Hello, friends!
In case I haven't said it enough already, happy 2016! The year has already been full of many fun (and not so fun) and exciting things! Apparently, it's going to be kind of a big year. =0).
Like I'd said a few weeks ago, I wanted to blog about Urbana but I knew that it was going to take more than just one blog post. Not only is Urbana itself a really complex conference but this year was especially complex and my role was equally so. One post wouldn't do it justice, so I've decided to break out the Super Blog!
Below you can find the titles of the various blog posts with my thoughts about Urbana15. Some posts are lighter than others. Some posts are longer than others. You can take them in all at once or peruse at your own pace. It's all good. My hope is that through these various posts, you'll be able to see the scope of the Urbana15 experience from my perspective, get a little bit more of a sense of what it is that I do, and see "behind the curtain" in terms of how InterVarsity functions.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Staff But Not...
Solutions...
Monday Night...
Rocking the Mic...
Ezra and Urbana...
Ringing in the New Year...
So, What's Next...
Friday, January 22, 2016
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Looking Back at 30...
Hello, friends!
First of all, thanks so much to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. It has been a pretty great day. I got up early to get some work done, Meg and I had lunch, she made an AMAZING ice cream cake, and Ezra and I got to play.
As today was approaching, I got to thinking about how big of a year 30 was for me. Here are some highlights:
- I became a father! If that isn't a huge life change, I really don't know what is.
- I left the help of Mizzou ACF. After 8 years of being in charge, this past year was the first that I wasn't running the show.
- I started something new at Lincoln University. It's been a wild semester and I'm looking forward to another new adventure there this Spring.
- I had some breakthroughs in my ethnic identity journey. The #BlackLivesMatter issue really made me ask myself some tough questions, make some real decisions, and take some serious risks. Through it all, God has shown me a lot about myself, including how I see myself as a Chinese American, my voice in the greater issue of systemic racism, and how I can bring the Gospel to those who are different from me.
I don't know what 31 will hold for me. I know that it's going to be the year of faithfulness. I know that there will be joys and there will be trials. I know that God will be good. I know that I'll keep blogging. I know that a few of you will keep reading and I know that I'll be grateful for your support. =0).
Here's to (at least) 31 more years!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
First of all, thanks so much to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. It has been a pretty great day. I got up early to get some work done, Meg and I had lunch, she made an AMAZING ice cream cake, and Ezra and I got to play.
As today was approaching, I got to thinking about how big of a year 30 was for me. Here are some highlights:
- I became a father! If that isn't a huge life change, I really don't know what is.
- I left the help of Mizzou ACF. After 8 years of being in charge, this past year was the first that I wasn't running the show.
- I started something new at Lincoln University. It's been a wild semester and I'm looking forward to another new adventure there this Spring.
- I had some breakthroughs in my ethnic identity journey. The #BlackLivesMatter issue really made me ask myself some tough questions, make some real decisions, and take some serious risks. Through it all, God has shown me a lot about myself, including how I see myself as a Chinese American, my voice in the greater issue of systemic racism, and how I can bring the Gospel to those who are different from me.
I don't know what 31 will hold for me. I know that it's going to be the year of faithfulness. I know that there will be joys and there will be trials. I know that God will be good. I know that I'll keep blogging. I know that a few of you will keep reading and I know that I'll be grateful for your support. =0).
Here's to (at least) 31 more years!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Friday, January 8, 2016
Urbana Appetizer...
Hello, friends!
Right now I'm working on a Superblog for the Urbana conference (spoiler alert: it was amazing!) but given all the attention and publicity that InterVarsity has received in the past few weeks since Urbana, I figured that I should at least address the question on everybody's mind: What happened with Michelle Higgins?!
I'm definitely going to have a lot of thoughts about what happened December 28 as well as everything that has happened since then but before we can get into that, there's some work that needs to be done.
A lot of speculation and assumption has been made about what she said or didn't say. Headlines and secondhand reports tend to blow things out of proportion because the media is in the business of selling clicks and controversy gets clicks. So, while I have plenty to say about what went down, the most important thing I can do is say this: Watch the video. Actually listen to her words. Hear what she says and what she doesn't say. Without this context, everything is just noise.
Here's the video of just Michelle:
If you have the time, please check out the entire night's session for even more context.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Right now I'm working on a Superblog for the Urbana conference (spoiler alert: it was amazing!) but given all the attention and publicity that InterVarsity has received in the past few weeks since Urbana, I figured that I should at least address the question on everybody's mind: What happened with Michelle Higgins?!
I'm definitely going to have a lot of thoughts about what happened December 28 as well as everything that has happened since then but before we can get into that, there's some work that needs to be done.
A lot of speculation and assumption has been made about what she said or didn't say. Headlines and secondhand reports tend to blow things out of proportion because the media is in the business of selling clicks and controversy gets clicks. So, while I have plenty to say about what went down, the most important thing I can do is say this: Watch the video. Actually listen to her words. Hear what she says and what she doesn't say. Without this context, everything is just noise.
Here's the video of just Michelle:
If you have the time, please check out the entire night's session for even more context.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Friday, January 1, 2016
So What's Next...
Hello, friends!
The big question after every conference is always, "So, what's next?" I think this is the right question on multiple levels.
On one hand, I think it's a good question to ask to get us thinking about how to take what we've learned and experienced and bring it back to the campus. I mean this on the staff as well as the student level. Conferences don't do us any good if they don't fundamentally change who we see ourselves as in Christ and how we bring the Gospel back to the campus. Not every student will have an earth shattering, mind blowing, paradigm shifting experience at every conference but we should be striving towards change and Urbana is no different.
On the other hand, I think "So, what's next?" is a good question to ask because it's important to be moving forward. Reliving the good times, the great worship, the powerful speakers, and the thought provoking seminars is a good thing. Reflection is always a good thing. But we can't live in the past. We can't go home, look around us and say, "man, I wish I was still at Urbana." That leads to disengagement, not engagement, which is a problem.
So, what's next for me. A few things, actually! A student from Missouri State in Springfield and a black student from Mizzou both attended Urbana as their first forays into the InterVarsity world. Both came home wanting to start a bible study among their friends and I'll have the pleasure of coaching them through the endeavor. I don't know if we'll get new chapters started from these bible studies but it's worth a shot, right? =0).
Friends, please be praying for us as we get further and further away from Urbana and deeper and deeper into the semester. This is the time when vision leaks, students get busy, and momentum is lost. Please pray that the good work that began in St. Louis will continue through the semester in Columbia (and Springfield) and go beyond to Jefferson City, Moberly, Fulton, and beyond.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
BACK TO HOME
The big question after every conference is always, "So, what's next?" I think this is the right question on multiple levels.
On one hand, I think it's a good question to ask to get us thinking about how to take what we've learned and experienced and bring it back to the campus. I mean this on the staff as well as the student level. Conferences don't do us any good if they don't fundamentally change who we see ourselves as in Christ and how we bring the Gospel back to the campus. Not every student will have an earth shattering, mind blowing, paradigm shifting experience at every conference but we should be striving towards change and Urbana is no different.
On the other hand, I think "So, what's next?" is a good question to ask because it's important to be moving forward. Reliving the good times, the great worship, the powerful speakers, and the thought provoking seminars is a good thing. Reflection is always a good thing. But we can't live in the past. We can't go home, look around us and say, "man, I wish I was still at Urbana." That leads to disengagement, not engagement, which is a problem.
So, what's next for me. A few things, actually! A student from Missouri State in Springfield and a black student from Mizzou both attended Urbana as their first forays into the InterVarsity world. Both came home wanting to start a bible study among their friends and I'll have the pleasure of coaching them through the endeavor. I don't know if we'll get new chapters started from these bible studies but it's worth a shot, right? =0).
Friends, please be praying for us as we get further and further away from Urbana and deeper and deeper into the semester. This is the time when vision leaks, students get busy, and momentum is lost. Please pray that the good work that began in St. Louis will continue through the semester in Columbia (and Springfield) and go beyond to Jefferson City, Moberly, Fulton, and beyond.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
BACK TO HOME
Ringing in the New Year...
Hello, friends!
One of my favorite things about Urbana is the ending. I don't mean that I like Urbana being over. Rather, I think that the last night of Urbana, December 31, is one of the coolest ways to ring in the new year.
Allow me to set the stage for you. The final night of Urbana actually has 2 acts. The first act is the normal plenary session. There's the amazing worship, great speakers, wonderful arts ministries, and the like. The crazy part about the first session is communion. Have you ever seen 16,000 people all partake of communion at the same time? Think about the logistics it takes to get something like that done. And they do it in less than 30 minutes! It's pretty amazing.
What gets even more amazing is the second session though. After the first session ends around 9:30 or so, there's a 45 minute intermission followed by a worship set that goes until the midnight. I can't think of a better way to end the year than with 90+ minutes of praising Jesus after being in his presence for 5 days. It's always an amazing spectacle to see.
This was my fourth Urbana and as I was thinking back, I actually realized that for as great as the last night is, I don't think I've ever had a care free experience ringing in the New Year Urbana style. Let's run though the recap:
- 2006: My girlfriend at the time broke up with me 3 times during Urbana. The final time came right in between the first and second set on the 31st. Needless to say, I was less than excited.
- 2009: The worship leader lost track of time and actually did the countdown 2 or 3 minutes after midnight. Everyone in my section of seats knew it so it was a bit of a downer.
- 2012: The night itself went great! The problem was the phone call I got in the middle of the night because a car of ACFers had skidded on some ice and the car spun. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured but I was less than pleased when I heard that not everyone was wearing a seat belt. I didn't sleep really well that night, which is kind of amazing given how tired I probably was.
- 2015: This year we decided to skip the second set altogether. Ezra was at Aunt Judi's, Megan and I were both exhausted, and my parents had come in for the early session so we had a ride ready to go. Instead of getting up early in the morning to check out and do all that stuff, we decided to spend the second set packing and heading out. We made it to Aunt Judi's in just enough time to see the clock strike midnight and Ezra get up for a midnight snack. =0).
Do I regret any of my New Year's Eve escapades? Nope! They are each memorable in their own way. This past year in particular felt like the right call. I'm getting older, and New Year's Eve doesn't have the same meaning it used to... well, except for watching Casablanca at midnight, which I've done every year since I was 10. =0).
Have an excellent day!
Ezra and Urbana
Hello, friends!
OK, so when I said that I had two jobs at Urbana, I forgot that I actually had a third one: being Ezra's dad. =0). This was my first year staffing Urbana as a father and boy did I learn a few things.
For all the things that Urbana does well, it really isn't a kid friendly place. Children weren't actually allowed in the America's Center where everything was taking place. I'm guessing it's for safety reasons and I ultimately don't have a problem with it. However, those policies, along with our Urbana jobs, along with Ezra still breastfeeding, made for some very interesting scheduling.
Things started with the hotel situation. The Pan Asian North American Student Lounge (where I was working) was at the Holiday Inn close to the America's Center. The International Student Lounge (where Megan was working) was at the Hyatt, about a half mile from the America's Center. Given that Ezra was going to need to eat regularly, we wanted to stay at the Hyatt for easy access. Of course, we got put in the Holiday Inn. Thankfully, there was another staff in the Hyatt who wanted to switch to the Holiday Inn so we were able to take care of that.
Another huge blessing was that my parents were in town. Actually, my brother and sister came into town too. This year we were supposed to do Christmas with my side of the family in California (my older sister was going to be in Australia visiting relatives her husband's side of the family). However, that would have meant that I would have needed to fly out on Christmas because my Urbana registration job started @ 9am on the 26th. Instead of that silliness, Mama, Papa, Phuzz, and the Kid came to St. Louis to spend Christmas with us and my Aunt Judi's family who lives in St. Louis. Mama and Papa then stayed to watch Ezra during Urbana when we couldn't. Hooray for family!
Schedule-wise, things went like this:
- In the morning, Megan took care of Ezra while I worked, mostly checking in folk who had gotten day passes from us to check out Urbana for a day.
- In the late morning/early afternoon, my parents came to take care of Ezra. 2 of the days Mama just stayed in the hotel and 3 of the days they took him back to Aunt Judi's house.
- In the afternoon, Megan and I worked in our respective lounges while Ezra probably took a lot of selfie's with his cousins.
- In the evening, I would watch Ezra at the hotel room while Meg went with her students to the evening session.
Friends, it worked but it was pretty exhausting. We are so thankful for the logistics working out with the hotel, jobs that were synced up well, and family that was willing to come and help. We're pretty sure we won't do it that way again though. InterVarsity has a nursing exception for mothers with small children. We didn't take it think year because we didn't know how much work it was going to be to coordinate everything. You'd better believe that if we have another little one come Urbana18, Megan will definitely take it. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
BACK TO HOME
OK, so when I said that I had two jobs at Urbana, I forgot that I actually had a third one: being Ezra's dad. =0). This was my first year staffing Urbana as a father and boy did I learn a few things.
For all the things that Urbana does well, it really isn't a kid friendly place. Children weren't actually allowed in the America's Center where everything was taking place. I'm guessing it's for safety reasons and I ultimately don't have a problem with it. However, those policies, along with our Urbana jobs, along with Ezra still breastfeeding, made for some very interesting scheduling.
Things started with the hotel situation. The Pan Asian North American Student Lounge (where I was working) was at the Holiday Inn close to the America's Center. The International Student Lounge (where Megan was working) was at the Hyatt, about a half mile from the America's Center. Given that Ezra was going to need to eat regularly, we wanted to stay at the Hyatt for easy access. Of course, we got put in the Holiday Inn. Thankfully, there was another staff in the Hyatt who wanted to switch to the Holiday Inn so we were able to take care of that.
Another huge blessing was that my parents were in town. Actually, my brother and sister came into town too. This year we were supposed to do Christmas with my side of the family in California (my older sister was going to be in Australia visiting relatives her husband's side of the family). However, that would have meant that I would have needed to fly out on Christmas because my Urbana registration job started @ 9am on the 26th. Instead of that silliness, Mama, Papa, Phuzz, and the Kid came to St. Louis to spend Christmas with us and my Aunt Judi's family who lives in St. Louis. Mama and Papa then stayed to watch Ezra during Urbana when we couldn't. Hooray for family!
Schedule-wise, things went like this:
- In the morning, Megan took care of Ezra while I worked, mostly checking in folk who had gotten day passes from us to check out Urbana for a day.
- In the late morning/early afternoon, my parents came to take care of Ezra. 2 of the days Mama just stayed in the hotel and 3 of the days they took him back to Aunt Judi's house.
- In the afternoon, Megan and I worked in our respective lounges while Ezra probably took a lot of selfie's with his cousins.
- In the evening, I would watch Ezra at the hotel room while Meg went with her students to the evening session.
Friends, it worked but it was pretty exhausting. We are so thankful for the logistics working out with the hotel, jobs that were synced up well, and family that was willing to come and help. We're pretty sure we won't do it that way again though. InterVarsity has a nursing exception for mothers with small children. We didn't take it think year because we didn't know how much work it was going to be to coordinate everything. You'd better believe that if we have another little one come Urbana18, Megan will definitely take it. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
BACK TO HOME
Rocking the Mic...
Hello, friends!
Like I'd said in a previous post, I had 2 official Urbana jobs. One was working in Solutions, which was a lot of fun. The second job was also tons of fun. I was working in the Pan Asian North American Student Lounge as a host and eventually as the MC for the week.
First, let's talk about the name. It's a long name for sure but each piece is important. Let's start from the back and work our way forward:
- Student Lounge: Well, this should be pretty self explanatory. Urbana is a conference for students so the lounge should be for students too. With all the hustle and bustle of Urbana, we wanted to provide a place where students could relax and connect.
- North American: Urbana is not just a US student conference but had students literally from all over the world. The two biggest sending countries were the US and Canada. We wanted to make sure that our friends to the north knew that they were welcome. In the US we use the term Asian American. In Canada, they use the term Asian Canadian. Making sure students knew that all of North America was included was important. (Note: There was also a lounge for international students that Megan led so everyone was covered.)
- Pan Asian: When you think of the term "Asian American" what comes to mind? Probably you're thinking of East Asians; Chinese, Korean, Japanese. There's nothing inherently wrong with that but Asia is actually a pretty diverse continent. There as South Asians (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanaka, etc.), South East Asians (Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, etc.) and even different ethnic groups inside of those countries (like the Hmong in China). We wanted to make sure that everyone knew they were welcome.
OK, so what actually happened in the lounge? There were 3 main parts to it. Part One was the relaxing. We had snacks, music, games to play, a selfie station, and all sorts of good stuff. We wanted students to be able to take a break from the intensity of the conference if they needed. Part Two was the mentoring and Special Guests. Each day we had a different theme (STEM, Law and Politics, the Arts, and Vocational Ministry) and special guests who were in those fields. Students could have conversations with these folk and receive a little mentoring. We also had my man Jason Chu perform a few numbers for us, which was pretty great.
Part 3 may have been my favorite part though. Each day in the lounge we had special gatherings for students to connect to one another and see the diversity and togetherness of Asian America. We had special gatherings for Southeast Asian students, for Filipino students (also Southeast Asian but there were so many of them they had a separate gathering too), for South Asian students, for adopted children, and for Korean students. At each of the gatherings we had special food to speak to their hearts and our staff were able to cast vision for the students as a whole to reach their corners of their campuses. Even inside our Asian American chapters, we need more diversity.
What about me? What was my job specifically? Well, the general staff job for the lounge was to be around, connect with students, make sure there were enough snacks, and generally have a good time. Since I was the closest staff to St. Louis, my other job was to procure a sound system for us to use so we could play music and make announcements. As we were setting up on Day 1, the director of the lounge asked me and another woman if we had any MC experience. Y'all know that I do so suddenly, she and I were the hosts and MC's for the lounge, making announcements, introducing the special guests, and taking care of the music.
Y'all know me. You know I loved that job. It's a no brainer right? All I have to do is be up in front of folk, give instructions, tell a few jokes and put on some tunes? Sign me up for that everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. The only part that I didn't like was the travel. See, the lounge was right by the Dome where everything was happening but my hotel, where all the A/V equipment was, was about a half mile away. Forgetting a cable then having to run back and forth to get it was not my idea of a grand old time. =0).
So, that was me at Urbana. I would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat. I ate good food, hung out with students, put my skills on the mic to good use, and didn't have to be out in the cold. All said and done, I'd say it was a pretty good Urbana job.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
BACK TO HOME
Like I'd said in a previous post, I had 2 official Urbana jobs. One was working in Solutions, which was a lot of fun. The second job was also tons of fun. I was working in the Pan Asian North American Student Lounge as a host and eventually as the MC for the week.
First, let's talk about the name. It's a long name for sure but each piece is important. Let's start from the back and work our way forward:
- Student Lounge: Well, this should be pretty self explanatory. Urbana is a conference for students so the lounge should be for students too. With all the hustle and bustle of Urbana, we wanted to provide a place where students could relax and connect.
- North American: Urbana is not just a US student conference but had students literally from all over the world. The two biggest sending countries were the US and Canada. We wanted to make sure that our friends to the north knew that they were welcome. In the US we use the term Asian American. In Canada, they use the term Asian Canadian. Making sure students knew that all of North America was included was important. (Note: There was also a lounge for international students that Megan led so everyone was covered.)
- Pan Asian: When you think of the term "Asian American" what comes to mind? Probably you're thinking of East Asians; Chinese, Korean, Japanese. There's nothing inherently wrong with that but Asia is actually a pretty diverse continent. There as South Asians (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanaka, etc.), South East Asians (Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, etc.) and even different ethnic groups inside of those countries (like the Hmong in China). We wanted to make sure that everyone knew they were welcome.
OK, so what actually happened in the lounge? There were 3 main parts to it. Part One was the relaxing. We had snacks, music, games to play, a selfie station, and all sorts of good stuff. We wanted students to be able to take a break from the intensity of the conference if they needed. Part Two was the mentoring and Special Guests. Each day we had a different theme (STEM, Law and Politics, the Arts, and Vocational Ministry) and special guests who were in those fields. Students could have conversations with these folk and receive a little mentoring. We also had my man Jason Chu perform a few numbers for us, which was pretty great.
Part 3 may have been my favorite part though. Each day in the lounge we had special gatherings for students to connect to one another and see the diversity and togetherness of Asian America. We had special gatherings for Southeast Asian students, for Filipino students (also Southeast Asian but there were so many of them they had a separate gathering too), for South Asian students, for adopted children, and for Korean students. At each of the gatherings we had special food to speak to their hearts and our staff were able to cast vision for the students as a whole to reach their corners of their campuses. Even inside our Asian American chapters, we need more diversity.
What about me? What was my job specifically? Well, the general staff job for the lounge was to be around, connect with students, make sure there were enough snacks, and generally have a good time. Since I was the closest staff to St. Louis, my other job was to procure a sound system for us to use so we could play music and make announcements. As we were setting up on Day 1, the director of the lounge asked me and another woman if we had any MC experience. Y'all know that I do so suddenly, she and I were the hosts and MC's for the lounge, making announcements, introducing the special guests, and taking care of the music.
Y'all know me. You know I loved that job. It's a no brainer right? All I have to do is be up in front of folk, give instructions, tell a few jokes and put on some tunes? Sign me up for that everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. The only part that I didn't like was the travel. See, the lounge was right by the Dome where everything was happening but my hotel, where all the A/V equipment was, was about a half mile away. Forgetting a cable then having to run back and forth to get it was not my idea of a grand old time. =0).
So, that was me at Urbana. I would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat. I ate good food, hung out with students, put my skills on the mic to good use, and didn't have to be out in the cold. All said and done, I'd say it was a pretty good Urbana job.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
BACK TO HOME
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