Hello my wonderful friends and supporters!
I know it has been a long time since you heard from me. For that, I apologize. Let’s just say that administration is an area that I have a lot of room to grow. But you may rest assured that things in InterVarsity at Oregon State University are on the upswing and going really well. I will do my best to catch you up with everything that has happened since January.
Here is the Winter and Spring ’08 Greatest Hits.
• Perhaps the coolest thing that happened this year was the start of a daily prayer meeting. Our students were hungry to pray together and met every morning at 9am to pray. I fully anticipate that this meeting will continue into next school year. Praise God that students want to pray!
• Our Winter Conference, “jesustherevolution”, blew away our expectations. I was part of the worship team and I saw God move powerfully in the 400 students who were there. You can actually hear the speaker, Trent Shepard, at the following link: http://intervarsitynw.org/conference_pics.htm
• I was very honored that a song I wrote became the musical theme of the conference. God really used my gifting to bless the students and I was very humbled by it. You can hear it at the end of the Saturday evening plenary session.
• Following the conference, the OSU chapter kicked off an entire week of unbroken prayer. We set up a prayer room at my house and there was at least one person praying in it every hour for a whole week. Keep in mind that students were waking up at 3 in the morning to come and pray! They loved it and were really able to draw near to God. Here are some pictures from the prayer room.
• One student, Mario, thought he would spend a total of a half hour in the room. But after he went the first time, he couldn’t get enough. He came over seven times during the course of the week and had an amazing time praying and reading scripture.
• During spring break, a bunch of us made a road trip down to the Bay Area and hung out with my parents for a few days. We went hot tubbing, went to the top of Mount Diablo, and spent a day to service work in San Francisco. It was a great bonding experience for us (as only 10 hours in a van together can do!).
• We studied the whole book of James in Bible Study and were all very challenged by his words to us. During this time, I was able to see some students really step up and lead scripture well. It was very encouraging.
• We took another road trip (I guess we really like those!) to Coos Bay, Oregon and had some time to vision about what our summers could look like. Again, we had a great time playing games and playing at the beach.
These were all great things and I can’t even tell you about all the little things happening every day that confirm to me that students in this fellowship are deepening their relationship with Jesus and understanding more about what it means to see his Kingdom come at OSU.
One week from now I will be leading a group of around twenty students on a two-week plunge into inner-city Portland. This is called “Summit.” These two weeks consistently change students’ lives year after year. We are taking 3: Thomas, Sean, and Kristin, and we will be joined by students from the University of Oregon and Portland State. This is the first time I have led the project and I am very much looking forward to it. It begins on Sunday the 15th of June until the 28th. Keep us in your prayers!
Looking ahead to next year, I am simultaneously very excited and very anxious. I am excited because we will have six student leaders next year. Three of them were freshmen this year and all of them are really great. Our lone senior, Mike, will be joining me on staff here. I cannot tell you how great of a leader he is. We will have Bible studies in the three main dorm areas, which will increase our ability to reach out and invite new people in. And finally, we will begin the year with a worship team of young students who have a lot of potential to grow. I couldn’t really ask for anything better.
Yet I am anxious because I will be the team leader here. That means that I, for lack of a better term, am in charge. This is the most authority and responsibility that I have had on staff yet. It seems a bit overwhelming sometimes but I know that it is a good next step for me and God will be with me in it. So I would ask that you please be praying for me as I step into a larger leadership role next year.
Thank you for all your prayers and support this past school year. Its working!!!
