Resting Well...

Hello, friends! 

First of all, there's a brand new episode of Story Central for your ears to enjoy! I interviewed Dr. Jane Zhao, who is a professor at the University of Kansas. It was so great to hear her story and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you. 

Over the last few weeks, staff, students & volunteers attended fall conferences and retreats for the first time in over 2 years!  We celebrate Missouri Fall Conference reported 15 students wanted to "Come and Believe" that the cross was not the end but the beginning of resurrection and the restoration of our relationship with Christ.  We also celebrated Nebraska's first ever fall conference with over 50 students attending!  A quick story from one of our staff below:

"Last weekend Missouri had Fall Conference and we spent time in communal listening prayer. One of my student leaders, "K", felt the Lord calling him into repentance and worship, and then immediately felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Last night at Bible study, "K", took more risks with the difficulty of the scripture he chose, the people he invited, and the vulnerable stories he was willing to share, including that of his fall conference experience - and it struck the other students hard. One girl who was attending IV Bible study for the first time, as a senior, decided to commit her life to Christ. And another student announced he felt God was convicting him to begin sharing his faith with his non-Christian best friend. The Bible study lasted 2.5 hours and the group prayed for the last 20 minutes!"

Sponsor a staff retreat package?   Staff have been working hard to put on campus events, bible studies, directing conferences while re-adjusting to ministering in person and as a way to bless our local staff teams, we are preparing these "retreat" boxes. We'd love to invite you to partner with us in encouraging our staff teams across Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa & Kansas with this package which will help facilitate resting with Jesus as means of restoration for their mind, body & soul. Each box includes a retreat guide, coupon to use for a retreat facility, snacks, candle, and Ruth Haley Barton's book Invitation to Retreat.  We are hoping to raise $100 per staff so each of our 40 staff would get one!  Would you prayerfully consider giving towards this opportunity by sponsoring part or all of a retreat day?   Thank you for partnering with us!

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

A Few Lessons from a Quick Trip to Cali...

Hello, friends! 

First up, there's a new episode of Story Central that just dropped on Wednesday. I interview Katie Gresham, who leads the non-profit, Under The Same Tree. Katie is not only an awesome person but she's also an IV alum AND she was Megan's roommate for a while in St. Louis. Check it out! 

Last weekend was a whirlwind of a weekend. We flew out to California to visit family for my sister's wedding reception. My younger sister actually got married in July of 2019 in a small, family only ceremony. The original plan was to have a larger, Chinese style banquet in March of 2020 but that was right at the start of the pandemic and everything got shut down. So, 18 months later, we were finally able to pull the trigger and do this thing. 

Here are a few things I learned from our quick trip out there: 

- Flying with 3 kids is hard work. This isn't the first time that we've flown with 3 kids but this is the last time we'll be flying with 5 people and only 4 seats. Jonah is just too wiggly. Thankfully, the flight attendants were in good spirits and the kids did do really well overall. It's just tough when you have long layovers, delayed flights, and kids who aren't used to staying awake until 1 in the morning. 

- There are many things I love about my family but one of my favorites is how much we all love a good dance party. My sister's reception included a BTS Flash Mob, the kids learning how to do the Maracena, my 90 year old uncle rocking out to the YMCA, and the most epic Family Closing Time I've ever seen. I only have a few photos (since I was busy dancing) but more will come later, I promise. =0). 

- As stressful as travel is, and for as long as I've been living in the Midwest, California will always feel like home, especially with the people there. Even if it was for a short trip, it was so good to see my family, especially the sibs. We had cousins and aunts and uncles come from all over the country to celebrate with us, which was a huge blessing. It was also great to see many aunties and uncles from church. 

This was the last wedding reception my immediate family will have to do for quite some time (seeing as how my niece is only 10), so in many ways, it's the end of an era. It was stressful getting there, but I'm glad we made the trip. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

 

Fall Conference Prayer!

Hello, friends!

First of all, a new episode of Story Central dropped this week. I interviewed Ruth Watt, a ministry partner in St. Louis. It was so much fun talking to "Mama Ruth" and she shares an AMAZING story about Jesus moving during the first part of the pandemic. Click here to hear the episode.

Second, Happy Anniversary to my lovely wife! Megan and I have been married for 9 years as of Wednesday. We celebrated with a date out but the big date in when we'll see Hamilton in Omaha in November. Woot!

We are now in the middle of Fall Conference Season, which is one of our favorite times if the year. Missouri had their Fall Conference last weekend and all the stories I've heard from staff have been amazing. God really moved in a powerful way.

This weekend, Nebraska has its Fall Conference. 50 students from Omaha and Lincoln will be coming together to learn through Matthew 5-7. Megan and I are helping with snacks tomorrow but other than that, all the local staff are running the show.

One thing the local staff have asked us to do is to cover the conference in prayer. I can tell you first hand that Satan doesn't like Fall Conference and does what he can to mess with things. The staff team has created a Google doc so folk can sign up and pray for the conference. If you're so inclined, would you consider signing up for an hour?

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Busted Arm!!!

Hello, friends! 

So, fun thing happened last week on the playground after school. Ezra was playing on the playset after school with his friends like he always does. His latest trick is that he can skip a ring on the monkey bars. 

Well, USUALLY he can skip a bar. Apparently, this time, he slipped, fell, and fractured his elbow. 

For the next 3 weeks, Ezra will be rocking that sweet cast. He's already had a bunch of friends sign his cast (although he's saving space for his family members). This is the first time that anyone in either of our families have broken a bone so that a cast was needed, which I guess is cool? 

Ultimately, we're thankful for a lot of things in this situation. We're thankful that Ezra wasn't seriously hurt. We're thankful that he's in good spirits. We're thankful that InterVarsity provides us with health insurance so an injury like this doesn't break the bank. We're thankful for our ministry partners who support and pray for us. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Scouts Away!!!

Hello, friends! 

One of the greatest accomplishments of my life was earning the rank of Eagle Scout when I was in high school. My parents will tell you that it was a long and arduous road, and that I almost didn't make it, but I got in by the skin of my teeth and am proud to call myself an Eagle Scout. 

With 3 kids, there's always a question of extracurricular activities. You want to make sure that your kids are doing stuff but not too much. There are sports to play, instruments to learn, and other things to do. Megan and I have had conversations about what things we did growing up and what things we'd like the kids to try once they're old enough. Knowing that time is limited, I'd prepared myself to ask Ezra if he wanted to try the scouts but not force him to do it if the answer was "no." 

You wouldn't believe my joy when he saw a table for the Cub Scouts at his Back to School night before the school year started. I think it may have been the photos of kids holding frogs that got him hooked but before I could even approach the table, he ran up to me and asked if he could join. Of course, I said yes. =0). 

A few weeks back, he went on his first Cub Scout hike. It was a short one but he had a lot of fun. It helps that a few of his classmates from school (including one of his best friends from kindergarten) is also in scouts. I connected with a few of the parents, and it looks like we're good to go, at least for this year. 

Last Tuesday, we went over the Scout Law and Scout Oath as part of him earning his "Bobcat Badge." It was funny how quickly both of those came back to me. I guess if you say the same thing every week for 12 years of your life, it kind of gets stored in long term memory...

So, a new scouting adventure begins. I told the scoutmaster that I'm committed to getting Ezra into scouting so long as he wants to do it. I'm looking forward to our camping trips, merit badge sessions, and everything beyond. He's much more of an outdoor kid than I am, so I wouldn't be surprised if he likes it even more than I do. And, regardless of whether or not he reaches Eagle, I'll be happy to watch him "Do His Best." 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Another First Day of School!

Hello, friends! 

Yesterday (Wednesday) was yet another momentous day in the Leong household. Our very own Thaliea, all of 4 years old, had her first day in preschool! 

Friends, this is a day that she has been waiting for for a LONG time. I wouldn't necessarily call her the jealous type, but the fact that Ezra got to go to school and she didn't really wasn't fun for her. But now, she's in pre-school and all is well! 

Thaliea will be in preschool on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:30-11. The preschool she's attending is the same one that Ezra went to for about 2 months before COVID shut down everything. We like the teachers there, the space looks like lots of fun, and we have a few folk we know from church who are in her class. On her back to school night, the thing she was most excited about was that the toilets and sinks were "just my size!" 

Of course, the drop off wasn't perfect. We knew it wouldn't be. Unlike Ezra, who has all the confidence in the world, and JoJo, who I suspect might like his daycare teachers more than us because they keep feeding him, Thaliea can be a little more shy in new situations. There was a little bit of crying at the goodbye, but apparently that only lasted for a moment. 

So, for a few hours a week, it'll be just Megan and Jojo. Thaliea came home from her first day so excited about everything. I think this will be good for her. Saying goodbye today was tough for all of us but we're so happy that she's growing, learning, and making new friends. Our little girl is growing up! 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Hosting Students!

Hello, friends! 

First thing: Season 2 of Story Central has dropped! I had the opportunity to interview Megan Koch, who is an InterVarsity alum, former volunteer staff, and current church planter in the Des Moines area. It was such a great conversation and I'd love for you to hear it! You can click here to download the episode, and be sure to subscribe! 

Second, for the first time in a long time, La Casa Leong (Omaha) was the site of hosting students! The Creighton InterVarsity's Leader Team needed a place for dinner after their Leadership Retreat and we were more than happy to host. Megan made a delicious meal of bibimbap and it was very well received (as it always it). Of course, we then also played our favorite InterVarsity Staff game: HOW MUCH FOOD? The game goes like this:

"How much food should we make?"

Make food

"I think we made too much food"

Students arrive and start eating

"We don't have enough food"

Start to make more food

Students stop eating

New food is ready

"We made too much food"

Out come the takeout boxes

"Where did all the food go?"

It's a fun thing to now be in a situation where we get to host but not staff. When we were doing field work and directly leading chapters, when we hosted, we had to wear multiple hats simultaneously. We were hosts but also staff for students. That led to really stressful events (all worth it, of course). Now, since we're only taking on the role of host, we can focus on making sure everyone feels welcome (and making sure the kids are fed). 

Please be praying for the Creighton leaders. They are a great group of students and I'm excited to see what God will be doing in them and through them this year. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam