A Tale of Two Urbanas...

Hello, friends! 

Well, another Urbana has come and gone! This was my 7th Urbana. Though some things were different (hello, Phoenix!), some things were definitely the same. Students came and met the Holy Spirit. Students were inspired to follow Jesus back on their campuses. We got to worship our Global God and connect with students from all over the country. Here's a recap video: 

This is what the students experienced at Urbana. As staff, my experience was VERY different. Here's a recap of my Urbana: 

I'm the one in the back, behind the luggage cart in the elevator, with members of the Asian American Community Gathering team, one of 4 Urbana jobs I had this year. In no particular order, here are my jobs with their descriptions:

Asian American Community Gathering. I was part of the team that led the spaces for Asian American students at Urbana to connect with one another and process their Urbana experience with students from similar ethnic backgrounds. I loved being on this team, not only because they were so much fun, but also because creating a space where Asian American students can connect and feel at home has always been my favorite Urbana job. 

Community Gathering On Site Coordinator: Asian American ministries wasn't the only group with a community gathering. There were 12 in total. My job was to make sure that each community had the things they needed to run their spaces but also stay within the rules of the convention center (like no catered good and reset the room properly). It was fun seeing how the other communities put their own flavors on the spaces. 

Exit Team Leader: This may have been the job I was born to do. If you've been at church with me for any amount of time, you know that my spiritual gifts are preaching, teaching, and parking ministry. =0). As students entered and checked into Urbana, they had to walk through different stations in the convention center. When they finished, we on the Exit Team directed them out of the convention center so they didn't get lost. It was basically like parking ministry but the opposite and it made me very happy. 

Central Region Urbana Coordinator: this was by far the hardest of the jobs. I was dealing with the hotels and making sure everyone got into Phoenix safely. I was also keeping everyone up to date on our donations and finances. In fact, I'm still doing expense reports now! Still, all the work was worth it to get everyone to Urbana. 

All those jobs meant that I didn't actually get to see much of the Urbana programming itself. I did make it to at least one big room session each day and was inspired by the speakers and moved by the worship. But, Urbana wasn't really for me as much as it was for the students, so if I have to miss some seasons to make sure they're able to be fully present, that's ok with me. 

Shout out to Megan, who held down the fort on two fronts. She didn't have an official role at Urbana but was in Phoenix because my sister lives in town. Still, she rocked hospitality, creating breakfast bags for all the rooms and hosting the full from our church so well, all while also watching the kids and hanging out with my family. She was a rock star. 

Urbana will next be held in 2028. I don't know where it will be but I'll be ready to do whatever is asked of me.

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam