Onboarding!!!

Hello, friends! 

Last weekend we welcomed the 5 new hires into our Region to Omaha for our first ever New Staff Onboarding Weekend (NSOW)! 

NSOW used to be called MPD 101, which was when the new staff would come to Omaha (or be online) and I'd get them set up to do good MPD throughout the summer, wit hopes that they'd be fully funded by the beginning of the next school year. This year's class was bigger than I was going to be able to manage, so we decided to enroll them in the National training program. However, we still wanted them to have some good community building time and learn more about the Region. 

When Megan took on her new role as Assistant Regional Director for Training and Development, one of her roles was onboarding the new staff and making sure they got acclimated well to Regional and National policies. We realized that we could use this weekend as a two-fer, and NSOW was born. 

Megan and I decided that the best way to schedule things, both from a content and a childcare standpoint, was to do an onboarding sandwich of sorts. Megan started things off Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. I took over Saturday in the late morning (after what was supposed to be Ezra's soccer match) and then we'd work together on Sunday morning. We covered some of the nitty gritty of staff life (policies, expense reports, etc.) while also doing some reflection and community building (axe throwing, anyone?). We also had a great dinner with some amazing ministry partners who have been advocates of ours for a long time with their church and a friend of ours came and gave a great talk on faith and power in ministry. 

Things didn't go totally according to plan. We had two of our 5 staff need to leave early Saturday morning because of illness. Ezra's soccer match was cancelled due to cold weather (the right call but still a bummer). We also didn't see that the AirBnB where the staff were staying had a full dishwasher, so I bought some bowls when I didn't need. But, those were all minor compared to the great experience everyone had, including us. 

Friends, please be praying for Hannah, Alison, James, Jaqui, and Steven as they begin their InterVarsity staff journeys. We'd love it if they were in it for the long haul and had a good staff experience. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Justice Program Recap!

Hello, friends! 

A few weeks ago, I told you about the Des Moines Justice Program that our family was doing over Spring Break. Well, it happened and it was great! Here are some of the highlights: 

Pre-Program: Megan had the great idea of us going into Des Moines a day early so we could have a mini-vacation. The plan was simple: swim in the hotel pool and eat a free continental breakfast. Mission accomplished! The kids had a great time in the pool (we went before and after dinner!) and slept really hard. They also decided that hotel waffles are better than the ones that I make... =0). 

Set up: We got to the church where we were going to be having the program around 10am on Friday. Students weren't arriving until 3, so we had plenty of time to setup. If there's one thing our kids love doing, it's helping setup for things. They took it upon themselves to help with registration and get show students where their beds were. 

Program: The program itself was great. We did some bible study. We visited a homeless shelter. We went on a city walk, imagining that we were someone in the city who needed help of some sort and trying to find the resources available to people (NOTE: DON'T NEED HELP ON A WEEKEND; EVERYTHING IS CLOSED!). We heard from some dynamic speakers and worshipped together. What I especially liked was that we had 2 Bellevue students come with us and they had a great time. Also, another staff couple brought their kids too, so our kiddos made some new friends and childcare was WAY easier since our kids could go play with other kids. 

Coming home: After the obligatory Bubble Tea stop on our way out of town, we made our way home. Proof that it was a good trip? As soon as we got home, out kids started crying about how they wanted to be back in Des Moines. =0). 

Overall, it was a really great experience for the whole family. It was good to be back in the Justice Program space, even if just for a weekend. We say God do some cool things amongst students and staff and even our family too. Hooray for Justice! 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

Pinewood Derby!!!

Hello, friends! 

Last week, Cub Scout Pack 481 in Omaha held it's annual Pinewood Derby. We had 23 competitors build cars that we raced throughout the morning, including cars built by Thaliea and Ezra. Thaliea got the bronze medal and Ezra was just one point off the prestigious Turtle Award. It was good times had by all. 

Well, mostly all... 

I will be absolutely honest. The Pinewood Derby is not one of the most favorite things that the Scouts do. Growing up, I was never good at the Pinewood Derby so I don't have fond memories from that. In fact, the only memory I do have is cutting my finger so badly while trying to carve my car that I had to go to the ER. I still have the scar. 

Of course, I'll keep doing the Derby because the kids want to do the derby. I do love seeing their faces as they pick out a car design and get to use a band saw and power sander (with adult supervision of course). It's fun watching their visions come to life, even if it's super stressful for me as a dad because I want their cars to be perfect and for them to feel good about what they've accomplished, while full well knowing that I don't have the woodworking skill to actually put together a winning car and that ultimately, they'll probably be disappointed at the end of the day. 

This year, Ezra's car was much harder to put together than Thaliea's. He went with a really cool sleek and aerodynamic design that would have been great except that I didn't have the tools or the supplies to add any weight to the car. Coming in at just under 2.5 ounces (the limit is 5 ounces), gravity was not going to be his friend. 

Thaliea's Barbie inspired car didn't have that problem. Hers was boxier which meant I could carve out part of the body to put some weights in it. Apparently, we did something right because she did take third place. 

All in all, I have to remember that it's about the kids having fun. I've come to peace with the fact that it would take more money and time than I'm willing to spend to make their cars perfect. I'm hoping that at the end of the day, they remember the good times of the Derby and not the underlying stress of car making. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

 

Jonah and Adam's Big Adventure...

Hello, friends! 

I have to admit that for the past few months, I've been thinking about Jonah WAY more than normal. 

Of course, I think about Jonah everyday. Just like I think about Ezra, Thaliea, Megan, the St. Louis Cardinals, and how great of a vocalist Kelly Clarkson is. However, for the past few months, I've been immersed in the book of Jonah as part of our preaching series at church, which means I've been thinking about Jonah a TON. 

I preached a few weeks ago on Jonah 1 and will be preaching next week on Jonah 4, which is going to be a ton of fun. I've always enjoyed preparing a sermon but this process has been especially fulfilling for a few different reasons. 

- I don't preach on the OT very often. I think, especially in Evangelical church circles, there is a lot of emphasis on the NT, particularly Paul's letters. Of course, those are SUPER important and it's good for us to spend time there. I just noticed as I was going through my sermon notes that I hadn't gone deep into the OT for quite some time, including to when I was prepping Bible Studies for students at Mizzou. 

- Jonah 4 is too often overlooked. Jonah 1-3 is the classic story of Jonah and the whale. It's one that most have heard of and know relatively well. Jonah 4 is the forgotten chapter of the book because it doesn't fit neatly into Jonah's redemption arc in chapters 1-3. I'm really looking forward to being in Jonah 4. 

- Prepping in community has been fun. We've been working on a preaching team at Bridge. Since we picked Jonah about a month before we were actually going to be preaching on it, it's given our team time to look at the text together and pick a direction together. I think the sermons flow together better, especially when you have multiple preachers, when everyone is moving in the same direction. 

Here's my sermon on Jonah 1 if you're interested (The sermon starts at the 42 minute mark but in the beginning you can see an "off mic" moment that is pretty entertaining). I'll post the Jonah 4 sermon after it happens. Either way, please be praying for our team and me as we continue through this series and onward to what's next. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam