The Omaha SuperBlog!!!

Hello, friends!

Greetings from beautiful Omaha, Nebraska, home of Warren Buffet, the College World Series, and since January, the Leong Family!

A lot has happened in the past 6 months since Meg and I went on Sabbatical. We moved out of CoMO and into Omaha. We've started our new jobs. Ezra turned 3 and Thaliea turned 1. I ate more than one delicious reuben and more than one bad bowl of beef stew noodle soup. What a mighty eventful 6 months it has been!

Rather than try and cram everything into one blog post, we're going to rock another SuperBlog. I figure that since y'all haven't heard from me in about 6 months, the least i can do is flood y'all with multiple posts. =0).

Below, you'll find a table of contents of sorts. Each link will take you to a new post highlighting a different part of Sabbatical. My hope is that these blog posts will give you some insight into how I spent the past 6 months. The plan is for me to start back up with the regular weekly blog postings in a week or two. Until then...

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Moving
Home-aha
Ruggles
Rest and Rhythms
Finding a home (church)
Adventures in food
So, what now?

Moving...

Hello, friends! 

It's been a little over 6 months since we loaded up the truck, hopped on 70 and left CoMO as home. Moving on January 27, 2018 was a hard thing, in more ways that one. 

Let's start with the logistics. I'd been living in CoMO since 2007 and had been living in that house in one room or another since 2009. During that time, that house was a home base for InterVarsity activities, as well as a marriage and 2 kids. In short, it was full of stuff. When we were ordering the truck, we kept going back and forth between whether or not we should get the 20' or 26' truck. I was pretty sure that we had more stuff than a 20' truck could hold but not by much, and by going with the 20' truck, we'd save some money on the rental and on gas. But, ultimately we decided that it was better safe than sorry so we opted for the big boy. I'm glad we did. 

We started loading up early in the morning. The plan was for us to load up as quickly as possible so we could have some of our friends in Omaha help us unload before it got to dark. It was great having so many friends (and even Aunt Judi!) come to help us load up the truck and say goodbye. We definitely needed all the help we could get. 

Y'all... the stuff just kept coming. We moved everything out of room after room and still the boxes kept flowing. We filled that truck to the brim and even had to leave a thing or two behind. Still, we got it done, said a prayer, and shoved off. 

Before our Christmas trip to California, we drove both cars up to Omaha then left one of them parked up there and drove to Kansas City for our flight. That meant that I drove the moving truck while Meg, Aunt Judi, Ezra, and Thaliea, rode in the van. My dream has always been to be a trucker. Driving along 70 and up 29 by myself in a 26' U-Haul is probably as close as I'll ever get. Without the benefits of conversation, I had a bag of snacks, 2 big bottles of water, and a lot of podcasts to keep me company. It was only a 5 hour trip but it was pretty grueling. 

Arriving at our new house, I realized 3 things. 1) I'd beaten Meg and the van here. 2) I really had to pee. 3) Meg had the keys so there was no way for me to get into the house... After deciding that there was no good place for me to pee outside, I did what any normal person would do: I introduced myself to the neighbors, and asked if I could use their bathroom. =0). 

Honestly, the only reason anyone should ever move to Omaha during January is because it's the beginning of Sabbatical. When I got there, there was ice in the driveway, snow on the ground, and a light dusting coming from the sky. Thankfully, we had friends there to help us unload, and we were able to begin our new lives as citizens of the great state of Nebraska. 

Emotionally, I think I actually did better than I thought I would. You don't spend 10+ years living in a town without having some emotional attachment. CoMO is where I had my first job. It's where Meg and I moved for our first home. It's where Ezra and Thaliea were born. It's where I found Jingo's spicy beef noodle soup. There are a lot of great memories. I wasn't sure how sad I would be to be leaving my home for the past decade. It was sad but I knew that I had a good reason for going and that the life ahead would be a good one. All I had to do was move there...

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Living in Omaha

Hello, friends! 

Before moving to Omaha, I knew very few things about it. I knew the College World Series was there. I knew that Warren Buffet was there. I knew that Omaha steaks were there. I'd driven through a few times and stayed at some houses on my way to and from South Dakota, but the only time I spent any significant time there was in 2017 when I did some training with InterVarsity. Even then, I was at a hotel for most of it so I'm not sure if it really counts. Now that I've been living here for 6 months, I certainly not an expert but I've learned a few things. Some of these things I like and some of these things I like less. 

I like the way the streets are numbered. You start at the river and as you head west, the numbers get higher. I'm pretty sure the street numbers go as high as into the 200's. We live off 48th, so anything that has a triple digit number as a cross street is way out there as far as I'm concerned. 680 and 80 are the interstates that act as dividing lines for Omaha. Anything west of 680 (right around 100th) is "West Omaha." Anything south of 80 is South Omaha. As someone who is really bad with directions, I really appreciate being able to tell which direction I'm going by just reading the street signs. 

You know what is less great about Omaha? The hills. When people think of Nebraska, they think of farms and fields. They probably think of flat. I know I did. That may be true further out west but in Omaha, close to the river, it's really hilly. As someone who loves to bike, especially commuter biking, this has been a big adjustment. I used to make fun of folk who had electric assist bicycles. As far as I was concerned, why bother biking if you're going to have the motor do all the work?! After living in Omaha for a bit, I now understand. =0). 

Here's something great about Omaha: there is a ton for the kids to do. The Omaha Zoo is one of Ezra's favorite places to be and he really likes going to the Children's Museum too. Thaliea is now old enough to start to enjoy those spots, even though she spends most of her time still in the stroller. There are lots of parks around (including one right across the street from us) and while Omaha is about 10 times bigger than CoMO, it's not so big that we're stuck in a car all day trying to get from one thing to another. 

Speaking of being in the car, you know what isn't so great in Omaha? The roads aren't great. Well, at least they aren't great in our neck of the woods. There are potholes and cracks in the pavement everywhere. Again, as a biker, this is less than ideal. I'm learning the safest, least hilly, best kept routes to get from one place to another but sometimes there aren't really great options. Omaha has an app where you can report potholes and such so the City can come and take of things. I'll definitely be using that app quite a bit. 

One of the things we love about our part of Omaha is the diversity. I don't have the exact numbers on me but I know that Omaha is more diverse than CoMO was. There's a decent sized Black population as well as a good number of LatinX folk and a fair amount of refugees from Southeast Asia. Asian grocery stores abound and for the most part, the diversity of cuisine has been a good thing (more on that in a different post). We have really enjoyed living in a more diverse city. 

All said and done, it's been an adjustment but it's been a good adjustment. Each day, it feels more and more like home, which is a good thing. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Ruggles...

Hello, friends! 

One of the hard things about looking for a house when you live out of town is that you have limited time to actually look at houses. When you are moving within town, you can make appointments as houses come onto the market, do your research, and look into the neighborhood, especially if you don't know it already. When you're from out of town, you're cramming as many appointments as possible into your one visit, meaning you're spending less time at each house and not able to do as much research. Add to that the lack of institutional knowledge of a city or neighborhoods, and it can be a pretty stressful time. 

When Meg and I were looking for houses, I kept going back to my realtor said when I started looking for houses in CoMO. He said that the first dozen to two dozen houses were going to be me figuring out what I DIDN'T like. Then, at some point, I'd walk into a house and know that it was the one. That's what happened with the CoMO house, so I figured that we'd be in for a similar ride this time around. The only difference would be that instead of taking 2-3 weeks, we'd be trying to see that dozen or two dozen houses over the course of a day or so. 

A few houses were eliminated for us. We'd go online, see a house that we liked, add it to our "check out this one when we visit Omaha" list, then see that it was sold before we even had a chance to get into town. That hurt a bit. However, when we DID get into town, that's when the fun started. Friends, we saw some rough houses. There was one house that was fish-bowled in the kitchen, so everything ran towards the middle of the room. There was the house that was huge with lots of rooms, had that creepy, old school Victorian, murder mystery house kind of vibe. We saw a house that had a kitchen on the second floor (they don't show you that in the photos). Then, we saw the house on Ruggles Street. 

Growing up, I'd gotten into my head that you've finally "arrived" as an adult when you have a two story house. Most of the houses we looked at were two story but were also kind of too small. Our house is a ranch with all sorts of room. Just like the CoMO house, both the main floor and the basement have big living areas, perfect for hosting (and we've learned perfect for running around if you're a 3-year-old). The house was completely renovated, meaning the appliances, paint, and everything was new (although we also see now that the workmanship isn't perfect). What really sold me on the house though, was Ruggles Street itself. We walked into the house, absolutely fell in love with it, and walked out wondering if we'd found our house. As we pulled out of the driveway to the last house on our list, I saw Black, LatinX, and Asian kids all walking home from school. Ruggles was going to suit me just fine. 

Since moving in, we've only had it confirmed that we picked the right house and the right neighborhood. Meg has already made friends with a woman who lives down the street with 4 kids (the youngest 2 are a little older than Ezra and Thaliea). I've become known to the kids in the neighborhood as the "bike pump guy" for when their tires are flat. We're next to a park and not too far from some great coffee shops. (We actually have 2 coffee shops that are right next to each other. Meg's favorite has story time for the kids on Fridays. My favorite is a coffee shop AND a bike shop. How perfect is that?!). 

I knew that making Omaha home was going to take some time, especially after spending 10+ connected to CoMO. Ruggles Street has been a huge part of making that process go a lot faster. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Rest and Rhythms...

Hello, friends! 

Even though there were a lot of things that needed to get done during our Sabbatical, moving out, moving in, finding a church, getting the kids into daycare, buying a zoo membership, etc., the most important thing for us was supposed to be 6 months to intentionally reflect on the years of work that we've done while being able to rest and prepare for this next season of ministry. I would be remiss if I didn't spend at least one blog post on what I learned over Sabbatical. So, here are a few lessons from my time without work. 

1. Learning to rest is hard work! My original plan was to treat Sabbatical like resting was my job. I was going to try to get in 40 hours of spiritual formation and rest in during a week, just like if I was still working. That. Was. Terrible. Friends, when you're used to working a certain way, getting up at a certain hour, and getting certain things done, breaking out of that habit is actually harder than it looks. I had to give myself permission to sleep in a bit. I had to learn to be OK with not having any discernible accomplishments at the end of the day. I had to re-learn how to take a nap! By the end of the Sabbatical I was much better at resting well but it did take some time, and I was surprised by that. 
2. Not all rhythms are created equal. I've said many times before that I'm a rhythm guy. I work best when I build my day around rhythms and structures. Without having ministry work to do, my days were considerably more free, allowing me to focus on my rhythms and see which ones really mattered. I saw that I had "sustaining rhythms" which were the things I needed to do in order to do my jobs well. Through 10 years of ministry a lot of sustaining rhythms were stacked on top of each other, leading to a lot of work but not necessarily a lot of life. "Thriving rhythms" are the things that give me life and I'm in a better place when I keep up these rhythms but I'm not totally off my game if something doesn't go according to plan. Where I was really surprised was when I discovered that I have some "essential rhythms." These are the things I need to do everyday in order to survive. For example, 15 minutes with Jesus in the morning before Meg and the kids get up is an essential rhythm because it reaped more benefit to me than an hour of Jesus time later in the day after my brain was already thinking about a bunch of stuff. It was fun to discover these essential rhythms and incorporate them into daily life. 
3. Life is really different now from when I started. This may seem like a truism. Of course things are different. I'm married. I have 2 kids. I live in Omaha instead of Columbia. Still, while on Sabbatical I was able to reflect more on just how much life has changed for me while I've been working for InterVarsity. I am so thankful for all the things that God has provided for me over these past 11 years like a home, a family, and a calling. In many ways, the move wasn't an easy one. I didn't expect to leave Southern California before I did. I didn't expect to leave St. Louis before I did. I didn't expect to leave CoMO before I did. Now I'm here in Omaha and I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness in every step of the journey. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Finding a Home (Church)...

Hello, friends! 

When we were planning our Sabbatical (still living in CoMO), we knew that a big part of making Omaha feel like home would be us finding a church and building community that way. We figured that we'd move at the end of January, spend February looking for churches, then have a decision by March or April at the latest. That is what we like to call "wishful thinking." 

Friends, looking for a church is hard work! For one, there are a lot of churches in the area. Omaha is a well churched city, which means there are a lot of different options. For two, Meg and I had to decide what our core values were in what kind of church we wanted to be a part of? What was most important to us? Were there certain theological or ecclesiastical "must haves" or "can't haves?" There were a lot of questions and conversations that needed to happen around this decision. 

One of the things we decided to do after we first moved to CoMO was to look for a church together. I'd been going to a church before we got married but we wanted where we worshiped to be a decision we made as a married couple. Back then, our priority was a vibrant young couples population. Since we were new at being a married couple and Meg was new to CoMO, we wanted to make sure that we would have a community where folk were in a similar life stage and we could all go through those life stages together. We were blessed to have found that community and were happy to be a part of that church family. 

Moving to Omaha, our priorities were a little different. Now, a good children's ministry was high on our list. We were also looking for a church with ethnic diversity and one that affirmed women in leadership. When we first moved to CoMO, ethnic diversity and the affirmation of women in leadership were important values to us but they weren't deal breakers. What a difference a few years makes, eh? 

I'm happy to say that it was a few months behind schedule but we've committed to Bridge Church in Omaha. Along with a great children's ministry, a diverse congregation, and a woman on the pastoral team, Bridge also has great worship and is a walkable distance from our house. We've already walked to Sunday celebration a few times this summer. We are excited to be part of Bridge Church and are looking for ways to serve. Meg has already signed up to help with the Children's ministry and I've met with one of the pastors about potential leadership and training opportunities. 

No church is perfect. Our church in CoMO wasn't and Bridge isn't either. Still, we felt peace about attending then and we feel great peace about attending now. We're so thankful for the ways that we've been welcomed into the church community and are looking forward to this next season of growth. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Adventures in Food...

Hello, friends! 

When I moved to Omaha, I knew that it was going to be an adjustment. However, like I told a number of people, if I could find my bike routes and a decent spicy beef noodle soup, I'd be set. Living in CoMO, two of the things that I loved the most were being able to bike pretty much anywhere I needed to be, and Jingo's/Seasonings 63's spicy beef noodle soup. Getting those things locked in were going to be key to my adjustment. 

I've more or less figured out my bike routes, although biking is much more difficult in Omaha because of the traffic, the hills, and the terrible roads. 

But the Chinese food in Omaha is no good.

Like, pretty bad

As in, no spicy beef noodle soup anywhere

Friends, I have tried a number of places and looked a number of different menus. Most of the Chinese places around here are of the "cheap Chinese" variety, meaning they do Americanized Chinese food and lunch specials. They do what they do quite well but their soups are side dishes of the hot and spicy, egg drop, and wonton variety. Another spot does decent Schezuan cuisine but they spicy beef noodle soup is more of a stew. One place served me slices of beef and noodles in a chicken broth. The waiter looked at me and said, "I don't think this is what you were thinking it would be." It was not. 

Thankfully, I got saved by a friend of mine. No, he didn't find me a hidden gem for spicy beef noodle soup. However, he did alert me to the fact that the Reuben, my favorite sandwich, was invented on Omaha. A new quest was afoot! 

For two months straight, my friend and I would visit a new Reuben spot each week to see if we could find the best Reuben in all of Omaha. We went to deli's. We went to pubs. We went to chain restaurants. We went to holes in the wall. I ate a lot of corned beef and I absolutely loved it. 

After 2 months of experimentation, we had 2 spots that rose above the rest. Schwartz's deli had a beautiful rye bread, a great meat to sauce ratio, and wonderful french fries to compliment the sandwich. However, the winner was actually our first stop, the original, Crescent Moon. For our last foray into Reuben judging, we went back to Crescent Moon and ordered extra sauerkraut and extra sauce. Those little changes made for a practically perfect sandwich. (NOTE: The best Reuben in the world is still O'Connell's Pub in St. Louis). There's a reason Crescent Moon was voted "Omaha's Best Reuben" in 2017. 

Since then, I've had a few more culinary adventures. I've found some really tasty fried chicken (I'm looking at you, Time Out Foods), eaten some really great chicken wings (Thanks, Ray's Original!), and had more than my share of "meh" Asian cuisine (names will not be mentioned to protect the innocent). 

Even though I don't drink coffee, I have also found a coffee shop where I like to work and have meetings. Omaha Bicycle Company combines 4 of my favorite things: It has a a decent hot chocolate (usually, the better the coffee, the worse the hot chocolate), is close enough to bike to, it has bikes on the walls and is an actual bike shop, and plays alternative music and classic rock. It's pretty much the best thing ever. =0). 

We're still only a few months in of living here in Omaha. I know there are new restaurants to try and new foods to sample. Thus far, it has been an adventure and much of it has been disappointing. But, that Reuben though...

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

My New Role...

Hello, friends!

Whenever I meet people, eventually the conversation turns towards vocation. I guess that's just one of the things that adults do. We talk about our work. I tell folk that Meg and I work for InterVarsity as campus missionaries. The next questions is always, "what campus are you at then?" What follows from there is an explanation that we're not doing as much work in the field but more staff supervision. That usually leads to a nice smile and a move to other topics. It's a conversation that's happened at least 50 times since we've moved here. I don't mind it but it seems like it would be a good idea to explain to you all, my wonderful ministry partners, exactly what I'll be doing with my time. 

My official title is Regional Coordinator for Ministry Partnership Development (MPD) for the Central Region. That does NOT fit well on a business card, nor does it make a whole lot of sense if you don't know the InterVarsity lingo. In layman's terms, it means this: I help the staff in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska get funded. 

Of course, the big question is how I actually do that. My job consists of 3 main parts: Coaching, Procurement, and Innovation. 

Coaching is as exactly like it sounds. I'm currently coaching a few staff around the Region in their MPD. We have weekly video chats where I check in on what work has been done, talk through any questions they may have, and talk about what work needs to happen this next week. It's fun work and I enjoy talking with staff and helping them along in their MPD journeys. 

Procurement means raising funds for the Region. Our Regional office does all sorts of fun stuff including paying for various conferences and grants to staff. I want to make sure that we have enough funds available to do the things we need to do as well as a little extra so we can dream. As someone who loves MPD, this part of the job is definitely a lot of fun. 

Innovation is my favorite part of the job. Friends, I have ideas. I have ideas about how to train new staff in MPD. I have ideas on how to make MPD more equitable and just. I have ideas on how to make our MPD more effective. I have ideas on how to change the culture around MPD so it's not a necessary evil but a joy and a life giving part of ministry. I have all sorts of ideas. What I ovea bout this job is that I now have the freedom to try to implement these ideas. When I was doing Regional MPD work as a hobby before, I had other campus obligations that took priority over my "side job." I certainly didn't mind my division of time; it was just reality. 

Now, however, pretty much all my time gets to be spend on the MPD side of things. I still have some hours devoted to directing the Asian American Ministries pilot project but it's a separate job and one that will take a back seat to my Regional Coordinator role if push comes to shove. 

Thus far, I've already loved to job so much. More than one person has noted that when I get to explaining my job they can hear the passion in my voice. I love the vision that comes with the job and I love the impact I get to have within the movement. It's been a pretty great ride. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam