Dog Sitting!

Hello, friends!

So, if you know anything about me, you know that I'm a pretty competitive guy, which means that I'm looking for competition wherever I can find it. One of the ways that manifests itself is that I love to make little challenges or side bets in conversation. Usually, it doesn't come to anything but sometimes it backfires spectacularly.

A few years back, Megan and I were talking and she mentioned that she wanted a dog at some point. This is no secret as she grew up with dogs and she's always made it known that she wanted a dog. It's probably a conversation that we'd had before and would have again. But for some reason, my competitive nature kicked in and I decided that I'd offer a challenge. 

"We'll get a dog as soon as we also get a tortoise." 

The gamble was simple. There's no way that Megan would want a tortoise (even though tortoises are the best) so she'd say "no" and then we'd be good to go until the next time it came up in conversation. 

But then came the blockbuster... 

"Deal." 

I guess we're getting a dog then! =0). 

Seriously though, I have no problem getting a dog (plus I'm getting a tortoise now!). Megan and the kids are convinced that I don't like dogs but that's not actually true. The only reason they think I don't like dogs is because I don't like dogs as much as THEY like dogs. But dogs are cool with me. 

We got a little bit of a taste of what it'll be like to have a dog in the house this past week. My in-laws are on a cruise right now and left their chocolate lab with us. Gracie has been to our house lots of times before but never for this long and never without Jean and Dave also there, so we knew this was going to be a new experience for all of us. 

Honestly, it was perfectly fine. I was a little worried that the novelty of caring for a dog would wear off on the kids but it's the end of the week and they're still clamoring for turns feeding Gracie, giving her a bone, and cleaning up her poop in the yard. Gracie is a pretty chill dog too, which helps. She's been spending most of the day just chilling at the house and she goes to bed early. Gracie and I have even gotten some bonding time early in the morning when I feed her before everyone else is up. Overall, it's been a perfectly fine experience. 

The current timeline is that we'll get a dog (and tortoise!) sometime in the next 18 months or so. We wanted to wait until JoJo was in the kindergarten range and big enough to help with the dog care. We know it'll need to be a hypoallergenic dog since we're pretty sure JoJo (and maybe Ezra too) have allergies. But, we're making our way in that direction. And I'm cool with that... so long as we get that tortoise too. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

Justice Program!

Hello, friends! 

One of the most transformative experiences of my college career was doing City Lights during my Freshman Year. City Lights was a week long Spring Break service project. InterVarsity students from all over the country gathered in St. Louis to worship together, do service in the city, and learn about God's heart for the City. It was at City Lights that I made some of my dearest friends and my view for what it meant to follow Jesus expanded beyond personal piety. 

I can't remember how many City Lights I attended as a student and as a staff. What I do remember is that I saw a countless number of students have the same experience that I had in 2004 and that the trip was worth it every time. 

Eventually, due to staff turnover and a few other things, we stopped doing City Lights over Spring Break. It was a bummer to see it go but a decision that made sense. Since then, there have been a few attempts to revive a project similar to City Lights in our Region. The latest, and the one I'm currently really excited about is the Des Moines Justice Program (DSMJP). 

March 15-17, students from all over the Region will gather in Des Moines to partner with one another, local churches and non-profits, and God to do some community service but also learn about God's heart for Justice in a broken world. DSMJP was a huge success last year and we're looking towards another great weekend. 

What excites me the most is that our family is going to be participating this year! DSMPJ falls during our Spring Break week, so we'll be loading up the kids and driving the 2 hours to Des Moines to join with other IV staff and students in DSMJP. We're also looking to bring a group of students from Bellevue too, which will be tons of fun. It'll be just like old times! 

Putting on a a weekend like this certainly isn't cheap and we're trying to keep costs as low as possible for students, which is why I'm asking for your help. Between now and March 1, any donation made towards the DSMPJ will be matched up to $5000. That means we can raise $10k for the program in just 2 weeks! If you're in a position to give, would you consider making a donation? Any amount is greatly appreciated. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

Online Bible Study!

Hello, friends! 

Well, we may have accidentally started an online bible study here in Nebraska... Oops! =0). Here's the story. 

A few weeks ago, one of the students who led the bible study at UNL asked me if there was any online bible study available for he and his girlfriend to attend. I put out a few feelers and found that while InterVarsity has a national online bible study, the timing didn't work for him. So, I put the question out to our Nebraska IV Leaders text chain (#NEIVFTW) and the response was overwhelming: I'd love to be a part of something like that! 

So, we decided to go for it! 

We've had 2 bible studies so far and they've been so good! I invited some of the college aged students from our church and two of them have shown up so far, which is also fun since I feel like I get to do work but also be connected to church. 

Friends, I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed leading student bible studies. When I was staff of ACF at Mizzou, a big chunk of my life was spent leading bible studies with and for students. After I moved up to Team Leader and Associate Area Director, I still got to do some of it but it was a little bit less. When we moved to Omaha in 2018, my opportunities pretty well dried up. I was coaching students in how to lead bible studies but my schedule didn't allow me to actually be there and see them in action much. Even the past 2 years, as I've been involved with Bellevue, it's been on coaching our student leaders on leading and not actually participating in the bible studies. It's so much fun reconnecting with students, getting into the Word, and seeing folk discover the Bible in a whole new way. 

Would you please pray for our new online bible study? Pray that students would continue to be blessed by the the study. Pray that students would invite their friends to take part in the goodness. Pray that an 8pm bible study on Thursday nights doesn't make me too cranky on Friday mornings. =0). 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam 

New Hiring Season!

Hello, friends! 

First of all, Happy Black History Month to you! #BlackLivesMatter

Right now, we're in an exciting season of ministry; it's hiring season! This is the part of the year when we have the most applicants apply to join staff with InterVarsity, either as full-time staff, part-time, interns, or official volunteers. It's an exciting time as we get to review applications, read letters of recommendation, and interview candidates with the hopes of growing our team. 

So far, I've read about a half-dozen applications and have sat in on 2 interviews. What's exciting about this crop of staff candidates is that it's different than anything I've seen in quite some time. We have a few "traditional" hires (students who were involved with InterVarsity and students and will be graduating in May), but we also have a staff couple, an international student, and a folk coming from different missions organizations. This is also the most number of applicants that we've had in a few years. 

On the one hand, it's exciting to meet folk who feel like they have a calling on their lives to spend this next season of life in college ministry. At one point, a long time ago, I was in their shoes. I was excited for what's next but still apprehensive about the unknown. I wanted to nail the interview and also make sure I was making the "right" decision for my life. 

But on the other hand, I'm also aware that this is just the beginning of the process. Once the offer is extended and (hopefully) accepted, the real work begins, particularly in the area of Ministry Partnership Development. We need to get these staff resourced as quickly as possible, which means that these next few weeks are going to be pretty busy for me. I'm looking forward to the work and I absolutely believe that God will show himself to be Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. 

So, friends, would you pray with me for our hiring process? Would you pray that we as a staff team would hear clearly from the LORD on potential job offers? Would you pray for our staff candidates, that God would show them their worth apart from their vocation? Would you pray in advance for the MPD process for all those who accept offers, knowing that the work is hard but God is good? 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam