Onward to Orlando!

Hello, friends! 

Across the United States, there are roughly 2600 college campuses with at least 1000 students. InterVarsity has the goal of seeing a campus ministry presence, whether it be InterVarsity, a different para-church ministry (Cru, Navigators, etc.), or a local church by 2030. Currently, there is campus work on 1900 or so of those campuses. (NOTE: Want to help us reach our goal? You can visit https://everycampus.com) to learn more! 

One of the ways we're trying to reach that goal is by diverting resources towards parts of the country that are considered "Underserved Geographies." Nebraska, with work on 5 of the 44 colleges in the state, is considered one of those "Underserved Geographies," which means extra coaching and extra resources to move the movement forward. One of those resources includes a retreat with the other underserved geographies in Orlando this year. 

Megan and I aren't technically part of the Nebraska team (our roles are on the Regional level) but since we've been helping out with the work locally (like in Lincoln and at Bellevue) we've been invited to participate in the retreat this year. Which means we're going to Orlando!!!

From Tuesday-Thursday, we'll be outside the Orlando area for our retreat. We decided that since we'll already be in the area, we should tack on our 10th anniversary celebration, so we're actually flying into Orlando on Saturday and spending Sunday and Monday at Harry Potter World!!! 

To say that I'm stoked would be like saying that Dobby was a hero (IYKYK). I'm not a huge theme park guy but I am a big Harry Potter guy so the chance to pay out the nose to visit Hogsmeade and Hogwarts was too good to pass up. Added to that, this will be the first time since before Ezra was born that Megan and I will take an actual vacation without the kids! (They'll be up with my in-laws). 

Here are a few ways you can be praying for us:

- Pray for the kids. This will be the longest they've gone without either one of us around. I know they'll do great but bedtimes may be a bit of a struggle. Also, pray for my in-laws. They may need some extra patience. =0). 

- Pray for our meetings. We'd love to connect with our coworkers and have a Holy Spirit vision for what could be in Nebraska, especially for this next year. 

- Pray for our vacation. Pray that we'd actually have a restful time celebrating our anniversary together! 

- Pray for our house. There's a chance of thunderstorms throughout the week in Omaha, which means there's always a chance our basement could flood. Please pray that God would protect our house while we're gone. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

Lessons from Camp...

Hello, friends! 

Many of you may know that one of the accomplishments that I'm most proud of in life is that I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 2003. It was a close call (VERY CLOSE) but I got there and no doubt, at least part of who I am today is because of my involvement in scouting. 

This weekend, Ezra went to his first ever Cub Scout Camp! It was such a fun time seeing him learn, play with his friends, sleep in a tent, do fun and exciting things, and generally have a good time. It was also tons of fun being able to spend some quality time with him.

It had been a while since I'd been to a Scout Camp (or really camping in general!) so here are a few lessons I learned from the weekend: 

- The big mosquito net is worth it. I was looking at our packing list and saw the one thing we were missing was a mosquito net, so I went down to Bass Pro to get one. There were 3 options: small, medium, and large. The small was only for a single person, so I knew that wouldn't work for us. The question was whether or not we needed to pay the extra money for a large. Friends, it may have been the best decision I made all weekend. Our net was spacious. It kept out the bugs (including some ticks!). It allowed for Ezra to roll around while he sleeps. It was, to quote Vax Varvatu... GLORIOUS! 

- The boy loves to fish: At camp, Ezra got to do all sorts of things. He rode in a canoe. He climbed a rock wall. He shot a bow and arrow and a BB gun. He built a bat habitat and used a 3D printer. He slept in a tent for the first time ever. Still, if you'll ask him what his favorite moment of the whole camping trip was, it would be the 10 minutes he spent fishing and the bass he caught. The boy is an angler for sure!

 - Boys stay silly... and that's OK. Our camp counselors were mostly scouts and mostly high school boys. It was perfect for our campers. There was a definite connection as counselor and scout alike enjoyed running around, being outside, and making fart jokes. On Friday and Saturday night, we had campfires with the whole camp. The counselors did skits, some involving bananas and shaving cream. Ezra loved every minute of it. 

All in all, it was such a great experience. Ezra is stoked to go back again next year, which is totally fine by me. Next year, we may be joined by Thaliea, which would be totally cool. If that's the case, it'll be fun for us to have this as our first scout camp trip together. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

15 years!!!

Hello, friends! 

While I wasn't technically OFFICIALLY hired until August 1, 2007, since today is the start of the new ministry year, I'm celebrating finishing up 15 years of ministry with InterVarsity! Time flies when you're having fun! 

The past 15 years have been absolutely wild. I've lived in St. Louis, Columbia, and now Omaha. I've directly worked with students from WashU (#GoBears), Mizzou, Columbia College, Lincoln University, Missouri State, Creighton University, Bellevue University, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Boston University, Texas A&M, The Ohio State University, and the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I've tried my hand at planting or staffing Asian American chapters, Black Campus Ministry chapters, Multi-ethnic chapters, and Nurses Christian Fellowships. I've been a planter, a Team Leader, and Associate Area Director, and now a Regional Ministry Coordinator. I've been a part of leading projects for the National MPD department and Asian American ministries. I got married and had 3 kids. I've cried exactly 4 times (including twice in the past 18 months). God has been very, very good. 

In 2006, when I first heard the call to consider staff, I heard very clearly from God what I was going to be serving college students for the next "season of life." I had no idea that this next season would be 15 years (and counting!). I remember meeting staff who had been with InterVarsity for 20 years and thinking they were "lifers," wondering how they could be so faithful for so long. Now, here I am, 15 years later, seeing 20 on the horizon as a very real possibility. 

Of course, it hasn't been all good. Chapters have failed and been shut down. I've made my share of ministry mistakes. There have been some really tough seasons of ministry when it seemed like nothing was going right. And yet, God was (and is) still good. 

So, here's to year 16! Who knows what it will bring. This is normally where I say something like, "Here's to (at least) 15 more!" or something like that. But, the truth is that I have no idea what's on horizon. All I know for sure is that God has blessed me these past 15 years, and at this point, I have no intention of ending this InterVarsity "season" anytime soon. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam