Psalms of Praise

Hello, friends! 

I got another opportunity to preach on Sunday! It was a joy to be able to share the word with everyone. 

This definitely wasn't my best sermon. It's been a really busy few weeks with work and various family things, so I didn't get as much time to prep as I would have hoped. Still, God came through as he always does and I think it turned out OK. 

Enjoy! 

~Adam 

End of the Year!

Hello, friends!

Just in case you didn't get it, I wanted to post our end of the year update here. 2023-2024 was another very full year and we're thankful for all the ways that God showed up, both personally and professionally. 

If you didn't get this update in your mailbox but would like to, please, drop us a line and we'll gladly add you to our mailing list. 

Also, if you're interested in giving to partner with us in the work we do with InterVarsity, you can do so by following this link.

Have an excellent day! 

~ Adam

Welcome, Gus!

Hello, friends! 

Well, big news in the Leong Household... We got a tortoise! 

Meet Gus. He's kind of the best. =0). 

Growing up, we had a tortoise that found its way into our backyard. We named him Ted and he was fun. We once lost him for a while but that he came back. If I remember correctly, he got in a fight with some animal one night and his shell got cut. I don't think we took him to a vet and eventually Ted died. I also remember very distinctly saying goodbye to Ted very briefly because I wanted to go back to watching Duck Tales. Not my finest moment. 

Fast forward a few decades. Megan grew up with dogs and said she wants a dog at some point. I tell her that we can get a dog as soon as we get a tortoise. She agrees and we're off and running. 

The plan was to get be a tortoise for Father's Day. We were doing a lot of research, looking in a lot of places online both for a tortoise but also for an enclosure for our tortoise. We had a lot of questions, especially about the enclosure so I decided that our best bet was to actually talk to someone. I went to a local reptile store and here's for the conversation went:

"Hi! Welcome to Nebraska Aquatic Supply!"

(Thinks about asking his enclosure question but then decides to go for it) "You don't happen to have any tortoises, do you?"

"Actually, we only have one. He's a Russian tortoise"

(Eyes light up): "Really?! Can I see him?"

We knew we wanted a Russian tortoise because they're small and easy to manage. It was too perfect. I bought him right away and took him home. 

The kids love Gus. They are constantly trying to feed him and like holding him. Thaliea has already been pooped on by him. At the end of the night, he and I have some time together and he likes to crawl all over me. I think he's getting used to me too. 

Russian tortoises are supposed to live somewhere between 40-60 years in captivity. Our best guess is that Gus is about 2 or 3 years old, so we are looking forward to having him be a part of our family for a long time. 

Have an excellent day!

International Getaway!!!

Hello, friends! 

It's a few weeks late but I wanted to give an update on International Getaway. 

This year's Getaway was the biggest we'd ever had! We had 77 students from over 20 countries attend this year, which was massive! When you include the staff and families, I think we ended up with over 100 folk in attendance. Wow! 

My role was kid duty (as usual). Because of some flooding in our basement earlier in the week, JoJo and I didn't come up until Friday (it started on Thursday) but that didn't stop us from having a good time. The older kids especially enjoyed hanging out with another staff kid who was there. They spent pretty much the whole time on the dock, trying to catch fish, frogs, and collecting shells.

A few highlights: 

- Watching the kids play. As Ezra and Thaliea have gotten older, their sense of independent play has grown. They're also much more responsible than they were a year ago and can fend for themselves a little better. That was great because it gave me more energy to focus on JoJo, who is still growing and needs my help a little more. 

- Fishing. Not only was it fun catching fish (isn't it always?), but it was also fun watching others fish for the first time. For many of the international students, it was there first time with a rod and reel. The look of elation they had when they hooked their first fish was so great! 

- Cultural Showcase. One of the highlights of the weekend is the Cultural Showcase. Students get to show do a performance and it's always a good time. There was dancing. There was singing. There was beat boxing. There was a PowerPoint presentation. The Cultural Showcase had it all! 

- Dari-B. There's an ice cream shop not too far from the camp. We go there every time we're at the camp and it's always excellent. =0). 

- Seeing Megan at work. Megan had been director for the past few years but this year was "just" put on hospitality. Still, it was so great seeing her in her element, whether it be making students feel welcome, having great conversations about Jesus, or just making sure that everyone was well fed. 

I've said before that International Getaway is one of the best things that we do as a Region and this year was more proof of that. Hooray for International Getaway! 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam