Pumpkin Patch time!

Hello, friends! 

Apparently, we've started a tradition here in the Omaha Leong household. Once a year, during Scout Week, we head to Vala's for a day out at the pumpkin patch! 

Honestly, when we first moved to Omaha and heard about Vala's, Megan and I had the same reaction: who would pay that much money to go to a pumpkin patch! That seems like a total waste of money. However, 2 years ago, after hearing so many good things about it, we decided to give it a shot. Honestly, it was a pretty good idea. 

Vala's isn't a pumpkin patch in the traditional sense. It's sort of like if Disneyland and a pumpkin patch had a baby. There are shows. There are rides. There are animals. There's food to eat and things to see. We've gone for 3 years in a row now and each time we go we see something new and we run out of time before we can do all the things we did the year before. After our first time going a few years ago, I decided that 2 things can be true at the same time. Vala's costs a fair amount of money but is simultaneously worth the cost of admission (during Scout Week). 

Lest you think that this is an add for Vala's, I'll say that it certainly isn't perfect. We only go during Scout Week because otherwise the price of admission would a little bit out of our price range. However, when you take 25% off for the families of scouts, that makes it work a little better. Also, when we're talking about a theme park experience, we're also talking about theme park prices. We know exactly how they make their money and I have the empty bag of kettle corn to prove it. =0). 

In 2023 we went on a whim. In 2024, we went as a way to celebrate finding Gus after he ran away. This year, we decided to officially make it a tradition. We also brought a family friend and another family friend joined us for a bit too. We took the kids out of school early so we could spend as much time as possible at the park, which was the right call. 

We've hit a bit of a rhythm in terms of things that we know we want to hit. We rode the train. We jumped on some giant trampolines. We raced pedal racers We saw some pig races. We (well, everyone but me) rode the mini roller coaster. There's a section of the patch devoted to eggs that the kids really enjoy. We ate at the rib place like we did last year and we bought some kettle corn like we always do. This time we let the kids bring some of their own money so they could spend it on whatever they wanted (spoiler alert: the answer was sugar... The answer is always sugar). Everyone slept well when we got home, that's for sure. 

Ultimately, even though it wasn't the cheapest of days, I'm happy for a new family tradition to be born. I keep hearing about how quickly time flies with the kids. My hope is that we can provide enough of these family traditions that the kids can look back fondly on their childhoods. Then, eventually, they can pay for my ticket to get into the pumpkin patch. =0). 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Bellevue Kickoff!

Hello, friends! 

This week, Bellevue University started with its first bible study of the year. Well, to be fair, it wasn't actually a bible study. As per Bellevue InterVarsity tradition, our first event of the year was game night. The plan was simple: order some pizzas, play some games, and get to know one another. 

Another tradition of mine is that I always order too much food for the Bellevue Kickoff. I don't know if it's my optimism or just a value ingrained in me that we should never run out of food (thanks, Mama and Papa!) but I'm always going to over order. Based on our initial invitations and such, we knew that we'd probably have between 5-15 people at kickoff, which means that 3 large pizzas would probably be plenty. Did I order 4 just in case? Yes I did. Did Dominos give me an extra one because they accidentally cut the pizza wrong? Yes they did. Was it too much food? Yes it was. Did I partake of another Bellevue InterVarsity tradition by going around the student center trying to give away food? Yes I did. Do I regret any of it? No I don't. =0). 

Our crew was mostly regulars from last year but we did have 2 new students, which was nice. Neither of our plant winners from tabling showed up, so we played games to determine the winners. We played "Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza" and "Uno", and all friendships remained in tact. 

From here, our student leader will be leading bible studies and I won't be there regularly. I may try to get out there another time through the semester to support our student leader but we'll see. Either way, I'll continue to pray for the Bellevue students and that their community will grow in love for Jesus and in love for one another. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Back to the Tables!

Hello, friends! 

Yesterday, I did something that I haven't done in YEARS... I went tabling. 

Tabling is a staple of college ministry. It's exactly what it sounds like. You sit at a table and wait for students to come by so you can tell them about your group and try to get them to sign up. It's not always glamorous and it's not always fun, but the potential of it is always exciting. 

You never know who you're going to meet and the students that you meet at tabling are often the ones who become a part of your group for years to come. You wouldn't have met them if you weren't out there tabling, so you table. Last year, at Bellevue's tabling event, Jill met Ashlyn. Ashlyn signed up and brought her roommate Liberty to the bible study. Liberty got involved and went to Ambition where she gave her life to Jesus. Now Liberty leads the InterVarsity group at Bellevue. The LORD works in mysterious ways... =0). 

I haven't stretched out my tabling muscles for a while because I haven't needed to do it. When we moved to Omaha, I didn't have a campus assignment to start. When I worked part-time with the group at UNL, they didn't do any tabling. We were only allowed to do tabling at Bellevue since last year, which was covered by our student leaders. This year, because of work, Liberty couldn't do the tabling last night, so I hopped in, although she was able to join me this morning. 

Most of Bellevue's student body does their coursework online, so the New Student Orientation isn't jam packed with students. The students who are in attendance are primarily athletes and/or international students. Between the session last night and the session this morning, maybe only 20 or so students got connected to InterVarsity. On the one hand, that's not a ton. On the other hand, any one of those students could be a catalyst to the chapter thriving, so I'm not too worried about it. 

Grading my tabling skills over the past 2 days, I'd say that while I haven't lost my touch completely, I was definitely out of practice. We had all the good stuff like we normally do, stickers, candy, cups and such, but we tried doing a plant raffle, which was decently successful. We also asked students to join our SnapChat directly, which was new for me but apparently that's what the young people are doing today. 

Like I've said, the joy of tabling is in the potential. I'm praying that of these 15 or 20 students who expressed interest in our group that a few of them would decide to hang around and become part of the Bellevue community. Maybe some of them will invite their friends. Maybe someone who we met yesterday or today will give their lives to Jesus. The possibilities are endless. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam