Lessons from Camp...

Hello, friends! 

Many of you may know that one of the accomplishments that I'm most proud of in life is that I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 2003. It was a close call (VERY CLOSE) but I got there and no doubt, at least part of who I am today is because of my involvement in scouting. 

This weekend, Ezra went to his first ever Cub Scout Camp! It was such a fun time seeing him learn, play with his friends, sleep in a tent, do fun and exciting things, and generally have a good time. It was also tons of fun being able to spend some quality time with him.

It had been a while since I'd been to a Scout Camp (or really camping in general!) so here are a few lessons I learned from the weekend: 

- The big mosquito net is worth it. I was looking at our packing list and saw the one thing we were missing was a mosquito net, so I went down to Bass Pro to get one. There were 3 options: small, medium, and large. The small was only for a single person, so I knew that wouldn't work for us. The question was whether or not we needed to pay the extra money for a large. Friends, it may have been the best decision I made all weekend. Our net was spacious. It kept out the bugs (including some ticks!). It allowed for Ezra to roll around while he sleeps. It was, to quote Vax Varvatu... GLORIOUS! 

- The boy loves to fish: At camp, Ezra got to do all sorts of things. He rode in a canoe. He climbed a rock wall. He shot a bow and arrow and a BB gun. He built a bat habitat and used a 3D printer. He slept in a tent for the first time ever. Still, if you'll ask him what his favorite moment of the whole camping trip was, it would be the 10 minutes he spent fishing and the bass he caught. The boy is an angler for sure!

 - Boys stay silly... and that's OK. Our camp counselors were mostly scouts and mostly high school boys. It was perfect for our campers. There was a definite connection as counselor and scout alike enjoyed running around, being outside, and making fart jokes. On Friday and Saturday night, we had campfires with the whole camp. The counselors did skits, some involving bananas and shaving cream. Ezra loved every minute of it. 

All in all, it was such a great experience. Ezra is stoked to go back again next year, which is totally fine by me. Next year, we may be joined by Thaliea, which would be totally cool. If that's the case, it'll be fun for us to have this as our first scout camp trip together. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

15 years!!!

Hello, friends! 

While I wasn't technically OFFICIALLY hired until August 1, 2007, since today is the start of the new ministry year, I'm celebrating finishing up 15 years of ministry with InterVarsity! Time flies when you're having fun! 

The past 15 years have been absolutely wild. I've lived in St. Louis, Columbia, and now Omaha. I've directly worked with students from WashU (#GoBears), Mizzou, Columbia College, Lincoln University, Missouri State, Creighton University, Bellevue University, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Boston University, Texas A&M, The Ohio State University, and the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I've tried my hand at planting or staffing Asian American chapters, Black Campus Ministry chapters, Multi-ethnic chapters, and Nurses Christian Fellowships. I've been a planter, a Team Leader, and Associate Area Director, and now a Regional Ministry Coordinator. I've been a part of leading projects for the National MPD department and Asian American ministries. I got married and had 3 kids. I've cried exactly 4 times (including twice in the past 18 months). God has been very, very good. 

In 2006, when I first heard the call to consider staff, I heard very clearly from God what I was going to be serving college students for the next "season of life." I had no idea that this next season would be 15 years (and counting!). I remember meeting staff who had been with InterVarsity for 20 years and thinking they were "lifers," wondering how they could be so faithful for so long. Now, here I am, 15 years later, seeing 20 on the horizon as a very real possibility. 

Of course, it hasn't been all good. Chapters have failed and been shut down. I've made my share of ministry mistakes. There have been some really tough seasons of ministry when it seemed like nothing was going right. And yet, God was (and is) still good. 

So, here's to year 16! Who knows what it will bring. This is normally where I say something like, "Here's to (at least) 15 more!" or something like that. But, the truth is that I have no idea what's on horizon. All I know for sure is that God has blessed me these past 15 years, and at this point, I have no intention of ending this InterVarsity "season" anytime soon. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

STL Trip!!!

Hello, friends!

Wow, what a week we had! Last week, we had a work trip to St. Louis that also doubled as a family vacation! There was a lot of family time, a lot of good work done, and a lot of food eaten. Here's the breakdown:

Monday: Drive to STL. The drive time is roughly 7 hours between Omaha and STL. When you include a lunch stop in CoMO that turned into running around a park for a bit and 2 bathroom breaks (only one of which was planned), we ended up traveling for about 10 hours. It was rough but it was good to get into Aunt Judi's house in time for dinner. My younger sister arrived from Cali later that night.

Tuesday: The morning was spent at Grant's farm. The kids fed goats and watched an animal show. Then Aunt Judi took over so Megan and I could go to our Regional Leadership meetings. The Airbnb where some of the out of town staff was staying was absolutely gorgeous. We connected with one another and said goodbye to one of our departing staff. I may or may not have won a trivia game about college mascots... 

Wednesday: My parents arrived Tuesday afternoon and my older sister and her son came in late Tuesday, so Wednesday had a packed house. It was an especially long day for Megan and me as we had meetings all day. They were good meetings though, with a lot of stuff getting done and another prayer walk on a campus near WashU.

Thursday: The first part of the day was finishing up our RLT meetings but in the afternoon we were able to meet our family at the zoo. The St. Louis Zoo is definitely a winner, and you really can't beat the price (free!). After that was a trip to get Ted Drewes frozen custard and a bbq dinner back at Aunt Judi's

Friday: Mama and Papa took our whole family on a trip down memory lane. We visited all the places my dad lived in STL, the former locations of my grandfather's restaurants, and where Mama and Papa had their first apartment. It was really fun to see everything, including where my dad went to high school. We ate well (as to be expected) and in the evening, I went with my sister, her daughter, and Papa to the Cardinals game (#GoCards). 

Saturday: We had 2 WashU reunions that day. There was the chill hangout with some IV alum at Ted Drewes. Then, Megan and I went to my 15th reunion. It was so good to connect with old friends and relive some of my old college days. 

Sunday: Megan and I spoke at the Vineyard church, where I went when I was in college. It was good to see a lot of old friends from my college days, as many of them still attend "The Yard." Ezra went with my brother in law, his cousin, and Papa to the Cardinals game while I took care of JoJo. Thaliea led Megan, my older sister and her daughter, Aunt Judi and one of her daughters, and my mom in a "Girls Day," which, despite what she tells you, she absolutely loved. 

Monday: We went back to Omaha on Monday. We only made one stop in KC for lunch (BBQ anyone?) and were home in time for the older kids to go to swim lessons. 

All in all, it was a great trip. Our RLT got a lot of work done and have a good sense of what needs to happen next in our Region. It's always good to see family and friends in St. Louis, especially since I don't get to visit as often. I also gained 8 pounds while there, so I know I ate right. =0). 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Dadding a Conference...

Hello, friends! 

Thanks to everyone who prayed for Getaway. Overall, there were 55 students from 24 countries and 10 different campuses in attendance. One South Korean Student gave his life to Jesus, and students from Nepal and Ivory Coast recommitted their lives to Jesus. Praise the LORD! 

I was told that everyone had a great time at Getaway. I'm not entirely sure because I was living that Staff Spouse life, which looks a little something like this: 

Personally, Getaway was a totally different experience. Normally, when I'm at an InterVarsity event, I'm staffing that event. I'll be connecting with students, checking in on staff, setting up something for the next session, or something of that nature. There have been times before when Megan and I would swap sessions so someone could watch the kids at an InterVarsity thing while the other led, but this was the first time that I've ever been at an InterVarsity function where my only job was to watch the kids. It was something else having to fight muscle memory at mealtimes and not go meet random students. At night, when I was brushing teeth and helping kids put on jammies instead of being in the main session, it was a little odd. 

And yet, it worked out fine. It was fun to be with the kids and watch them have fun and make new friends. I totally knew that Megan and her team would do an amazing job and not need me, which of course, was true. I didn't even mind getting more sleep than I would normally get because I was on the a family schedule and not a staff schedule. Everything worked out fine. 

My hope is that Megan will write up a little something for the blog about her Getaway experience, since that one would be much more about Getaway. But, I'm happy to be a staff spouse, happy to be a staff dad, and happy to have experienced the non-working conference life. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Pray for Getaway!

Hello, friends! 

Tomorrow, Megan leaves for Kansas City to direct International Getaway, our Regional student conference for international students. We haven't had an in person Getaway since 2019 (pre-pandemic), so this is a big deal! Over the course of the long weekend, 50+ students from 24 different countries will gather together for fun, food, fellowship, and bible study. Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and non-religious students will all be in attendance. It really is one of the best things that our Region does and Megan has been working hard to make sure that things go forward without a hitch. 

While we're here, let me tell you about the amazing job that Megan has done directing this thing. Up until January, it wasn't certain that International Getaway was even going to be happening. Omicron was still raging across the country and there were questions about what kind of conference would best serve students in the Spring. But, once we made the call to do Getaway, she went into conference director superhero mode. Y'all, putting on a conference in less than 4 months is REALLY HARD. On top of that, at this point, we're expecting TWICE as many students as we were hoping would attend. Megan totally crushed it in preparing the team and encouraging recruitment. 

Confession: I've never actually attended a full International Getaway. Up until 2016 or so, I was always staffing Catalyst, which was the student conference for domestic students that was happening at the same time. Then, I was at home with the kiddos (at least I think I was...). I actually had planned on doing childcare for Getaway in 2020 but then that got cancelled. Alas, this time I'll be helping with one game but other than that, I'll be watching the kiddos again. At least we'll be at the camp. =0). 

Friends, we would LOVE for you to partner with us during Getaway. There are two big ways you can partner with us: 

PRAY: We're asking folk to be praying through the whole conference. If you have an hour to devote to prayer, we'd love for you to sign up for a time slot.

GIVE: We're also still hoping to raise a little bit more for scholarships for students. If you'd like to sponsor a student, you can click this link. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Transition Interviews...

Hello, friends! 

Tomorrow, I'll be heading to Lincoln for the last time this semester. While ACF has already had it's last bible study, students are still in town for finals and such. I'll be grabbing lunch with our two graduating students, who will be heading to bigger and brighter things once they graduate. 

One of the things that we're trying to do a better job of in the Region is having transition interviews with students. This is sort of like an exit interview for InterVarsity. We want to hear about student's experiences, share ways that we've seen them grow, and invite them to continue to be part of the InterVarsity experience as alumni. 

Friends, it's been YEARS since I've done a transition interview. It wasn't something I was great at remembering to do when I was field staff but once I moved off being the primary staff for ACF at Mizzou, my opportunities to do transition interviews also went down. Since I've been in this job, I've barely had much student interaction at all, focusing instead on staff development. So, right after I finish writing this blog, I'll be watching some training videos to remind myself on how to talk to students. =0). 

Seriously though, I'm looking forward for the chance to talk with the ACF students one more time as students. They did such a great job of keeping the group going without any staff for a while, which is no easy feat. I'm excited to hear about how InterVarsity was hopefully a blessing on their college careers and I really want to make sure they have an opportunity to still be involved as alumni. 

All over the Region, we're having these conversations with students. As of today, we've done over 70 of these interviews, with another 80 or so to go. I've been hearing nothing but good stories from staff as they've connected with departing students. I'm hoping that my conversations are as life giving as theirs have been. 

If you have a moment, would you pray for our departing students? Pray for those who are still in finals and finishing up their college careers. Pray that God will be give them a peace that surpasses all understanding, regardless of whether or not they know what's next. Pray that they will continue to follow Jesus post-graduation and find good church communities regardless of where they land. Pray that our staff will be able to adequately express the love and support for these students. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Restoration...

Hello, friends! 

Apparently, I've been preaching a lot lately! Here's my latest sermon from church, on how Jesus doesn't want to fix you but he wants to restore you. It was a really powerful time of people connecting with Jesus and asking for restoration in their lives and in the world. I hope you enjoy!