and family
Thank you, Lord for being with me
In times of administration and paperwork
Thank you, Lord for being with me
In every part of my day
Thank you, Lord for being with me
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Playing Through the Pain...
Hello, friends!
We are just a few days into March, which means we are early into 2014 and already we may have a problem with one of my New Year's resolutions.
One of the resolutions on the top of my list was to be able to swim a mile in 30 minutes. Now, understand, this was a hard task from the get, seeing how it takes me about 25 minutes to swim a half mile. But, for the past 2 weeks I have had a nagging knee problem that has kept my swim workouts, or really any workouts, to a minimum. I'm not sure if it's a bone bruise or a muscle bruise or whatever but it definitely hurts when I bend my knees or try to put too much pressure on it, which makes exercising kind of tough.
Fear not, my friends, we'll fight through it just fine but it may take a few days of rest and some healing prayer. If you have the gift of healing, now would be a good time to put that into action. =0).
I have always had quite an injury history, which is kind of a bummer. Ever since I was little, I've dealt with asthma, knee problems, migraines, turned ankles, muscle pulls, and the like. Some folk just aren't meant to be athletes, I suppose.
Every time I get injured the though that always comes to mind is "why me?" The second thought is one of "I can get through this, no problem." Honestly, neither one of those places is probably a good place to be. A better place is probably a remembrance that the body I have now is a temporary one and that soon enough, I am going to be given a new body. I hope that one can dunk.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
We are just a few days into March, which means we are early into 2014 and already we may have a problem with one of my New Year's resolutions.
One of the resolutions on the top of my list was to be able to swim a mile in 30 minutes. Now, understand, this was a hard task from the get, seeing how it takes me about 25 minutes to swim a half mile. But, for the past 2 weeks I have had a nagging knee problem that has kept my swim workouts, or really any workouts, to a minimum. I'm not sure if it's a bone bruise or a muscle bruise or whatever but it definitely hurts when I bend my knees or try to put too much pressure on it, which makes exercising kind of tough.
Fear not, my friends, we'll fight through it just fine but it may take a few days of rest and some healing prayer. If you have the gift of healing, now would be a good time to put that into action. =0).
I have always had quite an injury history, which is kind of a bummer. Ever since I was little, I've dealt with asthma, knee problems, migraines, turned ankles, muscle pulls, and the like. Some folk just aren't meant to be athletes, I suppose.
Every time I get injured the though that always comes to mind is "why me?" The second thought is one of "I can get through this, no problem." Honestly, neither one of those places is probably a good place to be. A better place is probably a remembrance that the body I have now is a temporary one and that soon enough, I am going to be given a new body. I hope that one can dunk.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, March 2, 2014
The Wonders of Techonolgy
Hello, friends!
I'm posting from incredibly cold Columbia, MO, where one (hopefully) final polar vortex is currently making its way through town. We didn't catch a ton of snow like earlier this season but we definitely have our share of ice and ridiculously cold winds and such right now.
All this has made me really thankful for technology and the advances that we have made in the past bunch of years. I know that not everything that technology has brought us has been positive but there are some times where it isn't so bad. Here's an example.
Yesterday we were supposed to have our Columbia Team meeting, with the interns and the volunteers. One of the interns lives really close to us but the other intern and both volunteers live on opposite sides of town. We were worried with the weather that we would have to cancel the meeting since it was not safe to drive.
Enter, the wonders of technology. Because the storm wasn't as bad as anticipated 5 out of the 6 of us were able to make the meeting but one of our volunteers couldn't make the trip. Still, she was able to join us via Skype, which was a great thing seeing how we only meet together once a month.
This got me thinking about the other ways that technology has made ministry easier. I can now post video messages for our leaders meetings. We have Facebook pages and group texts to get information out quickly. I can even schedule when posts are going to happen so I don't have to worry about constantly being by my computer. It's a beautiful thing.
Well, it's a beautiful thing if I make the most of it for the glory of the kingdom. I think that's one of the keys I have been learning about technology. It has the chance to give me more time but I have to use that time wisely. Playing Candy Crush probably isn't the wisest use of the it. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
I'm posting from incredibly cold Columbia, MO, where one (hopefully) final polar vortex is currently making its way through town. We didn't catch a ton of snow like earlier this season but we definitely have our share of ice and ridiculously cold winds and such right now.
All this has made me really thankful for technology and the advances that we have made in the past bunch of years. I know that not everything that technology has brought us has been positive but there are some times where it isn't so bad. Here's an example.
Yesterday we were supposed to have our Columbia Team meeting, with the interns and the volunteers. One of the interns lives really close to us but the other intern and both volunteers live on opposite sides of town. We were worried with the weather that we would have to cancel the meeting since it was not safe to drive.
Enter, the wonders of technology. Because the storm wasn't as bad as anticipated 5 out of the 6 of us were able to make the meeting but one of our volunteers couldn't make the trip. Still, she was able to join us via Skype, which was a great thing seeing how we only meet together once a month.
This got me thinking about the other ways that technology has made ministry easier. I can now post video messages for our leaders meetings. We have Facebook pages and group texts to get information out quickly. I can even schedule when posts are going to happen so I don't have to worry about constantly being by my computer. It's a beautiful thing.
Well, it's a beautiful thing if I make the most of it for the glory of the kingdom. I think that's one of the keys I have been learning about technology. It has the chance to give me more time but I have to use that time wisely. Playing Candy Crush probably isn't the wisest use of the it. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Saturday, March 1, 2014
International Party!
Hello, friends!
Here are some photos from the international party that we had today. Megan and one of our international small groups hosted the party.
It was great not only to eat delicious food and play games but also to see how much ownership the students had over the party. The students who are a part of the small group did a great job inviting their friends and organizing everything.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)