Happy Early Thanksgiving!

Hello, friends!

First of all, thanks to everyone who was praying for Jordan's event last night. He texted me and said that things went really well. =0).

I mentioned this briefly in my last post that Saturday night, International Christian Fellowship (The InterVarsity Group that Megan is planting at Mizzou) had an international Thanksgiving dinner. Friends, it was a huge hit and a total blast!

By my count, we had over 50 international students in attendance, including a few kiddos. For many of these students, it was their first time experiencing an "American Thanksgiving," especially considering that many of the students have only been in the US for a few months. They got to meet Americans from our church, learn about the history of Thanksgiving, and eat all sorts of traditional Thanksgiving foods. The cranberry sauce was particularly popular.

Speaking of delicious food, we couldn't have done it without the help of our friends from Chrisitan Fellowship Church. Members of the church not only brought all sorts of delicious food, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn casserole, and the like, but many of them stayed and ate with us. It's so amazing to be part of a great community that loves and supports what we do. The good people of CF have even organized other folk from the church to host students who have nowhere to go for Thanksgiving day!

Can I stop a moment and dote on my wife, by the way? Megan did an amazing job putting all this together. She recruited students to attend as well as folk from the church to cook and stay for dinner. She coordinated the program and the rides. She handled the set up and the cleanup. She also socialized with students and made everyone feel welcome. She pretty much nailed it.

Here's a photo from our group. Here's hoping that everyone in attendance had a good time and were blessed by the meal.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Big Day Today!

Hello, friends!

Today, or tomorrow (depending on when you are reading this) is a big day. Not just because Mizzou will be taking on Texas A&M with the SEC East in the balance (Mizzou is going to win, in case you were wondering). Not just because I am leading a seminar about crossing cultures for Asian American students from all over the Midwest (either it will go great or it went great depending on if you are seeing this before or after noon). Not even because tonight ICF is hosting a thanksgiving dinner for 50 international students (although that is HUGE and you should definitely be praying for that). No, friends, this is a big day for another reason.

I've had the pleasure of supervising an intern this past year and a half by the name of Jordan Tiu. Jordan is an ACF alum with a huge heart for Jesus and a desire to see college students reached with the Gospel. Today, Jordan will be presenting for over 100 people in the Kansas City area the work he is doing with InterVarsity and the work that God is doing on Mizzou's campus through ACF.

So, friends, please say a quick prayer (long prayers are OK too) for Jordan as he prepares for tonight. Pray that people will be receptive to the work that he is doing. Pray that the weather (there's a chance of snow) will not deter people from coming. Pray that the kingdom will be glorified through the event.

Oh, and if you're in the Kansas City area, stop by North Point Church tonight @ 6 to say hello!  =0).

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Survival Mode

Hello, friends!

We've entered the interesting part of the year where we're out of the New Student Outreach period but not quite into the craziness of finals. It's been forever since students have had anything that resembled a break and Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away, meaning we've entered the dog days of the semester. Everyone, staff included, are in "survival mode," which isn't a great place to be but is the reality of the situation.

Survival mode for me looks like this:
- Keeping students accountable to their commitments, weighing whether or not I press in or let slide folk not showing up to stuff because of studying.
- Prepping bible studies and talks a few days in advance instead of weeks ahead like is always the plan.
- Trying to balance time spent between reaching new students and making sure the students who are around feel cared for
- Balancing time spent visioning for next semester with finishing out the things that still need to be done this semester, knowing that too much time visioning means I am not fully present but not enough time means we start next semester behind.
- Looking for more hours in the day to get done the funding push that Megan and I need to do so we don't finish the year in the red.

I'm not saying this as a way of complaining. I still love my job and this is a part of the job that I have come to expect. I'm still sleeping enough and eating plenty, so my health is fine (save for a few migraines). I'm saying this because I wonder if there is a better way.

Planning more and planning earlier doesn't seem to be the answer. The truth is that this job is too fluid and too unpredictable to be able to plan completely for what is to come. This semester we've seen a change in ACF dynamics as well as new work in the nursing school, neither of which I would have anticipated coming into the year. Every year something new happens that wasn't expected, which puts everything out of sync and puts everything into "survival mode."

What this season reminds me is that this is not a job where you can "fake it 'til you make it." Surviving and thriving means complete dependence on Jesus. The more I try and play "catch up" the further behind I get. This job means first and foremost, Jesus is in charge.

Friends, there are so many points of prayer but I want to highlight a few.
- Students are STRESSED right now. Pray that they will not turn to their own strength but turn to Jesus.
- Pray for HEALTH for both Megan and me. Now is not the time to get sick.
- Pray for PROVISION as we continue to work on our funding.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Road Trip!

Hello, friends!

Happy November to you all. It's Thanksgiving season, or if you ask some of the radio stations around here, it's Christmas season already. =0).

We've been working hard out here in Mid-Missouri. ACF is doing well; our numbers are down but we have a really solid core of students who love Jesus and are learning how to lead. International Christian Fellowship (ICF) is doing well too; Megan has been having so much fun gathering students and building a core. On Halloween we had 20 or so students over to carve pumpkins. =0). I've also been having a blast working with the ladies of Nursing Christian Fellowship (NCF) at Mizzou. We've had about a dozen or so ladies at each of the bible studies and the leaders are definitely women who love Jesus and love nursing. As the son of a nurse it warms my heart to see the next generation in action. 

I could spend much more time talking about each of the campuses where work IS happening (including Columbia College, where Charis continues to do good work in planting the chapter there) but this weekend was kind of special becuase we got to spend time on campuses where there ISN'T any InterVaristy work.

Earlier this semester, our Area Director proposed what he called a "discipleship road trip." The goal was to get students from St. Louis and Columbia, where all of our student work in the state currently is, on the road and scouting new campuses to see if there was potential to start new InterVaristy work there. Our goals were 3 fold. 1) We wanted to scout new campuses, 2) We wanted to give students a chance to be included in our planting vision, and 3) We wanted to show potential staff candidates what it would look like for them to be a part of the team in Mid-Missouri.

Friends, we had ourselves a PACKED weekend. Students arrived in Columbia around 10am where we started with some vision casting and training. From there we spent the first part of the afternoon scouting Mizzou then we broke up into 3 teams and went to Lincoln University (Jefferson City), Westminster College (Fulton), and Central Methodist University (Fayette). We came home around 6 for debrief and more teaching before heading to La Casa Leong for games and fellowship. Sunday morning we went to church together then spent our last chunk of time scouting Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, MO.

Looking back, I'm still not sure of what to make of our time together. On the one hand, we did get to scout some colleges and it feels like there may be some momentum at Lincoln University to potentially explore more. Students did get to see more of Mid-Missouri and in general, I think students had a good time. However, I'm not sure how well we were able to cast vision for what is happening outside of St. Louis and get potential staff excited about the possibility of moving out here to be a part of the team. Still, I'm glad it happened and I'm glad that students were able to partner with us to scout some campuses that we may not have gotten to this semester otherwise.

One last thought about scouting is that as I've scouted more and more campuses, I've learned more about what constitutes "success" and "failure" in terms of scouting. Early in my staff career, I though a successful scouting trip was only one that led to a chapter plant. If I didn't find students who wanted to start a group or administrators who felt like we were absolutely needed on campus, it felt like that scouting trip was a failure. Now I see that God speaks both in the affirmative as well as the negative. There are something like a dozen campuses within an hour of Mizzou (Columbia College, Stephens College, 2 Moberly Area Community Colleges, Central Methodist, State Fair Community College, Central Missouri University, Westminster College, William Woods, Lincoln University, etc.). Our team would potentially kill ourselves trying to get to all those campuses at once. Sometimes when we scout, the best thing we can hear is a "no, not yet" from God, which is a really freeing thing.

So friends, please be praying for us as we continue the discernment of where to plant next. There are a lot of options but we want to be seeking out Jesus in how we are planting.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Conviction and Resolution

Hello, friends!

I was having lunch with a few of my friends Saturday and a thought came to mind so I asked them both this question:

Have either of your churches made any reference, or even mention, of the racial tensions happening in St. Louis and what the role of the Church (Capital "C") is supposed to be in the midst of the tragedy?

Both men thought about it for a bit then both agreed that neither of their churches have made any mention of the incident in the 2 months since it has happened. My church hasn't either.

We're going through a series at church about the Church (with a capital "C") and its role in the Kingdom of God. Our pastor made the points that the Church is supposed to reflect God's power and majesty. I couldn't help but get the feeling that reflecting God's power and majesty also means making note of issues that are happening just down the road from us that are issues of injustice and racial tension. I can't speak for other churches in the community but I can't help but feel like we are letting the Church down by not making this a point of conversation.

Of course, that immediately made me think of my own ministry and sphere of influence. I've done my best to make mention of Ferguson in the teachings that we have on Wednesday nights but I'm sure there is more that could be done. In some ways, I feel paralyzed by ignorance; I don't know what to do from 120 miles west of where everything happened. But, I'm sure there's something I can be doing and I'm sure it could be more.

A few weeks ago I was talking to some of our ACF students, right after Michael Brown was shot, and they actually had no idea of what had happened. These are students who live in St. Louis County but still hadn't heard about the situation just a few miles east. It breaks my heart to think that there may be more that I can do to get students to think about justice and racial reconciliation.

So, my friends, my hope is that you'll join me. Regardless of where you are in the country, join me in praying for wisdom in how to be a bridge builder for St. Louis. I'm not sure what conclusions we will reach or what God will call us to do. What I do know is that it will almost certainly be more than what I am doing now.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

What Did We Do to Deserve This?

Hello, friends!

I'm writing to you from the basement of one of the student centers here at Mizzou, getting a bunch of admin done before the start of a new week and new craziness that always seems to come with working with college students.

As I sit here preparing for the week ahead, setting up meetings, trying to put my week together, and working on what needs to get done, I was struck by how much Megan and I have been blessed by God in the past few weeks. In all phases of life and ministry, God has continued to be faithful, in ways both large and small.

Campus wise, things can always be better, but honestly, I can't help but feel blessed. The International Student Ministry that Megan has been planting continues to grow. I've been having fun working with a small group in the School of Nursing and I've also felt a lot of peace about the fact that ACF is not as big as it was last year in terms of students participating.

There are other parts to ministry as well. I mentioned last week that I'm spending much more of my time working on our funding, getting it to a healthy level so that both Megan and I can continue to do what we do. Just in the past few weeks we've seen our deficit drop from $20,000 to just under $16,000 in unsolicited partnership.

We were also blessed this past week by having Megan's sister, brother-in-law, and nephew come to visit us for a few days. I'm so thankful that we have family that loves us and wants to spend time with us.

Friends, this season is always a busy one during the semester, when things are constantly happening and usually something is going differently than we plan. I'm encouraged that my attitude at this point is one of optimism. My body and mind are definitely tired but my spirit is upbeat and strong. My prayer is that this will continue as more craziness comes.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

On Conferences, Roles, and Other Things of Interest...

Hello, friends!

I hope this blog finds you well. I have to confess, in the midst of all the craziness that has happened these past few weeks, being diligent in my blogging has not been a strength of mine. I sincerely apologize.

Friends, this is my 8th year working for InterVaristy and I can say with all honesty that this year is the busiest I have ever found myself. Normally, as I enter a new school year, my mind is focused on only one thing: How do we start off the ACF year strong. However, this year, the number of things on my plate and hats I has put me in unknown territory. Here are my roles for this semester:

- Staff for Mizzou Nurses Christian Fellowship. One pleasant surprise from the summer was learning that there was a Nurses Christian Fellowship (NCF) at Mizzou! At the beginning of the year I was able to connect with the students and faculty who lead the group and am now resourcing them with all the goodies that InterVaristy has to offer. Two students even joined us for Fall Conference!

- Fall Conference Director. Speaking of Fall Conference, this past weekend, 150 students from Columbia and St. Louis came together at Re:Act, Missouri's Fall Conference, to hear the Word, be in community, and reconnect with Jesus. Our speaker was Elizabeth English, whom I affectionately call "La Capitana" from back in the day when she was my supervisor. La Cap taught on Acts 1-2, talking about what it means to hear God's voice and how to then follow Jesus into mission. 18 Mizzou students came for the weekend, and of the 150, one student gave her life to Jesus for the first time and another 7 made re commitments! I had the honor of directing the conference, which meant tons of preparations as my team and I planned each session, seminars, rec time, hospitality, and registration. I'm not saying it was exhausting, I'm just saying that last week I put in close to 70 hours of work.

- Cambodia GP Director: It's hard to fathom that it was over 2 months ago that we returned from Cambodia. Still, it's something that still has an impact in a number of ways, one of which is that the first month of this year (The InterVarsity year starts July 1), I spent time in Cambodia instead of preparing for the school year. You can learn more about my trip by checking out the super blog.

- Supervising Staff. This is the second year I am supervising staff for InterVarsity. There is one full time staff, one intern, and one volunteer who all have different needs, personalities, and growth edges. It is such a pleasure to be able to supervise staff and help then through these first few years of staff life. 

- Fundraiser. Through a combination of events, including Megan moving to Columbia, an increased budget to take into account our new roles as team leaders, and the general craziness that comes from transition, Megan and I find ourselves a bit behind in our fundraising. I do not doubt that God will provide but I know that $20,000 is no small number and I am going to have to put my best foot forward to make sure we are fully funded come the end of the year. 

- Area Leadership Team. A new role that I have this year is as a member of the Area Leadership Team. This role includes shaping the vision and direction of the Area, making sure that we are all moving in the same direction as a movement, and not just a collection of individual campuses. 

- Staff for Mizzou ACF. I intentionally put this last because in many ways it is the role that has suffered the most this year. With so many other responsibilities, the fact of the matter is that I can't devote the same time to ACF that I was once able to devote, nor should I. It has been a hard transition, not spending most every hour of my day thinking about ACF, but I believe it is a necessary one. 

So, friends, please be praying for Megan and me. Pray for our funding. Pray for the students and staff that we are influencing. Pray for rest for us and for good boundaries to be set. Pray that we will be filled with the Spirit as we pour out into others. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam